From the end of the world

Chapter 693 Reencounter with the Naval Master Xuanwu 2
Shui Shi Xuanwu did not immediately agree to my request, but instead fell into thought.

After a moment, he replied, "According to our past agreement, I will only refine pills for you once. Last time, I already used up the tokens I left with the Zhu family, so I have no obligation to refine pills for you a second time."

“That’s true, but it’s also true that the pills you refined last time didn’t fully meet our needs,” I said. “Last time, your strength was insufficient. You were at the limit of what a Great Completion stage could achieve, and you couldn’t refine a pill that could perfectly heal injuries at the Great Impermanence level. No one will blame you for not doing things thoroughly enough, or think that you didn’t use your full strength. On the contrary, it was quite remarkable that you could do that at your level at the time.”

"But now that you've reached a higher level, shouldn't you make a final reckoning for the responsibilities you failed to fulfill in the past?"

Shui Shi Xuanwu pointed out: "These words should be said to myself to be in accordance with human nature. It is a bit morally coercing for you to say them to me."

Then he continued, "However, I must admit that what you said is not entirely without merit. It's one thing to have fallen short in the past, but if one can now turn back and properly fulfill the responsibilities that were not handled perfectly in the past, I believe no one will have anything to say."

"Although I can find some reasons to absolve myself of my guilt, if I can meet your requirements, then I won't even need to find any more reasons. I can proudly declare that I have done everything I could to fulfill the agreement."

I said, "Then..."

“But not now,” said the naval commander Xuanwu. “I cannot refine the Divine Elixir for you at this time.”

"Why?" I asked.

“You should know very well that the Divine Elixir is a pill made from my soul as raw material,” said the Water Master Xuanwu. “Although I have now reached the realm of Great Impermanence, it is only a matter of time before I can repair the burns caused by the power of Great Impermanence. However, that is only applicable to cases where the burns occur on my own body. If the burns occur on another person, especially someone who is not a Great Impermanence, I would have to extract a part of my own soul to perfectly heal them.”

"Unfortunately, I don't possess an elemental soul like you, nor do I have the monstrous regenerative abilities of that artificial Great Impermanence in black armor. If my soul suffers damage, I can only slowly and painstakingly repair it."

"After that, I still need to fight the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, which is a battle with a low chance of winning. I can't let myself be in a state where I can't exert my full strength."

With a sense of inquiry, I asked, "Is that something more important than fulfilling your promise?"

Shui Shi Xuanwu said solemnly, "That involves another agreement I made."

"Don't you have any other elixirs that can heal your soul's wounds?" I asked.

"The elixir capable of repairing the soul of the Great Impermanence takes a very long time to refine. It is possible to shorten the time, but that requires rare materials matching the Great Impermanence's level," said the Water Master Xuanwu. "I have only recently become the Great Impermanence and currently lack such elixirs and rare materials. 'Even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice' perfectly describes this situation. Furthermore, given my current circumstances, I clearly cannot concentrate on alchemy for an extended period."

At the level of the Great Impermanence, many technical skills become useless. Just as many superpowers based on rules and concepts are nothing but a joke in the face of the Great Impermanence, expecting a chemical reaction produced by a low-level combination of materials to have a powerful effect on the various things in the Great Impermanence's realm is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

In the past, he was already "astounded" just by being able to refine pills like the Divine Elixir Pill.

Ultimately, what he possessed wasn't healing power, but alchemical power. Alchemy inevitably involves materials. To heal the Great Demon of Calamity's burns, he needed materials at the Great Impermanence level. Currently, the only material he could provide was the soul of the Water Master Xuanwu himself.

"A large part of the reason is that my alchemy skills are still at the Great Completion stage, and have not yet been updated to a level that matches my current perception and power. In time, once my alchemy skills have been updated, the current problem will probably disappear... but that will also take time," said Shui Shi Xuanwu.

However, I still feel something is off. Although it's just my own stereotype, logically speaking, becoming a Great Impermanence should make alchemy and formations much more effortless. Why are there so many troubles?

After thinking for a moment, I asked, "The Great Impermanence-level material you possess isn't just your own soul, is it? Although I don't know much about the rules and taboos of alchemy... can't your magical power itself be used as an ingredient in an alchemy?"

This question seems to have touched on a more fundamental issue.

"...Yes. However, my magic power is currently in a special state, unsuitable for refining healing pills as a primary ingredient," sighed the Water Master Xuanwu. "In fact, my soul is also in a similar special state and requires time to harmonize. Although I am very familiar with alchemy using the soul as a material, the success rate of forcibly refining healing pills under these conditions is insufficient. This is one of the reasons why I cannot refine them for you now."

"If it were peacetime, I could try it a few more times, it would just mean I would be seriously injured a few more times, but I can't do that now."

