CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 34: 3 ULTIMATE QUESTIONS

Zhu Zhengwei followed his gaze, "This is the true Human Emperor of a generation; the many kings in history are far inferior to you."

"Yes, I think so too." The old man turned around, smiling brightly.

After these words, silence enveloped the surroundings.

The two resumed drinking tea, relishing the tranquility of the sunset’s dusk moment.

"What a brilliant line, the previous sentence directly elevated the whole scene!"

"What do you mean? That line: to lead by example and accept one’s own death as the saddest thing? I just feel it’s full of gravitas."

"You blockhead who doesn’t read history! Looking through human history, most of the valiant emperors feared death in their later years, all sought longevity, practiced alchemy, neglected governance, committed various absurdities, and failed to preserve their integrity. The Shiguang Emperor before us is to set an example for future Human Emperors, preventing them from taking such crooked paths."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly realized.

As the first Human Emperor in the history of civilization, he is destined to become a model for all future "humans." He must live a life as a human, embracing life, aging, illness, and death with honesty, rather than seeking other evil skills like "Qi Eating" to extend life, committing atrocities to live disgracefully, becoming a Tyrant causing chaos across the land... This is to tell future generations that this is the integrity a Human Emperor should have!

But is this really just a game?

If it’s just a game, it’s truly extraordinary!

It perfectly portrays the characters and schemes of each person from their own perspective.

It must be said, the dialogue and monologue of this awe-inspiring Saint Emperor before us, every sentence is enough to leave one in awe.

The whole scene and atmosphere make one feel as if they are really facing the overwhelming tides of history, the sorrowful sighs of the great figures of an era at their end of life.

What kind of great figure is this?

It is simply admirable and aspirational.

A plant sways its branches,

"I have goosebumps all over, what Shiguang Emperor has done for humanity moves me to tears. He is truly a human hero with integrity! He chooses a short life, completely contrasting with the previous Shiguang Longevity Emperor, who was attached to life and fearful of death!"

"This charisma, this domineering presence, is it truly an act? In front of me, it seems like a real person, domineering and ruthless, yet loves to flaunt his realm before the Divine Spirit, smugly complacent..."

"Gathering slaves, building a giant wall to fend off Barbarians! Casting Saint tomes for future generations to have a peaceful era! This reminds me of a great emperor from my Huaxia who was unparalleled in history."

"My blood is boiling!"

"In the surging tides of history, how many heroes are washed away by the waves!"

Their own blood seemed to boil.

It felt like a reenactment of history, a brand new yet weighty epic myth of human history; the most beautiful part of this The World is simply the civilization epic written by humans with blood and tears.

"Shh!"

"Stay silent, this is a landscape game; let’s listen to the wind, watch the sunset glow, and witness the end of a great era’s king."

Someone said.

It suddenly became quiet.

The Immortal Herbs radiated strands of colorful glow, swaying, distantly serving as a scenic backdrop to the two people’s tea tent as they drank tea.

After a long while, the Shiguang Emperor began speaking again:

"To be honest, to this day, I have laid the foundation for civilization across the land, doing everything I possibly could, and I can die without regret, but there is still one matter, upon reflection, that leaves me hesitant."

"What matter?"

"The Sutra of All Living Creatures I have crafted, although the world regards it as perfect, encompassing all species’ general principles, it could be called a Dao Scripture, I know there is one omission within; this book is incomplete, and I wish to complete it before my end."

As soon as these words fell, it was not only Zhu Zhengwei who understood his meaning; some savvy Immortal Herbs also realized.

This classic, in its general principles, describes the entire universe and all categories of creatures.

Water Eaters, Earth Eaters, Wood Eaters, Plant Eaters, Meat Eaters... Qi Eaters, Age Eaters, encompassing all types in nature, yet it lacks one.

Gods!

What exactly do Gods eat?

The general principles describe all types, yet lack the "divine" type, not recorded in the writings, no wonder it’s asked.

Thinking of this, some people already exclaimed in admiration, increasingly respecting this formidable Saint.

"Indeed as expected of you, Shiguang Emperor, to perfect your Saint writings, you directly want to ask what kind of creature God is? To include it within!"

"Simply brilliant!"

"I’m afraid that the previous time he requested the descent of God was when he hit a snag while writing, and he wanted to summon a God to clear his doubts and continue his writing!"

"He still wants to make some last attempts for humanity, hence the longing to meet a long-lived and immortal God."

Nearby Immortal Herbs whispered among themselves again, muttering some evil and unspeakable murmurs, while Zhu Zhengwei looked at this emperor.

What do Gods eat?

What kind of creatures are Gods?

How could I know?

This world has just begun, and with your foundation, there is finally a Witch Era. However, no super-being worthy of being called a "god" has appeared; it’s still in the budding stage, and you are just starting out.

I am the Creator God, but obviously not of that kind, because in some sense I am a mortal.

Clearly, I can’t answer this question.

Zhu Zhengwei asked, "Is this your question?"

"This is only the first question."

Shiguang Zhizheng Emperor was very calm and composed, "I have a total of three questions, as I want to question the divine on behalf of this short-lived and weak human race."

Three questions?

Zhu Zhengwei felt a bit confused.

