Chapter 1039: Consciousness Sharing and Primitive Information
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1039: Consciousness Sharing and Primitive Information
“It’s as if something very important is being entwined and bound by an unknown existence... like being placed on an execution rack, watching the sword in my own hand pierce my heart...” Ning simply repeated the words she had said before.
To put it more vividly, this description was the reflection of the Main World’s current situation as felt by Ning.
After hearing this, Dean Mei immediately fell into deep thought.
I continued to look at Dean Mei and spoke up. “Sister Mei, in all this time, have you really not collected any news regarding the details of this ‘Staff of World Destruction’ plan?”
This so-called Staff of World Destruction was undoubtedly the sword Ning described as being thrust into her own heart.
“For example... who is leading this plan?”
“This plan is undoubtedly led by that fellow Tuskage, the Dean of the Wizard Academy,” Dean Mei replied, snapping out of her thoughts.
“Tuskage... the Wizard Dean.” I silently committed the name to memory. “Then people from the other two academies must have a share of the work, right? Otherwise, the Three Top Academies wouldn't be sitting as equals.”
“That’s correct. It seems the Wizards cannot complete this plan alone. The other two academies must play certain vital roles—roles that are irreplaceable.”
“Then let’s continue the analysis. If we assume the ‘very important thing’ Ning mentioned is the World Navel, then what could possibly entwine and bind it?” I asked, framing the question differently.
Hearing my words, Dean Mei quickly provided an answer. “The only thing I can think of is a branch of the Afuhemi World Tree. A World Tree is undoubtedly the core for dominating a world; it can serve as a vessel to replace the World Will and can also inherit the world’s lifeblood. However, that idea was temporarily ruled out. Sheryl, that Rebel Witch, helped me investigate, and there was ‘nothing’ beneath that World Tree.”
At that moment, Ning suddenly spoke:
“Is it possible that the so-called World Tree isn't dominating the World Navel every single moment?”
I looked at Ning in surprise. After she spoke, she seemed a bit dazed herself. Regarding this matter, she was more of a subjective narrator who didn't understand the cause and effect—unless...
“That actually is a possibility~” I picked up the thread, then turned to meet Dean Mei’s gaze. In an instant, we both shared the same hypothesis.
“If the Afuhemi World Tree has been capturing and dominating the World Navel all this time, when did they start? How long has it lasted? After so long, have they still not completely dominated and mastered the Main World? That really doesn't seem logical.”
I then proposed my own guess: “So, let’s make a bold assumption. The Afuhemi World Tree might be able to capture the World Navel, but that must be something that can only be accomplished under extremely harsh conditions. At the very least, it requires preparation time! Sister Mei, you said we can probably rule out uncontrollable, random captures, right?”
“Not necessarily. It’s possible the success rate of a random capture is quite high, but the cost is too great, so they can’t do it constantly. But if we push them too hard, they might do it regardless of the cost, completing the capture within a certain preparation window.”
Dean Mei and I went back and forth with our bold hypotheses. Regardless of the truth, we had to lay out all the possibilities first and then slowly eliminate them.
“Ning, how are you feeling now? Or let me put it another way: is that feeling of being tightly bound always present, or is it intermittent?” I looked at Ning. No matter what, I had to cross-reference the situation with her.
“I’m not sure, but it shouldn't be like that all the time...” Ning spoke hesitantly. The sensation was far too abstract, making it difficult for her to express it concretely.
Just then, a thought occurred to me. “Right, I don’t know if it’s too forward to ask, but Ning, can you accept Consciousness Sharing? If you can, I could directly experience the images and feelings you can’t put into words through consciousness resonance.”
“Consciousness Sharing?” Ning was a bit surprised by the concept, but she nodded nonetheless. “I can. I’ll cooperate. What do I need to do?”
“I should tell you this in advance: Consciousness Sharing is very difficult to control. Just as it’s hard to control what you’re thinking about, it means many of your secrets will be exposed during the sharing period.”
