Chapter 898: The Fool's Dream's Dream-State Soul Body
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 898: The Fool's Dream's Dream-State Soul Body
After performing a preliminary sorting of the Dream State Soul Essence, I didn't rush to begin the experiment. Instead, I continued to observe Yu Yun’s current condition.
In essence, the concept of "Real Time" shouldn't exist within the Primitive Dream Realm, and it was unlikely for Spirit Vision to perceive Real Time within a dream. However, Spirit Vision itself was an ability—a heavenly gift. Seeing Real Time was a result of that ability, not the ability itself.
And so... within the soul dream, my Floating World Level Spirit Vision allowed me to see even deeper layers of information within Yu Yun.
Her dream consciousness, the dream-state soul that carried it, the Seed of Wisdom rooted upon that soul, and the sparks of memory and consciousness blooming within that seed...
In a dream, only that which has meaning possesses a flow of information. Or, to put it another way, meaningful information is what constitutes meaningful things within a dream.
Guided by this sensation, I took a cluster of Dream State Soul Essence. Using Soul Depiction as a guide and combining it with my still-developing "Life Evolution" technique, I began to repair the "body" of Yu Yun’s soul.
I had confirmed earlier that while Yu Yun was "slumbering," she was also undergoing a gradual "metamorphosis." I called this the self-perfection of life. I had to admit that the effect of "Life Evolution" was essentially the same as this concept.
However, once I took over the repair of Yu Yun’s soul, that spontaneous change briefly dissipated. Subsequently, Yu Yun, cradled in my arms, seemed to make a few instinctive movements. When she "opened" her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face she was most familiar with.
"Mmm... Uh... Sister... Xiao Han?"
"Yu Yun, you're awake?" I looked at her with a mix of pleasant surprise and slight shock. I hadn't expected her to wake from her slumber so quickly this time.
"Sister Xiao Han, what are you doing?"
"The second batch of Dream State Soul Essence has been prepared~ So, I’m helping you perfect your soul essence. Do you feel any better?"
"It feels... a bit strange..."
"It’s okay, it’ll pass. Just think of it as taking a nap." I continued to soothe her. If possible, I naturally hoped that once her soul essence was repaired and perfected, she would no longer fall into those sudden slumbers.
The reality, however, was that even I didn't fully understand the depths of what was happening.
The repair of her soul body proceeded quickly. I even used my half-finished Life Evolution to further refine her soul essence. One day, the Fool's Dream would become true life. Perhaps... that would be the moment they stepped into reality.
Repairing the soul body wasn't just about adding enough soul mass; more importantly, it was about the level of the physique. If the soul level was insufficient, she naturally wouldn't be able to support the strain of crossing the boundary between reality and dreams.
It was just like Yu Yun’s first attempt—forcing the crossing would only result in the dream-state soul collapsing. This was easy to understand; it was similar to how weak soul-essence lifeforms would lose themselves upon falling into the Primitive Dream Realm.
Wasn't that exactly what happened to those students used as "consumables" by other academies back in the Expansion Realm? They were students with sufficiently high life levels, yet they still lost themselves in the Primitive Dream Realm, becoming monsters without even a sense of self before being devoured by dream creatures.
"Do you feel better, Yu Yun?" I asked specifically after completing the shaping of her soul body.
"Mm... it does feel much better than before, but I can't really say how it's better."
"That’s fine. As long as you feel better, that’s what matters. You still don't remember what happened while you were unconscious, right?" I offered some comfort before asking casually.
"Mm... I think I felt like... someone was talking to me?"
"What?" Hearing her hum for a while, I thought it was the same as before, but I didn't expect her to say someone was talking to her this time. "Do you remember what they said?" I asked hurriedly.
"I don't remember... Ugh, is Yu Yun really useless..."
"No~ no~ how could that be?" I immediately comforted her. "Yu Yun is the bravest! It’s okay, it’s okay. What’s important isn't what the voice said to you, but that someone spoke to you at all!"
"Ah... isn't that the same thing?"
