From the end of the world

Chapter 747 Killing Yama

“That’s right,” I admitted.

At the same time, I observed Yama, the Lord of the Gospel Court.

Those who once forced me to self-destruct to escape with just a single encounter now appear weak to me. Although they are even stronger than Fazheng and Jian Feixian combined, who wield divine weapons of humanity, they are no longer a match for me.

"Judging from this, it seems that Shan Liangyi has also failed. I can't sense his magical power fluctuations. Did you kill him, or did you drive him away?" Yama asked.

I asked noncommittally, "Aren't you going to run away?"

"Would running away be of any use? Your flames have remained in this area, allowing you to track our every move. Even if I turned and fled the moment the mountain's yin-yang energy fluctuations disappeared, I wouldn't be able to escape your grasp." Yama observed me intently. "Zhuang Cheng... is that so?"

“Exactly,” I said.

"I witnessed your entire breakthrough, Zhuang Cheng," Yama said. "Extraordinary determination, truly admirable. So, to gain further power, one must have the courage to relinquish all power? I see..."

He sighed deeply, "If that's the case, I might not have any hope of opening the third door even after tens of thousands of years."

He quickly composed himself and said calmly, "To die at the hands of the one who pushed open the third door, I have no regrets. Do as I please."

"Okay." I extended my hand.

Flames surged forth from the space surrounding Yama, engulfing him. Though he was the biggest instigator of the human extermination plan and an enemy with whom I had clashed fiercely, his fearless spirit until the very last moment compelled me to acknowledge his worth. I had no intention of deliberately inflicting pain upon him; in a mere instant, I reduced him to ashes.

The war between Luoshan and the Gospel House, two superpowers, has come to an end.

Afterwards, I met up with Ma Zao and Zhu Shi, and Fa Zheng and Jian Feixian also came over. The chaotic spacetime caused by the spacetime storm was completely repaired under the power of Ma Zao's salvation and return.

The spacetime storm unleashed by the Life Turbidity, while originating from the Naraku Gospel, is theoretically an extreme form of apocalyptic spacetime chaos. The power of salvation and return can eliminate it, meaning it can restore the apocalyptic chaotic spacetime to its original, normal afterlife spacetime.

Unfortunately, Asahi didn't have that much extra skill. She had temporarily reached the Great Impermanence level using the power of the Vortex of Fate, and would revert to the Great Completion level after the battle. Not long after, she was unable to maintain the power of the Great Impermanence domain.

Fortunately, she already possessed the potential to become a Great Impermanence. After experiencing firsthand what it's like to be a Great Impermanence, becoming one through righteous means may no longer be an insurmountable obstacle for her, but rather a smooth path.

The former Naval Master Xuanwu may have temporarily experienced the power of the Great Impermanence through the abilities of Zhu Yi, the ancestor of the Zhu family. However, that power was less a natural consequence of his becoming the Great Impermanence and more an additional boost of metal element magic power from Zhu Yi. The reason the Naval Master Xuanwu was able to quickly enter the realm of the Great Impermanence after obtaining the White Tiger Seed might also be due to that experience… that's my speculation.

We were active in the afterlife to fight against the Evangelion, and after that matter was settled, we returned to the location of the portal, intending to return to the real world.

The portal was currently closed, and I didn't know the correct way to restart it, but Fa Zheng, unsurprisingly, did. He said it would take some time to operate the portal, and then placed his hand on the surface of the massive stone door, channeling power inward, seemingly adjusting its internal structure and mechanisms.

During this time, he also spared some attention to talk to me. Having witnessed countless years and weathered many storms, he seemed to have already processed his initial shock at me opening the third door, and was now very curious about how I had done so. However, I also glimpsed other hidden thoughts in his eyes.

What he truly wanted to know wasn't probably how I opened the third door. Whether it's opening the first door to reach the Great Accomplishment stage, or opening the second door to become the Great Impermanence, these are unrepeatable miracles, and the experiences and insights gained are highly personal. The same applies to the third door. Yama's words before his death were merely conclusions he drew from his own observations of my ascension process, not my actual situation. No one can open the third door through the same path as me.

Fazheng is probably worried about my current view of the world.

If the people I was talking to were Ma Zao and Zhu Shi, that would be fine. Although I didn't intend to hide my thoughts, I also didn't have the enthusiasm to elaborate on them. So I only used a few words as an explanation and concluded with a final statement.

"I'm no longer obsessed with the end of the world, so you can rest assured, Fazheng," I said. Fazheng wasn't the only one listening; Jian Feixian was also standing nearby, looking like he was wondering, "What's going on here?"

