Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 583 Dao Body Design, Golden Wheel of Merit

The waves crashed against the shore, making a continuous, rushing sound, much like Zheng Fa's state of mind:

He was now as if he had opened an answer book, which read, "Easy to find, the answer is to create humans."

Then I looked at the question, and it clearly stated: Please explain in detail why we need to create humans.

Seemingly noticing his surprise, Nuwa turned her head and chuckled, "You're surprised?"

"is a bit."

Looking at Nuwa's relaxed expression, Zheng Fa said sincerely, "Your Majesty is more—" He paused, then used a word that suddenly popped into his mind: "A little more opinionated."

Nuwa, with an indifferent expression, tossed the seashell in her hand and walked forward, with Zheng Fa following behind her.

The two walked for a while longer before Zheng Fa heard Nuwa speak:

"Because the key now is not me. It's you, it's you, the younger generation."

Nuwa stopped in her tracks.

“I’ve figured some things out. And you?” She looked at Zheng Fa, her gaze deep, as if she could see into the deepest part of his soul. “Do you know why I created a new race?”

"Why humans of all races?"

"And can you tell me..." Nuwa chuckled softly, "was it right or wrong for me to create humans?"

Zheng Fa finally realized: "This is the Empress's test?"

Nuwa chuckled again, without saying whether the idea was right or wrong, but simply said, "You can think of it this way: neither merit nor primordial purple energy is so easy to obtain."

"I understand."

Zheng Fa said softly.

Nuwa nodded gently, then suddenly reached out and pressed her hand lightly against the sea surface. A handprint appeared on the sea, and the seawater beneath the handprint was squeezed and surged wildly in all directions, revealing a magnificent underwater dragon palace.

"Greetings, Goddess Nuwa!"

A man flew out of the Dragon Palace and knelt before the goddess Nuwa, filled with fear and unease.

"Don't be afraid, I'm just a little interested in the true form of the dragon."

The man had a sudden inspiration; he rolled on the sea and transformed into a green dragon.

The goddess Nuwa looked it over for a moment before saying, "Go."

The Azure Dragon kowtowed again, then plunged into the sea, never daring to emerge again.

"Your Majesty, what is this...?"

“I wish to create a new species,” Nuwa explained, “but I do not know what this new species will look like.”

She added, "I didn't know that before I met you."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly.

"So I observed all things in heaven and earth, the witch race, the demon race, and the innate sacred beings, trying to find the most suitable species."

At this point, she smiled and added, "Part of the reason I joined the demon race was because of this."

"I see……"

According to Nuwa, her trip to the demon realm was more like a data collection mission.

This also explains why, in legends, Nuwa, though a member of the demon race, always remained aloof and acted very differently, even ultimately creating the human race—humans and demons were originally in a competitive relationship.

Originally, she and the demon race might have had a cooperative relationship.

Nuwa continued, "I have compiled a chart of seventy-two of the most powerful creatures, including dragons, phoenixes, unicorns, witches, and all sorts of strange creatures. I want to combine the strengths of each to create a perfect race."

This ambition is undeniably grand.

At this point, Nuwa stretched out her right hand, raised her index finger, and touched Zheng Fa's forehead.

Zheng Fa felt a torrent of information explode in his mind, containing countless divine beast totems and various complex runes.

It contains many of the life secrets of innate beings.

"Miss?"

"Tell me why I chose the weak human race instead of these powerful races."

Zheng Fa then understood why the Goddess Nuwa had told him about these precious data she had collected.

He nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked the goddess Nuwa:
"Your Majesty, do you know about the Qiankun Cauldron?"

"It's my magic weapon." Nuwa paused, then suddenly understood. "In your hands?"

Zheng Fa was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, the names of those things in the inscription on the Qiankun Cauldron may be quite different in later generations. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

Nuwa glanced at him: "Want to know?"

Zheng Fa cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Answer my question first."

……

In a conference room at Jiushan University, in the Xuanwu constellation of Jiushan.

"Why create humans?" Xie Qingxue opened her mouth, somewhat bewildered, and asked, "Isn't it obvious...?"

Uncle-Master Pang asked curiously, "How is it so obvious?"

"The human race now controls the Xuanwei Realm."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Emperor slowly nodded and smiled, "I believe that Goddess Nuwa did not not want to create humans, but rather wanted us to truly understand something."

"what?"

What makes a person?

The meeting room fell silent. The elder couldn't help but click his tongue and sigh, "This topic is too broad."

