He changed Tiwat

"Humans have their own inherent qualities; we are not the residue left after the chosen ones have been filtered out. These words are my 'words of wisdom' for you."

The third force is the power of "human beings".

As a Chinese literature major from a Chinese background, Han Fulai naturally knew the concept of "the three powers: Heaven, Earth, and Man," and he could even recite a line from the "Four Poems: Elegance, Poetry, and Song."

The question is, what is this "human power"?

Although the game's storyline doesn't explicitly state this, Han Fulai had completed the Inazuma main story before his transmigration. In the game's story, the Traveler, as the player, faces Thor's "unthinkable strike" and uses the power of "human desire," also known as "willpower."

If Dainesreb had once thought of "seeing Hafdan one more time," and Hafdan's spirit was the embodiment of Dainesreb's wish... then all of this makes sense.

Their ability to see Hafdan's spirit is a manifestation of "human power".

Just like the legendary condition for obtaining the Eye of God, "when a person's desire is strong enough, the gods will cast their gaze upon him." Although this legend is not entirely untrue, there is no smoke without fire.

At least in this special place with disordered ley lines, the power of wishes is amplified.

During his exploration over the past few days, Han Fulai discovered that the space beneath the Abyss of Layered Rocks was different from the outside world, practically an "otherworldly space," and his calls to Xiao and Gan Yu could not be transmitted. However, correspondingly, his own strength had actually increased to some extent.

At least his ability to "turn wind into stone" and "inhale into stone," and his demigod-like state, were all accomplished beneath this giant abyss of rock—especially during his battle with Ye Mingxiang, Han Fulai even tried to "pray to himself" and then "respond to himself" in order to mobilize the power of the Salt Demon God.

Looking back, his desire to save his life was indeed strong enough, and his ability to successfully enter the Salt God state may also have been due to the power of his will.

Zhongli had said the following before bestowing upon him the remnants of the Salt God:

"In that era, people learned many things under the guidance of civil servants. They learned to cultivate the land and reaped the joy of a bountiful harvest. They learned to dig and received the gift of precious gold. They gathered together to create art and write poetry... Civil servants worked hard, and people repaid them with gratitude as taxes."

Han Fulai interpreted this as a metaphor: the demons, following the sacred covenant ordained by the laws of heaven, bore the responsibility of "loving their people." In return, they received faith from humanity. The demons' responses to their people's prayers were equivalent to "work," while the people's faith in the gods was equivalent to "wages."

Now it seems that this is not merely a metaphor, but rather an explanation of the source of the demon god's power—

Gods need faith, and demons need "willpower".

Those who can become the "Seven Rulers of the Mortal World" are the gods who are most able to respond to the wishes of their people during the war between demons and gods.

Zhongli was even willing to go all over the city to catch slugs in response to the prayers of his people, so much so that he still has a psychological aversion to seafood.

Those gods who could not comply with the wishes of the people, such as Heureia, the Salt Goddess of Liyue, or the "Lone King of the Tower" of Mondstadt, ultimately became the losers in the Demon God War—even though their original intention was to protect their people.

"Willpower" should also be an important source of power for demons, just as gods and Buddhas in Chinese legends need "incense offerings".

Demons themselves vary in strength, just as some are born strong and robust while others are born weak and sickly. The "willpower" of their subjects, on the other hand, is like material wealth—an important resource that can be used to compensate for inherent deficiencies.

While the amount of offerings may not be directly related to a god's fighting power, it's always good to receive more offerings—everyone's a civil servant, and nobody complains about having a high salary. That incorruptible and honest official, Heureia… ended up dying poor.

After Han Fulai was given the remnants of the Demon God, he possessed the incomplete power of the Salt God, and "power" is a symbol of a god's identity.

The "power" shared by all demons is to receive the "wishes" of their subjects—after all, civil servants need to be paid a salary.

From the moment Zhongli handed over the power of the Salt God to Han Fulai, he became an unofficial civil servant of Sky Island, a demon god without subjects... which is quite weak.

After meeting Daines Reeb, Han Fulai finally realized Zhong Li's "training plan" for him.

He understood why Zhongli had solemnly told him, "The seal is opened for you," when he opened the Salt God Ruins, and he also understood why Zhongli had kept those "rebels" in the Silver Plains Hall for three thousand seven hundred years.

—Zhongli preserves the "power of his vow" offered to the Salt Demon.

Just like during the era of the Demon God War, Zhongli had two allies by his side: "Dust Demon God" Gui Zhong and "Heat Demon God" Maxius... He reserved an opportunity so that he could have a Demon God-level ally when needed in the future.

To raise the banner of rebellion against Sky Island, a power at the level of a demon god is the bare minimum requirement.

