Collapse, Kaslana's Way of Survival

"After Master and I have finished paying our respects to Mother, we will go to Mount Taixu to find you."

"Don't make decisions for me on your own initiative about what you want to do."

After cleaning up the Honkai beast, Cheng Lingshuang pushed the door open and saw Su Mei split into three pieces on the ground. Her eyelids twitched and she looked at Li Sushang with a strange expression.

"Su Shang, has your swordsmanship broken through?"

Li Suchang's originally smiling face darkened slightly, and there was still some fear on her face.

"I broke through... The illusion created by my master was terrifying, and the remaining illusions made me want to kill. The former was fine, but the latter was so clear to me that I broke through it immediately because I knew it was real."

"Once you reach the state of mind known as the Great Void, becoming a Sword God will naturally follow. All you lack is actual combat experience. Then why don't you learn martial arts from Master? She has far more combat experience than I do."

Cheng Lingshuang nodded slightly and turned to look at Fu Hua.

"Master, is it okay?"

"Of course there is no problem, it's just teaching one more person."

Fu Hua shook her head and agreed to teach Li Sushang's request.

"Master, what do you mean? Aren't you going to Taixu Mountain with me?"

Li Suchang was puzzled and asked quickly.

"Why go to Taixu Mountain? Too many unpleasant things have happened there. I wouldn't go there if I could help it. After I accompany you to offer sacrifices to your mother, I will go to Mobei to be alone."

"I used to be very comfortable in Mobei, but the ten years I spent teaching you were quite turbulent. Now that I'm back home, I only go down the mountain to kill monsters in my free time, and I'm free and easy again."

As Cheng Lingshuang spoke, she threw the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand to Kainuo.

"Since we're about to part ways, I'll return the Xuanyuan Sword to you. I don't have anything on me, and I can't give you anything now that we're parting ways. I'll have Su Shang bring it to you later."

Kainuo held the Xuanyuan Sword and thought for a while, then took out an alarm clock he had constructed before from the imaginary space and handed it to Cheng Lingshuang.

"A parting gift, to wake someone up."

Kainuo is concise and to the point.

He still has a deep impression of being suddenly awakened by the crowing of a rooster.

"How can a disciple give a gift to his master when parting? Keep it for yourself."

"Master, Master, Keno has a gift, but what about me?"

Li Sushang approached Cheng Lingshuang with a little excitement. She had never received a gift from anyone other than her mother.

"We're not separating for the time being, why are you in such a hurry?"

Cheng Lingshuang leaned back slightly and rolled her eyes.

"When we pass through a town, I'll give you ten taels of silver. You can buy whatever you like. Consider it a gift from me."

"Wow, Master, you're so insincere! You're treating us differently!"

Li Suchang made a complaint.

Without paying any more attention to Li Suchang, Cheng Lingshuang glanced at Lin Chaoyu and the other three who were still lying on the ground, then turned to look at Fu Hua.

"Master, since you have taken back Yu Duchen, why haven't Senior Sister and the others woken up yet? With their sword hearts at this level, they should be able to struggle out of the illusion by now."

"They don't dare nor want to come out, right? After all, they can sense what's happening outside now."

Kainuo threw the alarm clock and Xuanyuan into the imaginary space, with his arms folded across his chest and an unhappy expression.

"When they felt Fu Hua was coming to kill them, they raised their swords and attacked without knowing why. After learning the truth, they just lay on the ground and pretended to be dead, not daring to face their own master... Haha, that's it."

"The truth? What do you mean?"

Cheng Lingshuang looked at Su Mei lying on the ground with a puzzled expression.

Fu Hua's expression was tangled after hearing this. After hesitating for a while, she spoke:

"Su Mei..."

"Uh, Master, I'll tell you when we're on the road."

Seeing that Fu Hua didn't want to talk about this issue, Li Sushang quickly spoke up and took over the responsibility of explaining.

Cheng Lingshuang nodded.

"In that case, let Senior Sister and the others lie down here. They should wake up soon after we leave."

Fu Hua nodded, bent down to put away several Xuanyuan swords, then turned to look at Kainuo.

"Take back the Herrscher core, and then we'll go to Taixu Mountain."

