Exploring Immortality Cultivation
Chapter 459 - 212: Empirical Evidence of Heterodoxy

A system is a structure composed of multiple parts that can complete one or several functions arranged in a certain order, forming an integral whole from the orderly organization and arrangement of scattered things. Yet, within specific domains, it has different meanings. For instance, in the theory of digital signal processing, a system is an entity that can process and transform digital signals; in biology and medicine, a system is the general term for multiple organs within a biological organism that can complete common physiological functions.

Naturally, the whole formed by the economic, political, and cultural relationships among social people is also a system—the social system.

And according to the Spirit Energy Theory of Shenzhou, spiritual energy tends to gravitate toward complex and orderly "systems." Since the social system is a system, could it possibly gather spiritual energy?

Wang Qi immediately felt that this theory was damn nonsense. The social system is a system. But does the system have an entity? It's just a conceptual thing!

But...it seems like...perhaps...there is indeed something?

Information.

Information is one attribute of matter, just like mass and energy. The minimum amount of energy required to erase 1bit of information at equilibrium is kTln2—this iron law, known as the Landauer Limit, reveals the materiality of information. Based on its properties, information is also considered the matter that eliminates random uncertainty.

That is to say, even if a system's entity is information, it can still affect spiritual energy. In fact, this has been clearly demonstrated in calculators. Calculators themselves have no spell effects, but once the Immortal Dao version program, that is, the so-called "Path Rank," is installed and operated, calculators will produce spell capabilities.

Therefore, the system of "religion" can indeed gather spiritual energy to nurture divine spirits.

Within this system, believers are the components, doctrine and dogma are the order, divine sacrifice is the bond, and thoughts are the carriers. The special spiritual energy influenced by the minds of the people, known as "Incense Fire Power," circulates within it. This system is the Magic Foundation of witches, the Golden Core of divine spirits, the Nascent Soul of Divine Tao...

The Great Sect flourishes, divine spirits grow strong; the incense fire never extinguishes, and divine spirits never die.

"Have you noticed that in this process, the human heart plays a very important role?" Chen Feng said, "The many 'bonds' that connect this system are not material, but spiritual; what fine-tunes the properties of spiritual energy is the souls of believers, and the operations of these mortal souls are determined by their thoughts."

Wang Qi suddenly realized, "This is why you study Divine Tao!"

"Indeed. Divine Tao is one lineage that has the deepest grasp of the human heart, aside from the Middle Ages strategists. Discarding the nonsense theories of the Ancient Method, absorbing the experience accumulated by Divine Tao over eighty thousand years, and sorting and transforming it according to the Modern approach leads directly to some theories. These theories can serve as the foundation for my Illusion Techniques."

"However," Chen Feng's tone shifted, emphasizing, "there's a bigger treasure trove none of you have discovered, right?"

Wang Qi asked, puzzled, "What is it?" Even Chen Youjia, who was listening on the side, showed a curious expression, indicating that she too was hearing this for the first time.

"The power of Divine Tao is just one aspect of the human heart and Human Dao, such as alleviating suffering, poverty, epidemics, childbirth... and these are also gathered through divine sacrifice only."

"But human hearts are fickle, the mortal world is tumultuous; how can one aspect be all-encompassing? Sitting, walking, clothing, food, shelter, birth, aging, sickness, and death—don't these all relate to mortal thoughts? The 'Human Dao' system, known as such, is many times stronger than Divine Tao! If the power of Human Dao could be utilized for oneself, how strong would that be?"

Wang Qi and Chen Youjia both had an expression that said, "Get to the point."

Chen Feng cleared his throat, starting to list the data: "At the zenith of the Holy Infant Sect, half of the Shenzhou people were devout believers. According to records left from two thousand years ago, after the advent of the Modern approach, the vitality of heaven and earth was rejuvenated, and over these two thousand years, Burning Gold Valley has continuously synthesized new fertilizers, and Tianling Ridge has developed farming technology and superior crops. The population of Shenzhou is eight times that of the zenith of the Holy Infant Sect."

"That is to say, the people of Human Dao are sixteen times that of the Holy Infant Followers."

"There were sixteen Mahayana in the Holy Infant Sect at its peak, so the strength of the Shenzhou Human Dao could be equivalent to..."

Wang Qi swallowed, "Two hundred fifty-six Mahayanas..."

Chen Feng pretended to be nonchalant, "As I said, the Holy Infant Sect only drew a part of the power of Human Dao, so this number should at least be doubled."

Five hundred twelve Mahayanas...

Moreover, if we speak of the Human Clan among the stars and oceans, this number can increase infinitely. A planet can nurture so many Mahayanas, but if a Dyson Sphere were built—a colossal spherical structure encasing the Sun—how many more people of the Human Clan could it sustain, and how many more Mahayanas could it nurture?

"Good heavens... This is heading toward the creation of a foundation!" Wang Qi quickly slapped himself, chastising, "No, no, Chen Feng, can you be sure that this kind of cultivation, similar to Divine Tao, won't change the entire spiritual outlook of the Human Clan while drawing on the power of Human Dao?"

Seeking the Dao is the essence; if this cultivation method brainwashes the entire Human Clan, making them devout believers of one person, that would be self-destructive!

After all, science is predicated on doubt. Only by doubting everything is there the motivation to progress. Even one's own theories must be doubted for their imperfections. This is contradictory to devout belief.

"It's the Power of Human Dao! Human Dao! Clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, birth, aging, sickness, and death—everything is tied to the human heart! This is a natural system that exists naturally and was not constructed intentionally by anyone. I am merely seeking Human Dao to harness the power of Human Dao." Chen Feng explained, "Actually, it's the same as religion. The difference is that Divine Tao only saw a part of the patterns of Human Dao, so it had to use doctrine to castrate part of human nature, reducing the complexity of the system to facilitate absorption. But if I decipher the entire Human Dao, I can use this power directly without the need for establishing doctrines to practice Divine Tao."

Wang Qi was almost ready to applaud. This cultivation method, this theory—they indeed deserved to be called marvelous! He asked, "Boss, are there any monographs on this subject? I want to study it."

Chen Feng's expression remained calm, "None."

"Ah? What about representative papers..."

Chen Feng shrugged, "Sorry, none exist."

Wang Qi's face fell, "Is this... which senior from Yangshen Pavilion's theory?"

Chen Feng gave a respectful gesture, "Senior is too generous a title, it's merely me."

Wang Qi was stunned, "This... I was wondering why I couldn't find a trace of it in the existing literature. I even thought it was the Immortal Alliance suppressing Divine Tao, this... this..."

Chen Youjia said, "Now you know one of the reasons why this guy is unpopular, right?"

Chen Feng, indeed, was a heretic and rebel. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommend tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)