Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 320 - 299 - Discussions at the Foot of the Mountain

Chapter 320: 299 - Discussions at the Foot of the Mountain

Divine Skills are no match for Heavenly Number...

Perhaps I should first focus on how to refuse Gua Tianshi’s political enticement, but as he seemed to genuinely utter those six words, I found myself inexplicably recalling the dubious historical account told by the elders of Ancient Moon Village.

A century ago, there was an Immortal who possessed Divine Skills powerful enough to change heaven and earth.

And yet, faced with a world plunged into war and misery, for some unknown reason, he was unable to intervene, only able to silently witness the occurrence of countless tragedies.

Eventually, disillusioned, he chose to retreat to the mountains and forests, living in seclusion with refugees avoiding the war.

The Ancient Moon God had said that the Immortal in this story was merely a character fabricated by Yinyue in the process of altering history. In reality, such a being might not exist, but regardless, even if this Immortal does not exist in reality, it is possible that there might be someone who is the prototype for this Immortal figure.

Could this prototype be Gua Tianshi? This thought involuntarily emerged in my mind.

Gua Tianshi is Impermanence who stands for Extraordinaryism, but from his tone, he doesn’t seem to have plans to enslave all mortals or even use them as flesh and blood fodder. Moreover, would such a wicked person really be able to mentor a disciple like Dong Che?

"You don’t need to refuse me in such a hurry," Gua Tianshi said. "Unlike Immortal Gods like Ming Zhuo and King Zhuanlun who only see ordinary mortals as resources to be consumed, perhaps after getting to know me better, you will feel that for mortals, I am a better choice than the so-called Governance Ideology, as well as other Extraordinaryism doctrines."

"Maybe," I said noncommittally.

"It seems you’re not very interested," he said, "but don’t worry, I’m not planning to spend a lot of time here selling myself to you. Besides, you still have a life-and-death conflict with Yinyue, and it remains unknown who will fall. More things can be discussed after your triumphant return," he said. "And if Yinyue survives, I will use the speech I prepared for you on her."

"Even you cannot predict the outcome?" I asked.

"When it involves Impermanence and those eligible for Impermanence, even I cannot see the future very clearly. Moreover, as the world is stepping into chaos, predicting the future is becoming more and more difficult," he shook his head. "Let’s leave it at that for now, it is time for me to bid you farewell.

"As gratitude for saving my foolish disciple, let me give you a piece of news. You wish to seek Xuanwu for a Spirit Pill but are troubled by not knowing his exact location in Moon Concealing Mountain City, right? Just go to this location, and you will be able to find him first."

He finished speaking, reported a specific address, and told me the exact time to go to meet Water Navy Xuanwu.

I immediately noted it down, thanked him, and then prepared to bid farewell and leave. Yet, just as I was about to turn around, I saw Gua Tianshi still standing motionless there, watching me.

"Regarding your future, I have one more simple prophecy; do you want to hear it?" he asked.

"Didn’t you say that you can’t see my future clearly?" I inquired.

"What I said was ’not very clearly,’ so there are still some things I can foresee. I am able to directly tell you Xuanwu’s location because of this," he explained. "What I can see about your future falls within the realm of possibilities that have not yet been determined. You can consider it a reference."

Since it is uncertain, listening to it or not seems inconsequential. Thinking this, I decided to satisfy my curiosity first. When it comes to Gua Tianshi, he is the ultimate expert in divination and prophecy, and when encountering such a character, how could I miss an opportunity to "ask about the future"?

"Please enlighten me," I said.

Gua Tianshi nodded, then spoke:

"On your trip to Moon Concealing Mountain, you have two important objectives. One is to save your friend’s soul, and the other is to obtain a Spirit Pill for that girl.

"Even if you ultimately succeed, at most you will achieve only one of these goals. Either the soul of your friend or the Spirit Pill. Once one is obtained, you are destined to fail in the other.

"As for which one will fail, that is what I cannot see. If there is a chance to meet again, you can let me know."

This prophecy could not be considered auspicious.

However, I do not regret asking Gua Tianshi for this prophecy. Whether I asked or not, the future would still be waiting there; I would simply be aware of it sooner. To be angry with the one who made the prophecy would be a huge misunderstanding. It is better to think that now that I know in advance, maybe it’s possible to change the future.

"Is your prophecy absolutely unbreakable once made?" I asked.

"My prophecies are seldom broken," Gua Tianshi said with a slight smile.

This time it really is goodbye. Gua Tianshi spread his wings, fluttered gently, and his body faded away on the spot. It’s unclear where he went. Considering that he said he would contain Yinyue’s Fatian Xiangdi, he should probably still linger around Moon Concealing Mountain for a while.