On the contrary, those Immortal Herbs started conversing.

"This segment of the plot is simply wonderful, it’s like a destiny unfolding as expected! If there truly were such a history, and gods really existed, mortals would undoubtedly find ways to find the gods and take the opportunity to ask them some questions."

"Wonderful? What’s so destined?" someone asked in confusion, "What do you understand?"

"You don’t understand, I studied history and theology! Throughout Earth’s five thousand years of human history, people have always harbored various unknowns and confusion about nature, living in fear, and eventually, they placed this anxiety and fear of the unknown onto a non-existent ’god’."

"Thus, people built temples and altars to worship ’gods’, yearning for divine protection, divine answers, hoping that ’god loves mankind’. This is the origin of human superstition in feudal times."

"You know, from the people around praying for safe exams for their children, to having a boy, to safe long journeys, to emperors of nations kneeling before gods, hoping for droughts to disappear and floods to retreat, with all sorts of extravagant and wasteful useless rituals."

"In Earth’s five thousand years of feudal civilization, without true gods appearing, people from the east and west were all enthusiastic about kneeling before god statues and questioning gods on various matters. Now that a true god is before them?"

Everyone suddenly realized.

They only felt that there was indeed a sense of destiny in this.

Zhu Zhengwei sat, drinking tea, listening to the whispers from afar, feeling a sense of peace in his heart. Unexpectedly, there were quite a few skilled players, well-versed in history, which seemed to follow such a pattern. Collective wisdom is indeed useful.

Zhu Zhengwei couldn’t help but ponder, "Is it another desire to get answers from the gods? Throughout the long past and future of history, beings like humans always wish to gain enlightenment from gods, who inherently should not be relied upon, this being the origin of human superstition towards ’gods’."

Shiguang Zhizheng Emperor felt a jolt in his heart as if he too understood the meaning behind these words and the inevitable historical pattern.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, "So... that’s it! Truly worthy of a divine spirit, in past eras, there must frequently have been mortals praying to gods, this being a historical inevitability, I’m not the first, nor the last."

Zhu Zhengwei, however, didn’t care, "Ask your questions."

Shiguang Zhizheng Emperor directly said, "The first question, ask about the Qi-eating soul. I forged the Sutra of All Living Creatures, encompassing all types under heaven, yet lacking the ’god’ category. Dare to ask, what is the nature of gods, how long do they live? What do gods eat? I hope this can be recorded in the classics for people to worship."

"The second question, ask about the flesh body. If Qi doesn’t permeate fully through the body, is our research on Qi permeating the flesh the right path? Is there a future where the flesh can reach the ultimate of immortality?"

"The third question, ask about the world. I built the Wall of Ten Thousand Stones to resist foreign enemies, and established various governments to manage internal affairs. After my death, will my kingdom pass down through generations, will humanity prosper forever? If it prospers eternally, will the day of its peak be like that of the Old Days of the gods?"

Zhu Zhengwei’s heart suddenly trembled.

These three questions...

They seem familiar.

He had seen them before when researching dreams’ materials.

Of course, quite a few Immortal Herbs also realized it.

"These three questions are very profound. In my opinion, they reflect a certain inevitable stage in humanity’s exploration of the world, and they also have a certain relation to the three books of our modern Earth’s human history."

"What do you mean? Scholar, please explain!"

"The Interpretation of Dreams is a book parallel to Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Copernicus’s The Celestial Revolution, representing the three major ideological revolutions that led humans into modern society."

"These three can, from certain angles, represent the three major directions of humanity’s exploration of the world, species, the beginning of discussing the exploration of everything: soul, flesh, environment..."

"And the Shiguang Zhizheng Emperor before us, remarkably asked, in his three questions, the first question is the Sutra of All Living Creatures, a masterpiece of spiritual soul literature. The second question concerns the flesh body, and the third question explores the external environment."

Everyone was shocked.

This feudal civilization’s Human Emperor directly asked the three major questions that humanity on Earth explored during the ideological revolution, from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century.

"The Shiguang Zhizheng Emperor dares to ask the gods of the Old Days like this! Isn’t he afraid of death? But I find this dialogue, question and answer, truly amazing, it gives me goosebumps all over!"

"This game, with such deep themes, it’s unimaginable! It seems like real creatures, scientists, seekers in history continually exploring the world! And now humans are actually questioning gods about humanity’s timeless pursuits of soul consciousness, flesh bodies, and the external environment, the three ultimate topics!"

"This is not a game at all!!! I feel like I’m witnessing a dialogue between a true earthly emperor and a true god from another time!"

"The theme is outrageous, if answered well, it could be a masterpiece, even illuminating some of modern humanity’s enigmas."

"Incredible to the point of explosion!"

"The dialogue between the god of the heavens and the tyrant of the earth! At this moment, I felt the joys and sorrows of the world, the continuation of civilization, writing a song of history with elephant blood and human tears!"

Everyone couldn’t help but start discussing, it’s too astonishing.

"Regarding these three questions, I have my own insights, and I’d like to answer them, see how it goes... maybe they’ll align with the divine spirit’s responses."

"No! Why are you jumping in to answer! Everyone, don’t mess around, let’s see how the gods answer."