He changed Tiwat

However, after she entered into a contract with Han Fulai, these filths were shared equally between the two of them.

To describe it in the style of a light novel, it's like she now shares life force with Han Fulai, turning one vial of blood into two, so losing one vial wouldn't kill her.

Of course, this is only in theory. After all, humans don't have "health bars," and they can't "lose all their health." Just massive bleeding can kill a person...

In the Divine Child's memory, Master Saigu seemed to have mentioned the Hermit "Medicine Lord" of Liyue's Jade Valley, who possessed a wondrous technique called "Ear Serpent Dragging Dragon Technique." It is said that healers who form a pact with the Hermit "Medicine Lord" will also possess this magical spell that shares life force, allowing them to share the Hermit's lifespan.

Those who contract with the "Medicine Lord" usually don't live very long.

The contract that Han Fulai made with her was similar in effect to the "Ershe Dragging Dragon Method," but at the same time, it meant that he had bound his life to the divine child.

After forming a contract with Han Fulai, the damage from the taint and purification that she used to bear alone would be shared between them, and Han Fulai would obviously bear a larger share. Her life, which was already on the verge of collapse, was indeed saved by Han Fulai...

But this also means that for Han Fulai, exorcising the "malignant tumor" is equivalent to "self-harm".

"What should we do next? You don't want to just try to exorcise the 'malignant tumor' like this, do you?" the divine child asked solemnly.

Since Han Fulai said he wanted to solve the evil pollution "once and for all", it shouldn't just be a simple matter of exorcising the "malignant tumor".

She can be very serious when she needs to be.

In response, Han Fulai also said in a serious tone: "Of course it's not as simple as performing a 'great purification ritual'. The 'divine cherry blossom great purification ritual' of all time is just a temporary fix. To cure the root cause, we need to find the root of the problem."

The divine child's expression darkened slightly: "But the root of that 'illness' is the 'dark calamity' from five hundred years ago... Even the teacher..."

Han Fulai stared at the throbbing "malaria tumor" for a while, then turned to ask, "According to your memory, is this 'malaria tumor' even larger than it was five hundred years ago?"

The divine child paused for a moment, then nodded.

The filth within the Divine Cherry Tree had indeed accumulated over the past five hundred years, causing the "malignant tumors" to grow larger and larger, making them increasingly difficult to "surgically remove."

"Do you remember the story I told you about the Liyue healer?" Han Fu looked at the Divine Child. "'When the disease is in the superficial layers of the skin, it can be treated with hot compresses; when it is in the muscles, it can be treated with acupuncture and moxibustion; when it is in the stomach and intestines, it can be treated with herbal remedies; when it is in the bone marrow, it is beyond the reach of the God of Destiny, and there is nothing he can do about it.'"

"To cure an illness, the best approach is to first treat the 'pre-illness' stage."

The divine child reacted quickly: "You mean—to treat the divine cherry tree before it becomes 'terminally ill'?"

“Yes.” Han Fulai nodded emphatically. “Now the evil filth is closely linked to the Divine Cherry Tree. Five hundred years have made the earth veins of Inazuma deeply ingrained, making treatment extremely difficult… But if we could remove this ‘root of the disease’ five hundred years ago, before it became too powerful, then there would be a cure.”

“We need to travel through time and space back to the era of the ‘dark calamity’… or even further back, thousands of years before that divine cherry tree first appeared in Inazuma.”

"For this reason, we need the power of 'governing with time'—go back and find the shadow first."

The space of consciousness trembled amidst the thunder.

Shadow knelt on the scorched earth, leaning on his sword. Blood from his split tiger's mouth dripped down the hilt of the sword, rising into a crimson mist on the ground shrouded in purple lightning.

She looked up at the puppet general floating in mid-air—the opponent's four giant lightning palms were slowly closing, reshaping the vajra that had just been shattered.

"This is the three thousand six hundred and fifty-second time," the puppet general's voice was as precise as a machine, "you are still clinging to a futile struggle."

The hand holding the knife trembled almost imperceptibly.

The number the puppet general just mentioned is the number of times she has fought with the puppet general—and also the number of times she has killed the puppet general.

She gave up counting a long time ago.

