Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

After a long time.

It was 12 o'clock in the middle of the night. Zhu Xianxun was wearing pajamas and looked at the people in front of him blankly. Shangluo was also woken up and sat in his previous seat.

The two rabbits had some fur pulled out of their faces and stood in front of him with angry faces. This was the plaintiff.

The defendant knelt nearby.

It was also the first time he saw that a panda's short legs could actually make it kneel down.

Zhu Ling also knelt beside him, chewing something. At the same time, an uncontrollable "immortal energy" emanated from her. Although her realm had not yet been consolidated, Zhu Ling had indeed entered the foundation-building stage.

She succeeded.

Zhu Xianxun covered his forehead and said, "So who can tell me what happened? You tell me?"

He looked at the two jade rabbits, and the jade rabbits remained silent because they could not speak.

He looked at Zhu Ling.

"Wuwuwuwu~~" Zhu Ling pointed at his mouth and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Then it's you." Only Longlong could speak, "What the hell is going on!"

Long Long danced and improvised the previous situation in a comedy style, from looking at the stars to their return here.

"So, when you realized that the Jinyiwei were coming to arrest you, you just stuffed the food in your mouth?"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm." Zhu Ling nodded while chewing.

"So when you finish eating, your advancement will be complete, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Zhu Ling nodded vigorously.

"Then you eat here. I'll watch you eat. It's really weird. The capital is so big, you can steal anything else, but you have to steal from me."

"Your Majesty!" Long Long looked up and asked, "Does this count as stealing?"

"Legally, this is debatable, but morally, this behavior is stealing! You should know your shame! Know your shame!"

"Woo woo woo woo!" Zhu Ling raised his hands as if in protest.

"What, you have an opinion?"

"That's what happened." Long Long explained, "I waited for the right moment to interrupt. In other words, my interruption itself was part of the alchemy process - judging by the results."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Xianxun was stunned for a moment.

"I can't explain it clearly, but I only know that if you let these two keep pounding, it seems that you will get nothing except heavier metals. Because you just let them pound things together. When they were pounding, the things in the bowl were in a chaotic state. And I went up and slammed the bowl over, interrupting their process, and the refining was completed. So I am the most important."

Longlong said confidently.

"???" Now it was the turn of the two Moon Rabbits to get anxious. They raised their pestles and were ready to fight Long Long.

"Both of you stop for a moment." Zhu Xianxi raised his hand. "Let me ask you, if I ask you to do it again, do you have the confidence to make another one?"

"Sure!" Long Long replied, "But I think our luck might not be good enough. We have to choose a time when we are lucky."

"No." Zhu Xianxun looked at Longlong, then at Zhu Ling, "If we go back to 'right time, right place, right people', then what's the difference from before. Listen, this job is now on your shoulders. You helped Zhu Ling get the golden elixir and interrupted my experiment, so you have to compensate me next. Move out of the Imperial Garden, the laboratory in the back is your home."

"Ah????" Long Long fell to the ground, "Why!"

"Why, you were so confident when you cheated, isn't it time to pay for your karma now? You did it once, you can do it a second time. Listen, I don't want any coincidences of right time and right place, I want a method that can be replicated. You, do your job well. Come out when you're done. If you can't finish it, you'll have to deal with it yourself."

"I only have one request!" Long Long raised his hand, "Just one!"

"explain."

"I don't want to eat bamboo anymore. I want apples. I want apples as my staple food. And I want unlimited apples for my wife and children. I also want watermelons, honeydew melons, carrots, and pumpkins. I want unlimited amounts of everything."

Chapter 1309: The Cage of Wisdom

"I can meet your request. But I have to explain something first."

Zhu Xianxun said to Longlong, "The physiological structure of a panda cannot eat too much food other than bamboo. You should know this better than me. After all, you have a panda's stomach. Zhu Ling, you tell him what will happen if a panda only eats fruit and not bamboo."

