From the end of the world

Chapter 698 The Truth About the Wheel King

There are only four successors of the Yin-Yang lineage in a generation; this is certain.

Strictly speaking, since the Mountain Yin-Yang, as the source of the power seed, can travel back and forth between different eras and be reborn, it is possible for different generations of Yin-Yang successors to appear in the same era. However, according to the information that the Divination Master previously revealed to me, even if different generations of Yin-Yang successors do appear in the same time period, no more than four Yin-Yang successors can be truly observed. Other generations of Yin-Yang successors will enter a mysterious state where their identities cannot be verified by themselves or others.

Following this logic, if there is a fifth successor of the Yin-Yang system, it seems that the only way to overturn one's own premise is to first doubt whether one of the first four successors of the Yin-Yang system is a fake.

I, Shui Shi Xuanwu, and Ying Lingyun are all confirmed successors of the Two Elements. The only one whose evidence has not yet reached the stage of conclusive proof is Meng Zhang, the Lord of Taoyuan Township.

This angle isn't entirely impassable. Even if Meng Zhang wields the true power of the Azure Dragon of the Wood element, it doesn't mean he's a true descendant of the Azure Dragon—a prime example being Zhu Shi, who forged the Yama Sword. And even if the source of the Heart Seed is indeed the Azure Dragon Seed, it doesn't prove that the seed belongs to Meng Zhang, the Lord of Peach Blossom Spring. Perhaps the original host of the Azure Dragon Seed was King Yama, who then somehow transferred it to Meng Zhang, who, through Ying Lingyun's technology, cut it into countless Heart Seeds…

Besides the above reasoning, there is an even more dangerous, yet seemingly simpler, line of reasoning. The more preconditions a reason has, the less credible it becomes. Based on the principle of "entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily," this reasoning is more convincing—that the Wheel-Turning King truly is the fifth successor of the Two Elements.

The existence of a "fifth successor" is not entirely impossible, after all, even the power seed has a fifth one. However, we generally do not refer to it as a "successor," but there is a more appropriate definition for it—that is, the origin of all Yin-Yang successors, the "Mountain Yin-Yang" who wields the Earth Element Yellow Dragon Seed.

Shuishi Xuanwu's expression faltered for a moment. He clutched his forehead, seemingly dizzy and his attention somewhat scattered. However, he was clearly trying hard to concentrate, as if he were mobilizing all his mental resources to deal with the question I had raised.

“The Wheel-Turning King… The Wheel-Turning King…” he murmured, “The Wheel-Turning King is an extra successor of the Two Elements? No… the fifth successor of the Two Elements, this means… this means… could it be—”

His face grew increasingly grim, as if he had finally pierced through the window paper in his heart and arrived at a certain possibility.

How could I not see that his mental state was very strange? In order to help him sort out his thoughts, I raised another point of doubt: "You told me before that the Wheel King was also a successor of Yin and Yang, and even believed that he, like you, used the Yin and Yang of the Mountain as his hunting targets... Where did you get this information?"

"Where did it come from..." Shui Shi Xuanwu repeated my question.

“Since you were so certain of this information back then, you must have seen King Yama directly somewhere. I don’t think you would be so certain about something that’s just hearsay,” I said. “At the very least, you should be very certain of what kind of power seed King Yama possesses, and it’s even possible that he directly demonstrated his attribute to you. Otherwise, it’s just empty talk and not worth believing. So, in your memory, what kind of power seed does he possess?”

The more I questioned him, the more silent the naval commander Xuanwu became. He lowered his head silently, and remained so for quite a while. Just as I was about to ask again, he suddenly raised his head, his expression quite blank.

“I…don’t know,” he said.

"I don't know what that means?" I asked.

"I just don't know, I don't remember, I can't recall... Did I meet the Wheel King in the past? I'm not sure... But as you said, if he hadn't demonstrated his Four Symbols and Five Elements power to me in person, I couldn't be certain that he was the successor of the Two Elements..." said the Water Master Xuanwu. "But... I can't recall anything related to it, I can't even say for sure whether I met him or not..."

Similar phenomena seem to have occurred in other people in different forms.

The Diviner once mentioned this when discussing King Chakravartin—King Chakravartin deeply abhorred being known by others, and this sentiment affected others, even other powerful beings. Even the Diviner and Xuanming, such powerful ancient beings, were gradually forgetting much information related to King Chakravartin. No matter how much I inquired with the Diviner, I couldn't find any information about King Chakravartin.

