Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Is this the spiritual liquid???" Shangluo drank it in one gulp.

"Yes, it's spiritual liquid. I found another classmate whose family owns a beverage factory, and he bottled it into soda for me. He asked me if I wanted to add some flavors, and I said I'd make a plain version to try first. If the trial is good, we can go into production."

"So the earlier production launch meant putting it into a soda can?"

"Well, the raw pulp is made by one company, and the bottling is done by another. Many of my classmates went into the food industry, and that's the path of industry in Southern Zhili, trading soda for cars in Northern Zhili. But the idea of putting it in soda cans was inspired by Lu Liang, the Lu Liang you're very familiar with. I've discovered that many Qigong practitioners are like her. Because the spiritual energy around them is too thin, they have the potential to mobilize spiritual energy but can't use it. So after filling it into cans, they can put it in vending machines, and they can buy it whenever they need it."

"Huh?" Shangluo never imagined that the vending machine at the garage door would one day be filled with spiritual liquid.

"However, not every vending machine dispenses real spiritual fluid. Most dispense the type you have in your hand. What do you feel when you drink it?"

"Seems like he's in better spirits? Just a little dull."

"It's bland because it's been diluted a hundredfold. This is because the spiritual liquid has undergone a qualitative change compared to the hot water extract of radish—radish soup. So even after being diluted a hundredfold, it still has considerable efficacy. Although a bottle of spiritual liquid filled with it would cost at least five or six hundred wen per bottle, after being diluted a hundredfold, the suggested retail price is only eight wen."

8 cents, Shangluo estimated it.

The purchasing power of the Ming dynasty's "wen" (literally, "wen") and the "yuan" (a dollar) was quite similar. If there were any regularity, the exchange rate would have been around 1:1.15. While food prices, especially rice, were extremely high, industrial foods like canned goods were quite cheap. Even the money needed to fill up on canned goods might not be enough to fill you up on a full meal. Shangluo had considered that if he suddenly ran out of money, he'd likely be able to survive by buying canned food.

"Eight cents isn't expensive. It's the same price as a sports drink."

"Sports drink?" Zhu Xianxun blinked. "Is that the kind of drink you have back home? It sounds like some kind of salty soda suitable for drinking after exercise."

"Salt soda does count."

"Then this is also a sports drink. Yeah," he nodded. "Very good, it seems my intuition gave me a very reliable price. Because of the diluted spiritual liquid, I plan to put it directly into every vending machine so that everyone can taste it. The biggest difference between spiritual liquid and radish soup, besides the change in quality, is the change in deterioration. Radish soup can only be drunk fresh; it will lose its flavor after being stewed for half a day. But spiritual liquid has a very long shelf life, and the first batch of spiritual liquid has not deteriorated significantly so far."

"Huh? This seems really useful?" Shangluo knew that transportation costs were a significant factor influencing commodity prices, like lychees. It was incredibly difficult to eat fresh lychees.

"It's indeed very useful. Besides radically increasing the abundance of that spiritual fluid, it also 'incidentally' solves the problem of preservation—well, that's not to say preservation isn't important, but the concentrated abundance fundamentally changes its purpose. So even something as crucial as 'preservation' seems less important. But as far as preservation is concerned, it allows us to deploy spiritual objects on a larger scale. That's crucial."

Chapter 258 Black Stone

"So, as I recall, it's provided in the diet?"

"Yes, it's mainly used in children's meals. Radishes need to be cooked before they can be eaten, and cooking itself comes with a lot of extra costs. But now, ectoplasmic fluid doesn't need to be cooked; it can just be canned and used. So now it can be distributed in every vending machine at a relatively low price, so everyone can drink it."

"How's the effect?"

"Well, it's not really that helpful for cultivation. Although the high-abundance spiritual fluid has undergone a qualitative change, dilution won't diminish its medicinal power. However, dilution reduces the amount of medicine, so it's not very helpful for gathering Qi. But it can clear away fatigue, refresh the mind, and is very beneficial for physical and mental health. Long-term use can effectively reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and is also effective for chronic diseases such as rheumatism and bone pain."

"Is this some kind of jingle?"

"Ah, did you hear that? I was just following along from the mail-order program. But regularly replenishing your spiritual energy does have these benefits."

"So what are you going to call these spiritual drinks?"

"Just call it Spiritual Liquid. Dao Yun Spiritual Liquid, Shencui Spiritual Liquid, Taisu Xuanyuan Spiritual Liquid, Taishang Changsheng Spiritual Liquid, etc. I haven't decided on anything yet."

"Such an exaggerated name?!"