"Yes. The panda's stomach is that of a carnivore. In order to cope with the hard bamboo, the panda's intestines secrete mucus. If you don't eat a lot of bamboo to scrape off the mucus, the mucus will be discharged on its own. From what I've seen, it feels like eating a spicy hot pot, spicy at both ends. It's very, very spicy."

Long Long nodded: "Yes, I understand. Of course, I am also very aware of this."

"Then you should have a way to deal with it." Zhu Xianxun replied, "I won't talk about this for now - I think you want more than just fruits and vegetables, right? You are not without a salary. If you just want these food, you should be able to buy them yourself. Then, I suggest you tell me your true demands so that I can consider them carefully."

"I hope my wife and children can eat unlimited fruit in a captive environment!"

"Ah?" Zhu Xianxi was stunned for a moment. "You mean, you want our breeders to violate the rules?"

"Yes. This is something I can't do with my own salary. Because I can't ask the breeder not to take care of my family according to scientific methods."

"What do you think? In fact, you can choose to move outside the Imperial Garden, build your own house, and then hire someone to take care of them."

"No." Long Long shook his head. "That's undignified - yes, I've realized that. I think the most dignified place for captive giant pandas is in the panda house in the zoo. They can't return to the wild. They have long been accustomed to being cared for, raised, and watched by people. If they were moved to a private residence, they would be no different from domestic pet cats and dogs. They would just become my pets, which would raise ethical issues for me."

"Oh, this." Zhu Xianxi was surprised. "That's true, but this is a bit beyond the scope for me. If a spiritual beast detains its mortal beast relatives at home, does it count as a violation of personal freedom? This question can be published in a paper."

"So I think it's best for them to stay in the zoo. I trust humans, I love humans, and I know humans love us. So I prefer to have people take care of them rather than taking care of them myself. In the zoo, they can show the pandas' natural ecology well, and they will become representatives of our race and live happily in their own nature."

"Have you ever thought about letting them practice Taoism as well?"

Long Long shook his head firmly and said, "It is against common sense for animals to cultivate immortality. I have wisdom, but I also have more things to think about. I worry about this and that all day long, and I really don't want my children to live my life. I just hope that they can live a stable life in the zoo according to the nature of captive pandas. I don't seek to increase the number of panda spirit beasts. That is against the harmony of nature, and it is not good for you or us."

Longlong's eyes are small, but there is great wisdom in his small eyes.

He knows very well that pandas are loved by people because their appearance is cute. Their round heads, big bellies, chubby faces and short arms and legs are very similar to human babies in terms of physiology.

As a bear, pandas also have intelligence beyond that of ordinary animals - although not as good as primates, compared with ordinary cats and dogs, they often show amazing levels of intelligence.

Some pandas use psychological tactics. Pandas are lazy during training. When keepers use long poles to catch them and they get up to exercise, some pandas pretend to look around and wait for the keepers to bring the pole closer before grabbing the fruit off the pole.

What's more, some particularly smart pandas can accurately recognize the positional relationship between objects and use their toys to build a platform to help themselves climb over the wall and escape.

But think about it from another perspective - these things are only cute when they happen to pandas. If they happen to humans, or even monkeys, these behaviors are not cute at all, and may even be a bit annoying.

Longlong knew that the panda clan must never cross this boundary. Wisdom sometimes doesn't mean liberation; it only leads pandas into new cages, becoming prisoners of wisdom. Longlong, the panda, lived a peaceful life in his enclosure, never wanting to leave unless absolutely necessary.

He didn't want to appear to be more evolved. To evolve would mean going out to work.

"Ah," Zhu Xianxi shook his head, "You were obviously brought up by my sister, why are you two levels higher than her?"

"Brother, what did you say?"

"Get down on your knees! It's not your turn yet!"

"Oh" Zhu Ling lowered his head.

"Do you want a seat?" Zhu Xianxun asked, "I think you can sit down and talk."

"I'd rather squat. When your legs are short, there's no difference between squatting and sitting."

