Chapter 271: Wisdom Enlightenment, Fool… Dream…
The last moment before dawn is always the darkest, and what follows is the first ray of sunlight’s afterglow.
Although this is just a secret realm, it is a complete rainforest, complete with a simulated weather system.
Sunlight filters through the trees, illuminating the morning mist, giving the light a shape.
During this time, Sister Bai accompanied me to various places in Fool Village, which have landscapes that even the Witch Academy lacks.
Because of the nightmare attack that occurred at dawn, the dreams of the entire Fool Village lost their desire to sleep. Of course, the main reason is that the Village Head needs to enter the Ancestral Land for reincarnation, which is quite commonplace in Fool Village, but facing such matters, they seem to take it very seriously.
Moreover, they firmly believe that the Village Head will return again, just like before. However, according to Fool Lake, such behavior carries certain dangers.
After bidding a final farewell to the dreams, we returned to the Ancestral Land.
The Fool Dreams seem to care a lot about the “sense of ceremony” in many matters, such as the welcoming banquet for guests, and the farewell ceremony for departing dreams. When we were trapped in the dream, the dreams held a farewell ceremony for Fool Creek’s molting to allow her to return to the Ancestral Land, and the new dreams also prepared a ceremony for her.
Even Fool Lake’s special reincarnation had a corresponding farewell ceremony.
There must be some kind of enlightenment in this, and now I am slightly reactive to the keyword “ceremony,” yet I must say not every ceremony carries enlightenment.
For instance, the farewell ceremony happening now was a special ceremony spontaneously formed by the Fool Dreams for Fool Lake’s individual behavior; it clearly doesn’t bring any enlightenment at this moment.
“The children are just too enthusiastic; please don’t take it too seriously.” Fool Lake brought us again to the entrance of the Ancestral Land.
Upon entering, the grass appeared to be darkened and intertwined.
“Are these weeds different from those outside because of the nightmare?”
“Perhaps.”
“When I was in the dream, there weren’t these weeds.”
“The dream… you know that where you were pulled into is a dream?” At this moment, after I finished speaking, it was Fool Lake’s turn to be shocked.
“Of course, are you surprised? Or did you know that it was a dream?” I looked down at Fool Lake, my gaze filled with inquiry.
“Actually, at this point, I have nothing left to hide. Just mentioning our race’s name, I’m sure you also link us with the secret realm, right?”
“Yes, you are dream creatures?”
“You… how do you know?”
“Just a guess, but your answer surprises me. Dreams can give birth to life? I always considered this possibility to be a fairy tale tricking me.”
“I’ve said too much… I really can’t keep secrets…”
“Why keep secrets? Given that you have reincarnated for so long, I suppose you understand the circumstances of your Fool Dream clan, right?” I asked curiously.
If the reluctance to speak is due to not wanting to recall sealed memories that stimulate the nightmare coexisting with her, then why still think about keeping secrets at this moment, as the reincarnation is already approaching?
“I understand, but this is what we willingly accept, even the best outcome we have strived for.” As she spoke, Fool Lake seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, and the aura of nightmares emerged again.
“Not… not good… coming again so soon… let’s get started; I may not have much time.” Fool Lake said.
“Okay.” I nodded in agreement, “So what do I need to do next?”
“Well… you need to reach out and touch the central massive stone, use your meditation technique, and then in an indescribable way, we will meet in another form. At that time, just follow my instructions.”
“Is it really that simple?” I raised an eyebrow, hesitant to imagine, but now I have a question…
“Yes, it’s very simple… previous guests did it this way.” Fool Lake nodded.
“But now there’s an issue: our spellbook has undergone magical modifications, and the meditation technique has transformed into a Beginner Meditation Technique.”
“Wait… Beginner Meditation Technique?”
“You know about this too?” I looked at the surprised Fool Lake and asked; it seems she knows a lot, even more than I had asked about so far.
“This… I have only heard it once. After reincarnating too many times, my memories have become muddled, but it’s very special, so I remember. That guest also transformed the meditation technique into a Beginner Meditation Technique through a unique method under me and the massive stone in the Ancestral Land, but she had a hypothesis.”
“I see…” I nodded. Indeed, a senior had come this far before. So what about after that?
Having reached this point, why hasn’t the secret of the Fool Village’s secret realm been unraveled?
Is it fear, inability, or simply an impossibility?
That’s something I need to experience personally.
