Chapter 1039: Shared Consciousness and Primitive Information
“It feels like something extremely important is entangled and bound by an unknown existence, as if I’ve ascended to a gallows, watching my own knife and sword pierce my heart…” Ning simply reiterated what she had previously said.
This description, one could say, reflects the situation faced by the Main World through Ning’s perception.
After listening to this, Principal Mei fell deep in thought.
I then looked at Principal Mei and asked, “Sister Mei, haven’t you gathered any information about this World-Destroying Staff plan after all this time?”
This so-called World-Destroying Staff is undoubtedly the sword that Ning mentioned piercing her own heart.
“For example… who is leading this plan?”
“There’s no doubt that this plan is led by that guy, Tusk, the Academy Head of the Wizard Academy,” Principal Mei responded as she regained her focus.
“Tusk… the Wizard Academy Head.” I silently noted down this name: “Then the other two academies must also have their part in the division of labor, right? Otherwise, the three top academies couldn’t possibly be sitting side by side.”
“That statement is correct; wizards seem unable to complete this plan alone. The other two academies must play some important, irreplaceable role.”
“Then let’s continue our analysis. The very important thing according to Ning, we’ll tentatively assume it to be the Earth Vein. So, what could entangle and bind it?” I rephrased the question.
Listening to my words, Principal Mei quickly responded, “The only thing I can think of is the branches of the Aphhemia World Tree. The World Tree is undoubtedly the core governing a world, and it can also act as a vessel for replacing the World Will; it can inherit the lifeblood of the world. However, this idea is temporarily dismissed. Sheryl, that Betraying Witch, helped me investigate, and there was no ‘thing’ beneath that World Tree.”
At this moment, Ning spoke up: “Could it be that this so-called World Tree does not govern the Earth Veins at all times?”
I looked at her, a bit puzzled. After she finished speaking, she also seemed a bit dazed, leaning more towards being an uninformed subjective describer of the matter, unless…
“There is indeed a possibility,” I added, turning to Principal Mei; we both had the same guess in an instant.
“If the Aphhemia World Tree has always been governing the Earth Veins, then when did it start, and how long has it lasted? After all this time, shouldn’t they have completely dominated the Main World by now? That indeed seems unreasonable,” I proposed my conjecture. “So, let’s boldly assume that the Aphhemia World Tree might capture the Earth Veins, but that must happen under extremely harsh conditions; it requires preparation time! Sister Mei, what do you say…”
The text here indicates:
This should rule out uncontrollable random captures, right?”
“Not necessarily; it could also have a high success rate for random captures, but the cost of capturing is too high, so it cannot be done continuously. If we push them to act without regard for the cost, they might succeed within a certain preparation time.”
I, Principal Mei, and others boldly made hypotheses, outlining all possibilities before gradually eliminating them.
“Ning, how are you feeling right now? Or let me rephrase: has that tightly binding sensation been constant, or does it fluctuate?” I looked toward Ning, as this is also something that needs her input.
“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be constant…” Ning hesitated to reply, finding the feeling too abstract to express concretely.
Just then, I suddenly thought of something. “By the way, can I ask this rudely—Ning, can you accept shared consciousness? In that case, the images and feelings you can’t express in words, I could directly perceive through shared consciousness.”
“Shared consciousness?” Ning seemed surprised at the concept but nodded. “Sure, I can cooperate. What should I do?”
“I need to tell you in advance that controlling shared consciousness is quite difficult, just like you can hardly control what you think in your head. This means that during the sharing period, many of your secrets may be revealed.”
“I don’t mind; how long have I even existed? How many secrets could I possibly have? I don’t care,” Ning said. “But will I see your secrets when you share consciousness? You don’t mind?”
“Shared consciousness is naturally a mutual sharing. No matter who the spellcaster is, it’s the same. However, my control and mastery over my own consciousness are far beyond what you can imagine.”
“Since we both can’t gain any private thoughts from each other, then I’ll be at ease.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The simple conversation elucidated the trust between the two of us.
