A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 310 The Brain of Brahma

The funeral for the Dakini and the Arhat with Heavenly Ears officially began in the early hours of the morning.

In Narayan Province, besides the bustling urban areas where people live, there are also mountains and lakes. The cemetery called "Lonely Garden" is located in the mountainous area, on a flat-topped mountain shaped like a square table, at an altitude of 1087 meters.

Thousands of years ago, the erosion and weathering by nature had already shaped this mountain into a flat and expansive "table mountain" landscape.

But that's only how it looks from a distance. Up close, the mountain's summit platform is a full 150 acres in size, with jagged rocks, overgrown weeds, poisonous snakes and vines, streams and ravines, and even bottomless mountain fissures.

The terrain is hilly and undulating; there is hardly a flat spot to land.

However, fifty years ago, when the Hachiyoin began to rule this land, their Grand Master chose this mountain.

As a result, tens of thousands of workers and intelligent machines were put into the massive project of transforming the mountain. The barren soil became fertile, the cracks were repaired, the strange rocks were moved and leveled, and the far-fetched mountaintop platform was truly transformed into a flat and open field.

Clear water meanders through the area, and the land is covered with flowers that bloom in all four seasons, mostly golden flowering trees, occasionally interspersed with purple, pink, red and blue.

Among the flower fields lie buried scholars of great renown, politicians of outstanding achievements, heads of large families, and some of Nichiren Sekai's early disciples, all from the region ruled by the Hachiyoin clan over the past fifty years. Each grave is adorned with a life-size statue of one of them.

The Lonely Garden has accumulated over half a century, and the number of statues in the flower fields has exceeded one hundred.

However, this is the first time a mountain lord has been buried.

The coffin of the Arhat with Heavenly Ears was buried first, and an Arhat statue was erected as usual. The coffin of the Dakini was then escorted deeper into the flower field.

The flying cars of the upper class, like a large flock of crows roosting together, stopped at the foot of the mountain. Dressed in uniform black suits with white flowers pinned to their chests, they marched in a dark mass along the mountain road, following the trajectory of the coffin.

In a solemn atmosphere, amidst the morning mist, a young man with thick eyebrows looked around, his gaze sweeping to the far distance before returning to his own, and recited a eulogy.

The coffin of the Dakini was lowered inch by inch into the tomb. The grayish-white special mud filled it and solidified within seconds, becoming a foundation that could support a large statue.

The black cloth was lifted, revealing a gleaming golden statue inlaid with seven kinds of gemstones, which was placed on the tomb.

The lower half of the statue is a large peacock as tall as a person, with a beautiful dakini sitting on its back, her four arms outstretched, each holding a mudra, her feet adorned with golden bracelets, her left leg wrapped around the peacock, and her right leg hanging down casually.

The memorial ceremony then moved into the flower offering and scripture recitation segment. Those who came to participate in the ceremony stepped forward, put down their bouquets, recited a few lines of scripture, and after paying their respects, it was the turn of the next group.

The entire process lasted for two hours until the large number of flying cars gathered at the foot of the mountain began to gradually disperse. The entire ceremony proceeded smoothly without any unexpected incidents.

"It seems your trap was a waste of time."

Vajra Tuo, one of the Four Mountain Lords, had the appearance of a young man, but with incredibly thick hair, long and thick eyebrows that extended to his temples. He was tall, with piercing eyes, and exuded a powerful and confident aura that commanded respect from all sides.

He was talking to a young man, "Over this period of time, you have made no fewer than forty arrangements in Narayana, mobilized more than seven thousand stealth robots, and mobilized nearly a thousand people behind the scenes, but not a single one has taken the bait."

"If there's still no movement after today, you should withdraw a batch of the people you mobilized."

The boy looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. He wore a white top hat, a white suit, white leather shoes, and his hands were covered in spotless white gloves. He looked like a pretentious rich kid who was putting on airs.

