metaverse evolution.

Chapter 1192, Chapter 122: Yuanyang Daozun

The pleasant trip was suddenly interrupted by this "surprise," which caused chaos throughout the fleet.

Fortunately, after analysis, the Goddess of Nature determined that the other party likely harbored no ill intentions. If they had, they would have been wiped out the moment the fleet entered the Saint's domain.

The goddess of nature's words had some effect, but only a slight one. The feeling of having their lives controlled by others left everyone in the Rising Dragon Palace feeling resentful, yet powerless.

Jin Tierong has also analyzed the situation. This sage might be a bit bored and want everyone to play games with him. Therefore, everyone should show a little interest while searching for his whereabouts.

The "fun" aspect here isn't the simple kind of humor, but rather a sophisticated kind, like finding creative ways to compliment someone. If you do find them, don't immediately expose them; instead, pretend you didn't see them and continue searching.

Guided by this idea, the "Temple" spacecraft began to bustle with activity.

The crew here includes elites from the Yanhuang civilization, some elites from the Elf race, and many elites from other races and cultivation systems recruited by the Ascending Dragon Palace.

In just a few days, countless clever people employed tens of thousands of methods. However, as it turns out, a sage is a sage; even knowing the sage was right beside them, they simply couldn't find them.

This reminded Chu Fei of a saying—"When mortals think, God laughs." And now, in front of this inexplicable saint, this is exactly how everyone is thinking.

After several busy days, no one had died, and everyone's hearts had finally calmed down. It seemed that this suddenly appearing saint was indeed bored and wanted to find some amusement.

In an effort to find traces of this saint, even artificial intelligence was employed. However, the AI ​​could only detect differences, not pinpoint the exact target.

To put it bluntly, current computer technology is still at a near-saint level, powerless against beings at the saint level.

Actually, if this sage were to remain still, it would be easy to detect. But the other party keeps changing.

The goddess of nature also tried to intervene, but to no avail. According to the goddess of nature, she felt a sense of despair before this saint.

Seeing that everyone was at a loss, Chu Fei came up with a solution at the crucial moment—dyeing.

In scientific research, labeling is frequently required. From chromogenic agents on microscope slides to isotope tracing in animal genetic research, "staining" techniques are ubiquitous in scientific research.

This time, Chu Fei's solution was to use a meme virus to stain the skin.

Use harmless meme viruses to dye everyone.

The general process is as follows: first, divide all the people into two groups, one group is stained with A and the other group is stained with B, and then see if any person has both A and B meme viruses at the same time, or has neither.

If this method fails, continue staining or remove the staining; the methods are constantly changing.

Surprisingly, the method worked as soon as it was tried. The staining process of the memetic virus is silent, and the Rising Dragon Palace did not announce the reason. They simply divided the personnel into two groups and "infected" them with different memetic viruses.

Then, by using the metaverse domain to envelop the spaceship, they located and searched for the two types of meme viruses, and found that one guy had both types of meme viruses.

After finding this guy, Chu Fei finally understood why he hadn't been able to find this powerful figure before: because he was in a "quantum state".

The so-called quantum state is something that both exists and does not exist. This powerful entity exists in every place at the same time, yet it also has a somewhat virtual appearance.

Every person, elf, and alien on the Temple spaceship has been "parasitized" by this powerful being, which allows it to instantly appear on each person's body and walk in that person's "shell".

In other words, if they wanted to, they could easily have two, ten, or even tens of thousands more people on-site.

Furthermore, when it does not exist, it is directly "transformed into the virtual" and hidden in the quantum field.

Spacetime is a quantum field structure, which means that the other party can merge into the void at any time. This may be what is called "merging with the Dao".

However, due to the "meme virus staining technology," even if the opponent hid in the quantum field, Chu Fei could still vaguely detect their state using the "developing agent." He vaguely understood what the state of "merging with the Dao" was.

The so-called "harmony with the Dao" is not about completely merging with heaven and earth, nor is it like ink dripping into water—if you really merge like that, you'll most likely die.

In fact, this was also the way Chu Fei had previously believed in aligning with the Dao. This way of thinking was somewhat like a peasant's belief that the emperor used a golden hoe.

Fortunately, Chu Fei has now "seen" the true way to achieve Dao, although he doesn't quite understand it.

It felt like an area had been "upgraded," and the surrounding space seemed to have changed according to some kind of will, transforming into a different shape.

Unfortunately, Chu Fei did not possess saint-level abilities; he could only indirectly observe some things through the "color developer," and what he observed was very limited.