Upon closer reflection, this is truly a bizarre situation. The likes and dislikes of one Great Impermanence can actually influence the minds of other Great Impermanences. Mingzhuo also greatly enjoys operating in the shadows and vehemently dislikes being investigated and tracked. Similarly, his thoughts can influence countless demon hunters. Yet, he has never once affected other Great Impermanences. This kind of influence should only be effective on those "below oneself in rank."

The presence of the Wheel-Turning King in Mount Luo was so low that even if all the Great Impermanence publicly acknowledged his existence, some would still doubt it. One can imagine that without this "official recognition," the Wheel-Turning King would have been an unknown figure, even his name. Even the Great Impermanence themselves are affected by this influence to some extent; those who are not Great Impermanence will experience the symptoms more pronounced.

However, the fact that the naval master Xuanwu, who was once a Great Completion level cultivator, was able to investigate and even remember a certain identity of the Wheel King is an overstepping of boundaries in many ways. Of course, considering that the naval master Xuanwu was also a Great Impermanence level cultivator in the past, it is understandable that he would do something that most Great Completion level cultivators cannot do—he could even escape alive after failing to assassinate Xuanming.

However, from the perspective of the Wheel King who wants to hide himself, this is probably not a situation that can be ignored.

"In the past... I successfully investigated the true identity of Shan Liangyi, but then I forgot the truth?" Shui Shi Xuanwu said incredulously. "Or... I was captured by Shan Liangyi later, but he valued my potential and did not choose to kill me, but instead altered my memories?"
"No, this doesn't make sense... If he personally erased my memories, why didn't he completely erase the connection between him and the Seed of Power from my mind, instead of making me believe that he was some kind of Yin-Yang successor?"

As an observer, I was able to analyze the situation relatively calmly. "Suppose that Shan Liangyi really did attack you first—since you were able to successfully investigate his true identity once, even if all your related memories were wiped clean and you were thrown back to the starting line, you might still be able to find out the truth again. Rather than that, it would be better to give you a wrong answer and let you shift your attention in other directions... Perhaps that's the case."

In other words, the mobility of the naval Xuanwu might be so formidable that even the Liangyi of the Mountain Sect cannot underestimate it.

However... if the Wheel King really is the embodiment of the Two Elements of Mountain, there are still some contradictions that are hard to ignore.

As far as I know, King Yama is a great impermanent being with a long and ancient history, while the previous incarnation of Shan Liangyi was killed by the Old Fist God only happened in the last century... Combining these two facts, we can only draw this conclusion: at the same time that Shan Liangyi was killed by the Old Fist God, there was a second Shan Liangyi.

Furthermore, if we accept this reasoning, we must also acknowledge the possibility that, following the above inference, there might be a third, fourth, or even fifth, and perhaps even more Yama Ryougi silently lurking in the shadows, witnessing their own deaths in the last century.

Is something this outrageous really possible?
It's really possible.

Since there are different generations of Yin-Yang inheritors in the same era, there will naturally be different Mountain Yin-Yang. In the past, I only used this theory to explain the contradiction of "how to explain that the time when the new generation of Yin-Yang inheritors obtained the power seed is older than that of the old generation, but the old generation of Yin-Yang inheritors were not affected", but I did not seriously think about the direction of "multiple Mountain Yin-Yang".

This approach can even be used to explain another question—why does the Wheel King possess such powerful concealment properties that even the Divination Master cannot fully understand him? Just as different generations of Yin-Yang successors appear in the same era, only one set can be verified; different mountain Yin-Yang appear in the same era, and it is very likely that only one of them can be normally recognized.

Is the reason why Shan Liangyi couldn't change the history of being killed by the Old Fist God because of this mysterious nature of being "forced to be hidden"? Or is it that the Old Fist God's power fixed this history, and he, as the loser, couldn't interfere? Or are there other unknown reasons? It's impossible to speculate at the moment.

Although the Wheel King is an ancient figure of great impermanence, perhaps only this era is "the era in which he should appear." The starting point of this appearance may be closer than imagined, possibly starting from when Ying Lingyun obtained the White Tiger Seed—Ying Lingyun should be the last person to obtain the seed of power, and the "two-element successor of this generation" may only begin to enter a verifiable stage from this point in time.

This era is nearing its end, and even the divination of the diviners is becoming increasingly inaccurate. In addition, although the current Mountain Two Elements is probably far from its peak, it must still retain the transcendent essence beyond the third gate... This may provide him with the advantageous conditions to continue to hide, as the Wheel King, until today.

I believe I am close to the truth.

(End of this chapter)