Chapter 823: The Difficulty of Becoming Life
Watching the two figures disappear into the villa, Sheril’s form reappeared once more.
“What a relationship that would make a witch jealous…” Sheril lightly sighed, but did not show any signs of envy. “Time to get down to business. I should go meet that witch named Xi Lan again, and by the way, check on Xiao Han’s Self-Generated Magic experiment…”
Sheril muttered this to herself before her figure vanished inside the villa.
Instance Realm.
“Xiao Han! Xiao Han! Bad news! Over there! That place suddenly has a lot of mice!”
“Huh? Ling Yi is back? I didn’t see you earlier; where did you run off to play?” I looked at the slightly panicked Wood Elemental Sprite and didn’t rush to explain.
“Um… it’s true, staying in one place really is boring, but that place! That place suddenly has a whole bunch of mice appearing!” Ling Yi was still very concerned about the “foreign species” that had appeared in that location, fearing that these creatures might cause uncontrollable effects on the surrounding environment.
“Don’t worry! That’s a breeding ground I set up; those little white mice are all my test subjects and won’t cause any harm here. After some time, I’ll dispose of them.”
“Eh? Dis…dispose?!” Upon hearing my words, Ling Yi instinctively revealed an unfavorable expression.
“What’s wrong? Or do you not want to? Do you want to let these creatures roam free in this world, waiting for the day when they chew through all the plants? Who knows, you might wake up one day to find a mouse lying next to you!”
“No… not that! Let’s dispose of them…” Ling Yi hurriedly shook her head at me.
“Hmm, did something happen to make Ling Yi look like that earlier?”
“Um… it’s about disposal…” Ling Yi seemed to have recalled past memories she was reluctant to think about. “Those despicable wizards! Exploiting us elves; if we don’t work properly, they… they dispose of those who slack off…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay! That’s already over, isn’t it?”
“But the sisters I knew…”
“They’ll be fine…” I was somewhat surprised; it turned out I had touched a nerve with Ling Yi.
However, I spent some time reassuring Ling Yi and had Fool Dream prepare a cup of Fool Dream Drink before she finally came out of her nostalgic mood.
“Alright, it’s okay. Just sleep for a while, and those sad memories will be carried away with the dream…”
“Hmm… Xiao Han, are you and Little Bai sleeping here together tonight too?”
“Of course!”
After comforting Ling Yi, I went into the small house with Sister Bai.
As for Fool Dream… we had already arranged a cozy little house for them here.
The style of the house was somewhat similar to that of the Fool Village Secret Realm, and we had prepared comfortable small bedding for Fool Dream so they wouldn’t be uncomfortable at night.
Although Fool Dream said they didn’t mind.
For Fool Dream, sleeping… is essentially the consciousness returning to the Primordial Dream World; naturally, they didn’t care whether their physical bodies were comfortable or not.
The reason why Sister Bai and I built a separate small Fool Dream house for them is that this wooden house is a private place solely for me and Sister Bai.
Of course, occasionally, some inappropriate scenes may unfold at night, and this naturally cannot be seen by others!
As for when those occasional events might occur… well, like tonight.
“Xiao Han, what did Ling Yi mean by those mice? Are you going to do something?” Sister Bai closed the wooden door of the small house.
A layer of soundproofing magic automatically rose in the room, ensuring that any noises made inside wouldn’t be transmitted outside; however, sounds from outside could still come in. This one-way soundproof barrier was engraved into every wooden plank when this small house was built.
“Exactly! Today, I finished the experiment on Self-Generated Magic because it no longer requires my supervision; Yi Rui and the others can help me complete it.”
“You’re not continuing?” Sister Bai didn’t ask why I had stopped midway, only curious about why I wouldn’t continue.
“Because the main purpose of this experiment is to promote Self-Generated Magic, which is not beneficial to me. Once I resolve all the hurdles they can’t cross, the rest… is actually their own responsibility. I have more important things to do.”
“I see.”
