Chapter 333: Resurrection Spells and the Essence of Life
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 333: Resurrection Spells and the Essence of Life
"How is that possible... A Dream Demon, used to monitor my every move like that... If I had brought something like that to my brother's side..."
Ninglan Qiuyue was filled with lingering fear at the thought. Given the known abilities of Dream Demons, assassinating Ninglan Qiuyu would have been child's play.
"Look on the bright side. At least it didn't happen, and everything is still moving in a positive direction," Tan Han said, offering a word of comfort.
Currently, Ninglan Qiuyu had the support of so many factions. One could say he had gathered power with the inevitability of "destiny."
Tan Han had never experienced such a massive shift in power. In the now-peaceful Main World, no one really had experience with this sort of thing. However, one thing was certain: a just cause attracts much support, while an unjust one finds little.
In terms of numbers, influence, technology, and Beyonder arts, they held every advantage. As long as Ninglan Qiuyu didn't court disaster, he was unlikely to fail.
"We should regroup with the Ground Patrol first. We can't afford to hesitate here any longer," Tan Han said.
Initially, Tan Han felt they had plenty of time, but Ninglan Qiuyue’s arrival brought ill tidings. The fact that Qiuyue could sneak out meant something had gone wrong at Ninglan Township Castle, causing her guards to become negligent.
According to Qiuyue’s speculation, Qiuyu was likely using this opportunity to launch a violent transition of power.
Opportunities like this were rare. If they missed this perfect alignment of timing and circumstances, there was no telling how long they would have to wait for another.
"Right, let's take the men up to provide support... Hm?"
"What is it?"
"A text. My brother... he’s actually moving. He’s asking about our progress here," Ninglan Qiuyue said, glancing at her messages.
She had contacted Ninglan Qiuyu when she first came out; coming here to personally inspect the situation had been a result of their mutual consultation.
At least everything was going smoothly for now.
"Why is he in such a rush? Is there no room for error? If we fail here, or if our progress isn't ideal, a rash move could cost him everything," Tan Han remarked with a frown. Speculation was one thing, but having it confirmed was another.
"There’s no way to be fully prepared for something like this. We all have to give it our all. This isn't exactly a peaceful transition of city leadership."
"Fair point." Tan Han nodded, choosing not to press for further details.
Meanwhile, Ninglan Qiuyue was exchanging intelligence with her brother. The most critical point—the matter of the Dream Demons—had to be emphasized!
The Dream Demon factor was far too unpredictable. She shuddered to think if the people following Ninglan Qiuyu were also being monitored by Nightmares like she had been, waiting for the critical moment to deliver a fatal blow.
Qiuyue: The Underground District is basically handled, but I was attacked by a Dream Demon.
Qiuyu: Explain the situation in detail.
Qiuyue: Nightmares can possess items on a person's body. One was on me. Luckily, it was discovered.
Qiuyu: What?
Qiuyu: How did you find it?
Qiuyue: Oh, so you don't even care about your sister?
Qiuyu: This is important.
Qiuyu: I need to know how you detected it. I hope you understand the gravity of the situation.
Qiuyue: An Outsider helped me find it. Method unknown, but I've pulled them into our camp.
Qiuyu: Understood. What’s your status? Can you bring the Ground Patrol to help suppress the remaining forces in Ninglan New City as quickly as possible?
Qiuyue: We aren't regrouping? It’ll be dangerous for you without our support.
Qiuyu: I’ve received word that there’s a conflict between the City Lord and the Dream Demons. The situation isn't as bad as you think.
Qiuyu: The main concern is still those Dream Demons.
Qiuyu: Just have a few people bring the Type IV Beyonder Killing Weapons from the Beyonder Research Base to link up with my men.
Qiuyu: With those and the Outsider working together, we can maintain a stable suppression.
Qiuyue: I hope so.
Qiuyue: Contact me immediately if anything happens. Don't be too proud to ask your sister for help.
Qiuyue: Also, send the rendezvous point.
After communicating the details, Ninglan Qiuyue had her next objective.
"Finished communicating?"
"Yes. It seems he really did treat us as a backup plan. In a few days... Ninglan New City might..."
"No time for sentiment. Let's go."
"Let's go. But this time, there are quite a few people from the Ground Patrol. We can't go back the way we came; it’s unrealistic and a waste of time. We need to seize control of the elevators leading to the surface."
