Chapter 768: The Way to Touch the Starry Sky
“I was extremely scared at that time.”
The face of the girl on the wisdom tree said, “Although, at that time, I only had a hazy mind and didn’t have a precise definition of the word ‘scared’.
“But any living being always had an instinctive resistance to death.
“All the nerve bundles in my body were violently twitching and contracting, and they all made the same sound—don’t eat me! Go away! Don’t eat me! Go away!
“Then, something incredible happened.
“I felt that the sound was transmitted into the head of the scavenger-type monster in a mysterious way.
“After a moment of confusion, it really gave up on digging and tearing at me, and turned around to look for other prey!
“It seems that the threat of death this time has stimulated me to evolve a new ability. Other than sharing my senses, it can also interfere with the brains, central nerves, and any form of thinking and decision-making organs of other living beings to a certain extent.
“Of course, the degree of interference is very slight. It is only limited to allowing other living beings within the range of my senses to perform relatively simple actions that do not go against their instincts.
“For example, I can make a scavenger-type monster that is not hungry to the point of going crazy give up on devouring me and instead look for other prey.
“However, it is unlikely for it to create a set of exquisite tools or deduce complicated mathematical formulas.
“After all, the brains and limbs of the scavenger-type monsters were very low-level. At that time, I myself was only a combination of these low-level creatures. Even I didn’t know how to create tools and deduce formulas. I didn’t even know the slightest bit about it. How could the concepts of these high-level intelligence possibly affect, interfere with, or teach other living beings?
“No matter what, even the most basic interference ability has greatly improved my living condition.
“My perception range has been further improved, reaching a radius of three to five hundred meters or even higher.
“I also used a large number of red threads that grew out of my body. They seem to be similar to nerves, but they are even more wonderful than the nerves of carbon-based life. They tightly entangled several monsters that I carefully selected, including the scavenger-type monsters that tried to uproot me in the beginning.
“I tried to perfectly integrate my nerves into the nervous system of these monsters, turning them into my eyes, ears, and claws. Then, I could get rid of the limited range of three to five hundred meters and see, hear, and change things that were thousands of meters away.
“Through such ability, I explored the entire Hidden Mist Domain and knew which mountain was buried with crystal veins that were abundant in spirit energy; which mountain was occupied by powerful monsters that I could not afford to provoke for the time being; which mountain was the intersection of the Red Dragon River and the Raging Tiger River. Although the land seemed to be fertile and abundant in plants, which were very suitable for reproduction, it was in fact very easy to be attacked by floods and mudslides, if I moved there rashly, it would not be long before I was wiped out.
“After completing such an exploration, I knew which direction my roots and nerve bundles should grow in.
“Being entangled by my nerve bundles and integrated into the same neural network, the animals and plants that share my perception can also seek benefits while avoiding harm and grow healthily.
“Under my guidance, a thriving semi-independent ecosystem gradually took shape.
“The etherealized plants within my range of perception drew a clear line between their roots and branches. They would never snatch sunlight and nutrients from each other.
“The small animals also learned to cooperate with the plants. They piled the rotten meat and excrement that they did not eat into the roots and the humus, allowing the flowers and trees to grow more luxuriantly. They could obtain rich food and comfortable nests without any effort.
“When the powerful predatory monsters invaded my territory, I could still command the small animals to unite and fight against them together. Meanwhile, my nerve bundles took the opportunity to invade the other party’s brain, making the ferocious monsters give up the idea of preying on them and even join ‘my world.’
“As my world became more prosperous, more animals and plants were attracted over, and they actively merged with me.
“It was like my eyes, ears, and tentacles were growing more and more, allowing me to perceive the entire world more clearly from more angles and scales.
“As the brains of the monsters that I could connect with grew, my… intelligence and self-aware ness also increased exponentially.
“Gradually, other than practical questions such as ‘what to eat, what to drink, how to get more sunlight, how to find underground water sources and crystal veins, and how to avoid the invasion of large monsters,’ the deepest parts of my neural network would always burst into glittering sparks. That caused me deep confusion and dissatisfaction.
“You must know that for me at that time, survival was no longer a problem.
“Even the most powerful monsters in the Hidden Mist Domain knew how powerful I was.
“They were either hesitating to cooperate with me and join the same neural network, or they kept a distance from me and didn’t dare to set foot in my world easily.