"No, Goddess Nuwa has already given some hints." The Heavenly Emperor shook his head. "First, she asked me why she wanted to create a new race."

"Why?"

"In other words, what kind of problems can this new race solve?"

Upon hearing this, everyone understood, and the elder nodded, saying, "So that's what you mean?"

There are some things that the Heavenly Emperor did not say.

After meeting Nuwa, Zheng Fa was already pondering the true meaning of the Fusang Wood Illusion, and even re-examining the context of some ancient legends.

By now, he had some guesses in his mind.

The Heavenly Emperor addressed the elder, saying, "From the time the sermons began at Zixiao Palace, there has only ever been one main thread in the ancient era."

"what?"

"The spread and evolution of the Tao."

"Preaching? Preaching requires a new population?"

The Heavenly Emperor shook his head and explained, "The species is not the fundamental issue. The fundamental issue lies in what kind of species can better deduce the Dao."

The elder was taken aback and murmured, "Deduction? This...you mean, humans are only used to deduce the Dao?" "From Nuwa's perspective, that's what I think."

From Zheng Fa's perspective, Nuwa didn't know what a human was, so naturally she had no innate affection for the human race. She didn't initially intend to create the human race, and even her creation of the human race wasn't due to any divine mandate.
She created the human race simply because the Heavenly Dao taught by Hongjun Daoist needed a better vessel.

To use an imperfect analogy, Nuwa creating the human race and humans creating computers seem to have very similar goals.

A silence fell over the meeting room: "So, we... are just tools?"

Despite his reluctance to admit it, the Heavenly Emperor nodded slightly and said, "From Nuwa's perspective, that is probably true."

Looking at the silent crowd in the conference room, Zheng Fa spoke again: "If Nuwa has any destiny, it is to strengthen the Dao and the human race. This is the means by which she fulfills this destiny."

From Venerable Tianhe, Zheng Fa learned that cultivating the Dao is itself the self-propagation of the universe—and the process of strengthening the Dao is the process of propagation.

"..."

After a long while, a soft laugh finally broke the silence of the otherwise lifeless conference room.

"Regardless of what Goddess Nuwa thinks," Xie Qingxue said with a smile, "regardless of the origins of our human race, aren't we now standing at the pinnacle of all heavens?"

Seeing the bright smile on Xie Qingxue's face, Uncle Pang chuckled and said, "I don't think as clearly as Fairy Xie."

The Heavenly Emperor echoed, "This is Nuwa's second question: why humankind, or rather, why is the best vessel for the Dao?"

“…That’s a big problem,” Senior Sister Zhang shook her head. “It’s even difficult to answer.”

"I have an idea," the Heavenly Emperor said. "Or rather, I have an idea."

"what?"

"We abandon the answer of 'human' and deduce a new species."

Everyone in the conference room was stunned. It was Senior Sister Zhang who came to her senses: "You mean, deduce from scratch the best vessel for Daoist magic? To see if it is human?"

“That’s right.” The Heavenly Emperor nodded slightly. “Just as my senior sister said, answering this question is too difficult and too vague.”

"I wish to establish a new research topic called Dao Body Design."

"Tao body?"

“This Dao Body is not that Dao Body,” the Heavenly Emperor explained. “The so-called Dao Body here refers to the vessel of the Great Dao, or, to put it another way, let’s assume we are Nuwa.”

Now everyone understood and nodded.

"There are two important principles to consider when designing a Dao body."

"Those two important principles?"

"First, is the new Dao body conducive to the inheritance of the Great Dao?"

"Secondly, is this Dao body conducive to the development of the Dao?"

The Heavenly Emperor spoke of Zheng Fa's thoughts on this matter, and then said:

"To ensure the continuation of a legacy, one needs compatibility, the ability to learn, and stability."

"To develop, what is needed is the ability to calculate, deduce, and iterate."

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, the Heavenly Emperor explained, "These are just some initial thoughts of mine. If anyone has any different opinions, please feel free to speak them."

Senior Sister Zhang was silent for a while before nodding and saying, "In that case, we do have some clues."

"Regarding compatibility..." Zheng Fa's eldest disciple, Gu Chang, suddenly spoke up, "Isn't it just spiritual roots?"

"Spiritual roots?"

“Spiritual roots are not something every species possesses; in fact, it could be said that they are a unique characteristic of humans.”

Upon hearing this, Jiao Wuji nodded and said, "Most demons rely on bloodlines and do not have spiritual roots."

