Embers Ad Infinitum

After Zhou Yue finished talking to herself, she looked at Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and others, and said while thinking:

"If it were just a simple 'Higher Heartless' who had the ability to create hallucinations, or if Zhang Jin saw a dragon when he was insane, it wouldn't be something worth making a fuss about. But when the two are combined, it is indeed a bit of a coincidence."

"There are other explanations. This is not conclusive evidence." Shang Jianyao was almost holding a pipe in his mouth.

Zhou Yue thought he was like this usually, so he didn't care too much. He nodded slightly and said:

"Indeed, it's possible that Zhang Jin came and listened to our sermons, and it's also possible that the 'high-level Wuxin' had some interest in the dragon culture of the old world before he got Wuxin disease.

"But no matter what, I have to report this matter to see what the 'Dream Protectors' think."

Jiang Baimian considered his words and said:

"We don't doubt your sect's intentions, we just think it's a coincidence."

"No." Zhou Yue, the master of Nanke Temple, flicked his sleeves and said quite freely, "After listening to your description, I am a little doubtful myself."

Jiang Baimian said "hmm" twice and did not continue the topic. Instead, he said:

"Guanzhu Zhou, the main reason we are here is to ask for advice.

"If we go into the mountains to investigate the matter of the 'Higher Heartless One', how should we deal with the hallucinations?"

Zhou Yue's eyes swept over the faces of the four members of the "Old Tune Group", and he nodded gently and said:

“Hallucination is a huge field, and I only have a superficial understanding of it.

"If you don't mind it, I can give you a brief explanation."

As the highest-ranking cleric of the Mirage Sect in Tarnan and the master of Nanke Temple, Zhou Yue could not say that he did not understand hallucinations.

These two words permeate their teachings.

"I don't mind." Shang Jianyao replied immediately.

At this time, saying you don't dislike it will give people the impression that you have considered whether you should dislike it. If you value politeness, you should just say "please speak"... Jiang Baimian sneered, but didn't say much.

Zhou Yue looked around and lowered her voice a little:

"This world itself is an illusion, a dream that comes from the old age.

"The main purpose of our Mirage Sect is to please Zhi Sui's 'Broken Mirror', so that he can take back this painful illusion and present a real and beautiful new world in front of us."

Oh, as expected of the viewer, he took the opportunity to preach... Jiang Baimian was amused for a while, but on the surface he pretended to be listening attentively.

Having said this, Zhou Yue once again half-tilted his body, raised his hands slightly, and paid tribute to a certain being in the void:

"The mirage dragon is supreme."

After bowing, she continued:

"We deal with hallucinations every day. If I said that I didn't know what hallucinations are and how to deal with them, I would definitely be lying to you.

"But you can also see that I am still wandering and suffering in my dreams."

Phew, Zhou Yue breathed out:

"One of the most essential problems with illusion is that it is always an illusion. Even if it is the same as reality in every aspect, there must be some falsehoods. There are more or less false ones. Once caught, it can be broken.

"Of course, at the level of Zhi Sui, it is difficult to distinguish the true from false dreams created by Him, and humans cannot see through them."

"Then how to find the fake place?" Jiang Baimian asked.

The more she listened, the more she felt that the philosophy of the "Mirage Dragon Sect" was somewhat similar to that of the "Eternal Years" sect. Zhou Yue and Taoist Priest Jia Luolan also had certain similarities in temperament and attitude, but one was more dependent on the gods, and the other was more dependent on the gods. Paying attention to one's own experience and understanding of Tao leads to many differences.

The most typical point is that Zhou Yue's performance always has the meaning of "it's just a dream anyway, why should I be so serious", while Gallolan is more focused on "taking things easy" and "following the natural way".

Zhou Yue smiled slightly:

"Send someone to cooperate with me."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen all looked at Long Yuehong at the same time.

"..." Long Yuehong's expression froze for two seconds.

Now that the organization has decided, he can only choose to accept it. He took a step forward and said:

"Let me do it."

No matter what it actually is, he has to pretend that he asked for it.

Zhou Yue nodded and pointed to the one at the back and edge of the rows of black back chairs:

"You touch it."

So simple? Long Yuehong approached suspiciously, bent her back, and carefully stretched out her palm.

After touching the chair, he felt the texture of the wood, the hardness of the object and the unevenness of the surface.

"How is it?" Zhou Yue asked with a smile.

When she smiled, her eyes narrowed into lines.

"No problem." Long Yuehong truthfully expressed her feelings.

"Then take a seat." Zhou Yue made further requests.

Long Yuehong once again had the question of "so simple", then turned around and sat down slowly.

Just when he was about to touch the chair surface, he clearly felt the wooden board, but his whole body sank.

Although he had made certain mental preparations, he still couldn't control his tendency to sit down and fell to the ground with a snap.

In the process, he saw himself sinking into the black armchair, but he didn't feel anything extra.

