A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

So, what is the essence of Reiki? What are its effects? Can it control water or fire? Or is it an unknown element, or... some kind of energy?

Zhou Ke'er tried to come up with an idea, but other guesses soon emerged. Before she knew it, she had entered a mode of intensive research and became quite interested in the formation and application of spiritual energy in this world. She couldn't help but ask Jun Lian a series of questions.

Jun Lian looked at Zhou Ke'er with great interest, feeling that she was somewhat similar to those research fanatics in the Wanfa Immortal Sect who spent their days studying the path of immortality.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone as good-looking as me? You're completely useless, and you're supposed to be the young master of a demonic sect. Hey, how about this, can you spray some water?"

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Jun Lian, who was staring at her, and felt a chill run down her spine. She immediately rolled her eyes at him and said, "Can't you just use your spiritual power to conjure water?"

"What's so difficult about that? It's just a small favor."

Jun Lianxu raised his hand, palm facing upward, and a solid water sphere instantly appeared in the air above.

"...How about some more electricity? Use electricity to shock this water ball. You know some spells like Palm Lightning, right?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at the ball of water and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Of course, but what does this mean? What is its purpose?"

Upon hearing this, Jun Lian summoned lightning to strike the water sphere, and asked a question in confusion.

Zhou Ke'er didn't answer Jun Lian's question. Instead, she watched as the water sphere was reduced to a tiny droplet by the electric shock, then quickly hid behind Jun Lian before saying, "Now! Set it on fire, quickly! There's no airtight seal here. Luckily, the doors and windows are all closed, and this water sphere is quite large, so the gas shouldn't all leak out. However, we can't be sure if the reaction will succeed..."

Although Jun Lian didn't understand what Zhou Ke'er meant, he obediently summoned a ball of dark green flame and said, "The cultivation technique I practice is a top-tier fire-based technique, coupled with the unique Bone-Cold Spirit Flame..."

Before he could finish speaking, the fire suddenly expanded uncontrollably. Despite having no support, it spread into the air with a loud bang, threatening to start a wildfire. Fortunately, Jun Lian reacted quickly and immediately brought the flames back, thus averting the crisis.

"What's going on? What's the logic behind this?"

It took Junlian a while to recover his senses, and he immediately asked Zhou Ke'er curiously.

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149. Starting from Zero to Become a Villainous Supporting Female Character (Part 8)

"It actually succeeded! This is an electrolysis experiment of water, which electrolyzes water, specifically dihydrogen monoxide, into oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is an oxidizer, and hydrogen and oxygen can produce water through combustion, which can react with flames and naturally fuel the fire! This shows that the basic structure of this world... is still atoms!"

Zhou Ke'er didn't care whether Jun Lian understood or not, and continued to explain: "Moreover, the successful electrolysis of oxygen and hydrogen without the formation of sodium hydroxide means that the water does not contain sodium chloride, which is the so-called salt. That means that this should be water without impurities. So that means... spiritual energy is a means or energy that directly extracts atoms and combines them into matter?"

However, if spiritual energy is a form of energy, according to the principle of entropy, this energy, continuously consumed by so many cultivators for tens of millions of years without replenishment, would inevitably lead to heat death... well, not heat death in the standard sense, but specifically referring to the complete conversion of all effective spiritual energy into ineffective spiritual energy...

Unless this thing is continuously supplied and renewable from the outside, or... could it be that the entire universe uses spiritual energy as a basic form of energy, rather than this planet being the only one to possess it?

"What do you mean by all this? What is 'entropy'? And what is an atom?"

Jun Lian was completely bewildered. He asked Zhou Ke'er a question, but Zhou Ke'er said a lot of things he couldn't understand and asked several questions. He didn't understand at all, so he asked questions one after another like a curious child.

"Well, how can I explain this to you? Let me put it this way: everything in this world is made up of something, and the total amount of that thing is constant."

Zhou Ke'er's train of thought was interrupted by Jun Lian's question. She glanced at Jun Lian helplessly and explained seriously, "The reason why fire can burn is because there is a combustion-supporting agent called oxygen in the air, and oxygen is made up of that thing. The water you conjured up is also made up of that thing, and it contains the structure that makes up oxygen."

Using electricity to electrocute water causes the components that make up water to break down, allowing them to recombine and generate oxygen.

"Oh, I see. This so-called thing you're talking about is the...uh...atom you mentioned before, right?"

Jun Lian, as expected of the young master of the Demonic Sect, was quite intelligent. After Zhou Ke'er explained it to him, he understood it. However, he only understood what Zhou Ke'er was saying, but he did not know why it was so, nor did he delve into the underlying principles.

In short, Jun Lian did not ask Zhou Ke'er where these conclusions came from, but continued to talk about the conclusions Zhou Ke'er had reached—probably just to play along with Zhou Ke'er, and didn't really believe them.

"...That's right, very clever!"