"Spiritual root..."

“I’ve always wondered why only humans have spiritual roots, and why there are so many spiritual roots. Why are all human spiritual roots complete with all five elements…” Gu Changxi said. “When Master talked about compatibility, I suddenly understood. Spiritual roots are not for making people cultivate faster, but for making people able to cultivate most cultivation techniques.”

In the conference room, everyone felt convinced. Uncle Pang said repeatedly, "This theory... is correct. If I were to design a Dao Body, the first thing I would consider is not how fast one can cultivate, but how many cultivation techniques one can cultivate. Among all the races in the heavens, the human race has the most diverse and numerous cultivation techniques."

Even the Heavenly Emperor felt a sudden realization:
He always felt that there were too many types of spiritual roots. There were five types of single spiritual roots, two types of spiritual roots, three types of spiritual roots... and if you subdivided them by percentage, the number of spiritual roots was almost endless.

He previously thought this was the origin of inequality among cultivators. The advantage of a single spiritual root was too great, while cultivation was extremely difficult for cultivators with multiple spiritual roots. From the Nine Mountains Sect to the Xuanwei Realm, countless disputes arose because of this.

But Gu Chang's words made him look at spiritual roots from another perspective. Perhaps this thing is not perfect, but it has given the human race the most possibilities.

Seeing that everyone else was deep in thought, the Heavenly Emperor continued, "The research on the design of the Dao Body is related to the Primordial Purple Qi. On the other hand, it may also allow us to glimpse the essence of a cultivator's body, which is no small matter."

Senior Sister Zhang's expression was also very serious: "We will select disciples as soon as possible to form a project team."

The Heavenly Emperor nodded slightly.

Zheng Fa did not place all his hopes on the Nine Mountains Boundary.

He also included similar topics in the modern world.

According to Zheng Fa, compatibility corresponds to spiritual root, while learning, calculation, and deduction abilities are all related to human wisdom.

Modern research in this area far surpasses that of Jiushanjie.

To put it simply, the design of the Dao body studies the relationship between biological structure and Daoist methods.

Jiushanjie excels in Taoist practices, while Modernity excels in biological structure; the two regions are almost complementary in this project.

……

Both the Nine Mountains Realm and the modern world are busy with the Dao Body Design project, and everyone in the Nine Luminaries Heaven has also gained something.

Inside the Five Viscera Temple, the Creation Daoist and others surrounded the white lotus, marveling at it.
"Is this the culmination of merit?"

Bai Lian was no longer as indifferent as before; she had a smile on her face, and a dazzling golden wheel floated behind her head.

Zheng Fa couldn't help but walk over as well.

"This is a method passed down to me by the two patriarchs, called the Golden Wheel of Merit," Bai Lian explained to everyone. "Actually, there's nothing special about it; it's just that in this world, merit inherently possesses various supernatural powers."

Everyone listened with even greater curiosity, and the Lu Clan's Grand Elder asked, "What's so special about this Golden Wheel of Merit?"

"This humble monk has only just begun to understand the Golden Wheel of Merit. It can only be used for enlightenment and exorcising evil spirits," Bai Lian explained. "If this humble monk accumulates more merit, this Golden Wheel can become real and even be comparable to a spiritual treasure. It would be most useful for self-defense and overcoming tribulations."

Those who heard this were even more envious.

The Golden Wheel of Merit is one thing, but what's even more enviable about the White Lotus is that he's managed to latch onto two powerful figures and has already reaped considerable benefits.

The Grand Elder of the Lu Clan seemed to have thought of something and said, "In that case, wouldn't the White Lotus Saint Monk have a chance to sit on that seventh futon?"

Everyone else was stunned for a moment, then they understood.

Not only has this white lotus gained a great deal of merit, but this golden wheel of merit also has the ability to help cultivators comprehend the Dao. Moreover, this person also possesses the Bodhi seed.

It seems that he possesses both great merit and great enlightenment!
"To receive guidance from the two patriarchs is already a great blessing, and I dare not have any more expectations," Bai Lian said humbly. "However, the two patriarchs have also urged me on, so I naturally dare not slack off."

Upon hearing this, everyone sighed inwardly: With powerful backers, one can truly do whatever one wants.

Zheng Fa was feeling envious when he suddenly saw the Lu Clan's Grand Elder looking at him with a mocking gaze.

Seeing Zheng Fa looking at him, the Lu clan elder turned his head back and began to flatter Bai Lian with all his might.

(End of this chapter)