Xuanming left.

Strictly speaking, he never truly came from the start; he merely projected his power here. What conversed with me earlier was akin to a flame avatar.

If I possessed comprehensive True Spirit Power, even attacking something akin to a flame avatar could inflict harm upon Xuanming, who resides in unknown territories. Unfortunately, my current True Spirit Power can only manifest the property of "True Death," unable to achieve the effect of "damaging the avatar equates to damaging the original form."

Why did he leave so quickly? From the tone of his voice, it seemed he was preoccupied with dealing with Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang, leaving him with insufficient energy to snatch Little Bowl from me. What kind of conflict arose between the two?

And, he said there is another person who is the Seal Master, who could that be...

After some thought, I decided to take Little Bowl and return to the fifteenth-floor room for now.

Fortunately, I withdrew with Little Bowl in time; the fifteenth-floor room remained undamaged. Little Bowl also eased from the oppressive mana fluctuations of Xuanming, taking deep breaths to steady her heartbeat.

I silently reviewed the conflict that just transpired.

Although Xuanming himself did not descend, the attack was undoubtedly a long-distance strike launched by him, with spatial distance bearing no impact on Impermanence's attack. So, it was not Xuanming's avatar that fought against me; it was indeed his true level.

In our first encounter in the real world, Huang Quan once commented on my Crown Form, saying that in terms of sheer power, I was already no less than Meng Zhang of Taoyuan Village and Xuanming. With a bit of polish on technique, I might be able to stand equally against those two.

Huang Quan's assessment was quite fair. With Little Bowl's blessing and the power experience from the Catastrophe Demon, I could exert the mana density of a veteran Impermanence in the second Fire Element Form. Advancing to a Third Crown Form centered on Ash Weapons, my power could truly match Xuanming equally.

Does this mean in real combat, I could evenly match Xuanming in terms of victory probability?

Combat isn't about arm wrestling or size comparison; it involves a series of complex factors. If determining the winner solely depended on comparing each other's power levels, believe this world would have far fewer conflicts and disputes.

Regrettably, if it came to a real battle, I might end up defeated.

That's the direct judgment my intuition gives, much like during my previous clash with Evangelical Institute Master Yama. To be precise, Yama's power level is even stronger than Xuanming's, yet there's likely no significant disparity between them; they are figures within the same realm. My sense of probable defeat against Xuanming stems from two aspects upon reflection.

One aspect is straightforward; Xuanming, as a Void Envoy, hasn't yet revealed the Power of Divine Seal Fragments to me, an external condition that directly boosts combat power. The other aspect lies in our disparity in actual combat experience.

Xuanming previously mentioned he could discern my resolve to protect Little Bowl through my flames. I can do something similar; from Xuanming's flames, I sensed a mountain-like historical depth. If Huang Quan embodies the research-oriented style of human god, then Xuanming bears the spirit of a warrior hero. As an ancient Impermanence, he's accumulated a vast amount of battle and combat experience, possessing a profound, intrinsic grasp of the concept of "battle."

Even if we possess equally strong muscles and wield equally graded weapons, should we encounter in a tight passage, I, as a newly arisen Impermanence, am still far from reaching the level of an ancient Impermanence.

It's a disparity I haven't experienced with scholars like Huang Quan or Demons like Catastrophe Demon and Great Demon Xuanwu.

As for Ming Zhuo... I'm not too sure how he compares to Xuanming in this regard. To my embarrassment, when I fought against Ming Zhuo, he didn't even need to exhibit any unique qualities of his own mana to thoroughly suppress me, let alone display advanced combat wisdom.

Indeed, I inherited substantial power experience from the Catastrophe Demon, but the Catastrophe Demon lacks any rationality or humanity, nor does it possess any combat wisdom or related manifestations. The only aspect to gain from it is the ingrained consciousness of "how to manipulate power itself" within the body and soul.

A battle between Xuanming and I is inevitable, and I must find a way to overcome this disadvantage before the day of the decisive battle arrives.

The method exists, right in front of me.

"Little Bowl, how is your body?" I asked.

"Pretty much..."

Little Bowl seemed about to say something to reassure me, but then another wave of Impermanence's mana appeared in the room, causing her expression to suddenly change.

Unlike Xuanming's approach, the source of this new mana wave materialized directly in the living room of the fifteenth-floor room, sharing the room with us. Moreover, it's a mana fluctuation I recognize.

I turned my head and saw an old man in a black suit with a deep and serious countenance appear on the balcony, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings before settling on me.

"Zhuang Cheng, you have returned," he said.