Chapter 38 The End of Pre-Civilization

"The Herrscher core still can't fuse with your body?"

In the carriage, Fu Hua expressed concern to Kayno who was playing with the Herrscher Core.

Kaino sighed upon hearing this.

"It's still the same as before. Although I'm not bleeding all over like when I was practicing the Sword Heart Technique, I feel uncomfortable all over when I try to stuff it into my body, like I'm drowning. And there's also a repulsive force coming from the core from time to time. If someone doesn't know, they might think we are the two poles of a magnet."

"I don't know if it's because I'm a man... It shouldn't be that serious, right? This Houkai can't be gender-discriminatory, and my world seems to have a male Herrscher."

Fu Hua pondered for a moment.

"Let's not talk about the core issues. I don't know the details of the Sword Heart Technique either. After all, I'm not its creator, but its user. However, I do understand its principles. It basically involves chanting a formula to induce a certain degree of hypnosis, thereby guiding the body's development."

"It is precisely because of this that the effect of practicing the Sword Heart Technique from a young age will be the best. Once the body is fully formed, it will be difficult to practice the Sword Heart Technique."

"If that's the case, there's no reason why I should be injured like that. Even if I developed early and my body was already formed, it would only mean that the Sword Heart Technique is ineffective against me."

Kaino was puzzled.

"And I remember that I did trigger the flow of Houkai energy by silently reciting the Sword Heart Technique. It was at that time that wounds inexplicably appeared on my body."

Fu Hua thought for a while and expressed her opinion.

"There are so many special things about you. The stigmata that contain the power of the Herrscher, the consciousness that even I, with my Feather Dust, cannot influence... I have heard and asked about every one of them. Under such circumstances, I cannot judge your current situation based on experience."

"To be honest, when I first came to Shenzhou, the thing I least hoped for was finding a way home. After all, it was so difficult to find a way back home. But in the end, that aspect went smoothly. However, finding a way to better absorb Honkai energy was a constant source of frustration."

Kaino sighed, caught the core and tossed it to Fu Hua.

"I don't have any use for this core, so I'll give it to you... Put it back into the Xuanyuan Sword, maybe it can be used again."

"Simply putting it into soul steel without any processing will be of no use. All I can do is preserve it to prevent it from falling into the hands of greedy people."

Fu Hua shook her head and put the core into the bag containing the Xuanyuan Sword.

"You mentioned earlier that you wanted to use the power of the Herrscher of Reason to analyze the core. Have you achieved any results?"

"The analysis of the Herrscher core went quite smoothly. That's why I discovered some problems."

Kainuo sighed and stretched out his right hand. A blue light flashed, and a core exactly the same as the one Kainuo had thrown to Fu Hua before gradually appeared in Kainuo's hand.

“It doesn’t look any different.”

Fu Hua gave her own evaluation.

"Indeed, in essence, there is no difference between them, but that is precisely the biggest problem. I tried before, but I couldn't reproduce the true Herrscher core."

Kaino said, frowning.

"This core severely restricts the use of power, and it's completely incapable of flexing like an arm. The difference between it and a Divine Key is probably only the carrier. Those who have integrated this thing cannot be called Herrschers at all. The term "Humanistic Divine Key" would be more appropriate."

"I suspect that whoever crafted the original core into the Divine Key must have processed it in some way, making it more accessible to humans. However, this also caused the core to lack something. While it still possesses power, it comes with many limitations."

Fu Hua nodded, understanding what Kainuo meant.

"You mean, although it looks like a core, it's actually a divine key that has lost its shell and cannot be used unless it is integrated with a human."

"It's even worse than the God's Key. After all, you can't use your power as you wish, and the soul steel used to make the God's Key's shell is much stronger than the human body."

Kaino shrugged and dissipated the core in his hand.

"If Su Mei had fused the core with the Herrscher of Flame's power and used it, she would have died without us even having to do anything. Even the power of life couldn't have saved her."

"This is probably why Dr. Mei chose to create the Key of God."

"Dr. Mei? Fu Hua, tell me about that civilization from 50,000 years ago... Ah, I didn't mean to make a sarcastic remark about your age by mentioning 50,000 years specifically."

