Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"There's still some time. Let me study it."

Chapter 70 Deployment

Shangluo turned his attention back to the "welcome gift" he had just received. This gift alone was strange.

This was originally a "magic weapon" that required true qi to activate, and each Jinyiwei had one. However, the Taoist master seemed to have known that Shangluo could not activate true qi, and also knew that Apollonia was here, so he reserved a place for Apollonia.

"Um"

After many years, Shangluo picked up his mobile phone familiarly.

This "phone" is actually a touchscreen, and its controls follow touchscreen logic. But the bottom part is "stereotypically" fitted with physical buttons, like a traditional phone, making it look like a stereotypical phone, rather than some kind of glowing glass.

There are quite a few icons on this phone. Besides the Fetion icon in the center, there's also a calculator, memo, camera, settings, and more. And then there's the phone icon at the bottom.

"This thing can make calls? I don't even have a number, who am I supposed to call?"

【How about you try it first? 】

Just give it a try, it doesn’t cost any money anyway.

He pressed the phone-like icon—

"Beep-beep-"

"It's connected? I didn't even press the number, how come it's connected?" Before he finished speaking, a confused female voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Hello, who's calling so early in the morning? Can't you just send a text message?"

"I'm."

"Hmm? Are you new here? This phone line was just connected yesterday. Do you know where this is?"

"Are you Jinyiwei?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. "Ah, are you the one Daozu wants to see?"

After confirmation, there was a long "Oh" from the other end of the phone.

"It's you. Let me explain. Did you press the phone button on the Fetion sign? This is the Jinyiwei's call switchboard. Although Jinyiwei can communicate directly with each other using Fetion, external calls can only be transferred through me. You can call anywhere you want, we have the authority to transfer you there, even the red line that goes directly to Constantinople. But don't press it randomly, because I'm the only operator. If you get through, the line will be occupied, and others with urgent matters will be unable to get through."

"Oh, I see."

"Anything else? If not, I'll hang up. I have to be on call at all times."

"Wait, I have a quick question—do I need to pay my phone bill?"

"Why are you asking Lu Huaiyang a question? It's true that there's no phone bill here, but don't be like him and always use this place as your home phone. You can't save money on phone bills that way."

After making a non-binding promise, Shangluo ended the conversation. While he didn't need phone credit for the time being, the convenience of being able to call anywhere, anytime, was truly wonderful. Free was even better.

"It always feels weird to call the switchboard with a cell phone, but this seems to reveal some interesting phenomena. Apollonia, have you noticed? It's just like a Qi practitioner's true Qi can't be released externally."

[That's right. Qi practitioners can't release their true qi externally, and these communication systems called 'Feixin Pai' are similarly forbidden from reaching the public domain. As the Emperor just said, their Feixin Pai don't even have a screen. One needs to concentrate their spiritual consciousness on it in order to use their head as a display card, and those without true qi obviously can't see anything. In other words, the information flowing through the Feixin Pai is completely inward-looking, and cannot be seen by anyone other than Qi practitioners—just like Qi practitioners can't release their true qi externally.]

“But this one seems to be okay?”

Because my power far exceeds that of a 'Qi Training Stage', I can certainly influence the objective world. However, my current influence is quite limited, only able to illuminate such a small screen. If this screen were larger, it would be very troublesome.

"Wait, if that's the case, have you ever made a gadget before? That playing card?"

Shangluo still remembered what Apollonia had said—it was essentially a prop to appease the British. She had tampered with the deck so that it could "symbolically" reflect the Akashic Records directly onto the cards. This way, the divination was entirely initiated by the player, without consuming Apollonia's own phlogiston, making it as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as a windmill.

"Oh, that makes sense. That one is indeed very energy-efficient and quite useful. I'll make another one then. Wait, I'll look for it. There's a compiler here, I'll give it a try."

An additional icon appears on the screen, starting to load from 1%, and gradually becoming more concrete.

噗

Just reached 11% and the icon disappeared.

"Not so good?"

[Huff. I'm so tired. I'm dying of exhaustion. This isn't working. Without hardware support, it won't work at all. Calling up 'symbols' from other realities consumes too much phlogiston. It's simply too much.]

"What are call symbols? And playing cards are considered hardware?"

"That's something that exists in reality, a gap I can't currently overcome. Even a simple playing card is like this; the very act of drawing a card can create ripples in the Akashic Records. This is something only reality can achieve. If this entity didn't exist, I'd need to invoke, or rather, hack, this 'symbol' to perform the divination itself. This would require a massive expenditure of phlogiston, something I simply can't do at my current level."

"How about this?" Shangluo opened Fetion. "See if you can put the Q&A function into Fetion. Fetion's operating environment should have been deployed by Daozu. You can borrow the already deployed environment and build a lightweight mini-program in it."

[Hey, you're a fucking genius. Wait, let me try.]

After a brief pause, Apollonia completed the easy and simple task:

[Okay, but it requires some work on your part. Open Fetion, and the incredibly beautiful Apollonia will send you an identification code. Then use this code to add a contact.]

