Chapter 156 The Fire Seed

The garden behind the police station had fallen into a stillness.

The woman stood there, constantly trying to restrain herself, but the fear of being deprived of everything at any moment continued to churn in her heart.

Qing, Liang, and You had sealed off every possible escape route for the woman.

In truth, the three of them were also panting heavily. The depletion of their life force was not something easily replenished, and it was obvious that their strength would decline as a result.

Although they didn't understand why Zhou Ze was still standing there,

eyes closed,

motionless,

the three of them continued to carry out their duties.

The xiannu (immortal slave) shadow hadn't run away, still kneeling there.

No one knew why he had given up all resistance,

because if he didn't run,

the end awaiting him,

was likely to be turned into fertilizer in the near future.

Old Zhang seemed to have said "What a coincidence!" hundreds of times in one day,

and was stretched as taut as he could possibly be.

Xu Qinglang squatted nearby, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Although he didn't know what tricks Zhou Ze and the being within him were playing, at least the overall situation was now stable.

Old Xu somewhat regretted not bringing his face mask.

It was so late,

and he still couldn't rest.

It was really bad for his skin.

………………

"Suicide?"

Boss Zhou couldn't comprehend the logic at all.

But these words were coming from Ying Gou's mouth.

Could you imagine Ying Gou singing, dancing, and rapping while joking with you?

At least, Boss Zhou couldn't.

"It's alive and well, why would it commit suicide?"

The more intelligent a life form was, the more it pursued "existence" and "continuation," not death.

And the level of intelligence often accompanied the level of life. The two couldn't be said to be one and the same, but they were at least complementary.

Therefore,

the higher the intelligence, the more afraid of death. And the more afraid of death, the more one pursued immortality, pursued… longevity.

In ancient times, the xiezhi (mythical creature symbolizing justice) wasn't the most powerful one.

But from Boss Zhou's "perspective" and "worldview,"

those who had survived from ancient times to the present,

were basically like "Ying Gou" and "Hanba" (drought demon), barely clinging to life.

Ying Gou was slightly better, able to breathe a little more deeply.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west;

the xiezhi whose horn had been broken off by Ying Gou in the past,

had become the best-off among this group of ancient "peers."

Countless incarnations.

You could even say,

it was a religion.

No,

to describe its current existence as a religion was too small. The xiezhi had transcended that level and become a…

"Rule."

Ying Gou turned around,

looking at Zhou Ze.

His appearance was exactly the same as Zhou Ze's, but his face held no expression.

"Rule?"

"I once said that although it's alive, and living well, it has long lost its freedom. If living is just sleeping, then what's the point of living?"

"What's the point of living if you're just playing with figurines…"

Ying Gou's gaze froze,

and the Nether Sea began to ice over.

Zhou Ze shrugged and said nothing more.

"The instinct of life is expansion, continuation, and trying every possible means to continue."

As Ying Gou spoke,

a scene began to emerge on the almost completely frozen surface of the Nether Sea in front of him.

In the scene,

a behemoth of a unicorn was lying below.

This was true immensity, true boundlessness.

Boss Zhou lowered his head, looking down.

Of course, this wasn't a real xiezhi. There was no way Ying Gou could drag a xiezhi here to be his neighbor.

So,

Boss Zhou turned his head to look at Ying Gou.

What was this?

Ying Gou-teacher's multimedia lesson?

Zhou Ze remembered when he was in elementary school, multimedia applications and teaching, setting up a projector and bringing a computer to give a public class, that was considered a very high-end and advanced thing.

Not only were the students excited, but the teachers at that time were also incredibly excited,

(＾－＾)v!

During class, they could play movies, show photos, and project text!

Unlike the universities of today, where teachers were more like machines reciting from PPTs.

The xiezhi's body was huge, but to be honest, it wasn't as big as the Diting (mythical beast that can distinguish good and evil) that Boss Zhou had seen before.

But the two were incomparable.

Whether in terms of status or level of life,

the xiezhi could instantly kill the Diting.

Just like how Ying Gou, even far from his peak, could return to hell and punch a bodhisattva into oblivion.

Moreover,

around the xiezhi's body,

there were white threads radiating out,

no,

not threads,

but rivers.

It was like the source of everything, spreading out in all directions from its center, forming a dense network that covered everything!

"It's not quite right to compare them to rivers, lakes, and seas."

The "friendship" of being able to peek into each other's inner secrets often made conversations quicker and easier.

Ying Gou paused, then continued,

"It should be called a fire seed. It has turned itself into a fire seed."

As he said these words,

a special gleam appeared in Ying Gou's eyes,

a gleam of

appreciation.

Zhou Ze remembered that back at the dried well in hell, when facing the first generation, Ying Gou seemed to have a similar emotion in his eyes.

The former master of the Nether Sea was proud and lonely.

There weren't many who could catch his eye. Most of them were used as padding for his throne of white bones.

