Chapter 389
“Take, for example, if the gravitational constant were larger, all celestial bodies would collapse; if it were smaller, they would scatter, making it impossible to form planets.”
“If the electromagnetic force constant were larger, chemical reactions would become extremely difficult, and complex molecules like DNA wouldn’t even be able to form.”
“If it were smaller, then elements couldn’t even exist.”
Tang Lingwu listened with great interest and softly asked, “So what is the range for this?”
“If the electromagnetic force constant varies by more than four percent, the sun would explode immediately. And the mass of a proton must be precise to thirty-two decimal places for elements other than hydrogen to form in the universe.”
Old Bai frowned at this, saying, “That probability is just too small.”
Tang Muda gazed at the starry river, lost in thought, and finally spoke, “Currently, we know about thirty-two independent universal constants. If each of these constants were purely coincidental, perfectly falling within this range…”
“Yeah, it’s nearly impossible.”
Zheng Fa began to grasp what Tang Muda was implying.
“Professor Tang, are you saying…”
Tang Muda shook his head, his tone distant, “There are roughly two explanations for this issue— the multiverse hypothesis and intelligent design.”
“The multiverse is easy to understand; the universal constants are indeed not fixed, but the number of universes is infinite, and we just happen to exist in one of those universes.”
Tang Lingwu understood, “So it’s like there are nearly infinite planets, but we just happen to be on one that’s suitable for habitation?”
“Exactly.”
“Intelligent design…” Tang Muda paused, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, “It’s the idea that our universe might have been designed.”
“…”
Zheng Fa understood why Tang Muda brought this up— the correspondence between the Five Elements spells and reality might be artificial?
The similarity between DNA and the Wood Element spells could be a deliberate design?
“If you’d asked me before, I would have supported the multiverse hypothesis… but now, we have immortals.”
Everyone fell silent, each looking up at the starry sky, which was silent yet brimming with unspoken words.
…
“So, we’ve probably figured out the Five Elements materials,” Old Bai shook his head, as if trying to shake off the confusion, and asked, “What about your life-bound treasure? What are you considering?”
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment and slowly replied:
“From the perspective of materials, each type of spiritual material has its own characteristics. For instance, the Metal Element materials are akin to metals, possessing toughness and sharpness, making them most suitable for offensive treasures.”
This was something he had concluded from his time in Xiao Yuying’s treasure vault.
“I want to create something akin to a server treasure, and the most important aspects boil down to three parts:”
“Information transmission.”
“Storage.”
“Computation.”
Everyone understood this.
“For computation, I can rely on the spiritual energy circuits. As my cultivation improves, the circuits will become more refined, and my computational ability should also strengthen.”
“True, didn’t they design many corresponding circuit diagrams for you before?”
Old Bai recalled this.
“For information transmission, I plan to use communication talismans.”
The analysis of communication talismans would be the foundation for Zheng Fa’s transformation into a server.
“But for storage…” Zheng Fa continued slowly, “I’ll likely need to rely on spiritual materials.”
“What kind of spiritual materials?”
Old Bai asked curiously.
“Jade!” Zheng Fa explained, “Many cultivation techniques and manuals are stored in jade tubes… this utilizes the properties of jade as a spiritual material.”
“What properties?”
“Jade belongs to the Earth Element materials, which are known for their ability to encompass all things, making them very suitable for storing information.”
Jade is a relatively common spiritual material in the Xuanwei realm. As Zheng Fa mentioned, jade tubes are one application of this material—its information storage capacity is incredibly strong, making it perfect for a server’s “hard drive.”
Hearing this, everyone realized he indeed had a plan.
“A server,” Old Bai leaned back, muttering, “In the future, can our research and such be stored in your treasure?”
“Who knows, maybe one day your thing will really be able to store the Three Thousand Paths…”
At this point, Old Bai suddenly frowned and said, “Why do I feel like this sounds familiar?”
Everyone exchanged glances, unsure of what the old man was recalling.
“The Three Thousand Paths, jade…” Old Bai pondered for a moment, then suddenly pulled out his phone, opened a web novel, and slapped his thigh, exclaiming, “I knew it!”
