Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 510 - 480 The Great Battle of the Five Impermanence 3

Chapter 510: 480 The Great Battle of the Five Impermanence 3

Liu Shuying was engaged in an intense battle with the Taoyuan Village Master in the distance, while I had to face off against Huang Quan and Xu Gou here.

Excluding Xu Gou, who couldn’t use Fatian Xiangdi, there were a total of four Fatian Xiangdi domains wreaking havoc in this world. Under normal circumstances, Great Impermanence could restrain their Fatian Xiangdi to avoid affecting the surrounding environment, but during a battle, there was no leisure to do so. The Fatian Xiangdi not only became uncontrollable but also surged with heightened intensity, amplified far beyond its usual power by the raging emotions of the Great Impermanence.

If the Fatian Xiangdi of the Great Impermanence could be considered an alternate natural order, then this place was witnessing a clash between differing natural orders. The heavens and earth seemed to scream, the ground trembled violently as if in agony, the temperature spiked unnaturally high, and hurricanes intertwined with lightning swept through everything.

Although I was curious about the peculiar Fatian Xiangdi employed by Liu Shuying, I didn’t have the luxury to observe the surroundings carefully right now.

I took a deep breath and summoned an enormous sea of fire on the battlefield, stretching far enough to touch the horizon.

Xu Gou unleashed a silvery-white beam akin to the White Tiger Killing Power toward me, while Huang Quan craftily coordinated, launching an assault with yellow-black mana from a different direction. These two, in terms of combat strength, were on par with me wielding the Furnace Slag Straight Sword, and attacking simultaneously left me with an overwhelming sense of being outnumbered and outmaneuvered.

At last, I couldn’t keep up with both defending and evading. Focusing on barely countering Huang Quan’s attack, I got struck by Xu Gou’s full-force beam of light.

The Furnace Slag Straight Sword wasn’t just a weapon for offense; the ultra-dense explosive flames it released could also be used to counter the opponent’s attacks—a kind of "unorthodox shield" achieved through offensive means.

However, no matter how formidable a shield is, it struggles to deal with attacks from entirely different directions, nor can it enhance the user’s inherent defensive strength. Flame Power inherently focused on offense far more than defense. Under such a ferocious blow, this fire elemental body shattered instantly, its soul torn to pieces along with it.

Immediately afterward, I absorbed the flames of the surrounding Fire Sea, restoring myself to a seemingly untouched state.

Xu Gou, witnessing my instant "full health resurrection," just as during our previous clash, seemed to recall our fight at the branch base, muttering in shock; meanwhile, Huang Quan froze for a moment, apparently extremely surprised by my transformation.

"Are you the ’No. 5’ from before? But your appearance and power are clearly that of the Lushan Great Impermanence, Zhuang Cheng—you should be ’No. 3’ instead..." Xu Gou exclaimed, "Last time, you tricked me into thinking you were No. 5? ... I see, you didn’t want me to know you were the Lushan Great Impermanence back then..."

Piecing things together, Xu Gou seemed to have figured out many things. Yet not a single moment of his assault paused as he seamlessly coordinated with Huang Quan to continue their siege on me.

"Xu Gou, why are you siding with Taoyuan Village? What has the Taoyuan Village Master promised you?" I tried to uncover his true motives for fighting.

Xu Gou responded in a somber tone, "Joining Taoyuan Village...what other reason could there be?"

"Are you pursuing the ’Paradise’ as well... chasing the dream of eternal happiness?" I countered.

"What’s wrong with chasing the dream of eternal happiness? Once the ’Paradise’ is truly realized, I... I can reunite with Ai Ye..." Xu Gou’s voice grew distant, as if lost in thought.

Yet I found it hard to believe his motivation was truly this simple. In the mana that poured out along with his words, I couldn’t sense the kind of all-consuming madness typical of someone like Ying Lingyun, willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his goal.

Though I didn’t doubt his deep desire to reunite with his lover, the core of his plan likely wasn’t solely focused on the "Paradise"; there must be other factors weighing in as well.

For now, to achieve his ends, he clearly had to align himself with the Taoyuan Village Master and Huang Quan. Trying to sway him to my side at the moment was impossible.

At the same time, Huang Quan, while launching consecutive attacks, kept scrutinizing my body.

"Not only did you instantly restore your physical body, but also your soul..." he remarked, "Even as a Great Impermanence, you shouldn’t be capable of such a feat...

"And coupled with this elementalization, and the way you manipulate fire like it’s an extension of your own limbs... Could it be you’re a Manifestation?

"No, that can’t be right. For a Manifestation, your abilities are way too unpolished. It’s like having a robust physique but barely learning how to use it... Is your Manifestation innate? But how is it even possible for an innate Manifestation to exist?"

While he pondered aloud, I felt an external consciousness intrude upon my spirit, carrying Liu Shuying’s telepathic message, "Zhuang Cheng, my apologies, but I need you to hold off those two Great Impermanence for me. I have to focus fully on dealing with the Taoyuan Village Master. Once I take care of things here, I’ll come to assist you."

"Understood." I gave a succinct reply.

But fending off two Great Impermanence alone was overwhelming. Even defending and dodging attacks became increasingly strenuous, leaving me constantly battered and my body and soul repeatedly crushed.

"—No matter. Let’s just say you’re a Manifestation. But don’t think you can rely on the Manifestation’s Undying attribute to recklessly absorb all my attacks without consequence."