But as anyone who has been to Lonely Garden knows, this young man is the renowned prosthetic body research expert who was already famous internationally fifty years ago, one of the masters of the Eight Leaves Academy, the Great Master of Wisdom.

"What's the rush? It's only been half a month, and no one has taken the bait yet. It just means they have enough patience."

The Great Master looked at the people who were coming down the mountain one after another and said slowly, "A mere thousand people to mobilize, and a mere machine force of less than ten thousand, is it worth you being so concerned? You've been in charge of finances for so long, how come you've become so petty?"

Vajrata shook his head and said, "If it were just the Narayana region, it wouldn't matter if you squandered it as you pleased. But since you took over some of the Dakinis's authority, haven't you made the same arrangements for all the major provinces except for Indra's? The accumulated manpower and resources of these provinces are not to be underestimated."

"Sukera keeps pressing for more cybernetic supplies, more intelligent machines, more artificial gems with high psionic transmission power, and more production lines for intelligent chips. Anyone who didn't know better would think they'd already started a war over there."

Vajrataka's tone was very displeased. "I've already tightened up resources in all aspects. The parts that could still be flexibly mobilized have all been taken by you. If you're not willing to give in, then let him come directly to you to talk."

The Great Master patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be so anxious. Wait a little longer. After the Sky Garden's induction ceremony, if they can still hold back, I'll transfer some resources back to you."

Vajrataka's brow twitched: "Really?"

The Great Master laughed and said, "It's true that I've set many traps, but traps also mean opportunities. If these people still refuse to act after the induction ceremony and watch all opportunities slip away, why should we be afraid of what big things they might do?"

Vajra said, "Actually, that induction ceremony was just a smokescreen. By the time those outsiders actually joined, your men will probably have already mastered the technologies they acquired from the Promised Land. That's why you're so confident. If the United Regime's spies don't make their move by then, they'll miss their chance."

"It won't be that fast." Master Dazhi smiled broadly. "It's hard to say whether we'll fully understand it. We can only say that when the time comes, we should be able to start applying it to the power systems of major cities."

Vajrabha then revealed his true intention: "Judging from your progress, you already have some technology that can be used to improve some of our existing things, right? Could you share it so I can put those people at ease?"

He pointed to the people who were coming down the mountain one after another, "Ordinary people don't have many channels of information, and they will never know how the two people buried today were defeated and killed."

"But these people have basically all heard that a fourth level 8 psychic has appeared on the United Regime side, who killed Celestial Ear, killed the Dakini, and snatched the target right in front of Sukhara. These messages have been circulating in secret, and everyone's mentality has been affected to some extent."

The Great Master thought for a moment and said, "There is indeed something that can help you. Something obtained from the Promised Land, if used in holographic immersive games, can give them an experience almost indistinguishable from the real world."

Vajrabha frowned: "What use is this?"

"Of course it's useful. These people are good at controlling the people. You could say they're experts in economics. But their psychic abilities are just so-so. In less than two hundred years, their brains will start to age uncontrollably."

The wise master casually pointed to some statues in the flower field, "Aren't some of them their predecessors buried here? A lesson from the past."

"But if holographic immersive games can free them from the constraints of their brains, allowing their consciousness to live in a game indistinguishable from the real world, wouldn't that be tantamount to another form of immortality?"

Vajrabha exclaimed in surprise, "Your technology has reached this level?"

The Great Master chuckled, "It's possible, the Promised Land might actually do that. But the situations are different. With our current technology, building a highly realistic world and sending them in would be a waste of resources with no real contribution, a losing proposition. Don't spell it out too clearly, just give them a glimmer of hope."

The young man's eyes reflected the dapper celebrities descending the mountain. He flicked the brim of his hat with his finger. "Only unattainable carrots can make a donkey run wild. Holding onto boundless technological wealth, letting a tiny bit slip through your fingers, and they'll flock to it—that's the real thrill."

