Casually uttering the na of a God can be sensed from afar. Jiaoshu might have rembered this fact, which is why she dared not continue speaking. If it were any other ti, it wouldn't matter; the God ntioned might just treat it as background noise, heard but dismissed like a passing breeze. But now, she might be facing the deity directly, and to continue speaking would be tantamount to courting death.
Before I beca the Great Impermanence, I also spent a brief period being cautious not to probe into matters related to Ming Zhuo. Now it's my turn to be the object of deep fear; indeed, the wheel of fortune turns.
Dark clouds lood over Jiaoshu's face as she furiously muttered, "Again the refuge and all my companions have been inexplicably wiped out by the Taoyuan Village Cultivators; again, we've supposedly encountered a God from the opposing camp… Is this what they call misfortune never cos alone? Why is my luck so lousy…"
Her luck truly is rather poor, though the catastrophes she encountered likely aren't happening in isolation.
First, she led to the refuge, only to have it annihilated by the opposing forces shortly after we arrived. This sort of calamity was most likely caused by my presence. I recall witnessing the sea of corpses in the refuge, the dead Xuanming believers, and dozens of ordinary survivors. They never even t yet tragically beca victims of 扫帚 star power.
Since they died at the hands of the Taoyuan Village Cultivators, they would not be revived due to the Reboot phenonon; their souls can only beco part of the dream network's fabric. The accumulation of corpses post-Reboot is evidence of this; if revival were possible, the bodies would serve as material for their reconstruction. This is why Xiaoqiao, who died in the fast food place, wasn't found there.
Even if I hadn't been there, Jiaoshu and the Xuanming believers already harbored malice towards the ordinary survivors, intending to use them as living sacrifices for so unknown purpose, but their deaths might have potentially been reversed by the Reboot phenonon.
Even if the Xuanming believers chose a sacrifice thod immune to reversal by the Reboot phenonon, ultimately, those ordinary survivors' deaths still trace back to . One's original fate doesn't justify prematurely causing their death by one's own hands—such logic is rely sophistry. Everyone in this world will die one day, but that doesn't provide a reason to indiscriminately endanger others.
I feel a bit troubled by this. Nevertheless, I won't beco deeply entangled by it, nor will I fall into psychological distress that's hard to escape; I can easily put it out of my mind. However, Mazao must have a similar, if not heavier, experience, facing it more tis than I can imagine.
Mazao is not like my carefree self. How does she now overco her guilt? I tried to think from Mazao's perspective, and a while ago, I asked Little Bowl about it during a casual conversation.
"Sister Mazao never really moved on; she probably never will in this lifeti," Little Bowl said back then, "But as long as Brother Zhuang Cheng is by her side, no matter how dark and cold place she's in, it's like she has a warm, glowing hearth to hold closely, so she's fine now."
"By your account, without , she'd fall apart and be unable to keep going… Isn't that kind of dependency in love sowhat pathological?" I asked back then, "Do you think such love is healthy, does it align with your beliefs?"
"Such love can't be called sane, but, Brother Zhuang Cheng, romantic love between n and won is essentially a form of ntal illness; it's normal to have it," Little Bowl noted provocatively, "Besides, for soone likes Brother Zhuang Cheng who's filled with adventurous thoughts to feel romantic emotions is likely a sign you're not well, if you're free from illness entirely instead it would be questionable."
"What do you usually think about Mazao and ?" I critiqued.
Little Bowl laughed and said, "Just as a lie adhered to till the end becos truth, I just wish you would remain with this affliction forever."
My attention returned to Jiaoshu, who had run so distance away from the subway station, seemingly thinking it was sufficient, then stopped in a narrow alley, collapsed against the wall, and sat on the ground, sweat on her face, breathing heavily. It was rely a bit of movent, but as a Residence Level demon hunter, she should still be physically robust. This heavy breathing seed more like venting inner pressure.
