CHAPTER 654: 612 PROMISE FOR A MOMENT

I am currently unable to know which side the Old Fist God will ultimately choose, or if he will maintain his past neutral stance. For now, I can only shift my attention back to the present.

"Speaking of which, Naraku’s will has now been severely damaged by Naraku’s gospel, leaving it in a very weakened state. Since your Human Dao Divine Weapon uses Naraku’s will as its power source, wouldn’t it be affected?" I asked curiously.

"No problem. When unsealing the Human Dao Divine Weapon, I conducted a thorough examination of its operating state from inside out. This morning, the main focus was on unsealing and inspecting these two steps. I can guarantee there won’t be any issues in terms of power output," Fa Zheng replied. "Regarding Naraku’s current situation, it might differ from how you understand it. While Naraku’s will may indeed have been severely damaged, its basic mass should not have suffered much reduction.

"You can see this by observing the current state of human civilization. If the collective unconscious of humanity had truly been damaged to the brink of disappearance, it would have reflected on those humans still living today. In fact, before you mentioned Naraku’s condition, we didn’t even know such a thing had happened.

"Unexpectedly, Naraku’s will is probably just extremely scattered and temporarily unable to maintain its past cohesion, nor express a clear opinion. As a ’will,’ it is certainly quite poor, but as a ’power,’ it is still intact.

"The so-called ’unconsciousness,’ especially ’collective unconsciousness,’ might be more natural when lacking cohesion... But even as the structure becomes more scattered, there must be a fundamental commonality, which is the desire not to perish."

In other words, Naraku’s will would still transmit power to the Human Dao Divine Weapon.

It’s like how a person, even if faint and unconscious, continues to breathe and have a heartbeat. The blood continues to flow through the veins, and instinct does not disappear until the moment of actual death.

"Let’s set off," Fa Zheng said, "Follow me."

As he spoke, he stood up, leaning on his silver-white spear, and took a step towards the east, disappearing from the reception room.

The traces of causality unfolded naturally in my vision. My gaze penetrated time and space, tracing the scene thousands of miles away. Fa Zheng had already arrived at the outskirts of the target city, his body hovering beneath the clouds. So, I stood up as well, taking a step in that direction. The surrounding space-time scene quickly transformed, and I found myself next to Fa Zheng.

Below was the interstate highway, the various vehicles appearing as tiny insects, densely traversing the grey lines. If any driver happened to look up at the sky, I wonder if they would see us flying. If they happened to have a telescope, they might see us more clearly.

In today’s world, a significant number of people probably wouldn’t naively assume that suspicious black dots mysteriously appearing in the sky are birds or drones, as in the peaceful times, but rather seriously suspect they might be some passing monsters, or even alien UFOs.

Fa Zheng suddenly turned to look at me and asked, "There’s one more thing I forgot to ask. Last time we met, I was so shocked by what you said that I accidentally overlooked it. What is Xuanming’s purpose in attempting to capture the Divine Son by your side to perform a sacrificial ceremony?"

After thinking, I replied, "... Xuanming wants to find the Master of Divine Seal."

"Is it really like that..." Fa Zheng stared deeply at me.

Honestly, I didn’t want to answer this question directly.

Since Fa Zheng has rejected the human slaughter plan, he must have his own plan to save the world, which might ultimately reach a similar conclusion to Xuanming’s.

Therefore, once realizing that "sacrificing Little Bowl" could lead to finding the true Seal Master, not only Xuanming, but even Fa Zheng and Gua Tianshi could be tempted. Even further, assuming Little Bowl wasn’t an important person to my heart, I would also consider if it might be worth capturing this Divine Son to track down the true Seal Master. So, I have no position to condemn others for wanting to trouble such a little girl.

However, engaging in deceit and concealment on this matter is undoubtedly a poor choice. Not to mention that with the wisdom of Fa Zheng and Gua Tianshi, they could easily deduce the truth, even though Xuanming and the Lushan Great Impermanence are superficially hostile, they share the same stance in wanting to save the world, so a consensus on "sacrificing Little Bowl" between Xuanming and Fa Zheng and Gua Tianshi might happen.

I must speak openly about this matter and clearly express my stance.

"I won’t allow anyone to sacrifice Little Bowl," I said directly, "Anyone who wants to do so is an enemy of mine."