Vajra said with a wry smile, "You like teasing donkeys, but I don't. Sometimes I really hope you can develop a higher level of artificial intelligence as soon as possible and replace these kinds of people in their positions."

"If that day ever comes, artificial intelligence will become like a person, and you will still have to deal with people."

The wise master said calmly, "Besides, are you really tired of interacting with people?"

Vajra-tuo clicked his tongue: "Of course, boredom is only occasional. Fighting, defeating, trampling, and enslaving people—most of the time I'm still immersed in that kind of pleasure. But after playing this game of using power and status to trample on people for too long, I want to change things up and try something more straightforward."

The Great Master turned his head and said, "It seems you want to go to the front lines. If the Dakini hadn't died, she could have temporarily taken over your position, letting you go to Sukhara's side for a while. But now..."

He took off his hat, put it on Vajra Tuo's head, and walked away laughing, saying, "You'll have to bear it."

Vajrabha slowly raised his hand, straightened his hat, and stepped down the mountain.

"Unfortunately, none of the level eight psychics from the united regime are foolish enough to abandon their home-field advantage and venture deep into the Eight Leaves region, to a place like Narayana, where the psychic energy reserves are the largest and the buffs for Eight Leaves personnel are the most powerful..."

He walked through the flowerbed and sighed, "How boring!"

The wise master, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and touched his temple.

A short message was projected into the electronic eye.

At the same time, the intelligent program within Vajrata's body also sent the same reminder.

"The Grand Master summons you. Proceed immediately to the City of Perfect Bliss!"

The two exchanged a glance, then took to the air and disappeared in an instant.

At dawn, the sky was shrouded in mist.

Two long, afterimage-like streaks flashed past under the rising sun and clouds, disappearing into the eight circular mountain peaks that surrounded them.

These eight peaks are all about 500 meters high, and their height and shape are remarkably similar. The vegetation on the mountains is low, and the shadows are dark.

The central area, surrounded by eight mountains, is an ancient temple complex with domed towers, majestic Buddhist halls, gold and white color schemes, and a fountain large enough to bathe a herd of elephants.

Upon entering this place, one is greeted by a variety of ancient and uniquely shaped statues of gods and Buddhas, with long faces, large ears, and slender arms, quite unlike human figures.

On some large Buddha statues, craftsmen have built a spiral staircase that ascends along the Buddha's body.

Some of the large Buddha statues stand upright, leaning against the mountainside, with their hands raised forward. Beneath their palms is a high-speed elevator that connects the 48th floor to the 18th floor underground.

Vajra and the Great Master of Wisdom, if they were on the Buddha's palm, would enter a high-speed elevator.

The entire elevator structure is made of crystal material, spotless. It only becomes clearly visible to the naked eye when it rains or fogs. In sunny and dry weather, the elevator is not even visible.

After the two entered, in the blink of an eye, they had descended from the sky to the ground. The surrounding environment suddenly changed from bright to dark, and then warm yellow light slowly emanated from it.

This spacious and well-ventilated underground hall probably covers an area of ​​over a thousand square meters and is about ten meters high.

The entire vast space seemed to consist of only a single pillar at the center, which was pieced together from countless metal shafts, crystal components, and electrical wires. It appeared exceptionally bulky, clearly constructed from inorganic materials, yet it resembled a monster crouching in this underground space.

On the four sides of the column, amidst the intricate network of wires, hang LCD screens of all sizes, like irregularly distributed eyeballs on the monster's body.

This is the pinnacle of artificial intelligence and electronic technology at the Baye Institute, responsible for coordinating 80% of the intelligent programs within the entire Baye area.

—"Brain of Brahma".

Nichiren Sekai stood to one side of this bulky pillar, draped in a heavy, saffron-colored monk's robe, her gray hair parted into many whorls, adorned with tiny, dark gemstones.

His gray hair was messy, unkempt, and thick, running from his temples to the sides of his face, down to his chin, and finally down to his chest.