She muttered softly as if frightened by invisible patrols, "Having reached this place, it should be…"
"——should be what?"
I deliberately sent my voice next to Jiaoshu's ear at that mont.
Jiaoshu let out a frightened cry, akin to touching high-voltage electricity, bouncing off the ground and frantically searching around, unable to find my figure.
Only then did I step out from the city center edge, instantaneously moved into the alley where she was. Her tense gaze imdiately fell upon , her body tight and nervous, pupils dilated and constricted neurotically.
"Who—who are you really?" Jiaoshu asked, her voice trembling.
"Speaking of which, although you introduced yourself before, you never asked my na. Is it because you felt it unnecessary to know who I am?" I said, "You should have so awareness of my real identity now. Speak out my na."
Jiaoshu swallowed hard and then said, "Lushan Great Impermanence, Zhuang Cheng…"
"Correct." I said, "Given you're wearing the Black Evil uniform and wielding the Evil Sword, you should also be a demon hunter from Luo Mountain, right? Are you an Xuanming believer infiltrating Luo Mountain?"
Jiaoshu nodded with difficulty, then looked at , unable to contain her curiosity, "But, why… why do you look like this? Completely unlike how the rumors describe…"
"…That's irrelevant." I adeptly changed the topic, "I've co to ask you for information. Do you know where my followers lurking in this city currently are?"
If I can find those Zhuang Cheng believers, I might learn how to exercise my full strength here. This idea initially stemd from intuition, but now it's taking shape into a clearer concept. If prayers can establish a channel for transmitting my power into the city barrier, can even stronger prayers expand this channel?
Perhaps achieving such wouldn't be sufficient. According to previous info from Jiaoshu, there aren't many Zhuang Cheng believers active within the city, only about a dozen. Even if all are achieved level Impermanence, the Prayer Power they can construct is hardly imagined to support even one percent of my power.
Further, although it's unclear how many survivors there are in the city, the ratio would be extrely low. Even if converting them all into my believers, how could they support my full power here purely through Prayer Power? If performing such a miracle purely through prayer were possible, it would only be achievable if Little Bowl were here.
However, this remains the only direction I can currently pursue, so I have to grab this opportunity to explore.
And Jiaoshu shook her head forcefully, answering, "I wasn't brushing you off earlier; I genuinely don't know where those Zhuang Cheng believers are…"
"I'm not asking for a specific location, just a general direction will suffice. I don't require the clue to be absolutely correct; even re speculation is fine. Let think…" I said, "For instance… based on clues you've gathered about them previously, which sector of the city might they be in now?"
As I spoke, I pulled out the city map I had sneaked from the subway station and continued, "Just sketch a rough range using your instincts. Don't worry; if it turns out incorrect, I won't penalize you. Point it out boldly."
This was my first intentional attempt to utilize 扫帚 star power. With my "luck," if Jiaoshu closes her eyes and points randomly, it might unexpectedly reveal the correct range.
Although I could try closing my eyes and pointing randomly myself, since Jiaoshu has more intel, having her sketch it for might result in a smaller range, saving more ti.
Xuanming emphasized too, our ti is not indefinite, and Taoyuan Village Master ng Zhang won't remain inactive forever.
Jiaoshu seed to calm down gradually, and she cautiously glanced at . While I was posing as an adolescent boy, she would make criticism towards Zhuang Cheng believers. Toward , soone who also possesses Fire Power, she clearly wasn't content. But now, the tendency had entirely disappeared.
She extended her finger and drew a rough range over the map. This was in the city's eastern part, precisely on the opposite side of downtown. The sketched range wasn't small, seeming like it'd take a thorough search.
I grabbed Jiaoshu's shoulder, took another step, and instantaneously moved to the eastern area of the city.
Seeing the instantaneous change of scene, Jiaoshu said with widened eyes, "How could such a thing be possible…to complete Space Transfer without using any Mana?"
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