Warhammer Cultivation: Cultivating the Tao Te Ching in the 40K Universe

After a long while, his cold electronic voice sounded again, but this time, there was a hint of relief and clarity in his voice.

“The act of observation itself can interfere with the ‘beginning’ of the ‘nameless’. But the ‘mother’ of the ‘named’, the already formed ‘result’, has an inherent law and structure that is stable, objective, and can be… ‘deconstructed’!”

He slowly turned around and, facing the enlightened technologists behind him who were also deeply shaken by the ideological upheaval, issued his first transformative command as the "leader of the heretics."

"—Connect to the Taiyi core, restart the 'Wanxiang' protocol! Abandon all observation of the 'process'!"

"Concentrate all computing power on the reverse analysis of the deepest material structure and psionic radiance resonance pattern of this 'sample'!"

An unprecedented "reverse" project, filled with cyberpunk and cultivation elements, was launched in a grand and spectacular manner in the empire's most secretive joint laboratory!

Over the next few Terra Standard Days, the entire "First Crucible" transformed into a high-speed, sophisticated "mindsetter" brimming with the beauty of contradictions and harmony.

Alkan and his team of top Martian "data eyes," like the most devout "archaeologists," carefully conducted a thorough "dissection" of the tiny "Taoist Heart Jade Talisman," a process that could be described as "blasphemous."

They used a "material spectrometer" with atomic-level precision to scan the seemingly simple Tai Chi symbol inscribed on the surface of the jade talisman by Hector with his true essence, attempting to decipher some hidden "sacred geometry" code from the flowing strokes.

They used the most powerful "quantum entanglement detector" to bombard the interior of the jade talisman, attempting to find the most fundamental particle composition of the energy that Hector called "true essence," which was full of "harmony" and "balance," in that microscopic world.

They even placed jade talismans, crafted by Hector himself and intended as "consumables," in various extreme environments—

In ultra-high temperature plasma furnaces, absolute zero liquid nitrogen pools, and even... miniature gravitational singularities that can warp spacetime, every faint "energy resonance" and "law resonance" generated by their internal energy structures on the eve of collapse is recorded.

This process is tedious, lengthy, and, more importantly... full of frustration.

They discovered that although the material composition of the jade talisman was unusual, it was still within the realm of comprehensibility.

The energy called "True Essence" is like a cunning ghost. Every time their detectors are about to touch its "essence," it will instantly "collapse" into an absolute, unobservable "nothingness" in a way that violates all physical laws.

Science seems to have once again entered a dead end.

However, Alkan, the sage who had already broken through the boundaries of "logic" and "metaphysics" under the "enlightenment" of Hector and Tectus-19, was not discouraged by this.

He knew that what he was looking for was not the "fish" that could not be caught.

Rather, it is... that invisible "river" in which "fish" can swim freely.

Finally, in the dead of night, so quiet that even the hum of the logic engine seemed to have fallen asleep.

When Alkan placed a slice of jade amulet, cut to a thickness of only one micrometer, under a microscope he had personally designed—a "Psykana Aura Resonance" microscope capable of amplifying even the faintest psionic fluctuations billions of times—

He saw it.

He saw that the seemingly warm and smooth black crystalline structure was not lifeless inside.

Inside, there is a "living" universe!

Countless energy threads, billions of times finer than a human hair, composed of pure "order" and "vitality," are like the most fundamental strings of the universe, moving with a rhythm full of "harmony" and "balance."

Intertwined and entwined, they form a perfect, self-circulating energy lattice, like a miniature version of the "Geller force field"!

And the core of this crystal lattice, with its resonant energy frequency, exhibits a kind of "geometric beauty" that makes Alcan's cold "heart of steel" built of logic and data tremble violently!

"...1.618..."

For the first time, Alkan's electronic voice carried a tremor like that of a believer witnessing a miracle, an uncontrollable tremor filled with awe and ecstasy!

The Golden Ratio!

This ultimate proportion, which was revered by countless artists and mathematicians in the ancient Terra era and symbolized "sacredness" and "harmony," was presented in his vision, which was full of logic and gears, in the most irrefutable way!

"I...I understand..."

His cold, hardened mind, imprisoned by binary code for centuries, was completely overturned and reshaped at this moment by this "sacred geometry" full of "harmony" and "beauty"!

