Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 326 - 305 VS Water Navy Xuanwu 1

Chapter 326: 305 VS Water Navy Xuanwu 1

The noise of the crowd outside the inn still filtered through, indicating that people had not yet completely shed their excitement from encountering supernatural phenomena.

And I was repeatedly pondering the intelligence brought by Water Navy Xuanwu, unable to calm the tumult in my heart for a long time.

Mazao was worried about the battle I was about to face. Although I had not shown any waves of emotion when faced with Water Navy Xuanwu’s death notice, it was not because I believed Water Navy Xuanwu posed no threat to me.

On the contrary, apart from Impermanence, the person most likely to kill me right now was Water Navy Xuanwu. Even Yinyue, who could unleash her full power at Moon Concealing Mountain, might not be able to give me such a sense of danger. Water Navy Xuanwu’s power seemed inherently designed to counteract mine.

Water can extinguish fire; this is a principle of nature. In other cases, I might rely on my immense strength to ignore such restraints, much like how a forest fire can disregard a few buckets of water. However, this time, my opponent was on the same level as me.

Even from the intelligence I had obtained before, Water Navy Xuanwu was described as a Rank of Great Success characterized by overwhelming power, capable of unleashing Impermanence’s domain-specific moves. Therefore, it was very likely that I would be the one overpowered in terms of strength. This might become the first truly disadvantageous battle of my life.

Being restrained by the attribute, and likely to be overwhelmed by stature, my heart felt an electric shudder, which seemed to act as a pacemaker, making my heartbeat accelerate with excitement.

There was no way to avoid this battle. There were friends at Moon Concealing Mountain that I needed to rescue as quickly as possible, and Water Navy Xuanwu would appear there like a roadblock. Without defeating him first, I cannot focus on contending with Yinyue.

Although I regret not asking Water Navy Xuanwu how he planned to penetrate deep into the mist to find Yinyue, perhaps this intelligence could also be obtained through defeating him. My original plan was to defeat Yinyue first, then invade her Spirit World through Fake Water Moon. The same method might also apply to Water Navy Xuanwu, to excavate the approach from his consciousness.

While organizing my thoughts slowly, I repeatedly summoned my flames like loading a handgun before a battle, and condensed "slag" from within the flames.

If my superpower truly originated from the Power Seed of Shan Liangyi, then what exactly is this "slag"?

Could it be that burning an enemy’s soul into "slag" is also a part of the innate talent to manipulate fire bestowed by the Power Seed? If so, what purpose does this "slag" serve? Since it is likely a deliberately designed product, it should have its own significance.

I recalled the dream I had before awakening my superpower, where a strange figure asked me in an empty room through an iron door down a deserted corridor whether I wanted power—whether I wanted "power commensurate with the adventure beyond reality I imagined in my heart."

Could that person who appeared in my dream be Shan Liangyi?

If he appeared before me to take away my power, what should I do? What preparations should I make now to prevent such a conflict?

It seems my only option is to focus on enhancing my power.

The same old truth applies: formidable power in itself can suppress everything.

Even Water Navy Xuanwu mentioned that once someone becomes Impermanence, Shan Liangyi, who normally could effortlessly recall the Power Seeds from afar, would be forced to present himself in front of the target. Therefore, if I continue to grow stronger, it might impose more restrictions on Shan Liangyi’s act of reclaiming the Power Seeds, potentially leading to his inability to reclaim them at all. Although this approach is quite stubborn, it is the only idea I have for now.

And regarding the Manifestation Shan Liangyi pursues...

Zhu Shi once said that my Elementalization is a characteristic of Manifestation, but a true Immortal who has reached the realm of Manifestation would be clear about the process of achieving Elementalization, while I grasped it in a confused state. Even Ying Lingyun said that I couldn’t be a true Manifestation, as a real Manifestation should have a more divine and spiritual mastery of power.

That is to say, normal Manifestation should be a realm achieved through arduous cultivation, which is entirely different from my situation of achieving Elementalization solely through innate talent.

Yinyue did mention the term "Innate Manifestation," a peculiar concept which suggests that Manifestation could also be achieved by innate talent, although even she was not very convinced of the concept’s validity when she spoke of it.

Regarding my superpower, there are still many aspects that I cannot fathom clearly.

As I pondered, the sun was almost set. Seeing the sky darken, I said goodbye to Mazao for the time being, then left the inn and headed towards Moon Concealing Mountain.

