Warhammer Cultivation: Cultivating the Tao Te Ching in the 40K Universe

He regarded that perfect "silence" as a harbinger of ultimate heresy.

"……found it."

Chapter 108 The Code Weaver

Meanwhile, within the "Silent Furnace," Alkan is immersed in the unprecedented creative joy brought about by the "Taiyi Core."

Unbeknownst to him, a net of logic and murderous intent had already been quietly cast.

And the last straw that broke the camel's back was gently laid down.

A message from Terra was found and deciphered by Kelbo, who had a specific purpose in mind, after some time.

The message does not contain any orders or intelligence.

That's a book.

A systematic guide to spiritual practice, officially compiled by Hector Kane in Terra.

Daoist Canon: Qi Refining Volume.

In Kelbo’s private sanctuary, the “pseudo-scripture” filled with countless heretical terms such as “meridians,” “true essence,” “inner vision,” and “inner demons” was deciphered and presented to the Forging General, word by word.

When Kelbo saw that the book actually compared the fragile, filthy "flesh and blood" of mortals to a "temple" that could bear "divinity";

When he saw that the book described the violent, chaotic warp energy as "resources" that could be "purified" and "transformed"—

His eyes, which had been burning with a wary flame, were completely replaced by a cold, overwhelming rage!

Ironically, his anger at this moment was so intense that the coolant in his life support tank was slightly boiling due to the overload of biosignals—this was precisely the kind of uncontrolled behavior of 'flesh and blood' that he despised the most.

He viewed this as Terra's most direct and insidious erosion of the Martian faith over millennia!

He completely overlapped the image of that mortal named Hector Kane with the image of his mad mentor in his memory who caused the "Silicon Crystal Catastrophe"!

"heresy……"

He slowly rose from the life support tank, his massive upper body, constructed of pure steel and rage.

"...must be purified."

He gave the final, unquestionable command to the huge black crystal screen in front of him.

"Code makers, move out."

"Target: 'M-1138 Furnace'"

"Mission Instructions: Capture the 'Heretical' Alkan and seize the core that caused the 'Logical Anomaly'. All related data streams are sealed. All related personnel are... formatted."

"—Clear all... 'logical noises'."

A silent hunt, unfolding simultaneously in the physical and data dimensions within the colossal maze-like temple of creation on Mars, has begun.

Inside the "silent furnace," time has lost its original meaning.

For the sage Alkan, who was immersed in the unprecedented creative joy brought about by the "Taiyi Core," it was as if he had already spent one eternity after another filled with the beauty of logic and harmony in this secluded laboratory.

He watched as the ancient "data loom," resonating with the "Taiyi Core," seemed to come alive, tirelessly weaving a perfect data tapestry filled with the essence of "Tao."

He watched as the "dull code viruses" accumulated from centuries of continuous operation were automatically "smoothed out" and transformed into meaningless, benign basic data in the face of this harmonious resonance, as if they had encountered their natural enemy.

In his one and only human eye, a light shone that was almost religiously fanatical, the light of a "martyr."

He seemed to see that in the near future, this small "Taiyi Core" would be like a savior, completely healing the vast and bloated ocean of data on Mars that had long been polluted by logical conflicts and dogmatism.

However, he didn't know.

Unbeknownst to him, within the "Noosphere"—a network comprised of billions of tech priests—a silent hunt, far more deadly than any physical war, had quietly begun.

The first to notice the anomaly were not Alkan, but the oldest "residents" of the forge—those machine spirits that had slumbered deep within the walls, coexisting with the energy conduits and logic engines for centuries.

At first, it was just a barely perceptible "noise".

It was a cold, obsessive "logic virus," like the most insidious toxin, silently infiltrating the "Silent Furnace," a local area network that should have been absolutely independent, following the underlying protocols of the data domain.

This virus doesn't directly attack the machine's soul. It attacks "faith."

Like drops of thick ink falling into holy water, it began to corrupt the most sacred binary prayers and hymns that kept the entire forge running!

Above the laboratory's dome, a runic lamp responsible for maintaining illumination flickered without warning. Its previously calm, harmonious, pale blue light was instantly replaced by a crimson glow filled with logical inconsistencies and data errors!

Immediately afterwards, as if by a chain reaction, the entire "Silent Furnace" awoke from its harmonious tranquility!

The air filter in the air circulation system, because its core "purification prayer" was implanted with contradictory paradoxical codes, fell into a frenzy of vibration and began to release polluted gas full of metallic dust into the room!

The valves in the pressure pipeline, because the syllables of their "pressure relief hymn" have been maliciously altered, are groaning under the strain, as if they are about to burst at any moment!

The entire forge resembled an ancient deity enraged by a wrongly recited prayer, roaring angrily from its slumber!

"Warning! Warning! Unknown data intrusion detected! The integrity of '01' is decreasing at a rate of 0.1% per second!"