For the indestructible "Eternal Guardian," "death" is a non-existent concept. No matter how many times she is killed in this consciousness space, as long as her will remains unshaken, she can be resurrected.

But this number reminded Lei Films of something else—if you convert this number into dates, it's a full ten years.

It turns out that so much time has passed since she sent Ying and Paimon out of the consciousness space...

It had been a very long time since Han Fulai went to search for the Divine Child.

Are they all alright?

...And the people of Inazuma, are they still suffering from the monsters?

Ying knew this was an unnecessary worry.

In this realm where time stands still, calculating time is meaningless; decades here may be but a fleeting moment to the outside world.

She knew that she was experiencing these inappropriate emotions because she was tired.

Until just now, Ying had maintained a state of "no thoughts or intentions," focusing solely on the battle—a battle of this caliber allowed no room for slackness; even a moment's distraction could lead to her defeat.

But she is not an indestructible doll after all.

She will get tired and weak.

She has feelings and concerns.

In the general's eyes, these were all "mistakes" that were unnecessary on the "eternal" path, and "wear and tear" that should be rejected.

The "rules" that the general upholds were ones she herself established five hundred years ago, but in the long battle with the general, Shadow becomes increasingly aware of her past mistakes—

Like a doll, devoid of any emotions, merely existing... what meaning would it have even if one could truly reach "eternity"?

As expected, this was not the "eternity" she wanted.

Therefore, she had to correct the general.

Ying sighed softly and gripped the hilt of "Dream Together" tightly once more.

Suddenly, "Dreaming Together" erupted with lightning more dazzling than the blazing sun.

"Without thought or desire, sever all ties with a single stroke!"

The blade flashed like lightning, tearing through space, aimed directly at the Baven protective mirror between the puppet general's chest and abdomen.

Besides signifying status and authority, the main purpose of this Bawen mirror is to "isolate from the outside world"—it is the most heavily protected part of the general's "worldly complete" outfit, and also the puppet general's only "weakness".

It is the space where the "energy core" is stored.

Like the "Eternal Mechanism Array," all autonomous mechanisms created using Kanria technology possess such an energy core.

These energy cores enable Kanria's autonomous mechanisms to draw energy from the earth's veins, achieving a near-eternal lifespan.

Originally, this place should have been used to house the "Heart of God".

However, in order to deceive Sky Island, Shadow ultimately abandoned the use of "Heart of God" as an energy source when creating the general, and instead used the divine core of his own demonic body.

The divine core of a demon god's body is naturally stronger than the "energy cores" created by the Kanriar rune technology, but it cannot compare to the power of the "Heart of God." Even a demon god like Orobas can be killed by "a single, thoughtless strike."

If there is any weakness in this unchanging "eternal guardian" across countless generations, it is only in this one place.

If it were outside, the puppet general whose energy core was damaged would be unable to move due to insufficient energy until the core repaired itself—which could take hundreds of years.

Within this consciousness space, the puppet general, whose energy core is damaged, will also experience a prolonged delay in recovery. Although she will eventually revive, she will provide Shadow with precious breathing room, allowing her to recover from fatigue and continue fighting.

however……

"ridiculous."

Behind the puppet general, the giant hands of the spirit form the "Abhaya Mudra" (gesture of fearlessness), while the giant hands of the soul form the "Garuda Mudra" (gesture of granting wishes). The two giant hands are joined together, like devout Narukami believers bowing in prayer to the statue of the Thunder God at a shrine.

In an instant, countless lightning serpents poured out from the void rift. They did not directly target the shadow's vitals, but instead wove themselves into an impenetrable cage, hindering the light of day that should have been extinguished.

Shadow's pupils suddenly contracted. Her blade froze three inches from the core, while a fine web of lightning had already quietly wrapped around her limbs.

This was not the martial arts and instincts she bestowed upon the general when she created him.

The puppet general is also evolving in battle.

With each battle, the general grew stronger.

But the same goes for Lei's movies.

The battles that use oneself as a mirror have elevated Lei's martial arts skills to a new level.

Although her body would tire, her combat wisdom became increasingly refined.

Lei Yingdian's body, which was entangled in the lightning spider web, suddenly dissipated, and four figures shot out from her body in four directions—this was Lei Yingdian's "one spirit and four souls".

