Chapter 22: The Heart of Heaven
The black fog dissipated, leaving only Chu Yun, Li Ge, Mo Li, and the surviving bearded man in the empty field. The other martial artists had vanished in the tumbling "earth dragon." Everyone's eyes were fixed on the incomplete blueprint, drawn in blood, lying on the ground. "What... is this?" the bearded man's voice trembled. Mo Li slowly approached. She crouched down, examining the blueprint closely, her face growing paler and her body trembling slightly. It wasn't fear, but a profound shock and anger at witnessing something beyond her comprehension, something that even defied her beliefs. "What's wrong?" Chu Yun asked, stepping forward. "He... he's actually... doing this..." Mo Li's voice was broken, like she was mumbling in a dream. She extended a trembling finger and pointed at the center of the blueprint. It was an extremely complex spherical core, composed of countless energy circuits and gear structures. "This is... the blueprint for the 'Heart of Heaven'." Mo Li's voice was dry and hoarse. "Heavenly Heart?" Chu Yun and Li Ge exchanged glances, each seeing confusion in the other's eyes. "This is the greatest creation that my ancestors of the Mo family have always desired to complete." Mo Li's eyes grew vague, as if she were reminiscing. "I used to think it was just a legend." She stood up and looked at the massive Tianshu Tower before her. "Our Mohist mechanical arts have never been about creating instruments of death." Her voice lost its previous sharpness and arrogance, now carrying a weighty sense of mission rooted in a deep tradition. "We strive to 'work on behalf of Heaven, to create all things.'" "We believe that behind the operation of all things in heaven and earth lies a set of precisely defined 'rules,' like a vast and complex machine." "Spring and autumn, the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, birth, aging, sickness, and death, the cycle of energy... all of this is part of the 'rules.'" "And the highest realm of our Mohist mechanical arts is to understand it, to learn it, and ultimately... to simulate it." She looked at the bewildered Chu Yun and the bearded man, then at the thoughtful Li Ge. "We aspire to create a perfect ecosystem that can self-circulate, self-repair, and even self-evolve." "A... man-made 'small Heavenly Dao.'" Chu Yun's heart was shaken beyond measure by her words. He had always thought that Mohist mechanical arts were merely the skills of skilled craftsmen, never imagining that behind them lay...
The black fog dissipated, leaving only Chu Yun, Li Ge, Mo Li, and the surviving bearded man in the empty field. The other jianghu had vanished in the "earth dragon upheaval." Everyone's eyes were fixed on the incomplete blueprint drawn in blood on the ground.
"What... is this?" The bearded man's voice trembled slightly.
Mo Li slowly walked over. She squatted down and carefully examined the blueprint. Her face grew paler and paler, and her body began to tremble slightly. It wasn't fear, but a sense of immense shock and anger at having seen something beyond her comprehension, something that even violated her own beliefs.
"What's wrong?" Chu Yun walked forward and asked.
"He... he's actually... doing this..." Mo Li's voice was intermittent, like she was mumbling in her sleep. She stretched out a trembling finger and pointed at the center of the blueprint. It was an extremely complex spherical core composed of countless energy circuits and gear structures.
"This is... the design drawing of 'Heart of Heaven'." Mo Li's voice was dry and hoarse.
"The Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship?" Chu Yun and Li Ge looked at each other and saw doubt in each other's eyes.
"This is the greatest creation that my ancestors of the Mo family have always wanted to complete." Mo Li's eyes became a little vague, as if he was recalling something. "I used to think it was just a legend."
She stood up and looked at the huge Tianshu Tower in front of her.
"Our Mohist mechanical engineering has never been about creating instruments of murder." Her voice lost its previous sharpness and arrogance, now carrying a heavy sense of mission rooted in a deep heritage. "What we pursue is 'working on behalf of Heaven, creating all things.'"
"We believe that behind the operation of everything in the universe, there is a set of precise 'rules' that belong to it, just like a huge and complex machine."
"Spring and autumn, the rising and setting of the sun and the setting of the moon, birth, aging, sickness and death, the cycle of energy...all of this is part of the 'rules'."
