Previously, I personally killed a Taoyuan Village Cultivator. Jiaoshu did not have the insight to uncover the whole story, but now she has firsthand experience with the space movent thod of Great Impermanence. This experience seems to have gradually led her to accept the fact that I am the Great Impermanence.
I then summoned a fireball and launched it at high speed into the sky. Instantly, the fireball transford into tens of thousands of "fireflies," flying in different directions, searching for traces related to the Zhuang Cheng believers.
Affected by the resistance within the city barrier, the signal of the "fireflies" was poor, and their detection range was inadequate. Although tens of thousands may sound like a lot, for the vast city area it was just a drop in the ocean, and even though Jiaoshu had outlined a rough area for , it was still too little to work with, so I had to make do for now.
anwhile, I also started moving. Although it was sothing of an unfounded assumption, I believed that by moving myself, the probability of encountering those Zhuang Cheng believers was relatively higher than relying on the flying "fireflies."
Of course, this source of intelligence, Jiaoshu, was not so easily released by . As I moved, I took Jiaoshu along, intending to ask her questions if I encountered anything I didn't understand. Perhaps she had her own little intentions. After discovering my true identity, I noticed the emotional fluctuations on the surface of her soul were gradually tending towards concealnt. She seed to realize she was under so kind of invisible ntal influence and wanted to consciously escape this situation where she couldn't help but answer questions.
If she wanted to hide her emotions, I let her be, thinking that deceiving was not that simple. Furthermore, my Power of Word Spirit wasn't sothing that could easily be broken free from. After being secretly manipulated by nurous tis, her body had already entered a state where just the sound of my voice would trigger an involuntary response.
If she intended to cause so trouble along the way, I also expected what kind of disturbance she could create. At the sa ti, I hoped she was ntally prepared, as I was not a forgiving character. If she challenged and failed, the consequence might be her own life.
Previously she had overheard the conversation between and Xuanming, and she should be very clear that the relationship between Xuanming and was one of relentless enmity. Although no explicit hostile actions had been shown yet, since she was a devout Xuanming believer, she wouldn't easily submit to .
Speaking of forgiveness, I recalled a question I had previously asked but hadn't received an answer for, so I brought it up again.
"What exactly are 'living sacrifices'?" I asked.
Upon hearing this, Jiaoshu's face changed imdiately, "This..."
"According to that Taoyuan Village Cultivator, the reason you Xuanming believers protect those ordinary survivors is to turn them into living sacrifices for so purpose, right? You 'rescued' from the monsters' encirclent at the start because of this as well," I said. "What exactly are you trying to achieve? Although you worship the God Xuanming who betrayed Luo Mountain, I don't think you're inherently evil."
The moral nature of a group of believers can be directly seen from the god they worship. In secular society, religious groups that promote benevolent gods might have leaders who are malicious profiteers, because their god doesn't truly exist, so even if they've done much wrong, they don't worry about divine punishnt.
However, such reasoning doesn't hold in Luo Mountain. This is because Great Impermanence, as a God, truly exists and can genuinely hear the prayers of believers, so groups worshiping such gods must align their words and actions. Moreover, if they can't sincerely identify with the God from the bottom of their hearts, they can't gain power from the god's retribution body through faith. In the group of Great Impermanence believers, the power of faith is the evidence of piety, and those not blessed with power cannot climb to the upper echelons of the believers.
The morality upheld by Xuanming may not align with modern moral systems, yet it still carries a strong sense of righteousness. Therefore, its community of believers likely aren't self-degrading villains. Especially as these individuals have infiltrated this city to combat Taoyuan Village forces for their Xuanming faith, they are likely fanatical figures even among Xuanming believers.
Hearing what I said, a hint of pride appeared on Jiaoshu's face, and she spoke in a deep voice, "Our goal is to stop the Taoyuan Village Master's plan."
"Stop—just with you all?" I said. "Although I don't know the specifics of your approach, how could so demon hunters, who aren't even Great Impermanence, cause any significant hindrance to the Taoyuan Village Master's plan?"
"The specific ans we use is to pollute the dream network of the Taoyuan Village Master," Jiaoshu stated. "The people who die in this city are integrated into the dream network. Although this result requires going through the step of 'being killed by Taoyuan Village Cultivators and monsters,' we can also send the souls of the deceased into the dream network by launching sacrificial ritual ans against it.