"I also don’t wish to push such a powerful combat force like you to the opposing side at this crucial time before the confrontation with the Evangelical Institute. So we can promise you not to move against the Divine Son," Fa Zheng said straightforwardly, "But with matters impacting the salvation of the world, I must remind you that this promise is time-limited.

"At least, we cannot be patient enough to continue considering your personal feelings if the doomsday process reaches a critical point."

"You said ’we’?" I asked.

"In the past two days, not only have I been investigating Ming Zhuo’s footprints and evidence, but I’ve also found Gua Tianshi and Jian Feixian, and we’ve agreed to form a united front to stop the human slaughter plan. Meanwhile, Gua Tianshi has also inferred the core of the conflict between Xuanming and you. I’m very glad you didn’t attempt to deceive or hide from me just now," Fa Zheng said.

"Then, how do you view the conflict between Xuanming and the Taoyuan Village Master?" I asked, "Those two are making a mess in the south right now, don’t you have any intention of intervening in their conflict?"

"I also want to intervene. Their conflict has engulfed the entire big city, probably causing casualties on the order of tens of millions, with the entire city’s population possibly being annihilated in the Great Impermanence’s conflict. But I cannot find a way to break through the barrier in a short time," Fa Zheng sighed, "According to Weichi’s analysis, that barrier is formed by a massive force. Because of its structurally simple tendency, there aren’t many opportunities for array techniques to become involved.

"Even Weichi himself probably wouldn’t be able to enter within ten days to half a month. Furthermore, the fire sea laid out by Xuanming around the city prevents him from getting close and dealing with it further. Plus, lately, he has to concentrate fully on researching ’Du Shuo Mountain’ technical materials, so for now, we’ll let Xuanming and the Taoyuan Village Master hold each other off while we handle the Evangelical Institute first."

If he hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have thought of having Weichi tackle the barrier. As for that fire sea, I could use my own powers to invade it, opening a safe passage for Weichi. But if even Weichi needs ten days to half a month, I might as well try to solve it myself.

Anyway, those people over there are already facing certain death, so it might be better to first focus on dealing with the Evangelical Institute, whose goals and strength present a greater threat — despite how cold Fa Zheng’s judgment may sound, it’s unavoidable. Only an omniscient being can have everything; even the Gods must face the reality of choices.

Subsequently, Fa Zheng and I entered the sky over the city.

Fa Zheng showed a serious expression, and I focused all my spirit.

Ming Zhuo is a cunning and cautious Great Impermanence; for someone like him to expose his whereabouts so quickly after hiding for just two days is quite unnatural. Although it’s possible he was careless and left clues, it’s better to estimate the opponent from a higher stance to avoid falling into a trap.

This matter has another unnatural aspect: after entering this city, he hasn’t left since. Could it be he truly thinks this place is the best refuge? Or has he prepared thoroughly here to face me, believing he has a way to defeat me?

Perhaps he even counts on "Fa Zheng participating in the raid" as a factor, planning to ambush us united with other Human Gods from the Evangelical Institute. But this place isn’t the Taoyuan Village headquarters that the enemy has managed for a long time; it’s impossible to hide Great Impermanence-level mana fluctuations. Once a large-scale conflict happens, it would inevitably evolve into a final showdown between Luo Mountain and the Evangelical Institute.

Would the Evangelical Institute make that move at this stage? I’m unable to definitively say yes or no. However, I can see Fa Zheng has been aware of this issue from the start. The preparations he’s made for the raid on Ming Zhuo might be more extensive than he’s revealed.

"Zhuang Cheng, let’s flush him out together," Fa Zheng said solemnly.

"Alright." I summoned a fireball.

The fireball exploded, transforming into tens of thousands of "fireflies," spreading in all directions like fireworks blooming in the sky.

We radiated our perception simultaneously.

Carelessly perceiving another Great Impermanence can result in being perceived in return, especially with a Great Impermanence like Ming Zhuo, who prefers to remain hidden. However, we have no intention of being secretive, and at this moment, we fully harnessed our perception, scanning the entire city openly.

I used all my "fireflies" as relays for my perception, observing with precision not just all outdoor locations and the interiors of buildings above ground but even thousands of meters deep underground, ensuring no hiding place is overlooked, leaving nowhere for the hidden person to escape.