“Can the Beginner Meditation Technique help you complete your reincarnation?” I asked since I had already modified the meditation technique, and reverting it back would be quite troublesome, so I asked directly.
“It can, or rather, it’s more effective than the meditation technique. Generally, the meditation technique seems to keep them in a state of unconsciousness, and it requires waking them up for a long time, but the guest who completed the Beginner Meditation Technique was able to communicate with me very easily… you are the most special guest I have ever seen.”
“Thanks for the compliment, let’s begin.” I said, then turned to Sister Bai, who was with me at this moment. However, for some reason, I always felt I was neglecting her existence…
“Xiao Han, you go ahead; I will be here to witness your success.” Bai Yu said to me with a smile.
“Okay, I was actually thinking if two people could do it together.”
“Two people would be quite troublesome, but it’s not impossible.” Fool Lake interjected.
“Then let’s do it this way.” I looked back at Sister Bai; this kind of matter cannot be forced; it’s better to prioritize safety.
“Let’s go.”
As I stepped forward, Fool Lake followed, and I couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but Fool Lake’s body appeared to be increasingly… withering as she approached the central massive stone.
Indeed, “withered” was the only word I could think of; with every step forward, her body accelerated its disintegration, eventually resembling the state I saw in the dream.
Then Fool Lake’s body levitated, breaking free from the restraints of her physical form, gradually, her ethereal shape began to dissipate.
However, I could still see her presence; she had reached another place, the dream.
I gently brushed aside the plants that birthed the flower elves and approached the massive stone, reaching out to touch it.
Suddenly, a marvelous sensation collided with my thoughts, making me subconsciously close my eyes and empty my mind.
Then I felt an exhilarating sense of potential energy from the Beginner Meditation Technique.
At that moment, I instinctively released the Beginner Meditation Technique and entered the meditation state.
But the next moment, I felt my consciousness being pulled by an invisible force into a wonderful “space.”
I slightly discerned that this place didn’t seem to be a dream, but I sensed something behind me, and I turned abruptly to see Fool Lake, who had already transformed into an incorporeal form.
“Fool Lake, is that you?”
I tentatively asked, realizing the place she was in seemed to be within the dream, and a barrier existed between us.
My hand could not touch her, even though she was just within my reach.
The distance between us might be like the gap between reality and dreams.
“I didn’t expect you to react faster than I anticipated… yes, I am Fool Lake. Next, I need you to break the barrier between meditation and dreams…”
“Fool Lake wouldn’t speak to me this way.” I tilted my head to look at this shadowy being, rebutting, “And even if you want me to break this boundary, I don’t know how to do it.”
“You… you useless fool! You $#!&…” At that moment, my words slightly provoked her, making her go wild; even the words she spoke became somewhat incoherent to me.
“Wow, she really isn’t Fool Lake…”
As my words further provoked her, the real Fool Lake appeared behind.
“Sorry… returning to my origin took a bit of time. Luckily, you didn’t heed the nightmare’s words…”
“To be honest, even if I had, I really couldn’t do it. By the way, what should I do now?”
“Just don’t be disturbed by the nightmare. According to the past guests’ experiences, you should be in a self-awareness space right now. Can you still feel the meditation technique?”
“Yes…” I nodded, summoning the spellbook that appeared in my hand. This action was indeed magical; my current state was the effect of the meditation technique, and now using the spellbook in this state was like a nested doll.
“Great… it’s not too much trouble. Describing this state with words has become somewhat powerless. In the past, I needed you to try and explore for a long time to reach this step… The most dangerous time nearly caused me to fail my reincarnation… Sorry, I went off-topic. So, I’ll leave the rest to me.”
“Okay.”
I nodded and did not say anything further. I actually have a question: how did Fool Lake discover this method to maintain her reincarnation and preserve her cognition and memory?
Simply trying repeatedly—she certainly couldn’t afford that.
But before I could think much, Fool Lake had already crossed the distance and entered into the meditation technique spellbook.
At that moment, the spellbook in my hand began to become unstable, and just as I was worried, the spellbook suddenly disintegrated.
This process was incredibly swift.
The outer shell encompassing the spellbook vanished, and the internal structures faded, leaving only the purest and most original runes.
Upon seeing this, I instinctively swallowed; even though my body wasn’t real right now, if I didn’t understand what was happening at this moment, I would be foolish.
What Fool Lake said about completing reincarnation with our meditation technique relied on this method!
