Chapter 904: The Dream Domain Guidance Experiment Begins
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 904: The Dream Domain Guidance Experiment Begins
After entering the constant dream cultivation room, I found that it wasn't particularly messy, though many of the cultivation vessels were now empty.
I pulled up the data from the Tree of Great Knowledge to interface with the local information.
According to the records, none of the experiments in this batch had succeeded.
This was more or less within my expectations.
After all, I faced failure frequently; it was just that those failures were so insignificant compared to my successes that they were often overlooked by both myself and others.
At this stage of the mass-scale experiments for the purification method, only the control group using the information deposition method showed the most progress, yet it still failed to produce Dream State Soul Essence perfectly in a single go.
The other methods were all showing mediocre progress.
I began disposing of the experimental groups that clearly lacked reference value while organizing the data. Finally, I set aside the "failures" that still held some utility, waiting for a secondary analysis later.
This busywork actually took up quite a bit of time.
The witches waiting for me didn't seem to mind at all. To them, a little wait was nothing; time was the one thing they had in abundance.
Back in the lab, I retrieved the remaining mass of Dream State Soul Essence and divided it into several portions, each roughly the size of the specimen I had created earlier.
While such a small amount couldn't be used for much, it was more than enough for experimental purposes. Moreover, once they finished researching the Dream State Soul Essence, the data regarding its deep-level characteristics and applications would provide me with a great deal of inspiration.
The most fundamental tasks involved defining special units for the dream state—benchmarks for "mass," "density," "volume," and so on within a dream. These all needed to be established.
Although I could have used my authority as the discoverer and preparer of Dream State Soul Essence to forcibly define these units, inappropriate units can be a disaster. I preferred to leave this to the professionals. After all, a concept accepted by everyone is far better than one pushed through by sheer stubbornness.
It was just like how these witches were currently using my lab to study the characteristics of the Primitive Dream Realm; their work greatly accelerated my own mastery and understanding of it.
"I've finished the encapsulation for you. This is a special seal through the dream plane, so you can store it directly within your soul dreams. I don't recommend trying to force it out in an area without dream overlap; otherwise, this portion of Dream State Soul Essence will likely naturally fall into the dreamscape and become lost. You won't be able to find it again..."
I explained the precautions to them. These details had to be shared beforehand; otherwise, it would be a true waste if they lost the samples out of ignorance.
"Ha~ I got it!"
"So this is Dream State Soul Essence? It really is peculiar!"
The witches entered the dreamscape in their soul forms one after another to receive their portions.
They were, after all, researchers of the Primitive Dream Realm. They were either pursuing the Great Soul Subject or walking one of its branches; naturally, they were all capable of basic operations like soul projection.
Once they had the samples in hand, they quickly tucked them into their soul dreams as if afraid someone might snatch them away.
"Xiao Han, Xiao Han, look, there's still so much left. How do you plan to handle the rest? Maybe... I could handle it on your behalf?" At this point, one of the thicker-skinned witches asked, eyeing the remaining specimens of Dream State Soul Essence.
"Hmm... I haven't decided yet. Actually, I was planning to give them to witch sisters who have the capability to research them. I hope to better understand its characteristics, but I don't have the time or energy for those experiments right now," I explained.
"Give them to me! Our team has the capacity!" As soon as I spoke, a witch blurted out an answer so fast the others couldn't even react.
But once they snapped out of it, they all started chiming in.
"Let us do it! I'm willing to share all research results with Xiao Han across the board!"
"Isn't sharing the baseline? Let our team handle it! Our current project is nearing its end. If you give us enough volume, we can seamlessly transition into a research project related to Dream State Soul Essence!"
"Give us a bit more! We can do it too!"
"How about this: you all can distribute the remainder among yourselves. I only require the final results to be shared via the Great Knowledge Seed. How does that sound?" As soon as I spoke, the surrounding witches fell silent.
The reason I made such a hasty decision was that I didn't want to get bogged down in entanglements with too many witches. It was better to just give it all away; the witches with real ability would have their own ways of securing a share.
I didn't doubt the competitive spirit among witches, but in my view, Dream State Soul Essence wasn't worth fighting over yet. Anyone could perform the basic analysis, but high-end application techniques would ultimately require truly capable witches to develop.
By the time that happened, Dream State Soul Essence might already be ready for large-scale industrial production.
