Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 449 - 419 Ancient Xuanming

Chapter 449: 419 Ancient Xuanming

For the Void Envoys, the destruction of the Void Realm was as catastrophic as heaven and earth collapsing; for the outside world, it was an imperceptible storm occurring in another dimension.

At Luo Mountain, only Weichi and I were aware of this matter immediately. Most demon hunters first learned of God Zhao’s death.

As an entity akin to a deity, even if Great Impermanence’s true form dies, the retribution body can still reside in the world, enabling believers to gain power through offering it. However, this retribution body does not have the ability to extend the life of the true form or replace it, much like how a philosopher’s spirit is celebrated for transcending physical death in the realm of common sense.

Thus, when Great Impermanence’s true form dies, believers can receive corresponding feedback through meditation and prayer. Consequently, that evening, public opinion at Luo Mountain was thrown into a storm.

The unnatural death of Great Impermanence is a rare occurrence. Typically, even if Great Impermanence disappears from the demon hunters’ sight, it’s mostly considered a loss, and confirmed deaths are so rare in Luo Mountain’s history that they might not occur even once in a millennium, literally once in a thousand years. Yet this year, Fu Hongchen was killed by Xuanming, and now even God Zhao was killed by Xuanming.

Yes, "killed by Xuanming" — that’s how Luo Mountain initially judged God Zhao’s cause of death.

After God Zhao died, his Great Success Rank Impermanence entered his meditation room at once and witnessed the death scene. There was a fiery inscription left by Xuanming, a criminal declaration:

"By order of the Master of Divine Seal, the Fourth Void Envoy Xuanming slays Luo Mountain’s Great Impermanence God Zhao here."

The fiery inscription even emitted Xuanming’s unique mana fluctuations.

Mana fluctuations can be forged, but if there’s a technique to forge them, then there must also be a technique to verify their authenticity. Luo Mountain quickly identified these as Xuanming’s genuine mana fluctuations, beyond dispute.

Weichi and I were very clear that the one who killed God Zhao wasn’t Xuanming, but the Master of Divine Seal. However, this happened within the Void Realm, and even if we spoke out, there would be no tangible evidence. Xuanming deliberately left such things at the scene of God Zhao’s death, clearly trying to drag the Master of Divine Seal into trouble.

He probably couldn’t fabricate traces of the Master of Divine Seal. After all, Luo Mountain has never obtained substantial clues related to the Master of Divine Seal. Even if he forged traces as real, Luo Mountain wouldn’t be able to compare. So he used such an indirect way to increase Luo Mountain’s hostility toward the Master of Divine Seal. This would undoubtedly also increase the hostility of Luo Mountain’s Great Impermanence toward him, but he seemed not to care about this.

It’s unclear how he managed to infiltrate Luo Mountain Headquarters in such a short time and leave the fiery inscription at God Zhao’s death scene. It might be similar to how the Master of Divine Seal could backtrack using the power outputted by God Zhao and summon ownerless Divine Seal fragments left in the real world into the Void Realm. Xuanming might have accomplished a similar feat.

At the death scene of God Zhao, there was also an array set by Weichi utilizing the power of ownerless Divine Seal fragments, possibly indicating an invisible connection between the ownerless Divine Seal fragments and the array. Using this connection, Xuanming might have reversed his power transmission into the Void Realm at God Zhao’s death scene. Luo Mountain naturally couldn’t know this and could only assume Xuanming himself infiltrated Luo Mountain Headquarters.

Weichi found me that evening, asking what my plans were next. Generally, I supported Xuanming’s expressed intent. Whether it’s destroying the Void Realm or creating enemies for the Master of Divine Seal, ultimately, it’s obstructing the Master of Divine Seal and applying pressure. I had similar intentions but never thought of a good method, nor did I have the time and energy to design and execute one.

I even had some admiration for Xuanming. During the final Virtual Realm Conference, from God Zhao’s assassination to Xuanming’s destruction, I was mostly passively witnessing the tumultuous events unfold. Although I finally obtained the privilege to exercise mana within the Void Realm, I couldn’t showcase it because the Void Realm concluded swiftly. At best, I only protected Little Bowl from Xuanming’s subordinates using this power.