Sister Bai recalled when Xiao Han first proposed this experiment; she didn’t understand why Xiao Han would go to such lengths to do something unbeneficial to herself, but now it seemed Xiao Han had achieved what she wanted, hence letting it go.
“So what’s the more important thing…”
“Of course, it’s fulfilling the promise to Fool Dream and the Academy Head! This is an investment related to my Grand Wisdom Enlightenment Spell, creating true life and allowing Fool Dream to become true life.”
“So those mice are actually part of the life experiment you’re trying?” Sister Bai quickly connected the dots.
“Yeah! I’m using little white mice as test subjects, refining their souls through Soul Drawing. After all, I’ve only recently perfected Soul Drawing, and without sufficient experimental data, I can’t act rashly.”
“Is it going smoothly?”
“How should I put it? I can only say… it’s up to fate? After all, I’ve never fully understood what the true definition of life is.” I looked up at Sister Bai. “Do you know?”
“I… I’m sorry, I don’t know much either.” Sister Bai shook her head.
Regarding subjects of life, she had studied them as an Extraordinary Mentor since it was something Xiao Han cared about; she would naturally pay attention to it. However, most of her knowledge pertained to Life Interpretation.
As for the essence of life, there are currently two mainstream views: the old school adheres to Soul Material, while the new school, led by witches, promotes the fourth life interpretation that considers “soul” as the essence. However, this has yet to be widespread across the Void.
As for creating life… Bai Yu had learned about the Abyssal Great World.
That place was supposed to be a cradle of life, but life there had grown erratic and bizarre. Those strange flesh masses couldn’t even be considered life, yet amidst such chaotic collisions, recognized life might be birthed at any time in the Abyssal Great World.
But when asked how such births happen, no one knows.
This is the peculiarity of the Abyssal Great World.
Moreover, as life is born in the Abyssal Great World, new species categories have gradually solidified. Newly born life can hardly give rise to entirely new original ancestors.
This means that although the Abyssal Great World constantly interferes with the birth of new life using unconventional means, all of that life consists of species that have appeared before. Such life cannot be called original nor can it be termed the ancestral species, nor will it give rise to the prototype of original spells.
Even so, the Abyss remains the most famous life marketplace in the Void because it allows for the customization of various life forms. Even investing to create an entirely new original ancestor is possible, but the resources, time, and effort required are far beyond ordinary imagination.
The information she learned about this was already synchronized with Xiao Han through the Great Knowledge Tree.
So creating an entirely new species really relies 99.9% on luck!
And trying to imbue life into dream creatures as a template… I’ve never heard of that.
“Sister Bai, since you don’t know, let’s not overthink it.” I placed my hand on my clothing, lightly brushing it. The magically woven fabric became thin. “It’s rare that I’m not too busy right now, so tonight… what style of nightgown do you want to see me wear?”
“So sudden?”
“Is it sudden? Isn’t tonight the occasion?”
“Then… black sheer, please.”
“Black sheer… how about this one?” As the transformation spell wrapped around my body, a layer of delicate, thin black mesh draped over me.
The shoulder straps elegantly outlined a deep V-neck, the armpits and collarbone highlighted alluringly by the orange ambient lighting.
The front-slit design of the skirt allowed for a glimpse from the chest down to the abdomen with just a slight lift—
The uneven hem spread out over my hips, gently swaying with my movements.
“Very beautiful…” Sister Bai gazed at me in this nearly transparent nightgown, her eyes slightly dazed.
“This outfit is so tempting! Hmm~ I remember you picked this out for me, right? I’ve kept a nice record of it… um, ugh…”
Before I could finish my sentence, Sister Bai had already reached out her mischievous hands, letting her most primal desires take control of her instincts as she pushed me down on the bed.
“A bit too eager, aren’t you? I haven’t…”
…
The next day.
As white smoke began to rise from the chimney of the small house on the island, breakfast made by Sister Bai’s own hands was almost ready.
“This is really good! A breakfast made by Sister Bai tastes wonderful!”