From the very beginning, this strike was a feint; the real killing move was unleashed after the clone was created.

The four actors simultaneously raised their katana to the sky:

"Without thought or desire, all worlds return to stillness!"

Four beams of light covered the southeast, northwest, and northeast, simultaneously attacking the puppet general; each strike was a real attack.

The shovel-shaped helmet of the puppet general reflected a glint of cold light. Lei Yingdian's move, "The Four Seas Return to Silence," was something she could no longer avoid... so she wouldn't avoid it.

She then raised her naginata as well—

"Inari, follow my command! Formation of Nothingness!"

The lightning longsword held by the giant hand of the desolate soul suddenly split into thousands of tiny lightning needles, while the vajra in the hand of the strange soul also split into several pieces, falling like a rain of pear blossoms, sealing off every inch of space.

She was responding to the attack with an attack.

The world lost its color in the clash of these two extreme martial arts.

The collision of the lightning rod and the blade did not produce the clang of metal against metal, but rather a crisp sound like porcelain shattering.

Space peeled away like a shattered mirror, revealing the chaotic currents flowing behind it.

The aftershocks of the clash of ultimate moves caused the puppet general's body to momentarily pause.

Amidst the raging thunderstorm, Shadow's true form suddenly appeared before the puppet general from an unbelievable angle. "Dream One Heart" seized this fleeting opening, and his blade, like lightning piercing through the clouds, perfectly struck the puppet general's baton-patterned goggles.

If Ying were there, she would be very surprised—

This move is Ying's "Thunder Shadow Sword: Swift as Lightning".

The moment the blade pierced the white armor, time seemed to sink into a viscous quagmire. Shadow saw the glint in the general's eyes—an emotion called surprise.

The general's "database" does not contain any memory of this move—after all, every time Ying has fought, it has been Lei himself.

"Snap!"

The puppet general's breastplate cracked open, revealing the energy core within its body, before being pierced by the blade of "Dream One Heart".

The light in the puppet general's eyes went out.

Shadow sheathed his katana and silently began to meditate.

She knew it wasn't over yet, and the next showdown would be even more intense.

P.S.: I took a few extra days off at the end of February because I really needed to adjust my schedule. Consider it a break. I'll resume regular updates in March.

Chapter 246 We must abandon naive truths and raise the white flag again and again.

"The time required for the duel is enough to witness the rise and fall of a kingdom."

"The energy consumed in the duel is enough to topple the ocean and extinguish the light of day."

"The will to fight is enough to unite one's heart and overturn dreams."

"And you still exist."

In the space where the crimson moon hung high, the general, dressed in white armor, sighed with these thoughts.

The purple figure opposite her replied: "I will exist forever."

They have been fighting in this space for a century... or even longer.

Throughout this long period of time, Shadow never suffered a defeat.

Time changes many things.

For example, the shadow had many more wounds on its body, its purple furisode kimono was tattered, and the blade of the sword "Dream of the Heart" was dim, like firewood that had been burned out...

For example, the puppet general's face showed an expression.

She would feel sentimental, puzzled, and sigh... and even feel tired.

In this long battle, she became more and more like a "human being".

"Can you answer one question for me? You knew you couldn't change the laws, so why didn't you give up?" the general questioned.

"Because if you don't give up, things may change."

Ying answered without hesitation.

"This is the principle that those who led me out of the 'pure land of the heart' told me, and it is also the wish of the people of Inazuma."

"Five hundred years ago, in the face of the 'Dark Calamity,' the people of Inazuma did not give up. And now, five hundred years later, they have not given up either. Since humanity has not given up, how can their gods give up?"

“It’s impossible.” The general slowly shook his head. “Five hundred years ago, you couldn’t save Raiden Shin, and now you can’t save Inazuma either. You know perfectly well that escaping this world is the only way out—your five hundred years, my five hundred years…our five hundred years is for this purpose.”

Shadow's voice remained firm: "What was impossible in the past, is possible now. What is impossible now, is possible in the future. I want to believe in the possibilities of humanity."

The general frowned: "This is still a futile struggle."

Ying countered, "Just because there's no way, does that mean we shouldn't do it? Just because it's difficult to accomplish, does that mean we shouldn't do it? Just because it can't be changed, does that mean we shouldn't do it?"