"I'm not lying. Drinking more does help. The therapeutic effect is genuine. And this kind of health-promoting drink has to have some mysterious names to make it easier for people to buy. Well, it also paves the way for large-scale gathering of spirit stones in the future. I also hope that everyone can look at spirit stones more rationally. Of course, it's hard to be rational in the face of immortality. After all, this is about survival, and I can only try my best to help."

Upon hearing this, Shangluo smiled slightly - he brought back better news that could solve the problem of "someone must die early" once and for all.

"Oh, right." Zhu Xianxi suddenly remembered, "This time, we put other drinks in the vending machines. Although there are other considerations, the main purpose is to provide you with convenience. This way, we can use the gap between the 1% spiritual liquid and put the real full-concentration spiritual liquid into the designated vending machines. Then, if anyone needs to use spiritual liquid urgently to practice qigong, they can just go to the nearest point and buy a bottle. Where do you go to school? The training center in Wutai Mountain?"

"The training center."

"Oh, I see. I also put one in your school. Is there one near you?"

"We just happen to have one next to the garage."

"Very well, I've made a note of it. Look back, the vending machine next to you will be replaced one day, and it will start dispensing. The diluted health care products are in gold jars, and the real elixir is in red jars. The price is marked the same, but you can’t buy it by ordinary methods. We will distribute some tokens internally, and when the time comes, bring these tokens, and you can take out the spiritual liquid from those designated vending machines.”

"What if someone else gets hold of this? Should I do anything about it if I see it?"

"This is your responsibility, but I can offer you a suggestion: We've already maintained confidentiality. Whoever gets it will have it as their destiny to become an immortal. Cultivating immortality requires good fortune and destiny. And I also want most people to drink it. It's not enough right now, not even enough for practicing. It's just an emergency 'spare ammunition' to deal with emergencies."

"Why do I feel a little bit..."

It's super cool, like fighting a messenger of justice in the city. It feels like you can transform and fight the bad guys at the drop of a hat.

"You think it's pretty cool too, right? Ha, this is Wang Lingguan's setting! Wang Lingguan awakened by eating the elixir from the vending machine! I wonder which kid will be lucky enough to eat the elixir, I wish everyone good luck. Anyway, I hope everyone can eat it. I hope everyone can find their own opportunity like Wang E."

"About this." Shangluo raised his head, "Victoria and I discussed something."

"Hahahaha~~ So after she finished speaking, she realized she didn't have to die. She realized something was wrong after the meeting and she didn't say a word to you afterwards. Ahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. It's great to be young~~"

"Ah this."

"Sorry, sorry, I can't. I know this is a tragedy, but everyone is happy in the end. I have a low sense of humor, so I can't help it. I need to find a wooden fish to knock on."

[Bang~bang~bang~bang~bang~] Apollonia helped him knock on the void wooden fish.

"Ahem," he coughed, "but I have a rough idea. Since it can dispel her fear of death, it means she still cherishes this world. In this respect, her goal is the same as ours. Then the only thing to confirm is whether they can actually create the Pure Land. Although I have a low sense of humor, I am still very cautious. I have to really confirm that this is feasible before I will celebrate with my daughter's wine. I won't do it halfway."

"About that, that's why it's called the Ninghe. I brought back... this."

Shangluo unveiled the tray covered by the curtain. Inside was a square stone the size of a watermelon.

The stone is mostly black, with a surface pattern of interlaced bands known as "Westeden structures," a characteristic of meteorites. Although naturally formed, these patterns are perfectly regular triangles, a true feat of nature.

"This is."

"The Black Stone," Shangluo replied. "It's a token of the goddess Cybele. She wasn't a native Roman deity, but rather a belief that spread from Asia Minor to Greece and then to Rome. In 204 BC, the Roman Council decided to bring the Black Stone from the Greek city of Percinus to Rome and enshrine it in the Temple of the Earth Mother on the Palatine Hill. For the Romans, this was 'the beginning of everything.' Its purpose was funeral rites."

"The Earth Mother was believed to be the deity who created the Elysian Land of the underworld. The Romans believed that any citizen who lived a 'righteous' life could enter Elysian Land, provided they were buried according to proper rites, and be revived by the Earth Mother's 'rejuvenation'. The Earth Mother was merciful, and even those who did not believe in her could enter the Elysian Land of Cybele, as long as they were buried properly and righteously."

"Then what's inside this..." Zhu Xianxun probably guessed it.