“I don’t mind. I’ve only been born for a short while; how many secrets could I have? I don’t care,” Ning said. “But when we share consciousness, will I glimpse your secrets? Do you not care?”
“Consciousness Sharing is, of course, an equal exchange, regardless of who the caster is. However, my control and dominance over my own consciousness is far beyond what you can imagine.”
“Since neither of us can gain any private little schemes from the other, then I’m fine with it.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The brief exchange established a layer of trust between the two.
Under Dean Mei’s witness, I began the preparations for Consciousness Sharing, even though it was just a spell that required a simple casting to complete.
Before long, once the consciousnesses were shared, I felt a surge of uncontrolled thoughts performing various scenes in a disordered, chaotic manner.
This was Ning’s consciousness.
What am I doing? Did it work? How strange... so this is Xiao Han’s consciousness? Why isn't she thinking about anything? She won't know everything I'm thinking right now, will she...
Suddenly, a string of fragmented thoughts was presented fully before me.
Although Ning appeared to be a girl of few words, it seemed she had quite the active inner monologue.
Not only that, but Ning also seemed to have an extremely strong trait of questioning and answering herself. This was likely a manifestation of her status as the Ancient Remnant Ice King, carrying the collective will of an entire race.
“Correct. This is Consciousness Sharing. Everything you think, I will know.”
“What about you? I feel like your consciousness is like thick, solid ice. I can’t decode it. It seems like the words you speak are exactly what you are thinking.”
“To an extent, that’s related to my cultivation of cognition and self-awareness, and to another extent, it’s related to the power I wield,” I explained. After all, my consciousness housed the Tree of Great Knowledge!
I even had a higher-level consciousness firewall, so what I had told Ning earlier was actually quite modest.
“So, let’s not waste any more time. Recall that feeling again. Let’s finish this quickly; it’s better for both of us.”
“Mm.”
Ning nodded and said nothing more, though her little internal schemes had all fallen through.
Originally, she had wanted to see what this “Little Witch” who had personally “created and nurtured” her was thinking, but she hadn't glimpsed a single thing.
In fact, even what she was thinking at this very moment was being displayed without any defense.
As an Ancient Remnant Ice consciousness that hadn't been nurtured for long, her control over her own consciousness was absolutely no different from that of a child.
“My refusal to reveal my consciousness is also a form of protection for you. A newborn consciousness is best not occupied by too many external perceptions. Otherwise, just like when you received the infusion from the Main World Consciousness, you would feel endless confusion.”
I shared this realization with Ning through the consciousness link. Given the things I thought about in a single instant, there would likely only be two outcomes for her.
One would be forced cognition, where her mind would be burned out by my train of thought until she couldn't think for herself. The other would be cognitive self-protection, where she would ignore my consciousness sharing and remember nothing.
Since that was the case, it was better for me to establish a firewall to protect her from the start.
Then, under my guidance, Ning quickly recalled the perceptions that didn't belong to her.
On the other side of the consciousness link, I also touched upon those unrecognizable images...
The moment I made contact, I understood why the Main World wanted to use Ning as a vessel to convey this deal.
Just as Dean Mei had said, the Main World could no longer broadcast major movements or upheavals that touched upon those three Transcendent Races.
Therefore, the Main World would not, and could not, make “direct” contact using Spirit Vision as a medium like before.
It could only inform us of the truth and complete this “deal” through Ning in a subtle, gradual way.
And what came next... was the most important part!
I manifested the Tree of Great Knowledge, and the phantom of the Domain Order appeared in the palm of my hand. Countless pieces of Primitive Information, in a form that billions of words could not express, were inscribed by me.
And these were the things I needed to decode next!
“Thank you!”
After giving my thanks, I quickly severed the consciousness sharing. No one knew who that “thank you” was directed toward.
However, Ning replied, “You’re welcome.”