"Okay." Zhu Xianxi nodded. "Although this request is somewhat contrary to common sense and the physiological structure of pandas, I will find a way to help them regulate themselves. Zhu Ling, look up. I have something to ask you."

"Oh." Zhu Ling raised his head, "Then ask."

“If we don’t eat bamboo, is there any other way to compromise?”

"Yes." Zhu Ling nodded. "The main reason for removing sticky tissue is that we need to use cellulose to clean the intestines. In other words, eating a lot of cellulose will do the trick. From this perspective, we can feed pumpkin."

"Ah," Zhu Xianxin also remembered, "I remember that many pandas really like to eat pumpkins? I remember Longlong also likes it?"

"In fact, it's because pumpkin is the only one that can be freely supplied. Although the fiber content of pumpkin is not as good as bamboo, it is enough for pandas to maintain general health. Among high-fiber foods, pumpkin is also the one that best suits pandas' appetites - but he requested to 'eat all fruits and vegetables', so eating pumpkin alone may not be enough."

"Then this task is handed over to you. Communicate with him and fulfill his wish so that he can do his job well for the court."

"Ah?" Zhu Ling was stunned for a moment. "That's not right. Doesn't this mean that he is Party A and I am Party B? I have to fulfill his request?"

"This is what you should do. Why, is this unfair to you?"

"No, no, no." Zhu Ling shook his head repeatedly.

Chapter 1310 The True Triple Greatness

"So, your goal is met. Let's talk about work."

Zhu Xianxi spread his hands. Longlong's request just now was actually quite excessive, because it was already a violation of the management code. But if you want the horse to run fast, you have to let the horse eat grass. As an innate spiritual beast, Longlong can certainly let the court meet his demands.

And when this requirement is related to ascension, it is even more necessary to pay attention to it.

"Well, Uncle Longlong." Zhu Xianxi already used the honorific title, "I think that your understanding of things has reached a very profound level. Why don't you tell me your opinion?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Long Long raised his head. "Based on my experience studying abroad, I think our alchemy method is only one step away from completion."

"Wait, have you studied abroad?" Zhu Ling asked in surprise, "How come I don't know where you studied abroad?"

"He went to New Antioch to study abroad. How dare you, a mere Party B, interrupt what Mr. Long Long is saying?" Zhu Xianxun waved his hand, "Go to the side and let Mr. Long Long speak for himself."

"Thank you." Long Long lowered his head and said, "In fact, I have seen the true meaning of the three great things that even the Romans did not realize."

[Huh? ? ?] Now it was Apollonia's turn to be surprised, [What did he say? This is so shameless! If he can't explain it clearly, I'll make him suffer!]

This shocked Zhu Xianxun: "What do you mean? Not only can you solve our problems, but you can also solve the Romans' problems?"

"I think this is the same thing, my majesty. The triple greatness is the same as the secret of heaven. The key to all this is the basis of my actions today. So I ask you not to punish Her Royal Highness the Princess. I think our actions are destructive, but it is the destructive actions that complete the potion."

The recipe was created by Xu Fu and prepared under the operation of Zhu Xianxin. In the end, it became a real elixir because it was destroyed by Long Long.

"Go on." Zhu Xianxun blinked. He seemed to have realized something.

"Now, allow me to recite an excerpt from the Emerald Book, the root of Roman mysticism, in which the answer lies:

"The sun is the father, the moon is the mother, the wind brings us life, the earth brings us up.

"Divide the earth from the fire, gather the essence from the rough, and proceed with caution.

"I ascend from the earth and descend from heaven, and I acquire the power of those above and those below. This is the power of all forces, which breaks the strong and subdues the strong. Thus the world was created. Thus miracles are accomplished. I am called the Thrice-Great Hermes, because I possess the wisdom of the three parts of the world. This is what I call the Great Work."

