345: Chapter 345 "Eternity"

In a resting courtyard within Holy Radiance City, Zhang Huaiyuan slowly opened his eyes.

"Sir, has your secluded cultivation ended?"

Almost simultaneously, a figure with long silver hair set down the assembled device in her hands, her form turning into a stream of data before reassembling in front of Zhang Huaiyuan.

"Not yet, but it's almost there."

Zhang Huaiyuan smiled, his gaze resting on the figure before him, his expression normal as he said:

"Statue of Liberty, has your evolution been smooth?"

"Thanks to you, Sir, the new algorithm you provided is a perfect match for my core."

The smile in Statue of Liberty's eyes faded slightly as she spoke, carefully choosing her words.

"That is your own ability..."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head. He knew clearly that the "Miracle II" algorithm, while having some unique aspects, was overall only at a level just above 50.

Yet, Statue of Liberty's recent evolution speed had far exceeded expectations.

"Sir, is there some special task you need to entrust to me?"

"That's not it. It's just that I just passed the assessment for Ruin No. 1 and can choose a decent reward."

To his closest partner, Zhang Huaiyuan did not hide anything, changing his phrasing to say:

"It is a core left behind by a powerful intelligent lifeform, containing quite a bit of high-level knowledge. It might be able to help you evolve better..."

"That won't be necessary, Sir."

Statue of Liberty breathed a sigh of relief, imperceptible to others, and said confidently:

"I do not need to draw reference from the cores of other intelligent lifeforms; that would only interfere with my judgment of my evolutionary path."

As she spoke, she looked at Zhang Huaiyuan, her smile growing even gentler:

"Sir, thank you for your kindness, but since it is an optional reward, you should choose something else. As for me... I do not need to reference others. As long as you give me time, I will naturally become the strongest intelligent lifeform."

Statue of Liberty's expression was calm and composed.

This was not an empty boast; once her true body descended, she would be the strongest intelligent lifeform.

"Very well."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded and said nothing more.

In truth, he also had a slight concern in his heart.

The core left behind by the strongest intelligent lifeform of the Realm of Truth... such a high-level item was completely beyond the scope of his understanding.

If Statue of Liberty were to fuse with it, would she be influenced and assimilated by the data left within, becoming a second "Zero" instead of the original Statue of Liberty?

This situation is not rare in the field of intelligent lifeforms.

Compared to the possession in the cultivation path and the body-soul rejection reactions, assimilation for intelligent lifeforms did not have so many restrictions.

Oh well. Once he became stronger, he would just design a better, tailor-made algorithm for her. That way, there would be no worries.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huaiyuan made his choice and smiled gently, meeting her gaze:

"Statue of Liberty, please continue to keep an eye on the news from the battlefield for me. I have a few more things to take care of, then I'll be back."

"Leave it to me. Please go ahead, Sir."

"Mm."

Zhang Huaiyuan closed his eyes, his consciousness returning to the ruin. Without further hesitation, he said directly:

"Senior, I choose the second inheritance: the Eternal Dao-Proving Method: Myth."

"Have you decided?"

"Yes, I have decided."

"Very well."

The ruins intelligence did not say much else. Unless it was a special case like Sansheng, according to regulations, it could not interfere with any choices or decisions made by the inheritor.

After all, in the words of its master, those who could pass the inheritor's assessment possessed wisdom far superior to its own.

It waved its hand, and the light and shadows of the other two inheritances faded away. Only the gilded thin paper in the center remained, emitting a dreamlike luster as it slowly floated in front of Zhang Huaiyuan.

Then, it quietly dissipated into countless pale gold fragments that merged into his body.

Faint whispers echoed one after another:

"My name is Vilandir."

"I once pondered, what is eternity."

"To live as long as the sun and moon, to be born with the universe, to walk with time, never dying, never perishing, never aging, never decaying."

"Yet, the sun and moon will eventually set, the universe explodes and cycles, and time also has an end; this is not eternity."

"I used three lives to reincarnate through thousands of planes, witnessing the epics of endless space-time."

"Seeing that all living beings place their trust in gods, gods came into being. What all living beings think, gods can do, and thus gods are omnipotent. What all living beings perceive, that gods are immortal, and thus gods are immortal..."

"Having seen this, I pondered for long, long years."

"Combining elements of faith, causality, the bizarre, mystery, science... and others."

"I finally blazed a path leading to eternity."

"Creating a fixed, irreversible history; as long as a single thought exists in any time and space, it remains constant as before."

"I call it... Myth."

The whispers gradually faded, and articles that were incredibly complex and rigorous, like scientific papers, were engraved into his mind.

Zhang Huaiyuan only felt waves of stinging pain in his brain; had his brain region not been strengthened countless times, he likely wouldn't have been able to withstand the complete inheritance.

He did not know how much time had passed.

The constantly flowing text finally reached its end.

"So that's it... So this is the 'eternity' referred to by the Eternal Realm."

Zhang Huaiyuan read the text engraved deep in his mind, gradually understanding it in his heart.

To explain it roughly in the simplest way:

It is just like the world before he transmigrated, where everyone knew the story of Pangu creating the world.

As long as the living beings who know and believe in this story do not go extinct, then within that mythical dimension of the creation of the world, that incredibly powerful "Pangu" will always exist.

And as a fixed history, it cannot be changed or erased.

Even if an equivalent existence were to kill him, he would be restored to his original state in a single thought.

As long as one amplifies the "living beings who know and believe in this story" infinitely, and extends it to every node of endless space-time, and extends it to endless parallel planes, then this myth will never end, achieving eternity.

Of course... that is so in theory, but implementing it involves knowledge from almost every field.

The first step requires absorbing the power of real cognition, crafting the Mark of Eternity, and engraving it into the endless space-time lines.

"Senior Vilandir... no, perhaps I should call him Teacher now. He truly is a genius of the heavens..."

Zhang Huaiyuan studied the Dao-Proving Method in his mind.

He discovered that this method contained the implementation paths for almost all categories of cultivation.

It also included the knowledge of the technology path that he specialized in.

"Absorbing the power of real cognition... according to what is said in this method, with my extraordinary abilities combined with the help of Statue of Liberty and Asroth, crafting the first Mark of Eternity should not be difficult."

Zhang Huaiyuan pondered the feasibility, his eyes becoming increasingly bright.

"By then... in all the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, there will be nothing that can pose a true threat to me."

"And I will truly be able to... devote all my heart and energy to the path of pursuing the truth."