Shan Liangyi in his prime possessed the power to open the third door, but the current level of Shan Liangyi is still an unknown.

The Power Seeds possessed by the Liangyi Inheritor are derived from the power inherent in Shan Liangyi himself. According to knowledge Liu Shuying somehow obtained, if the current Shan Liangyi only possesses the Earth Element Yellow Dragon Power, then his strength might only be at a normal Impermanence level.

"Normal Impermanence" is a term that sounds off when heard. Anyone who can become an Impermanence is an unparalleled miracle between heaven and earth. Each Impermanence is unique, and there is no such thing as "normal." However, I somewhat understand the meaning Liu Shuying wanted to convey. What Liu Shuying called "normal Impermanence" refers to someone who has reached the expected maturity level of strength in both scale and density.

Ming Zhuo and Huang Quan, as well as myself when not using Ash Weapons, are roughly at this level, what I usually refer to as "veteran Impermanence."

If the current Shan Liangyi is at this level, then he might indeed need to lie low here to achieve certain objectives. Suppose he intends to devour me, then it would be necessary to strike when Xuanming and I are both badly injured.

However, if Xuanming realized that the unknown Impermanence moving in the shadows is Shan Liangyi, it wouldn't make sense for him to tell me not to worry about someone reaping the benefits of a fisherman. Of course, he is not Shan Liangyi's target, and since he is my adversary, there's no need for him to consider my well-being. But since he said so, at least I believe he's not the type to bluster about such matters, and I'm willing to trust in his character on this front.

So, does that mean the unknown Impermanence isn't Shan Liangyi? Or perhaps... Xuanming judged that the current Shan Liangyi wouldn't target me?

In saying this, there's something that's always intrigued me. I've been gaining fame as a new Impermanence in the abnormal world for some time, yet I've never encountered Shan Liangyi. Liu Shuying also mentioned that my becoming an Impermanence is the best time in Shan Liangyi's eyes to harvest. Even if Shan Liangyi isn't aware that I possess the Manifestation he covets, he should have acted when I just became an Impermanence, before I made progress in power density.

Especially now, with the Green Dragon Inheritor—Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang possessing such formidable power, according to Liu Shuying's past reasoning, Shan Liangyi should prioritize devouring me.

For some reason... does Shan Liangyi now not want to devour me?

Or has Shan Liangyi, reincarnated in this era, not yet managed to develop his power because he is still a child?

It can't be that everyone misunderstood, and the truth is that I'm not really the Vermilion Bird Inheritor, that Shan Liangyi has secretly observed me from the shadows, and upon realizing I'm not the Vermilion Bird Inheritor, he left, right?

Could the unknown Impermanence be Liu Shuying, or could it be Shan Liangyi...? Were my previous speculations correct, that perhaps Liu Shuying is actually Shan Liangyi?

A plethora of conjectures surged through my mind, and experience tells me the more I indulge in such wild musings, the further I stray from the truth. It's better to consult someone smarter than me... like Little Bowl; she might be able to sort out a clear line from these complex clues.

I temporarily set aside my tangled thoughts and continued searching the city with Jiaoshu for traces of Zhuang Cheng believers.

After several hours of searching, there was still no breakthrough. The city remained a panorama of desolation, with ruined buildings, abandoned vehicles, and the remnants of blood everywhere. Occasionally, monsters would appear on the road, and I, after a long time, took out the Evil Sword, using Flame Sword Qi to kill them all. At this moment, my total Mana is actually on the same level as these monsters, but the overwhelming density difference allows me to face even ten thousand monsters without being disadvantaged.

In reality, there aren't that many monsters attacking me at once, but the total number of monsters in this city far exceeds ten thousand. Jiaoshu informed me that the actual number of monsters is several hundred to a thousand times more.

"We've found nothing so far... Could it be that your believers aren't in this area?" Jiaoshu said, "After all, I merely drew a range based on feeling; it might be completely the opposite direction in reality..."

"I trust your intuition." I had no intention of explaining the concept of 扫帚 star power to her, "There are still unexplored places in this area; first, let's examine all the remaining areas. If we still can't find anything, then we'll start exploring again from the beginning. At least repeat the search three times before concluding."

Jiaoshu appeared surprised.

She thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "When... can I be released?"

I looked up at her and gave her a non-answer: "When I lose interest in you."

