Artificial Concepts and God-Created Concepts

The Vought Tower.

Top floor.

The sun rose as usual.

The warm, bright sunlight streamed down.

Chen Ji sat at his desk, flipping through a Book of Arcane Arts.

The Great Dream Heart Sutra.

This is a work personally recommended by the Ancient One, so its value is self-evident.

In the book.

It also provides detailed records of various dreams and the Mystery of human thought.

Thinking.

This is one of the sources of dreams.

Even modern science has not fully deciphered the Mystery of the brain, and is fundamentally unable to understand or cure the problems that arise in the brain.

Simply put, thought represents illusion, while flesh and blood represent reality.

The prevailing view is that thought is a form of neural signal, a manifestation of electromagnetic waves.

However, in the realm of esoteric practices, consciousness is equivalent to personality, and personality is equivalent to soul.

Once one's personality is extinguished, the soul also undergoes a qualitative change.

Just like when undergoing an organ transplant, patients often experience changes in their personality.

This signifies the beginning of the merging of two souls.

The soul is universally present within all the matter of the human body.

Even when asleep, the brain doesn't stop working; it silently processes massive amounts of data—this is known as the subconscious.

Dreams are also a projection of the subconscious.

It represents desire and obsession, symbolizing both deficiency and expectation.

This has led to the formation of all sorts of bizarre and wonderful Dream World.

In theory.

The number of Dream World is no less than that of Infinite Multiverse, because any intelligent life can create dreams.

However, dreams cannot last forever; they only arise and cease during sleep.

Dimension Lord and ancient beings, however, can make dreams last forever, turning everything in the Dream World into a continuous drama!

"Just as I guessed."

"Dreams are generally divided into five levels: Surface Dream, Shallow Dream, Middle Dream, Deep Dream, and the Lost Realm."

"But these five layers of dreams are not the hierarchical or progressive relationships I understand them to be."

How best to describe it...?

Chen Ji's eyes flickered.

Suddenly.

He made a connection to the Tesseract in the real world.

Tesseract has six faces.

Each facet is a different color, with each color representing a layer of the dream.

So, if the Tesseract is completely scrambled, different dreams will appear in the same space.

Therefore, even when he traversed the Dream World and broke through a layer of dream, he did not leave the plane he was currently in.

Because a dream is like a scrambled Rubik's Tesseract!

Even...

As the Nightmare Lord, Nightmare can easily interfere with dreams, actively rotating and switching the Tesseract.

That's why he kept jumping back and forth in the same plane, that is, the Deep Dream, and almost fell into the Lost Realm.

But as he turned the pages, he didn't see any description of the 'Dream-Taming Power'.

Could it be that the author of this book also lacks the Dream-Taming Power?

"They did provide a few simple methods to see through dreams and quickly locate the higher levels of the dream."

Chen Ji smiled.

This was not without its gains.

If he enters the dream again, even if the Nightmare reappears, he won't feel like he's stuck in a Nightmare, constantly struggling against it.

In short.

Dreams are like the structure of Tesseract.

To see through a dream, one must first understand the dream, comprehend its form, and avoid frequently moving around in it.

This will take you further and further away from the Surface Dream, and will also exhaust your energy!

Therefore, staying put is the safest approach.

When the dream shifts again, the Surface Dream and the Deep Dream connect, and naturally, one can perceive the appearance of the dream rift.

The hypothesis of five layers of dreams is simply to make it easier for Mystic Arts Mage to control dreams.

In the realm of esoteric practices, associative thinking outweighs imagination.

"I see..."

"Stand still?"

The answer lies right there in the riddle itself.

Chen Ji chuckled to himself.

If it weren't for protecting Raven, he might have been able to unravel the Mystery of the dream on his own. He sensed that the Dream World and the Multiverse were mutually opposed.

It's like the relationship between Mirror Dimension and the real world.

After all, dreams encompass a vast range; all living beings can dream, and the ability to travel to other universes through dreams is also recorded in the Darkhold.

However, this is limited to soul travel.

Everything in the world has its own laws of operation.

Even the Nightmare Lord cannot break this rule.

"Once the Nightmare takes away the soul, the dreamer will become a vegetable..."

"So, can Nightmare control a person in a vegetative state?"

Chen Ji frowned.

He was not afraid of the power of Nightmare.