"Yes. It houses the spirits of 49 billion Romans who have died throughout history. Their 'long dreams' provided the foundation for the 'lighthouse.' This is the beginning of everything—of course, this piece isn't the original. The original is in Rome, not even in Constantinople. This piece is merely used for funeral rites, a fragment of the original. Rome's current existence is largely to protect the original black stone. 'I will leave you, and go to that paradise. Paradise, paradise, paradise, where I find what I desire.' This paradise can now be used by us. I will use its 'soil' to build a server so that everyone's spiritual networks can be 'connected,' just like the lighthouse built by the Romans."

Chapter 259 The Significance of Black Stone

"So that's how it is, then everything becomes clear." Zhu Xianxun nodded. To be honest, he had always been quite interested in the Roman power system. This was the invisible elephant in the room, as neither side had any idea of the other's "foundation."

"Shangluo, I wonder if the Romans would have given us this foundation if they hadn't planned to 'sneak in'."

"Probably not. This is the Romans' trump card."

"What exactly does this thing contain? The soul?"

"No. I asked there too, and they said the soul is very complicated. It can't hold souls, it holds dreams."

"Dream? What does it mean? Is it a specific dream? And it says that this stone can absorb souls?" The stone looked pitch black and indeed a bit eerie.

"She told me that absorbing souls is impossible. If it were possible, the Romans would have entered immortality long ago. This black stone can only hold 'dreams', just that. It's more like a tomb than some kind of paradise."

"What do you mean?"

"This seems to be traced back to the origin of the god Cybele."

Victoria explained all this to Shangluo at the time, which made Shangluo feel a little scared. But it seemed to be his fate.

Cybele, or Kubler, was the Earth Mother goddess. Her official Roman title was the Mater Magna.

She is sometimes equated with Gaia, just as Zeus has many incarnations. However, unlike Zeus, Cybele was a Roman deity. Rather than having competing, conflicting city-states, the Romans had a single pantheon. Therefore, within Roman belief, Cybele has a distinct image and several well-known myths.

Her characteristics can be summarized into two godheads: blood and rebirth.

The best example of this characteristic is a myth related to Zeus: Cybele fell in love with the Phrygian shepherd boy Attis, who betrayed her and married Princess Ea, the daughter of King Midas of Pehinus. This is a common trope in Greek mythology, often accompanied by elements of transformation, escape, and atonement.

But the Earth Mother is an ancient deity, just like the Hunting God, who is also an ancient deity. Stories about ancient deities involve blood. Lots of blood.

Furious, Cybele went mad at the wedding of Attis and Ea. Everyone went mad and bled themselves with gravel in a pinewood, and violets sprouted from their blood.

But after being briefly caught up in the Old God's rage, Cybele regretted her actions and negotiated with Zeus, who allowed Attis to be resurrected and immortal—in his own tomb.

In the tomb, Attis's nails and hair continued to grow, and his fingers could still move. He gained eternal life in the tomb.

Modern mysticism believes this bloody myth is actually a metaphor for the four seasons of agricultural production. The meeting between Cybele and Attis represents spring, while Attis's betrayal and wedding represent "unripe wheat." The frenzy at the wedding represents the autumn harvest. The harvested Attis, dormant in the underground crypt, serves as storage for the winter.

The Romans found inspiration for their festivals and beliefs in it, and they held a festival in honor of the Great Mother on March 3th each year, during which they performed bull ceremonies to reenact the story of Attis.

The bull would be brought to the altar amidst flowers and bled profusely. The blood would then be poured from the elevated altar, and the Romans below would bathe in it, purified, reveling like plants receiving rain. The next day, they would celebrate Attis's rebirth, just as they would their own—a celebration promised by Cybele.

The priests who praise Cybele chant:

"Through the countless cracks in the wooden planks"

"Blood flowed into the pit."

"Believers lift their heads to receive the baptism of blood"

"Exposing his blood-soaked clothes and body"

"He bent down and touched his cheeks, his ears, his lips, his nose"

His eyes became moist.

"I don't even care about my taste buds anymore."

"Suck the blackened blood heartily"

Sprouting in spring, growing in summer, and dying after being harvested in autumn, all Romans, properly buried according to funeral rites, would be stored away during the harsh winter, their lives continuing within the tomb. When the warmth of spring arrived, everyone would "sprout" again, reborn as new shoots. This was the eternal life promised by Cybele.

"So that's how it is," Zhu Xianxun nodded. "This black stone symbolizes a tomb like this. Then why did you bring the Roman graves back here? Eh. Is this wine? Did the grain ferment when it was stored in the cellar? And after fermentation, it turned into wine?"

[Oh~~~ He's so smart, his reaction is so quick, he understood it right away.]

