Chapter 838: I don't know, but I'm willing to believe!
This method allowed me to better understand the Grand Spellbook while simultaneously giving me another layer of understanding regarding the power of Self-awakened Body Cultivation.
It wasn't just the Great Tree of Knowledge; before understanding that, I had an even more important piece of [Transcendent Knowledge] that I needed to comprehend.
That was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell, referred to by the Fool's Dreams as the "Sacred Object"!
If the Great Tree of Knowledge was "plant growth," then what was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell?
Did it represent pure "Wisdom"?
Or perhaps... "Enlightenment"?
Neither seemed quite accurate.
These two concepts were described very appropriately for the Grand Spellbook that was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell, but judging from my contact with the Fool's Dreams, the essential characteristics and concepts of this [Transcendent Knowledge] didn't seem to be like that.
It faintly leaned more toward... Life.
Yes, in my view, whether it was "Wisdom" or "Enlightenment," or "Dream State," or even "Soul," all of these were constantly guiding a certain concept toward Life!
And what was this concept?
In my view, it was the Fool's Dreams!
Did such [Transcendent Knowledge], born solely for the purpose of becoming life, truly exist?
I don't know, but I'm willing to believe!
It was just like the Great Tree of Knowledge!
I was unwilling to let it be merely a plant-type spell; it was an existence of a higher concept.
Therefore... for the first time, the thought of dismantling the Grand Spellbook that was the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell was born within me.
Because I discovered that the framework of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell had locked this [Transcendent Knowledge] in.
No matter what, from its definition, its concept, and its philosophy, it could not achieve the things I hoped for.
Perhaps this thought might sound too conceited to other Transcendent Witches.
Exactly what kind of confidence would it take to dare say that a Grand Spellbook—a Transcendent technique exclusive to witches—limited the development of a piece of [Transcendent Knowledge]?
One must know that the birth of every single Grand Spellbook was a miracle, the accumulation of the time, energy, knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration of an unknown number of Transcendent Witches.
However, the more stubborn a concept was, the more I liked to break it, just as I loved doing things that no one else would do.
What I wanted to say was... some Transcendent Knowledge was destined to be unsuitable for becoming a Grand Spellbook!
It was just as the Void had never stipulated that the ultimate destination of [Transcendent Knowledge] was always a Grand Spellbook.
The way a person explored the Transcendent would determine the way the Transcendent responded to that person.
The weight of this sentence was still constantly increasing.
As Big Sis Bai had me stay in Fool's Village for a while to "avoid the storm," I gradually slowed down the progress of my research.
Because what I was doing was repetitive and boring, and it couldn't ignite my passion for exploration.
Therefore, I intended to combine work with leisure, proceeding in another combined way.
And that way was... to come into contact with those Fool's Dreams from a closer distance.
Rationally speaking, the [Transcendent Knowledge] of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Spell was closely related to the Fool's Dreams, because I had determined it was the medium for guiding the Fool's Dreams toward life.
Emotionally speaking, I was the Sage the Fool's Dreams addressed with respect, a great existence loved by the Fool's Dreams who provided them with protection.
How could I have the heart to stay far away from them?
Accompanying the gradual increase in the frequency of my appearance within Fool's Village, I, this Sage who had previously existed only in "rumors," also constantly entered the sight of the Fool's Dreams in my current form.
Initially, the Fool's Dreams would be a bit nervous at my appearance, feeling excited or even finding it unbelievable.
Until I played with them in the garden, personally catching butterflies fluttering in the dream, having a great time.
Until I went up the mountain with the Fool's Dreams to pick mushrooms after the rain, distinguishing the gaudy giant mushrooms that would make one's head dizzy if eaten in the dream, then going down the mountain together to drink the large pot of mushroom soup cooked by everyone.
Until I came to the orchard to look after their fruits and the vegetables they planted with the Fool's Dreams, introducing the brilliant rainbows they had never seen before through the water mist sprayed under the sunlight.
From then on, another rainbow-like scenery was added to Fool's Village.
Until the Fool's Dreams and I mixed Fool's Dream Drink together at the banquet, sharing our individual tastes.
They stated bluntly that the Sage was like a big Fool's Dream, bringing them joy that was completely different from before.
Yes... things I found very novel were things they did day after day.
Perhaps this was the joy they understood.
Did all of this count as the Sage neglecting her proper business?
No... I didn't think so.