But for Chu Fei, having such a "direction" was enough. As long as he had a general direction, Chu Fei could deduce most of it through scientific research.

At least Chu Fei now knows that the Dao Integration Realm is not what he previously thought.

In the past, Chu Fei and the researchers of the Rising Dragon Palace generally believed that the so-called "harmony with the Dao" meant merging with heaven and earth.

After all, top-level saints are "quantum field beings," while the "underlying logic" of the world is the information field, and the "secondary underlying logic" is the quantum field.

Then there's another saying: if a drop of water wants to never dry up, it must merge into the ocean. By extension, if a true sage wants to exist forever, he must merge into the quantum field of the world.

However, there is a problem with this way of "harmonizing with the Tao".

Legend has it that after Hongjun merged with the Dao, he lost his self. Such a merger with the Dao is tantamount to suicide.

Later, Chu Fei also asked the Goddess of Nature, but she couldn't answer either. This was because the Goddess of Nature was still not a "true saint."

The Goddess of Nature is currently at the level of a "Sage of Merit and Virtue." The so-called Sage of Merit and Virtue is equivalent to a "Saint."

This can be understood as "bestowing a title upon a prince." Because they were appointed by the emperor, they assumed this position and gained power. Logically, the "royal throne" and the "sacred throne" are the same thing.

What about the true sages? They formed their own system. Without the emperor's permission, Lao Tzu could conquer the world on his own, and after he finished, he could simply declare, "I am a barbarian, I do not deserve the titles and honors of the Chinese!" and then proclaim himself king!

They are both "princes," but their actual status is worlds apart.

The emperor could easily confiscate the territory of a "feudal prince." However, the nature of the territory of a "self-proclaimed prince" had completely changed; it belonged to the prince himself, not the emperor.

The current sage's attainment of the Dao probably means establishing himself as king, bringing the surrounding void under his control, and hiding himself within that void.

Therefore, this so-called "harmony with the Dao" can actually be understood as "the prince returning to his rightful place." The prince returned to the capital that was loyal to him, and then took control of the entire kingdom, resulting in an explosive increase in combat power.

Of course, this is only a temporary understanding, and new insights will inevitably emerge as research increases and technology advances.

Just like the definition of a "saint." With technological advancements, the definition of a "saint" in the Rising Dragon Palace is constantly changing.

But now there is at least one direction to refer to: the Dao is not about the sage merging with heaven and earth, but about the sage controlling heaven and earth! It is about the sage returning to his rightful place!

Countless thoughts flashed through Chu Fei's mind, but he still controlled the "Metaverse Domain" to "search blindly".

Although they knew nothing about this suddenly appearing saint, it seemed that the fleet needed to provide some emotional value for the time being—even though Chu Fei had already discovered the other party, they still had to play hide-and-seek.

We can also observe more information about true saints and conduct more research. Furthermore, meme viruses are constantly invading; with more meme viruses invading, perhaps the fleet can gain the upper hand.

Meme technology is information logic at the quantum level, or even more fundamentally. The Ascending Dragon Palace once experimented on the Heavenly Emperor but couldn't detect it, and even used this method to trick the Sun God. Now it's this unknown saint's turn.

One or two meme viruses may be harmless, but a combination of multiple ones may not be.

Chu Fei would not sit idly by and wait for his death, even though this saint seemed to have no ill intentions.

The "dyeing" continues. The game continues too; the Ascending Dragon Palace has designed many "fun" mini-games. Of course, this so-called fun is aimed at the Nameless Saint. For the Ascending Dragon Palace, the pressure is immense.

Amidst the tension and busyness, the fleet did not attempt faster-than-light travel, continuing to maintain its previous normal flight speed—approximately 0.5 times the speed of light.

More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, and the fleet had traveled approximately two hundred billion kilometers through the endless void. This distance is unimaginable for the terrestrial environment, but for the stars, it is but a small step.

On this day, Chu Fei was calculating the status of the memetic virus in a certain saint's body when he suddenly noticed that the other party's state had changed, as if he was about to break away from the state of Dao Integration.

Chu Fei immediately became alert, wondering if the other party was running out of patience. He made a decision on the spot, and a specially prepared quantum wave pulse with unique fluctuations was unleashed.

This is an attack technique, but weakened, it becomes a reconnaissance method. A quantum wave of just the right energy swept across the entire warship, passing over the hidden location of a certain saint.

Then the scanning bands were continuously adjusted, and the range was narrowed little by little through the process of elimination.

Because they already knew the location of the sage, they were constantly adjusting parameters, keeping records, and conducting scientific research during the search.