Han Fulai finally realized what kind of path the "power" he had chosen was.

That was not a simple gift of immortal power; "successor of the Emperor" was by no means just an empty title.

—He chose the path to godhood, the path to becoming the "Salt King Emperor".

Chapter 253 Willpower is a Programming Language

It's one thing to understand that you have the power to apply "willpower," but it's another thing to know how to absorb and use "willpower."

They're all on the same computer, but some people can use it to write programs, while others can only use programs written by others, and some don't even know how to unzip a zip file containing explicit images.

For Han Fulai, applying "willpower" is equivalent to the work of a "programmer".

Fortunately, Han Fulai is a mediocre programmer. He tried to switch from any major to programming when he took the postgraduate entrance exam.

Like the "wishing stone," the "power of wishes" is obviously not a magic wish-granting machine that can make all your wishes come true. Otherwise, everyone would have wishes and generate "power of wishes," but most wishes are just daydreams in the end.

Just like programming requires the use of a "programming language," talking to a machine requires using the machine's language; it won't understand human language.

There should be some strict conditions for using "willpower".

The "purification ritual" performed by the "Abyss Order" gave him ample inspiration.

Han Fulai witnessed the agony of the Black Serpent Knights and Hilichurls when the Abyss Order activated the Celestial Power of the pool, spreading the light of "purification" throughout the ancient ruins. This was because the Celestial Power and the power of the curse clashed, and the power of purification repelled the curse power within them.

More importantly, Han Fulai received a message here left by the "Prince of the Abyss," the traveler Kong.

Han Fulai still vividly remembered Kong's last words: "For them, it's better to return to the 'cycle' sooner rather than live without dignity. Don't let them continue to bear... those unfounded sins."

The "purification ritual" performed by the "Cult of the Abyss" in this pool was actually based on two considerations. From the "Cult of the Abyss's" perspective, if the "purification ritual" succeeded, they could save a group of citizens and obtain an effective method to remove the curse; if the "purification ritual" failed... it would also be a form of "humanitarian destruction" for those Hilichurls.

Although the process was incredibly painful and inhumane, the result was that the Hilichurls were indeed reintegrated into the "cycle"—the cycle of the ley lines.

The methods used by the "Abyss Order" were actually quite simple: they used the power of the abyss to impact the power of the heavens above the pool, triggering the pool's defense mechanisms, amplifying the stress response, and thus enhancing its purifying power.

To draw an analogy, it's like pouring water into concentrated sulfuric acid. Because concentrated sulfuric acid is denser than water, the water will float on the surface and won't mix quickly. Furthermore, the dilution of the concentrated sulfuric acid by the water releases a large amount of heat, causing the mixture to boil and resulting in the sulfuric acid splashing out.

Guiding the celestial power in the pool to overflow and "boil" is indeed an effective method, but this method is a double-edged sword—the overflowing celestial power is too strong, just like boiling and splashing sulfuric acid, it will also burn those around it.

Those "Black Serpent Riders" and Hilichurls who were burned by the "purifying power" were victims of this operational accident.

However, for the "Abyss Order," this was the only option. The power of the Abyss and the power of the heavens are inherently mutually exclusive and irreconcilable; from the very beginning, they had no "authority" to effectively utilize the pool's water.

But Han Fulai has this "authority," or rather, humans have this "authority."

This "permission" is "wish," or rather, "willpower."

His judgment was not based on mere speculation, but on two things that Zhongli told him in the Salt God Ruins.

In the tent in Haidif, Han Fulai had been thinking about these two things ever since he heard about the "Six Root Sins".

One thing is about the World Tree and the Ley Lines:

"The Prime Minister calmed the chaos of the earth, making the flow of elements gentle, so that it would be suitable for the survival of her people. She began to build an eternal paradise for her people, she sowed a seed, and waited for the seed to grow into a towering tree. The roots of the tree penetrated into every inch of the earth, representing the Prime Minister's will to protect this eternal paradise."

"When the giant tree grew to maturity, the Prime Minister's people came to this paradise. The giant tree became the Prime Minister's eyes and ears, watching over the growth of his people. Everything about the people would be gently embraced by the giant tree: resources, knowledge, memories, souls... The giant tree could contain everything. There was no danger, no disaster in that world, everything was beautiful."

Another thing is the "Paradise Age" thousands of years ago, under the rule of the Isle of Skye:

"For the Prime Minister's people, it was a time of 'paradise.' If there was famine, food and rain would fall from the sky. If there was barrenness, minerals would be produced from the earth. Whenever the people prayed, a reliable government would respond."

Upon first hearing these two things, Han Fulai did not connect them, simply assuming that there was an all-encompassing ley line and an omnipotent sky island—but his experience in the Abyss of Layered Rocks showed that things were far from simple.