Because Nightmare is only Invincible in Dreams world, its power will be greatly reduced once it leaves the Dream World.

But what he's more concerned about is the method by which Nightmare interfere with reality, and what exactly are the limits of the Dream-Taming Power.

"The Rune Power, the power of arcane arts, the Dream-Taming Power, the Temporal Hidden Force..."

"The Winter Force, the Celestial Factor..."

"The powers I possess are truly diverse."

Chen Ji's eyes showed anticipation.

As early as when he was Dao Follows Nature, he had already sensed that the power within him was gradually melting into one.

The Rune Seed has grown into a Bronze Ancient Tree!

But the power of the Bronze Ancient Tree had not yet been fully developed, and he was filled with anticipation to see what level his unique power would reach!

What name will the Entry System assign to it?

After all, the name of an entry determines its effectiveness.

Chen Ji out a soft breath.

I picked up another book, the Book of Spirit.

This book touches upon knowledge of the soul, describes its power, and attempts to deduce its origin.

The book is filled with various technical terms, and the author's own invented terms and words make it time-consuming, laborious, and difficult to understand, which makes Chen Ji feel helpless.

But then he saw a sentence that struck him like a thunderbolt, instantly freezing his gaze in place!

"The word 'soul' itself possesses magic."

"Perhaps, before the word 'soul' was created, the soul didn't exist at all; there was only instinct."

Chen Ji's eyes widened in surprise.

It seems they've realized something!

Word?

Concept?

What are the differences between prehistoric apes and modern humans?

"... Knowledge!"

Chen Ji asked and answered himself.

In an instant.

A smile immediately appeared on his face; he finally understood the foundation of the soul.

Soul.

It's neither a signal nor energy; it's actually a concept, a mysterious substance formed by the fusion of words and knowledge!

As the author infers, who would have been aware of the existence of the soul before the word "soul" even existed?

Who cares about the existence of the soul?

The concept of the soul came first, and then the true soul appeared!

This is essentially a cause-and-effect relationship!

Furthermore, the book also mentions that the strength of the soul depends on one's own beliefs. By sculpting reality through thought, a strong collective belief can shake reality.

Therefore, the Earth Gods and ancient beings, including Dimension Lord, secretly establish various sects to collect the faith of intelligent life.

It was through the refinement of intelligent life that the gods were endowed with the power to remain indestructible for eternity...!

The best vehicle for concepts is books and words.

Word.

It gives a real form to the illusory concept and provides space for the imagination to take flight.

At this moment, Chen Ji finally understood why powerful beings like Dimension Lord, Old Ones, and even the Chthon, would personally write a book.

This is not only about spreading fear, but also about maintaining 'existence'.

If all traces of it in the world were to disappear, including writings, stories, myths, and legends...

So, does that mean He has also disappeared?

"Perhaps... I should also write a book, and upload what I have realized to the Cosmic Spirit Veins in the form of a book."

"Leaving behind a legacy that is uniquely mine..."

Chen Ji's eyes gleamed.

At this moment, he finally realized how to upload the secret technique he had created to the Ley Lines!

The answer is obvious.

That is--

Book!

However, he did not immediately put pen to paper. He already had a vague idea in mind, but it was not yet clear or specific.

So he opened the Book of Arcane Arts, the Astral Realm Ritual, once again.

This Book of Arcane Arts is an advanced work on the topic of "Astral Projection".

It primarily describes the origin and development of the Astral Realm.

This is the dimension created by the Goddess of Light, Osyht.

In fact, it was not created by her, but rather a dimensional space that she materialized using the inspiration, creativity, and imagination of intelligent life.

The Astral Realm, bearing some characteristics of dreams, yet transcends dreams.

Because dreams only occur during sleep.

The Astral Realm can receive various inspirations and ideas at any moment, and the two will also converge at specific times.

Once the soul leaves the body, the Mystic Arts Mage's soul will appear in the Astral Realm.

The Astral Realm is inhabited by all sorts of fantastical creatures and bizarre things, including those found in human-created films, novels, and anime...

Even a piece of text, incubated based on collective beliefs, can be born in the Astral Realm!

This dimension encompasses everything.

Only powerful Mystic Arts Master and Psychic User can distinguish between illusion and reality without getting lost in them!

"Fantasy creatures...?"

"Doesn't that mean there are two-dimensional paper figures in the Astral Realm?"