Since she was quite close to me now, she seemed quite tall. No, it was likely that I was currently too small. But with this bit of Bad Level Mana, this form is more energy-efficient.

"That's quite domineering..." Jiaoshu murmured.

For some reason, I read some inexplicable emotions on the surface of her soul. A little joy, anticipation, fantasy, followed by a deep sense of transgression and shame.

Her eyes met mine, then as if realizing her emotions had been seen through, she coughed heavily, causing all the stray thoughts to temporarily disappear, and her gaze became resolute again.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, puzzled.

Jiaoshu hesitated, saying, "Well, that, this..."

At that moment, an illusory voice appeared near my ear. A calling that had been faint and elusive now became clear.

"Wait." I raised my hand to signal Jiaoshu to stop talking.

She closed her mouth with a sigh of relief. I focused my attention on my surroundings, listening closely. It was indeed not my imagination; the voice calling my name was getting clearer.

A moment later, when the voice became clear enough, I felt a sufficiently clear connection with it and locked onto the direction from which it came, even gauging the relative distance with my spiritual perception.

I grabbed Jiaoshu beside me and walked in that direction. With just one step, the scenery around us changed instantly. In the blink of an eye, we reached near the source of the sound.

Jiaoshu almost lost her balance but quickly regained her footing, then looked ahead and exclaimed in surprise, "That is—"

I also saw clearly the scene in front of us.

We found ourselves on the rooftop of a building, and two to three hundred meters away was a medium-sized venue building seemingly used for holding certain exhibition events. Surrounding it were countless monsters, numbering possibly in the thousands or tens of thousands. As the saying goes, with more than ten thousand, there is no boundary, and the same applies to monsters.

The monsters surrounding the exhibition hall completely blocked the surrounding area, apparently trying to break into the hall but unable to do so temporarily. A barrier formed by white light surrounded the venue, preventing the monsters from succeeding.

Outside the venue, at different positions of the white light barrier, I noticed some demon hunters. A few were of the achieved level, while the rest were half residence level and half bad level, totaling about fifty or sixty people. They were making every effort to maintain the barrier.

The white light barrier had an ingenious property; monsters crashing into its surface would be bounced dozens of meters away. Since these monsters didn't know how to cooperate and even trampled over each other while charging, less than one-tenth could actually come into contact with the barrier at any moment. Moreover, the average quality of the demon hunters maintaining the barrier was far superior to that of the monsters, and the barrier's resilience had considerable depth. Thus, the exhibition hall hadn't been breached yet.

However, thinking a mere handful of people could withstand the relentless onslaught of thousands of monsters was just a pipe dream. The fact that they could hold on for even a short while was already quite remarkable. One could see the hunters' faces showing signs of strain, and the white light barrier wavered like a mirage, ready to collapse any moment.

The source of the calling was in that direction.

Jiaoshu, with her extraordinary vision, also observed the details two hundred meters away and remarked, "Are those... the remnants of local demon hunters? There are even a few Zhuang Cheng believers among them..."

Upon hearing this, I also tried to discern carefully and locked onto several faces. I wasn't sure how I could identify them, but it was just a simple intuition.

Being my believers, perhaps they often recited my name in their hearts, attempting to establish a connection with my retribution body. Even if they hadn't yet summoned the related mana, they might have been "seasoned" in a way, differing from ordinary people in some invisible sense.

Though I'm still uncertain about the distance between myself and the believer group, since my believers were in life-threatening danger, I should, emotionally and rationally, draw my sword to assist. Besides, for me to exert my full power in this city, I might need to investigate and consult over there; I couldn't let this opportunity be ruined by the monsters.

Just as I was about to strike the tidal wave of monsters, I noticed new changes in the distance.

A man clad in gold-trimmed black robes emerged from the street. Around him, the frenzied monsters became calm and docile, parting like the sea before Moses, forming a clear pathway.

The man leisurely raised his hand, made a knocking gesture towards the white light barrier over a hundred meters away.

With such a simple, ordinary gesture, a thunderous boom sounded as the white light barrier, which had withstood the monsters' assault, exploded into a massive breach, like a city gate hit by a siege hammer.

"Gr-Great Success Rank!" Jiaoshu's face changed drastically.

Additionally, this newly appeared Great Success Rank was very suppressive to the current me.