Chapter 950: A New Approach to the Nightmare Purification Method
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 950: A New Approach to the Nightmare Purification Method
After the greetings and banter, Bai Yu and I finished observing and recording the progress of Long and the others.
"By the way, Xiao Han, now that Muli and the others have completed the preliminary construction of their Dream Domains and mastered the descent of the controllable Primitive Dream Realm to a certain extent, have you informed Dean Mei?" Sister Bai suddenly asked.
"Oh, right!"
Sister Bai’s reminder jolted me. I knew I had forgotten something! I’d completely slipped up on updating Dean Mei.
She had told me to report any experimental breakthroughs immediately. After all, she is the Academy Dean, and we have an obligation to provide regular reports on these high-priority projects.
"Ahem... it’s only been a day, so there’s no rush. Mei will understand," I coughed lightly to hide my embarrassment. It was just a slight delay; it wouldn't be a problem!
"I’ll contact her right now."
No sooner said than done. Once the call to Dean Mei went through, I immediately adjusted my tone.
"Hello~ Sister Mei? It’s me, Xiao Han."
"Hmm? Is something the matter? You don't usually call out of the blue."
"Well, it’s like this: Sister Muli and Sister Fanny have basically finished their preliminary attempts at controllable Primitive Dream Realm descent. Sister Long is a bit behind, but she’ll be done soon. So, as per usual, I’m giving you a heads-up~"
"Oh? Xiao Han, you’re actually reporting your progress to me?"
"Eh? Sister Mei, isn't your focus a bit off? Shouldn't you be more interested in the actual progress?"
"That’s because I trust your abilities. Say no more, I’m coming over right now." Despite saying she trusted me, how could she not care when she heard that two of the three had mastered an ability nearly identical to mine?
She immediately dropped her guidance on the Qi Observation Art project and headed straight for the laboratory.
Before long, Dean Mei appeared in the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
After asking me a few basic questions, she brushed me aside to talk directly with Muli and the others. She knew that hearing a professional explanation from me wasn't as intuitive as hearing Muli and the others describe their own experiences.
After all, who knows them better than themselves? They are Body Cultivators; their entire power system is predicated on the absolute mastery of one's own self.
"Well, Sister Mei~ I guess I'm not needed here anymore~"
"Yes, yes, you're... wait, have you been replaced already?" Dean Mei suddenly realized something.
"That’s right~ Is there a problem? Don't tell me Sister Mei can't stand to see me have some free time?" I asked, putting on a mock-aggrieved expression.
"Ahem... no, it's fine. You've worked hard lately; you deserve a rest." Seeing me like that, Dean Mei couldn't bring herself to give me any extra chores. In her eyes, my contribution to opening up the field of the Primitive Dream Realm was simply too immense. Deep down, she felt she couldn't be any more demanding.
After dealing with Dean Mei, I took Sister Bai over to the Fool's Dream Laboratory.
Looking at the four rows of culture vats and the bodies that were beginning to take shape, this was the first time Bai Yu had witnessed the incubation of life so directly. In the past, what she saw with other witches were usually just biological organs or limbs soaking in isolation fluid.
"This is where I’m conducting the life experiments for Yulan, Yu Yun, Yu Guo, and Yu Xing~" I introduced the place enthusiastically to Sister Bai.
The experiment had reached a stage where progress was steadily climbing, exactly as I had anticipated. The Fool's Dream bodies were being born according to plan, their naturally created forms inscribed with the unique bloodline information of the Fool's Dream race.
The recognition of the Fool's Dream by the Ley Line Shackles... yes, recognition.
After Dean Mei explained the composition of the world to me, I was able to roughly deduce the level of recognition from the Fool's Dream girls. The core of it was life recognized by the World Consciousness, with the Ley Line Shackles serving as the pathway for that recognition.
It was just like the Ancient Remnant Ice King. He wasn't a species born in the Main World; when that race first came into being, this Main World didn't even exist. But now, the Ancient Remnant Ice is a bona fide native species of the Main World.