Ma Zao stared at me with wide eyes, while Zhu Shi, after a moment of surprise, revealed a relieved smile.

This was the first time I had brought up this topic directly to his face. Fa Zheng looked surprised, then looked at me very seriously, and nodded, saying, "You have no need to lie to me now... I believe you."

“The biggest problem right now is Shan Liangyi,” Jian Feixian said. “After retrieving the Vermilion Bird Seed, Shan Liangyi should have obtained all of Zhuang Cheng’s power… Is that really alright?”

Fa Zheng shook his head and said, "Zhuang Cheng's power before he pushed open the third door was indeed very strong, but that was only in terms of us. From Shan Liangyi's perspective after pushing open the third door, that power did not significantly improve him."

“But the Vermilion Bird Seed is not only a crucial component of the Mountain's Yin-Yang power, but also the element that amplifies his power the most. After fully absorbing it, the boost it brings should far exceed the power that Senior Brother Zhuang possessed in the past,” Zhu Shi said worriedly. “Moreover, his goal is to attain enlightenment and manifest spiritual power, so he must have accumulated a great deal of cultivation in this area. Now that he has acquired all of Senior Brother Zhuang's talents… Is it possible that he could use this as a stepping stone to smoothly master the same complete manifestation spiritual power realm as Senior Brother Zhuang?”

"Reincarnation" is the legendary realm that provides the least increase in power, while "Manifestation" is the opposite, providing the greatest increase in power.

The Mountain Yin-Yang, which had already opened the third gate, would unimaginably reach an even higher level of power if it also mastered the complete Manifestation Realm. I am a Manifestation Prover, and I know very well just how terrifying this possibility is.

At that time, let alone me who has just pushed open the third door, even the old Fist God who killed Shan Liangyi in his previous life may only be an insect in Shan Liangyi's eyes.

However, I don't think the Mountain and Yin-Yang principle can achieve this.

What was taken away by the Vermilion Bird Seed was not my current complete manifestation realm, but merely my innate manifestation talent. Therefore, at most, Shan Liangyi can only obtain the same abilities as my past self. Considering that the Vermilion Bird Seed itself is only a product of the legendary realm, it may not even be able to bring Shan Liangyi the innate manifestation talent in its entirety.

Even if it were possible, whether the duality of the mountain can serve as a stepping stone to fully realize the Dao and manifest its power is a completely different matter. This is just my personal feeling—the idea of ​​gradual progress is useless for realizing the true manifestation of the Dao. What is truly necessary to take this step depends on whether one can do the same things as I have.

Of course, simply copying my methods won't work. The legendary realm of enlightenment is also an unrepeatable miracle; there's absolutely no cheap path that can be taken by simply following a ready-made route. The path that Shan Liangyi must take must be another path, one that is at least as difficult as mine, and perhaps even somewhat similar.

Give up all your strength and talent, even your life, and even let go of attachments that are more important than these things, resolve the heaviest obsessions in your heart, and then take a step forward on that basis.

Perhaps what he wants is at that end.

"Don't worry, I'm getting stronger too." I clenched my fist. "Next time, I won't be overwhelmed by the Mountain Ryougi Shoku again."

"The evolution of the soul structure..." Fa Zheng said cautiously, "I understand your desire to pursue greater power, and I can imagine how eager you are to defeat the formidable enemy Shan Liangyi, but I suggest that you proceed cautiously and steadily, and especially do not think of doing something as foolish as giving up the soul structure and merging into the myriad phenomena of the universe."

He seemed to have some knowledge of the realm of manifestation. I recalled the dangerous premonition I had when I tried this route before, and said, "...Because would that become self-evident spirituality?"

I only dared to try that because I was under too much pressure from the formidable enemy, the Mountain and the Two Elements, and I couldn't think too much about it. If I think about it carefully, I'll realize how absurd that method was. If everything in this world can be seen as the dream of the Great True Spirit, then merging into all things means abandoning ego and merging into the Great True Spirit itself.

This practice is undoubtedly a form of suicide, seemingly no different from the self-annihilation embraced by true spiritual seekers.

But does doing this really prove one's own divine power?
Self-proving one's true nature, as the name suggests, is the proof of one's own existence. This is a manifestation of supreme wisdom, also known as "Nirvana" in Buddhism.

Since everyone is a facet of the Great Spirit, suicide can also be seen as a return to the Great Spirit. In fact, "Nirvana" also has meanings such as Nirvana, liberation, and extinction, and its result may seem no different from suicide to uninformed bystanders. However, it is clear that simple suicide cannot be considered self-proving of the Spirit.

(End of this chapter)