Chapter 430 The Realm of Dreams
Zhu Shi's description reminded me of the Great True Spirit hypothesis that Mr. Zhu had mentioned in the past.
Some Witcher believe that the universe we live in is a dream created by the Great Spirit, and that every living being in this universe is a different thought generated by the Great Spirit.
Zhu Shi and I, Ma Zao and Xiao Wan, even the most powerful Da Wuchang and the weakest ordinary people, are all, in essence, facets of the Great True Spirit. Just as Lu Youxun and the young girl Lu Chan in the past seem to have completely different personalities, they can both be regarded as different facets of the real Lu Chan.
Conversely, if it were possible to connect the minds of millions of people together to form an ultimate consciousness network with its own self, and to create a virtual reality within this network that resembles the real world, could this network be considered another "Great True Spirit"?
Under the premise of following the logic of the Great Spirit hypothesis, can this "virtual reality" be equivalent to the real universe we live in today?
“Some people believe that the purpose of the Peach Blossom Spring Lord is to attain the realm of ‘dream’,” Zhu Shi said. “Dream, like the true spirit and the manifestation, is a legendary realm. It is said that in ancient times, some cultivators who pursued the realm of the true spirit realized that the end of self-proving the true spirit was death. Driven by fear, they went against the grain and no longer pursued the self-proving of the true spirit of emptiness, but instead pursued the profound dream.”
"Grandpa once suspected that Silver Moon's ultimate pursuit was the realm of dreams. The characteristic of this realm is to create a dream world that belongs only to oneself, and thus be able to regard reality as one's own dream and one's own dream as reality. Even if one dies in reality, one can wake up in one's omnipotent dream world to achieve a near-eternal immortality. The only thing that can threaten those who attain the path of dreams is the legendary power of the true spirit."
"However, the direction of the Peach Blossom Spring Lord's dream of attaining enlightenment seems to differ from what is described in historical records. Even those who dream of attaining enlightenment only ascend individually to their own dream world, while the Peach Blossom Spring Lord may be planning to ascend with countless people..."
That's quite a big deal.
Considering the specific methods by which the Lord of Peach Blossom Village created "another real universe," he may simply have had to "ascend" with countless people. Moreover, rather than having countless people prove the realm of their dreams together, it would be more accurate to say that he merged countless people together to form an ultimate individual capable of proving the realm of their dreams.
If the Lord of Peach Blossom Village merely wants to escape into the dream world with his organization, frankly, I'm not too impressed. But if his true aim is to become the "Creator," to create a Great True Spirit theoretically no different from the Creator God, then that fascinates me. It's not that I want to join him, but the fact that the enemy possesses such earth-shattering ambitions undoubtedly stirs my emotions.
Of course, whether the Lord of Peach Blossom Village truly intends this is still only speculation. At the same time, I now understand why so many demon hunters are willing to join Peach Blossom Village.
Most Witcher, even those who aren't particularly fond of the Great Spirit Hypothesis, are quite accepting of the idea that "the universe we live in is merely a dream." This is because the majority of the Witcher community are objective idealists, with many others being subjective idealists, while materialists in the conventional sense are only a minority.
For demon hunters who can transform their thoughts and ideas into magical power, a worldview that emphasizes spirituality makes it easier to unleash their power. Silvermoon's illusionary abilities became so powerful because she accepted the bizarre worldview that "reality is equivalent to a dream."
It's not that such a worldview is necessarily true, but purely from a practical perspective, it has its advantages. However, for scientists studying the laws of matter, the worldview that demon hunters firmly believe in might actually be a poison.
As evening approached, it was almost time for Zhu Shi to go home.
She's been staying at the Zhu family's villa in Xianshui City lately. Since it was convenient anyway, I grabbed her shoulder, took a step across space, and arrived at Zhu Jiu's room on the second floor of the villa.
Zhu Shi thanked her, then sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Zhu Jiu, who was lying on the bed like a sleeping beauty.
She seems to be spending a lot of time with her unconscious mother lately.
"Do you have a very good relationship with your mother?" I asked casually.
By the way, I recently had to specifically ask Mr. Zhu to reconfirm Zhu Jiu's name. Just like Zhu Shi used to be called Zhu Jiuxing, Zhu Jiu might also have a "former name." Who knows, maybe that's Xiao Wan's real name?