At some point, Apollonia had actually added an avatar for herself on Fetion. A girl with black hair and dark eyes, holding a golden ball, stood on a music box, surrounded by tin soldiers and swans. A huge clock silhouetted behind her like a halo. Her name had also been changed to "Super Beautiful Apollonia."

Shangluo didn't know what to do. He opened Apollonia's chat thread and added a contact using the identification code she sent. A contact named "Akashic Records" appeared in his address book, using the default profile picture.

[Okay, I've created a small program that connects directly to the Akashic Records, using the Fetion system Daozu has already built. Now you can use Fetion's chat thread to ask questions directly to the Akashic Records. And unlike the previous playing cards, Daozu's environment is much more advanced. You can directly see the answers in text form, without the awkward "mudra" and pen-holding like before. By the way, are we stealing Daozu's phlogiston by doing this? Will he be angry?]

Chapter 71 Fei Xin

"Let me try it out first."

Although I don't know if Daozu will be angry, but if he is angry, he will probably ring the chime.

Shangluo looked back at Yuxi Palace; the door was closed.

"Look, what's the use? Our interface was successfully deployed under the framework built by Daozu. If he doesn't agree to your use, then you won't be able to use it at all. His lack of reaction means the problem isn't serious."

"Then I'll give it a try." He opened the Akashic Records chat thread and typed in the question:

"Please tell me how to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. The requirements are the same as last time. OK, sending it."

He asked the same question. By controlling the variables, more information should be analyzed.

Two seconds later, the Akashic Records responded in the chat thread:

"Offer to Heaven: twenty catties, Sun and Moon: five catties, Big Dipper: eight catties, Taiyi: eight catties, Well: five catties, Stove: five catties, River God: twelve catties, She: five catties, Doors and Streets, Ghosts and Spirits: five catties each, for a total of eighty-eight catties."

"So what are the Sun, Moon, and Big Dipper? What are the Well and the Stove? And why do we have to kill He Bo (12 jin)?"

【Forehead】

"You don't know either?"

"Well, I don't know. But judging by your original definition, the alchemy process itself is more like a ritual; the process is what's important. And what you refined then probably wasn't the finished product. Literally speaking, the furnace is a vessel for sublimation. The objects you used were all mortal, including your blood, which didn't even have the spiritual power of a Foundation Establishment Stage. But after Phaethon consumed it, she achieved harmony with the Dao! It was she who brought a higher power into this alchemy ritual."

"So she is the cauldron after all. Why go around in such a long circle?"

Because the rhetorical device of the furnace and cauldron is beyond my experience. And I told you from the beginning, if you make too strange a request, I'm afraid the proposed solution will be quite convoluted. I sometimes wonder if that unlucky Wen Yuan is actually the trigger for the medicine. If it weren't for her bad luck messing things up, the 'furnace and cauldron' wouldn't have so obediently swallowed the ingredients. If she hadn't eaten, your pill would have been difficult to refine. Now all that's left is to crack her skull.

"Alchemy is truly terrifying. Let's go check it out this afternoon. Also, is the formula displayed now the normal one? 20 jin for Li Tian, 5 jin for Sun and Moon, or something like that."

[Hmm, I think it might be that Daozu and I set different parameters. His solution is closer to the origin and ultimate. To complete the foundation-building ritual, you do have to use something like 'Ritual to Heaven 20 Jin, Sun and Moon 5 Jin.' My solution, on the other hand, requires you to take action, because I don't even know what I'm doing.]

"Can you two combine your ideas? One of you should make your words clearer, and the other one should be more reliable."

I'm not trying to be difficult with you, and the Dao Ancestor wouldn't either. This is the way of the Dao. 'Five pounds of sun and moon' is already detailed enough. This answer, like the famous '42', is simply too vast to be written down, and even impossible to express in plain text. So, the most crucial thing is probably the question itself, finding the right one. When we have time, we can collaborate and iterate on this problem, continuously optimizing it, and then see what the Foundation Establishment Pill truly requires. Then, perhaps we can mass-produce it, rather than having to rely on blind luck here and there.

"Oh right." Shangluo suddenly thought of something, "Will the other Jinyiwei also use it? After all, we have pulled the wires from Daozu."

"No." Apollonia gave a clear answer. "Other Jinyiwei names don't actually exist in objective reality. So, you can see, when they call from inside, they need someone to relay the call. Is there anyone who can relay their messages to the Akashic Records? The Akashic Records don't care what they're imagining. Unless the Daozu is willing to help them pass on the message—but if the Daozu was willing, the Jinyiwei would have already implemented this feature, and wouldn't have needed you to come."

"Well, forget it. Our own affairs are the most important. If I really want to help them, I should wait until I have the energy to do so, instead of sharing the secret now."

But now, the situation seems a little complicated.

Shangluo looked at the zenith. The stars were still hanging above, and under his feet was a river of white mercury running through the crystal glass.

"If they ask me what Daozu said after summoning me, how should I answer?"