The first generation was one,

and now,

the xiezhi could also be considered one.

Back then, the naive, still two-horned xiezhi had gone to hell, wanting to use the power of law to punish Ying Gou, but Ying Gou had broken off one of its horns and kicked it back.

At that time,

the reason he hadn't killed it was because the xiezhi ran fast, and also because,

watching the xiezhi fleeing in disarray,

Ying Gou thought,

this little thing,

was quite interesting.

Now,

the interesting thing from back then,

was now really interesting.

"It is a xiezhi, but it is not a xiezhi. It has been undergoing a transformation, from xiezhi to law."

Ying Gou took a step forward,

stepping onto the ice.

Below,

the white light of the xiezhi's body grew even stronger,

causing the xiezhi's body itself,

to gradually blur.

"In ancient times, Emperor Yao raised and nurtured the xiezhi, using it as a law beast to punish lawbreakers.

At that time, it could be said that the xiezhi was law, and law was the xiezhi, because it was the enforcer, naturally representing the law.

But later, you could say that the xiezhi sublimated, or that the law sublimated. The xiezhi was no longer just law, and law was no longer just the xiezhi.

It and the law both transcended themselves. Law was no longer represented by people, things, or beasts, unaffected by anything, untouched by anything.

Whether you look at it or not, it is there, always there,

hanging there.

They have begun to no longer distinguish themselves."

Boss Zhou nodded silently, listening attentively to the lesson, even wanting to pull out a notebook to take notes.

Having known Ying Gou for several years,

it seemed that this guy had spoken more today than in the past few years combined.

"This is a qualitative change in the level of life;

after all,

whether it is the soul or the body,

they will decay.

Decay,

is a trend,

an irreversible trend."

"This feels very similar to the Yellow Emperor, like you said before, the Yellow Emperor is dead, but that Xuanyuan Sword can still stab on its own, is that the… rule?"

"Yes, the rule."

"So, this is its pursuit?"

Ying Gou shook his head.

"No?"

"I don't know."

"Uh…"

"Because, it doesn't have to be so anxious. Its haste can only mean one thing."

"The Xuanyuan Sword found it even earlier?"

Boss Zhou desperately wracked his brain, following Teacher Ying's train of thought.

After all, he was a top student back in school, and his ability to learn and comprehend was still there.

Ying Gou nodded,

"You only saw the scabbard here, but it may have already felt the blade pressed against its neck, so it can only commit suicide, otherwise, it will be killed."

"Wait!"

Boss Zhou raised his hand,

He needed to digest this properly.

In his previous life, Boss Zhou was a doctor, very busy, treating patients and saving lives, saving money to buy a house.

In this life, he was a lazy bookstore owner who loses money.

Asking him to suddenly think about and delve into such high-level philosophical questions of the origin of life,

He really needed to take it slow.

After a long time,

Boss Zhou slowly said,

"Although being killed and committing suicide are both death, being killed by the Xuanyuan Sword is true death, while suicide, first, can avoid that sword, and also…"

If both were death, choosing suicide over being killed meant…

"Suicide is actually a continuation!"

Boss Zhou finally understood, like a top student, following the teacher's problem-solving steps, finally solving a difficult problem:

"It is no longer a pure xiezhi, it has lived itself into law, lived itself into a rule.

Therefore, it notified its self-aware incarnations of its impending death beforehand.

It is not afraid of being dethroned, it even wants to be dethroned, so it didn't eliminate the threats that would take its throne before committing suicide like other ancient emperors.

It is hoping, hoping that they can quickly determine a winner, so that someone can inherit its essence.

Because,

whoever inherits its essence,

that person,

will be directly erased.

The newly born xiezhi is actually law, a rule, actually, it's still the same!"

It was just going through a process, a formality called "suicide";

both avoiding the Xuanyuan Sword's strike,

and maintaining its continued existence.

Whether it died or not,

no matter who took over,

it was still it!

Therefore,

if that woman had been killed just now,

Old Zhang would have automatically inherited the xiezhi's essence,

and at the same time,

Old Zhang would cease to exist.

The xiezhi,

would reappear!

Zhou Ze took a deep breath.

After figuring this out,

he looked at Ying Gou with some curiosity,

and asked,

"Why are you talking so much today?"

It's not like you at all.

Beneath the ice,

an illusion of a sword scabbard appeared.

Ying Gou stood on it,

looked at Zhou Ze,

and slowly said,

"This sword will come for me sooner or later."

"Wait, are you saying you also want to go down the xiezhi's path?

No, the spirit of the xiezhi turning itself into law is that whoever inherits it, is the xiezhi.

So what do we have to inherit?"

Ying Gou was silent.

Boss Zhou was also silent.

After a while,

Boss Zhou weakly and tentatively asked,

"Salty?" (implying salted fish, someone who has given up)

"…" Ying Gou.