Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 467 - 437 Dreamland of Peach Blossoms

Chapter 467: 437 Dreamland of Peach Blossoms

Perhaps because he couldn’t lie or remain silent in front of me, the "Preacher" decided to speak frankly: "The goal of the Taoyuan Village Master is to establish a dream network to create an ultimate being called ’Paradise,’ and he himself will integrate into ’Paradise’ and become the helmsman of this ultimate being.

"In his plan, we are merely cells that constitute this ultimate being, which is still under construction."

This is not much different from the speculation Zhu Shi mentioned last time, although there are some differences in the details. What Zhu Shi said was that the Taoyuan Village Master might intend to prove the "Dream" realm. According to the "Preacher," it seems the Taoyuan Village Master’s purpose is first to create an ultimate being proving the "Dream" realm, and then become the mind of this ultimate being.

Zhu Shi probably doesn’t know much about Taoyuan Village, and she also didn’t expect such matters to be an open secret within Taoyuan Village. Seeing the "Preacher" say these words without any change of expression, she seemed stunned. Becoming a component of some huge entity—is this something that can be said so calmly? The Taoyuan Village Master is even willing to open such matters within the organization? She must be thinking this way.

"Are you willing to become the materials used by the Taoyuan Village Master?" she asked.

"The purpose of the Taoyuan Village Master and our desires complement each other," the "Preacher" could only answer. "Once entering ’Paradise,’ one can seek nearly eternal goodness within the dream in an instant of the real world, which is a very real benefit. At the same time, the Taoyuan Village Master told us, this is also the processing step to become cells of the ultimate being.

"In nearly eternal time, we will experience various happiness, and all kinds of desires can be satisfied. Whether becoming a king ruling the world, encountering wonderful love, or living a peaceful life as a mortal... everyone can enjoy it unconditionally. No matter if there are thousands or billions, ultimately, the kinds of happiness are limited.

"Time long beyond imagination will make our experiences converge, with the only difference being likely the sequence of events within the dreams, but such differences will also disappear in endless time. Souls, whose desires are all fulfilled, will be liberated from all obsessions, even the obsession to live... Even the ’I-obsession’ can be put down, becoming material that can truly integrate into the ultimate being."

I wanted to explore his true feelings deeply: "Do you think this is a good thing?"

The "Preacher" said frankly: "Why wouldn’t it be a good thing? Even if there’s still an obsession with ’wanting to continue to exist,’ the Taoyuan Village Master allows such souls to contend for the helmsmanship of the ultimate being after experiencing endless dream time.

"And souls that do not survive the baptism of endless dream time will simply close their eyes calmly after experiencing countless happy lifetimes. How’s that a loss?

"The Taoyuan Village Master even allows newcomers to join in ’Paradise’ after its official establishment, becoming a shelter for all who cannot endure reality, becoming the other shore of the boundless sea of suffering, it’s no exaggeration to say it’s delivering all beings from torment.

"Of course, although the Taoyuan Village Master doesn’t intend to hide his intentions, we below must have some restraint, not saying too much when persuading newcomers. And when newcomers accumulate some qualifications, they will naturally inquire about these matters."

I thought for a moment and asked, "But according to what you said, it seems there’s no need to have you experience endless happy times in ’Paradise.’ Even if you experience endless pain in dreams, it can still homogenize your souls and make you give up the obsession to continue to exist, right?

"The Taoyuan Village Master used the seed of the heart to create you soul-refining monsters. Do you really believe he is so kind? If he genuinely had a kind heart intent on delivering all beings, why would he allow you to devour human souls outside?"

The "Preacher" remained unwavering, saying: "The souls devoured by us Dreamland Messengers essentially become materials that strengthen us and further become materials for constructing ’Paradise.’ Their consciousness can be remanifested in ’Paradise,’ which is no different from resurrection. Being devoured by us can even be said to be a form of salvation.

"As for whether ’Paradise’ is a dream of happiness or pain, we have experienced in advance, and we Dreamland Messengers are qualified at this stage to exchange merit for time to temporarily enter the under-construction ’Paradise’ for closed testing. Furthermore, since happy and painful dreams can achieve the same goal, the Taoyuan Village Master has no need to deceive us in this aspect."

"Your ’Paradise’ even conducts closed tests?" Zhu Shi said.

