From the end of the world

Chapter 749 Creating Life

Ma Zao and I returned to where Fa Zheng and Jian Feixian were, and Zhu Shi was waiting there. Seeing our hands clasped together, Zhu Shi looked very happy.

Then, she sighed deeply and said, "Although it's a great joy that Senior Brother Zhuang opened the third door, I finally managed to master all the power to forge the Yama Sword. I felt like I could finally fight alongside Senior Brother Zhuang, and we actually fought side by side for half the battle, but in the blink of an eye, I've been left so far behind..."

“That’s really a shame. So just keep trying, give it your all, and see if you can open the third door,” I said.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, have you forgotten that I'm not even at the Great Completion level? I was able to master the power of the Great Impermanence only by forging the Yama Sword. Let alone the second or third gate, I haven't even opened the first gate yet!" Zhu Shi complained.

Someone who could overpower the Great Demon God Tu was not even at the Great Completion level. I wonder what the real Shen Tu would think if he knew this in the afterlife.

I almost forgot, the spacetime we are in now is that "under the spring," where the great demon god Tu was killed.

Ma Zao listened to my conversation with Zhu Shi and fell into thought. We had just talked about saving the world together, and perhaps she was thinking about how to play a role on the battlefield later.

“It’s not just you. Now, Jian Feixian and I can no longer fight alongside Zhuang Cheng, and the other Great Impermanences are the same.” Fa Zheng joined the conversation. “The difference in strength is too great. Whether we are here or not, the difference is almost zero. In fact, the presence of our allies may even hinder Zhuang Cheng, preventing him from going all out.”

Jian Feixian didn't utter a single word of rebuttal; he simply gazed silently into the distance.

After thinking for a moment, Fa Zheng said, "If we're talking about who in Luoshan today can play a positive role for Zhuang Cheng on the front lines, perhaps only Old Fist God is the only one, but..."

If we were to make a comparison, the veteran fighter is definitely stronger than I am right now. One is a battle maniac who has defeated enemies of the same level and has been immersed in the third gate realm for many years, while the other is a newcomer who has just pushed open the third gate and watched helplessly as the enemy he once defeated escaped. Anyone would make the same judgment.

The reason why Fazheng is currently at a standstill is probably because, in the end, the old boxing god may not necessarily be an ally.

The divination master likely shared his concerns about the Old Fist God with Fa Zheng, and Fa Zheng himself may have even had a similar premonition based on some clues. The Old Fist God's plans might be no less threatening than a plan to exterminate humanity.

If the actions of the old boxing god could potentially lead to a calamity of that magnitude, then I naturally cannot stand idly by.

Unlike Fazheng and his group, I'm not as unable to accept the occurrence of such widespread devastation. But whether it's the end of the world or a human extermination plan, such a large-scale extinction event would essentially raze my future stage to the ground. Although it's somewhat shameful to shout the slogan "save the world" again now, I am indeed someone who must stand on the side of saving the world at present.

I might become enemies with the old boxing god in the future.

Thinking this, I turned my gaze to another spot and asked, "Has the portal not restarted yet?"

Fa Zheng was adjusting the portal with his magic while talking to us. When I raised this question, he shook his head and said, "It will take more time... I've discovered something amiss, but I'm not entirely sure about the specifics yet. Please wait patiently for a while."

Something's not right. Could it be that this portal has malfunctioned unexpectedly? Or... some possibilities are popping into my mind, but we'll have to wait for the official's answer to find out the truth.

Fa Zheng turned back and focused intently on adjusting the teleportation portal. Since there was still some time, he decided to move to a distance and try to familiarize himself with the power of manifestation he now possessed.

I first raised my palm, and a fireball the size of a washbasin appeared above my palm.

Then, with the change in his own thoughts, the magical power of this ball of flame also underwent a qualitative change.

The magic seemed to freeze from the inside out, inexplicably transforming from a flame into a rock; then the rock changed color, becoming metal; then the metal melted, turning into a ball of water; and a black dot appeared in the center of the water, as if absorbing water and growing larger, turning into a piece of wood.

Finally, the piece of wood spontaneously combusted, transforming back into the original fireball.

The five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—generate and transform each other. What the two polarities of the mountain once accomplished, I can now do effortlessly, as easily as breathing.

I broke the fireball into five parts, each transforming into a different color of light: white, cyan, black, red, yellow… colors symbolizing the five elements appeared. Recalling the method of combining the Yin and Yang, black and white magic of the mountain and its two polarities, I tried to merge the five lights together.

What finally appeared was a chaotic mass of magic, like a mixture of various paints and pigments.

