From the end of the world

Chapter 676 Harvest after the War
What I pursue is an apocalyptic end that will destroy everyone. Therefore, relying on the strength of others here is somewhat contradictory. It's not that I can't use the strength of others, but perhaps I should be more like a villain who meticulously manipulates others, rather than genuinely feeling a sense of partnership with them.

However, I couldn't help but be moved by Xiaowan's decisive reply.

Xuanming's dying words echoed in my heart.

"You might not be as evil as you think."

I pushed those words back into my memory, then stood up, reached out to the headquarters in Luoshan, thousands of miles away, grabbed Xiaowan's tiny hand, and pulled it to my side.

Reaching my hand outside the barrier was relatively easy, but pulling it back felt like facing a thousand times more resistance. The principle of strict entry and lenient exit was preventing me from bringing back the part that had once extended beyond the barrier. So, I had no choice but to abandon most of the flames that had extended beyond the barrier, keeping only the most basic part that could bring the small bowl here.

A ball of flame burst into flames on the ground in front of me, then vanished, revealing the small bowl.

Xiao Wan first glanced around.

After the great battle between Xuanming and me, although the sea of ​​fire had subsided, this land was still filled with unimaginable high temperatures, more akin to those on Earth than on the surface. The terrain was rugged and uneven, with lava everywhere, and the sizzling sound of burning flesh filled the air. The scorching air distorted the path of light.

With me here, this high-temperature environment, unsuitable for life, poses no threat to the little bowl. All the heat submits to my will, deciding what not to harm based on my mood. Even the harmful gases released during combustion retreat because of my natural privilege as the Great Impermanence, while oxygen automatically gathers around me and the little bowl.

But then I thought that this scene might still be too scary for other people, so I changed the environment a little.

Commanded by my silent will, all the excess heat in this land moved indiscriminately, transferring into my soul and being absorbed by the slag weapon. In a mere second, the sizzling sound ceased, the air ceased to distort from the heat, and the lava instantly solidified into stone and glass. From where we stood to the horizon, everything within sight underwent this dramatic and immense transformation.

This is nothing to brag about; it's about as difficult as taking a deep breath. Doing it alone wouldn't evoke any particular thoughts. But because Xiaowan is here, I can't help but look at her expression, hoping she'll react to what I've done. How childish of me.

But Xiao Wan didn't look around anymore; her gaze was fixed on me. In terms of the depth of her perception, aside from its limited range, she was comparable to, and even surpassed, a Great Impermanence like myself in many aspects. My severely damaged true spirit seemed to be seen through by her; at this moment, it seemed that I was the only one in her eyes.

“Brother Zhuang Cheng, you are so badly injured…” she said.

“So I’ll have to trouble you. Heal me, Little Bowl,” I said.

She stepped forward and carefully helped me up, saying, "...You must be in such a bad state right now that you can barely stand. Why don't you find a place to lie down first, and then I'll treat you."

There weren't any decent public facilities for us to rest here, but I still used my Word of Power to create a rough stone platform in the shape of a bed, and then lay down on it. Xiao Wan sat down as well, and perhaps because Ma Zao wasn't watching over us this time, she once again rested my head on her lap, gently stroking my hair and cheeks.

Only now do I feel truly relaxed. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion washes over me, and I feel like I can hardly stand up again.

To be honest, I really wish I could just sleep and never wake up. But this area does have potential dangers, and I can't really let my guard down completely. I have to stay alert and protect Xiaowan immediately if anything dangerous approaches.

Now that it's dark, I summoned a fireball that hangs several meters in the air, serving as a light bulb for illumination.

I could feel the power of the small bowl, like a gentle spring breeze and drizzle, seeping into the depths of my being, and my severely damaged spirit was slowly being repaired.

During this process, the previous restart did not occur again.

It's unlikely that a reboot will happen again. Although this is just my personal speculation, since the purpose of a reboot is to eventually absorb everyone's souls into the dream network without exception, the triggering condition is likely to be when the number of survivors in the city has almost reached its lowest point.

Now, all the Peach Blossom Spring cultivators and monsters in this city have been slaughtered by me, and all the survivors and demon hunters have been transferred to the outside world. However, the restart has not occurred, probably because doing so is no longer of any use.

The restart of this city, like the restart of the secret outposts of the Humanitarian Division in the past, likely shares the same limitation: it cannot retrieve anything that has left its sphere of influence. The souls of the Peach Blossom Spring cultivators and monsters already belong to the Dream Network, so there's no need to try to retrieve them; as for the others, they are outside the effective range, so restarting them would be meaningless.

