Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 619 - 579 Great Demon Xuanwu Flesh

Chapter 619: 579 Great Demon Xuanwu Flesh

This mass of black water is precisely the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu.

Just like black flames, black water is a high-density mana aggregate. Just as white dwarf star substance cannot exist independently from a white dwarf star, the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu cannot exist apart from it. Why have I suddenly become capable of preserving this black water? The answer lies in the Solar Eclipse Fire.

More specifically, it depends on Earth Attribute mana.

The domain of the Four Symbols and Five Elements is complex and variable. Not only can the Vermilion Bird Fire be transformed into Yellow Dragon Soil based on the relationship between fire generating earth, but also achieve alternative changes based on the earth controlling water. The relationships of the Five Elements can refer to the relationships in nature; soil can retain water and become a fertile ground for plants, thus "earth" can restrain "water", and in turn be restrained by "wood".

The key here is that Earth Element mana has the capability to preserve Water Element mana. The black flames of the Catastrophe Demon can also be used to seal and restrict the flesh of the Great Demon Xuanwu.

The realization I had during the previous battle wasn’t entirely a stroke of genius; it was also prompted by the experience of the Catastrophe Demon. Strictly speaking, the Catastrophe Demon’s experience with the eclipse form didn’t originally include the part about using Earth Element mana to restrict Water Element mana, but it had recently clashed with the Great Demon Xuanwu. The residual experience was inherited by me, and the feedback from the conflict between Earth and Water Element mana allowed me to analyze the feasibility of this approach.

When the "Eclipse" devoured the entire Great Demon Xuanwu, I intercepted a portion to preserve, which is now what I’m showing to Little Bowl.

Incidentally, while I’m using the black flames now, these black flames are not being directly maintained by me.

To maintain black flames in the Earth Element realm requires the Eclipse form, but I can’t maintain the Eclipse form for long periods. That being said, before bringing the flesh and blood of the Great Demon Xuanwu to Mazao, I must preserve it using black flames. So what should I do? The method I devised is to use my normal flames as fuel to feed the black flames while exiting the Eclipse form.

With external fuel, my flames can continue to exist after detaching from me. I am essentially doing the same thing now. Although black flames aren’t "flames" per se but rather "flame-like substances," they may not have the concept of sustaining themselves with external fuel. However, much like how the Catastrophe Demon can attempt to devour me, black flames can also devour my flames to replenish themselves.

Extremely speaking, I am nothing but a "self-aware flame," so if I convert my consciousness into preset instructions for the black flames to automatically absorb regular flame power, this mass of black flames can be considered a "super-miniature version of the Catastrophe Demon."

Thus, the container for preserving the flesh of the Great Demon Xuanwu is completed.

I briefly explained a couple of sentences, and Little Bowl seemed to fully understand my approach, then said in a tone of surprise and admiration, "What an ingenious method! It’s thanks to Brother Zhuang Cheng coming up with such an idea."

Hearing my quick wit praised by the always intelligent Little Bowl, I felt my vanity subtly swelling.

"But is such a small mass of the Great Demon Xuanwu’s flesh really sufficient?" Little Bowl asked worriedly.

"Actually, it’s not just this small mass; quite a bit more is preserved within the black flames, I just haven’t decompressed it." I said.

"That’s reassuring." Little Bowl showed a relieved expression.

I stored the black flames away. At this moment, I sensed fluctuations in the space not far away, along with a slight tremor in the Divine Seal Fragment in my consciousness. Turning my head, I saw No. 7 appearing near the gas station. She carried a shoulder bag and walked toward us.

"You all seem quite happy, did something good happen?" she asked.

"We just acquired some spoils. It’s a long story, but if you’re interested in hearing it, I can explain in detail later." I responded.

"Spoils..." No. 7 gave me a deep look, "You defeated them, right? During my activities at the Yellow Springs Evangelical Institute, the earthquakes and shockwaves from your battle kept reaching us.

"Fortunately, you and Huang Quan kept pulling the battle farther from the Institute, so the impact here was barely within an acceptable range, but I could still clearly sense the mana fluctuations from your side. In the end, the mana fluctuations of the Great Demon Xuanwu and Huang Quan disappeared one after another... The Great Demon Xuanwu must have been killed by you, so what about Huang Quan? Did he commit suicide, or was he killed by you?"

