Those Who Do Not Eat Do Not Die, but Become Divine

Zhu Zhengwei fell into a brief contemplation.

In Zhu Zhengwei's view, these three questions were astonishingly bold. As a Roll King, he had participated in several debate contests and had some experience answering questions, but when faced with questions like these—

All he could say was that they did not play fair.

One had to understand that each of these questions had been carefully considered and struck directly at the core.

These were the three most difficult fundamental questions in the history of civilized humanity, no less profound than the legendary three ultimate philosophical questions—"Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" and "Where am I going?" They might even surpass them.

Soul, body, and world. Although Zhu Zhengwei could understand the three great "Heavenly Questions" of the human Blessing Shaman Dynasty, and would have asked the same things in their place, how he should answer them was another matter entirely.

As for the first question: What does a god eat? What kind of being is a god? What makes one a god?

Zhu Zhengwei's first instinctive answer was: Gods harvest Chives and mine, eating Brain Coins.

Of course, he could not answer that way. He could not spout such nonsense to the kings and emperors of the dynasty he had built in his own world. That would cause major trouble.

Nor was it the correct answer. That was his own path—or rather, the path of the "Creation God" who had created this Four-dimensional world, the particular nature of his supernatural ability.

Then what exactly were gods?

If his world truly had gods, what would they be like?

Zhu Zhengwei began to ponder.

He had ultimately lived through the great explosion of online knowledge, so his thoughts were agile. Moreover, he had personally witnessed the creation of the entire Four-dimensional world and the construction of its foundational structure. He had seen the world from an extremely high level. After thinking seriously about it, he soon arrived at his own answer.

It was a bold answer.

Zhu Zhengwei took a sip of tea and spoke calmly. "The first question involves matters that run too deep. The Blessing Shaman civilization is operating on too low a scale, so a detailed answer would be useless. Since you wish to complete the All Living Beings Scripture, I will complete only the final passage of the general principles for you—the words on 'Divine Diet.'"

"Please enlighten me, God."

Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng held his breath nervously, his face filled with anticipation.

This was already far better than he had expected.

Everyone said that the All Living Beings Scripture, which he had compiled with the scholars and wise men of the entire dynasty, was a monumental masterpiece. It encompassed the universe, heaven and earth, and all living things; it was the foundation of humanity for ten thousand generations. The principles within pointed directly to the source of life and would never become outdated, no matter what era the future brought.

But only he knew that the final link was still missing.

Now, at the end of his life, a god from the heavens had personally come to complete his final sacred work. For him, as the Human Emperor, this could be called the greatest happiness of his entire life.

His life had finally become complete.

Under Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng's expectant gaze, Zhu Zhengwei slowly spoke, directly completing the final sentence of the general principles:

"Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine."

The sentence was brief, yet it seemed to resound like peals of thunder, each word crashing into Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng's heart.

He felt enormous waves surging through his mind. Those few short words contained boundless profundity, every character a pearl of wisdom. The more carefully he savored them, the more they seemed to give rise to endless heaven and earth, seas of books erupting forth, and countless interpretations.

They even cryptically described the basic characteristics of the category of "gods," as well as the root of godhood—[not eating]. Its significance was immense.

He could now connect the general principles together. The final lines were as follows:

"Those who eat meat are brave and fierce."

"Those who eat grains are wise and skillful."

"Those who consume Qi are divine and long-lived."

"Those who consume years absorb evil and become demons."

"Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine."

It was as though the final link had fallen into place, and the entire grand outline of cultivation for all beings in the world had been completed, natural and flawless!

The final sentence was an especially brilliant finishing touch.

The preceding lines of the general principles had all begun with "eat," dividing all living beings into nine categories according to what they consumed. But the final sentence instantly turned everything on its head!

It used "not eating" to reverse the entire idea, describing a tenth category of living beings that transcended the nine categories: the category of gods!

There was a distinction between gods and mortals, and it too was defined by what they ate, perfectly corresponding with the general principles.

"Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine! Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine!"

Beneath the Tea Shed, the old Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng suddenly burst into laughter. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful! Eating divides them into nine categories, while not eating makes one divine!"

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is!" A doubt in the old sage's heart had been dispelled, and countless thoughts burst forth as inspiration gushed from him. Unable to contain himself, he shouted, "The nine categories under heaven eat and excrete, and thus belong to the mortal classes! But the divine class possesses a body without leakage, a naturally circulating body. Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine!"

Having reached this point in his thoughts, he bent at the waist and bowed, utterly convinced.

"Thank you for the divine instruction."

This answer was perfect from every angle. In his eyes, it had completely filled in the general principles while also allowing him to glimpse an inconceivable future for living beings.

"Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine!"

The distant Immortal Herbs was also dumbstruck. Listening to the conversation between the god and the emperor of the mortal world, they were so shocked that they could not speak.

That final sentence was simply too marvelous.

What did it mean to turn everything upside down?

What did it mean for inspiration to descend from the heavens?

It made them cry out inwardly in terror.

All living beings under heaven lived by eating!

But only those who did not eat and did not die were truly divine!

A life-form that could go forever without eating and still not starve to death was a god.

It was like an alternative form of being born from death—a vast, magnificent, and terrifying existence of eternal life, standing above the clouds and looking down upon all living things, watching the vicissitudes of the Mortal World.

The depth of these exchanges, these questions and answers, and the conversation describing gods and the emperor of the mortal world left them staring in stupefaction.

They could not help but wonder even more: Could this really be made by a Wallpaper Scenery Game?

At this moment, Zhu Zhengwei merely smiled.

But in his heart, he silently mused, honestly admitting, "This is indeed the kind of god I hope to see: one with an internal cycle, creating its own heaven and earth. After all, if gods truly existed, they would probably also be huge consumers, frantically eating my Brain Coins. As the Creation God, I naturally hope they 'do not eat,' live frugally, and ask me for less in wages. 'Those who do not eat do not die, but become divine'—that is also my own hope."

After all, creating a "Mobile Dream Network" had left him somewhat poor. He had to save wherever he could.

Everyone knew that starting a business was difficult!

That was his answer to the first question.

It was also the most difficult question, the one concerning the soul.

The remaining two questions were difficult as well, but they were no longer major problems.

Flesh, the body, and the environment had all been explained and understood to some extent in the modern technological society of the twenty-first century. After all, perhaps because of the Technology Tree, human civilization on Earth had focused on two of the three major directions: flesh and environment, represented by "cellular engineering" and "aerospace technology." It had not delved too deeply into metaphysics involving consciousness.

At this point, Zhu Zhengwei felt somewhat relieved.

Of course, the fundamental realm of human consciousness and the soul might indeed be too mysterious. For people in the Three-dimensional world, it was even more difficult to research.

If not for the special nature of this "Four-dimensional world," with wisps of soul energy running through it, it would have been difficult to explore the truth of the soul and consciousness and embark upon the alternative path of civilization known as Wind Swallowing and Qi Consuming.

Zhu Zhengwei already had a direction in mind for the next two questions.

But how to answer them perfectly still required careful consideration.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Zhengwei took another sip of tea. His voice was like that of a sage, ethereal and serene. "The second question concerns cultivation of the fleshly body. As for your choice—the path of Qi beneath the neck—is it correct?"

"The answer is that it is correct, and also incorrect."