"Of course not! If someone spoke to you, then I can be more certain about the situation!" After all... I had experienced something similar, hadn't I?
"So, Sister Xiao Han knows something?"
"I wouldn't say I know for sure, it's just a guess. I’ve also experienced the feeling of someone talking to me! So, it’s very likely the recognition of the World Consciousness."
"Recognition of the... World Consciousness?" Yu Yun tilted her head, not quite understanding what that meant.
"For the Fool's Dream to become true life, the race must gain the recognition of the Void. And the World Consciousness is the entity that nurtures and interferes with life."
"So... I’m about to become a real lifeform, right!" Yu Yun asked excitedly.
"Don't get too excited yet! When doing big things, you have to keep a calm heart. Don't pop the champagne at halftime."
"Oh... I understand." Yu Yun nodded. Although she didn't understand the metaphor of popping champagne at halftime, she understood the sentiment.
After calming Yu Yun down, I turned my gaze toward Yulan and the others. They were looking at me with great anticipation. After all, I had said that this time, I would shape soul bodies for all of them.
Even though I was shaping souls for the Fool's Dream, at this stage, I preferred to call them "soul bodies" rather than "soul essence." Soul essence was a term for living beings; the soul bodies I was shaping for them felt more like a secondary shell. Their consciousness had not yet completely merged with their soul essence through the Seed of Wisdom.
Soul Depiction was the foundation I prepared for the Fool's Dream, while Wisdom Granting was the technique that combined the Fool's Dream with that foundation of life.
"Come~ it’s time to shape your soul bodies~" I clapped my hands and spoke to Yulan and the others. "Line up, please."
"Okay!" Yulan and the others consciously formed a line. Perhaps because they knew every one of them would get a turn, there was no longer any squabbling over who went first.
"Then you go first, Yulan," I said, looking at her.
Back then, Yulan had been the first to suggest following me. At that time, she had the strongest sense of existence among the three little ones, almost acting like a big sister to the other Fool's Dreams.
"Mm-hmm~" Yulan stepped forward excitedly, heedless of any potential danger.
I didn't hesitate any longer. I stepped before the Tree of Fool's Dream to retrieve Yulan’s memories and information. I didn't stop at Yulan; I pulled the memories of Yu Guo and Yu Xing as well.
The three sets of memories floated before me. Yu Xing’s memories were massive—even Yulan and Yu Guo’s combined couldn't compare. Perhaps this was the accumulation Yu Xing had gathered as the former chief of Fool's Village.
However, while Yu Xing’s memories were vast, they were also singular. In the old Fool's Village, they had constantly repeated the lives dictated by the Dream Scroll. But... this wasn't terrifying. On the contrary, they had felt happy, because that was what they believed a real lifeform experienced every day, and they enjoyed it.
Sometimes, the saying "ignorance is bliss" isn't wrong. But they had met me, and I would bring them into a brand-new world. The world shared and presented by the Tree of Great Knowledge and the Fool's Dream confused them, but it also made them yearn for it.
Yet, alongside that yearning was fear. This was why the vast majority of Fool's Dreams still chose to stay in the Fool's Village created within my soul dream. The difference was that the current Fool's Village was filled with elements from reality; it was no longer the village that once existed in the Primitive Dream Realm.
I created Yulan’s soul body bit by bit. Originally, I thought about doing all three at once, but in the end, I chose to do them one by one. This was a brand-new attempt, and with only Yu Yun as a prior case, I didn't dare to be overconfident.
As I watched Yulan’s form being shaped before me, Dream State Soul Essence was consumed at a frantic pace, regardless of the cost. As Yulan’s Seed of Wisdom "took root and sprouted" upon the soul body, I knew the preliminary shaping was complete.
Souls... are truly a wondrous concept.
Bai Yu stood to the side, watching quietly. She loved watching Xiao Han when she was this focused on an experiment. In such moments, Xiao Han possessed a unique charm that drew her in completely.
From her perspective, Xiao Han was doing something magnificent—she was creating a brand-new life!
Creating life!
