The third Fentian Law, also known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, states that "it is impossible to transfer heat from a colder body to a hotter body without causing other changes."

Thermal energy converted into other forms of energy, or the transfer of any form of energy, cannot be 100 percent efficient. There will inevitably be some loss, with a portion of the energy turning into meaningless heat energy. In an isolated system, this is unavoidable. Over time, all the energy within that system will turn into meaningless heat energy.

The cosmos is the ultimate isolated system, and scaled up to the cosmic level, this process leads to "thermal death."

The first law of Spiritual Energy, a law that does not exist within Earth's universe. Spiritual Energy gravitates toward ordered systems. The speed of its accumulation is directly proportional to the complexity of the system, directly proportional to the degree of order of the system, and directly proportional to the square of the system's trend toward order.

A newly-formed system will inevitably be stronger than a dying one, and the strength of the "cluster" as a whole will far exceed the strength of the "individuals" within the cluster—incidentally, this theoretical picture cannot yet be extended to the entire universe.

— Isolated systems will inevitably tend toward disorder.

— The more ordered, the stronger; the stronger, the more ordered. Even isolated systems will trend toward order.

An irreconcilable contradiction.

According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the overall degree of order in the universe was at its maximum at the beginning, and then entropy continually increased. "Time" that can be universally applied at the cosmic level thus exists because of this.

But according to the first law of Spiritual Energy, "time" doesn't exist at all. Physical phenomena vary due to the different aggregative states of matter. In this process, "time" is either the inverse of psychological time, or it comes to a halt from the beginning.

An unbridgeable gap.

Yuanli Master established the fundamental properties of Spiritual Energy through small-scale empirical verification and confirmed that Spiritual Energy is the essence of the "energy index." The bizarre phenomena within the Immortal Dao also demonstrate the accuracy of the Spirit Energy Law.

Yet the observable universe, the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation, the death of organisms, as well as the simulation of Primordial Spirit environments and strict mathematical models, all indicate the accuracy of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Both are correct, both are valid, but they cannot coexist.

This is different from the divergence between the Mysterious Path and the Shape Comparison Technique, the chasm between Quantum Mechanics and Relativity. Both theories have their applicable realms and do not cross those boundaries. Quantum Mechanics' logic may be absurd but is confined to the microscopic; Relativity's deductions may be absurd but are confined to the cosmic scale. They simply face difficulties in transitioning to another scale.

But no one knows the applicable scope of Spirit Energy Theory and Thermodynamics. Or rather, their scopes seem to be the same. They are both in effect.

Perhaps in a deeper realm, these two can unify; perhaps there exists a model that can encompass both, but that model is surely far beyond what Shenzhou can currently reach. Taiyi Heavenly Venerable once reverently referred to it as the "Great Dao Inquiry."

To pass this point is to attain the Dao.

And the contradiction between these two extends to the biological level, that is, the difference in evolution.

Higher-order members of the food chain can only utilize twenty to thirty percent of the energy from those lower on the chain, with most going to waste. Low-order prokaryotic life forms have the highest energy efficiency, whereas humans have the lowest. "The more advanced the evolution, the higher the consumption"—because the top of the food chain can hunt with utmost efficiency.

This is caused by the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Low-order prokaryotic life forms can become powerful and organized due to supercritical self-organization. With sufficiently advanced life forms, they can maintain survival without doing anything, without the need to continue evolving toward higher forms. And there's something even more absurd. Since disorder trending toward order is inevitable, life should always maintain negative entropy, and "death" should never have existed from the start.

This is the paradox generated by the Spirit Energy Law.

The purpose of evolution is to ensure survival, thus the result of evolution is never the best solution, but a "satisfactory solution." When life can meet this requirement at its simplest, lowest level, why should it evolve?

This is also the most absurd part of the Yin Yang Taiji Strategy. Both the Yin Strategy and the Yang Strategy are predicated on "living beings will die and need to reproduce." But at the Taiji Strategy, it becomes "eternal life is survival."

It's as if it suddenly transitioned from one set of physical laws to another.

"The trends toward order and disorder are just that absurd," Mr. Wo Shen said with a shake of his head and a bitter smile, "I can't explain it, I can't explain it."

Ai Qinglan shook her head and sighed, "So complicated..."

"All Cultivation Techniques display a 'Taiji' trend and will create perpetually enduring individuals of a certain race," Mr. Wo Shen said indifferently. "It's as if saying this is the optimal path of evolution that has been validated by the universe over billions of years. But there's an odd race that appeared in the universe, they want to establish an odd system to organize the strength of their entire race. It's not like the typical Cultivation Techniques, where one naturally reaches the Taiji Strategy after a long passage of time, nor is it about forging a Clustered Divine Being. It's neither the Yang Strategy nor the Yin Strategy. They're trying to break out of the circle of the Taiji Strategy..."

Ai Qinglan nodded slightly, "So that's how it is?"