This was simpler and clearer than my earlier approach of using spirit vision to deconstruct the spellbook. If I could complete the deconstruction of the meditation technique here, combined with the insights gained, and with Fool Lake’s cooperation, perhaps I could really derive the Beginner Meditation Technique!
Then I could obtain the information left behind by the Academy Head in the spellbook. Thus, the area where I jumped levels would be filled.
But right now, I still had one unresolved question: how to obtain the Intermediate Meditation Technique and Advanced Meditation Technique mentioned in the information.
Was it all just for show, or was it just a pretext for us to continue striving?
If so, that’s a rather big joke…
Moreover, shouldn’t I be more concerned about whether modifying the spellbook here could impact reality?
Or could it be that this place is reality, and the spellbook before me is the true spellbook?
While I was quickly pondering the situation, that nightmare was continuously bothering me, but alas, I was separated from the being by a distance between reality and dreams.
And Fool Lake had transformed into a rune, creating even more marvelous effects with the meditation technique spellbook.
Under this unknown effect, a part of Fool Lake’s dream was becoming purer, while her portion of nightmares was being cut away like materials until it reached a level she could bear.
At this moment, it felt akin to the most primal butcher, but what she was carving wasn’t a pig, but a part of herself.
Isn’t Fool Lake playing with her life? Treating herself as a malleable object solely to achieve her goals?
This decisiveness made me admire her, yet the dissipating nightmares, separated from me by a dream and reality, comprised a part of the Fool Dreams’ cognition and memory. The intangible nightmares scattered under Fool Lake’s control… was her memory.
At this moment, I was passively receiving this memory.
Perhaps this connection to the meditation technique itself makes it relevant to me, and since this is my consciousness space, the memories coincided at this moment.
It was an absurd world, and an already blurred figure appeared before “me.”
A voice spoke, “Thank you for shaping such a body for us, as a vessel for us to enjoy reality, and for peeling away… the nightmare…”
“Just trivial matters, a mere effort.” The ethereal figure emitted a soft female voice, which felt both comforting and distant.
“But no matter what… we won’t forget this kindness. I don’t want to return to being a dream creature… that kind of us is truly terrifying…”
“That’s exactly why I value you; you find it terrifying, which means you have realized right from wrong, signifying a standard of life, this is the awakening of your consciousness, and what I’ve done is just give you a little push from behind.” The ethereal figure looked down at the newly birthed Fool Dreams.
“From now on, you shall live here. I’ll take you to the Main World, bringing my expectations for you to become true life, recognized by the Void. Here, I preemptively grant you the name of your race: Fool Dreams… When you become real life, you will truly inherit this name.”
At this moment, the scene and voice seemed to come to an abrupt stop, as if the nightmares had already been “processed.”
Now, I looked at Fool Lake, and after watching this memory, I realized I had underestimated her.
Fool Lake seemed to be slowly exploring the path to becoming true “life.”
To become life, her first step is to dispel the “fool” notion; she needs a self-awareness and retention of memory as a living being.
Her symbiosis with the nightmare is the path she has currently explored.
The ethereal woman helped her separate the two existences of Fool Dreams and nightmares, but this was merely to prevent the Fool Dreams from being confused and negatively impacted by the nightmare. Fool Lake is searching for their way out amid this chaos.
It can be considered as a selection of essence and discarding the dross.
This process is undoubtedly dangerous, even leading to irretrievable ruin.
A single failure means losing everything, returning to the original state, losing memory, and losing everything.
However, I believe Fool Lake must have a backup plan, such as… documenting it in advance, recording the memories in the form of a story.
So… is the task of wisdom enlightenment to help the Fool Dreams achieve wisdom enlightenment?
Well now, another question arises: what is the relationship between the meditation technique and the Fool Dreams?
That rune every Fool Dream possesses…
At this moment, a terrifying thought suddenly formed in my mind: is the rune of the Fool Dreams meant for each to become a part of the meditation technique like Fool Lake?
Gathering all the Fool Dreams’ runes into the meditation technique… what would the meditation technique transform into?
Thinking of that, I found myself unable to think further because for this to happen, it would require all the Fool Dreams to undergo reincarnation, which would effectively mean killing them all.
I question whether I could do that…
Did the senior who reached this point before also foresee such an outcome and ultimately give up?
I don’t know, nor am I clear about it. But I have an advantage that those seniors didn’t have: I can modify the spellbook without relying on the Ancestral Land; I do not need their “sacrifices” to obtain the runes.
Looking at it this way… seems like everything is indeed operable!
