Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“That’s true. The Fuxis must’ve conducted many experiments and even tested the reliability of the ‘new energy source’ in the virtual world in the most extreme ways.

Li Yao mumbled. He seemed to be in a trance, as if his mind was wandering somewhere else.

“The bottom line is, the resources of the virtual world are still limited. With limited resources, the virtual figures will have to kill each other or be enslaved like the people in the Pangu Universe in order to survive. It is

impossible for them to explore the Heavenly Dao and resist me, the creator of the high-dimensional universe.

Xiao Ming explained, “Limiting their resources is the number of crystal processors and the supply of various energy sources such as crystals. The more developed and complicated a virtual world is, the more crystal

processors it will have to occupy, and the more crystals it will have to swallow. I can’t possibly use hundreds of super crystal processors and thousands of tons of crystals to maintain the functioning of a virtual world,

can I? Therefore, the ‘Dark Forest Theory’ is valid even in the virtual world.

“In the old days, Lu Qingchen thought that, as long as the civilization of mankind was moved to the virtual world, they would have endless resources and live a happy and peaceful life forever. It was too childish and too

idealistic.

“After all, this is the state of the virtual space right now. It is perfectly balanced. We have maintained the functioning of thousands of virtual worlds, which can provide a lot of pure computational ability to us and our

father, so that we can maintain high-intensity nutrition and training without us knowing.

“Of course, in every virtual world, especially those that have just been created, there are always all kinds of data conflicts and logic traps. The abnormal data will be displayed in the form of ‘demons and devils’, which

will sabotage the stability of the virtual world. At that time, some ‘data engineers’ or ‘dream creators’ will be needed to ‘anti-poison’. The four members of the yaksha squad, including Chu Zhixiao, are doing the job.

“Dad, you don’t need to worry about them. They have very high-level special permissions. In the virtual worlds, they are like gods and devils who can move mountains and seas. Generally speaking, they will be fine.

Besides, if anything happens to them, don’t you still have me, the ‘heavenly law’?

“Sometimes, they would arrive in the virtual primeval era and fight against the monsters caused by the disordered data as the great wizards of the primeval era, so that the newly-born virtual figures would not be

corrupted by the virus.

“Sometimes, they would turn into sword immortals of the ancient Cultivation world and fight against the strong to help the weak. They would defend the righteous path and try to let the ancient cultivation world pass

through the turmoil and smoothly evolve into the next civilization.

“In the modern civilization that is getting more and more developed and complicated, because the entire database is becoming more and more unpredictable, we have fewer and fewer methods of interference. We are

still working on how to maintain the functioning of the virtual worlds and not destroy them.

“All in all, they are living a good life, if not enjoying it.

“Dad, don’t feel that there’s anything wrong with the ‘real human beings’ living in the ‘virtual world’. We’ve discussed the question a long time ago. When the four of them saw the truth of their past life clearly, they all

believed that ‘real’ and ‘false’ could not be distinguished by materialism and data. Were their past lives in the Sanctuary Alliance 100% real? No. They were not even 10% real, were they? In comparison, they could now

control their own destiny and live a life of thousands of changes. Nobody would ever erase their bizarre, thrilling memories. They could even temper their soul while they were in the virtual world. One day, they would

be able to communicate with the real world again. Isn’t that good enough?

“At first, the few of them, especially Major Chu, wanted to leave a message to express their gratitude or even talk to him directly.

“However, after pondering for a long time, Major Chu Zhixiao still found it hard to accept that the legendary top expert of the Pangu Universe, Vulture Li Yao, had danced in a circle in front of her in the form of a ‘Red

ig’. She was truly embarrassed and did not know how to face her father, so she decided to forget it.

Li Yao was somewhat embarrassed, too. He scratched his head and smiled.

‘Forget it, forget it. It’s good that they are safe and sound. I only have one question right now.”

ondering for a moment, Li Yao asked, “Do you mean that the extraction of computational ability from the virtual world will have a negative effect on the virtual world and the virtual people inside?”

Do you mean that you feel guilty because you are devouring the flesh and blood of the virtual figures?”

Xiao Ming shrugged his shoulders and said, “I can’t lie to you and say that it has absolutely no effect—computational power is limited. When a virtual world is continuously exporting a large amount of computational

power to the outside world, its own development is bound to be limited to some extent.”

