Chapter 438 A Dreamlike Paradise

Presumably unable to lie or remain silent in front of me, the "preacher" simply spoke frankly: "The purpose of the Peach Blossom Village Lord is to create an ultimate entity called 'Peach Blossom Paradise' by establishing a dream network, and he himself will integrate into 'Peach Blossom Paradise' and become the helmsman of this ultimate entity."

"In his plan, we are all just constituent cells of this ultimate individual that is still under construction."

This is similar to the speculation Zhu Shi mentioned last time, only differing in details. What Zhu Shi said was that the Lord of Peach Blossom Village might intend to attain the realm of "Dream," and according to the "Preacher," the Lord of Peach Blossom Village's goal seems to be to first create an ultimate individual who has attained the realm of "Dream," and then become the mind of this ultimate individual.

Zhu Shi probably didn't know much about Peach Blossom Village, and she didn't seem to expect that such a thing was an open secret within the village. Seeing the "preacher" say these words without any change in expression, she seemed stunned. Could someone really say something like becoming a cog in the machine of some behemoth without batting an eye? Was the Peach Blossom Village Chief really willing to make such a thing public within the organization? That was probably what she was thinking.

"Are you willingly becoming materials to be used by the Lord of Peach Blossom Village?" she asked.

"The purpose of the Lord of Peach Blossom Village and our wishes complement each other." The "preacher" could only answer, "After entering the 'Peach Blossom Village,' we can seek near-eternal beauty in a dream in a moment in the real world. This is a real benefit. At the same time, the Lord of Peach Blossom Village has told us that this is also a processing step that allows us to become the cells of the ultimate individual."

"In the near-eternity of time, we will experience all kinds of happiness, and all kinds of desires can be fulfilled. Whether it is becoming a king and ruling the world, encountering beautiful love, or living a peaceful life as a mortal... everyone can enjoy it unconditionally. But no matter how many kinds there are, the types of happiness are ultimately finite."

"An unimaginably long period of time will cause our experiences to converge, except that the order in which we experience events within a dream may be slightly different, and such differences will also disappear in endless time. A soul that has satisfied all its desires will be liberated from all its obsessions, even the obsession with survival... even the 'ego' can be let go, and it can become material that can truly integrate into the ultimate individual."

I wanted to delve deeper into his true feelings: "Do you think this is a good thing?"

The preacher said frankly, "How is it not a good thing? Even if they haven't let go of their obsession with 'wanting to continue to exist,' the Lord of Peach Blossom Village will allow such souls to compete with him for the reins of the ultimate individual after experiencing endless dream time."

"And those souls that do not endure the baptism of endless dream time simply close their eyes peacefully after countless blissful lifetimes. So where is the loss in that?"

"The Lord of Peach Blossom Village even allows newcomers to join after the 'Peach Blossom Paradise' is officially completed. This will become a haven for all those who cannot bear reality in the future, the other side of the boundless sea of ​​suffering. It is no exaggeration to say that it can save all living beings."

"Of course, although the Lord of Peach Blossom Village does not intend to hide his intentions, we subordinates still have some reservations. When persuading and recruiting newcomers, we will not say so much right away. And once the newcomers have accumulated some experience, they will naturally find out about these things."

After thinking for a moment, I asked, "But according to you, it seems there's no need for you to experience endless bliss in this 'paradise.' Even if you experience endless suffering in your dreams, wouldn't that still assimilate your souls and make you give up even the desire to continue existing?"

"The Lord of Peach Blossom Spring created you monsters who kill and refine souls with the Seed of the Heart. Do you really believe he would be so kind? If he truly had a benevolent heart to save all living beings, how could he allow you to devour human souls outside?"

The "Preacher" remained unmoved, saying, "The souls devoured by our Dreamland Messengers become materials to strengthen us, and further, materials to construct 'Shangri-La.' Their consciousnesses can be recreated in 'Shangri-La,' which is no different from resurrection. Being devoured by us can even be considered a form of redemption."

"As for whether 'Shangri-La' is a blissful dream or a painful dream, we have all experienced it beforehand, and we, as dream messengers, are qualified to exchange our merits for time at this stage, and temporarily enter the still-under-construction 'Shangri-La' again to participate in closed testing. Furthermore, since both blissful and painful dreams can achieve the same goal, there is no need for the Lord of Shangri-La to lie to us on this matter."

