Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 345 - 320 Shen Gui Spirit Pills_2

Chapter 345: 320 Shen Gui Spirit Pills_2

Now, the area around Moon Concealing Mountain is covered with my residual fire, but the response I’m feeling now is somewhat different. Although its existence feels extremely faint, almost leading me to overlook it, it undoubtedly originates from someone "I had injured."

The source was not far from the summit. Guided by this reaction, I moved in that direction, delved into the dilapidated forest, and soon found my target.

It was Water Navy Xuanwu, sitting on a protruding rock that served as a bench in the forest, looking decayed. When he saw me approaching, he lifted his gaze to look at me, his consciousness seeming somewhat unclear.

He was essentially a corpse already.

It’s not just a trivial description. He seemed to still hold consciousness, but it’s basically no different from being dead. I also wasn’t sure how to exactly define his current state. Maybe some aquatic animals could serve as an example.

For instance, a crab. I used to wonder why people said not to eat crabs that have died naturally. Typically, people kill any animal before cooking it. Some livestock can be cooked shortly after death, but for some reason, it’s said that crabs can’t.

I later researched and found out that crustaceans like crabs, being cold-blooded aquatic creatures, can continue surviving even if most of their body parts are dead and decaying. Conversely, if they are already dead—even if just recently—it could be that their bodies have been decaying for a long time.

Humans become corpses after they die, while many crabs turn into corpses first and then pick a time to die.

Water Navy Xuanwu seemed to exhibit a similar nature.

My flames undoubtedly killed him, yet who could have expected that he could keep moving for a while even after being slain.

At the same time, I understood how Yinyue was taken away.

The one who took Yinyue must have been Water Navy Xuanwu. While I was invading Yinyue’s spirit world, he used a pre-prepared teleportation method to transfer the immobile Yinyue to an unknown standalone reality space. This method, in his original plan, was meant to be his trump card to capture Yinyue. The standalone reality space is Ying Lingyun’s domain; once transferred there, even Yinyue had no option but to be trapped.

The sudden appearance of the grey fog in the dream earlier was probably because Yinyue had already been transferred to the standalone reality space by Water Navy Xuanwu, and the firewall mechanism was trying to forcefully log me out. It’s not that Ying Lingyun could manipulate the grey fog at will; it was merely a passive manifestation of the system.

The reason I couldn’t sense Water Navy Xuanwu’s actions was because he was essentially a lifeless corpse. Only a character as close to Impermanence as him, while possessing innate attributes advantageous to me, could achieve such a "great feat" at the brink of death.

He looked at me for a long while before finally sighing, "...I never thought there would be someone born able to open the second door."

"The second door?" I asked.

"Demon hunters have two ultimate limits, also described as two great doors. Breaking through the first door is Great Success Rank; breaking through the second is Impermanence," he explained.

"I see, thank you for enlightening me."

I thought of other matters, but here, I focused first on conversing with him: "It was you who took Yinyue away, and you’re nearly dead, just talking to me now is a miracle... Why go to such lengths?"

"What do you mean?" he countered.

"If you hadn’t spent time taking Yinyue away, but focused on escaping instead, combining it with your elixir abilities, you might have had a chance to save your life from my hands—just like when you escaped from Xuanming before," I said, "Is your relationship with Ying Lingyun that good, that you needed to go this far for him?"

"No, Ying Lingyun and I are not friends. We merely have superficial relations, a mutually beneficial transactional relationship," he said. "However, I owe him a favor, hence I made a promise to him, vowing to definitely bring Yinyue to him.

"I have lived for hundreds of years, changing my appearance, my name, my personality throughout the long passage of time... but I have never willingly broken a promise. I commit myself fully to fulfilling any promise I make. That is what I am most proud of, and the last characteristic that makes me feel ’I am who I am.’

"Without self, heaven and earth will destroy... a person who does not stand firm in being themselves will not be allowed to exist by the universe.

"So even in death, I must maintain the promises I have made to their fullest."

His gaze did not reveal the slightest hint of regret, and I couldn’t help but admire him internally before asking, "Then... why didn’t you transport yourself and Yinyue away together?

"Based on my experience, Ying Lingyun should be able to infinitely reboot time within his own independent reality space. Though this kind of reboot can’t repair your soul that was lost in the external world, it might barely keep your life hanging on.

"And maybe in the future, he might even generously revive you. Granted, you would owe him a great favor again, but at least you might not have to die."

"Because I also made a promise to you." He said steadfastly, "What future, what maybe, what possibly... I don’t care about those things, I will not base my obligations on such uncertainties.

"Have you forgotten? I told you, even if you kill me, I would still find a way to deliver the elixir to you...

"Now is the time for me to fulfill my promise to you."

After speaking, he lifted his palm, while his entire body lost all color, resembling a human figure constructed from water. Drips of Mana light, hued like water, seeped out from his body, swiftly gathering towards his palm, his body becoming more translucent within the light.

"I need my soul to craft the Divine Sunflower Elixir, and since I am nearly about to completely dissipate, I might as well refine it for you right here," he said.

"...Do you have any last words?" I ask, "If it’s something not too troublesome, I can help you with it."

"I appreciate your kindness, but I would not like to owe another favor right before dying. I am actually quite content to disappear this cleanly," he said. "However... there is something indeed that I want to tell you.

"This is my final warning, Zhuang Cheng, be very cautious—

"Although it might not be exactly like the Manifestation I am familiar with, unquestionably, you possess the talent of Manifestation, the very talent Shan Liangyi desires greatly. He has been seizing powers from others, converting them for his own use, and you are his most ideal prey... He will never let you go.

"So... become stronger, Zhuang Cheng.

Become so strong that even Shan Liangyi would find it unbelievable, and then use that power to defeat him."

After hearing these words, I nod and say, "Of course."

Water Navy Xuanwu slowly closed his eyes, his whole body disintegrated into a puddle of water spilling to the ground.

Only a water-colored Spirit Pill remained floating in the air, emitting a faint luminescence in the deep night.