Chen Ji's eyes flickered.

He had never actually explored the Astral Realm.

He had only a basic understanding of this world and did not believe that the Astral Realm had anything to do with him.

However.

After reading "The Astral Realm Ritual", he had a completely different feeling.

Because all Artificial Concept in the real world will have a physical form in the Astral Realm!

Concept.

There is also a distinction between innate and acquired, and between Artificial Concept and God-Created Concept!

The God-Created Concept refers to things that appeared simultaneously at the time of the Big Bang.

Whoever is the first to name something holds the Authority over it!

For example, Eternity, Infinity, entropy, and death!

For example, the writing system created by Cangjie, Ymir's self-proclaimed title of "giant"...

This is God-Created Concept!

As for Artificial Concept, they belong to acquired concepts; they are names given by intelligent life after the birth of intelligent life.

For example, dreams and imagination, creative ideas and inspiration, crafts, fine arts, calligraphy...

This also includes the 'Tao'!

However, because the God-Created Concept preemptively occupied the position of the Artificial Concept, the Artificial Concept could not be manifested through matter.

This realm was further stripped away by the Goddess of Light Osyht!

Astral Realm.

It's less of a world and more of a prison!

The Goddess of Light, Osyht, sealed off the path for humanity to become gods; even if they created concepts, they could not control them!

Therefore, in the vast, Infinite Multiverse, there simply wouldn't be a God of Technology, a god of automobiles, a god of anime...

All sorts of strange and wonderful gods.

Certainly.

These artificial gods are not entirely non-existent; they simply live within the Astral Realm and are unable to leave Astral Realm.

Or, to put it another way, these artificial gods have no idea that they are in the Astral Realm.

"Real... fake..."

Is the world I live in even real?

"Is it possible that this was just a grand dream of the Cosmic Celestial?"

Chen Ji's eyes flickered.

Secretly speculating.

Even modern scientists have proposed more than once that the universe may be virtual!

Because the distances between the Earth and the Sun, and between the Moon and the Earth, are extremely similar.

Even the slightest difference could turn Earth into a dead planet, preventing the birth of humankind!

Even around the world, instances of 'getting stuck on bugs' are frequently occurring.

Nature contains too many supernatural phenomena that neither science nor metaphysics can explain.

For example...

Mirage!

According to modern science, this is an illusion that occurs by chance due to the refraction and reflection of light.

However.

The facts are quite the opposite.

This is not an empty illusion at all, but a dream of certain ancient beings that has manifested into reality under a strong will!

Only Mystic Arts Mage and mysterious cultivators can enter it and receive extraordinary encounters and blessings from the dream.

Maybe...

That's how the Mandarin's Ten Rings came about!

"I see."

Chen Ji nodded secretly.

Immediately, he began reading Ghostly Wandering Grimoire again.

This book, in a semi-biographical style, comes from a Legendary Sorcerer from the Prehistoric Mythological Era.

He was particularly skilled at spirit projection and had also ventured into various dimensions and different planes to conduct on-site investigations.

It not only depicts the concept of five dream realms, but also tells the story of the magnificent Astral Realm, the tragic scenes of countless Hell, and even mentions the Nine Realms.

But...

Compare and contrast the Book of Spirit and the Ghostly Wandering Grimoire.

Chen Ji immediately discovered a chilling fact.

It seems that the Astral Realm dimension is also undergoing significant changes with time, the explosion of human technology, and the digital information age.

The manifestation of the Astral Realm varies across different eras.

This made Chen Ji think deeply.

Could it be that the collective consciousness of intelligent life has a far greater impact on dimensional dimensions than he imagined?

Energy Ring and Twelve Talismans...

How exactly can one become his anchor?

Will the mysterious lord he described also appear in... the Astral Realm?

A series of questions arose in my mind.

Chen Ji exhaled softly.

He immediately realized that he should go to the Astral Realm to investigate the truth about the Astral Realm and verify his guesses!

Even...

Try to find the coordinates of the Cosmic Celestial through dreams, and use dreams to resolve the Cosmic Celestial's near-hatching!

This was the most convenient method he could think of!

Since the soul, if lost in the Dream World, will become a vegetable...

Then, the soul of the Cosmic Celestial, lost in the Dream World, will also become a plant god!

Wouldn't that smoothly resolve the imminent Divine Awakening?