Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 298 - 277 Over Moon Concealing Mountain

Chapter 298: 277 Over Moon Concealing Mountain

Since my becoming Impermanence brings about widespread global warming, it is very likely that Xuanming, who has long been Impermanence, may cause the same phenomenon. In some sense, both Xuanming and I seem inherently environmentally unfriendly.

The more I know, the more I realize that the order of the world I live in is much more fragile than I thought in my previous life.

In the vast river of history, how many Impermanences have appeared? How many unanchored Impermanences have been active in realms that are undetectable to both the normal and abnormal worlds? It’s incredible that the world with these Impermanences has been able to continue "stably" until now. Should this also be attributed to the divine seal that once divided the world into two?

Could it be that the Water Navy Xuanwu wanted to prevent global warming, which is why he thought of killing Xuanming in the past and now plans to kill me... Such a bizarre thought even crossed my mind. Of course, this is just a joke. After all, it seems that even the weaker Flame Ability Users are not spared by the Water Navy Xuanwu.

I don’t feel that the existence of Impermanence is entirely negative for humanity, as the figures of Impermanences have long existed in the dark side of the world. Many of our commonly accepted "healthy natural orders" today may have been formed under the intervention of the Impermanences’ act of Fatian Xiangdi.

After briefly ending the call with the Zhu family, I shifted my attention to the "Fireflies" currently investigating Moon Concealing Mountain.

Although I originally sent out just one "Firefly", for the convenience of the investigation, I split the "Firefly" into a "Firefly Swarm". They scattered across the mountainsides searching for any signs worth noting.

Unfortunately, no valuable clues have been found so far.

Meanwhile, a vague intuition arose in my mind.

Moon Concealing Mountain is definitely not as ordinary as it seems. It hides some key things that should not be missed. Even though I still must wait until tomorrow to retrieve the souls of Yinyue and Changan, it does not hinder my going deep into investigating Moon Concealing Mountain tonight. I started contemplating whether I should personally visit it, maybe even take Mazao with me for the investigation.

Before I could decide, Mazao, who was sitting on the bed watching me, took the initiative and suggested, "Zhuang Cheng, let’s go investigate Moon Concealing Mountain first."

Although I preferred to investigate alone, Mazao would definitely not agree, and might even follow me closely. Objectively speaking, I indeed needed Mazao’s assistance. Thus, I nodded in agreement.

We left the inn and quickly headed towards Moon Concealing Mountain.

The sun had already set in the west, and night had fallen, while the torrential rain had yet to cease. However, neither Mazao nor I were the types to mind the rain. We didn’t even carry umbrellas, and we sprinted straight through the rain curtain. Mazao’s hair and clothes looked completely dry, always maintained dry by the Power of Return, while I, a person mimicked from flame from body to clothing, didn’t have to worry about moisture at all.

Today’s trip to Moon Concealing Mountain, in fact, is more about my personal affairs. Yinyue is my enemy, Changan is my friend, and Mazao is just accompanying me into the unknown. I know she will definitely help me without complaints, probably not even harboring any troubled feelings, but I still warned her that there might be danger ahead.

"Where would I not encounter danger?" she naturally said, "Rather than consistently facing those unidentified dangers, I prefer to share the dangers for you. As long as I can be of help to you, even hardships are sweet to me."

"—Hmm? Zhuang Cheng, what’s wrong? You look a bit weird..."

"It’s nothing." I controlled my expression.

It used to be me who always spoke sweet nothings to her, but now it feels like it’s her turn to speak sweetly to me.

Unlike my manipulative and pretentious "lines", hers seem to be spoken unconsciously, and hence have an even greater impact.

On the way, I also mentioned to her that the Water Navy Xuanwu might be in Moon Concealing Mountain city, which made her both happy and worried.

"If I regain all my powers, I could help you better, but..."

She was worried about the threat that the Water Navy Xuanwu might pose to me.

In the end, we first decided on the priority of the investigations, placing finding the location of Water Navy Xuanwu in Moon Concealing Mountain city after tonight’s investigation of Moon Concealing Mountain. Even though Mazao’s tracking ability is mighty, it’s still not a Divination Technique that can unreasonably garner answers from a sea of people without knowing what the target looks like.