As the saying goes, "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand," and now Han Fulai has personally witnessed the "memories and souls" contained within the ley lines. The existence of those "Black Serpent Knights" is a perfect example of this.

Ley lines are like a "heavenly eye" system, recording everything that happens on the continent of Teyvat day and night. Human memories and souls are also collected by ley lines as "records of the past".

For example, the soul of Hafdan that he and Dains Reeb saw beneath this inverted pool was very likely a "record of the past" existing within the ley lines. The young Hafdan who remained in Dains' memories was extracted from the ley lines by some force and appeared before them.

Rather than the so-called "ghosts," Han Fulai believed more that this was a "projection of history"—that is, projecting the historical figure of Hafdan like a "summoning of a hero."

Since Hafdan is dead, his memories and understanding are still stuck on the day Kanria fell, which is why he asked Dain, "Kanria didn't fall, did it?"

If Hafdan's spirit appeared because of Dainesreb's "wish"... then what was it that responded to his wish?

Only the "upside-down pool" above their heads.

This "inverted pool" possesses the power of "governing by life," originating from Sky Island and from that "reliable government."

"A reliable government will respond to the people's requests."

The "wishing stone" is like this, and so is the "upside-down pool".

Han Fulai thus conjectured that "willpower" was the "programming language" for communicating with the pool.

Chapter 254 Don't Die Before Becoming a Great Adventurer! [4k5]

But just as a "wishing stone" is not a panacea, so too is an "upside-down pool."

Even if you have mastered a programming language, you can't write every program function.

If the person making the wish is the product manager, then the "wishing stone" is the unfortunate programmer constantly bombarded with outrageous demands from the product manager. If murder were legal, most programmers would choose to kill the product manager first.

A qualified product manager should be able to accurately analyze their own requirements, conduct effective business communication, and clearly understand what is possible and what is not, avoiding making unreasonable requests.

The miners made requests to the "Wishing Stone" that it couldn't fulfill, and the "Wishing Stone" would make them faint on the spot. If it couldn't solve the request, it could at least get rid of the person who made it. If the "inverted pool" was also part of the same "system"... Han Fulai didn't want to faint here with his exploration team; it would be not only embarrassing but also very dangerous.

That's why he left Ye Lan and Jiang Xue outside. You always have to have a backup plan. If things go wrong, you'll have to leave someone to carry them back, right?

Han Fulai first had to be a qualified product manager, making reasonable and accurate demands on the "inverted pool". Secondly, he also had to be a qualified programmer, because he had to use the power of the pool to "program" and implement the "functions" of the program.

The key to making reasonable demands lies hidden in the "Six Root Sins"—scholars from the Sumeru Academy have proven through their own experiences that some research areas are slippery slopes that should not be touched.

For example, if someone makes a wish on the "wishing stone," saying they want to resurrect a loved one, want to know what's above the stars, or want to know the origin of humankind... such wishes are probably absolute taboos. It might not be something that can be resolved by simply falling into a coma. Some miners suffered great mental trauma and forgot many things afterward, which may be related to their wishes touching on taboos.

This is also the hidden danger of Han Fulai carrying out this "experiment". As the saying goes, "If the punishment is unknown, the power is unpredictable", he could not guarantee that he would not violate any taboos after using "willpower" to invoke the power of the heavens.

His confidence in the experiment stemmed from the fact that Zhongli's words contained hidden information. Although Zhongli's explanation was not very clear, Han Fulai was always confident in his reasoning abilities, so he thought it was worth a try.

The key lies in the earth's veins.

He had already witnessed the "memory and soul" contained within the ley lines, so what were the "resources and knowledge" that Zhongli spoke of that contained within the ley lines?

As a Genshin Impact player, Han Fulai has naturally farmed Mora and XP books, which are the most important resources in the game and directly determine a player's character level. In the game, besides doing quests, players can also earn Mora and XP books by defeating Ley Line Blossoms.

The "Leg Blossom" symbolizes the disrupted circulation of elements and the stagnation of ley line energy. It blooms at the overflow point of the ley lines. Upon contact with the "Leg Blossom," monsters will emerge. Clearing away these monsters, unblocking the ley lines, and consuming "Primal Resin" will allow you to reap the rich rewards of the earth.

It now appears that the monsters emerging from the ley lines are what are called "memories and souls," or "records of the past" that appeared due to the anomalies in the ley lines, like the "Black Serpent Knight."

There were two kinds of so-called generous gifts. One was Mora, known as the "Flower of Treasure." He remembered that the in-game text described it as follows:

This is a flower bud that sprouted from the earth's veins in response to someone's desire; the treasures within may temporarily satisfy the human heart's greed.

