Chapter 373 The Doctrine of the Diviner
Did World Vision attack their colleagues and steal the fragments of the Divine Seal for their own selfish desires?
I recalled my encounter with Xuanming in the virtual realm. Although it's impossible to determine a person's true nature based on just a few interactions, I found it hard to imagine that Xuanming would suddenly betray his own people out of some personal desire. The Xuanming I encountered in the virtual realm, despite his different methods, seemed similar to the Diviner and Fazheng, driven by a desire to prevent the apocalypse.
The divination master said that the source of the end times is closely related to human consciousness, while Xuanming clearly pointed the sword at the master of the divine seal.
Which side is the right direction, or are both sides correct?
In my view, even if the source of the apocalypse truly lies in human consciousness, it doesn't mean it's completely unrelated to the Divine Seal. Throughout history, the Divine Seal has always played a behind-the-scenes role in intervening in human consciousness.
If the fusion of the supernatural world and the common-sense world is closely related to the progress of the apocalypse, and humanity's understanding of the supernatural world will further exacerbate the fusion of the supernatural world and the common-sense world, then the divine seal that has interfered with human consciousness for countless years, preventing people living in the common-sense world from recognizing the supernatural world, is like a firewall that has been preventing the apocalypse from coming.
The "Fantian Incident" was equivalent to the disappearance of this firewall, and the apocalypse only began to descend after the Fantian Incident.
However, the divination master said that the end times happened in the past... Although the Fan Tian incident was also a thing of the past, the divination master was clearly pointing to an even more distant past.
Could I consider this as the apocalypse that was originally going to happen long ago, but was delayed until now due to the intervention of the divine seal in human consciousness?
I feel that my investigation into the apocalypse has really made progress. Although strictly speaking, I have only shared the progress of the Great Impermanence, I have at least come to understand that perhaps preventing the apocalypse requires obtaining the complete divine seal, but bringing it down does not require the impetus of the divine seal—at least not in the future.
In other words, if I only wanted the apocalypse to occur, I might only need to prevent the Divine Seal from ever returning to its complete form. The method would be similar to preventing the Lord of the Divine Seal from collecting all the fragments. It's just unclear what the Lord of the Divine Seal's true purpose is; if the apocalypse arrives, he might not escape unscathed either. Could his goal also be to save the world?
And, I still have some doubts about the stance of the divination masters.
According to the divination master, Mingzhuo, Shenzhao, and Zhuanlunwang, these three extraordinary individuals all showed an attitude that the destruction of the earth was none of their business. On the contrary, the divination master seemed to have the will to coexist with human civilization, which coincided with Fazheng's adherence to the path of governance.
Even his apprentice, Dongche, chose to switch sides and join the political faction.
“There’s something I don’t understand. Since you and Fazheng both want to save the world, and you seemed to care a lot about the lives of the people at the foot of Moonshadow Mountain when you were there… why would you stand on the side of the supernaturalists who want to turn humanity into resources?” I asked, puzzled.
"Well, I originally planned to bring this up when I was trying to win you over, but it's not too late to say it now," the fortune teller said. "First of all, I don't actually like supernaturalism. Although I'm not exactly a big supporter of Fazheng's governance philosophy, if I had to choose, I would lean more towards governance."
“But you still sided with the transcendentalism,” I said.
“Because I think Fa Zheng is too impatient,” the Divination Master said. “In fact, even the other three extraordinary beings, the Great Impermanence, did not underestimate the technological civilization built by ordinary people. Thousands of years ago, or even hundreds of years ago, we never imagined that human civilization could reach this point today through knowledge and technology. And now we don’t even doubt that human civilization will one day be able to reach the stars on its own.”
"For us, the Great Impermanence, Earth is far too insignificant. One of us alone could cleanse the surface of the planet and reach any point on it in an instant. Although we ourselves could undertake interstellar travel, it would be too lonely. Therefore, we also hope that human civilization can venture into the sea of stars."
"However, in the distant future, civilization will inevitably develop to a level that even the Great Impermanence cannot control. Therefore, some people hope to take control of the direction of civilization's development and transform it into an interstellar civilization that concentrates all resources on the strong."
“What they want is a world where the individual is above everything else. Fa Zhengze and I believe that Da Wuchang is just the helmsman of human civilization at a certain period.”
After thinking it over, I said, "I've heard that even a system of governance eventually transforms into a system of transcendence in practice. At the current rate, before civilization develops to a level that even the most unpredictable things can't control, a world where the individual reigns supreme will arrive first, won't it?"