I just felt that my time spent with the Fool's Dreams wasn't enough, and I didn't understand the Fool's Dreams well enough.
Many things are indescribable by language; similarly, many things cannot be explained by profit.
Meaning is merely something one endows oneself.
Just as all the Fool's Dreams in Fool's Village didn't think my behavior was neglecting my business, because they didn't understand what that meant.
Wasn't it normal to actively participate in the pursuit of a beautiful life?
On the contrary, the previous me, who had cut off contact with the outside world in the name of research, was the one whose behavior they couldn't understand.
And this "daily routine" finally came to a brief end after the Village Chief personally sought me out.
"Village Chief? Have you come to find me for something?"
I stood up to look at the Village Chief, then excused myself to the Fool's Dreams beside me.
Regarding this Village Chief, I still had some special perceptions of her.
As the guardian of the Dream Picture Scroll, she possessed a "maturity" that other Fool's Dreams did not.
She had escaped the original framework of these Fool's Dreams, yet she had stepped into another, larger framework.
If other Fool's Dreams were simple and easy-to-understand short stories on the Dream Picture Scroll, presenting warm and heart-touching images, then this Village Chief... She was the lonely watcher atop the Starlight Tower, the only sober one in the entire Fool's Village.
Yet she described it as the "duty of the Village Chief."
But as a Fool's Dream, did she truly understand the meaning of "duty"?
So when the Village Chief sought me out this time, I instinctively thought she would be curious about whether I was fulfilling my duties as a Sage, leading the Fool's Dreams to become true lives.
But I found... I was still overthinking her.
The Village Chief's maturity was built upon massive memory and understanding of the truth, but excluding these, she was still just a Fool's Dream.
"Sage... Fool's Village, atop the Starlight Tower, has seen an anomaly."
"An anomaly?"
I was a bit surprised by the cautious words the Village Chief spoke to me.
Has something happened in the Primal Dream State again?
But through the Great Tree of Knowledge, I had learned from Big Sis Bai that the riot of the Primal Dream State was clearly subsiding bit by bit.
"Then I'll go take a look with you."
To be safe, I finally decided to go see.
Facing anything that might threaten Fool's Village, I would not have any slackness.
After a regretful farewell to the Fool's Dreams playing together on the side, I followed the Village Chief to the location of the Starlight Tower.
***
Primal Dream State.
A consciousness drifting within the Primal Dream State gradually condensed into a figure.
Even if the form was slightly blurry, it still could not hide the fatigue upon her face.
Being lost within the Primal Dream State had completely caused her to lose her anchoring of time.
She no longer knew how long she had stayed here.
Perhaps... even knowing would have no meaning, because within the Primal Dream State, even the concept of time was distorted.
Or rather, what was distorted was the consciousness, and consciousness was the anchor for perceiving the flow of time.
Whether time was too fast or too slow, it would consume a person's cognition and energy exponentially.
"My name... is... Aina Tours."
The witch calling herself Aina Tours muttered these words.
As a Transcendent Witch walking upon the Great Project of the Soul, this was not her first time exploring the Primal Dream State.
Therefore, she had summarized a very simple yet efficient way to anchor her consciousness within the Primal Dream State.
That was to call out her own name.
This could strengthen the anchoring of her self-consciousness within the Primal Dream State, preventing her from being "assimilated" by the dream.
It was hard for her to define right now if she had become lost in the Primal Dream State like that.
She had still underestimated the horror brought by this Dream Calamity.
She had encountered a type of "Dream Order" in this patch of the Primal Dream State that she had never seen before.
In her view, it was simply a miracle!
Furthermore, there was a massive number of unusual dream creatures here, like schools of fish in the deep sea.
If there weren't some special "food" here, it would be impossible to attract so many dream creatures to gather here.
And these dream creatures had similarly brought her great trouble.
If these fellows appeared in reality, she could annihilate them with a wave of her hand!
But this was the Primal Dream State.
She could only rely on her soul essence and Soul Dream State to evade the surging of so many dream creatures.
And the thing that shocked her most was that continuous "staircase"!
It wound its way from the depths of the Primal Dream State, like an invitation from the abyss.
And it was this staircase that had constructed an order that dream creatures could not cross within this chaotic and disorderly dream state.
She had arrived here precisely by continuously going deep into the Primal Dream State via this staircase.
She moved forward constantly, heading for that staircase.
More than once, she had fallen from that staircase.