During our discussion, we had already entered Moon Concealing Mountain and ventured directly into the restricted area.

Ahead, no longer was the realm dominated by civilization, but rather mountain wilderness akin to a demon realm. Darkness where one could hardly see their own hands extended before them, the ceaseless sound of raindrops pounding on plants filled the forest, inducing an instinctual fear and desire to retreat.

Since ancient times, lofty and majestic mountains have been regarded as places closer to Heaven than the mortal world, so people once believed that Heavenly Immortals resided on these mountains. On the other hand, the mountains at night felt gloomy and terrifying, resulting in numerous deaths, making these mountains seem closer to the Netherworld; Taishan was considered such a place.

Whether viewing mountains as Heaven or the Netherworld, people always unconsciously believed that mountains were not part of the mundane world, regarding them with mystique and reverence.

Even I couldn’t help but feel this way. If it could be said that consciousness has something akin to genes, then the cause of this current mindset must be the fear of wilderness passed down through generations of the human race.

Although Mazao and I could see at night, due to psychological needs, I still summoned several Fireballs as a light source. At first glance, they resembled the phosphorescent lights surrounding ghosts, only my Fireballs were larger and brighter, instantly illuminating the surroundings as if it were daytime.

Unknowingly, we had reached quite a deep part of the mountain, at least halfway up in terms of altitude.

Moving along this path, we still hadn’t captured any abnormal signs nor knew where to start looking, truly at a loss. If only we knew where Hu Family Village was, unfortunately, my "Firefly Swarm" couldn’t locate Hu Family Village on Moon Concealing Mountain, nor did it detect any signs of human habitation on the mountain.

I began to doubt whether I was tricked by the Shopkeeper and regular customers of the Moon Concealing Mountain hotel, or perhaps even they didn’t know what they were talking about. Would it be that if I now returned to the base of the mountain to find them, they would adopt an attitude of "What Hu Family Village, did we even say those words"?

At the very least, there is definitely something abnormal on Moon Concealing Mountain. My perception became increasingly clear. The rainy night’s wind roared through the forest, and darkness surged like chaos, as if there were eyes in the shadows maliciously observing us. Although all these felt like psychological effects, making one doubt if it was just the innate fear of mountains at play, I believe that I can distinguish spiritual premonitions from mere psychological effects.

We temporarily stopped moving in the forest, and Mazao, sensing that I was at a loss, asked, "Zhuang Cheng?"

"I’m not sure about the next step."

I confessed my predicament. Despite that, there was no sense of dejection or defeat in my heart. From the beginning, I didn’t think I would return empty-handed from investigating abnormal events as I had countless times in my past life, because Mazao was with me.

Facing my gaze, Mazao nodded, seemingly smiled slightly, then said, "You’ve said before that I am your lucky star, right?"

"I can say it again now," I said.

"I never thought I could be associated with ’luck’ before, but now, I might really bring some fortune," she said, "Next, let me take the lead."

As she finished speaking, she walked two steps forward, then did nothing else, just stood there as if waiting for something.

Perhaps this was the correct way to utilize her talent.

In reality, we probably didn’t need to run around searching for clues in the forest. If there truly was some abnormal entity in this mountain, and it had some causal connection with our mission here, then, with Mazao already appearing here, there’s no reason for it to completely miss us. We would definitely encounter it at some moment, even if we just stood here motionless, the clues would probably come crashing into us.

To take a step back, even if we suddenly decided to withdraw and leave now, it might already be too late. Broom Star Physique isn’t a convenient tool to be utilized at will, but an uncontrollable force. Even if we turned and ran down the mountain instantly, the unknown abnormal entity might still relentlessly chase after us from behind.

Just as I wished.

We waited silently, the blazing Fireballs suspended overhead, providing dazzling illumination. Before long, Mazao, as if she perceived something, suddenly uttered a cautious sound: "—It’s coming."

I too noticed a change in the situation.

No demon beasts appeared directly in front of us, nor could any dangerous phenomena be easily identified. What appeared before us were strands of white mist, like those emanating from the bottom of a refrigerator.

I maneuvered the several Fireballs overhead to fly in different directions, illuminating even more distant areas. Unbeknownst to us, the forest where we stood had already been enveloped by an endless haze of white mist.

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