The moment I finished speaking, a fierce scramble broke out in that small space.
There were winners and losers, of course. I ensured that every witch present received at least one portion, but I couldn't guarantee everyone would grab a piece of the leftovers.
As expected... even at the level of a Transcendent Witch, when it comes to fighting for rare resources, they still rely on the most primitive methods.
"Waaa... Xiao Han, is there really none left? That group of jerks hammered my soul right back into my body... I didn't grab a single one..."
"Uh... Sister Witch, please don't be sad. I'll be continuing small-scale production. If you didn't get one this time, maybe next time?" I comforted her in a low voice.
Who could have imagined that a Transcendent Witch, who was who-knows-how-many years older than me, would actually "waaa" and complain to my face about not getting a sample?
I had truly never seen a scene like this before...
However, after my gentle consoling and her confirmation that I really had no stock left, the witch finally departed "dejectedly."
As for those who had successfully snatched a portion... they had long since fled. Staying behind would only mean becoming an unlucky guy and getting ganged up on.
Even though the samples were already tucked away in soul dreams and couldn't be stolen back, a "righteous" beatdown was still on the table... If a witch hadn't told me this was "normal" interaction between Transcendent Witches, I would have stepped in to break up the fight.
Clearly... there are frictions between witches, it's just that these "small frictions" are a bit different from what an ordinary person might understand.
Once the minor matter of "distributing Dream State Soul Essence" was settled, I began preparing for the next batch of production.
Stopping was out of the question. At most, I would reduce the number of experimental groups for the incubation purification method, as my personal energy was limited and I couldn't oversee so many simultaneous experiments.
Furthermore... if I truly wanted the entire Fool's Dream Clan to become living beings, just thinking about the number of people in the Fool's Village within my soul dream... that wasn't something laboratory-level preparation could sustain.
I had to find another way, one that moved away from the current dependence on the derivative techniques of the Great Spellbook.
Or... find a way to make the Great Spellbook's derivative techniques universal or permanent, though such an idea was unrealistic at this stage.
My next steps were simple.
Based on the data from the second batch of experiments, I would eliminate the unsatisfactory groups, analyze the products of each remaining group, and launch the second phase of experiments.
It was a time-consuming task, but... I wasn't short on time right now.
The Fool's Dream didn't require my constant attention for the moment; it just needed continuous refinement according to the schedule. The time I saved could be used to perfect the new purification method.
Of course, more importantly, the Dream Domain experiment I had agreed upon with Dean Mei was about to begin.
Not long ago, Sister Bai had contacted me through the Great Knowledge Seed to tell me that those three body cultivation witches had found her. They had even had a "friendly" sparring match in the Expansion Realm.
It wasn't a big deal, really.
However, those three witches were very interested in emotion body cultivation, so Sister Bai guessed that during the experimental phase, she might ask me some related questions.
As for now, Sister Bai said she had already introduced them to the body cultivation witch circle, letting them get in touch with the Demonized Body Cultivation Method and Body-Shaping Spells.
I have to say... Sister Bai is quite impressive, getting them to help me refine the Demonized Body Cultivation system and Body-Shaping Spells.
Of those three, two had self-awakened body cultivation, and the other had excellent comprehension for it—they were exactly the types blessed by the heavens.
I must admit, I was starting to look forward to it.
Of course, the Demonized Body Cultivation Method wasn't particularly attractive to witches at this stage; the reason it drew so many body cultivation witches was mostly due to its novelty. Even if they expressed disappointment and quit after trying it, I could understand.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the day arrived for Long and the others to come to the lab to officially begin the experiment.
These past few days, I had been busy with the data analysis for the Dream State Soul Essence purification method, while also keeping a constant eye on the situation with the Fool's Dream.
During this time, some witches came by to fish for news about Dream State Soul Essence and when the next batch would be ready.
Nothing major.
However, there were two big stories outside the lab that were generating a lot of heat.
One was in the gossip circles regarding the Glacial Throne Secret Realm. All sorts of rumors were flying.
But I knew the reason very well.
Tan Han had done something massive in the secret realm; she had awakened the Ancient Remnant Ice within the realm, even sacrificing her Staff of Absolute Cold to do so.
Not only that, but Xiao You's Ancient Remnant Ice Transformation and Ice Sealed World were the same; in exchange, they had gained the "friendship" of the Ancient Remnant Ice.