"My thoughts exactly."
"If we run into any City Guards trapped in dreams, I'll have to trouble you."
When Ninglan Qiuyue led the Ground Patrol group to seize the area by force, they found the City Guards already waiting for them.
"Miss Ninglan Qiuyue, we have been expecting you. There is no need for us to clash; we will cooperate with your actions."
"What do you mean?"
Faced with such sudden cooperation, Qiuyue’s first instinct was that it was a trap, but on second thought, that seemed unlikely.
"This is the City Lord's order. Should we lose contact with him, we are to fully cooperate with the arrangements of Ninglan Qiuyu and Miss Ninglan Qiuyue."
"Lose contact? What do you mean, 'lose contact with the City Lord'..."
"Calm down, Miss." Someone beside her immediately pulled her back, whispering a word of caution.
"Please, everyone, follow us. You can trust our words. After all, there aren't many of us stationed here, and we couldn't beat you anyway. We have that much self-awareness."
"Let's go," Tan Han urged.
Even Tan Han was surprised by how smoothly things were progressing.
However, combining the reactions and words of these City Guards, it wasn't hard to deduce what was happening.
These guards clearly weren't on Ninglan Qiuyu's side; they were the City Lord's men. For the City Lord to make such an arrangement could only mean one thing: this resistance movement and violent seizure of power led by Ninglan Qiuyu was, in essence, a test from a father to his son.
If the Nightmares, Dream Demons, and Outsiders hadn't arrived, perhaps this test wouldn't have happened, and Qiuyu would have inherited the position through the normal process.
Once that layer was understood, any keen observer could see that the City Lord's setup was rushed, yet Qiuyu had provided an answer that was both expected and excellent.
From this perspective, the anomaly in Ninglan Township Castle didn't seem like an accident either. According to the intel Qiuyue got from her brother, a conflict had broken out between the City Lord and the Dream Demons.
It was likely that after Ninglan Qiuyun learned some critical information about the Dream Demons, he launched a final counterattack to sweep away the majority of the Dream Demon threat for his son.
Barring any accidents... once Ninglan Qiuyu reached the Township Castle, he would be able to complete the transition of power legitimately and with ease.
Combined with the information Qiuyue brought regarding the shift in public opinion among the citizens, the groundwork for all of this had long been laid.
Thinking of this, Tan Han breathed a slight sigh of relief. The situation had flipped in an instant, and the pressure they faced had been halved. Still, they couldn't afford to be careless.
Since the current City Lord and his successor had already made their plans, they just had to follow the steps. Once the internal situation of Ninglan New City stabilized, they could unite to wipe out the Dream Demons and Nightmares, and then they could return home.
Yet, Tan Han felt a sense of loss. She hadn't found the answer she was looking for.
Could the answer predicted by the Spirit Eye... also be wrong?
Or had she already missed the answer at some point?
Unfortunately, no one could give Tan Han that answer.
As Ninglan Qiuyue stepped into the elevator and watched the Underground District recede beneath her, her heart felt heavy with mixed emotions.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Ground Patrol Headquarters.
"Hello, Ground Patrol. How can we help?"
"Quick! Send someone! The cats! The cats have gone mad! Send help... Ah!"
"What's the situation? Sir! Please be specific, what do you mean the cats have gone mad?"
"Sir? Are you still there? Tell us your location! Are you in danger?" The anomaly on the phone caught the attention of others in the office.
"What happened now? A brawl?"
"I'm not sure. He said something about cats going crazy."
While they were wondering, more calls came in, all saying roughly the same thing. After a quick analysis, they realized the "cats" referred to the little creatures scientifically known as Fool's Dream.
"What's going on? The main force of the Ground Patrol just left, didn't they? Has something gone wrong?"
"There are reports of Nightmare attacks over there too. Grab the Nightmare Killing Weapons. Let's go check it out. A few of you stay to watch the base; the rest, follow me!"
"Wait, Captain, this involves those cats. Should we notify that scholar? You know, the one..."
"Right, ugh... what a pain. You, yes, you—go to the base and find that scholar. The rest of you, with me!"
* * *
At my residence.
With nothing much to do, I was studying the runes involved in the Resurrection Spell, slowly deconstructing its operational mechanism.