Whether it's a dream network or a restart of a limited space, some vague resemblances can be found in the consciousness network and independent reality space formed by Ying Lingyun through Lu Chan's "possibility clone" during his lifetime. Considering the unspoken cooperation between Ying Lingyun and Meng Zhang, the lord of Peach Blossom Village, it's possible that Ying Lingyun was involved in some aspects of the design and construction of "Peach Blossom Spring." While I was pondering these things, Xiao Wan asked me about the details of my previous experiences. I took the opportunity to share the information I hadn't mentioned earlier with her, hoping to get some analysis and advice from her to see if there were any parts of my experience that I had misjudged.

Xiao Wan first asked this question: "Xuan Ming told you the location where he hid all the fragments of the divine seal... Such an important treasure, didn't he carry it with him at all times?"

After thinking for a moment, I said, "You could say it's something like carrying it with you..."

Based on the information I obtained, Xuanming actually hid all the fragments of the divine seal in an alternate dimension.

It was an alternate dimension that he had personally constructed and created using the power of fragments of the divine seal combined with array techniques; it could be considered, roughly speaking, a tiny, unfinished illusory realm. If he possessed array techniques at the level of Yuchi, he could have created one on a larger scale and with a higher degree of completion, but Xuanming could only do this much.

This tiny, nascent illusory realm cannot accommodate the consciousness of the illusory realm apostles to hold meetings within it, nor can it contain any other normal things; it can only be used to store fragments of the divine seal. From Xuanming's actual needs, there is really no need to pursue better results.

After Xuanming's death, if no other Void Realm Apostle takes over, this tiny nascent Void Realm will automatically perish soon due to the lack of divine seal fragments to replenish it.

Theoretically, the fragments of the divine seal stored within would be banished to the void afterward, but expecting the void environment to completely seal them is wishful thinking. Under the pull of fate, all the fragments of the divine seal will eventually fall into the hands of the master of the divine seal or the holder of the seal, or into the hands of other apostles of the void... The void couldn't even stop my return, let alone stop the flow of the fragments of the divine seal.

As for retrieving the fragments of the divine seal from the tiny, nascent illusory realm, it can be done anytime, anywhere, as long as the correct method is mastered.

I attempted to channel the power of my divine seal fragments, combining them with my own magical power to emit a specific frequency signal. Then, I felt my consciousness connect to some mysterious, otherworldly dimension.

Not everyone can do this. This tiny, nascent virtual realm generally only accepts Xuanming's access requests. However, because Xuanming passed on his experiences and insights to me, this kind of "matter" at the soul level can also be regarded as an alternative key, so I also have the qualification to access the tiny, nascent virtual realm.

This key was probably not something Xuanming designed on the spur of the moment before his death. He likely calculated the possibility of his failure before his death and made contingency plans to pass on the important things he possessed.

I raised my hand, and fragments of the divine seal began to appear in my palm.

One, two, three, four... a total of ten ownerless divine seal fragments appeared in my hand.

The tiny, nascent illusory realm emanated power, causing these ownerless divine seal fragments to remain suspended, without making direct contact with my palm.

Even though Xiao Wan had probably guessed beforehand that Xuan Mingsheng possessed a large number of divine seal fragments, she was still shocked by this scene, her mouth slightly agape.

“There are so many…” she said.

I then stored all the fragments of the divine seal inside the tiny, nascent illusory realm, and then looked at Xiaowan's expression. I was now lying on her lap, and in the light of the fireball above, Xiaowan's face, which was turned down, was backlit and filled with a serious shadow.

"I never expected Xuanming to transfer all the fragments of the Divine Seal to Brother Zhuang Cheng... This is truly a blatant conspiracy, and it's far too dangerous." She sighed.

"You mean, possessing so many fragments of the Divine Seal will put us in a situation where we are targeted by the Lord of the Divine Seal and the Seal Bearer?" I asked.

“It’s not just the Lord of the Divine Seal and the one who holds the seal; even other Great Impermanences might pose a threat to you,” Xiao Wan said earnestly.

I think this speculation isn't entirely impossible, but I still asked with a critical eye, "Isn't this idea a bit over the top?"

“There’s absolutely no exaggeration,” Xiao Wan said seriously. “Brother Zhuang Cheng, have you calculated how many Divine Seal fragments you have right now?”

(End of this chapter)