After all, the Ancient Remnant Ice wasn't impossible to negotiate with; they were living beings and knew many things.
Tan Han and the others had reached an equal negotiation with the Ancient Remnant Ice on the premise of the Ice Sealed World, establishing racial friendship through a Witch Contract. I had to admit, Tan Han and her group were quite resourceful.
And bold.
The power now held by the Ancient Remnant Ice was enough to shake the entire secret realm, though it hadn't reached a destructive level yet.
After all, the "explosion" of the Fool's Village Secret Realm back then was essentially related to a void rift.
Still, the power of a Great Spellbook fragment was not to be underestimated.
Don't be fooled by how Tan Han had only been at the level of fighting a teaching assistant with an over-consumption spellbook using her Staff of Absolute Cold; it all depended on who was wielding that power.
The Ancient Remnant Ice race was the most compatible race for that Great Spellbook's power!
There was no doubt about that.
Currently, Tan Han and the others were collaborating with the Ancient Remnant Ice on two fronts.
The Ancient Remnant Ice was responsible for sniping explorers, collecting Great Spellbook fragments, and blockading the regular exits of the secret realm to prevent them from taking fragments away. If those explorers tried to escape by tearing through the secret realm's space, they would essentially be handing over the fragments.
Meanwhile, Tan Han and the others were searching for the original laboratories within the secret realm. She needed to find those records, as they contained secrets regarding the Great Glacial Throne Technique.
I supported Tan Han in this.
The fragmentation and dismantling of the Great Glacial Throne Technique were clearly "preset," meaning it hadn't truly been destroyed. If it could be "reassembled" in a specific way, it was very likely that one could truly master a genuine Great Spellbook!
Of course, this was just my guess, but I was betting that the probability was high.
Unlike the general gossip, another topic of discussion was drawing the eyes of a specific group of new students.
That was the self-generated mana experiment conducted by the student group led by Yi Rui, in collaboration with the mentor group. The second batch of small-scale volunteer testing had begun.
Actually, it was the final selection of candidates and some pre-experiment preparations.
When many people noticed this, they wailed in grief, asking why the recruitment for experiment volunteers hadn't been announced to them.
In truth, it had been announced, but most had ignored it.
However, many in this large group were essentially pre-selected, as there was another collaborator in this experiment: Millian, who represented my will.
Of course, there were still people slandering the experiment even now, cursing the volunteers to die during the process.
As for what happened to those who dared to slander under the real-name system, no one really cared.
During the self-generated mana experiment, Yi Rui contacted me frequently. Although I couldn't always reply in time, the connection remained unbroken. Whenever I had a moment, I would respond to them immediately.
They had even invited me to join them at the start of the experiment.
But in the end, I declined.
Because... I had more important things to do.
"Sister Long, Sister Muli, and Sister Fanny—I didn't expect you to arrive so early~"
I naturally welcomed the three of them to my lab.
Because we were conducting the Dream Domain experiment, some of the routine Primitive Dream Realm experiments in the lab had been paused. The other witches knew this and naturally supported the academy's decision.
After all, the last person to do this was Bai Yu, and that had been a massive event.
But with three witches this time, the Primitive Dream Realm area in the lab—which had already been expanded once—was clearly insufficient again.
The Academy Dean also took this experiment very seriously; she had once again sent a clone to "inspect" the proceedings.
The Dean's clones weren't like my autonomous ones; these clones truly occupied the Dean's mental energy and focus. It was essentially no different from her being there in person.
"Yes~ we are quite early. We're a bit impatient, after all. How should we assist you with the experiment?"
"You just need to follow my arrangements. Rather than saying I'm leading this experiment, it's more like I'm guiding it. This is a power that you yourselves will master and dominate; it primarily relies on your own foundations and comprehension," I told them simply.
And I wasn't wrong. I was more of a guide or a teacher.
Just like how a Transcendent Witch seeking to ascend to the Saint Realm must rely on herself. If a Saint Realm is given to you by someone else, you will be their subordinate for the rest of your life.
Of course, my other role was to act as a safety net, to prevent them from getting lost in the Primitive Dream Realm.
As we spoke, we didn't waste any time on small talk. The experiment began immediately. We didn't even hold the opening ceremony the Dean had suggested.
After all, both the lead researcher (myself) and the subjects (the three witches) rejected such unnecessary formalism.
One could say we gave the Dean very little face indeed.