After Xuanming's complete death, his heavily injured body could no longer suppress the burns from the inside out, turning to ashes in an instant. As the wind blew, it dispersed into the world.

I let out a heavy breath and then collapsed to the ground as my strength left me, trying to adjust my state.

At the same time, I didn't completely let down my guard. Although the battle with the formidable Xuanming was over, I hadn't forgotten that aside from me and Xuanming, there were three, possibly even four other Impermanence beings in this city. At least two of them were enemies.

In my current wounded state, I couldn't even defeat Xu Gou, let alone fight Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang. Xuanming did mention that Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang was in a state where he couldn't spare time to reap the benefits, but Xu Gou might not be. It's also unknown if the mysterious Impermanence suspected of lurking in the shadows is inside or outside the "Outer World Wall," and it's uncertain whether it is friend or foe.

And although Water Master Xuanwu is Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang's enemy, it doesn't necessarily mean he's my ally. On the contrary, if he gets a chance to kill me first, he would certainly not hold back. Looking at it this way, those other four Impermanence beings are all extremely high-risk targets that I must be on high alert for, as any careless mistake could cost me my life.

Fortunately, at least three of these dangerous targets are isolated inside the "Outer World Wall"... Speaking of the "Outer World Wall," now that Xuanming is dead, shouldn't it be lifted?

It was the ultimate barrier created by Paradise based on Xuanming's threat to the dream network. Xuanming originally planned to use me as a scapegoat to lift it... I focused my spirit and sensed towards the city center. The "Outer World Wall" still stood there, seemingly unchanged by Xuanming's death.

Could it be that Xuanming's reasoning in life was wrong, and the "Outer World Wall" wouldn't automatically be lifted because of his or my death? No, it doesn't seem that way. The unchanged appearance of the "Outer World Wall" is just that—it actually vaguely exudes some sort of unsettling aura. I vaguely felt that Paradise was instinctively observing, trying to analyze and determine whether Xuanming was truly dead.

I must take advantage of this newfound opportunity to quickly recover my state.

First, I checked the insights and experiences that Xuanming had passed on to me earlier.

First of all, I must say that although this acquisition is by no means insignificant, it is not the kind that can be immediately fully utilized in practice.

The reason why I could easily absorb the Catastrophe Demon's power and experiences in the past was that the Catastrophe Demon was essentially a future possibility deduced by Naraku Gospel for me, a version that could be seen as another me. Even its mana evolved from the Solar Eclipse Fire, based on the Vermilion Bird Fire, made it seamlessly connect with my power.

Xuanming's experiences, however, are a different matter. Even though we both wield Flame Magic Power, his flames don't belong to the elemental system of Shan Liangyi, and can't be compared to my flames.

Moreover, since our mana is the manifestation of our own soul's thoughts, the associated experiences and insights are filled with our personal values and worldviews. The differences between Xuanming and me in thought are too vast. To fully accept them would be akin to poisoning myself. My consciousness would not be able to maintain its inherent shape under such an internal conflict.

Even with Little Bowl's blessing, this conflict can't be reconciled. Considering that Little Bowl's blessing greatly enhances my understanding of external experiences, ingesting Xuanming's experiences in this state might even accelerate the evolution of internal conflicts.

It must be done the other way around, slowly translating this vast and complex experience into nourishment suitable for my consciousness structure... or perhaps it's not impossible to take a shortcut. That would involve having Little Bowl make subtle adjustments to the blessings on me.

Just like how in the past, my flames could temporarily transform into complete Solar Eclipse Fire. If translating Xuanming's experiences is something I could eventually accomplish, then Little Bowl should be able to make subtle adjustments to the blessings' settings to greatly enhance my translation efficiency for these experiences.

I believe Xuanming also trusted that I could accomplish this task, which is why he chose to pass on these experiences to me.

By the way, even now, there are parts of these experiences that I can immediately use.

I've extracted the technique Xuanming used to invade the city barrier from it.

Similar to what I previously thought, Xuanming's method of invading the city barrier involved using array technology with the Power of Divine Seal Fragments to forcibly tear open a temporary passage he could pass through. Since the city barrier is the power of Paradise, using True Spirit Power to invade it might be the correct solution, whereas people like me who use unorthodox methods can expect to incur a temporary penalty of power reduction.

Besides array technology, there is also the direct method of manipulating the Divine Seal Fragment to invade the city barrier. However, as Little Bowl speculated, Xuanming had already severed his connection with the Divine Seal Fragment. No longer a Void Envoy, he couldn't directly manipulate its power. Luckily, I have the conditions to practice the method he couldn't.

Since it's not using Flame Magic Power but the Power of Divine Seal Fragments, there's no substantial amount of Xuanming's personal thoughts involved, making it low-risk for me to learn on the spot. Utilizing my expertise in accelerated consciousness and Little Bowl's blessing for learning enhancement, I quickly became familiar with its execution technique.

Why do I need to learn this method? Because now I need to summon Little Bowl inside the city barrier to heal my severe injuries.

Of course, there's also the option of leaving the city barrier to seek Little Bowl's healing. But now that Dong Che is no longer in the city, without followers who can use the Furnace Slag Impermanence Sword to conduct a summoning ceremony, I won't be able to re-enter the city barrier quickly.

Time is of the essence. Currently, the thirty million deceased souls of this city have been absorbed by the dream network, and with Xuanming, who was obstructing the dream network's progress, now dead, I fear that Paradise will soon be created. Once that happens, I will lose the last opportunity to oppose Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

As for summoning Dong Che or other followers first into the city barrier, equipping them with the Furnace Slag Impermanence Sword, while I seek Little Bowl's healing in a safe area outside, it's also impossible. The usable Power of Divine Seal Fragments I can mobilize is too weak. With the strict ingress and lenient egress rules of the city barrier, I can at most bring in subjects like Little Bowl, whose soul strength is almost comparable to an ordinary person, not exceeding that of a demon hunter.

I composed my scattered consciousness and then closed my eyes to meditate, spreading out my perception.

The resistance of the city barrier would hinder my external perception, especially the outermost barrier shell, which almost completely isolated all connections between me and the outside. However, following Xuanming's experiences, I released the Power of Divine Seal Fragments, enhancing my spiritual perception. Although this didn't strengthen my perception itself, it allowed me to break through the barrier's shell. Afterward, I observed the situation outside the barrier.

At this moment, the Fire Sea set by Xuanming outside the city had also completely disappeared. Before entering this city, I had speculated that the presence of this Fire Sea might prevent external forces from entering. In hindsight, it was likely intended to prevent Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang from secretly escaping the city. While preventing it might be impossible, it could serve as an early warning for Xuanming.

Meanwhile, I also clearly sensed all my distributed "Fireflies" and thermal energy markers across the outside world.

Immediately, I found the "Firefly" placed close to Little Bowl and reached out with telepathy.

"Little Bowl, help me," I said.

At this moment, Little Bowl was in the backyard of the Luoshan Headquarters. With Zhu Shi and Mazao in solitary training, she seemed to have nothing to do alone. Hearing my voice suddenly, she immediately became anxious and asked, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, what happened to you?"

I briefly explained my situation to her.

"Even though this is to protect you from the challenge against Xuanming, I now need your help." I ended with this sentence.

It surprised me how easily I could say something like that, "Help me," to her. Once, I couldn't even imagine such a sense of partnership.