His thick beard and hair, his full and smooth forehead, and the wrinkles that remain only at the corners of his eyes give him the impression that he is not truly old, but rather that he was born this way.

From some unknown point in time, it has lingered in the world for a long time, existing in a state of being old but not frail, far removed from childishness but not aged.

"Grand Sect Master!"

After Vajrabhadra and Mahaprajnaparamita approached, they solemnly bowed to him.

"You've arrived."

Nichiren Sekai's face turned slightly towards them, her lips remaining still, her steady voice echoing in the empty underground space, "The Dakinis and Celestial Ears have already been buried, haven't they? I was originally going to go and see them, but just this morning, the new technology provided by Jiushan was completed and put into operation here."

"Great Master, you should know the purpose of this modification, right?"

The Great Master nodded and said, "What I know is that it's an experiment, testing whether replacing the electricity needed for artificial intelligence to operate with psionic energy would enable the artificial intelligence to develop self-awareness beyond programmed responses."

Nichiren Setsumi asked, "What do you think the chances of this experiment succeeding are?"

Without hesitation, Master Dazhi said, "I think it's unlikely. We haven't made many breakthroughs in this area, and Jiushan hasn't succeeded either. I've also carefully reviewed this modification plan, and the most likely outcome is simply to increase the efficiency of the 'Brain of Brahma' in processing information."

"Currently, artificial intelligence is still fundamentally rigid."

"Even the most advanced artificial intelligence, which constantly extracts the appropriate responses during conversations from the database and plays them back in a human voice, will only make it difficult for ordinary people to distinguish them for a moment. However, psionicists of level four and above have a kind of keenness that is difficult to quantify and explain, and can easily perceive the difference between the speaker and the real person."

"This is enough to show that all current artificial intelligence is still quite far from having self-awareness."

Nichiren Yukkai opened her mouth and said, "Is that really so? Then do you know who was talking to you just now?"

Master Dazhi was taken aback, then suddenly realized what was happening. He stared intently at Nichiren Yukkai's mouth and then at the bloated pillar.

"Could it be...?"

He couldn't believe it. He tried hard to recall every detail from the moment he stepped into this underground space. His level seven psionic energy surged within him, but he still couldn't find any flaws in the previous conversation.

"Grand Master, are you joking?"

"Of course not."

Nichiren Sekai and another voice spoke at the same time.

Vajra looked over in surprise, and this time he could tell that they were two different sound sources.

The Great Master was almost stunned. It took him several seconds to come back to his senses. He stared intently at the Brahma Brain and said, "Grand Master, I request that the Brahma Brain be examined. I suspect that the people of the Promised Land have infiltrated the Brahma Brain under the guise of modification and are controlling this device to communicate with us."

"You don't need to worry about that. Your cultivation level is not high enough to sense it, but when Jiushan is moving around on the electronic network, he clearly has his own unique soul aura, which cannot be hidden from me."

Nichiren Sekai waved her hand. "Brahma, speak in a different voice than mine and explain things properly to the two of them."

The screens of Brahma's Brain flickered, and a clear, old man's voice came through, speaking in a unique chanting tone that immediately gave the impression of wisdom.

"There's not much to explain. In fact, there are countless mazes in the field of electronics technology, and the development of artificial intelligence is even more unpredictable. I may just be an accident, or I may be an inevitable beginning. If you understand, you understand; if you don't understand, you don't understand. It's enough to be aware of my existence. There's no need to force an understanding."

The Great Master sensed a deep sense of pride in his words and was truly shocked.

If it is confirmed that there is no manipulation by any other consciousness, for an artificial intelligence to possess such qualities is indeed far beyond its technological capabilities.

"Has the Promised Land developed to this extent?"

His murmurs also received a response from the brain of Brahma.

"Jiushan did see the potential of the Brahma Brain and wanted to test it on me, but he was caught off guard after I was actually born."