In the future, if any saints or similar powerful beings appear, these technologies can be used for reconnaissance—if there is a future.

Half an hour later, multiple laser beams finally locked onto a single direction. This was the fleet's observation deck, which appeared to be empty. Yet, it was now being targeted by various reconnaissance devices.

"Haha... Interesting, interesting!" A loud voice echoed in everyone's hearts, and then a shadow appeared, quickly condensing into a dignified and otherworldly immortal. Judging by appearance alone, he was no different from an old man of the Yanhuang bloodline.

Chu Fei saw a True Immortal wave his hand, and then, in a flash, he found himself in the hall, sitting opposite Daoist Yuanyang. Looking around, he saw Jin Tierong, Jiang Hong, Bai Yingying, and other high-ranking representatives of the Ascending Dragon Palace.

Finally, to Chu Fei's astonishment, the other party snatched the Goddess of Nature out of thin air. The Goddess of Nature, who had always acted like she was second only to the heavens and the emperor in the Changqing Heaven, was now deathly pale, timid and submissive, looking like a little quail.

The immortal looked around and finally turned to Chu Fei, "How long have you known about me?"

Chu Fei hesitated for a moment before saying, "The first group statistics were collected about a month ago. However, at the beginning, we couldn't pinpoint the direction the senior was heading because the senior's direction kept changing."

The immortal nodded. “Very good. I have traveled through the void for countless years and this is the first time I have seen such a unique way of cultivation and civilization as yours, and you are even following the path of cultivation for all. I am very optimistic about your future.”

Chu Fei smiled brightly, but still responded cautiously, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. We've all been feeling a bit lost lately. May I ask how I should address you, senior?"

"I am 'Yuanyang Daozun'. How long did it take to build your largest spaceship?"

Chu Fei: "If everything goes smoothly, it will take about a hundred years. If there are any setbacks, it will take longer."

In fact, the Temple was built in less than forty years. But it had a complete industrial base. Now, the fleet is advancing in the void, with a weak industrial base; even a hundred years would be considered short.

Yuan Yang Daozun nodded slightly, "Build me one, and according to your timeline, I will come to find you in two hundred years. This is your reward. If the result is satisfactory, there will be more."

An ordinary-looking piece of jade was tossed out and landed in front of Chu Fei. Chu Fei quickly caught it with both hands, and the moment the jade landed in his hands, a mysterious feeling arose in his heart: this was a super jade slip, a "Shuowen Jiezi" (a dictionary of Chinese characters) containing innate writing!

The Heavenly Book obtained by the Ascending Dragon Palace is a record of innate writing. After so many years of deciphering it, the gains are still pitifully small. But even so, the Ascending Dragon Palace has still gained quite a bit from the Heavenly Book.

What's hindering the Ascending Dragon Palace's research into the Heavenly Book is the lack of research findings on "Primordial Script." Faced with this script, which only top-tier sages can use, everyone is currently at a loss.

Currently, there are quite a few "innate characters" printed using 3D printing within the fleet, but they are all "fake".

The true innate script, the original "Heavenly Book," is beyond dimensions and can currently only be recorded in the mind of the Goddess of Nature. The Goddess of Nature transmits the corresponding content to Chu Fei and the others. Since they haven't memorized it yet, the Goddess of Nature needs to transmit it repeatedly.

In short, because Chu Fei and the others were not yet at the Saint level, there were some things they couldn't understand. No one could see the complete picture of the innate characters; they could only see parts—it was a bit like the blind men and the elephant. Finally, they used a computer to piece together and reconstruct the "fragments" they had seen.

Although everyone's efforts have resulted in the restoration of the innate characters to a considerable extent, this is like pi. People can restore 3.14, 3.1415, etc., which can infinitely approach the true value of pi, but it is ultimately only an approximation.

But now that we have such a pre-existing written language version of the Shuowen Jiezi, the secrets of pre-existing written language will be fully revealed to the Yanhuang civilization.

Chu Fei was overjoyed and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

Yuanyang Daozun waved his hand, "Remember, I will come to find you in two hundred years. You must complete the construction of the spaceship, otherwise I am afraid of myself when I get angry."

Chu Fei listened attentively, without asking where the other person would look for him two hundred years later. He figured the other person had probably marked him on the fleet, or even on him.

Chu Fei carefully put away the jade slip and cautiously asked, "May I ask what requirements you have for the spaceship design, senior? The construction of a spaceship needs to be designed in advance, based on actual needs."