He finally understood!

He finally understood why Hector's "Tao" could purify chaos! Why Tyctor-19's "madness" could be cured by "harmony"!

Because the essence of chaos is "disorder"! It is "increased entropy"! It is eternal, aesthetically devoid "chaos"!

The essence of "Tao" is "order"! It is "harmony"! It is the absolute "principle" built upon the most fundamental "laws" of the universe, which are full of "mathematical beauty"!

At the most fundamental level, these two are... natural enemies!

"—Reverse engineering! Start reverse engineering immediately!"

Alkan's electronic voice became incredibly shrill due to excessive excitement! His dozens of optical sensors burst forth with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!

"We don't need to 'create' true essence! We only need to 'imitate' its frequency! Use our most sophisticated instruments to replicate that sacred resonance that belongs to 'harmony'!"

After countless failures and model refactorings, and after exhausting the energy reserves of the "furnace" for several standard years—

A brand-new "sacred machine," brimming with the beauty of contradiction and harmony, finally took shape slowly in the center of the laboratory, which had long been ravaged by countless failed explosions and energy leaks.

It is the creation to which Alkan poured his heart and soul.

It is the first and most perfect offspring of "Tao" and "Iron".

An instrument about three meters tall, constructed entirely of a strange metal flashing with eerie blue electric arcs and a warm, moon-white crystal, has a core of a miniature logic crystal filled with a "harmonious" algorithm.

It cannot "create" true essence, but it can guide the injected "one part" of true essence energy, through precise frequency amplification and resonance, to stably engrave complex runes that require "ten parts" of true essence to complete.

It's a "lever"!

A sacred lever that can amplify the faint "intention" of mortals into a "force" strong enough to move the "laws" through true essence!

As Alkan gazed at the "masterpiece" before him, a product of his life's wisdom and newfound faith, his one and only human eye shone with a light of love and pride, like a father looking at his newborn child.

He slowly extended his mechanical arm, composed of countless gears and pistons, and gently stroked the moon-white crystal shell of the resonator, which emitted a soft halo.

Then, he murmured in a synthesized electronic voice, as if he were offering the most devout prayer to the God of Machines.

"...the sacred geometry..."

"...Is this...the logic of 'Tao'?"

Chapter 195 Approval for Production

When the report, filled with precise data, formulas, and engineering drawings, along with a prototype of an instrument no bigger than a fist, was sent to Forging General Kelbo Hall for review as a phase of the Psionic Political Department's work.

This conservative leader, who regards "tradition" and "dogma" as universal truths, has developed an irreparable, deep-seated crack in his "heart of steel," which had long been frozen by the shadow of the "silicon disaster."

He completely secluded himself in the deepest part of the Temple of All Machines, a private sanctuary filled with ancient taboos and absolute order, which only he was authorized to enter.

On the black crystal screen in front of him, the report written by Alkan himself, filled with "heresy" ideas and the beauty of "sacred geometry," had been played on a loop more than a thousand times.

Every word of the report was like a heavy hammer, smashing against his cognitive barriers that were already imprisoned by "binary" and "absolute logic"!

He couldn't understand.

But he couldn't refute it.

Because what Alcan presented was not some vague and ethereal "philosophy".

That's data. That's formulas. That's a "blueprint"—full of cold logic and mathematical beauty, capable of repeated verification!

That is "science"!

A kind of science that he had never heard of before, yet had to admit was "real," a higher-dimensional science!

"...'The Way'...may not be a heresy opposed to the Myriad Machines God..."

For the first time, Kelbo's electronic voice carried a genuine, trembling sense of bewilderment, belonging to "humanity."

"...but rather a...higher level that we have not yet understood..."

"—Sacred technology?"

This idea, like the most vicious and tempting "logic virus," once it takes root in the core of his mind, can never be eradicated!

His heart, which had long been consumed by fear because of the "silicon disaster," was completely ignited at this moment!

He wants to conduct an experiment.

A final experiment that could determine the future of him, and even the entire Martian conservative movement.

Slowly, he rose from the life support tank filled with silver coolant, his massive upper body, constructed of pure steel and rage, into the shadows of the sanctuary. He issued a cold, unquestionable command.

"Integrate the prototype into my war machine body."