"I killed Huang Quan." I said, "using True Spirit Power."

"...Is that so?" For a moment, No. 7 seemed somewhat incredulous.

It’s reasonable. Even if she knows that I am now stronger than Huang Quan, it’s probably hard for her to imagine that I could kill Huang Quan faster than he could commit suicide.

While this might seem like a pointless comparison, among all the Impermanence, if I claimed to be the second fastest at suicide, no one else could declare themselves the first.

This is perhaps one major advantage of "Manifestation." Not only can I freely decompose my soul into Fire Element, but flames themselves are inherently explosive and destructive, so when I decide to self-destruct, it only takes a thought.

But it’s different for other Impermanence. Regardless of their physical form, their souls are their foundation for survival. To withstand their own vast mana output and resist attacks from equally powerful opponents, their souls have massive density. It’s like compressing a mountain-sized substance into a human-sized container. Even they themselves can’t easily destroy it.

There are even those who, having made themselves too resilient, find themselves unable to die even when they wish to. Wandering souls are an example of this. As for someone like Huang Quan, who can commit suicide with a simple slap to his own face, he might be one of the fastest suicide experts among the Impermanence.

I even suspect whether he specifically trained himself to be able to quickly commit suicide in case of emergency.

Thinking of this, images of Huang Quan secretly practicing suicide out of fear of death amusingly appeared in my mind.

Finally, No. 7 seemed to have processed this reality, and with a complex tone said, "...Then, he truly is dead, never to be revived again."

The Catastrophe Demon and Huang Quan were both her enemies, and both died by my hand. Being deprived of the opportunity for revenge is certainly not pleasant. While she might take satisfaction in the death of her enemies, there is also the regret of not delivering the fatal blow herself. Although I’ve never harbored true hatred against anyone, I can somewhat imagine that mindset.

I shifted the topic, asking, "So, what about you? No. 7, did you retrieve what we wanted as agreed?"

"Of course."

No. 7 quickly composed her expression and took out two items from her shoulder bag.

One item was a blue folder, filled with thick white paper documents. The other item was a small black jade stone, which was a Divine Seal Fragment.

No. 7’s hands were covered with black tactical gloves, preventing direct contact with the Divine Seal Fragment. At this moment, this Divine Seal Fragment was still in an ownerless state. The subtle vibration in the Divine Seal Fragment in my consciousness was due to it.

"Nonetheless, I successfully obtained ’Du Shuo Mountain’ technical documents and the ownerless Divine Seal Fragment."

With that, No. 7 handed the blue folder — the ’Du Shuo Mountain’ technical documents — to me, adding, "This is a copy made from the Yellow Springs Evangelical Institute. The original was left there to create the illusion that no critical technical data has leaked."

After receiving the technical data, I stored it into my flames and took out two more items from them.

These two items were the Three-Life Stone Powder previously handed over by No. 7 and the wooden box for storing the Divine Seal Fragment that Divine Light had given me in the past, which also held an ownerless Divine Seal Fragment.

With the ownerless Divine Seal Fragment presented by No. 7 and the Divine Seal Fragment bound by Little Bowl, the three Divine Seal Fragments were thus collected.

The three Divine Seal Fragments are the prerequisite for "not dying upon consuming the Three-Life Stone Powder."

"Little Bowl, are you ready?" I asked.

With a determined expression, Little Bowl replied, "...Yes, Brother Zhuang Cheng, I am prepared."

By taking the Three-Life Stone Powder, one can retrieve memories lost due to frenzy infection... and different from the scenario of wandering souls, ordinarily consuming the Three-Life Stone Powder only retrieves the part of the memory one wishes to restore. However, using the forthcoming method to consume the powder does not result in death, and allows the retrieval of all past memories.

How would a wandering soul view this if they knew? Surely, they’d have some thoughts, but likely wouldn’t say things like "Had I known there was a way to not die..." Because their pursuit wasn’t "Restoring memory even at the cost of death," but rather "Restoring memory in preparation for death," with "restoring memory" being merely a necessary condition to achieve peace in death.

"How should we implement this specifically next?" I looked toward No. 7, "You mentioned you’d provide us with technical support, do you know the procedural details?"

No. 7 nodded and then said to Little Bowl, "Now... Little Bowl, please bind these two Divine Seal Fragments first."