Under the witness of Principal Mei, I began to prepare for shared consciousness. Even though it’s just a spell, it can be completed with simple casting.
Before long, after sharing consciousness, I felt a torrent of uncontrolled thoughts chaotically portraying various images.
And this was Ning’s consciousness.
“What am I doing? Did this succeed? How marvelous… Is this Little Lian’s consciousness? Why is she not thinking about anything? Wouldn’t all my thoughts be known to her…”
Immediately, a series of fragmented thoughts lay bare before me.
Although Ning seemed to say very little, it appeared she had a lot going on internally.
Furthermore, there was also an extremely strong characteristic of self-questioning within her.
“Is it just like you don’t care?”
“Shared consciousness is indeed equal sharing, regardless of who is the spellcaster. However, my control over my own consciousness is something you can’t easily comprehend.”
“Since we are both unable to extract any private thoughts from each other, then I’m fine with it.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The simple exchange highlighted the trust between us.
Under the witness of Principal Mei, I began preparing for shared consciousness even though it was merely a spell that required simple casting.
However, soon after sharing consciousness, I felt an uncontrollable stream of thoughts narrating various images in a chaotic manner.
And this was Ning’s consciousness.
“What am I doing? Did this succeed? How marvelous… Is this Little Lian’s consciousness? Why is she not thinking about anything? Wouldn’t everything I’m thinking be known to her…?”
Suddenly, a series of fragmented thoughts were completely presented before me.
Although Ning seemed to be someone who said little, it appeared she had a lot of internal dialogue.
Not only that, but there also seemed to be an extremely strong characteristic of self-questioning.
It was highly probable that the other person, as the King of Ancient Ice Remains, was presenting the current state carrying the collective will of her entire race.
“Exactly, this is shared consciousness. What you think, I will completely understand.”
“And what about you? I feel your consciousness is like heavy ice; I can’t comprehend it. The words you say seem to reflect exactly what you mean.”
“This aspect relates to my cognition and the practice of my self-consciousness. It is also related to the power I’ve mastered,” I explained. After all, my consciousness possesses the essence of the Great Knowledge Tree!
There’s even a higher-level consciousness firewall, so what I previously told Ning was utterly humble.
“So let’s not waste time; let’s quickly recall that feeling for a swift resolution; it will be beneficial for both of us.”
“Sure.”
Ning nodded without saying much, although her internal plans had all fallen through.
Originally, she wanted to see what this “Little Witch,” who “created” her, was thinking. Yet, she couldn’t glean anything.
Not even her current thoughts were revealed unguarded.
As an ancient being birthed from consciousness, her control over it was definitely no different than that of a twin.
“I don’t reveal my consciousness, and it’s also a way to protect you; a newly born consciousness should not be too occupied by external perceptions, or it would feel like you’re receiving a flood of consciousness from an autonomous world, leading to endless confusion.”
I shared this understanding with Ning via shared consciousness. After all, the things I could think of in a moment would likely lead to two outcomes for Ning.
One would be forced cognition; she might get so tangled in my reasoning that she wouldn’t be able to think for herself. The other would be that, under the protection of her cognition, she would ignore my shared consciousness and remember nothing.
In that case, it would be better to assume that she formed a protection firewall against me from the outset.
Then, under my guidance, Ning quickly recalled the cognition that did not belong to her.
As another side of a consciousness birthed being, I too reached out to those unknowable images…
In the moment I received that, I understood why the Main World needed to use Ning as a vessel to convey this transaction.
Just as Principal Mei said, the Main World could no longer broadcast major moves that touched upon those three Extraordinary Races; major upheavals.
Thus, the Main World could neither forcefully use Spirit Vision as a medium for “direct” contact like before.
It could only subtly and indirectly reveal the truth through Ning to complete this “transaction.”
And what came next… was the most crucial key!
I expanded the Great Knowledge Tree, and the shadow of Field Order now hovered above my palm, with countless primitive pieces of information etched down in forms that billions of words could not express.
These were the things I needed to interpret next!
