Chapter 76: The Infinitely Replicating Universe

In a trance, someone whispered in Guan Wen’s ear: "As recorded in *The Origins and Symptoms of Various Diseases: Chapter on Gu Poisons*: 'Take many insects and snakes, place them in a vessel, and let them devour one another. The one that remains alone is called *Gu*. It can transform and bewilder, follow one's food and drink, and bring disaster to people.' In the pugilistic world, everyone says that the art of Gu is the most perilous of bizarre arts. The so-called righteous sects disdain mingling with those who practice Gu. Yet, is there anything in this world more perilous than the human heart? What is the difference in outcome between killing someone with a blade and killing someone with a Gu? But rest assured, I will not kill you, because I am Tang Jue. Killing with Gu is the most basic introductory lesson of the Tang Clan of Shu. Unlike others, I would never neglect it. 'The Eight Legions: Seven Deaths and Seven Rebirths' is a magnificent and bizarre art, recorded on the central golden beam of the Scripture Pavilion of the Tang Clan of Shu. Only Tang Clan disciples with the highest innate wisdom are qualified to behold it..."

That seemed to be Kaller's voice, and yet it seemed not to be.

"Its existence—and the existence of other peerless and bizarre arts like it—proves that the Tang Clan of Shu is the greatest sect in the martial world, possessing a level of wisdom far surpassing the humans of the same era. I cannot even find a suitable human language to describe this bizarre art. I can only say broadly that it resembles the absolute pinnacle of virtual imaging technology, capable of rapidly constructing another world, causing one to become completely immersed in it without realizing it. In many science fiction films, future humans are able to master such virtual technology, but that requires computer systems with ultra-powerful processing capabilities. Conversely, 'The Eight Legions: Seven Deaths and Seven Rebirths' requires only a single person and a single thought to complete such a complex process, yet it is ten thousand times more sophisticated than any virtual system. To give an example, modern technology can easily manufacture a robot. By employing advanced bionic technology, scientists can make the exterior of this robot infinitely close to a real human, but they can never make it possess a human mind or live using a human way of thinking. Similarly, no matter how much a virtual world resembles the real world, it remains forever virtual—resembling it only on the surface, while its inner core differs by a vast chasm. Can you understand what I am saying?"

Guan Wen certainly understood. That argument was merely the difference between "real currency" and "counterfeit currency." A high-end photocopier can produce "counterfeit currency" convincing enough to pass for the real thing, but before the most cutting-edge banknote detector, its true nature will always be exposed. Yet, he still doubted whether the Tang Clan's "The Eight Legions: Seven Deaths and Seven Rebirths" could really—as Kaller claimed—"virtually construct a real world"?

"The key to this bizarre art is borrowing the mysterious power of the 'Eight Legions' from Buddhism. What are the Eight Legions? They are eight kinds of 'non-human' beings in Buddhism, encompassing eight kinds of divine and demonic monsters: first, the Devas; second, the Nagas; third, the Yakshas; fourth, the Gandharvas; fifth, the Asuras; sixth, the Garudas; seventh, the Kinnaras; and eighth, the Mahoragas. It is recorded in many Mahayana Buddhist sutras that when the Buddha expounded the Dharma to various bodhisattvas and bhikshus, the Eight Legions were often present to listen. The *Lotus Sutra, Chapter on Devadatta* records: 'The Eight Legions, humans and non-humans, all beheld from afar that dragon girl attaining Buddhahood.' Since the Eight Legions are 'non-human,' no one across the realms of gods, Buddhas, immortals, mortals, or ghosts understands their true power. When the disciple with the highest intelligence in the Tang Clan comprehends this bizarre art, he steps into the world of the Eight Legions, and can effortlessly borrow power from the other side, transforming instantly and becoming omnipotent..."

Guan Wen could neither move nor speak, but he agreed quite a bit with what Kaller had said.

In his worldview, humanity was merely one branch among all things in the universe, so infinitesimal that it was like a single mustard seed at the foot of Mount Sumeru. Within the universe, there exist countless galaxies and solar systems, and naturally there must also exist countless planets identical to Earth, upon which thrive tribes just like humanity. Thus, human understanding of the universe is exceedingly superficial—perhaps one ten-thousandth, perhaps one hundred-millionth. Clearly, the scope of human knowledge is like the flicker of a firefly, capable of illuminating only a tiny patch of ground right before one's eyes. There is far, far too much knowledge that humans cannot see or accomplish, leading them to mistakenly believe it does not exist and is impossible—and among these is what Kaller called "virtually constructing a real world."

"Do you know why I am explaining so much to you? Because once I unleash 'The Eight Legions: Eight Deaths and Eight Rebirths,' I will scrape away all the knowledge in your cerebral neurons and make it my own. At that time, no matter how much is explained, there will be no audience left. Therefore, I must instill this knowledge into you, and then seize our dialogue and your mental reactions together, turning these into my spoils of war and my finest memories... Guan Wen, you should understand that in such a supreme realm of thought, so-called treasures, gold, silver, antiques, or any currency created by humans—do they still have meaning? Absolutely none. They are all waste paper, waste copper, and scrap iron. Therefore, I pay no attention to the treasures of Mount Niseri; what I want is the dark power of the Rakshasa Sorceress. I have always been convinced that once I possess her power, I will be able to create the universe in an instant, becoming the controller of infinite universes, until I become the sole master in a world vaster than the universe—immortal, eternal, everlasting, never perishing..."

Kaller's narrative possessed a hypnotic power of immense magnitude. Following his words, Guan Wen could not help but let his mind wander beyond the material realm.

If someone were able to replicate the world, to replicate the Earth, or even to replicate the universe, it would be the most heaven-shaking and earth-sinking event in history.