I swung my little legs, sitting on a wooden chair, enjoying the porridge with Sister Bai.
The small house is well-equipped, even having a kitchen area, and there are always stockpiled supplies of food.
After all, eating is an important task; there’s no need to limit it to restaurants or dining halls. Sometimes cooking for oneself adds a unique flavor.
“If Xiao Han likes it, I can make it for you every day.”
“Then that’s unnecessary! Eating it every day would become unbearable!” I quickly shook my head.
“Then why not alternate?”
“That’s acceptable…” Hearing this suggestion from Sister Bai, I found it agreeable.
As for whether she could cook… following recipes would suffice. A significant portion of breakfast recipes is already in my Great Knowledge Tree, so there’s no need to worry.
“Then it’s settled. But Xiao Han, how’s your body now? Should we start the life experiment tomorrow instead?”
“My body? Hehe~ Sister Bai, why are you so eager to humiliate yourself? My body is just fine now! I vaguely remember that back then, I couldn’t even get out of bed the next day, but now—”
“Xiao Han needs to be dealt with, right?” Sister Bai’s movements paused, looking at me with a somewhat dangerous smile.
“No, no! Ugh… seriously, I was just joking!”
After finishing breakfast, Sister Bai left the Instance Realm.
Because she had classes today.
Plus, with the application for the Body Transformation spell course, Sister Bai would still need to spend a significant amount of time on her class arrangements at the academy.
In the end, I was left here all alone.
But that didn’t impact me much.
After feeding the extraordinary creatures in the Beast Trap, I pushed open the wooden door of the small house, planning to check on the little white mice in the breeding area to see how they were doing.
“Hey~ Xiao Han! Are you going to check on those mice? Can you take me with you?” Seeing my actions, Ling Yi actively stepped forward to follow me because she had been frightened by those mice yesterday.
So she came to regain her dignity!
“Sure!”
I reached out and caught Ling Yi as she flew over, and she nestled on my shoulder, with the three little Fool Dreams following behind.
When we arrived at the area where I had been breeding the little white mice, I suddenly noticed that the mice in this section weren’t causing the chaos I expected or quietly awaiting d*ath.
They surprisingly started to organize the soil on the ground!
I leaned against the magical barrier, sensing the situation inside and noticed that these mice had already burrowed through the underground soil, piling dirt up against the magical barrier, obscuring the view from outside.
Fortunately, this magical barrier was entirely sealed; even underground was protected by the barrier.
Otherwise, after just one night, these guys would have “broken out”!
And this organized, premeditated action wasn’t due to a single little white mouse.
But a group of little white mice!
It was the collective soul linking I tried during the group Soul Drawing!
So I quickly realized that the collective consciousness of the little white mice had become the absolute core of this “mouse tribe.” The soul link allowed them to cooperate seamlessly, granting them a natural group advantage, enabling them to unify the tribe within just one night and formulate an “escape” plan.
If these little white mice were granted intelligence, who knows what great things they might achieve. However, they were merely slightly stronger than ordinary little white mice, lacking any extraordinary abilities, so faced with the magical barrier, their ultimate fate remained unchanged.
Taking advantage of this moment, I began collecting data on them.
Maybe I admire everything they are doing, but that still doesn’t change their fate as test subjects.
“These guys… have turned the soil into this mess! Truly disgusting creatures!”
“Hmm?” I looked at Ling Yi; it felt somewhat out of place to hear such words from a Wood Elemental Sprite.
“Um… that…”
“It’s okay. I will dispose of these guys soon, but before that, I need to collect the necessary data.”
After explaining, I fully immersed myself in this task.
For these hundreds of little white mice, their data held limited value for me, but it would aid in constructing the framework for life experiments.
After all, this was a trial experiment; I had to clarify what I was really aiming to do.
As for what to do after disposing of these little white mice, it’s naturally about conducting more life experiments because the extraordinary creatures in the Beast Trap surely need to showcase their value, right?
Otherwise, would I be expected to keep them indefinitely?
Absolutely not!
