Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 459 - 429 Dream Realm

Chapter 459: 429 Dream Realm

Zhu Shi’s description reminded me of the Great True Spirit hypothesis mentioned by Mr. Zhu in the past.

To some demon hunters, the universe we live in is just a dream created by the Great True Spirit, and every living being within this universe is a different thought produced by the Great True Spirit.

Mazao and I, Zhu Shi and Little Bowl, even the mightiest Impermanence and the weakest ordinary person, all trace back to different facets of the Great True Spirit, just as Lu Youxun of the past and the girl Lu Chan, seemingly very different personalities, can both be viewed as different sides of the true Lu Chan.

Conversely, if we could connect the minds of millions of people to form an ultimate consciousness network with self-awareness, and create a virtual reality within this network as real as the physical world, could this network be regarded as another "Great True Spirit"?

And according to the logic of the Great True Spirit hypothesis, could this "virtual reality" be equivalent to the real universe we live in today?

"Some people believe the Taoyuan Village Master’s goal is to attain the ’Dream’ realm," Zhu Shi said, "Like Dream, True Spirit, and Manifestation, it is a legendary realm. It’s said that in ancient times, some monks pursuing the True Spirit realm realized that self-evidencing True Spirit leads to extinction, driven by fear, they went against the flow, no longer seeking self-evidencing True Spirit, but pursuing deep dreams.

"Grandfather once suspected Yinyue’s ultimate pursuit was the Dream realm, characterized by creating a dream world of one’s own, treating reality as a dream, and one’s dreams as reality. Even if one dies in reality, one can wake up in an omnipotent dream world, achieving near eternal life. The only thing that can threaten someone achieving the Dream realm is the legendary power of True Spirit.

"However, the direction in which the Taoyuan Village Master seeks to attain the Dream realm seems inconsistent with historical records. Even those who attain the Dream realm only ascend individually into their dream world; the Taoyuan Village Master, on the other hand, might be planning to take countless people to ascend together..."

That’s quite an ambitious idea.

Considering the Taoyuan Village Master’s specific method of creating "another real universe," he might simply have to take countless people to "ascend" together. Rather than having countless people each attain the Dream realm, it might be more about merging countless people to form an ultimate entity capable of attaining the Dream realm.

If the Taoyuan Village Master merely wanted to take the organization to escape into dreams, frankly, I wouldn’t care much; but if his true aim is to become the "creator" and create a Great True Spirit theoretically akin to the Creator God, then my heart would be set aflame. Not that I want to join, but since the enemy harbors such earth-shaking ambitions, it certainly stirs my blood.

Of course, whether the Taoyuan Village Master’s intentions are really that is still speculative. Meanwhile, it also made me understand why so many demon hunters are willing to join Taoyuan.

Most demon hunters, even if they are not keen on the Great True Spirit hypothesis, are quite accepting of the idea that "the universe we live in is just a dream." This is because the majority of demon hunters are objective idealists, with many others as subjective idealists, while materialists in the common sense are few.

For demon hunters capable of converting their mental thoughts into Mana, a worldview that emphasizes spirituality more easily triggers their power. Yinyue’s Illusion Technique grew so potent because she embraced the bizarre worldview of "reality being equivalent to dreams."

Not that such a worldview is necessarily truth; purely from a pragmatic standpoint, it has its advantages. For scientists studying material laws, however, the worldview firmly believed by demon hunters might instead become toxic.

As evening approached, Zhu Shi was about to head home.

She had been staying at the Zhu family villa in Saltwater City lately. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I grabbed her shoulder and stepped through space to the room on the second floor where Zhu Jiu resided.

Zhu Shi thanked me, then sat by the bed, looking at Zhu Jiu, who lay there like a sleeping beauty.

It seemed she often accompanied her unconscious mother recently.

"Do you have a close relationship with your mother?" I asked casually.

