Life and Soul

Six golden lines suddenly lit up on the ground, forming a perfect hexagon. A black circular pillar rose from the center of the hexagon.

A similar circular pillar extended down from above. The two quickly merged, forming a black pillar five meters in diameter in Zhang Hao's eyes.

"Go in!"

Mifeng's voice rang out.

Zhang Hao walked to the pillar. He didn't dare to move rashly and instead observed it carefully.

Even though Zhang Hao had obtained nanomachines, possessed a photographic memory, and had even been infused with some skills, he still couldn't tell what material the black pillar was made of. It wasn't like steel, nor wood, nor stone. The surface wasn't smooth, but rather like frosted glass, slightly rough. Looking closer, he could see extremely fine lines on it, easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention.

The lines were dense, which gave the surface its frosted feel.

He couldn't resist touching it, then placed his palm flat against the pillar's surface to feel it. It was ice-cold. When he tried to pull his hand away, he was shocked to find that his palm felt frozen to the black pillar's surface. Panic immediately seized him.

At this moment, Mifeng's voice sounded in his ear.

"Don't move!"

Zhang Hao stopped struggling and looked at the black pillar. The spot where his hand was touching began to light up. Then, a spectacular scene unfolded.

Starting from Zhang Hao's palm, circles of light flickered, rapidly spreading across the black pillar as if it were being illuminated. Finally, the entire black pillar glowed brilliantly.

Zhang Hao discovered with horror that he could think and reason, but he couldn't move at all. It was as if he had been completely controlled, unable to even make a sound.

Then, the entire black pillar separated again. One part retracted upwards, and another sank downwards. A blank space appeared in the middle, and Zhang Hao was lifted by a force, entering the empty space.

Although Zhang Hao couldn't move or even speak, his thoughts remained active. With pillars above and below, he thought in terror, If the black pillar closes again, I'll definitely be crushed! I want out!

"Coward! If I wanted to kill you, it wouldn't be this troublesome. Stop struggling!"

Zhang Hao desperately wanted to roll his eyes, but he couldn't even move his eyeballs. At that very moment, a line of text suddenly appeared on his retina.

You're the coward! I can't move, of course I'm scared. Damn it, you try it, I bet you'd be scared to death!

Zhang Hao was surprised to find that these were the words he wanted to say.

Mifeng's reply was sharp.

"Coward is a coward!"

You bastard!

Zhang Hao cursed. He was extremely tense, his whole body felt paralyzed. Anyone in his situation would be unable to tolerate it; it was terrifying.

"Believe it or not, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll make you stay on the conversion platform until you regret it!"

Instantly, Zhang Hao chickened out. This time, he was truly scared.

Let alone waiting until he regretted it, he already regretted it immensely. He didn't dare to retort, not even daring to think further, because whatever he thought would appear on his retina. He was on the verge of tears!

Mifeng comforted him. Regardless, after a slap, there had to be some benefit. If Zhang Hao broke down, it would be very detrimental to him as well.

Lines of text appeared on Zhang Hao's retina:

"This is the conversion platform. Of course, its true name would be incomprehensible to you, so we'll call it this for now. You really don't need to be afraid. The conversion platform only has benefits for you, and no drawbacks. This time, I'm letting you onto the conversion platform so you can understand the bridgehead. Many things can't be explained through mere narration.

Especially for you, it's difficult to explain. Seeing it once will at least allow you to gain your own understanding.

For the bridgehead, the conversion platform is its hub, its control center, and its most crucial component. Without the conversion platform, the bridgehead wouldn't exist.

Mifeng was very patient this time, explaining the bridgehead in detail.

Zhang Hao gradually calmed down.

As Mifeng explained, with Zhang Hao's modern understanding, the bridgehead didn't actually exist within the depths of Yuan Mountain. Instead, it was accessed through a node within Yuan Mountain, leading to the bridgehead in the river of time. Even if someone found the golden wall, they wouldn't be able to enter the bridgehead, as they were in different dimensions. How could they enter?

The reason for letting Zhang Hao enter the conversion platform was to obtain his complete body data. Because he had nanomachines in his body, constructing his full body data was easy. To construct and copy the data, he had to be stationary at a certain point in time, unable to move his body, but his thoughts could be active. This was the reason.

The reconstruction time wasn't long. About half an hour later, Zhang Hao was released. Those thirty minutes felt like an eternity. If Mifeng hadn't been communicating with him, it would have driven anyone mad.

Zhang Hao stepped down and watched as the black pillar retracted. The entire space was clean again.

The feeling of regaining control of his body was simply wonderful. He had never imagined how terrifying it would be to lose control of his own body.

His heart pounded like a drum!

It took him a while to calm down. Zhang Hao said, "The time-space bridgehead... can I enter time and space?"

Mifeng confirmed, "That's right, yes!"

Zhang Hao said, "So, that's transmigration?"

"Not exactly. Your understanding of transmigration is incorrect..."

Zhang Hao said, "What do you mean? Isn't transmigration just me going to another place, like going to a new world?"

"I don't know where you got that concept from. Even with the time-space bridgehead, we can't just transmigrate... We can only drift along with the bridgehead."

Zhang Hao was stunned. "Uh, I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it now. You've had too little contact with time and space. It will take time for you to slowly experience and understand."

Zhang Hao was almost amused to the point of anger. "This is killing me! Explain it a little, at least let me understand a little bit, otherwise I'm completely clueless. What is your current state?"

"Soul state!"

Zhang Hao was a little shocked and asked in confusion, "What soul? What is a soul?"

This involves life and soul... hmm, troublesome. Let me explain it simply in terms you can understand.

In your world, the body and soul are one. The body is like a jar, and the soul is like water sealed in that jar. When the jar is broken, the water flows out, and that's when a person dies.

Do you understand this?

Zhang Hao rolled his eyes and said, "Of course, I understand!"

In the Time-Space Bastion, the jar and the water can be separated. As long as there's a suitable jar, the water can be transferred into it, and this jar can be manufactured!

Jars can be divided into two categories: lifeless jars and living jars. Both can be manufactured in the Bastion!

Zhang Hao was dumbfounded. He understood most of it, but he couldn't grasp the concept of living and lifeless jars.

After pondering for a while, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he said, "Living jars? Are you talking about cloning me? But what are lifeless jars?"

Very good understanding!

Indeed, it's cloning. Cloning your body to transfer your soul. Your soul will grow stronger and stronger!

Another way is to control robots—using your soul and loaded intelligent programs to control machines. This involves the combination of soul and intelligence, isn't that interesting?

To load intelligent programs into the soul, a medium is required—a soul's residence. With the soul's residence as an intermediary, you can control machines and even physical bodies. Each departure and return will strengthen your soul.