The item handed to me by Weichi is probably a Divine Seal Fragment that was gifted to him by the Divine Light in the past.

At this stage, having one more or one less Divine Seal Fragment doesn't make much difference to me. However, with the mindset of having more is better, I still decided to collect it, and casually asked, "Haven't you bound with this Divine Seal Fragment?"

"Binding with just one more Divine Seal Fragment wouldn't help me defeat the Old Fist God. Also, it's necessary to guard against the possibility of the Master of Divine Seal taking all my accumulated fragments halfway through via the binding connection. So, I didn't rashly do so," Weichi said.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, I also asked what method Master of the Divine Seal Tai Sui had entrusted to him to defeat the Old Fist God, as it might help me in dealing with Shan Liangyi. He openly shared it with me—due to the complexity of the method, he could only explain it in a way I could understand.

As Tai Sui mentioned, the method isn't applicable to me. For Weichi to have the power to battle the Old Fist God, he must deploy a super array primarily powered by the Divine Seal Fragment power, requiring the use of at least twenty-one fragments. Even if I lent all my fragments to Weichi, it wouldn't meet the minimum count. This array can only be used by Weichi himself and must be based on his still possessing the insane willpower willing to do anything for vengeance.

Only with such a strong "wish power," Weichi could exploit sufficient Divine Seal Fragment power with his limited Void Envoy qualifications. Perhaps this is similar to how the Seal Master, upon contacting the Complete Divine Seal with Tai Sui, could triumph over the latter by relying on stronger willpower. The Divine Seal responds more intensely to fervent wishes.

Regrettably, after conversing with Qilin, Weichi now lacks such extreme willpower. Regardless of trying to gather more fragments, entrusting Weichi to deal with Shan Liangyi is impractical. It seems that I'll have to handle it myself.

What a terrible thought, that I'd actually consider letting anyone other than myself deal with Shan Liangyi. However, if only in my mind, I once contemplated fleeing and hiding. Although it contradicts my adventurous principles, losing all my power means I can no longer adventure as before. Such inferior thoughts mustn't be detected by anyone.

Incidentally, the wooden box given to me by Weichi lacks the ability to shield external perception and detection, now merely an ordinary wooden box. He seems to have disassembled and studied it, breaking its functionality during research. Thus, it's inconvenient for me to directly store the box along with the Divine Seal Fragment into the flames.

I had to store the Divine Seal Fragment inside a tiny embryonic Void Realm—in this operation alone, contact between my Flame Magic Power and the Divine Seal Fragment doesn't result in forced binding. The fragment is absorbed by the tiny embryonic Void Realm with priority.

Weichi opened the Teleportation Door, the twenty-meter-tall massive stone gate radiating dazzling white light reminiscent of the light at a tunnel's end.

Beyond the gate lay the Post-mortem World.

Mazao displayed a resolved expression of determination.

I walked at the forefront, with Mazao closely following at my side, while No. 7 trailed behind. All three of us passed through the Teleportation Door simultaneously, our vision filled with blinding white light.

Soon, the surrounding white light gradually receded, revealing a new vista. No longer the blue sky and white clouds of reality, but the suffocating dark sky of the Post-mortem World.

All around lay the ruins of a small town, chaotic and cold winds carrying light rain blowing emptily. Glancing back, there too stood a twenty-meter-tall massive stone gate, albeit lacking the white light.

Furthermore, the gate exuded a strong sense of rejection. Previously, even when not operational, it left an impression of being in standby mode. Now, however, it felt utterly defunct, incapable of any function. It appears Weichi, upon sending us over, promptly closed the Teleportation Door according to the arrangement of Gua Tianshi.

Gua Tianshi did mention we could restart the Teleportation Door from our side, but didn't specify how. The intricate array knowledge was provided to me—unsurprisingly beyond my comprehension. Fa Zheng and others are likely aware of it.

This extent alone isn't enough to assure Shan Liangyi's inability to invade the Post-mortem World again. The Great Impermanence, opening the third gate, defies common sense. We can only prepare everything possible on our end for now.

I recalled Gua Tianshi's stance when discussing Shan Liangyi with me. He ardently hopes Fa Zheng, the others, and I will eliminate the Evangelical Institute in the Post-mortem World, but thereafter, acceding to Shan Liangyi killing me might be his ideal outcome.

