stonecrandall Page 419
Page 419
"Sixty-three years ago, on the day of the Autumn Equinox, at midnight, you buried a jar of Daughter's Red wine and a broken sword beneath a jujube tree struck by lightning in the forbidden area of Longhu Mountain. You said that it was what you owed him."
boom!
This statement is more impactful than any previous analysis on the level of magic.
Zhang Zhiwei's body jolted violently. For the first time, his usually calm and collected eyes revealed a genuine look of horror.
He was the only one in the world who knew about this.
It wasn't some earth-shattering secret, just a personal knot in his heart, a silent promise to his deceased junior brother. He never mentioned it to anyone, because it belonged only to Zhang Zhiwei, a tender memory buried deep in his heart.
But now, this young man before me stated it so casually, in a tone that was as if stating a fact, devoid of any emotion. Even the time and place were exactly as described.
This is no longer something that can be "calculated".
This is what is "seen".
It's like retrieving a long-forgotten historical video.
"Your Excellency, you..."
Zhang Zhiwei opened his mouth, but something seemed to be blocking his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word. Having lived for over a hundred years, this was the first time he had felt an emotion called "powerlessness."
Zhou Ye ignored his shock and continued:
"I have answered your question. Now, it is your turn to ask a question."
A long silence fell over the courtyard.
Only the wind rustling through the ginkgo leaves makes a soft, whispering sound.
After a long while, Zhang Zhiwei finally let out a long breath, as if releasing decades of pent-up emotions. He slowly put down his teacup, looking as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders, or as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
The horror and shock on his face slowly faded, replaced by a complex smile that mixed relief and bitterness.
"Interesting... Really interesting..."
He muttered to himself, as if speaking to Zhou Ye, yet also as if speaking to himself...
He raised his head and looked at Zhou Ye again; his once cloudy eyes were now crystal clear.
He didn't ask about the truth of the Jia Shen Rebellion, nor about the fate of the Eight Extraordinary Skills, nor about the method of immortality. Those things were no longer important to him at this moment.
He looked at Zhou Ye and asked, slowly and deliberately, the most fundamental question that had troubled him and the entire Taoist sect for thousands of years.
"Since you are able to understand the principles of all things, then this old Taoist would like to ask for your guidance."
"who I am?"
The moment this question was raised, the atmosphere in the entire backyard froze.
This is not asking who "Zhang Zhiwei" is.
This asks: what is the essence of the existence of an independent "consciousness," an "I" capable of thinking "who am I"? Is it the soul? Is it the spirit? Or is it just an illusion produced by a complex set of neural electrical signals?
This is an ultimate philosophical question, and also the final question for practitioners in their pursuit of their "true self".
Zhang Lingyu had retreated outside the courtyard at some point. He couldn't hear the conversation inside, but he could feel the almost suffocating, metaphysical confrontation. He clenched his fists nervously, his palms sweating. He knew that this conversation in the backyard today might change the entire world's understanding of supernatural beings.
Upon hearing this question, Zhou Ye's face revealed an expression that could be described as "appreciation" for the first time.
Instead of answering immediately, he asked in return, "Who do you think you are?"
The old Celestial Master said frankly:
"This humble Taoist does not know. I once thought it was life, soul, or that undying spark of light. But after seeing you, I am no longer certain. If everything can be deconstructed into reason, then does my concept still truly exist?"
This is a sign that one's resolve to follow the Tao is about to waver.
Zhou Ye shook his head.
"Your understanding is flawed."
He held up one finger and pointed to his temple.
"Consciousness is not some ethereal spark of light. It is a phenomenon that emerges from the interaction of complex information. Just as countless water molecules coming together under certain conditions can create a macroscopic phenomenon like tides."
"Your body, your memories, your cognition, and every exchange of information between you and the world together constitute your consciousness. And the concept of 'I' is a core identifier constructed by this complex system to maintain its stability and continuity."
His explanation was cold and rational, yet it got straight to the heart of the matter.
"Therefore, I am real," Zhou Ye concluded. "It is an objectively existing super algorithm that is based on the interaction of matter and information and possesses self-recognition and iterative capabilities."
Chapter 394 Past and Weight
"Super Algorithm..."
The old master Zhang Zhiwei pondered this unfamiliar word, his cloudy eyes sometimes flashing with a hint of enlightenment, and sometimes sinking into deeper confusion.
This explanation is completely different from the Taoist understanding of "true self" and "original spirit" that has been held for thousands of years, yet it strangely coincides with it on a certain level. Taoism says, "The Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things," which is itself a description of a complex world emerging from simple rules.
“Algorithm…” he murmured.
"If I am an algorithm, then what is cultivation? Severing the three corpses, breaking through inner demons, refining the spirit to return to emptiness... how should these be explained?"
"It's about optimization and upgrading."
Zhou Ye's answer was without hesitation, as if he were explaining a basic physical law: "Your body is the hardware, Qi is the energy, and your spirit is the operating system. The so-called cultivation is to continuously optimize your operating system, improve hardware performance, and increase energy utilization efficiency through specific training methods (techniques)."