This staircase had already become her anchor in this stretch of the Primal Dream State.
She had countless opportunities to turn back then, following the upward path of the staircase back to reality, yet she still chose to go down without regard for her safety.
Because she was very curious about what was at the end of the staircase.
It wasn't just her; there were several other sisters who had entered the Primal Dream State with her.
Similarly, it wasn't just them, these Transcendent Witches.
She had seen too many powerless consciousnesses at the higher layers, just drifting like that in the Primal Dream State.
These consciousnesses themselves lacked the essence of a soul, being merely consciousness caught into the Primal Dream State, so their identities were self-evident.
They were all students pushed into the Primal Dream State by those Transcendent academies.
Perhaps the people outside felt they might still have a chance of "survival," but she, who had dived deep into the Primal Dream State, knew very well that there was no chance.
When the dream creatures ruthlessly destroyed their consciousness, the soul-substance essence of their true bodies also disintegrated the moment their consciousness dissipated.
They didn't even have time to enter the Expansion Realm's earth vein soul-substance cycle before being sucked dry by the dream creatures.
Dream creatures within the Primal Dream State were not as harmless as those in the shallow dreams.
They were the most ruthless devourers!
They tore apart that soul-substance saturated with memory and emotion, turning it into nutrients for their own growth.
To avoid the risks within the Primal Dream State, Aina had no choice but to bring herself to the higher layers of the Primal Dream State, so she could better come into contact with that anchoring staircase.
"Is that Aina?"
In the silent and soundless Primal Dream State, such a call suddenly appeared.
Subsequently, she felt a resonance coming from her soul.
"It's... you all."
Aina locked onto several figures following the direction anchored by the voice.
This was the Primal Dream State, where the concepts of direction and space were so confused.
If it weren't for that call acting as an anchor for perception, Aina wouldn't have even discovered those figures standing upon the staircase.
"It really is you, Aina... were you lost in the Primal Dream State just now?"
"Mhm... the situation here is far too dangerous. If it weren't for the fact that I have a soul essence and this staircase acting as an anchor, I might have truly been lost here."
"Then how about we explore together?"
"Together?"
"What? Have you already given up your spirit of exploration and intend to return to reality?"
"Heh... how could that be? I have exactly that intention!"
Aina gave a light laugh with her head lowered.
How could she possibly retreat here?
And just as these three witches intended to continue their deep dive into a deeper layer of the Primal Dream State because of their shared pursuit, one of them suddenly discovered an abnormality.
"There... wait, what is that?"
She pointed into the depths where the staircase continued, as if she had seen some unbelievable existence.
Aina also looked toward the end of the staircase, following the direction the image pointed.
Originally when they "looked" there, it was like an abyss.
If one looked for too long, there would be an illusion that their soul was about to be assimilated by the Primal Dream State.
But at this moment, they discovered that the unreachable end seemed to have its scenery gradually surface.
However, all of this wasn't due to them exploring into the depths, but rather that indefinable existence constantly coming toward them!
"Are those... ruins within the dream state?"
"But... why does it look like a city to me?"
"Why does it look like an entire world to me?!"
Clearly, in the Primal Dream State where there were no concepts of space or distance, the staircase had shaped an order that could be recognized, thereby deriving a concept of distance anchored by the staircase.
And now... this staircase was as if it were leading that massive patch of unknowable things from the depths of the Primal Dream State.
Accompanying that unknowable thing were even more violent and terrifying dream creatures!
They gathered into a massive dream tide, bringing a shock of dream creatures that the three Transcendent Witches had never seen before.
Wherever that thing, massive to the point of being unknowable, passed, the Primal Dream State shattered for it, and endless information reorganized for it.
In a daze, they could only see golden chains wrapping around that existence, massive as a world, constantly floating upward and pouring into the boundary of reality.
After seeing all this, they seemed to understand the culprit of this Dream Calamity.
The originator of all that stirred everything within the Primal Dream State was the dream world before them...
"Attention, evade! Prepare to deal with being lost..."
Before Aina could send the final reminder to her companions, she was submerged within the chaotic tide of dream creatures.
What kind of scene was that?
In the Primal Dream State, a dream world whose size could not be defined held off endless dream creatures, using the staircase as an anchor, rushing toward the place named Reality.
And Aina's final "vision" also stayed at this moment.
She felt she had fallen into a picture scroll with no end, but golden chains blocked her form.
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