"It's more than just that, girl," Mr. Wo Shen said. "As I mentioned earlier, whether it's the negative or positive extreme, both will create perpetual entities, aiming for 'Heaven and Earth may perish, but I shall remain.' We, however, hope to go a step further, not only to transcend Heaven and Earth but to take our entire clan beyond it as well. The entire clan can also become the driving force for us to transcend Heaven and Earth. But this, in turn, will present us with two contradictions."

"The Yuanli Master created a system for us to exchange knowledge with each other, but our cultivation techniques are in fact improvements of the Ancient Method, embodying the Taiji Strategy. Cultivation is still a personal affair, and one needn't and shouldn't rely on others. In fact, I alone could potentially complete the subsequent search for the Dao, though slower—but compared to infinite life span, such 'slowness' is not unacceptable. Our path may well have always been an illusion."

"The inside contradiction was just stated, now let's talk about the external one. This contradiction is even more terrifying. The evolution strategy revealed by the Spirit Energy Law fills the Cosmic with dreadful life beings; whereas the principles of evolution represented by the Fentian Law are driving these monsters to pillage across the universe..."

The consequences of the simultaneous effectiveness of the Spirit Energy Theory and Thermodynamics turn the universe into a Gu device spanning hundreds of billions of light-years.

The universe is vast, life is vaster.

The evolution strategy revealed by the Spirit Energy Theory gave rise to countless interstellar monsters.

The principles of evolution revealed by Thermodynamics drove those monsters down the irretrievable path of interstellar predation.

Zhan Woshen recounted Feng Luoyi's "Ultimate Picture of Game Theory" from another perspective.

Ai Qinglan trembled slightly, "Master, this..."

"This piece of news must absolutely not be revealed. The existence of this picture will deal a tremendous blow to the entire Human Clan," Zhan Woshen said with a self-deprecating laugh, "'We could die at any moment' 'Without strength, we could die at any moment.' We're likely to return to the path of the Yin Yang Strategy, rather than the path of civilization..."

Strategically speaking, the reliance upon each other among Modern Cultivators is the optimal speed. This also ensures that high-order cultivators won't abandon other individuals—because the other individuals also affect the interests of the high-order cultivators.

But if this message gets out, how many people can guarantee they will remain rational? Can guarantee they won't reduce the hopes of the entire Immortal Alliance for the tiny chance of one's own survival, for the sake of power?

Not everyone can maintain such rationality.

The Immortal Alliance's research system established over several hundred years could be easily crushed by this picture spanning hundreds of billions of years.

"Unless cultivation is no longer a personal matter, not just in theory, but actual cultivation can also become a collective effort," Mr. Wo Shen gently tapped Ai Qinglan's shoulder. "Girl, don't talk nonsense after you go out."

Ai Qinglan nodded, her reaction somewhat sluggish. Mr. Wo Shen wasn't surprised, merely assuming Ai Qinglan couldn't accept this ultimate picture for the time being. He sighed, "You didn't expect to receive this kind of news today, did you?"

Ai Qinglan forced a smile, "After learning from you for so many years, I've listened to quite a few lessons that overturn my cognition."

"This matter should have been gradually introduced to you after reaching the Primordial Spirit Stage, but I think the Primordial Spirit Stage isn't particularly difficult for you, so I told you ahead of time."

"Thanks a lot, teacher."

Mr. Wo Shen shook his head, "Calm down after you go back, and don't be too stressed. This matter isn't all bad for you. There's a lot hidden within the Immortal Alliance, and without contact, you'd never truly stand at the forefront."

"Yes, teacher..."

"After you return, draft a plan based on what you know. It would be even better if you could pull together a project team—the team in the Divine Capital handling the Anti-Heart Demon Spell is excellent, having gone through the affair of the Banished Immortal, they have some awareness of what's going on here—especially that Wang Qi, who has been validated by Feng Luoyi of the Sovereign Human Nation and is already involved in these affairs..."

Hey, hey, that youngster who just started back in the days actually got ahead of me, ah, oh right!

Such a thought flickered through Ai Qinglan's mind. She was about to say something to Mr. Wo Shen, but the Carefree Practitioner had already left.

"A cultivation method that doesn't belong to the Taiji Strategy... It seems I really did hear about one..."

Wang Qi's dataized cultivation method transformed the Cultivation into "development," allowing the act of cultivation to be shifted onto others; the more people practiced cultivation, the stronger the feedback Wang Qi himself received; the stronger Wang Qi became, the more feedback the other users received.

Similar to Divine Tao, but not the Divine Tao's practice of harming tens of thousands to benefit a handful in service of oneself, but truly mutual benefit...

"Damn... Could it be that the cultivation method that kid fiddled with is so significant..."

After pondering for a moment, Ai Qinglan sent out a Spirit Message: "Hey! Little Jia'er... eh? Jia'er? Alright, Youjia, how's the development of the Wanxiang Diagrams going on your end? What does Wang Qi say? What? Don't mention him to you... Oh, oh, oh, so here's the thing, sister here has a project, want to come? Wang Qi? Chen Feng? When us sisters do things, we don't need to bring those stinky men for the time being!"

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)