The Water Navy Xuanwu has become Impermanence.

Upon hearing this news, although I hadn't predicted it beforehand, I wasn't surprised. The Water Navy Xuanwu, like me in the past, was a candidate for Impermanence, recognized by the world as someone with the potential to become Impermanence. In the Post-mortem World, I have even fought with the Great Demon Xuanwu, so I, more or less, have witnessed the kind of power Water Navy Xuanwu could possess once reaching this realm. Seeing them still at the Great Success Rank afterwards would probably be rather anticlimactic.

The other Great Demons all have their prototypes as Impermanence, but both the Catastrophe Demon and the Great Demon Xuanwu, at the time when they were summoned by the Naraku Gospel, were still not Impermanence. This isn't meant to diminish the value of Impermanence, but if Water Navy Xuanwu couldn't even manage to become Impermanence, it would be a disservice to the importance Naraku Gospel places on them.

Compared to the news of Water Navy Xuanwu becoming Impermanence, I am more intrigued by Jiaoshu's mention of "three other Impermanence" — apart from Water Navy Xuanwu, there are actually two other Impermanence operating in the shadows of this city whom I am unaware of?

Indeed, this Southern City is the most vital economic center in the nation, holding an extraordinary status, and its size consistently ranks in the national top ten, but it surely cannot accommodate so many Impermanence causing chaos.

"Who are the other two Impermanence?" I pressed further.

"According to Xuanming, one of the remaining two is the Impermanence created by the Human Bureau who destroyed the Fufeng Base, called 'Xu Gou'," Jiaoshu replied. "Truth be told, I personally can't acknowledge such a character as truly being Impermanence, but since Xuanming refers to him as such, I have to accept it..."

Xu Gou... I almost forgot about him.

Last time during the decisive battle at the Taoyuan Village Headquarters, I sent him flying into space beyond Earth's atmosphere, and for someone without interstellar travel capabilities, he might never return. But as an Impermanence, Xu Gou probably managed to come back soon after.

Previously, he sided with Taoyuan Village, fighting alongside Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang and Huang Quan, so it's reasonable for him to appear here.

"After Xuanming's clash with the Taoyuan Village Master caused city-wide destruction, although we were all caught in it and died, that seemed to be just the beginning of the battle." Jiaoshu described, "Xuanming told us that after the battle started, Xu Gou quickly tried to join and support Taoyuan Village Master, but almost simultaneously, the newly minted Impermanence Xuanwu appeared and joined the fray.

"Even though the past Xuanwu assassinated Xuanming, this time he did not stand against him but instead intercepted Xu Gou who was attempting to team up with the Taoyuan Village Master to attack Xuanming. Xuanming fought against the Taoyuan Village Master while Xuanwu handled Xu Gou... That was essentially the conflict setup at the time.

"Towards the end of that battle, the Taoyuan Village Master summoned a barrier in the city center, shutting Xuanming out, and Xuanwu, along with Xu Gou, was trapped within the barrier, with no news of them since."

I finally understood why I couldn't detect any mana fluctuations from Water Navy Xuanwu and Xu Gou within the city. They were on the other side of the "Outer World Wall."

However, now Water Navy Xuanwu is in quite the predicament. It appears he sided against Taoyuan Village, thus making enemies of both Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang and Xu Gou. Not only is he outnumbered, but the inside of the "Outer World Wall" can be considered the home turf of Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang, who himself is a powerful Impermanence not inferior to Xuanming.

As a newly appointed Impermanence, the gap between Water Navy Xuanwu and Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang is likely much larger than the gap between when I just became Impermanence and Ming Zhuo, to be honest, I doubt whether Water Navy Xuanwu could even withstand a single blow from the opponent.

Moreover, Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang may have every reason to kill Water Navy Xuanwu — firstly, within the Five Elements Mutual Generation relationship, although Water Navy Xuanwu is not as "nutritional" to Earth Dragon as I, the Vermilion Bird Inheritor, he still is an adequate prey to supplement Shan Liangyi's own strength;

Secondly, much like in the Five Elements Mutual Generation relationship where fire generates earth and water generates wood, suppose Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang possesses the knowledge and technique to devour other Power Seeds like Water Navy Xuanwu does, then he might well see Water Navy Xuanwu as a significant supplement.

When Water Navy Xuanwu previously sought to hunt me, the Vermilion Bird Inheritor, did he ever consider that he might one day become prey to another Liangyi Inheritor?