Luck is the world's recognition of a race, while the Ley Lines are the world's cognition of that race.
Only by ascending to the Transcendent level and touching Real Time does one gain the qualification to step out of the cradle constructed by the World Consciousness.
Basically, all three sources aligned.
I was now slowly inscribing bloodline information for the Fool's Dream girls and matching them with Ley Line interfaces. The life evolution was refining the concept of the Fool's Dream race, paving a road for them to achieve Transcendent status.
The concept of a race profoundly affects the Soul Essence, and the level of the soul determines whether a Fool's Dream can ascend to the Transcendent level. I didn't want them to be trapped in this one Main World forever.
"Sister Bai~ I haven't had the chance before, so I'll pull you in personally this time~" I opened a channel on the Tree of Great Knowledge and added Sister Bai. The communication channel, which previously only had five accounts including mine, now had one more.
"This is..."
"It's the channel where I talk to the four Fool's Dream girls~ Even though they're currently part of the life experiment, they aren't in a deep slumber. Their consciousness is very active. They’re afraid of the dark and the silence, so I come here whenever I’m free to talk to them and tell them stories~"
As soon as I invited Sister Bai, the four little Fool's Dream girls in the group became incredibly active. They definitely knew about Bai Yu and her relationship with me, so there was no need for introductions.
Sister Bai and I spent quite a while playing with them before saying goodbye—though it wasn't really a goodbye, since we could chat through the link at any time.
"I didn't expect Xiao Han to be so good at telling little stories~"
Sister Bai smiled as she scrolled through the fables and parables I had told them. Even from her perspective, these stories were interesting—simple, easy to understand, yet deeply meaningful.
This world didn't really have fables. Using storytelling to coax children wasn't mainstream here. Between the push for higher birth rates and the pressure of high-intensity work, who had the time to care about a child's feelings?
"Ugh... okay! Sister Bai, stop talking about that..." I felt a bit bashful about those stories. It was fine when it was just the Fool's Dream girls, since I could relate to them, but having Sister Bai see them... it felt a bit embarrassing.
"I think it's wonderful~ Does Xiao Han actually find it shameful to mention?"
"Uuu... mmm..."
"Alright, alright~ I'll stop teasing you." Sister Bai didn't push further and instead asked, "Have you thought about what to do next?"
"Next... hmm, that’s a good question. I actually don't know what to do when I'm idle. How about we go check on the Dream State Soul Essence purification method experiments?"
"Go watch experiments?" Bai Yu seemed a bit hesitant at that answer. She even wondered if Xiao Han lacked a sense of romantic sensibility... but then again, wasn't this just how Xiao Han was?
"Sure~ I'll go with you!" Sister Bai agreed anyway.
"Then let's go. The experimental groups are all in this area; it won't hurt to take a look."
"Besides~ I'm curious about their progress. I hope there’s been a breakthrough."
"Are they conducting them in your laboratory?"
"Yes~ well, to be precise, only the experimental groups are doing joint experiments here. The teams for data collection and analysis aren't with us. Our Constant Dream Laboratory is the most stable, after all~" I explained to Sister Bai.
I then began showing her around the internal labs.
The witch sisters welcomed my arrival with open arms. To date, I was the only one who could produce pure Dream State Soul Essence. I wasn't just a source of experimental samples; I was living proof! Proof that their experiments could succeed!
However, after a brief inquiry, I found that there were still no breakthroughs, just like before.
As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers—and with more witches, there were more creative ideas. These were joint experiments; after inheriting my preliminary purification ideas and logic, they had expanded into over a thousand purification method experimental groups. That number would only grow.
I heard that to get enough Nightmares, they had even gone to the Expansion Realm to capture dream creatures, separating the Nightmares to obtain raw materials.