Looking at the mountains under the night sky, I thought of Gua Tianshi who I encountered on the mountain, and the bizarre bird form he had manifested.

It was not until earlier that I belatedly realized, the strange bird’s image was not a random transformation by Gua Tianshi, but a mythical creature recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". Named "Bifang", it has a white beak, green feathers, red spots, and a single foot, with a body resembling a crane, and its sighting means that its town will experience a mysterious fire.

"Town" refers to a city or town, while the so-called "mysterious fire" is a strange and inexplicable fire. Ancient people also referred to fires that mysteriously erupt in the wilderness as mysterious fires.

According to information previously provided by Mr. Zhu, Gua Tianshi has been active as Impermanence for a millennia, sometimes taking the shape of a phoenix and other times as Zhu Yan. A phoenix is a kind of auspicious beast that resembles a colorful pheasant, its sighting signifies peace and order under heaven; Zhu Yan, on the other hand, is different. It is a ferocious beast, resembling a white-headed and red-footed ape, its sighting signals great armies, meaning that the world will be plunged into chaos.

This time, his appearance in the form of Bifang probably hints that the wilderness surrounding Moon Concealing Mountain will experience fires caused by strange forces.

This is almost certainly a prophecy of the battle that will soon take place between me and Water Navy Xuanwu.

Just how far into the future has he predicted?

I ventured deeper into Moon Concealing Mountain. The mountain had changed dramatically since Mazao and I left it in daylight; the white fog that trapped us inside originally occupied only a part of Moon Concealing Mountain, but now it has essentially enveloped the entire area. This place has truly transformed into the Devil Realm, where the normal passage of time has become meaningless.

Even space has been altered; I should be walking halfway up the mountain now, yet a few more steps could either take me to the foot or the peak. Finding Water Navy Xuanwu here is virtually impossible for anyone else, perhaps even he himself didn’t anticipate such a change.

Moon Concealing Mountain is the birthplace of Yinyue, and probably no one knows the stories she once had here. Nor do they know if there is anything here that the demon, who did not understand human emotions, would find worth commemorating.

When I was outside, I observed that the fog continued to expand and might cover the distant Moon Concealing Mountain City after some time. Of course, while I say after a while, it might have already engulfed it. And since Gua Tianshi is stationed in Moon Concealing Mountain City, there is no need to worry about danger there.

There’s no need to worry about getting lost either. With Mazao’s "blessing" upon me, I couldn’t possibly miss Water Navy Xuanwu. As long as it’s a matter of luck, even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, I will definitely find him.

Sure enough, in less than a quarter of an hour, I sensed a familiar presence ahead.

Water Navy Xuanwu stood among the thick fog of the woods, just as I had seen him during the day, gazing up at the forest. I did not conceal my presence or footsteps, and he turned swiftly, revealing a slightly surprised expression upon seeing me.

"You’ve kept your promise... That’s not surprising, but the fact that you managed to find me... Can you move freely in this fog?" he asked.

Strictly speaking, I merely acquiesced to the promise that was more a monologue from him.

"Never mind that. This is where you’ll be buried," he said. "For Ying Lingyun, you are also an obstacle that can’t be ignored. Killing you is purely a personal matter for me, but I can also consider it a gift to repay Ying Lingyun’s favor, and I’ll bring him the good news afterward."

I guess he knew from the start that the one seeking to exchange the Zhu family token for a Spirit Pill was me, probably because of the information provided by Ying Lingyun.

"What exactly did Ying Lingyun do for you, making you willing to work for him, even becoming an enemy of Yinyue?" I asked curiously.

"Do you think it’s still the same as during the day? The time for talking has passed, now it’s time to decide life or death through strength," he said.

If that’s the case, I’ll defeat him later and extract the information from his mind using the Fake Water Moon.

That is if I have the chance to spare his life.

"I sincerely hope you won’t die so easily, and if you must die, it should be after concocting the elixir for me," I said.

"That would be laughable."

Water Navy Xuanwu scoffed coldly, then stretched his hand towards me.

Huge mana fluctuations erupted from his body like a tsunami covering the sky, the ground thunderously cracked, and copious amounts of water burst out from it. Separated from him by twenty to thirty meters, the broken ground spanned more than two to three hundred meters in radius, easily encircling our standing positions.

I felt like a tiny ant swept up by a fountain, wrapped in torrents of water and shot straight into the sky.