“Thank you!”
After expressing my gratitude, I quickly cut off the shared consciousness; no one knew to whom my thanks were directed.
However, Ning replied, “No need to thank me.”
And she didn’t know whether this response stemmed from her instinct or another layer of consciousness’s guidance.
But none of that mattered now.
“Little Lian, what are these?” Principal Mei looked at the strange symbols surrounding the shadow of the Great Knowledge Tree. They didn’t seem to be runes.
“These are primitive pieces of information manifested by my Knowledge Power and Field Order, which is information that cannot even be expressed in words within Ning’s consciousness,” I explained.
Knowledge Power, as a structured order based on physical strength and two “Super Eight Knowledge,” can present the surface meanings of the fundamental knowledge, evolve progressive layers of knowledge, and turn them into ceremonial runes. Technical notes are products of this.
Moreover, Knowledge Power can encrypt information to the maximum extent in the freest way, as well as decrypt social knowledge. Earth Vein Identification Technique does this by interpreting the incomprehensible information within the Earth Veins, giving it understandable meanings—this is one of its greatest values.
“Can it be interpreted?” Principal Mei looked at the symbols she completely couldn’t understand, her brows furrowing.
“Of course, using the derived function of Earth Vein Identification Technique, it can be deciphered.” I dragged the primitive information in front of me, then combined it with the highest authority, and with a wave of my hand, this primitive information unfolded in a different manner.
Moreover, after unfolding, it was much more than just text.
This segment of primitive information included image analysis, abstract expressions, voice interpretations, as well as a series of text annotations I had organized, among others.
Even so, within the primitive information, there remained a plethora of “meaningless information” that the Great Knowledge Tree could not decipher.
I believe they are meaningful, but these indecipherable things are likely the “communication gap” between life and the world.
As this information was once again integrated, forming a more comprehensible stance, both Principal Mei and Ning immediately understood.
Ning was particularly astonished from the side!
What difference did this have from taking the contents out of her mind?
“Indeed, there are some methods; things run smoothly when applied~ At this moment, even Principal Mei sighed in admiration.
After all, the Extraordinary Witch, having suffered, had put in tremendous effort to explore this so-called “World-Destroying Staff plan.”
And now… everything was presented right before them!
“This shadow indeed is the Aphhemia World Tree; I absolutely recognize it; it is indeed using the power of the World Tree! I was almost misled by that Betraying Witch!”
After expressing her amazement, Principal Mei couldn’t help but mention that Betraying Witch again.
However, Sheryl doing so was also to help out conveniently; no one expected such information would lead to such a preconceived wrong direction.
“Hey, don’t put the blame on me.” Just as Principal Mei was saying this, a voice suddenly made her stand up!
“Sheryl? How did you get in? I clearly set up a restraining spell.”
“I helped with such a big task~ Surely I can’t be left oblivious to the truth, right?” Sheryl seemed quite familiar and casually sat down on the sofa beside me, conveniently taking the open spot between me and Ning.
“Little Run~ You should welcome me back as a listener, right? And this lady… um~ the newly appointed Guardian of the Main World?”
“Since you know you’re just a listener, then just behave and don’t disturb us.”
“Come on~ Sheryl is a Betraying Witch! I wonder if this little sister has any thoughts about becoming a witch herself?”
“Sorry, I’m not interested.”
“Well~ What a pity, even rejecting the chance to introduce yourself…” Sheryl wore a sad expression.
“She’s called Ning; as for the rest, I think you probably don’t need an introduction from me,” I interjected.
Moreover, I had to admire the Betraying Witch in front of me; she directly hit two nerves right from the start.
One was “Guardian of the Main World,” and the other was “whether to become a witch.” She was quite ambiguous about the former, but clearly rejected the latter.
In the end, I forcibly redirected the conversation: “Let’s take a look at the contents of this World-Destroying Staff plan, shall we?”
“Alright~ I also want to see what means these three Extraordinary Races have come up with that have delayed Principal Mei in the Main World for over a thousand years.”