Perhaps due to not having seen Water Navy Xuanwu and Xu Gou firsthand, Jiaoshu also seems to lack a sense of reality regarding these two Impermanence, not mentioning them to me before. Naturally, given her position, she had no obligation to proactively tell me much without my direct inquiry.

She continued, in a tone filled with uncertainty: "As for the third Impermanence… Xuanming, when explaining to us, couldn't specify who exactly that person was, or even if such an individual actually exists. He said he simply had a vague intuition that there might be someone like that in the city..."

"So that's why you initially said 'possibly' about three other Impermanence?" I realized.

"Yes. Xuanming assigned us the task to investigate clues related to this unknown Impermanence," Jiaoshu said, "but he also mentioned that if this mysterious Impermanence is deliberately lurking in secret, then with our capabilities, we wouldn't be able to find them; conversely, even if we did nothing, the target would eventually expose themselves under Xuanming's scrutiny. Therefore, Xuanming never insisted we must complete this task."

Then she hesitated a bit before asking: "Couldn't that unknown Impermanence be you... be you?"

Me?

The conjecture is, indeed, reasonable. From an outside perspective, with the last Impermanence's identity unknown, a sudden appearance of someone like me, a "disguised Impermanence," would naturally fit. Moreover, before I officially entered the city, my "Firefly" had been secretly moving within the city.

No matter how small, "Firefly" is equivalent to a part of me as Impermanence, acting as my extension and sensory organ; as a fellow wielder of fire power as Impermanence, possibly the target Xuanming sensed inherently was that minute "Firefly." Additionally, due to its minuscule size being advantageous, it's understandable if Xuanming could not pinpoint this speck of "dust" amidst the broad regions saturated with the mana fluctuations of himself and Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang.

However, I have a sense of dissonance with this conclusion. After meeting me, Xuanming's attitude clearly treated me as a "new entity entering this city." He gave no impression that I was the unknown Impermanence. In his mind, the mysterious figure is someone else altogether.

Each Impermanence occupies its own niche, and there shouldn't be a truly unknown Impermanence. By eliminating those who definitely aren't here, we can narrow the possibilities.

The Old Fist God, Liu Shuying, Ming Zhuo, King Zhuanlun, as well as Evangelical Institute Master Yama and Great Demon God Shentu... I preliminarily narrowed it down to six suspects. Among them, Evangelical Institute Master Yama recently had a very brief conflict with me, and Ming Zhuo fled into the Post-mortem World, each having alibis. Among the remaining four, Liu Shuying shows the most suspicion.

He was the one suspecting that Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang was the Earth Dragon Liangyi who devoured the Green Dragon Inheritor, which spurred him to drag me along to assassinate the latter. After that battle, he disappeared, only being confirmed through means like investigating for a retribution body status, proving he wasn't dead. Now, since Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang is still alive, he might plan another assassination attempt, with his current hidden state preparing for a one-hit kill.

As for the other three suspects, truthfully, I can't think of any reason they would be here. Although I could concoct something, it's not as convincing as Liu Shuying.

Yet… there is actually one more suspect that hasn't been mentioned.

That is Shan Liangyi.

If Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang is not Shan Liangyi, then Shan Liangyi presenting themselves as the unknown Impermanence here cannot be dismissed. Based on all gathered clues so far, I believe the likelihood of Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang being Shan Liangyi has greatly diminished.

Neither Huang Quan's notes nor Xuanming's descriptions depict Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang as a Land Immortal undergoing successive rebirths across eras, spreading Power Seeds and carrying out hunts merely to prove the "Manifestation" realm, but rather as a heretical God with bizarre ideology.

The thought that Shan Liangyi might be active in this city causes my heart to race, a blend of fear and exhilaration coursing through my veins.

Judging by Xuanming's immediate discernment that I wasn't the unknown Impermanence, it seems Xuanming himself harbors some conjecture about the true identity of that unknown Impermanence.

And when he mentioned not needing to worry about our conflict being taken advantage of by another party, he only referred to Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang, omitted Water Navy Xuanwu and Xu Gou, suggesting he thinks Water Navy Xuanwu was already killed by Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang and Xu Gou, while Xu Gou doesn't have the strength to be noteworthy. So what about that unknown Impermanence?

If the opponent is a figure of uncertain allegiance, they might detrimentally affect us at critical moments, yet it seems Xuanming doesn't consider this possibility, and even thinks there's no need for me to worry — how should I interpret this?