My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1140 Regaining Confidence
After a series of tests on the space phase locker were completed, Wen Rui returned to the observation module of the space station, gazing at the deep universe outside the porthole while waiting for Jarvis to finish processing the data from the experiment.

While waiting in boredom, his fingertips unconsciously tapped the console—on the screen, the quantum state data of Chi Jingzi's primordial spirit was displayed side by side with the parameters of various magical treasures captured in the Investiture of the Gods war.

An idea gradually became clear in his mind: the phase space lock and those once-powerful immortal cultivation treasures, though seemingly "powers to change reality," actually have fundamental differences, and this difference may be the key to the rise of mortal civilization and the disappearance of immortals.

Wen Rui retrieved the 3D model of the "Yin Yang Mirror," a magical artifact he had once seized from Chi Jingzi.

This is a magic weapon commonly used by the Chan Sect cultivators during the Investiture of the Gods war. It can release "yin and yang energies" to attack targets and has the magical power to reverse yin and yang reflection. With this magic mirror, Chi Jingzi once roamed freely in the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, and no Jie Sect immortal could stop him.

He Wenrui compared it with the schematic diagram of the phase space locker, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

The source of power for the magical artifacts in the Investiture of the Gods has always been shrouded in a veil of "mysticism." Whether it is Chi Jingzi's "Yin-Yang Mirror," Jiang Ziya's "God-Slaying Whip," or Tongtian Jiaozhu's "Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation," their creation all depended on irreplaceable opportunities such as "nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth," "refined by ancient sages," and "gifted by the laws of heaven."

The Yin-Yang Mirror needs to be nurtured for a thousand years in the "spiritual vein eye" of the Jade Void Palace in Kunlun Mountain, and the material of the God-Slaying Whip is "Nine Heavens Profound Iron mixed with Primordial Purple Qi". These conditions cannot be reproduced through standardized processes, and the essence of "spiritual Qi" and "Primordial Purple Qi" cannot be explained by scientific principles.

The power of the phase space lock comes from the dismantling of the fundamental laws of the universe.

Its core theories, "dark matter coupling and control, quantum phase intervention," are based on observable and verifiable physical rules: the existence of dark matter particles can be confirmed through the gravitational lensing effect, changes in quantum phase can be measured by precision instruments, and adjustments to each parameter can derive corresponding physical results.

Just like this time locking onto the primordial spirit of Chijingzi, from the frequency setting of the dark matter polarization anchoring beam to the injection intensity of quantum noise, everything can be precisely controlled through formula calculations, without any uncertainty of "depending on chance".

Even if uncertainty arises, it will be called a "variable" in the scientific field, rather than "unknowable". If the variable is controlled well, even "uncertainty" can be summarized into a theorem.

However, the magic, supernatural powers, magical treasures, and achievements of immortals are full of fortuitous coincidences with a sense of destiny. For example, a normal person falling off a cliff will definitely die, but a person with great destiny can learn unparalleled supernatural powers and find unparalleled magical treasures.

Of course, there are also thresholds to using science and technology. Wen Rui, with his level 5 intelligence, had some difficulty fully understanding this technology and almost did not reach the passing grade of intelligence required to digest the technology.

But as the saying goes, "Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang." One genius may not be enough, but a group of hardworking geniuses working together, standing on the shoulders of giants, and spending more time studying, will surely achieve continuous results.

The application of magical artifacts in the Investiture of the Gods has always been limited by the dual constraints of "individual and scenario".

A magical artifact often recognizes only a specific master, such as Nezha's "Fire-Tipped Spear," which cannot be activated by anyone who is not a lotus incarnation.

Furthermore, its functions and scenarios are fixed; the "Hun Tian Ling" can only be used for defense and binding.

Even the most top-tier magical artifact, the Purple Gold Gourd crafted by a sage, has an absurd feature that requires calling out a name to capture a target. This means it's unusable for the mute, a form of discrimination against the disabled…

Unlike phase space lockers, it cannot simultaneously address different targets such as matter, energy, and high-dimensional information clusters through parameter adjustments.