To my disappointment, I found nothing "unknowable" within this Resurrection Spell. This included "Soul" and "Soul Essence," which I hadn't yet delved into. It was as if this spell didn't care about those two at all, trampling over everything I thought I knew about the essence of life.
Therefore... this should be considered an obsolete "Resurrection Spell."
After all, the Dean had said that the Life Elucidation represents the iteration and development of Resurrection Spells. Previous versions couldn't truly be called Resurrection Spells.
Although I still couldn't fully grasp its mechanism, based on my understanding, it was roughly equivalent to the ability to create a lifeless shell.
However, there were cases that required specific analysis. For instance... the Dream Demon I successfully experimented on earlier could be resurrected.
There wasn't even a need for a physical shell, extra rituals, casting materials, or sacrifices. This further confirmed that Dream Demons weren't a form of life widely recognized by the Void; they were merely peculiar creatures drifting between reality and dreams.
Their life form wasn't encompassed by the definitions of life recognized by the Void. Even the Soul Essence they consumed was nothing more than "food" to them, eventually converted into their own source of power.
Furthermore, I discovered a startling fact: the effect of the Resurrection Spell isn't to shape the body of a deceased person. The resurrected person, their body, consciousness, and memories are not the spell's effect itself, but rather the result facilitated by the spell's effect.
Think about it: if you resurrect someone and their existence is merely a spell effect, wouldn't they die again once the effect dissipated?
If such a spell were called a Resurrection Spell, no one would use it.
The resurrected person exists permanently. It isn't a permanent spell effect like those in the Great Spellbook; rather, it's similar to my "Dream Rewriting Spell." The various effects I achieve in dreams aren't spell effects, but the result of rewriting dream information to drive the dream itself.
The Resurrection Spell could be compared to that, but it was far more sophisticated.
It rewrote the life and death of a being within the Void!
That was why the elucidation of a life form's existence was so important; it directly influenced the underlying logic of how the Resurrection Spell rewrote life and death.
If you don't understand what life is, if you don't define life, then you cannot use Transcendent arts to demarcate the boundary between life and death that can be resurrected.
Through the Resurrection Spell, I realized there are three states of life.
The first is the living state—the most meaningful form of life.
The second is the state of life-death superposition. Or perhaps an overlapping state? Regardless, that's the general idea. When a life's actions no longer have meaning, it is what is commonly considered death.
This is the state people usually perceive as death, but the Resurrection Spell considers it a state that is still "alive." This is why I call it the Superposition of Life and Death. This state is the range in which the Resurrection Spell operates, using certain means to bring a life in this state back to the first state. This is the guiding principle of resurrection.
The third state of life is absolute death—the kind of death I previously learned even a Resurrection Spell cannot fix.
This is why the Life Elucidation regarding Soul Essence lasted so long and remained so unshakable. It was because Soul Essence defined the range of the "life-death state" more clearly. Even though the Life Elucidation is now evolving from Soul Essence to Soul, that is merely a broadening of the definition of that life-death range.
Because the nature of a Soul is higher than Soul Essence, the life-death range is larger, and the possibility of absolute death is reduced.
At least in the field of Resurrection Spells, the Soul holds this advantage.
Once I realized this, my blind fear of the Resurrection Spell vanished by half. When one understands their own essence, they no longer fear death as much.
Even if some worry that a Resurrection Spell might not bring back the "real" me, I can only say that people tend to overcomplicate themselves. They believe in the nobility and complexity of their own lives, but those are just values they've attached to themselves.
My own positioning is very clear. I am a Transmigrator. My essence is my Soul. Even if it weren't, the moment I ceased to be that person from my past life and arrived in this world with my memories, my essence could only be my Soul.
Even if you say the essence of life is something higher, like a Primordial Spirit or a Holy Soul, those are just different forms of life. If they're really that good, I'll find a way to evolve into them.
Lest I forget what the Dean told me: the people of this world are essentially Soul Essence. Witches, because of the existence of the Soul Truth Witch, have had their life essence evolve into Souls. Every person in the Witch Academy who becomes a Transcendent Witch evolves their life essence into a Soul. Therefore, there's no need to agonize over one's own essence.
So, the Life Elucidation didn't make the original Resurrection Spell obsolete; it guided the spell toward deeper levels of application...
Just then, a violent pounding erupted at my door.
"Who is it?"
I called out, my voice tinged with annoyance. Someone was interrupting my epiphany on the Resurrection Spell!