To say to contain, probably also just means containing the possibility for Yinyue to kill innocent people through the power of Fatian Xiangdi. The fog will still exist around Moon Concealing Mountain, and the phenomenon of network signal blockade will not disappear for the time being.

It seemed that he was more optimistic about my prospects than Yinyue’s, but still, he chose not to favor me in this event. Even if I were to conflict with Yinyue, he merely took an attitude of "let’s see who survives," whereas a normal line of thinking might be to give me more substantial help first, owing me a big favor, but he insisted on a bystander’s stance of not intervening personally.

He used the phrase "Heavenly Number shattered" to refer to the disappearance of the Divine Seal Power, yet in his heart, he probably still had an awe for some sort of true Heavenly Numbers. He might believe that only those who survive are truly standing with the Heavenly Numbers; on the contrary, no matter how strong the potential, once it goes against the Heavenly Numbers, there is no value in cooperation and soliciting.

If this was the thought of an ordinary person, it would just be superstition, but thinking that it might be the philosophy practiced by Impermanence, one inevitably wonders whether there really is such a thing as an inscrutable Heavenly Number.

First, I descended the mountain, and then using the thermal energy marker, I sent a signal to Mazao that the danger had been lifted.

Mazao used Space Transfer to return to my side.

I also roughly told her about the conversation I had with Gua Tianshi. After she heard it, she was silent for a while, then she mumbled to herself, "Heavenly Number... prophecy, huh..."

"Do you have any thoughts?" I asked curiously.

"...I was thinking of the Doomsday prophecies," she said thoughtfully, "Isn’t there a Doomsday prophecy of unclear origin circulating around Luo Mountain? It says that with strange creatures becoming more active now, it’s a sign of Doomsday approaching, and in at most ten years, all life and strange creatures will be destroyed in the great calamity, and even all matter will disappear, the world will turn into nothingness...

"Only a very high-ranking diviner could predict the end of the world, so I’m wondering... could the person who predicted Doomsday be Gua Tianshi?"

I thought about it and then said, "...Possibly."

I say that, but I actually somewhat doubt that Gua Tianshi was the one who predicted Doomsday.

Even the Master of Divine Seal, who claims to know most things in this world, was unable to recount information related to Doomsday. Although he claims it’s because he’s still in a death-like slumber, it’s enough to illustrate the unpredictability of Doomsday information. Judging from past performances, the Master of Divine Seal might even surpass Impermanence.

So, as Gua Tianshi, an Impermanence himself, does he really have the ability to make such profound predictions about Doomsday?

But if the predictor isn’t Gua Tianshi, I really can’t imagine who else would be qualified to make a Doomsday prediction.

Or is it that the Doomsday prophecy of Luo Mountain merely coincidentally guessed the true Doomsday, and its nature is no different from the numerous false Doomsday prophecies that have appeared in history?

"If I get the chance next time... I want to meet Gua Tianshi," Mazao said thoughtfully.

"If there’s a chance," I said.

We returned to the city of Moon Concealing Mountain.

Checking the time, twelve hours had passed since we went up the mountain that night, and it was the next morning. Now, the city of Moon Concealing Mountain had become utterly chaotic.

With a little inquiry, one could find out that the thin fog caused by Yinyue’s Fatian Xiangdi not only blocked the electronic communications between Moon Concealing Mountain and the outside world but also prohibited normal physical traffic. Those trying to drive out of Moon Concealing Mountain would find themselves unknowingly back at the starting point, and those trying to leave on foot fared even worse.

Even using a means of transport like trains couldn’t get out of Moon Concealing Mountain. Trains that seemingly just kept going along the track, no matter how far they went, would always end up at the same next station—Moon Concealing Mountain Station. Time and space had distorted here in a way unfathomable to mankind.

Such bizarre phenomena that defied common sense naturally couldn’t be hidden from people. Everyone either saw it with their own eyes or learned of the abnormal situation through news relayed back to them. No matter where one went, one could see crowds reacting differently—some were afraid, some excited, and some appeared as if their beliefs had shattered and were lost in confusion; the streets and alleys were all abuzz with talk.

We first went to the restaurant we had visited last time for a meal. There were quite a few customers in the restaurant, with discussions all around, while the shopkeeper and staff actively tended to the guests. There was confusion on their faces too; it seemed that rather than diligently working, they were trying to regain their internal balance through the routine business activities they were accustomed to.

"The supernatural phenomena reported in the news last time were all true!"

"Does that mean heaven and hell exist as well?"

"Just how much is our country still hiding..."

The voices of discussion were endless.