"The world depicted by transcendence, where the individual is above all else, will not be the 'end of history'," the fortune teller said. "Frankly, aside from the end of the world, I don't know where the history of human civilization will end. But I have lived for countless millennia and have witnessed the beginning of civilization. I existed long before humans learned how to properly use fire, and I have been watching over the development of civilization to this day."
"Therefore, I can conclude here that the creativity that erupts from the troubles and conflicts of millions of flawed beings far surpasses the closed and self-contained world of transcendence where a few individuals suppress everything. Perhaps transcendence may dominate for a very long time, but it will eventually be overthrown and a truly advanced civilization will emerge."
"And that's where my conflict with Fazheng lies. He hopes to skip the extraordinary historical stage that humanity is very likely to enter in the future and go directly into the next stage of civilization's development, while I hope that extraordinary powers can rule civilization for three to four centuries first."
"Why is that?" I wondered.
"...What I'm about to say is my personal experience. I don't know if you'll agree with it." The Diviner pondered, "Although this might sound like I'm condescending, Fazheng, as the Great Impermanence, is still too young; he's only lived for a few hundred years. My experience tells me that it's not a good thing for a civilization to make too few mistakes during its development."
"Lessons missed in the past will only be made up for in a more painful way in the future. This phenomenon can be observed in some countries and civilizations that lack historical depth. Although people like to say that humans always fight for the same reasons, it is the same as children fighting over snacks and toys, and adults clashing over interests and face... The essence of the two is the same, but adults are more aware of the consequences and the limits than children."
"While the Great Impermanence still has the power to bail out civilization, I hope that civilization can make more mistakes and engrave more memories of 'what cannot be done' into its cultural genes... But Fazheng is too soft-hearted; he cannot be heartless."
"Do you really think I can do that?" I asked.
The fortune teller countered, "Don't you want to play the role of someone who appears cruel and cold-blooded, but is actually farsighted and single-mindedly devoted to the development of civilization, and is forced to become a demon in the eyes of the world?"
Is it too late for me to switch jobs to the fortune teller's company?
Although I really wanted to say that, I had already promised Fazheng, so I had to swallow my words with great regret.
Is this the Great Impermanence, skilled in divination and possessing knowledge of the past and future? We've barely met, yet the Diviner seems to have completely grasped my true character.
"That's all I wanted to say to you. If you can't stay with Fazheng any longer, you can consider standing with me."
The fortune teller smiled first, then said, "So, is there anything else you want to ask me?"
I actually have a very important question.
“Since you can see fate more clearly than the other Great Impermanences… then you should also be able to see the fate of this companion beside me,” I said.
Ma Zao realized I was talking about her, and her movements tensed up a bit.
I continued to say to the fortune teller, "For some reasons, we cannot be sure whether she is the original owner of this body... Can you determine that?"
“She’s the girl who woke up from her amnesia and is said to have returned from the afterlife, right?” The fortune teller glanced at her. “Although I don’t know why you have such doubts, at least in my opinion, there is no visible conflict between her and this body, whether in terms of compatibility or destiny. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she is the original owner of this body.”
Ma initially showed a relaxed expression, then her brows furrowed slightly.
In our past discussions, there has been a hypothesis that Asaho's soul comes from a parallel apocalyptic world. This is a conjecture to explain why Asaho in the apocalyptic world would have a completely identical appearance to her body in the modern world. If it is the same person from a parallel world, then it makes sense that there would be no conflict when switching bodies.
However, the "parallel world theory" is just a scientific hypothesis with strong science fiction elements, and cannot be used as a fully reliable basis for speculation. At least it cannot be compared with the testimony of the divination master. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to initially conclude that Ma was the original owner of this body.
So, could this be evidence for the hypothesis that "Ma Zao was originally from this era, but her soul traveled to the apocalyptic era and then traveled back"? When it comes to the argument about time travel, the testimony of the divination master alone seems rather weak, and the initial conclusion that "Ma Zao was the original owner of this body" seems to need to be re-examined.
If the sole purpose is to make a quick judgment, the diviner's testimony is acceptable, but there's no time constraint to reach a conclusion now. Because this is a very important matter, given the available resources, we want to obtain more and stronger evidence.
At least now Asaho can have enough hope that she is not an evil spirit that has usurped the place.
The fortune teller continued speaking.
"Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken... her fate seems to be entangled with strange things," he said.
(End of this chapter)
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