"Trying to cross the 'Outer World Wall' is impossible, and the research ti isn't unlimited. ng Zhang can't just hide behind that wall, burying his head in the sand like an ostrich. Sooner or later, he'll do sothing to break the current stalemate." Xuanming said, "But I have a way to make the 'Outer World Wall' disappear. Currently, there are two thods, but essentially, they are the sa thod.
"Since that wall appeared because of the threat I pose, then as long as I die, that wall will disappear.
"To be precise, it must be that 'Paradise' determines that I am dead. During this past period, I have been looking for loopholes in 'Paradise's perception to make it mistakenly believe that I am dead. But perhaps because the creation isn't complete, the current 'Paradise' seems to only have instincts; its perception might be exceptionally acute, yet its judgnt isn't without flaws. Even so, I still haven't found a way to deceive its perception and judgnt.
"——until you invaded the city from within."
"?" I asked.
Xuanming candidly replied, "The other thod, aside from letting die, is having soone die in my place. This person can't be a weakling; they must be an Impermanence like , preferably with the sa Fla Power I possess. Coupled with my ritual abilities, this could make 'Paradise' mistakenly believe that I am dead."
"It seems my invasion of the city actually ca just in ti for you." I said, "No wonder you didn't want to cooperate with . According to your thinking, before we determine victory and defeat with the Taoyuan Village Master, you and I must first settle our own score."
Xuanming looked at , "I know there's an irreconcilable conflict between you and ng Zhang, so purely from the perspective of stopping ng Zhang, having die here and sending you to stop ng Zhang is not out of the question.
"However, stopping ng Zhang is just a checkpoint on my path, and ultimately I must challenge the true Master of the Divine Seal and use the seal to save the world. I cannot entrust this task to anyone else, especially not to you.
"The true Master of the Divine Seal surely must be a madman who fears the peace of the world, and I have sensed a very similar aura from your soul. If people like you acquire the Divine Seal, this world is dood."
Xuanming considers the true Master of the Divine Seal to be akin to ... I nonchalantly said, "The reason I have a life-and-death conflict with the Taoyuan Village Master is that he doesn't want , a Vermilion Bird Inheritor, to beco the nourishnt to greatly strengthen Shan Liangyi... It seems that even just a step away from completing the 'Paradise' plan, he still deeply fears Shan Liangyi's presence.
"What about you? Why are you so determined to stop the Taoyuan Village Master?"
"It's simple, I can't stand it." Xuanming said.
"Can't stand what?" I asked.
"'Paradise' is, in a certain sense, the perfection of human society, and I can reluctantly acknowledge that." Xuanming said, "Even though eternal happiness is obtained in dreams, the whole of humanity can gain genuine redemption from it, making it a heaven in the true sense. The Doomsday might still lurkingly erode within it, and ng Zhang himself surely has considered how to address that.
"Yet this so-called eternal happiness ultimately hinges on the whims of ng Zhang, the supre authority. Even if ng Zhang could truly adhere to his original intention to the last mont, all of mankind would rely suckle on distributed pacifiers, their consciousnesses gradually unified in dreams, civilization unable to evolve or progress, leading to its end within a generation, thereby achieving the consummate creation of the ultimate entity 'Paradise.'
"This is a chronic death, just made pleasurable in the process. When the last person chooses to abandon their own consciousness, the human race will genuinely be extinct.
"More importantly, I really cannot agree with such a world. A utopia without any conflict or disputes, internal pressures, or external threats is rely an escape. Passing the fla through suffering and becoming stronger through evolution—that is humanity, that's sothing to be proud of.
"In the end... that's right, I simply despise lazy, negative humans. In the era I grew up, such people deserved to die. It's an aesthetic problem. Indulging solely in happy dreams, lacking any courage or resolution, how unbearably obese and hideous."
I thought about such a world and nodded. However, in this regard, I am different from Xuanming. I take pride in the courage and resolution I possess, and I highly regard others with steadfast determination, but I generally do not get upset over people living a life contrary to my values.