The Old Fist God might be scheming something utterly horrifying—Gua Tianshi mentioned this to me. Although it's still unclear what exactly that terrifying scheme entails, neither Gua Tianshi nor Evangelical Institute Master Yama seem able to sit idly by. Judging by Gua Tianshi's tone back then, it could very well pose a threat on par with the human annihilation plan.

Currently, only Shan Liangyi, who also opened the third gate, can defeat the Old Fist God. Gua Tianshi might wish Shan Liangyi to consume my Vermilion Bird Seed, increasing his power beyond what it was during his defeat by the Old Fist God, thereby turning the tables.

As for Shan Liangyi being a supporter of the human annihilation plan—that's the least important part. Unlike us, Shan Liangyi, as a Great Impermanence, can freely travel to parallel worlds and the otherworldly realms through reincarnation. The Doomsday on this planet isn't an unavoidable obstacle for him, and "post-disaster reconstruction" is even more bothersome. If he's the only executor of the plan remaining, I'd wager he'd likely forgo it.

Mazao gazed at the sky of the Post-mortem World, seemingly sensing the chaotic spatiotemporal environment, then displaying a mix of nostalgia and deep animosity.

"I'm back..." she murmured.

"How's it, did you recall anything?" No. 7 asked.

Mazao shook her head, saying, "It's still too early, but... it should happen soon. As long as I encounter a strong enough enemy..."

No. 7 advised with concern, "The Evangelical Institute is our enemy, that's for sure. But believe it or not, they were once your long-time comrades. If your memory suddenly returns during combat, don't hesitate."

"I understand," Mazao said assuredly, "Wasn't I fighting them countless times even after defecting from the Evangelical Institute? If I truly regain all my memories, there definitely won't be any naive reactions."

"Who knows, you've always been quite naive since long ago," No. 7 said, "Lucky for us, Huang Quan was already killed by Zhuang Cheng. Had you met a mentor from your past on the battlefield, there's a chance that even the determined you of the past, who opposed the Evangelical Institute, might hesitate."

Hearing this, I couldn't help but worry that Mazao, upon regaining all her memories, might have feelings about my killing of Huang Quan. Though the fact that Mazao defected from the Evangelical Institute suggests that she and Huang Quan were already irreconcilable in stance, I still couldn't avoid unnecessary thoughts.

The puzzle as to why Huang Quan never tried to recruit me for the Evangelical Institute is now quite clear. Certainly, it was because of Shan Liangyi—Huang Quan knew from the beginning that King Zhuanlun was Shan Liangyi and was aware of the life-or-death enmity between Shan Liangyi and me, the Vermilion Bird Inheritor. Compared to recruiting me, a neophyte Great Impermanence, he evidently continued partnering with Shan Liangyi as the optimal choice.

Moreover, killing me would enhance Shan Liangyi with the Vermilion Bird Seed, which in some sense is a power-level "recruitment" too. Since the Seed of Power, like Shan Liangyi, can freely transfer across different times and spaces, it presumably wouldn't be confined by the void outside the world, allowing Huang Quan to target me via the void without reservation back then.

Thinking back to my previous adventure in the Post-mortem World, it truly was dangerous, as Huang Quan could have summoned Shan Liangyi over easily. Acting in the Post-mortem World, Shan Liangyi wouldn't have to worry about drawing the Old Fist God's attention. But it wasn't just luck; my tactics back then included preventing Huang Quan from calling reinforcements—from calling Evangelical Institute Master Yama, precisely and inadvertently.

Now, there were some rustling sounds around us.

No. 7's gaze instinctively turned serious, while Mazao also showed a vigilant demeanor. I have seen similar traits in Wandering Souls and Mapmakers before, a common reaction among doomsday survivors. Despite being away from the Post-mortem World for so long, Mazao still maintains a high alertness to this chaotic and dangerous environment.

A variety of bizarre and strange entities appeared near us—some resembled grotesque, twisted flesh beasts; others, eerie, spooky vengeful spirits; and some, indescribable, incomprehensible things —these monsters seemed attracted by the power of the unfortunate star. Previously, merely having residual power already led me to encounter a series of doomsday oddities on the way here, and now, with Mazao's presence, the phenomenon has become truly unmanageable.

Just as I was about to clear the area, an unfamiliar Great Impermanence Level mana fluctuation descended upon this land.