“Hmm?”
“This thing of yours, isn’t it the Creation Jade Tablet?”
“…”
Old Bai shot Zheng Fa a knowing look, as if he had seen through him.
Zheng Fa thought: … This old man reads too many random things!
But after thinking for a while, he added, “If there really is a treasure that can carry the Three Thousand Paths… then, why not?”
Old Bai was taken aback, suddenly realizing that Zheng Fa had high hopes for his life-bound treasure.
Zheng Fa, however, was lost in his own thoughts. He didn’t dare claim to understand what the Great Dao was. Just like he named that journal “Xian Dao,” what he could do was merely leverage the wisdom of others to pursue the Great Dao.
After chatting for a while, they each returned to their rooms to cultivate.
But the next morning, Zheng Fa’s door was knocked on.
When he opened it, he saw Tang Lingwu standing outside, beaming at him.
“What’s up?”
“Let’s go out for a stroll.”
Without saying much, Tang Lingwu took Zheng Fa’s arm and led him out of the nursing home.
Old Bai and the others watched the two young people from the yard, not intervening, simply smiling as they walked out of the nursing home.
Zheng Fa had no idea what Tang Lingwu was up to, but after thinking it over, he didn’t refuse and got a ride with her. As the car drove from Hongshan to the capital, Zheng Fa watched Tang Lingwu, who seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze, staring out the window… all very mysterious.
Seeing her like this, Zheng Fa decided not to ask any further and let her lead the way.
Once they got out of the car, he realized they had arrived at a school.
Judging by the students’ heights, it seemed to be an elementary school.
Tang Lingwu brought Zheng Fa to stand outside the school’s railing, seemingly waiting for something.
At that moment, the morning bell rang, and clusters of students poured out of the classrooms, heading to the playground and lining up in rows.
The music for the morning exercises began to play.
Zheng Fa had a hunch, and sure enough… the students doing exercises were performing the set routine created by the Jiushan Martial Arts School.
Their movements were a bit clumsy, yet each one was earnest.
In the morning sun, their uneven actions inexplicably gave Zheng Fa a feeling he could only describe as hope.
“I don’t know what you’re troubled about…”
At that moment, Tang Lingwu finally spoke.
Zheng Fa turned to look at her, and saw her gazing at the students with a smile on her face: “But whether it’s the morning exercises or Jiushan No. 1, you’ve done really well…”
After saying this, Tang Lingwu fell silent again, and the two stood side by side, watching the students on the playground, their silence speaking volumes.
…
Zheng Fa’s good mood lasted for several days.
“Zheng Shidi, why do I feel like you’ve been smiling all day today?”
Yuan Shijie suddenly looked at Zheng Fa with curiosity.
“Shouldn’t I be smiling?”
“You were so… tsk tsk, a few days ago.”
“You thought I wouldn’t notice you were unhappy?”
Yuan Shijie said proudly.
“... I’m sure you didn’t notice.”
“Zhang Shijie said so!”
Yuan Shijie’s smile faded, and she said honestly.
Tang Lingwu made Zheng Fa realize something—perhaps the Jiushan realm would perish, but he had changed many things. Whether it was the morning exercises or Jiushan No. 1, they were all influencing the present.
That’s why he felt so happy.
As they talked about Zhang Shijie, she walked in from outside, handing Zheng Fa a jade tube: “These are common jade spiritual materials in the Xuanwei realm.”
“And here are some common jade artifacts.”
“This one,” Zhang Shijie took out another jade tube, “is a spiritual energy circuit I drew based on your diagrams.”
Zheng Fa had created some corresponding circuit diagrams in the modern world—much simpler than the previous ones, since he had aimed for artificial intelligence before, but for this life-bound treasure, he just wanted to create a server…
A definite downgrade in technology.
He could always upgrade it later.
Zhang Shijie sat down beside Zheng Fa, a bit uncertain as she said, “Are you really planning to make a life-bound treasure that has no offensive capabilities and can’t even protect you?”
“... Didn’t you already know that?”
“Times have changed; the situation is different now.”
Zhang Shijie fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
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