Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 360 - 335 Great True Spirit

Chapter 360: 335 Great True Spirit

I don’t understand why Mr. Zhu would think that Yinyue possesses a strong sense of "I-obsession."

Does a person who believes that as long as there are retribution bodies and corresponding bodies identical to one’s own, it wouldn’t matter if the true self disappears, exhibit strong self-centered thinking?

Seeing my confusion, Mr. Zhu explained, "Her decision to give up on the path of validating her True Spirit is evidence of her clear ’I-obsession.’"

"The path of validating True Spirit... I have heard Yinyue mention this. She said that her ability to evolve ’illusions’ into the power to ’turn illusions into reality’ is because she had once challenged the path of validating True Spirit. But you say she has given up... How could that be?" I wondered. "If validating True Spirit gives her such a huge enhancement, why would she abandon this path?"

"The so-called True Spirit is the ’essence of consciousness,’ also known as the ’I’. It is beyond the physical body and soul and is the essence of our life. The path of validating True Spirit is the exploration of the ’I’," Mr. Zhu spoke gravely, "What I’m going to say next is merely conjecture and cannot be guaranteed as entirely correct. Firstly, within one of our demon hunter theories, it’s believed that True Spirit is a unique entity.

"That is to say, it’s not that each person has their own True Spirit, but rather that everyone shares the same True Spirit. This collective True Spirit is called ’Great True Spirit,’ and thus the theory is also known as the Great True Spirit hypothesis.

"If it’s difficult to comprehend, you could imagine it like this: the universe we live in is actually the dream of a vast consciousness. Every person who appears in this universe, even every living thing, every blade of grass, is a thought emanated from this vast consciousness.

"This vast consciousness is the Great True Spirit, the source of everything in the universe. It can create, destroy, change everything, and realize all desires imaginable and unimaginable by humans—just like the legendary divine seal or the Master of Divine Seal.

"Once the Great True Spirit awakens, the universe will dissipate like a dream.

"As emanated thoughts of the Great True Spirit, we too can awaken from the dream, but our awakening means realizing that we are the Great True Spirit. You’ve had dreams where you become someone else, living another life, haven’t you? When you wake up from such dreams, the self-awareness you had in them disappears.

"Although after awakening, you won’t feel as if you’ve died once; you’re simply returning to the right track. But if you were to make a choice as the you in the dream... as the you of now, how would you view this matter?"

I answered honestly, "I would feel that it is death."

Mr. Zhu nodded and continued, "Yinyue probably thinks the same. However, the ’Great True Spirit’ is merely a hypothetical entity, and you shouldn’t concern yourself with it too much. This theory merely explains why there have never been any successful cases of validating True Spirit appearing before the public throughout history.

"It may be that this path is impassable, or maybe every person who has completed this path has vanished. Yinyue must also believe in the Great True Spirit hypothesis."

Although he said this, if even Yinyue, who has achieved something on the path of validating True Spirit, believes in the existence of the Great True Spirit, then despite any flaws in the hypothesis, it still has an undeniable persuasive power.

This could also explain why Yinyue, while easily giving up on her self, still holds a strong "I-obsession"... It may be because, on the path of validating True Spirit, she encountered secrets beyond human understanding, which caused her to develop an indelible negation of the authenticity of self. Yet, she still harbors a strong fear of losing herself, thus she urgently wants to leave something behind, to imprint her mark upon the world.

After all, "I-obsession" is a concept of considerable scope. Not only does the desire to extend one’s own consciousness count as "I-obsession," but also leaving one’s mark on the world, wanting to be remembered by others, and sticking to certain personal traits.

Therefore, this kind of thinking might not only arise in those who challenge the path of validating True Spirit but also in those with long lives. The Water Navy Xuanwu also seemed to have doubts about the self that constantly changes throughout a long life, and then chose "to adhere to fulfilling every promise" as his "I-obsession."

"So... how should we save my brother?" Zhu Shi brought the conversation back to the original topic, "If we capture Yinyue and reapply the Sealing... would it reset my brother to his original state?"

It seemed that she and I had arrived at the same thought, however, Mr. Zhu shook his head, "It’s too late. Yinyue’s consciousness has fully unfolded, and with the technology of the Zhu family, we are unable to reapply the Sealing on her."