"Severing the Three Corpses is to clear redundant data and malicious code (distractions, inner demons) from the system. Refining the Spirit and Returning to Emptiness is to try to upload your core algorithm (consciousness) to a higher-level cloud server (primordial spirit) that exists in the form of pure energy, in order to get rid of dependence on the fragile physical carrier (physical body)."
His words dissected the mysterious art of cultivation with crystal clarity, like a cold, hard product manual.
The courtyard was deathly silent.
The old master sat there blankly for 15 years, feeling that his life's cultivation and worldview were being completely overturned and then rebuilt in a completely new and bizarre way.
It feels absurd, it feels awkward, but... it actually makes a lot of sense.
He couldn't even find any reason to refute it.
After a long while, a smile suddenly bloomed on Zhang Zhiwei's wrinkled face. The smile was no longer bitter or relieved, but rather like that of a child who had heard a fascinating story, full of pure curiosity and joy.
"Haha...hahahaha!"
He clapped his hands and burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the backyard and reverberating across Longhu Mountain. Zhang Lingyu, standing outside the courtyard, was completely stunned by the laughter. He had never seen his advisor laugh so...unrestrainedly? Even somewhat dissolutely.
"What a super algorithm! What a great optimization and upgrade!"
The old celestial master laughed while shaking his head.
"I've cultivated the Tao my whole life, and in the end, you... science student, have taught me a lesson! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
The way he looked at Zhou Ye had completely changed. It was no longer wary, no longer scrutinizing, but an equal gaze, as if looking at a fellow human being, or rather, as if looking at another kind of "way".
"I have answered your question."
Zhou Ye gave a timely reminder.
"Oh, yes, yes."
The old master stopped laughing, wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes, and looked refreshed, as if he had become several years younger. The feeling of being on the verge of death that he had felt earlier was completely gone.
A broken Dao heart? No, for someone like Zhang Zhiwei, when a more fundamental, more "real" worldview is presented before him, it is not a break, but a sublimation.
"A transaction must be counted."
The old Celestial Master stood up without taking any books or scrolls. He walked slowly to Zhou Ye, extended his withered hand like old tree bark, and said, "Your Excellency, do not resist."
As he spoke, he put his index and middle fingers together, seemingly slowly but actually faster than lightning, and gently touched Zhou Ye's forehead.
There was no torrent of energy, nor the infusion of information.
In Zhou Ye's perception, a peculiar data stream containing the rule of "life form reversal" was directly written into his core database.
[New technology document discovered: "Triple Regeneration". Document completeness: 100%.]
[Document Content: Through deep meditation and specific energy cycle pathways, one can deceive their own genes, causing them to misjudge their life cycle, thereby triggering reverse evolution at the cellular level...]
[Analysis begins...Analysis in progress...]
Three logical vulnerabilities were found, and 17 nodes can be optimized.
[Vulnerability 1: The success rate of the deception process is unstable, which can easily lead to gene chain collapse. Solution: Change to directly writing reverse growth instructions.]
[Vulnerability 2: Excessive energy consumption, placing excessive demands on the user's foundation. Solution: Optimize the energy circuit, reducing energy consumption by 73.4%.]
【…】
[Optimization plan generated. New version of "Rebirth Triple Modification" has been archived.]
The entire process took only a moment in Zhou Ye's mind.
He opened his eyes, looked at the old master in front of him, and gave a very pertinent evaluation: "A very creative idea, but the way of implementation is too primitive and the risk is too high. I've revised it for you."
The old master had just finished imparting his skills and was about to say a few polite words, such as "This method is dangerous, I hope you will use it with caution," when he heard Zhou Ye's words and almost couldn't catch his breath.
WTF?
I just gave you our nephew Lu Jin's most treasured skill, and you turn around and say it's primitive? You even corrected it for me?
Are you buying cabbages at the market and complaining that the leaves aren't fresh enough, so you just clean them for them?
The old master's expression was incredibly interesting.
Seeing that he seemed unconvinced, Zhou Ye stretched out his hand, his fingers forming a sword shape. This time, instead of touching the old master's brow, he gently touched the ginkgo leaf on the stone table from mid-air.
The next second, a miracle happened.
The withered, yellowed leaf, detached from its branch, trembled slightly on the stone table. The scorched yellow at its edges faded visibly, turning a vibrant green once more. Then, tiny, tender roots sprouted from its stem, taking root in the cracks of the stone table.
In just a few seconds, a dead leaf reversed its life cycle and regained its vitality!
Although the chance was very slim, it did happen!
This is no longer "reversing the cycle of life and death," it is "creating something from nothing," it is "reversing cause and effect"!
"hiss--"
Zhang Lingyu, who was outside the courtyard, happened to see this scene through the crack in the door. He immediately gasped, feeling a chill run from his tailbone to the top of his head. He covered his mouth to prevent himself from crying out. He dared not disturb his master's transmission of skills, but the scene before him was completely beyond his comprehension.
The old master stared intently at the leaf that had taken root again, his hands trembling.
He understood this better than anyone else. The "Triple Rebirth" technique was a method that worked on oneself, but Zhou Ye could apply its effects to external objects! Moreover, he completed the entire process of understanding, optimizing, and even applying it in an instant!
What terrifying "learning" and "creative" abilities!