The relationship between reality and dreams in the Core World was too stable. Just as clear water holds no fish, the stable shallow layers of the Primitive Dream Realm rarely hosted dream creatures.
Across from the group researching purification methods for Dream State Soul Essence, there was another group experimenting on how to directly convert reality-based Soul Essence into the Dream State version. Their breakthrough point was dream creatures that enjoyed consuming Soul Essence.
Regardless of the experiment, a large number of dream creatures were required. No wonder they were running off to the Expansion Realm to hunt them.
"Still no breakthrough?" I looked with a hint of regret at the experimental group with the best results so far. Even there, Nightmare residue was visible to the naked eye on the Soul Essence.
Moreover, since these were dream-side materials, many observation instruments couldn't keep up, leading to outdated equipment for the purification experiments.
It was quite similar to my own methods... a significant portion of the experimental tools were hand-crafted within the dream to keep the experiments running.
This might be related to how they took over my experimental records. As I mentioned before, witches conducting experiments often care deeply about metaphysics and mysticism.
When they got their hands on the real-time experimental processes recorded by my Tree of Great Knowledge, they were baffled. Why do it this way? I don't get it... but there must be a profound reason, right?
Since Xiao Han had already provided a successful demonstration—a breakthrough from 0 to 1—they felt that going from 1 to 2, and then to 3, was just around the corner.
But how many days had it been since the purification experiments started? In their eyes, such a vital breakthrough was worth years or even decades of effort!
Of course, compared to Xiao Han... their efficiency simply couldn't compete.
"Xiao Han, Xiao Han~"
"Hmm? What is it?" I looked at the witch sister waving at me, feeling curious.
"Actually... regarding this purification method, when I took on this project, I understood that you essentially wanted large-scale preparation, not just laboratory-scale, right?"
"That’s right~ That’s why all of you are working so hard here~"
"Actually... Xiao Han, have you considered that your Incubation Purification Method could also be used for large-scale preparation? The techniques derived from a Great Spellbook are limited by the power itself, but the permanent effects of a Great Spellbook also mean it’s an excellent key node for mass-produced, permanent preparation."
"I... I have thought about it, but it would be very troublesome. Setting aside the fact that I can't achieve that level yet, even if I could, promoting it would require me to personally calibrate everything. It wouldn't be easy to scale up. Besides, I don't have the energy for that right now. The concept of a conventional purification method has more long-term strategic value," I analyzed.
"But have you considered that research into conventional preparation might take decades or even centuries?"
"Eh? That long? No way." My first reaction to her claim was disbelief.
"I might be exaggerating a bit, but I think even a few years might feel too long for you, Xiao Han. Instead of just waiting, why not take a shortcut using your successful case? Even if the production volume doesn't meet your expectations, at least there’s a fixed output, right? And you want a large amount of Dream State Soul Essence for the Fool's Dream girls, don't you?"
The witch sister explained in detail, sounding entirely as if she were looking out for my best interests. However, no matter how sincere the words, she couldn't hide her true intent.
"It is a good idea, since there are no other options right now..."
"Right, right! You think it's feasible too, Xiao Han!"
"And once such a preparation plant is established and there’s a large supply of Dream State Soul Essence, you’ll have plenty of raw materials for your experiments, right?"
"Exactly, ex—er! Ahem... well, that’s just a side benefit... haha... hahahaha..." Her thoughts were exposed by me, leaving her with nothing but an awkward laugh.
"Alright, that’s enough. Do you have any idea how busy Xiao Han is? Why do you think she handed this purification project over to us? You dummy!" At that moment, another witch came over and hauled her away. Before leaving, she didn't forget to say to me, "Haha~ Xiao Han, don't listen to her. This girl has been complaining that the finished Dream State Soul Essence is too scarce for her experiments. Don't mind her, don't mind her~"
"It's fine, it's fine~" I replied with a smile.
However, that witch did give me something to consider. Time is a waste if not utilized. Even if the output of the Incubation Purification Method was meager, every little bit helps.