What others choose to do is their freedom, just as my actions are my freedom. As long as their choices don't interfere with my adventure, whether they choose to live in a dream or go live on the moon makes no difference to .
But Xuanming seems to wish that everyone in society lives according to his ideals, even willing to risk his life to prevent contrasting values from prevailing.
"Do you think 'Paradise' will ultimately extend to all humanity?" I asked.
"Do you really think that thing will stop expanding after consuming only a part of humanity?" Xuanming retorted, "After its creation, 'Paradise' will surely act to expand its existence; moreover, ng Zhang himself desires 'Paradise' to envelop all humanity."
"I'm not naive to that extent," I said, "but given the current trend, the problem circles back to before—if you and I first determine victory, wouldn't that allow the Taoyuan Village Master to reap the benefits from our conflict?"
"Moreover, since you're using the Fire Sea in the sky to restrain the creation of 'Paradise,' doesn't that an if the result of our fight leads to your defeat, 'Paradise' will complete its creation?"
Xuanming calmly said, "You don't need to worry about that. To oversee the progress of 'Paradise''s creation, ng Zhang cannot leave the city center.
"Even if we temporarily set aside whether you can defeat , if you sohow manage to, ng Zhang's dream network would still require ti to recover from the vast disruptions I have long imposed. That's the curse I exert with all my might, and even a reboot couldn't fully restore it in a short ti. You only need to invade the city center during that period and kill ng Zhang.
"I'm telling you all this now, so when you end up dying at my hands, you won't have the excuse to say you couldn't give your all due to various reasons."
He seems to have his pride, even taking a jab at , to which I retorted in kind: "Thanks for explaining everything upfront. I'll rember your kindness after I defeat you."
"The current you is far too insignificant to serve as my scapegoat. Seize the ti you have left, fully restore your strength, and co to et your death." Xuanming said.
With that, his Fla Avatar dissipated, and the surrounding Fire Sea vanished. It was like the light suddenly went out, and the surroundings fell into darkness. My eyes took a mont to adjust.
In our several encounters in the Void Realm, Xuanming and I lacked reasons for conflict and maintained a certain degree of decorum and civility. But now, having beco adversaries, Xuanming has shown a level of aggression he hadn't before.
In other words, it could be said that Xuanming has truly regarded as an enemy.
For a long ti, I had unilaterally seen Xuanming as a competitor, harboring these feelings secretly. I felt it would be sowhat childish if I expressed them outright. While I've never shied away from admitting my immaturity, perhaps I unconsciously retained a sense of sha. Now that Xuanming has openly declared war on , I felt a rush of excitent, eager to fully restore my powers in this city and utterly defeat Xuanming.
However, this isn't sothing that can be rushed; I must patiently and thoroughly devise a strategy. And before that, there's another issue I need to address first.
I turned and looked at the fervently devoted Xuanming believer kneeling nearby.
She was still staring at where Xuanming's Fla Avatar had disappeared, seemingly not yet recovered from what just transpired.
"Jiaoshu, now it's your turn." I said, "Earlier, it seed a Taoyuan Village cultivator said sothing about... you wanting to use as a living sacrifice? Could you explain what that's about?"
Jiaoshu finally snapped back to reality, showing a panicked expression, trying to stand up and retreat but accidentally stumbling and falling to the ground.
Though I hadn't intentionally disguised myself as a weak middle-schooler to hide my strength and identity to create a "wolf in sheep's clothing" effect, seeing Jiaoshu, who'd treated as a weak child all along, now respond like this to , admittedly brought a childish satisfaction.
Just as I was about to speak again, suddenly another force descended upon the area.
This seed to be the mana fluctuations of the Taoyuan Village Master ng Zhang... After Xuanming's surprise visit, now it's the Taoyuan Village Master ng Zhang?
No, upon closer sensing, there are subtle differences from the mana fluctuations of Taoyuan Village Master ng Zhang... This seems to be the mana fluctuations of 'Paradise.'
Moreover, the range it impacted seems more expansive than just this tro platform; the platform is only a part of the covered area.
The scenery started to distort violently.
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