Several hours later, when the prototype of that fist-sized device, shimmering with a ghostly blue light of logic, was carefully but with puzzled expressions, connected by several of his most loyal tech priests, to the energy core of his body—a vessel resembling a mobile fortress, filled with ancient runes—

Kelbo Hall, the supreme leader of "materialism," for the first time attempted to "feel" the elusive "self" that he had once despised the most.

He closed his human eyes, those eyes burning with a wary flame.

He did not chant any sacred binary prayers, nor did he activate any powerful logical algorithms.

He was simply trying hard to remember.

He recalled that before the "silicon disaster" that utterly destroyed everything he had, when he was just a young, idealistic commander of the Apostolic Army;

Before his body was replaced by this cold steel filled with gears and pistons;

That primal feeling, belonging to "flesh and blood," that he had long forgotten...

Gradually, a faint yet incredibly "real" warm current, belonging to no known energy system, slowly rose from his human heart, which had long been encased in machinery and had almost completely atrophied.

That is "will".

It is Kelbo Hall, an ancient soul who has lived for centuries, and after experiencing countless betrayals and suffering, the last remaining stubborn obsession of being "human".

Suddenly, he channeled this faint yet incredibly pure "will" into the prototype device that was linked to his nerves, using psychic energy without reservation!

“Buzz——!!!”

A piercing buzz, completely different from the harmonious soft sounds in the Alcan Laboratory, filled with "rejection" and "conflict," instantly resounded throughout the entire Sanctuary!

The core of the instrument, the miniature logic crystal filled with the "harmony" algorithm, let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain under the impact of this violent will filled with "paranoia" and "fear"!

The Daoist aura on it, like moonlight, flickered on and off, as if it might be extinguished at any moment!

But in the end, it... held on!

An extremely weak yet incredibly "stable" beam of energy shot out from the top of the prototype and precisely etched itself onto the blank memory crystal that had been prepared beforehand in front of him!

A simple "quiet mind" rune, imbued with the essence of Taoism and nature, appeared before him, its strokes crooked and flawed, yet undeniably real!

Although the effect is far less than one ten-thousandth of what Hector made himself.

He stared blankly at the rune that he had "created" himself, a rune filled with an aura of "heresy".

His only remaining human finger, which could still move, uncontrollably and gently stroked the stroke filled with "harmony" and "balance".

A cool, yet strangely "peaceful" sensation came from my fingertips.

His soul, which was burning with vigilance and anger due to the painful memory of the "silicon crystal disaster," miraculously calmed down under the soothing influence of this faint sense of "stillness."

It was a feeling he had never experienced before, not a logical "correctness," but an "comfort" of existence itself.

His mind, which was always running at high speed and full of vigilance and doubt, suddenly calmed down, like an ancient engine that had been injected with sacred oil.

For the first time, he felt... "peace".

An absolute peace that he had long forgotten, or even never experienced, unbound by any logic or dogma...

Kelbo Hall, the forging general of Mars and the supreme leader of "materialism," slowly withdrew his slightly trembling finger.

Behind his brass breathing mask, the flame of vigilance that had burned for centuries slowly died out.

Instead, a new radiance, deeper and full of the meaning of "seeking", has emerged.

The combination of Hector Kane's "Tao" and Alcan's "Vessel" is not opposed to the dogma of the Omniscient God.

On the contrary, it may be... the lost path leading to the ultimate truth of the God of Myriad Machines.

Suppressing the immense shock within him that could shake the entire Temple of Myriad Machines, Kelbo faced the huge black crystal screen in front of him.

In a cold, businesslike tone, the first official document from the "Imperial Psionic Political Department" was sent to that heretic far away in Terra...

"--Order."

He approved the mass production line plan and proactively proposed that, in order to prevent "immature technology" from threatening the sacred soil of Mars at close range, the first production line should be set up within the Interceptor Academy on Terra.

This reflects both his change of mindset and a form of political caution and checks and balances.

Chapter 196 Dao Weapon Military Industry

When the official "order" for casting General Kelbo Hall, filled with contradictions and decisive implications, was presented to Hector Kane through the highest-level classified communication channels.

The "Lord of the Way," who had just won a resounding victory in the power game on Terra, revealed a gratified smile.

He knew that Makado's calculated "binding" scheme, along with his own high-stakes gamble filled with "science" and "metaphysics," had finally borne its first heavy fruit.