Once a magical artifact from the Investiture of the Gods is formed, its function tends to become fixed.

Since its inception, the Yin-Yang Mirror has always operated on the principle of "releasing Yin and Yang energies for attack," never having the potential to be "upgraded into a defensive barrier" or "expanded into an information detection tool." While the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation is said to be "unbreakable by anyone but four sages," its power ceiling was locked after its creation and cannot be improved through technological advancements. If the Tongtian Sect Leader had even slightly upgraded his level, achieving a power level "unbreakable by anyone but five sages," he wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.

Cultivators' "optimization" of magical artifacts is often limited to "injecting more spiritual energy" or "finding a stronger cultivator to activate it," rather than changing the core mechanism of the artifact.

The phase space lock has the potential for infinite iteration. With Wenrui's technological accumulation, it can even iterate from single-universe phase control to multi-universe cross-plane phase control.

Each iteration is a deeper application of the laws of the universe, rather than a simple "energy enhancement".

As Wen Rui watched the stagnation of the parameters of the Golden Immortal's magic weapon on the screen and the progress of the locker iteration plan, his thoughts became clearer: the limitations of the immortal's magic weapon meant that it could not support the long-term development of civilization; while the control of technology over the fundamental laws of the universe could generate infinite possibilities. This was the core logic of the progress of mortal civilization and the disappearance of immortals.

The understanding of magical artifacts in the cultivation civilization has always remained at the level of "reverence for the unknown".

Cultivators attribute the power of magical treasures to "the Way of Heaven" and "sages," but never question "what is the essence of the laws of the Way of Heaven" or "what is the physical form of spiritual energy."

They were content with "using magical artifacts" but abandoned "understanding them." This cognitive inertia caused the technological ceiling of the cultivation civilization to be firmly locked in "the application of existing laws" rather than "the exploration of unknown laws."

While mortal civilizations began using telescopes to observe the universe and particle colliders to explore the microscopic world, cultivators were still relying on "meditation and cultivation" and "comprehending the Dao of Heaven" to gain power, and the gap in understanding between the two gradually widened.

When mortal civilizations can control more and more of the laws of the universe through technology, the "Heavenly Way" and "supernatural powers" spoken of by cultivators will eventually be reduced to controllable physical phenomena. The "mysterious halo" of immortals will naturally fade away, and their incense and faith will eventually dry up and disappear in the tide of civilization's evolution.

The thought of facing an ambush by three ancient saints made Wen Rui's legs tremble as usual.

The thought of confronting such legendary beings who "live as long as the heavens and wield the laws" always made him feel a little guilty: after all, the supernatural powers of saints can move mountains and fill seas and reverse time and space, while his own technology, though strong, is still "a mortal's shallow exploration of the laws of the universe".

But the contemplation on magical artifacts and technology just now was like a ray of light illuminating the fog.

He raised his hand and brought up the information-based holographic array diagram of the "Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation". This diagram had been bestowed upon Wen Rui by the Tongtian Sect Master after he was appointed as the Executive Vice Sect Master of the Jie Sect.

In the cultivation world, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation is said to be "unbreakable without the permission of Heaven."

But now, in Wen Rui's eyes, the essence of this formation is no different from that of the Yin-Yang Mirror and the God-Slaying Whip.

It relies on four innate swords, including the "Zhuxian Sword" and the "Luxian Sword," as its carriers. Its power originates from the "binding of the Tongtian Sect Master's primordial spirit with the laws of heaven." Once it leaves the specific location of the formation and escapes the control of the Tongtian Sect Master, the formation will become ineffective.

More importantly, since its inception, the core mechanism of the Zhuxian Sword Formation has never changed. The so-called "enhanced power" is nothing more than the Tongtian Sect Master injecting more primordial energy, but it cannot break through the inherent framework of "four swords forming the formation".

This framework holds absolutely no power; its defensive limit is said to be four Saints, and that's it. No more than a Half-Saint could withstand it.

If such an ancient relic, unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years since its birth, can withstand four sages, why can't constantly advancing technological power?
(End of this chapter)