Mazao also mentioned before that Yinyue’s spiritual state was beyond her comprehension, hence, the Power of Return couldn’t reset it. Now, it seems that Yinyue’s cultivation from the path of validating True Spirit may be the obstacle.

"I already have a plan," I brought out the stone necklace.

"This is what you previously described, the Sealing item that prevents the Ancient Moon God from leaving Yinyue’s Fatian Xiangdi, right? It is indeed powerful enough and possesses great restraining power, however, it only prevents the sealed from physically moving to the outside world and doesn’t have the purpose of sealing consciousness," Mr. Zhu pointed out the flaw, "No matter how exceptional, if applied in the wrong direction, it would be like fetching water with a bamboo basket—completely futile."

"That’s okay, I know how to apply it to Yinyue’s Spirit," I said.

Hearing this, Mr. Zhu didn’t ask how I planned to achieve it, instead, he lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he spoke with grave seriousness, "If that’s the case... then there may indeed be hope for Changan."

"What?" Zhu Shi’s spirits were immediately lifted.

"If you can manage to treat Changan and Yinyue’s consciousness separately, destructing the latter’s portion until it’s fragmented beyond recognition and its self-awareness cannot hold, and then suppress it using the sealing power, you could ensure that the other party remains in a state where they exist only as memory information," Mr. Zhu put forth his view, "Over time, similar to how a spring that’s fatigued loses its resilience, Yinyue’s consciousness will no longer be able to revert to its original state.

"In this way, Yinyue would essentially be dead, yet could be used as material to support the personality of Changan, killing two birds with one stone."

"There’s actually such a method!" Zhu Shi, excited, clenched her fists.

I didn’t perceive any issues with the idea, so I nodded and said, "Alright, let’s use this method."

Once the conversation was over, Mr. Zhu and Zhu Shi went to prepare for the trip to Luoshan Headquarters.

With the two of them gone, it wasn’t appropriate for me to continue staying in Zhu Jiu’s room, so I went to the living room on the first floor to sit and wait. Mazao, on the other hand, stayed in that room, seemingly still not giving up hope, wanting to try again if the Power of Return could be used to awaken Zhu Jiu.

Before leaving the room, I attempted to awaken Zhu Jiu using word spirit without much expectation, and naturally, I also met with failure.

With the power of my word spirit, if the person was just an ordinary comatose patient, I could easily wake them up. No complicated procedures were needed; standing by the person’s bed and uttering the words "wake up" would suffice. Regrettably, such an approach is ineffective for a soul-loss patient caught in the vortex of strange forces.

The more a power seems capable of anything, the more it is, in reality, capable of nothing.

Perhaps only the divine seal could be the exception.

The words of Mr. Zhu surfaced in my mind— the Great True Spirit that will destroy the world upon awakening, the might of the Great True Spirit capable of fulfilling any wish and the divine seal, as well as the Master of Divine Seal currently in a deathly slumber, plotting to revive, suspected to be the harbinger of Doomsday...

Various clues converged in my mind, gradually forming an incredible possibility.

Could the Master of Divine Seal possibly be a Great True Spirit? Would his awakening bring about Doomsday?

However, the concept of a Great True Spirit, in my memory, should be more abstract, at the very least not likely to appear before us in the concrete form of the Master of Divine Seal. Having said that, I cannot shake the feeling that these clues are more than just coincidence.

Zhu Shi prepared for the journey more quickly than Mr. Zhu, dragging her suitcase over. Seeing me sitting on the couch, she sat down next to me.

"What’s the matter, Zhuang Cheng, you look so serious. Are you still thinking about your brother’s situation?" she asked softly, "For your brother’s issue, all you need to do is try your best. Even if you fail, no one will blame you."

"That’s what I think too," I said.

"That’s not quite the response one would expect, is it?"

First, she reflexively critiqued, then she immediately covered her mouth, feeling embarrassed.

Then, she glanced at me again, slowly lowered her hand, and for some reason, started to laugh.

I didn’t quite understand why she was laughing, but the mere presence of a friend laughing made my own mood feel particularly bright.

She seemed to want to lighten my spirits too, energetically engaging me in conversation, and it wasn’t long before we started talking about Mazao.

"How has your relationship with Mazao been lately?" she suddenly asked with great interest.