In the past, she would have thought that was an authority belonging only to the Creator. After becoming a witch, she learned that creating life was the authority of the world. Yet here was Xiao Han, at the level of a little witch, performing the most incredible feat in the most unassuming manner!
She couldn't help but feel proud of Xiao Han—intensely proud!
In the past, whenever she saw Xiao Han do something amazing, she would reflect on herself, even feeling inferior and doubting if she could keep up with Xiao Han’s footsteps or if she was worthy of the achievements Xiao Han made.
But now... she had moved past that.
It wasn't a matter of being "worthy." A witch who truly understands what it means to be loved does not suffer from self-doubt. When she was sincerely happy for Xiao Han from the bottom of her heart, Xiao Han would never question whether she was "qualified" to be there.
Love is mutual and resonant, not a thing of suspicion and worry.
Time passed as the Dream State Soul Essence was consumed bit by bit. Eventually, all four of the little Fool's Dreams possessed soul bodies.
I looked at the remaining portion of Dream State Soul Essence in my hand. I hadn't expected the consumption to be so high. However, I didn't regret it; if it was wasted, so be it—the Fool's Dreams were the priority.
Besides, wasn't there still some left? I could send the remainder out for the older witch sisters to study. After all... Dream State Soul Essence wasn't just for creating life.
Witches had very deep research into soul essence as well. Before the Great Soul Subject appeared, witches themselves were soul-essence lifeforms. Thus, research into soul essence had never stopped. They had specialized fields dedicated to this study, with the most direct result being the Resurrection Spell based on soul-essence life.
No matter what form a life took, the Resurrection Spell remained an evergreen topic in this field. Furthermore, soul essence wasn't just for resurrection; there was research into potions, magic potions, and even spell-casting and weaponization. I believed the same would be true for Dream State Soul Essence.
"How do you feel? Any strange sensations?" I asked again, following routine.
"No, it just feels very novel. There’s a... a feeling that it’s easier to think," Yu Xing said.
Yu Xing was the last Fool's Dream to be processed. Her memories were massive, and the Seed of Wisdom formed from them was a size larger than Yulan’s and the others. Regardless, the quality of a Seed of Wisdom wasn't measured by size; it represented the flash of inspiration sparked by the intertwining of consciousness and memory. It was everything a Fool's Dream possessed.
"Let’s go. We’ll return to reality and try again to see if you can cross the boundary between dreams and reality now that you have sufficient dream-state souls."
As I spoke, I waved my hand, and the four little Fool's Dreams stood up impatiently. Yu Yun, in particular, had been looking forward to this for a long time! Last time, the lack of Dream State Soul Essence meant her soul shaping was insufficient to support her crossing the dream boundary.
Even though... only a few days had actually passed since then.
"Sister Bai~ let’s go as well." I walked over to Sister Bai and reached out my hand.
"Mm." Sister Bai grasped my hand, stood up, and nodded in agreement.
Then, our figures vanished from the soul dream.
"Eh? The Sage Sister left again."
The Fool's Dreams remaining in the soul dream had already grown accustomed to my habit of coming and going quickly. Many of them looked at the leftover Dream State Soul Essence with curiosity, but they were quickly stopped by others.
"Don't go near it. Yulan said the Sage Sister told us not to touch that. It’s dangerous if you do!"
"Yeah, I heard it too. We can't go there."
* * *
Meanwhile, in reality.
After returning to the real world, I slowly opened my eyes.
"Sister Bai, how are you?" I stood up and went to Sister Bai, who woke up a step behind me.
Her soul consciousness had just regained control of her body. At this moment, she looked as if she had just woken from a deep sleep; her eyes were unfocused for a moment before slowly sharpening.
"Mm... I’m fine... That was truly a wondrous experience." This was Bai Yu’s most honest feeling.
"Sister Xiao Han~ Um... are we going to do the experiment here?" The four little Fool's Dreams, now back in the Constant Dream Cultivation Room in reality, spoke up with urgency.
"Hmm? Wait." I quickly interrupted their eager mood and explained, "This is the cultivation room. In a moment, we’ll go to another laboratory to conduct the experiment while recording data with professional equipment."