Just like Ming Zhuo before, Huang Quan seemed to possess some understanding of True Spirit, along with techniques for targeting it with lethal precision. His yellow-black mana morphed into something sinister. While it looked the same as before, my instincts flared with a deep sense of dread.

I couldn’t recklessly take his attacks, or it wouldn’t take more than a few hits before I’d meet my end.

Darting frantically to avoid his yellow-black mana, I devoted most of my attention to him. This, however, made Xu Gou’s attacks more likely to land. While Xu Gou’s strikes weren’t life-threatening, they disrupted my rhythm in defense and evasion, giving Huang Quan opportunities to land fatal blows on my True Spirit.

At this rate, forget turning the tide—survival itself became an immense, grueling challenge.

The shadow of death loomed over me like a stormcloud, but also served as a whetstone, sharpening my resolve to a razor’s edge.

Here and now, this land bore witness to five Great Impermanence fiercely clashing. Ever since the abnormal world and the world of common sense ceased to be distinct, such a scenario seemed unprecedented.

During last year’s Human Bureau Headquarters battle, seven Great Impermanence, including Mao Tu and Weiyang, had participated in total. But even then, they hadn’t all fought simultaneously at full strength, and the conflict had been confined within independent dimensions. This chaotic war, however, was tearing through the real world itself.

Yellow-black mana and silvery-white beams crisscrossed toward me. Like walking a tightrope, I fought to defend and evade while intentionally lobbing a baiting question: "Huang Quan, does your Evangelical Institute truly intend to align itself with Shan Liangyi? Achieving the ’Paradise’ holds no benefit for your institute."

Huang Quan paused, then chuckled knowingly, as though amused by my insinuation. "Oh... so you think the Taoyuan Village Master is Shan Liangyi?"

As a Great Impermanence of the Doomsday Era, he didn’t ask "Who is Shan Liangyi?" but instead seamlessly followed my line of thought. Did this imply that the Taoyuan Village Master really was Shan Liangyi, and he was privy to this knowledge because of their alliance? Or was Shan Liangyi such a renowned figure even in the Doomsday Era that he naturally had this background knowledge?

As I mulled these possibilities, Huang Quan spoke again: "Then let me ask you this, Vermilion Bird Inheritor... is your intervention here truly advantageous for you?"

He not only acknowledged Shan Liangyi’s existence but also knew I was the Vermilion Bird Inheritor.

"What do you mean by that?" I questioned.

"You don’t even know if the Taoyuan Village Master is Shan Liangyi, nor do you have sufficient evidence to confirm he’s the Azure Dragon Inheritor, do you?" Huang Quan said. "If he’s Shan Liangyi, you’ll team up with Liu Shuying to kill him; if not, he’s bound to target you as the Vermilion Bird Inheritor ahead of time anyway. You might as well strike first... Isn’t that your logic?

"But is there any necessity for the Vermilion Bird Inheritor to eliminate the Azure Dragon Inheritor early? The Azure Dragon is both an irreplaceable adversary and natural counter to the Yellow Dragon. You could simply hide and let the Azure Dragon and Yellow Dragon wear each other out. Why jump into the fray yourself?"

Clearly, Huang Quan was trying to manipulate my resolve.

But his ploy failed.

To me, confirming whether the Taoyuan Village Master was Shan Liangyi might have been important, but it was not essential. The moment the Taoyuan Village Master revealed clear intent to kill me, he became a challenge I was determined to overcome.

When it came to sources of danger, I had never been one to bury my head in the sand like an ostrich. Either I eradicated them, or I was eradicated by them.

"Shan Liangyi or the Taoyuan Village Master—it doesn’t matter; they’re both my prey. I will not hand them over to anyone else." I declared.

Though Liu Shuying had asked me to buy time, I wasn’t planning on stalling until she arrived for reinforcements. I intended to defeat Huang Quan and Xu Gou here with my own strength, then join the fight against the Taoyuan Village Master.

Huang Quan hesitated briefly, then let out a derisive laugh. "A lunatic like you... I should have expected this.

"You not only associate closely with Mazao but also oppose someone like Ming Zhuo just for her troublesome little sister... If this isn’t madness, what else could it be?

"Since you have no intention of holding back, don’t complain when you die here.

"Not that I ever planned on letting you leave alive anyway. This actually makes things easier for me. After all, it’s always a hassle to chase down a Great Impermanence intent on fleeing."

As he spoke, the oppressive aura of his yellow-black mana grew even more suffocating, making me feel like I was being buried alive.

Judging by his words, Huang Quan seemed to know Ming Zhuo quite well. Though hailing from the future, he carried himself with the air of a senior. Furthermore, his mana’s unique quality bore some resemblance to Ming Zhuo’s.

The yellow-black mana of Huang Quan and the black-red mana of Ming Zhuo both evoked imagery of "death." Whereas Ming Zhuo’s mana leaned more toward decay and corruption, Huang Quan’s exuded dampness and gravity. Even hearing Huang Quan speak brought about the sensation of being buried alive, as his oppressive mana seeped into both body and soul, saturating them with a cold, heavy dampness.

Unwittingly, my own mental processes seemed to slow, my control over the flames growing increasingly sluggish. In the next moment, Huang Quan’s yellow-black mana and Xu Gou’s silvery-white beam converged from different directions, hurtling toward me. I had neither the time to dodge nor the means to summon flames to ward off either attack. It seemed I was about to be struck.

In that split second, I made a decisive choice.

I reversed my grip and plunged the Furnace Slag Straight Sword into my own body.