Upon hearing this, I recalled the unusual attack power that the Water Master Xuanwu had previously displayed—could this situation be related to what he was saying now?

Although I'd love to ask more questions about this, I'll leave it for later. Right now, the most important thing is to obtain the new Divine Elixir for Asahi. I already have materials in place to address the problem that's troubling the Water Master Xuanwu. Let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point.

I summoned a ball of black eclipse fire. Unlike the eclipse fire I used before, this eclipse fire possesses the earth element. It wasn't something I summoned recently; rather, it was something I summoned when I defeated Huang Quan and the Great Demon Xuanwu, and it has been sustained by my own spirit as fuel until today.

Upon seeing the flame, the Water Master Xuanwu's expression changed drastically. The Earth Element Yellow Dragon's power was the natural enemy of the Water Element Xuanwu's power; just as it could restrain him, this flame also possessed an extremely strong restraining effect on him. He might very well feel extremely uncomfortable simply by glancing at this flame.

But the real focus is not the black flame, but the black water that is firmly sealed inside by the powerful gravity of the black flame.

This is the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu.

For the naval Xuanwu before him, it was essentially another version of his own remains.

The attention of the naval commander Xuanwu seemed to quickly shift to the mass of black water, and then a look of shock appeared on his face.

“This…this thing is…a part of my soul?” he said incredulously. “Such a large piece…this is impossible. Could it be from an injury I suffered before…No! This piece of soul is at the level of a Great Impermanence, but I have never suffered such an injury since becoming a Great Impermanence…”

"And what's with this ball of earth-elemental flame? Could it be that you possess the Yellow Dragon Seed? But that's impossible; the Yellow Dragon Seed should belong to Shan Liangyi... Did you kill Shan Liangyi?"

His intense reaction greatly satisfied my expectations, and I couldn't help but deliberately remain silent for a few seconds so that I could better observe the unpredictable emotions on his face.

Then, I began to explain in detail the origin of the Great Demon Xuanwu's flesh and blood.

Regarding the fire of the eclipse, I also made some explanations. The main point is that it was actually the Great Demon of Disaster that harmed Asaho's soul—it is common sense to explain the true condition to the "doctor"; the second point is to clarify that I have not actually had any contact or battle with the Mountain Ryougi, and I do not want to claim such a non-existent achievement.

Killing Sailor Genbu would bring me no benefit, and while he harbors nefarious intentions towards me, he doesn't show the same malice towards those around me. If I could win him over to the cause of defeating Fukuinin, it would be of great help in future battles. Therefore, in explaining the above, I also took the opportunity to delve into the current state of the afterlife and Fukuinin's bloody schemes.

"The afterlife and the apocalypse, and the plan to slaughter humanity..." the naval commander Xuanwu murmured.

Although he didn't seem to disbelieve me, it was still just hearsay. After his initial shock, he gradually calmed down and focused his attention on the piece of Great Demon Xuanwu flesh in my hand. "...Let's not talk about those distant things for now. The most important thing right now is how to deal with the Peach Blossom Village Lord, and this thing in your hand..."

He exhaled and continued, "With this, yes... I can refine the elixir for you right now."

"Then I'll trouble you to refine it now," I said.

"Alright." Sailor Xuanwu extended his hand.

His hand penetrated deep into the Eclipse Flame. Because I had temporarily placed him on the Eclipse Flame's whitelist, the flames did not harm him. He casually grabbed the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu and pulled it out.

Then, a large amount of black water-based magic power surged from around his palm, transforming into a huge water sphere that completely enveloped the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu.

It was called a water sphere, but due to its extremely high density, it felt like an incredibly heavy iron ball. I sensed extremely powerful and complex magical fluctuations emanating from within the iron ball. This water sphere seemed to have become an alchemy furnace, with an extremely high-pressure, high-temperature, and unpredictable environment inside.

Since it's about refining elixirs, I thought the Navy Genbu would bring out something like an alchemy furnace. Perhaps the Navy Genbu of the past really would have refined elixirs that way, but now, what kind of alchemy container could withstand the intense operation of the Great Impermanence's power? At this stage, the Navy Genbu can probably only simulate a sufficiently sturdy container with his own magic power.

I patiently waited for him to finish the alchemy process, and at that moment, seemingly disturbed by the magical fluctuations emitted during the alchemy process, some uninvited guests visited this place.

Or rather, we are the uninvited guests, while the other side consists of soldiers who have occupied this land.

A series of powerful magical fluctuations, similar to those of the Lord of Peach Blossom Village, suddenly descended upon us, and a total of five avatars of Meng Zhang, in the form of giant, cyan-glowing hands, appeared.

Without warning, the murderous intent locked onto both me and the naval commander Xuanwu.

(End of this chapter)