Of course, I also had negative feelings about Xuanming’s actions. Not only because he attacked Little Bowl but also because, after the destruction of the Void Realm, I lost the channel to communicate with Little Bowl. Apart from the Void Realm, I couldn’t think of any other way to contact Little Bowl again.

One person’s negative feelings might exceed mine; that person is Xu Gou.

He finally obtained the second Divine Seal Fragment and was just one step away from initiating a trade with the Master of Divine Seal, yet was interrupted by God Zhao and Xuanming, ultimately with the Void Realm platform for the trade becoming completely nonexistent, losing his chance to fulfill his wish. Considering he became a Great Impermanence, luck shouldn’t be this bad, but who would have thought those two who interrupted him were also Great Impermanence; this can’t simply be judged by good or bad luck.

The next day, in a room at the mansion, Mazao, Zhu Shi, and I gathered.

God Zhao’s funeral wasn’t held immediately; on one hand, preparations take time, and Great Impermanence’s funerals shouldn’t be rushed. On the other hand, although God Zhao died, who knows if he truly died? Maybe after a few days, he might reappear on his own — many demon hunters think this way.

Since the killer is the Master of Divine Seal, I can be certain God Zhao has no chance of returning. While the outside world was abuzz discussing God Zhao’s death, I disclosed the events within the Void Realm to Mazao and Zhu Shi.

As expected, Mazao showed a deeply shocked expression and asked, "In the future... will there be no way to contact Little Bowl?"

"Not necessarily," I replied. "The Void Realm was originally created by the Master of Divine Seal. Even if it was temporarily destroyed, creating it again is possible. As long as the Void Realm is truly important to him, he surely will do so."

I tried sensing the connection between myself and the Divine Seal fragments.

The connection still existed, yet after being scorched by Xuanming’s fire, it showed some distortion and degradation, like a plastic string charred black by flames. This distortion seemingly wouldn’t affect the state of my connection with the Divine Seal fragments, but based on the sensation from the last Void Realm destruction, at least it would certainly affect the connections between the Divine Seal fragments themselves.

In other words, this was a negative change imposed specifically to sever the establishment of the Void Realm.

Relying on this method to permanently block the Master of Divine Seal may still be unrealistic, but since Xuanming acted so earnestly, it shows this change could at least last a considerable period.

It’s uncertain whether, in a possibly recreated Void Realm, the Master of Divine Seal would choose the same Void Envoys. Xuanming would likely be excluded by the Master of Divine Seal, and Xuanming himself might not wish to enter the Void Realm again. I remain very interested in the Void Realm and hope to reconnect with Little Bowl.

While worried about Little Bowl, Mazao voiced confusion: "I don’t understand... why did Xuanming suddenly attack Little Bowl?"

"In mythological times, those born mastering Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena, as Divine Sons, were both innate sages and the highest standard sacrificial offerings to heaven and earth, possessing supreme value," Zhu Shi said. "Though we don’t know Xuanming’s exact plan, he might have seen this point.

"His sudden attack, the goal may not necessarily have been to ’kill’, but to ’capture’."

Saying this, she seemed to find the issue herself, muttering, "However, I’ve heard Xuanming was renowned for his virtue in the past as Great Impermanence; would he truly commit such acts?"

"There might not necessarily be a contradiction between the two," I said.

Under different value systems, the definition of morality can vary.

It’s said that during the Shang Dynasty, live human sacrifices were a richly prevalent culture. When royalty and nobility gathered to celebrate, they casually killed a few human sacrifices to please the sky, and in death, they brought their close subjects and concubines as burial companions. The foundations of palaces, temples, city walls, etc., were embedded with live human sacrifices to plea for the protection of heaven and ancestors. Even some common folk would buy human offerings after building their houses, burying them underground as talismans against evil. At the time, human sacrifices were commonplace social activities.

In our era, sacrificing an innocent little girl for the greater good is a classic moral dilemma; in an era when human sacrifices were seen as daily scenery, this might be a straightforward benevolent act without hesitation. Even those trying to resist would not necessarily view such a sacrifice as immoral and might even turn to admit their resistance was unlawful conduct.

As the Shang’s ancestor, Xuanming accumulated virtue during an era even more ancient and primitive than when the Shang was established. One can’t assume he’s a morally sound person by modern civilized society standards simply because he appears affable.

Judging Xuanming by the modern moral system might instead reveal him as a cruel and tyrannical villain beyond imagination.

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