Some spaceships are specifically designed for combat; their comfort level is low, but their firepower is formidable, and they can self-repair minor damage. Others are habitation spaceships; their capabilities are mediocre, but their living environment is excellent, making them ideal platforms for receiving foreign dignitaries. Some spaceships are dedicated to scientific research and industrial production, while others are specifically for reconnaissance; all are poorly equipped but extremely fast. As for the largest spaceship, we rushed through our journey and it wasn't completed.

If it's convenient for you, please let us know your requirements, and we can build it according to them.

"I see..." Yuanyang Daozun nodded slightly. "I don't need any escape ability. I mainly need to be comfortable and have comprehensive functions. I need to have the ability to refine pills and weapons, reconnaissance ability, automatic flight ability, and automatic repair ability. The appearance should be luxurious enough... um, low-key yet luxurious."

Chu Fei: "Senior, we have virtual technology. Why don't we enter the virtual space and design it directly? In the virtual space, we can do anything."

Chu Fei kept making demands and setting bait. It seems that for a top-tier cultivator, the words "omnipotent" are incredibly tempting.

Yuanyang Daozun indeed showed some interest: "Let this old man take a look."

Chu Fei took out two sets of virtual equipment, namely two helmets and corresponding components. Chu Fei put one helmet on his head and explained, "This is a virtual helmet. After starting it up, there is about a minute of network connection and debugging time. Senior does not have the foundation of big data cultivation, so you can only use a virtual helmet."

Yuanyang Daozun inspected the area and found no obvious problems—based on past experience.

In fact, all big data practitioners, including Chu Fei, can directly access the virtual network once they reach level 20.0. Currently, the virtual reality headset is mainly for outsiders, incidentally collecting billions of points of information.

One minute after putting on the virtual reality headset, which was essentially a data collection process, Yuanyang Daozun entered the virtual space.

Under Chu Fei's guidance, Yuan Yang Daozun quickly mastered how to use the virtual space—any idea was fine, but it had to be a concrete idea; even a vague idea was acceptable, as artificial intelligence would assist, and it would require continuous iteration later on.

Under Chu Fei's guidance, Yuan Yang Daozun quickly "designed" a spaceship.

The spaceship has a flying saucer structure, with the lower half as the foundation and the upper half as a super-transparent dome supported by load-bearing brackets. Below the dome is an artificial continent, and above the dome is an artificial sun.

The entire "flying saucer" is designed to be 15,000 kilometers in diameter and 3,000 kilometers in height (thickness). Its design is simple and unadorned, but such a flying saucer itself is the greatest luxury.

The interior space contains mining facilities, basic industrial bases, and artificial intelligence, sufficient to enable the spaceship to self-repair. As long as the core remains undamaged, it can self-repair.

In addition, the spaceship has ample space for planting medicinal herbs. It also includes a weapon-refining base, an entertainment center, a learning center, and a visitor center, among other things, designed for Yuanyang Daozun.

The design of the entire spaceship was mostly done by Yuan Yang Daozun himself in the later stages, with the artificial intelligence program replicating it, while Chu Fei stood by and watched.

After countless iterations, Daoist Yuanyang personally designed his own spaceship, a look of satisfaction on his face. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "Is there really no difficulty in manufacturing such a design?"

Chu Fei: "No problem. It's just that the overall strength of such a spaceship is relatively low, and it cannot withstand the impact of war."

"No need to consider the battle. Since there are no problems, then it's settled. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. See you in two hundred years."

When Chu Fei exited the virtual space, Yuan Yang Daozun had already disappeared, taking the virtual equipment with him. However, he left behind a storage bracelet containing many items, such as medicinal seeds and fresh plant branches and leaves.

Chu Fei didn't say much, but Daoist Yuanyang felt he had left behind many valuable items. There was no way around it; the spaceship's blueprints were simply too beautiful!

Chu Fei used the "meme technology color developer" to scout around and discovered that Yuan Yang Daozun had indeed disappeared. He finally breathed a sigh of relief—he would return in two hundred years. However, it was uncertain whether Yuan Yang Daozun could eliminate the meme virus.

After explaining the relevant matters, Chu Fei went straight to sleep—the pressure was too much, and he couldn't handle it anymore.

For some time now, Chu Fei's energy and spirit had been stretched to the limit. In the later stages, he even went to great lengths to extract information from Yuan Yang Dao Zun and leave behind a memetic virus for him. He was constantly dancing on the edge of a knife. It was exciting, and the gains were indeed significant, but even Chu Fei, a quasi-saint, felt exhausted.

Right now, all I can do is sleep.

Sleep remains the best way to rest, bar none. (End of Chapter)