Another type is a book of experience, called "The Flower of Revelation":

This formation, originating from the earth's veins, echoes someone's ambition for battle; its hidden treasures may allow one to relive the perilous places they have traversed.

It now appears that these two "flowers of the earth" correspond to the so-called "resources and knowledge".

The real world of Teyvat is different from the game; there are no character levels or health bars, so there's no need for experience books. Aside from players like Han Fulai who have extraordinary encounters and are practically cheating, normal people like Jiang Xue have to hone their skills through blood and sweat.

Han Fulai had never seen any "Ley Line Flowers" in Liyue, not even at the bottom of the Abyss of Rocky Lair, where the ley lines had become so severely altered.

However, upon closer examination, the concept of "Ley Line Blossoms" is actually quite strange. Consider this: ley lines flow with various elemental energies, containing things like memories and souls—all metaphysical concepts. The ley lines themselves are merely a "conceptual network," so the presence of these things is plausible. But the appearance of Mora and experience books is simply illogical.

Even if we consider the experience book as a manifestation of some kind of memory and knowledge, what's the deal with the presence of Mora in the ley lines?

It's important to understand that Mora is a precious metal forged from the flesh and blood of the rock god Morax—its primary function is as "currency." However, there's no reason for "currency" to circulate within the ley lines. Currency can be anything—gold, silver, copper, iron, seashells, salt, or even paper money… It's simply a medium used by human society to exchange goods.

Ley lines are tools used by the Sky Isles to channel various energies across the continent of Teyvat. It's quite normal for them to contain elemental forces, abyssal power, and even willpower... It's also understandable that they can contain metaphysical things like knowledge, memories, and souls... But the fact that they contain money is rather bizarre. Mora is just too "materialistic," which doesn't fit the impression that ley lines give people at all.

Furthermore, the ley lines existed even before Zhongli forged Mora. Liyue is only 3,700 years old, yet the ley lines have existed for even longer than Zhongli, who is already 6,000 years old.

Let's assume there really is money in the ley lines. So, what was the money in the ley lines before the first Mora was minted? There's no single answer, because different regions and different people use different currencies. Did the ley lines used to flow with all sorts of miscellaneous things like gold, silver, copper, iron, seashells, and salt?

—That's obviously unlikely.

Han Fulai then realized that the so-called "gift of the earth's veins" was actually "a reliable government responding to the desires of mankind."

The flowers that sprout from the earth's veins, "responding to someone's desires" and "echoing someone's fighting spirit," are actually the embodiment of the traveler's "wishes."

If players could actually travel into the game and make wishes on behalf of the Traveler, then Leyline Blossoms would probably have an additional category: "Entangled Blossoms."

"When there is famine, the heavens will send down food and rain. When there is barrenness, the earth will produce minerals." — That's all there is to it.

The "Leyline Blossoms" are simply responding to humanity's desires, providing the resources that humanity needs. After all, it's a network connecting the entire world; whatever resources exist on the continent of Teyvat, it can probably conjure them up. If you want food and water, it will give you food and water; if you want Mora, it will give you Mora.

After all, Tenri, the "Prime Minister," established a large government that manages everything.

However, the real Teyvat continent is not like the game, full of traps and fairies, nor are there treasure chests waiting to be opened—and of course, you can't just randomly encounter "Leyline Blossoms".

However, Han Fulai can be basically certain that the "Flower of the Earth Vein", the "Wishing Stone", and the "Upside-down Pool" are all products of Sky Island. Their operating logic is similar to that of AI, managed by a self-regulating system, and they will react accordingly based on human wishes.

Now that he knows what the AI ​​can and cannot do, he can, as a "product manager," put forward accurate and feasible requirements, and as a "programmer," he can also write appropriate "features."

What Han Fulai did to this "inverted pool" was not complicated—he used his Salt God power to collect the "wishes" of the exploration team, then transformed these "wishes" into "needs" that the pool could understand, and then used the energy in his body as "code" to send them to the pool.

Clearly, humanity's "willpower" is equivalent to the "authority" to use the pool. Thus, the pool automatically responded to their wishes, activating the power of the heavens to clear the black mud from the ancient ruins—in fact, for the "inverted pool," this was one of its inherent duties; it simply lacked an authorized "administrator command."

Up to this point, everything that had happened was basically within Han Fulai's expectations, except...

"Miss Night Orchid, you just said... a tree has grown in the Hilichurl camp?"

Even in a state of near exhaustion, Han Fulai still had to pay enough attention to this new change and force himself to brace himself for the new problem—he only knew of one tree related to the earth's veins.

"Okay, come and see for yourself."