Zhou Ke'er nodded approvingly. Anyway, he didn't plan to explain electrons and quarks to Jun Lian. That was about it. "Furthermore, atoms with fixed structures move slowly. We just closed the doors and windows, so this room can be considered a sealed environment. The atoms in the air in this room can also be considered as a constant quantity for the time being."

You used spiritual energy to create water, but the atoms needed to form water cannot be created out of thin air; they must have been obtained from somewhere. If these atoms were extracted directly from the air, it would inevitably consume the oxygen in the air.

First, we didn't experience any difficulty breathing. Second, given this situation, if the oxygen in the water were to return to the air, it would only restore the amount of oxygen in the air to its normal level, which wouldn't be enough to significantly aid combustion. Therefore, the oxygen concentration in the air must have increased.

"So that means these extra so-called atoms don't actually belong to this space, but were obtained from other places by the spiritual energy?"

Jun Lian listened thoughtfully to Zhou Ke'er's explanation of the science, and also offered his own insights and conjectures, appearing to be listening attentively with great interest.

"That's right, that's one possibility."

Zhou Ke'er nodded in agreement, adopting the air of someone starting a class, and said seriously to her diligent student Jun Lian, "Another possibility is that spiritual energy is a kind of energy that can consume itself to generate other substances out of thin air."

However, this possibility is unlikely. After all, if that were the case, the rate at which spiritual energy would deplete would be terrifying. Coupled with the huge population base, it's likely that spiritual energy would have already experienced several heat deaths within the time it takes us to talk here.

Secondly, another possibility is that spiritual energy can change the structure of atoms through a burst of energy, thereby changing the type of atoms (Zhou Ke'er did not explain the point of changing the type of atoms by changing the number of protons, because it was unnecessary), turning other substances in this space into water. In this way, the concentration of oxygen would also be increased.

But regardless of the interpretation, it must conform to one principle, which I mentioned before: the number of atoms and the total amount of energy are constant and unchanging.

"But didn't you just mention energy depletion? Doesn't that mean energy is being consumed? How can the total amount of energy remain unchanged?"

Junlian didn't mind this teacher-student game. Seeing Zhou Ke'er's serious expression, he couldn't help but find it amusing and naturally continued along with her.

"Exhaustion is not the same as consumption. Energy is not consumed, but only transformed from one state to another. When we transform energy from one state to another, we lose a certain amount of energy that could have been used to make an impact in the future or in the local area. This is what is called 'entropy'."

Every time energy is transferred from one level to another, it means that less energy is available to do work next time.

For example... if you use your spiritual power to raise the temperature of that table and then withdraw your spiritual power, then correspondingly, under the influence of that hot table, the air temperature here will rise. This is the effect of heat energy. But after a while, the table, which has dissipated most of its heat energy, will become the same temperature as the surrounding area.

When a table is in such an "energy average state", it can no longer do useful work after it has cooled down, and its energy becomes closed or ineffective.

When "available" or "free" energy is converted into "ineffective" or "closed" energy, "entropy" increases, and available energy decreases.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ke'er immediately explained to Jun Lian: "If spiritual energy is a kind of energy, then the same principle applies. When a portion of spiritual energy exerts an influence on something, that portion of spiritual energy is transformed into other forms of energy that are not spiritual energy."

That means the "entropy" of spiritual energy has increased, while the effective spiritual energy has decreased. If this continues, shouldn't we be entering the so-called "end of Dharma" era, since what's left is useless spiritual energy that can no longer perform its function?

"But if spiritual energy can be transformed into other forms of energy, then other forms of energy can naturally be transformed into spiritual energy as well, right? As long as they keep transforming into each other, how can they ever be depleted?"

Seeing Zhou Ke'er's very serious expression, Jun Lian almost couldn't help but laugh out loud, but he maintained the same serious expression and continued to ask questions.

"Theoretically possible, but you should know that according to the second law of thermodynamics, energy can only be transformed in one direction, that is, the direction of energy dissipation. In other words, the remaining energy transformed from spiritual energy cannot be transformed back into spiritual energy; only other energies that are not transformed from spiritual energy can be transformed."

Even if, under certain circumstances, other forms of energy are consumed to generate spiritual energy, regardless of whether this effect is constant, the spiritual energy on this planet will eventually be depleted. It's only a matter of time.

It's impossible for all the energy in the entire universe to be continuously supplied here and converted into spiritual energy, right? Specific energy sources existing only on one planet will inevitably face heat death, and compared to fundamental energy, that day will come much, much sooner.

Zhou Ke'er said noncommittally that to explain this, the second law of thermodynamics must be mentioned. As for whether Jun Lian can understand it or accept it, that is not up to him.

"So, according to you, even if we disregard spiritual energy, other forms of energy will eventually transform into 'entropy,' right? Wouldn't the world still be destroyed, and energy still be depleted?"

Jun Lian almost couldn't help but applaud Zhou Ke'er's imagination. He pretended to ponder for a moment, but instead of getting bogged down in the incomprehensible so-called second law of thermodynamics, he asked the question directly based on the conclusion.

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150. Halftime Break (Actually, this isn't a female-oriented module, but rather an educational module!)