"Long time no see, Fa Zheng," I recited the visitor's name, "Why are you here?"

There had just been a brief conflict, and my nerves were still somewhat tense.

"Of course, it's because I sensed a mana fluctuation conflict between Xuanming and you, so I came over to see what's going on," Fa Zheng said in a deep voice. "You've been missing for so long, where exactly have you been? And what just happened between you and Xuanming?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Little Bowl beside me, his eyes slightly changing, "Is this... the Divine Son? That's really rare. And this appearance... it's quite similar to Zhu Shi."

For an important figure like Fa Zheng, Zhu Shi was originally a small character unworthy of his attention. But because of my connection, he probably did a simple investigation of the people around me, and being my fiancée, Zhu Shi must have been investigated more thoroughly. It's only natural for someone as meticulous as Impermanence to remember everything at a glance, so it's not surprising that he immediately linked Little Bowl to Zhu Shi.

Since he already noticed that Little Bowl was the Divine Son, I didn't bother to conceal it and directly stated Xuanming's purpose, "Xuanming wants to take this child beside me and use him as a living sacrifice for a heavenly ceremony."

A heavenly ceremony is often an ancient ritual used by tribes and dynasties to worship heaven and earth, aiming to pray for peace and prosperity, or to request revelations about the future.

In today's era, the effectiveness of normal divination techniques is becoming increasingly questionable, and since the information Xuanming wants is the real-time location of the Master of Divine Seal, they can only use the ultimate power of divination. Sacrificing the Divine Son to directly demand answers from heaven and earth.

The so-called "heaven and earth" mentioned in the documents mostly refer to the natural will of the planet, which is currently worshipped as the Naraku Gospel by the Evangelical Institute.

Although Xuanming looks down on the Evangelical Institute, he clearly places special emphasis on the Naraku Gospel.

"Heavenly ceremony... for what?" Fa Zheng frowned deeply.

"I will explain it properly to you later, including where I disappeared to during this period. But, do you want to have a long talk here?" I asked.

Fa Zheng glanced at the room that hadn't been cleaned for a long time, nodded, and then said, "Let's change places then."

Soon, we transferred to the Luoshan Headquarters miles away.

Fa Zheng brought us into a simply decorated reception room, where he sat on a sofa, and I sat with Little Bowl on the sofa opposite him, separated by a very clean wooden coffee table. With a wave of his hand, three steaming cups of tea appeared on the table.

He picked up a cup first, with rough handling, grasping the hot cup body instead of holding the ear, and took a big sip, then said to me, "After you left, those close to you were in chaos. Fortunately, your faction of believers did not show any signs of wavering, and the numbers are continuing to grow.

"It is quite normal for the long-lived and unrestrained Impermanences to 'disappear' for several years or decades, traveling incognito in the mortal world. Particularly, an Impermanence like you, who is widely considered by the believer community as a lone wolf by nature.

"Generally speaking, only Impermanences who have been missing for over a hundred years would be suspected of falling into a loss manifestation phenomenon."

"I thought you all would think I was dead," I said. "After all, I disappeared after a life-and-death battle with Taoyuan Village Master and Huang Quan."

Upon hearing this, Fa Zheng's eyes sharpened, "—Huang Quan?"

He paused for two or three seconds, then first answered my doubt, "Whether you were dead, that's something the believers could sense through your retribution body.

"And just a month after you disappeared, Weichi also made vague contact with you, who are in 'Other Space-Time,' further confirming your survival. No one really believed you were dead."

I remembered this matter as well. Originally, I was hoping during the 'Doomsday Era' to establish stable communication with the real world through Weichi, or even hoped that Weichi would actively open a teleportation door between the two worlds.

But before waiting for Weichi's second communication, I managed to fight my way back from the Post-mortem World.

"Surely, you must want to reassure those close to you first, but I hope you'll first explain the whole series of events to me. You also intend to do this, right? I've encountered many sorts of people, and consider myself to have a deep knowledge of physiognomy, so I can immediately tell that you're about to reveal significant secrets."

Fa Zheng also showed a very serious expression, staring into my eyes, and said, "I've prepared myself mentally, and no matter what you say next, I will handle it calmly. So you can start speaking."

I can now monitor the movements of Mazao, Zhu Shi, and others at any time, so I wasn't in a hurry. I nodded and, sharing only the necessary information, recounted the series of events I encountered after falling into the Post-mortem World, including the Evangelical Institute's human massacre plan.

Snap.

Fa Zheng crushed the teacup in his hand.

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