As expected, the Yin-Yang and Black-White magic of Shan Liangyi wasn't so easily replicated. This was within my expectations; after all, being hit by that magic was equivalent to being directly struck by True Spirit power, a terrifying force that must contain a great deal of Shan Liangyi's personal understanding of True Spirit power. Although I don't know exactly which powers I can't fully simulate, I can at least directly determine that the powers deeply connected to True Spirit power are things I absolutely cannot simulate at this stage.

Zhu Shi curiously walked over to watch what I was doing, while Ma Zao stayed close to me the whole time. Jian Feixian also seemed very curious about the changes on my side, but he just stood there reservedly, watching from afar. "Senior Brother Zhuang, now you can use other kinds of powers besides flames?" Zhu Shi asked.

"Pretty much. But fire is still the most suitable for me."

As I spoke, I glanced at Zhu Shi and then activated the White Tiger's killing power.

The same silvery-white magical power as that used to forge the Yama Sword appeared in my palm, and even the fluctuations of the magical power were exactly the same as those of Zhu Shi.

The silvery-white magical light shrank inward again, transforming into a silver steel ingot.

"What is this?" Zhu Shi asked in surprise.

This steel ingot was not some illusory object, nor did it emit any magical fluctuations; it was just an ordinary steel ingot no matter how you looked at it.

However, Zhu Shi should be able to see very clearly that this is what I conjured up on the spot using the White Tiger's killing power.

"The power of creation..."

Ma Zao looked at the steel ingot, then at the clothes I was wearing.

This isn't the first time I've used a similar ability. I can usually transform my body and belongings into flames, and also into their original form. This process of "transforming" belongings into their original form can be interpreted as "creating matter with flames." However, I couldn't control it freely before; it wasn't considered an independent ability, but merely a byproduct of my elementalization ability.

I used to fantasize about whether I would be able to create any substance with my fire magic in the future, and it seems that I have achieved that goal now.

Then, under my control, the steel ingot transformed again, becoming a round mirror the size of a palm.

"A counterfeit moon reflected in water?" Zhu Shi recognized the item. "Not only can it create ordinary matter, but it can also create magical artifacts?"

The counterfeit Moon in the Water wasn't a particularly high-quality magical artifact; it was just that in the past, my methods were limited, so this type of illusionary artifact could fill some of my gaps. In my memory, it was a very convenient tool and played a very important role in saving Chang'an. It's a bit of a pity that it was destroyed when I used it to interrogate a strange person at the Great Completion level.

Now, although I have recreated it, I no longer need it. One reason is that the power of words can be regarded as a superior substitute for the fake moon reflected in the water in most cases. Another reason is that I do not need the physical fake moon reflected in the water; I can simulate the power of illusion with my own magic power.

Leaving aside other techniques and strategies, in terms of absolute power alone, even the Great Impermanence, who was skilled in illusions in the history of Luoshan, cannot compare to the illusions I can currently perform. The likes of the great demon Silver Moon cannot even be compared to me.

However, as mentioned before, of all powers, fire magic is my most effective. Since there are effective types, there must also be uneffective ones. Illusion magic is a prime example of the latter.

Perhaps it doesn't suit my temperament. Creating the illusionary power stored within the water while simultaneously creating the counterfeit moon reflected in the water feels somewhat awkward. My power is my soul; forcibly imitating a power incompatible with my nature is like trying to play a role I dislike on stage. Functionality is probably undeniable, these are just my personal opinions.

I created one substance and prop after another, and then casually erased them; I even copied the method of forging the Yama Sword.

However, it is possible that because the prototype of the Yama Sword was cultivated by Zhu Yi, the ancestor of the Zhu family, in the past, it used the unique function of the White Tiger Seed, and I cannot perfectly simulate this kind of creation related to the power of the true spirit; and the Human Path Divine Weapon, as a divine artifact that can connect with objects with the nature of the true spirit, such as the will of Naraku, seems to have some profound aspects, and I cannot perfectly replicate it.

Similarly, I have no way to create fragments of the Divine Seal. Of course, I never expected to actually be able to conjure them.

Before long, I had tried out almost all the materials and tools I had ever seen before. What else could I try? Suddenly, I remembered something I hadn't created yet.

I pointed to the ground in front of me, and saw a ball of orange-red flame rise from the ground. Then the flame quickly changed and transformed into a lush little tree.

Beneath the small tree, there was a green lawn the size of a carpet, and on the lawn lay a small sheep with white fur that looked like a toy doll.

The lamb looked around at its unfamiliar surroundings with a bewildered expression, then met our gaze. It propped itself up and let out a confused, uneasy whimper: "Woof!"

Seeing this from afar, Jian Feixian couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "—Huh?"

(End of this chapter)