The result was negative. Zhu Jiu was the only daughter of Old Master Zhu, and unlike Zhu Shi, who was not originally intended to be the family heir, Zhu Jiu was raised as the successor of the Zhu family from the beginning, so she was named in the format of "surname plus number" from birth.
Besides being the capitalized form of the Chinese character for nine, the character “玖” also means “a black stone like jade.” There’s an ancient Chinese poem that says, “You gave me a plum, I returned a precious jade.” Therefore, using it as a female name isn’t considered inelegant; in fact, it might even be more feminine and refined than the name Zhu Shi. However, I think Mr. Zhu might not have had that many tender thoughts in mind when he chose the name.
Personally, I don't really like names that overly emphasize femininity. Many foreign works, when translated into Chinese, deliberately add a grass radical or silk radical to the names of female characters, which I find quite distasteful. Therefore, I much prefer the name "Zhu Shi."
Zhu Shi nodded and said, "As you know, I've been able to see through the true intentions of those around me since I was little. Grandpa didn't say it, but he always hoped that I would become the family heir, while Mom has always been protecting me."
"Although I didn't understand many things in the past, I could at least feel my mother's sincerity. Although it's embarrassing to say this, for me, the most profound and warmest memory of my childhood is probably the memory of holding my favorite stuffed animal in my mother's arms."
"That's really incredibly embarrassing; I definitely wouldn't be able to say it if it were me," I said.
"Is this the kind of line that should be said in this healing atmosphere, Senior Brother Zhuang?" Zhu Shi complained.
Actually, I was just unsure how to react to her serious tone. Since I had already taken Zhu Shi home and had nothing else to do, I said goodbye and turned to leave.
Zhu Shi gave me some final words of advice.
“Senior Brother Zhuang, the events that Ma Zao brought for you are definitely not as simple as they seem on the surface,” she said. “In the worst-case scenario, you might encounter the Lord of Peach Blossom Village. This time, you won’t have any other Great Impermanence by your side to help you.”
"Don't worry, I'm all prepared," I said.
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The preparation I'm talking about goes beyond just mental preparation.
I've returned to my home in Saltwater City after a long absence, intending to spend the night there. I still have "Firefly" with my junior, Xiao Qiao, and I need to keep an eye on her to help guard against potential dangers. While it wouldn't really matter whether I stayed in Saltwater City or the mansion at Luo Shan headquarters—I can teleport back and forth—it's a psychological issue. Until things truly end, I want to remain in the area where things might escalate.
I summoned the "slag" hidden in the flames. At this moment, the black "slag" was no longer irregularly shaped, but was kneaded into a straight sword shape with a rough surface, resembling the Unpredictable Sword.
For the past month, I've been researching how to become stronger. Ironically, I often joke that my immense power deprives me of many adventurous experiences, yet I've ended up pursuing even greater power.
Ultimately, this all stems from my profound realization of my own inadequacy during the recent battle at the Humanitarian Division's main stronghold. Despite being a fellow Great Impermanence, my performance was far inferior to that of Mingzhuo, Shenzhao, and Fazheng. Mingzhuo defeated the Rabbit and Sheep, both possessing Great Impermanence-level combat power, without sustaining any damage in a direct confrontation; Shenzhao and Fazheng joined forces to force back the Peach Blossom Village Lord; and my only achievement was killing Ying Lingyun.
In the final virtual realm meeting, both Shenzhao and Xuanming performed astonishingly, especially Xuanming, while I ultimately accomplished nothing.
I will remember all these "humiliations" firmly in my heart.
At the same time, as a "latecomer," I constantly spurred myself on to strive for improvement, racking my brains night after night to figure out how to break through my limits. This anxious yet novel experience also brought me a sense of excitement in overcoming challenges.
Finding the solution gave me a sense of satisfaction in overcoming the difficulty.
Yes, I have found the solution. As mentioned before, I have made an amazing breakthrough in becoming stronger. Although it is far from a perfect solution, it is enough to give me the confidence to truly stand firm at the level of Great Impermanence.
The key lies in the "slag".
(End of this chapter)
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