Shangluo hadn't expected Zhu Xianxun to understand so quickly. "Yes, this is actually a wine jar. Wine can reach the spirits, and what is stored in this sea of wine is the world of dreams."

"But it's all turned into wine. How can we revive it? Wine can't be turned back into food, right?"

"Well, this is the cruel side of the Earth Mother as an ancient god. In fact, the Earth Mother's promised resurrection includes a prerequisite—she cannot turn into wine."

"Huh? What do you mean? After death, can you still control yourself and turn into wine? Can millet still control itself and not rot?"

"Whether the grain will rot is not determined by itself, but by whether time settles on it and causes it to decay. The Romans divided this decay into three stages: physical death, social death, and the disappearance of the mark."

"I know that. Aztec mythology has a similar plot. The Aztecs also believed that humans die three times—physical death is the first, and the subsequent funeral is the second death, which is also known as social death, announcing to society that the person has become dead. However, the dead are not truly gone. The Aztecs would offer marigolds to their deceased relatives and welcome people back to reunite during their Day of the Dead festival. They did not want to forget their loved ones, because the dead have a lifespan. The lifespan of the dead is the moment when they are forgotten by all the living. So..."

He looked at Shangluo: "Is it the same with the Romans?"

"Yes." Shangluo nodded. "After the funeral, it was just put into the cellar. If everyone forgets about it, the passage of time will cause this person's existence to 'rot' and brew into a 'sea of wine'. But as long as they are not forgotten, there is still a chance that they will be fished out eventually."

This part also makes Shangluo wary. The element of wine also appears here. Shangluo always feels that this is as obvious as Luofengpo.

Chapter 260 Sympathetic Link

"I see. So, I guess Victoria's words to you were actually because she didn't want to be completely forgotten. You're an eternal being, and if you can remember me, then I'll be eternal with you. But her love for you must be the main factor. As a Roman emperor, she would have been engraved in stone and on silver coins, immortalized through time."

Suddenly, he raised his head: "I heard that Caesar showed up last time? Could it be..."

[Oh!!! He's so smart, he can even connect these two things.]

"Yes." Shang Luo nodded. "I only just realized this time that Caesar's return is because he has never been forgotten. As long as he's not forgotten, he can return like lightning. However, awakening Caesar was not part of the Romans' plan. The Romans weren't particularly interested in awakening their ancestors. They simply wanted to use the Sea of Wine to brew the great dream of Cyberspace. Caesar woke up on his own, and it seems he got a little too excited."

"I can probably guess a little. After all, it's no longer the memories of the person involved that protect him from the decay of time. Caesar lived nearly two thousand years ago, and all those who actually saw him and have firsthand memories are dead. Everyone's impression of Caesar now comes from others' retellings. Just like how people now only understand Confucius through the Analects, which wasn't even written by Confucius himself but was recorded by his disciples, creating another layer of separation."

"The Romans called this the 'sympathetic hierarchy,' representing the degree of credibility of one's knowledge of a person. The first level represents their personal knowledge, the second represents direct contact with them, the third represents contact with the second, and so on. While seeing the written word is like seeing the person in person, the credibility of a written document is different, and an original or printed work is another matter entirely. The stronger the sympathetic link, the more authentic and trustworthy it is. If it drops to zero, it's gone."

Caesar is quite unstable because it is so old.

"We also have the concept of leaving a legacy. People all hope to write books and achieve immortality, or be recorded in history as heroes. To some extent, it is precisely because of the fear of death that drives humans to leave behind eternal things to prove their existence. Just like the Egyptian pyramids, and so on."

Zhu Xianxun touched his chin. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"Is there anything wrong?" Shangluo and Victoria stopped talking here and didn't talk about anything else.

"You said, to what extent can the records not be 'corrupted'?"

"Eh? I really don't know about that. But as long as there's a record, it's fine, even if it's recorded by someone else. Of course, it would be even better if there's a name, date of birth, and home address. Ah!!!"

Shangluo also thought of it, and he and Zhu Xianxun looked at each other.

What do you think?

"The Yellow Book Library! All of us are in the Yellow Book Library!" He said this to Apollonia and Zhu Xianen at the same time.

「Ah! That database that records all of your household registrations, right?」

"Yes, the Yellow Book Library. Our Yellow Book Library has been maintained since the Hongwu period, and everyone has kept careful notes in it. Even if there are omissions, we still have local chronicles. Localities have corresponding Green Books, and omissions in the Yellow Book can be supplemented in the Green Book."

"But what if there are people who are not on the list?"