"In secular terms, it's a hacker network attack... By sending a virus into the opponent's system, causing it to collapse or partially paralyze."
"I see, that's quite clever." I suddenly understood, "The size difference between a virus and a human body is vast, yet a tiny virus can make the body experience highly dangerous pathological changes… But aren't you concerned about the opinions of those survivors you've turned into 'human bombs'?"
Jiaoshu said in a cruel tone, "In the face of a massive calamity, if so sacrifices can quell it, then the sacrifice is worthwhile. As for whether those sacrificed are willing or not—they have no choice but to be willing."
"What if the ones being sacrificed were you?" I asked.
"I would gladly accept," Jiaoshu said calmly.
It's easy to say with words alone—if it were anyone else, I might have comnted as such. But in front of , even though Jiaoshu had once suffered and died due to Xuanming's influence, she never bore any resentnt and continued to devoutly believe in Xuanming. Her words indeed carry conviction.
From her, I vaguely sensed a kind of otherness, an ancient value system that did not fit with the zeitgeist of this era. Could this be a common trait among Xuanming believers, or is it an extre only she embodies? For a mont, I felt as if I wasn't conversing with Jiaoshu, but with Xuanming himself.
I recalled the scenes inside the Luoshan Branch Base that I had attacked in the past.
In that base, which had a Great Success Rank Inconstancy presiding, everyone was influenced by the Great Success Rank Inconstancy's ideology. The demon hunters beca more cruel and violent than usual, and the ordinary people, who were captured and turned into experintal subjects, often developed an unreasonable submissive nature and a bizarre sense of happiness from their experiences of abuse.
Strong souls, like objects with gravity, will pull all surrounding weaker souls into their orbit; the soul of a God influences the souls of believers in this way.
As believers worship, mimic the deeds of the God, and receive the God's power, their value system gradually aligns with their object of faith. Jiaoshu's current attitude can, to so extent, be seen as Xuanming's personal attitude.
And in this city, where Xuanming and Taoyuan Village Master ng Zhang are in conflict, the mana—thoughts of the two Impermanences—conflict and spread in high concentration here, causing both parties' believers to beco more fanatical and vividly exhibit the personality traits of the Gods they worship compared to usual.
"However, 'Paradise' is not a simple network system, but an ultimate being that will surpass the Great Inconstancy. Tricks of your level are ineffective; otherwise, Xuanming would have cooperated with your plan, and you wouldn't even be unaware of his whereabouts in this city," I said.
"We are also well aware that what we are doing is insignificant, but even so, we must follow the path of the God, fighting in our own way until the very end," Jiaoshu said.
For this kind of practice that drags innocent people into it, I remain without comnt, considering that the path I practice is no different in this regard.
Even speaking of the current matter, my nature is even worse. Xuanming's aim is to save the world, whereas my aim to hunt him down is purely to protect Little Bowl. It's a battle that has nothing to do with the bigger picture, purely based on personal feelings. It might even harm the bigger picture—because Xuanming does not agree with the plan of mass slaughter of humanity and is a potential enemy of the Evangelical Institute. If not for Little Bowl's life and death, he could be an ally. On this basis, I still choose to kill him. It is a completely self-centered decision.
I shifted the topic. This ti, I inquired about the whereabouts of Water Navy Xuanwu. One of my purposes for entering this city is to find Water Navy Xuanwu, which I have not forgotten.
I had no expectations that Jiaoshu would know relevant information, yet unexpectedly, after I asked, I captured a fleeting emotion on the surface of her soul—she knows sothing.
"Tell , what do you know?" I asked.
Jiaoshu seed to realize that her inner thoughts had been seen through. She paused for a mont, seemingly torn about whether to reveal it to , but ultimately she could only honestly reply, "...After this city first experienced destruction and reboot, we believers, in our confusion, sought guidance from Xuanming, attempting to establish contact with him through ritual ans. Then Xuanming responded and bestowed us with a mission in our bewildernt..."
"A mission?" I asked curiously, "What does this have to do with Xuanwu?"
"Xuanming told us that aside from him and the Taoyuan Village Master, there might be three other Impermanences active in this city," Jiaoshu said sothing astonishing, "One of them is the Great Success Rank Inconstancy 'Water Master' who once audaciously attempted to assassinate Xuanming and has since hidden for a long ti, now newly nad 'Xuanwu' by Xuanming."
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