"Your 'Shangri-La' is actually doing closed beta testing?" Zhu Shi said.

I observed the "preacher's" body briefly and could sense the seed of the heart within him.

Furthermore, I could sense that the Seed of Heart within his body was connected to some invisible yet immense entity, which I wondered if it might be the Peach Blossom Village Lord, who was the original form. Also, he had previously taken out another Seed of Heart, but it had disappeared without a trace. Because I was preoccupied with other matters, I hadn't noticed the changes there.

But it's alright. I searched through my memories, carefully recalling when the Seed of the Heart disappeared and what specific changes occurred at that time. Soon, I was certain—the Seed of the Heart disappeared because it was hidden inside that "invisible and enormous thing"; and when the "Preacher" first took out the Seed of the Heart, it was also taken out of this thing.

I focused my attention further, continuing to perceive this enormous, mysterious entity.

Just like using professional software to restore a blurry image to a clear state, the presence of this thing became clear in my consciousness. Then, I felt immense pressure. Because this mysterious thing was so enormous, just trying to perceive it gave me a feeling of oppression. It was as if I were witnessing a vast ocean suspended in the sky.

I felt a familiar sense of pressure. I had seen this thing not long ago.

This is something I witnessed once during the battle for the Humanitarian Division's main stronghold. Ying Lingyun summoned it and tore off a portion of its power to revive the true Silver Moon. Yes, this is the source of the magical fluctuations that appeared back then, at least a hundred times larger than mine.

I immediately asked the "preacher" what that meant.

The "preacher" paused for a moment, but ultimately could not resist the power of my words and could only reply, "That is 'Shangri-La'."

Then, the pressure within him seemed to finally reach its limit, and he pleaded, "Spare me... please? I don't beg you to spare my life, but at least don't destroy my soul along with it..."

"Do you hope that after you die, your soul can return to a 'paradise'?" I asked.

The preacher nodded quickly: "As long as you spare my soul, I'll do anything you ask!"

He made it sound like I couldn't get him to do anything unless he wanted to.

Perhaps sensing this from my expression, an overwhelming despair appeared on his face. At the same time, it seemed the Seed of the Heart detected his emotions and was showing signs of leaving his body. His entire body erupted with a blue light, clearly indicating his power was out of control and he was about to self-destruct.

I almost forgot that since this "preacher" is an oddball, he must also possess a mechanism for automatically self-destructing in moments of despair. Seeing this, Zhu Shi immediately drew the Yama Sword, intending to sever the connection between him and the Seed of the Heart. However, before that, I pressed down on his shoulder. The light of the self-destruction paused for a moment, then surprisingly, slowly receded.

This too is the power of words. However, I didn't utter a sound; I merely expressed my intention to stop through gestures, and the "Preacher's" seed of heart and its magical power were automatically sealed. The phenomenon of strange beings self-destructing, which had plagued the Luoshan demon hunters countless times in the past, was never a problem for me from the start.

So, what should we do with him next? Since he has a power-related connection with "Shangri-La," he must have other uses.

As I pondered, I gradually sensed something amiss about this "Shangri-La." It's difficult to describe this anomaly directly in words; if I had to, this "Shangri-La" gave me the feeling of a bleeding wound. Seeing this, my next step began to take shape.

Xiao Qiao, the junior student, seemed to have processed the information the "preacher" had given her. Looking at his listless appearance and then at the unconscious ordinary people around him, she sighed, "No wonder those who experienced 'Shangri-La' seemed brainwashed... If everything he said is true, is that 'Shangri-La' actually a very good plan?... Uh, I didn't mean anything by it..."

In the end, she seemed to realize that she was speaking in favor of the "preacher," so she added one more sentence.

“Things are not that simple,” Zhu Shi said soberly. “No matter how much you praise this ‘Shangri-La’, it is still a large-scale illusion created by the Lord of Shangri-La. It is a world he can create with a single thought.”

"Since he himself must also be integrated into it, then it's not just people like this 'preacher' who are treated as mere materials who will have to undergo the baptism of endless dream time; he too will have to experience endless dream time. And will he be able to maintain his original intentions forever?"

"But... what does all this have to do with you, Luoshan?" the "preacher" murmured. "We just want to dream. Isn't it good to let us dream? The dream world belongs to us, and the real world is yours..."

"You can even join us in the future if you want, and you can just sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor. Why do you have to stop us from dreaming?"

(End of this chapter)