The universe was the largest realm within the scope of human knowledge, and Kaller's dream was actually to infinitely replicate the universe. One could imagine just how formidable the power of "The Eight Legions: Seven Deaths and Seven Rebirths" truly was.

Among the knowledge Guan Wen had encountered, there was once a book that detailed the replication of the world by gods and Buddhas in an instant—namely, the episode in the classical masterpiece *Journey to the West* where "the Buddha transforms his palm to hold up five pillar-like mountains." The Monkey King Sun Wukong soared a hundred and eight thousand miles in a single somersault, yet failed to leap out of the Buddha's palm, not because the Buddha's palm was gigantic, but because he used the method of "shrinking the earth into an inch" to perfectly replicate another "microworld" capable of bewildering Sun Wukong.

Regarding the history of the Tang Clan of Shu, Guan Wen had also read about it in many official histories and unofficial historical records. This sect had participated in, propelled, and even directly instigated every war and catastrophe in the martial world for hundreds of years. In every generation of Tang Clan disciples, there emerged outstanding figures whose wisdom and martial arts surpassed those of their contemporaries a hundredfold, making them undisputed leaders who created world-shocking poisons, hidden weapons, and martial arts. Although heaven's will was invariably adverse, preventing these Tang Clan masters from achieving ultimate success, no one ever dared to ignore the existence of the Tang Clan.

Undoubtedly, Tang Jue, who used the pseudonym Kaller, was also one of these supreme masters.

"What is the point of replicating the universe?" Guan Wen could not help but follow Tang Jue's train of thought and ask.

"Point? The word 'point' that you speak of is merely a self-deceiving construct created by humans. Humans believe that born in this time and place, they are bound to shoulder a certain responsibility, and they attribute this responsibility to the arrangement of heaven—just like Master Meng said, 'When heaven is about to confer a great office upon a man...' Hahahahaha, heaven and the heavenly deities are busy as death every day; how could they possibly find the time to confer great offices upon men? I tell you, when the universe can be infinitely replicated, every human will become a tiny, minute molecule in my hands, and even every planet will rotate beside my feet. I am the master of infinite universes; the infinite ends of time and the infinite ends of space are within my grasp. Thus, I am no longer merely myself; I am the infinite owner of time and space..."

"Infinite? Without limit? Ruling over all time and space, everything—absolutely everything—resting between the fingers of a single person..." Guan Wen's head suddenly began to ache, because the concepts Tang Jue described were too astonishing, surpassing the combined imaginations of all physicists, astronomers, archaeologists, historians, and geographers of ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

One could say that Tang Jue's ideals and greed were like an infinite black hole, swallowing everything while simultaneously creating everything, so much that not even the entire universe could fill the abyss of his desires.

"I truly admire you—Tang Jue. No matter what, this theory of yours could completely be submitted to apply for the Nobel Prize in Physics. It is deeply shocking and has thoroughly enlightened me. However, that is still merely a theoretically existing concept. How can one achieve the instantaneous replication of the universe? Where do you obtain that kind of power..."

Tang Jue laughed heartily: "Power? The Rakshasa Sorceress is the source of that power."

A flash of insight crossed Guan Wen's mind, and he had already found the answer: "Is that power related to Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world?"

Tang Jue stopped laughing and sighed three times: "Good, good, good. Guan Wen, you truly are my kindred spirit. You are the first—and the last—to guess the answer to the question."

What Guan Wen thought of was an article he had read last year in *UFOs and Exploration*, an authoritative European astronomical journal. The article was titled *The Mysterious Power Supporting the Mountains*, and its author was Bajela, a three-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The article expounded the matter thus: The Himalayas at the border of China's Xizang and Nepal are known as the "Roof of the World." This place gathers a vast number of high peaks, and in scientific surveys over the years, the highest points of these mountains have shown a trend of increasing year by year. Explaining this from a purely physical perspective, this is an "orogenic phenomenon" generated by crustal movement, caused by internal pressure within the crust making the mountains grow taller.

After extensive field visits and research, Bajela put forward a startling theory—"Beneath the Himalayan mountain range lies an astonishing power, a power as magical as the giant birds in mythology capable of supporting mountains in flight."

This theory sparked a fierce debate between the scientific and fantastical realms. Several famous Hollywood screenwriters used this debate as their main thread to create over a dozen sci-fi films, all selling "high mountains and divine power" as their gimmick. The event ended with Bajela withdrawing from the European physics community and turning to religious theology.

"The Rakshasa Sorceress is related to that power? Is it the existence of that power that has elevated the Himalayas? And is the root cause generating that power the Rakshasa Sorceress?" In an instant, Guan Wen connected all the keywords, forming a completely closed question-and-answer puzzle.

"Correct," Tang Jue replied.

Guan Wen suddenly felt a hollow emptiness in the depths of his heart. All the strength in his entire body was drained away in one fell swoop, leaving behind only an exhausted and powerless shell: "If that is true... if that is true... human efforts to subdue and exorcise demons have become an illusory fantasy. How could human strength ever contend against it? Even if the military might of the top ten military superpowers globally were pooled together, it would amount to nothing more than a drop in the ocean."

"There are no 'ifs'; it is true. And what I must do is open the black hole and acquire the power of the Rakshasa Sorceress. You people are merely stepping stones for my advancement. I must tread upon your corpses to climb upward in order to finally achieve my wish..." Tang Jue's arrogant laughter gradually faded into the distance.

"Do not harm them! Do not harm them—" Overwhelmed by an incomparable shock from Kaller's words, Guan Wen suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.

In an instant, he saw Tang Jue and young Huo sitting cross-legged face-to-face, the former's palms pressed tightly against the sides of young Huo's temples.

"Do not harm others! I am willing to trade my own life for theirs..." Guan Wen shouted breathlessly, his vision turning pitch black as he fell backward once again.