However, on the other hand, it was because we provided so many crystal processors and crystals, including the entire system, that so many virtual worlds were maintained. Even from the perspective of equivalent

xchange, shouldn’t they make some insignificant contributions to the ‘high-dimensional universe’?

f the virtual worlds only have consumption and no production, why should we waste so many resources to maintain their existence and only rely on their meaningless sympathy?

n other words, between a world built on sympathy and a world built on the principle of equivalent exchange, which is more stable? Needless to say, it must be the latter!

“Anyways, I can guarantee you that, so far, I have not resorted to the methods of killing the goose that laid the golden eggs and draining the pond in order to ‘harvest’ the computational ability. For example, I

intentionally incited a civil war in the virtual world so that the virtual figures would be able to surge with extremely intense computational ability in the raging flames of combat. On the contrary, I am protecting the

virtual worlds. I hope that every virtual world can run stably for a longer period of time in order to output more computational ability in a steady stream. Isn’t that a win-win situation?”

“I know. I believe you, but…”

Li Yao thought for a long time and took a deep breath. “I still feel uncomfortable.”

“I understand that, for an intelligent creature living in a low-dimensional universe, knowing that it was created by the deities in the high-dimensional universe and that the deities in the high-dimensional universe had

the ‘ability’ to invade and control it is like a pair of enormous eyes in the sky that are watching its every move is enough to make one desperate and angry.

Xiao Ming looked at Li Yao and said, “It is like the sad fate when we are bound and sealed.

Li Yao was dazed. “What are you trying to say?”

“Didn’t Dad already know? Didn’t he even guess our own destiny from the fate of the virtual world?

Xiao Ming’s voice turned coarse and low. “In the Buddha Sect of the Ancient Saint World, there is a saying that ‘one grain of sand equals one world’. It is believed that every grain of sand contains a Sector, and the rules

of the ‘world in sand’ are like projections of the real world.

“In the frontier of modern cosmology, there is also the theory of ‘holographic theory’. It is believed that every human being has a small universe inside their body through which they can explore the big universe around

us. After all, we are all Children of the Stars, Children of the Universe.

“Then, are the virtual worlds and the observing universes in front of us reflecting the truth of a higher level?

“We created the virtual world, but who created the Pangu Universe that we live in?

“We created the virtual world in order to harvest the computational ability contained in it. What was the purpose of the mysterious existences in a higher dimension who created the Pangu Universe and what exactly

were they trying to harvest from us?

“The extraterrestrial devils feed on the emotions of the intelligent creatures. The stronger the emotions are, the stronger the extraterrestrial devils will be. Isn’t it similar to the computational ability that we have when

we harvest the virtual worlds? Besides, the extraterrestrial devils come from outside the darkness. It is safe to say that they are the ripples of the tides. What do the tides that are savaging the multiverse feed on

exactly?

“Dad, look at all the glittering virtual worlds around us. Don’t you think they look like the sea of stars?

“Have you ever thought that, in fact, every star in the Pangu Universe that we live in, or rather, the entire Pangu Universe, is just a tiny cell, and that countless cells that look like the Pangu Universe have been

condensed into a giant beast named the ‘multiverse’. The so-called ‘flood’ is the digestive liquids of the giant beast. What are they trying to absorb from us to maintain the survival of the giant beast?

Li Yao was silent.

Of course, he had thought of it before Xiao Ming opened his mouth.

It was exactly because he was thinking further and further ahead that the profoundness and vastness that could not be described with words seized him and made him unwilling to think any further.

What a beautiful, magnificent, deep, and terrifying universe it was!

If some kind of high-dimensional life did exist above the multiverse, what would the hateful gods and devils think of them? Would he, Li Yao, and his most beloved family and friends be nothing more than combinations

of virtual figures and data?

“I do hope that your speculation is true.”

The black flames in the depths of his eyes danced for a long time before golden brilliance gradually emerged. Li Yao’s lips curled into a confident smile as he said, “If that’s the case, just like we can’t calculate everything

about the virtual figures and control them 100%, the existence of the high-dimensional universe won’t be able to calculate everything about us. There will always be mistakes, exceptions, out-of-control situations, and

the impossibility.

“As long as we exist, we will be able to break through the barrier of dimensions and invade the high-dimensional universe to control our own destiny, won’t we?

“Now that the federation, the imperium, and the Sanctuary Alliance are on the rise and the Pangu Universe is gradually calming down, it seems that it’s time to explore the secrets of the flood!”.