She didn't know if that reply came from her own instinct or the guidance of another layer of consciousness.
But that didn't matter anymore.
“Xiao Han, what are these?” Dean Mei looked at the strange symbols surrounding the phantom of my Tree of Great Knowledge’s order. They didn't seem to be runes.
“Primitive Information presented through my Power of Knowledge Domain Order. This is the information within Ning’s consciousness that couldn't be expressed even with words,” I explained.
The Power of Knowledge, as an order structured on Body Cultivation power and two pieces of [Transcendent Knowledge], could present the surface meaning of the most basic knowledge, evolve the progressive levels of knowledge, and even transform into rune rituals. The Annotation Technique was a product of this.
Furthermore, the Power of Knowledge could use the most flexible methods to encrypt and decrypt information to the greatest extent. The Ley Line Identification Art worked this way—its greatest value lay in explaining and giving meaning to the information within the ley lines that couldn't be intuitively understood.
“Can it be decoded?” Dean Mei frowned as she looked at the symbols she completely failed to understand.
“Of course. It can be decoded using a derivative function of the Ley Line Identification Art.” I held the Primitive Information before me. After backing it up with my highest authority, I waved my hand, and the information unfolded in a different format.
And once it unfolded, it was far more than just text.
This segment of Primitive Information included image analysis, abstract expressions, audio decoding, and a series of text annotations I had organized.
Even so, there was still a large amount of “meaningless information” within the Primitive Information that even the Tree of Great Knowledge could not decode.
I believed they had meaning, but these undecodable things were likely the “generation gap” between life and the world.
As this information was reintegrated into a form that was easy to understand, Dean Mei and Ning, who were watching from the side, understood it instantly.
Ning, standing nearby, was even more shocked!
What was the difference between this and physically moving the things inside her brain out into the open?
“You certainly have your methods. It makes things so much more convenient~” Even Dean Mei couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
She was, after all, a Transcendent Witch who had suffered. Heaven only knew how much effort they had put into investigating that so-called “Staff of World Destruction Plan.”
And now... it was all presented right before them!
“This phantom is indeed that Afuhemi World Tree. I absolutely recognize it. So they really are using the power of the World Tree! I was almost misled by that Rebel Witch!”
After Dean Mei sighed, she didn't forget to take a jab at that Rebel Witch.
However, Sheryl had only done that to help out. No one expected such intelligence to lead to such a preemptive, incorrect conclusion.
“Hey~ don’t go pinning that on me.” Just as Dean Mei said that, a voice made her stand up instantly!
“Sheryl? How did you get in? I clearly set up isolation spells.”
“I helped out so much~ it wouldn't be right to keep me from knowing the truth, would it?” Sheryl was truly acting like an old friend. As soon as she arrived, she sat down on the sofa, right in the empty space between Ning and me.
“Xiao Han~ you should welcome me back as a listener, right? And this one... mm~ the newly appointed World Guardian?”
“Since you know you’re a listener, then stay quiet and don’t cause trouble.”
“Fine~” Sheryl gave Mei a light smile, then looked at Ning. “Let me introduce myself~ I’m Sheryl, a Rebel Witch. I wonder if you, little sister, have any interest in becoming a witch?”
“Sorry, I have no interest.”
“Well~ that’s a pity. You even refused so firmly without even introducing yourself...” Sheryl looked heartbroken.
“Her name is Ning. As for the rest, I don’t think you need me to introduce her further,” I said, speaking up for Ning.
I also had to admire this Rebel Witch; she had stepped on two of the girl's nerves right away.
One was “World Guardian,” and the other was “wanting to be a witch.” Ning was very vague about the former, but she had explicitly rejected the latter.
In the end, I forced the conversation back on track. “Let’s just look at the specific details of the Staff of World Destruction Plan, shall we?”
“Fine~ I want to see what kind of method these three Transcendent Races have cooked up that managed to keep the great Dean Mei struggling in the Main World for over a thousand years.”