I slightly observed the "Preacher’s" body and could sense the seed of the heart within him.

And, I could also sense the seed of the heart within him was connected to some kind of invisible yet immense something in the void, whether it was the Taoyuan Village Master as the original body. Furthermore, he had previously taken out another seed of the heart, which had now disappeared. Because attention was drawn to other matters earlier, I hadn’t noticed the change over there.

But it doesn’t matter; I searched my memory to carefully review when the seed of the heart disappeared, and what specific changes occurred at that time. Soon, I confirmed—the seed of the heart disappeared because it was hidden inside that "invisible yet immense something"; when the "Preacher" took out the seed of the heart initially, it was also taken from this something.

I focused more intensely, continuing to deeply perceive this immense entity in the void.

Just like using professional software to restore a blurry image to a clear mode, the presence of this entity became clear in my consciousness. Then, I felt immense pressure. Because this entity in the void was too massive, simply perceiving it made me feel oppressed. It was as if witnessing an ocean suspended in the sky.

I was familiar with this sense of pressure. Just recently, I had seen this entity.

This is something I witnessed once during the Human Bureau’s main base operation. Ying Lingyun once summoned it, tearing a portion of power from it to resurrect the real Yinyue. Yes, this was the source of the mana fluctuations at least a hundredfold greater than mine at that time.

I immediately asked the "Preacher" what it was.

The "Preacher" slightly hesitated but couldn’t resist the word spirit I had previously issued, so he could only answer: "That is ’Paradise.’

Then, his inner pressure seemed to finally reach its limit and emitted a pleading sound: "Spare me... alright? I don’t ask you to spare my life, but at least don’t destroy my soul along with it..."

"Do you wish for your soul to return to ’Paradise’ after death?" I asked.

The "Preacher" quickly nodded: "As long as you are willing to spare my soul, I’m willing to do anything!"

He spoke as if I couldn’t make him do anything if he was unwilling.

Probably reading this meaning on my face, his expression showed uncontrollable despair, and it was likely the seed of the heart detected his emotions, showing signs of leaving his body. His whole body burst with cyan light, clearly showing uncontrolled power about to enter a self-destruct stage.

I almost forgot that since this "Preacher" is a monster, there must exist a mechanism for automatic self-destruction in the face of despair. Seeing this, Zhu Shi immediately drew the Yama Sword, intending to sever his connection with the seed of the heart. However, before that, I directly pressed his shoulder. The self-destruct light paused for a moment, then slowly retracted.

This was also the power of the word spirit. I didn’t speak words, merely expressed the intention to stop with my body language, and the Preacher’s seed of the heart and his mana were automatically sealed. The phenomenon of the self-destroying monster, which had troubled the Luoshan Demon Hunters countless times, never posed any problem for me from the start.

So, what to do with him next? Since there’s a power-level connection with ’Paradise,’ there should be other uses.

As I pondered, I slowly sensed that this ’Paradise’ seemed to show some abnormal signs. It’s difficult to describe this anomaly intuitively with language, but if I were to liken it, ’Paradise’ gave me a feeling as if it bore scars of a bleeding wound. Seeing this, a direction for the next step emerged in my mind.

Meanwhile, Xiaoqiao seemed to digest the information from the "Preacher." She looked at his dejected appearance, then glanced at those ordinary people who were unconscious around and uttered a sigh: "No wonder those who have experienced ’Paradise’ seem brainwashed... If everything he says is true, could that ’Paradise’ actually be a very good plan?... Uh, I didn’t mean anything else..."

It seemed she realized she sounded like she was speaking on behalf of the "Preacher," and added a little more at the end.

"Things aren’t that simple," said Zhu Shi with clarity, "No matter how beautifully you paint this ’Paradise,’ it’s a large-scale illusion executed by the Taoyuan Village Master; it’s a fabricated world where his mere thoughts can decide everything.

"Since he intends to integrate into it himself, those experiencing the endless dream time baptism won’t just be people treated as materials like this ’Preacher,’ he will also undergo endless dream time. And can he maintain his original intentions unchanged throughout it?"

"But... what does all this have to do with you Luoshan?" the "Preacher" mumbled, "We just want to dream, isn’t it alright to let us dream? Let the dreams belong to us, and the real world to you...

"Even in the future, you can join us if you wish; you just have to benefit without any effort. Why must you stop us from dreaming?"