Thinking of the previous civilization that Fu Hua mentioned during the conversation these days, Kainuo looked at Fu Hua sincerely.

"I know, and you don't have to bring it up. I don't mind it. But I can't remember a lot of things about the pre-civilization. The one that leaves the deepest impression on me is the final battle."

Fu Hua lowered her head slightly, lost in reminiscence.

"The final battle? If the tragic situation makes you uncomfortable, then there's no need to talk about it."

The name "Final Battle" didn't sound good, especially since Fu Hua and the others had been defeated. Keno didn't want to mention something so heartbreaking.

"No, that battle wasn't brutal. It didn't cause any losses to humanity... but it also symbolized humanity's complete defeat."

Fu Hua sighed and continued to recount her memories.

"After killing a total of thirteen Herrschers, Dr. Mei predicted the location of the final and most powerful Herrscher, the Herrscher of the End. So, humanity, nearly extinct, organized eight warriors, including myself, to travel to the moon to prepare for the battle against the End."

"We were already prepared for defeat, only the last bit of stubbornness in our hearts kept us going... but the Herrscher of the End didn't come."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Kaino was puzzled.

"No...that's not the case."

"At the time, we also thought it was a good thing that the Herrscher of the End hadn't arrived, and we were ready to rebuild human civilization... until Dr. Mobius conducted a self-examination of the world."

Fu Hua shook her head with a sad expression.

"I'm not quite sure what happened after that, but I only remember that our world fell on the brink of destruction. The Herrscher of the End didn't arrive, but our world ushered in an even more despairing end."

"I can't remember exactly what that crisis was. I only remember that Kevin and a few others stepped into the Quantum Ocean and stood guard alone for the survival of the world. The rest of us, including myself, were there to protect the continuation of civilization and to search for someone who met the requirements and could completely save our world."

"Fifty thousand years is enough to wear away so many things, whether it's memories or lives. I'm afraid only a handful of people, including Kevin and I, are still alive today, but they lost contact with me hundreds of years ago."

"If the Honkai beast I fused with wasn't special, I would have died long ago. But fortunately, I found you, but only you."

"Wait until I make that battery for you, then tell me what I need to do."

After a long while, Kainuo spoke.

A world struggling on the brink of destruction and only he can lend a helping hand... There is no way he can refuse to help Fu Hua.

And now he understood why Fu Hua had clearly said that she looked very similar to Kevin, but he was able to immediately judge that he had recognized the wrong person.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped.

Chapter 39 Cang Xuan Book

"Is this Taixu Mountain? Didn't they say it was burned down?"

Noticing the carriage stopped, Keno came back to his senses from his thoughts and looked at the towering mountain nearby.

The "Taixu" in Taixu Mountain is clearly named after the Taixu Sword School founded by Fu Hua, so the name alone doesn't reveal what the mountain actually looks like. Previously, Kainuo had always imagined it to be a towering, imposing mountain that reached into the clouds.

However, after seeing the real thing with his own eyes, Kainuo overturned his previous judgment.

Although Taixu Mountain was indeed submerged in the clouds, it did not give people the same sense of oppression as those steep and precipitous mountains. Instead, the scenery was beautiful and the climate was pleasant. The mountains and rivers were like a fairyland, giving people a sense of heaviness and gentleness.

Just like Fu Hua.

But wasn't it said that Taixu Mountain was burned by the Seven Disciples after Fu Hua's death? How come there's no sign of destruction at all?

"Since I've been slaying demons and monsters in Shenzhou for years, many residents have moved to the vicinity of Taixu Mountain in search of shelter. Perhaps they've repaired Taixu Mountain over the years."

Fu Hua raised her head and looked at the side of Taixu Mountain, slightly lost in thought.

Following Fu Hua's gaze, Kainuo discovered a massive stone statue standing there. It was almost as tall as the mountain, and it was unknown how long it had taken to carve.

"Uh...that statue is you, Fu Hua?"

Kaino asked tentatively.

"It's really me."

Fu Hua nodded.

Kaino was speechless.

Apart from her hairstyle, you can't tell that it's Fu Hua.

Seeing what Kainuo meant, Fu Hua said: