Chapter 881: The Dream Life Experiment
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 881: The Dream Life Experiment
"Sister Xiao Han, Sister Xiao Han~ Is there progress?"
The Fool's Dreams I was looking after followed close behind me. Although they didn't participate in the core steps of the purification method experiments, they weren't entirely ignorant.
As the Fool's Dreams who accompanied me at the absolute forefront of these life experiments, they understood exactly what I was doing and what I aimed to achieve. Naturally, they knew just how vital the purification of Dream State Soul Essence truly was.
"Mhm. Come—follow me to the Constant Dream Laboratory," I said.
Within this massive laboratory, although the deep layer Primitive Dream Realm only occupied a small portion of the core area, I hadn't let the other dream-covered regions go to waste. Some areas were used for the constant cultivation of shallow dreams, serving for the capture and collection of dream creatures, nightmare stripping, and other such operations.
While the Primitive Dream Realm was currently labeled as "controllable," that didn't mean everything within it was under control. To conduct stable experiments, one needed a region where the dream was held constant.
I wasn't taking the Fool's Dreams there to gather experimental materials, but to begin the experiment itself.
Forget about mere theory collection and simulation analysis; those were all secondary now.
Direct, hands-on experimentation yielded data far more valuable than any analysis.
Of course, I could afford to be this headstrong primarily because I had the Tree of Great Knowledge assisting with data analysis. The first-hand data collected from the experiment could be fed in immediately, providing rapid support for the next stage of experimental corrections.
Furthermore... the materials didn't cost a cent. In fact, you couldn't necessarily buy them even if you had the money. Without the continuity of a dream overlap, even if you caught something, it was difficult to transport or trade. Thus, I had to catch them myself.
Upon arriving at the Constant Dream Laboratory, my soul consciousness detached from my body. After all, the upcoming experiment involved operations on the dream level.
However, even after my soul consciousness left my body, my physical form remained active. One could say my reality-side body was now a clone dominated by my subconscious—a two-way synergy between dream and reality that provided immense convenience for conducting dream-related experiments.
"Now, I have here a nightmare that, according to theoretical analysis, is the most likely candidate for Dream State Soul Essence," I said, holding the pure nightmare in my hand.
The reason I didn't call it "Dream State Soul Essence" yet was for the sake of scientific rigor.
After all, I hadn't verified its accuracy yet. Furthermore... in the current experiments where dream creatures consumed and converted soul essence, there was no direct evidence proving that nightmares were the converted soul essence.
Current progress had only proven that the two were inextricably linked.
Even now, comparing ordinary soul essence with this purified nightmare, I could discern obvious differences.
"According to the conceptual framework of the Dream Life Experiment, this is the fundamental material for shaping a dream-state soul for you. However, experiments are full of uncertainties. Are you willing to cooperate with me?"
"We are!" ×4
The four little Fool's Dreams spoke up in total agreement, having no concept of what "risk" meant.
Their voices held nothing but indescribable excitement and impatience.
"Don't be in such a hurry~ You four discuss it among yourselves first. I need to take a sample of this substance for preservation and create a specimen. The remaining amount... won't even be enough for one Fool's Dream to undergo the experiment. So, decide who goes first. No fighting, now~ If you really can't decide, you can use rock-paper-scissors."
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Seeing them agree so readily, I felt relieved. I had actually been a bit worried they would all fight over who got to be the first Fool's Dream to sublimate into life based on Dream State Soul Essence. Looking at it now... perhaps I had overthought it?
I began the step-by-step process of preserving a sample and then turning it into a special, pure specimen. If this substance could advance the Dream Life Experiment, then this sample would be the very first piece of Dream State Soul Essence!
It would be of immense collectable and commemorative value.
Though I spoke of rigor, now that the experiment had reached this stage, I already knew deep down whether I was confident or not.
My only fear was that this Primitive Dream Realm might play a trick on me.
While organizing the specimen, I began constructing the subsequent experimental workflow.
Sublimating a Fool's Dream into a soul essence was a process that required far too many steps. It wasn't as simple as slapping Dream State Soul Essence onto a Fool's Dream's consciousness and finishing it with soul depiction.
It required more—for instance... the Fool's Dream's memories.
I hadn't forgotten another crucial part of the Dream Life Experiment: the wisdom seed. With the technique of wisdom granting as the core, it would integrate memory and consciousness, plus soul depiction, to unify the soul essence into a sublimated soul. This would serve as the "soil" for the wisdom seed.
Of course, there were also vital components like the "racial concept" and "bloodline information." All of these... would need to be continuously explored in the upcoming experiments.
After all, this was my first time doing something like this. Only through constant experimentation could I understand how to apply the knowledge I had acquired, studied, and realized.
Because this experiment involved not just Dream State Soul Essence but also the Fool's Dreams' memories and more, the place where it was conducted was actually within my soul dream.
I came to this Constant Dream Laboratory firstly to avoid being disturbed, and secondly for a more stable environment to prevent accidents.
"Have you chosen?"
After satisfactorily preparing the "Dream State Soul Essence" specimen and placing it in the precious materials storage box of the Constant Dream Laboratory, I walked over to the four little ones.
"Mhm! We finally chose Yu Yun~"
"Right, her."
The Fool's Dreams spoke up immediately as they saw me approach.
"Is it Yu Yun?" With a wave of my hand, the Fool's Dream sat upon my forearm within the dream.
"Mhm~ It's me! I won at rock-paper-scissors~" Yu Yun said excitedly.
"You really used rock-paper-scissors?" I rubbed Yu Yun's little head dotingly. "Come, let's go back to Fool's Village together."
"Are we going too?" Yulan asked.
"Of course. Since the next part of our experiment will take place there, we should all be together. Or does Yulan have something else to do?"
"No, no, I want to go too!"
"Alright then~ It's just one experiment. Once the technique for the incubation purification method matures and the volume of Dream State Soul Essence increases, we'll conduct the experiments for everyone together!"
I casually offered them a little "pie in the sky" promise, then brought them into my soul dream.
A soul dream is a blessing that arises after a soul lifeform embarks upon the Great Soul Subject. Actually, calling it a blessing isn't quite accurate; it's more of a basic, derivative application of the soul's essence after coming into contact with the Great Soul Subject.
Most transcendent witches treat this blessing as a personal consciousness space. It can unify cognitions of the mental and conscious variety, much like my previous sea of consciousness and dream sea.
I had heard that this could also interface with the witch race's "Primal Dream" project, generating a personal private space within the Primal Dream.
But my soul dream had now become a paradise for the Fool's Dreams.
They were constantly developing and decorating this originally empty world, transforming it into a fantastical fairy-tale park.
Theoretically, a soul dream has no boundaries, but in practice, there are limits to the experience.
For example, existence manifests wherever the "gaze" reaches; the place recognized by consciousness is its boundary.
But now, this place had become the paradise of Fool's Village, passively and continuously expanding the boundaries of the recognizable soul dream.
Within the soul dream stood two trees. One was the Tree of Great Knowledge, and the other was the Tree of Fool's Dream, which symbolized the origin of the Fool's Dreams.
The Tree of Great Knowledge was currently growing steadily. Countless [Transcendent Knowledge] fragments were constantly sharing memories, knowledge, and information, all of which served as its nutrients.
However, the current Tree of Great Knowledge had already reached the limit of its present stage.
Although it continued to grow every moment, when you're just adding more, the numbers move slower the higher they get.
In contrast, the Tree of Fool's Dream showed signs of catching up.
This Tree of Fool's Dream was born from the foundation of the Fool's Dreams—the "Dream Scroll."
One could say the birth of the Tree of Fool's Dream was inextricably linked to two pieces of [Transcendent Knowledge].
First was the Fool's Dream holy relic, which had derived the Dream Scroll that shared the same source. It was the memory the Fool's Dreams had wrested from the Primitive Dream Realm, the cornerstone that maintained their existence.
One must understand that the Primitive Dream Realm was very domineering. For dream creatures, even the "memories" shaped by their experiences within the dream belonged to the Primitive Dream Realm itself.
Therefore, the act of the Fool's Dreams using a holy relic to possess their own memories was, in itself, proof of their special nature.
Secondly, the completed Dream Scroll, through the special techniques of the Tree of Great Knowledge, had become a Seed of Fool's Dream.
While the Seed of Fool's Dream itself didn't reach the level of [Transcendent Knowledge], it possessed the capital to grow alongside the Tree of Great Knowledge. It was certainly no simple thing.
Upon entering Fool's Village, I was greeted with a warm welcome by the Fool's Dreams. However, we quickly focused our energy on the experiment at hand.
This experiment involved the Fool's Dreams' most precious memories. The Tree of Fool's Dream was the foundation for all of them, just as the Dream Scroll had been before.
"Come, let the experiment begin."
After clearly explaining my purpose to the enthusiastic Fool's Dreams, they quickly and consciously cleared a large experimental area for me near the Tree of Fool's Dream.
They stood at the edge, watching me with longing eyes, for they understood what I was doing.
Their Sage Sister was working tirelessly to help the Fool's Dreams sublimate into true life!
I carried Yu Yun to the roots of the Tree of Fool's Dream. As my hand lightly brushed against the thick, conceptual exterior of the tree, its essential memories began to bloom like flowing water!
Suddenly, centered on the Tree of Fool's Dream, countless memories scattered outward, finally solidifying into the form of scrolls.
Such a vast and magnificent scene could be witnessed from anywhere in Fool's Village.
I quickly located Yu Yun's memories within the display.
I had to admit, the Tree of Fool's Dream had fully inherited the characteristics of the Tree of Great Knowledge; its organization of the Fool's Dreams' memories was even clearer and more orderly than the original Dream Scroll.
It was a bit of a pity, however, that Yu Yun's memories weren't very extensive. The first batch of Fool's Dreams had lost many memories. Even during the time they were taken over by Dean Mei, memories were lost, as Dean Mei's methods weren't as considerate as mine.
Thus, Yu Yun's memories only spanned the period after I had taken them over.
They mostly consisted of life within the academy.
This was true not just for Yu Yun, but for all the Fool's Dreams known as "Braves."
But regardless, at least things hadn't reached the worst-case scenario.
However... even these memories mostly originated from my [Transcendent Knowledge] fragments.
And now... I was attempting to use the method of wisdom granting to shape these memories and Yu Yun's consciousness into a wisdom seed. Then, I would use soul depiction to grant her a soul—a soul that would carry the Fool's Dream's wisdom seed and wait for it to "sprout."
These methods, whether wisdom granting or soul depiction, fundamentally originated from the derivative techniques of the "holy relic."
As I conducted the experiment for the Fool's Dream, I could feel the connection between the holy relic and myself deepening.
When all this was completed, Yu Yun's form changed. Under the influence of wisdom granting, her surrounding memories used her consciousness as a carrier, the two intertwining. This was a core concept within the wisdom granting technique: the wisdom prototype.
It was the prerequisite for the birth of a wisdom seed.
At this moment, the scene Yu Yun had transformed into left me slightly dazed. This was a process that should have been achievable long ago, but it was only after recognizing the special nature of "dream consciousness" that everything in the Primitive Dream Realm followed.
A Fool's Dream in the form of a wisdom seed wouldn't face any accidents. Even if the experiment ended in failure, Yu Yun could still return to her normal self.
The first three little Fool's Dreams who followed me had already had their souls simply formed through the "mimicry soul" technique.
With a mimicry soul, they could more easily possess or leave the Fool's Dreams' physical bodies in reality.
After all, aside from being unable to become true life, the mimicry soul technique itself was shaped using the characteristics of soul essence.
Therefore, Yu Yun could still return to her usual state in the form of a mimicry soul.
During the formation of the wisdom seed, I also began using the soul depiction technique to shape the composition of Yu Yun's dream-state soul.
This process was incredibly smooth, almost as if it were meant to be.
It wasn't until Yu Yun's wisdom seed "took root" within the soul essence shaped by soul depiction... that the dream-state soul, as vivid and fresh as true life... accepted Yu Yun!
For the first time, her consciousness bloomed within a soul. It was a new world she had never experienced before, constantly impacting Yu Yun's cognition.
Rather than an impact, I preferred to call it... a baptism.
I watched the entire process unfold before my eyes.
This experiment was also a trial.
It made me realize many shortcomings and forced me to recognize the naivety of some of my ideas.
But I had done one thing right: the decision to conduct this experiment!
With the first attempt successful, I no longer feared the unknown circumstances that might arise during the testing process.
The success of the experiment also meant that the framework of the experimental workflow was largely established. The next steps would be to build upon this foundation.
"How do you... feel? Yu Yun," I called out softly.
If any uncontrollable accident occurred, I would immediately deconstruct the experiment. After all, compared to precious experimental data, I cared far more about the existence of the Fool's Dreams.