"The highest realm of our Mohist mechanical engineering is to understand it, learn it, and finally... simulate it." She looked at the bewildered Chu Yun and the bearded man, then glanced at Li Ge, who seemed lost in thought. "What we want to create is a perfect ecosystem that can self-circulate, self-repair, and even self-evolve..."
"A...man-made 'small heaven'."
Chu Yun's heart was deeply shaken by her words. He had always thought that the Mohist mechanical art was just a skill of powerful craftsmen, and never imagined that behind it, there was such a grand, even crazy concept hidden.
"And the 'Heart of Heaven'," Mo Li's gaze returned to the blood-red blueprint, "is the... heart of this 'Little Heaven's Path'."
"It is the power core of the entire system. Theoretically, once successfully activated, it can steadily and continuously channel and transform vast amounts of energy in any form, providing the entire system with inexhaustible power."
"Any...form of energy?" Li Ge keenly grasped this key word.
"That's right." Mo Li nodded. "Whether it's the primordial energy of your Taoism, the power of incense and vows from Buddhism, or even the evil energy of demons and the yin energy of resentful souls... in front of the 'Heart of Heaven', they are all just the purest 'fuel'."
"So..." Chu Yun's mind raced. "That Shadow Pavilion guy stole control of the Tianshu Tower and left behind these blueprints. Is his goal to use the Tianshu Tower's energy to complete this 'Heart of Heaven'?"
"No, it's not finished." Mo Li shook her head, anger showing on her face again. She pointed at several key points on the blueprint, "Look here, and here, his design is incomplete!"
“He’s not trying to create a self-sustaining ecosystem at all!”
"He deleted all the 'conversion' and 'stabilization' circuits, but strengthened the 'absorption' and 'compression' circuits a hundredfold!"
Mo Li's voice became extremely excited, "He is creating a heart!"
"He's...making a blaster bomb!"
"A terrifying explosive bomb that can instantly drain all the energy from the Tianshu Tower and then detonate all at once!"
Everyone was silent. They were all frightened by the prospect described by Mo Li.
"Why did he do this?" the bearded man asked subconsciously.
"How should I know?!" Mo Li said irritably, "Maybe he's just a madman! A madman who wants to die with this city!"
"No, he's not." Chu Yun's voice suddenly rang out. He slowly took out the complete black jade pendant from his arms.
"Chu Yun?" Li Ge looked at him.
Chu Yun remained silent, his gaze fixed on the jade pendant in his hand. On the back of the jade pendant, the protective rune, formed by the Mohist energy circuit, seemed to resonate strangely with the blood-red blueprint on the ground. A faint message, perceptible only to him, flowed from the jade pendant into his mind. It wasn't words, nor was it a sound, but rather fragmented, blurry images.
He saw a man who bore a striking resemblance to his father, wearing the uniform of the first generation of the Evil Suppression Division. He also saw a tall, resolute-looking man wearing Mohist attire. He saw the two of them standing atop the Tianshu Pagoda, and hovering before them was a shimmering spherical core, identical to the one depicted in the blueprint.
"Heavenly Heart..."
That was the first generation of the Evil Suppression Bureau and the first generation of the Mohist master. They actually worked together here to create a semi-finished product of the "Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship"!
Then, the scene shifted. He saw the ground beneath the Tianshu Tower crack open, revealing a bottomless, immense seal that continuously emanated a terrifying, evil aura. Locked within the seal was an ancient demon whose features were indistinct, but whose aura alone was enough to distort the very fabric of the world! The primary function of the unfinished "Heart of Heaven" was to steadily draw energy from the earth's veins to reinforce the Demon King's seal, which was about to break!
It turns out...it turns out this is the truth!
The so-called "instrument of the Dao" is this "Heart of Heaven"! The so-called "Machinery City" is not the main city of the Mohist School at all, but a huge sealed city built specifically to suppress the Demon King!
Chu Yun suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath, his face covered with cold sweat.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Ge immediately noticed that something was wrong with him.
"I understand..." Chu Yun's voice was dry and hoarse, "I know the purpose of Shadow Pavilion."
He raised his head, looked at everyone, and said word by word: "He is not going to make explosive bombs."
"He doesn't mean to destroy the city."
"He intends to use this twisted 'Heavenly Heart' to forcibly absorb... the power of the demon king... sealed beneath the city!"
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