When he stood up in a hurry, he looked back and saw that the black armchair was intact.

"This, is this an illusion?" He said in shock.

Before sitting down, he felt it was true no matter which angle he judged it from.

Zhou Yue smiled and nodded:

"right.

"So, you have also seen that no matter how true it is on the surface, it cannot replace the real thing. What is true cannot be false, and what is false cannot be true."

Jiang Baimian replied thoughtfully:

"To determine whether it is a hallucination, we should start from the actual function, rather than from sensory feedback?"

"This is an effective method, but it is not a panacea." Zhou Yue said cautiously.

At this time, Shang Jianyao came up with an idea:

"If the four of us go into the mountains hand in hand, don't we have to worry about being affected by hallucinations and treating our companions as monsters?"

Jiang Baimian understood what he meant:

He who holds hands is a companion.

This should work, but imagine the scene, and it feels weird... Jiang Baimian imagined the situation described by Shang Jianyao, and it always felt like a child playing a game.

Zhou Yue said "hmm":

"Theoretically, it's possible, but wouldn't the two people in the middle lose their combat effectiveness?"

Both hands were being held.

"I can shoot with my feet." Shang Jianyao gave the "solution."

Zhou Yue didn't know how to respond for a moment. After thinking for a while, he said:

"That doesn't exactly ensure safety."

Seeing that Long Yuehong and the others were a little confused, she further explained:

"This does not guarantee that the person you are holding will not suddenly 'disappear'."

"Disappear" in her context means disappearing from the senses, rather than actually not existing.

When you can't see this person, hear his voice, or get the touch from your hands, then he has "disappeared".

Shang Jianyao had already expected it. He looked at Long Yuehong and said confidently:

"As soon as he disappeared, I pinched him."

"..." There was only one thought echoing in Long Yuehong's mind:

Why are you pinching me?

He immediately woke up and found the loophole:

“Even if the person being pinched screams in pain, you probably won’t hear it.

"You won't feel anything when you pinch it, no..."

As he spoke, Long Yuehong suddenly understood what Shang Jianyao really meant.

Even if his companion seems to have disappeared, when he really pinches it down, Shang Jianyao's hand cannot go down too far because of the physical presence.

"This is a way." Zhou Yue, the leader of Nanke Temple, agreed.

She then added:

"It depends on which field of illusion the 'Higher Heartless One' is good at. He may be able to make you make mistakes in your judgment of distance."

"That's it..." Jiang Baimian found that he still knew too little about hallucinations before.

After communicating for a while, she politely said goodbye on behalf of the "Old Tune Group".

Zhou Yue, who was wearing a white robe and tied with a hemp rope, watched them leave, turned around, faced the shrine enshrining the dragon symbol, and muttered to himself:

"What a strange thing..."

Woo, the wind blew through the patio and penetrated into the hall.

The rows of black back chairs and a few praying believers beside Zhou Yue disappeared in an instant.

The place became empty, except for the shrine, wooden beams, pillars and the patron, there were only a few dark blue futons left.

…………

On the jeep outside, Shang Jianyao said as soon as he sat down:

"Those people are fake."

Seeing Long Yuehong looking over in surprise, he added:

"There is no human consciousness."

"There is no corresponding electrical signal." Jiang Baimian nodded and said with a smile, "The hallucination ability of Zhou Guanzhu is still relatively rough."

She went on to say:

"It can be inferred from this that her hallucinations were created by her own cognition, rather than triggering our memories and allowing us to hallucinate on our own."

If the source of the hallucination is himself, then Jiang Baimian will definitely "sense" the electrical signal, and Shang Jianyao will also be able to "discover" human consciousness.

Long Yuehong hurriedly recalled how she couldn't believe that those believers who closed their eyes and prayed were hallucinations.

But since the team leader and Shang Jianyao were so sure, he would not doubt it and couldn't help but sigh:

"As expected of the Mirage Dragon Sect..."

Most of the people and objects in Taoist temples are fake and hallucinations.

Seeing Bai Chen start the jeep, Long Yuehong asked casually:

"Where are you going next? Do you want to go into the mountains?"

He thought he had some understanding of hallucinations.

Jiang Baimian suddenly laughed:

"What are you going to do? Play a monster-killing game with the ruin hunter team from before?"

Seeing that Long Yuehong was a little confused, Shang Jianyao helped "explain":

"You can biubiubiu them, and they can biubiubiu you."

"That's right..." Long Yuehong woke up.

When the time comes, the two teams meet in the mountains. Under the influence of hallucinations, they will definitely regard the people on the opposite side as monsters.

Faced with this situation, it is definitely impossible not to respond. What if it is a real monster?

Jiang Baimian immediately exhaled:

"Let's wait until they come back. Even if we have to go into the mountains, we have to make sure that we are the only team."

PS: Ask for monthly tickets at the end of the month~