By the way, this past month I also contacted Mr. Zhu to reconfirm Zhu Jiu’s name. Just like how Zhu Shi used to be called Zhu Jiuxing, Zhu Jiu might also have a "former name." It’s possible that Little Bowl’s real name is that one.

The result was negative. Zhu Jiu is Mr. Zhu’s only daughter, and unlike Zhu Shi, who wasn’t originally intended as the family heir, Zhu Jiu was groomed as the Zhu family successor from the start, hence named in the "surname plus number" format from birth.

The word "Jiu," besides being the capital form of the number nine, also means "a black stone like jade," and historically there is a poem saying "Throw me wood cherries, repay you with perfect jade," so using it as a female name doesn’t seem inelegant, even possibly more feminine than the name Zhu Shi. However, I feel Mr. Zhu might not have had such gentle thoughts in mind when he named her.

Personally, I’m not fond of names overly emphasizing femininity. Many foreign works, when translated into Chinese, deliberately add character radicals for female roles, which I find frustrating. So comparatively, I prefer the name "Zhu Shi" more.

And Zhu Shi nodded, saying, "You know, I have been able to see through the true hearts of those around me since I was a child. While Grandfather never said it, in his heart he always hoped I’d become the family heir, whereas Mother has always protected me.

"Though there were many things I didn’t understand in the past, at least I could feel Mother’s true heart. As embarrassing as it is to say, my fondest childhood memory is possibly clutching my favorite doll while being held in the arms of my beloved mother."

"That’s pretty embarrassing; if it were me, I couldn’t say it," I said.

"Is that something you say in this healing atmosphere, Senior Brother Zhuang?" Zhu Shi retorted.

Actually, I was just unsure how to react seeing her speak so earnestly. Since I had already brought Zhu Shi home, with nothing else to do, I bid her farewell and turned to leave.

Zhu Shi gave me some final reminders.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, the events Mazao has drawn you into are likely more complicated than they appear," she said. "At worst, you may encounter the Taoyuan Village Master. This time you won’t have any other Great Impermanence to assist you."

"Don’t worry, I’ve prepared," I said.

-

My preparation entailed more than just mental readiness.

I returned once more to my home in Saltwater City, planning to stay the night there. I also had a "firefly" left at Xiaoqiao’s, needing my attention to caution against potential dangers there. While it made no practical difference whether I stayed at the Saltwater City home or the Luoshan Headquarters, since I could teleport at will, this was a matter of the mind. Before the situation truly ended, I wanted to remain at the location where things might unfold.

I summoned the "slag" concealed within flames. Now, the black "slag" no longer took an irregular shape but was formed by me into a coarse, straight sword resembling the Evil Sword.

All month long, I pondered how to grow stronger. It’s ironic; though I often mock that my immense power deprived me of many adventurous experiences, in the end, I still pursue more power.

Ultimately, it’s because I felt my inadequacy in the Human Bureau’s main base battle sometime ago. Despite all being Great Impermanence, my performance was nothing like Ming Zhuo, Divine Light, and Fa Zheng. Ming Zhuo defeated Maotu and Weiyang, both possessing Great Impermanence Level combat power, without injury, while Divine Light and Fa Zheng combined forced the Taoyuan Village Master to retreat, while my only achievement was killing Ying Lingyun.

During the last Virtual Realm Conference, both Divine Light and Xuanming showed shocking performances, especially Xuanming, while I accomplished nothing.

These "disgraces" are imprinted in my memory.

Meanwhile, as a "latecomer," constantly urging myself to improve, striving to break my limits night after night, experiencing both the anxiety and newness of overcoming challenges, all brought me the excitement of facing obstacles.

And discovering the solution gave me a sense of satisfaction in overcoming difficulties.

Yes, I’ve found the solution. As mentioned before, I made an astonishing breakthrough in becoming stronger, not a perfect answer but enough to anchor myself at the Great Impermanence level.

The key lies in the "slag."