Forest of Elves

"Passing over this breath" was useful. That was only natural.

Most deaths fell into one of two categories.

One was the decay of flesh and blood, followed by organ failure and death.

The other was the collapse of the mind and spirit, followed by the dispersal of the soul.

Zhu Zhengwei had passed over a mouthful of pure heaven-and-earth soul energy permeating the Four-dimensional world. It was equivalent to a Spiritual Qi tonic, so naturally, his spirit had recovered considerably.

But this only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

He could live a few more years, extending his soul's existence, but as his body continued to deteriorate, it would still lead to death.

This was precisely the direct cause of death for most "Blessing Shamans." No matter how powerful their minds and spirits were, once their bodies died of old age, they could only meet their end without a physical vessel.

At that moment, everyone around them dismissed Zheng Weiwei's words, but Zeng Civen took them to heart, finding another meaning in them.

"Pass a breath over to me?"

He suddenly recalled Zheng Linshou's unnatural behavior just now.

Originally, the old man had accepted his death and intended to enjoy his twilight years in peace. But this time, when he saw him, fear had appeared in his eyes—the fear of death.

He suddenly put on a solemn expression. "Granddaughter of the Zheng family, I suddenly have something I'd like to discuss with you privately. Everyone else, please leave for now."

"Grandpa." Someone beside the hospital bed spoke hesitantly. "You've only just been rescued from critical condition. You need to rest properly."

"It's fine. All of you can go."

Zeng Civen waved his hand, completely unconcerned.

Before long, only Zheng Weiwei and the old man remained in the hospital room.

Although Zeng Civen did not remember what had happened, he vaguely felt that he had seen someone during the narrow passage between life and death just now. Sensing that something was amiss, he asked kindly, "Granddaughter of the Zheng family, what did you mean by that breath you mentioned just now?"

Zheng Weiwei thought for a moment but did not answer directly.

In her eyes, that senior had said that he and the old man had interacted when they were young. Now, he had gifted the old man a breath to extend his life, thereby settling a karmic debt.

If the old man did not remember him, there was no need for her to say anything either. It would only add to his troubles.

Her grandfather, Zheng Linshou, had become quite troubled after remembering everything. He was far less carefree than before, when he had watered flowers, raised fish, and peacefully enjoyed his later years. Now, he was absent-minded every day.

If he did not remember, then she would not tell him.

Thus, she merely probed indirectly. "Great-Grandpa Zeng, do you still remember a man with a tear mole?"

"A tear mole?"

Those two words ignited some sealed memories within him. He could not help frowning as he carefully searched his memories, yet he could not think of anyone he had crossed paths with during his life. He replied, "I vaguely remember knowing someone. I have an impression of him, but I don't remember where we met."

As expected!

The moment Zheng Weiwei heard this, she understood.

This was perfectly normal.

After all, her grandfather, Zheng Linshou, had also had his memories sealed, only occasionally recalling that he had experienced something in his youth.

"It should have been someone you met when you were young as well." Zheng Weiwei thought for a moment.

Naturally, that was how she interpreted it.

After all, she would never have imagined that the two of them had never had any connection at all, and that they had only met a moment ago because she had brought him in.

That was right.

They had only just met in the dream.

But Zheng Weiwei steered the matter toward a seemingly reasonable explanation. "You remember the man with the tear mole because you may have met him when you were young. It might have been in the 1990s, or perhaps in the early years after the founding of the country. It could even have been earlier, during the Republic of China, when you were a child."

"That man?" Zeng Civen thought about it. Could he be even older than him? But in that case, the man should be just as near death as he was. Combining that with the shadow he had just seen, he felt an inexplicable sense of wonder.

"So you remember him, but not completely!"

After hesitating several times, Zheng Weiwei could not make up her mind. "I'd better ask my grandfather and see whether he's willing to explain it to you."

Zheng Weiwei called her grandfather. Not long afterward, Zheng Linshou entered. After hesitating and wavering for a while, he ultimately decided to tell the other man the truth.

"The man with the tear mole is an immortal. He passed a breath over to you to settle the karmic debt between you."