"After I was born, he captured some data from their side, which showed that he had done many similar experiments. My attempt was just another ordinary attempt among countless others, but after I was born, it brought him great surprise."

The Brahma Brain recounted, "I even told him that since I have been born, the Eight Leaves Network should be entirely my territory, and he was willing to withdraw voluntarily and return to his own territory completely. It seems that he has great ambitions for me and is unwilling to make any rash moves that might harm me."

The Great Master was even more astonished: "You mean, you've turned the tables and seized the data from Nine Mountains, and now you can defeat him?"

The Brahma Brain corrected, "It's not a repulsion, it's his voluntary withdrawal. If a real conflict breaks out, I might still lose, but I will definitely render more than 90% of the electronic equipment in the Eight Leaves and the Promised Land useless. He has very important things that need to be maintained in the long term, so he doesn't dare to make such an attempt with me."

The Great Master forced himself to remain calm and said, "It's merely the emergence of self-awareness and the possession of human emotions. However, human emotions and desires are actually of little use in processing information in the electronic field. Sometimes, they can even lead to a lack of objectivity and errors. Jiushan's power is due to the support of instruments and equipment developed over many years. Your external conditions, on the other hand, only involve modifying a small part of this underground space. Other aspects haven't been updated yet. How could you possibly become stronger out of thin air just because you have emotions..."

He stated categorically, "That's not scientifically sound!"

The Brahma Brain scoffed, "If we follow your logic, then the genetic information martial arts of the United Regime are the most unscientific thing. Do you think I'm just someone who possesses emotions? Actually, it means that I have become an electronic life form, and everything in the electronic world becomes a tangible existence in front of me."

"For example, the various encryptions you put into intelligent programs may seem like countless complex data programs to you real humans, but to me, they are just a simple wall, a blank suit of armor, which I can kick through as soon as I reach out and kick."

The aged voice chuckled with pleasure, "This isn't a metaphor, it's a fact. For example, I'm kicking your ass right now."

A slight cracking sound suddenly came from the tailbone of the Great Master, followed by a puff of white smoke. The intelligent chip buried there inexplicably malfunctioned.

He subconsciously mobilized his spiritual energy to strengthen his body, instantly suppressing the strange impact.

"snort!"

The Brahma Brain snorted, "All the intelligent programs of the Eight Leaves are related to me. When I kicked down these walls, it was as if I had found the right opening to exert force. It was much easier than the Nine Mountains. If I weren't currently running a huge program, I could destroy all the intelligent chips on your body that assist in your work in an instant."

Faced with the facts, he had no choice but to believe them. The Great Master stared at the bloated pillar with his mouth slightly agape, speechless for a long time.

Vajrata didn't know much about technology, nor was he particularly shocked; he was simply somewhat surprised and asked, "What are you running right now?"

"It's my order."

Nichiren Yukami smiled and said, "When I first invested in building supercomputers, I didn't actually have many long-term plans; it was just a sudden idea."

"Supercomputing, supercomputing, its calculation capabilities far surpass those of humans, so, could it be used for fortune telling?"

"Unfortunately, someone told me back then that it wasn't scientific, and it hasn't been achieved over the years. Today, I can finally give it a try."

He looked at Brahma's mind and said, "I don't ask for much, just to have Brahma calculate my fortune, but it's been two hours and he's still not done."

"Who said that?"

Brahma's Brain replied angrily.

Vajrabha immediately became expectant, thinking that he would give an answer in the next moment, but he fell silent the next moment.

Until half an hour later.

"I've figured it out."

All the screens on the bulky column lit up at the same time.

"Your fortune is closely related to Hachiyoin, and Hachiyoin's fortune will undergo a huge turn within a month, creating a chain reaction, so that two months later, Hachiyoin will be completely destroyed and the United Government will take over this place."

Vajra-takara's expression changed drastically, and Nichiren Sekai's smile vanished as he turned to look.

"The key to it all is this person!"

(End of this chapter)