“Through sharing my senses, I learned a lot of interesting things and learned about the vastness and wonders of the world around me.
“I can feel the expectation of every flower that is about to bloom; I can also feel the joy of the insects that have broken out of their cocoons and are dancing; every bud that has broken out of the ground reminds me of the first time I experienced the wonderful taste of life; every wolf, tiger, and leopard that is running and jumping in the mountains is doing its best to contract its heart and make its scalding blood rush to the ends of every muscle. The wildness’ flora is even more different from the plants that have taken root in the earth and experienced the vicissitudes of life for thousands of years, but it is equally wonderful.
“I should have been satisfied to be able to enjoy so many indescribable things at the same time. It was as if I had lived 10,000 lives at the same time.
“But perhaps the essence of life is that it is never satisfied.
“Gradually, I began to feel bored and empty.
“The sprouts that broke out of the soil were no different. No matter how many insects broke out of their cocoons and turned into butterflies, they could only dance along the same trajectory. The jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and leopards hunt in the forest, while the snakes, insects, rats, and ants run in front of them. If the same scene was played one to ten times, and I could still enjoy watching it. However, watching it a hundred times, a thousand times, and ten thousand times made me extremely tired and bored.
“I began to think.
“Even though I didn’t know I was thinking at the time.
“I just complained instinctively—that was it? That was everything? That was the purpose of my birth? To create a better jungle? “But there seemed to be no difference between a jungle with me and a jungle without me, except that it was a little more luxuriant! Besides, even if the jungle was a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times more luxuriant, so what? Was there anything new that I had never seen, heard of, or experienced?”
“Especially on every quiet, starry night, when the brilliant galaxy would slowly unfurl above my head and lead to the depths of the universe that I can’t see, the vast and mysterious picture always made me feel… an inexplicable impulse.
“I tried to extend the nerve bundles straight into the sky, wanting to grow all the way up there. I wanted to connect the billions of stars with my nerves and form a vast nerve network among the stars.
“Of course, I failed.
“After ten thousand failures, I gradually began to realize the vastness of the universe and the smallness of the land where I was rooted.
“For a period of time, I was extremely frustrated and angry.
“Why? The universe is so vast, but I can only be bound to this tiny mud ball and mingle with some silly animals and plants. No, I am the amalgamation of these silly animals and plants. I am them—the pathetic prisoners who are bound to a carbon-based body on a tiny mud ball!
“However, no matter how angry I am, the starry sky will not be lowered by half a foot.
“After being angry for a long time, I calmed down again and thought about how to touch the starry sky.
“I realized that even if my body was a hundred times, a thousand times, or ten thousand times larger, it would be impossible for me to touch the stars and absorb their energy.
“No. I couldn’t even perfectly absorb the energy of the sun in front of me, and the tiny mud balls, which contain countless crystal veins, with my body alone.
“I had to build a more complicated, sophisticated, and advanced organization system than the jungle.
“The system was billions of times larger and more sophisticated than my neural network.
“It was not until a long time later that I realized that what I needed was… a civilization.”
When the Tree of Wisdom said the word “civilization”, all the tentacles on its body trembled slightly, emanating a fascinating brilliance.
Even Meng Chao shivered.
“It seems that you have realized it.”
The girl on the Tree of Wisdom continued to smile sweetly. “It was Peach Blossom Town, a human town that had crossed over from Earth. It had inspired me to create a civilization.
“In fact, Peach Blossom Town crossed the sea of stars and crossed over to the Other World, not far from where I was originally born. They’re both near the sinkhole.
“I even wondered if the space ripples and spiritual energy that you created when you crossed over stimulated my awakening.
“In that case, the so-called monster civilization and Dragon City’s civilization were really twins who were entangled by fate on two sides of the same coin?
“However, I didn’t discover the existence of Peach Blossom Town in the beginning.
“On one hand, my perception range and intensity are quite limited. On the other hand, the original Peach Blossom Town happened to be stuck in an area of spatial folds. The town was surrounded by dense fog, and the people inside couldn’t get out. It was very difficult for my neural network to spread in.
“However, as the turbulent waves caused by the transmigration gradually calmed down, the folds were smoothed out. The dense fog around Peach Blossom Town dissipated, and more contact was made with the outside world, allowing exchange of a lot of material and information.
“My range of perception and control expanded, and the two parties grew closer. Finally, I discovered Peach Blossom Town and the interesting ‘human beings.’