【Of course I’m telling the truth.】

"Are you sure you want to tell the truth? The clouds are in the sky and the water is in the bottle."

"What should I say? Daozu and I met, but we didn't meet. He did have a conversation with me, but I didn't see Daozu himself. The content of the conversation was just a riddle, and Daozu and I had a direct conversation. Should I spread it?"

[Why don't you just ask. Didn't you just add Tianzi's Fetion?]

"Ok."

He turned to the page about the emperor: he was using the default profile picture but with sunglasses, and his name was Zhu Xianxin. This was him.

Shangluo sent a letter to ask, and Zhu Xianxun gave the answer:

"No."

Unless Daozu gives oral instructions, everything discussed with Daozu must be kept confidential - that's how he explained it.

"Alas." Shang Luo leaned against the wall. "This is even more troublesome. I met Daozu, but we didn't meet. I heard it, but I can only pretend not to hear it. They are expecting me to return, but I can't bring anything back."

He opened Fetion and flipped through it. Among the contacts was a discussion group for the Jinyiwei Southern Town, named "Southern Pacification Division."

Zhu Xianxun had just pulled him into the discussion group, but he hadn't spoken yet and no one else noticed.

He flipped through the discussion group's notes: there were 136 people in the group, but hardly anyone spoke in a single day. Most of the time, they were just reporting on their work, and everyone was very frugal with their words. It seemed like even a few extra words was a huge burden for them.

"How can I turn over so many records?" Shangluo thought about it, and he turned directly to the day when he met Wen Yuan.

Sure enough, the conversation that day was initiated by Wen Yuan:

"Master, Shangluo is refining the elixir, please give me some instructions."

"Did it go well?"

"Smooth, gathering energy."

"Opportunity is the most important thing. Give him protection. Don't move around. Return quickly."

That was the conversation.

"I thought he was going to make a phone call, but it turns out he was sending a Fetion message."

[No, he did make a phone call that day. I heard the call go through. However, that place is a neutral zone, and it seems that Daozu does not provide support there. So they had to dial the phone line and then use it to send a message.]

"He really didn't lie to me. Captain Lu supported me in refining the elixir. He probably felt that no matter what, I couldn't let go of the opportunity in the path of alchemy. He and Lu Liang both knew how precious opportunities were, so they didn't want me to miss them. I still want to do something for them. They are both good people. If refining the elixir is really not an option, we can probably work on radishes. Refining radishes is much simpler than refining foundation-building pills."

Chapter 72 Brand

"So fast? I just parked the car and yours was finished." Wen Yuan held the steering wheel. This time he was the one driving.

Shangluo sighed and sat in the passenger seat of the Chuiwan car.

This car has no doors or seatbelts, but it climbs well. It's said that the late Emperor Taihe bought a bunch of them during his lifetime, as he loved playing Chui Wan. Since he doesn't like to go out anymore, these Chui Wan cars are just sitting there, so he uses them for commuting around the Grand Palace.

Wen Yuan steered the car and swerved on the narrow road. He had learned to drive this car at the age of eight, and it was not much more difficult to drive than a bumper car.

Seeing that Shangluo didn't answer directly, he didn't rush to ask.

Driving into the tunnel connecting the inside and outside of the mountain, beams of spotlights shone down from the top, and the interior of the car flickered.

"So, we didn't see it in the end?"

Shangluo took out his jade token.

"Have you received the badges? So quickly?" Wen Yuan's disappointment vanished. These badges were only given to the Jinyiwei, each one a gift bestowed personally by the Daozu. Receiving a badge meant one had entered the orthodox lineage of the Five Thunders Orthodox Law, placing them at the center of the entire Qigong hierarchy.

This is extremely important. While Taoism has existed since the dawn of time, with ancient alchemists like Xu Fu and legendary immortals like Lü Dongbin, the path truly recognized by the public is the one forged by the Daoist Ancestor. Qi training, foundation building, the Golden Elixir, and the Nascent Soul. This is a path proven by the Daoist Ancestor, and in every generation, one person achieves the foundation to become a celestial being. Currently, there are four such individuals in the Jinyiwei alone.

"So what did Daozu say to you? Are there any new decrees?"

"I can't say. Has His Majesty explained this situation? He can't reveal the secrets casually. He can only pass on the message when the Taoist Patriarch has a decree."

"."

Wen Yuan paused for a moment.

"It seems that things are still the same as before. I was overthinking it. I thought that I could ask Daozu questions through you from now on. Or maybe Daozu will grant new Daoji like he did ten years ago."

"Ten years ago? Did Daozu issue any decree?"

"I don't actually remember, I was too young at the time, but I do remember my father and my master were very happy. They took the jade token and pressed it day and night, giggling 'hehehe' as they did so. I asked them why, as I didn't have the token yet. They just said, 'Heaven's secrets cannot be revealed.' Later, when I got the token, I learned that the Taoist master had added many new features to the jade token. It could send Feixun messages, play Go, and even had a notepad and a calculator. It could make phone calls."

"Ah!"