"That's right, when the available energy is exhausted, heat death will occur. But didn't I say that the energy of the entire universe is so vast that even if we live for hundreds of millions of years, it will not happen?"

But spiritual energy is different, right? Unless, as I initially guessed, spiritual energy doesn't just exist here, but permeates the entire universe, existing as a universal, fundamental energy source in this world, then there's no problem.

Ultimately, is spiritual energy a type of regular energy? After all, it's too strange to think that simply understanding a few passages, especially if those understandings are wrong, can activate some kind of energy.

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but question this absurd situation: "Could it be that reciting a few paragraphs can transform one's body into some kind of high-powered 'energy-matter conversion' machine? What exactly is the principle behind this so-called 'qi-drawing into the body'?"

"I don't know either. Perhaps you could ask the cultivators of the Myriad Laws Immortal Sect. They spend their days studying these strange and ingenious techniques, so they might know."

Anyway, I just followed the instructions in the manual, and that's how I was able to draw qi into my body.

Jun Lian shrugged helplessly. Seeing that Zhou Ke'er seemed unable to come up with any other guesses, he didn't press her further. After all... he didn't believe Zhou Ke'er's words at all. He was just playing along with her. Besides, Zhou Ke'er herself hadn't given a reasonable explanation, so he was even less likely to believe her.

"Aren't you curious about the principle behind this?"

Looking at Jun Lian, who seemed to take it all for granted, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but ask in a loud voice.

"Aren't you curious about why you can walk?"

Junlian also answered in a very confident and resounding voice.

Hmm...that seems to make a lot of sense," Zhou Ke'er was momentarily speechless.

"Ah, speaking of which, tomorrow's Wu Cheng Grand Competition is hosted by the Wanfa Immortal Sect. If you're really concerned about this... I can take you to Wucheng."

However, it seems the Mountain Wind Sect will also send someone to participate in the competition, but... if we're really unlucky and run into them...

Seeing that Zhou Ke'er was silent, Jun Lian considerately changed the subject and offered another suggestion: "Then that might be a bit troublesome."

"What's wrong? Is there some trouble? Oh, I know, you're afraid that Xiao Ke will misunderstand you if she sees you with me, right?"

"Hey...right, that's a bit strange. Why aren't you going to see your beloved Xiao Ke now? Are you going to come with me to Wucheng instead?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at Jun Lian, winked mischievously, covered her mouth and chuckled, teasingly saying, "Oh, so the young master of the Demonic Sect is such a helpful person? I didn't expect that."

Zhou Ke'er wanted to say a few more words, but unexpectedly, the system notification sounded at that moment.

[A call has been received in real-world conditions. Should I reject the call or answer it immediately?]

Immediately, a virtual panel appeared in front of Zhou Ke'er, waiting for her to make a choice.

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Jun Lian without making a sound. Hmm... although he hadn't entered time-stop mode, it seemed that Jun Lian couldn't see this thing either.

By the way... will exiting the game terminate the module immediately? But without time stop, answering a call here is really strange...

Well, never mind, maybe he was trying to wake up because Hu Tao outside couldn't, so he used the communication device to call. Or maybe a patient has arrived...

With that in mind, Zhou Ke'er immediately quit the game.

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"Hey...you really are seizing every opportunity to slack off, aren't you? The patient just left and you're already playing games, is that alright?"

As soon as Zhou Ke'er opened her eyes, she heard Hu Tao's helpless voice.

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense! I was just resting with my eyes closed, um, just resting with my eyes closed."

Zhou Ke'er coughed awkwardly twice and blurted out a triple denial.

When Zhou Ke'er suddenly heard Hu Tao's voice, she was startled. She hadn't quite adjusted to the situation yet and almost started lashing out. Luckily, she reacted in time, otherwise it would have been truly embarrassing, comparable to social death.

"You weren't playing games? Then can you tell me why I couldn't wake you up no matter what I did, but you woke up immediately when I used the call function on the band?"

Hu Tao looked speechlessly at Zhou Ke'er, who was stubbornly resisting, and sighed.

"Well, that means we're on the same wavelength~ Actually, I did it on purpose... cough cough, okay, anyway... is there something you wanted to call me for?"

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Hu Tao's fierce (not really) eyes and immediately admitted that she was scared, asking in a low voice.

"Someone's looking for you. By the way, do you actually know that kind of person? How come you've never mentioned them before?"

Hu Tao shrugged and gave a casual explanation, then asked curiously.

"Who...you're being too vague! How am I supposed to know what kind of person you're talking about..."

Upon hearing Hu Tao's words, Zhou Ke'er had a bad feeling, but she still clung to the last glimmer of hope, frantically praying that it wasn't that guy Bolius who had come looking for her. She then asked Hu Tao.

"He's like that kind of person with severe chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)... barefoot, wearing a linen robe, he just runs up to the entrance of our mental hospital and insists on barging in. When asked what he wants, he keeps saying he's here to see my master, my master, I have no idea who he's talking about..."