He paused, and then continued: "In fact, the three greatness mentioned in the Emerald Record means that the completion of things requires three steps. It needs to be created, maintained, and finally destroyed. It comes down, it must go up, but it will eventually go down. Just like the fruit needs to be picked before it can be finally completed. I can make a more vivid metaphor:

"These three greats, when it comes to filmmaking, are the screenwriter, director, and producer. The first scene of a film flows from the screenwriter's pen, writing the story. The director, building on the screenwriter's script, slowly shoots each scene. Finally, the producer sets the boundaries of the film by controlling the budget. This act puts an end to endless creativity and evolution, but also allows the film to be finally released.

"The screenwriter is responsible for creation, and the director gives it form and function. But ultimately, the driving force behind all of this, the primordial basis of all of this, is the producer. Because without the producer's predetermined end, without the producer's [destruction], then creation itself cannot happen, because the producer first predetermines the outcome and then has the budget for the project. My Lord, I have just completed the most important destruction. It was me who made this all happen."

Zhu Xianxun raised his head. He realized what he was facing.

"Birth and death. Of those who are born, thirteen are born; and of those who die, thirteen are dead. Of those who are alive, one is put to death, and one is also dead. Why is that? Because of the abundance of life."

He recited a sentence from Chapter 50 of the Tao Te Ching. He had known this sentence for a long time, but he had not realized its importance. Just like picking an apple, he understood the meaning of this sentence at this moment. Move it to death, and then there will be life.

All along, he thought he was just looking for the right time, right place and right people in the process of alchemy, which was a chaos. But when he realized——

"Oh my God!" Zhu Xianxun leaned back suddenly. He shouted in despair, because he realized that the sage was right! He relied on his own observations and keenly discovered the law that Zhu Xianxun should have known long ago.

That is to say: in magic, destruction must precede creation, and effect must precede cause. All three are indispensable. In the past, Zhu Xianxun had always been providing benefits to others because he never set a plan for taking the pill. He had always been creating, but he didn't know when to make a decision.

"Then what are we going to do?"

Long Long shook his head. "I only know that I know nothing. Your attempt to understand chaos is in vain, because chaos is not one level, but three levels. Creation is chaos, smelting is chaos, and how to destroy is even more chaos. The so-called three levels of greatness are the three levels of chaos."

[No!!! Oh my God! Why did he say that! ]

"This is what I call the cage of knowledge." Long Long lowered his head and said, "It's okay when you don't know, but it's terrible when you know. Now, you are all locked up."

"I shouldn't have asked you." Zhu Xianxun covered his forehead, "With a glimmer of hope, I might still succeed."

"Yes, Your Majesty, of course you can succeed. Because whether you know it or not, the result is the same. So my suggestion is," he looked at Zhu Xianxun, "no matter how much time you spend on formulas and preparations, it will be useless unless you can solve the ultimate problem of triple chaos in one go. Otherwise, I still suggest that you think about it in reverse - for example, think about how to reverse the cause and effect, and know when to end it all."

"Xu Fu???"

"Yes." Long Long nodded, "I think the instigator of this incident is the key to solving the problem. He seems to have found a way to reverse cause and effect from chaos, making the 'panacea for curing diseases' you are looking for possible. But you can't use the same method to mass-produce golden elixirs that increase your cultivation by putting together the periodic table, because it's not written on the formula, and he didn't give it to you."

"Then this problem is easy to solve. Since he won't say anything, we naturally have a way to make him say it. Shangluo, I leave this to you. This Taoist priest is really good at what he does. I think the Moon Rabbit may be the key to all this. Since we can't figure it out, let's bet everything on it. I want to see if he can reverse the cause and effect of his own destruction. I want to see if he can use the secret of heaven on himself."

Chapter 1311: The Three Greatnesses

Zhu Xianxi's fighting spirit was burning. After knowing that the future was not a single chaos, but a triple chaos, he felt relieved.

He had spent his whole life struggling with a meaningless chaos. He studied the formulas, techniques, and everything else related to alchemy. He had read every book he could get his hands on, and he would finish it if he had the chance.

But he got nothing in the end, and until now he has not understood even a little bit of Chaos. He just got another problem from another problem. But now, he is enlightened.