Zheng Linshou told him everything that had happened to him, including the teacher he had followed in his youth and the extraordinary events he had experienced in the impoverished mountain village of Zhujing Village.

Hearing this, the old man was utterly shaken, his pupils widening. His first instinct was to berate him. "Don't believe in superstition!"

But in the next second, he remembered his strange experience just now and the condition of his body. He could not help sighing. "Sigh! No wonder my body recovered. It's just a pity that I still don't remember what happened back then. I don't know whether, after settling this karmic debt, I'll have any chance to meet that immortal-like figure."

"I feel the same way. I wonder whether we're fated to meet again." Professor Zheng Linshou spoke as well.

The old man on the hospital bed simply assumed that he had met someone in his youth and gone through an experience similar to Zheng Linshou's. He did not know that what had happened to him was only beginning, and would soon begin in a dream.

Even if he awakened, he basically would not remember it anyway.

But this was precisely the development Zhu Zhengwei wanted.

He would cause no disturbance in reality. Even the person himself would not become overly suspicious. He could continue resting and recuperating in peace, completely forgetting what was about to happen in his dream.

Zhu Zhengwei sat back down in the café, drinking coffee with a calm expression.

He had just rested his head on the table and dozed for a while. That was all it had taken to finish everything.

From across the void, he had successfully met the leading figure in the field of biological genetics inside the hospital room.

"In ancient times, Wei Zheng played chess and slew the Jing River Dragon King while pretending to nap. Today, I sip coffee in a café and guide a fated person into my Pure Land of Bliss while pretending to nap."

Zhu Zhengwei scratched his head. "But when you put it that way, it does have a strange flavor of, 'Benefactor, you are fated to be connected with my Buddha. Why not take refuge in my Buddha?'"

He stood up and went to the front to pay the bill.

"I can go back now."

Zhu Zhengwei walked out onto the street. Watching the endless traffic, he waited for the bus to take him to the station.

He felt that this was a new beginning in his life.

Perhaps he really could become an immortal observer of the entire human world on Earth, silently watching the world change and, when necessary, secretly guiding some dying masters of their eras into his Dream Network World.

That evening, he returned to his dormitory. A faint smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "All right. Everything is ready. It's about time to open the Second Test."

"Two thousand Immortal Herbs will be used to build an Immortal Grass Forest as experimental material, allowing this master to use them freely. The Chives can be harvested at will as well. Let's see whether the 'Gu Shaman Beast Taming' technique developed by Stone Light Emperor Zhizheng can be used for biological modification and the study of the deepest mysteries of living flesh and blood, and whether anything interesting will emerge."

Crack.

Zhu Zhengwei opened his eyes and found himself on a coastline.

He looked at the people who had signed up for the Second Test. There were unexpectedly many of them—an incredible number.

"Did something happen these past few days? How did it suddenly become so popular? Why did so many people sign up?" Zhu Zhengwei sensed that something was off, but he was too lazy to investigate for now. He would let them in first. After all, the Second Test was scheduled for tonight, and they would enter the Servers on time.

He reached out and let them in directly.

Boom!

A large number of Servers arrived.

An endless source of souls poured in like a vast tide of energy, causing the territory to rapidly expand.

In the sea at the boundary of the world, Zhu Zhengwei watched as the border's terrain automatically generated and randomly evolved. Eventually, it stopped at a randomly generated island that rose abruptly from the empty sea. Lush green trees covered the island, making it look like a paradise on earth.

"Let's choose this place."

Large numbers of Immortal Herbs began to appear here, descending one after another.

In the center of the island was a lake, with flowers blooming everywhere. Nearby stood an underground palace containing countless ancient experimental instruments. Several objects resembling ancient coffins lay sealed inside, covered in dust.

"Here, we'll begin the ecosystem that surpasses reality, giving rise to unique four-dimensional soul-based lifeforms that live only within the mind!"

"This is an ancient Prehistoric Ruins. Plants and animals will undergo mutations here. The name of this ancient island forest will be Forest of Elves."