The piercing, grating electronic alarm finally dragged Alkan back from his creative ecstasy to the cold reality!

His compound eyes, composed of dozens of optical sensors, suddenly turned to the huge central monitoring screen made of black crystal in front of him!

The green waveform representing the stability of the data network inside the furnace on the screen was long gone. In its place was a wildly twisted, chaotic data swamp, like countless venomous snakes gnawing at each other!

"Code weaver!"

Alkan's electronic voice carried a hint of genuine shock!

He knew that General Kelbo, the forging general, had finally arrived. And in the most dreaded and hopeless way possible!

The laboratory's adamantite door caved in during a violent explosion, and was then cleaved open by a massive power axe!

Chapter 109 The Seeker's Quest

Several enlightened allies rushed in in a disheveled state.

"Arkan! Run!" the leading old sage roared as he returned fire with his explosive pistol, one of his mechanical arms severed clean off at the root, sparks flying everywhere. "Kelbo's 'Logic Hound' has breached the physical defenses! He's 'formatting' the entire foundry!"

Before he could finish speaking, a young data priest screamed in agony. His data interface was invaded by an invisible logic virus, and his mechanical prosthetic limbs twisted uncontrollably in the opposite direction, pinning him firmly to the wall.

“We’re surrounded in the data domain too!” he roared with difficulty. “The ‘Code Weavers’ have opened a ‘siege tunnel’…we’re completely isolated!”

Before he finished speaking, the newly opened adamantine door slowly closed again amidst a teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound!

Immediately afterwards, several energy fields composed of pure energy and flashing with red runes, like a spider web, completely sealed off the entire door!

The physical blockade is complete.

The real noose, however, is slowly tightening inch by inch within that unseen data domain.

Alkan remained silent. His massive cyborg body stood like a solitary island in a stormy ocean.

Centuries of dogma screamed in his remaining human brain: This is heresy! This is the path to the silicon catastrophe! This is the greatest blasphemy against the God of Machines!

But what appeared before his eyes was the miracle of Hector purging the Nurgle plague, and the perfect harmony at the birth of the "One Core".

“O God of Machines…” His cold, electronic voice resonated with a trembling note of “prayer” deep within his heart. “Could it be that the real You is the ‘unknown’ we have always feared, even tried to imprison with dogma? If the price of pursuing Your truth is to become a heretic, then…”

A martyr-like light burst forth from his one and only human eye.

"I gladly accept!"

He could not defeat the most powerful "data inspector" on Mars in a purely logical contest. Because what the other side represented was not just technology, but a "thought" that had been passed down for tens of thousands of years and was deeply rooted.

A deep-seated fear of being "out of control".

At that moment, all the gibberish and swamp on the huge black crystal screen in front of him vanished instantly. In its place appeared an enlarged, cold, brass-made breathing mask.

Forging General, Kelbo.

"Alkan".

Kelber's voice echoed directly through the only "siege tunnel" into Alcan's logic engine. His voice carried no anger, only an absolute coldness and weariness, like that of a judge pronouncing a verdict.

“I saw the ‘apocryphal texts’ you brought back from Terra. They are full of praise for flesh and blood and fantasies about the soul. It’s a ‘breathing’ plague.”

“I have also seen such plagues.”

Kelbo's voice carried a deep tremor that he himself was unaware of.

"It, like you, once promised us a 'more harmonious' and 'more perfect' future. But in the end, all it brought us was... betrayal and destruction."

"Give up, Arkan. Hand over the core that caused the 'Logical Anomaly'. Return to the doctrine of the Pantheon and repent for your sins. Perhaps, before your logic engine, already corrupted by heretical ideas, is completely formatted, I can preserve a trace of your 'existence' for you."

This is the final ultimatum.

It was also the last act of mercy.

Alkan fell silent. His only human eye slowly moved from that face filled with majesty and pain, and landed on the small hexagonal crystal core in the center of the laboratory, carefully protected by several layers of energy fields.

"Taiyi Core".

He looked at the crystal, which was a warm, moon-white color and seemed to seal a peaceful, eternal starry sky. He looked at the logical runes on it, which he had personally etched and were full of the charm of "yin and yang" and "non-action".

He remembered that mortal man named Hector Kane.

He remembered his eyes, which were as calm as an abyss.

He recalled what he had said, the "Tao" that he still could not fully understand, yet which deeply attracted him—a Tao full of wisdom.

"True strength is never about embracing filth, but about having the ability to discern and filter out filth."

"What we are fighting against has never been an external enemy, but ourselves."

“The wise find a solution to everything.”

Should we return to that cold, dogmatic, and fearful cage where we never make mistakes but also never make progress?

From Alkan's only human eye, a light burst forth that was hotter and brighter than any plasma flame!

That light is called "Seeking".

“General,” his cold, electronic voice took on a hint of unwavering, human firmness, “you are wrong.”

What you fear is not 'out of control'. What you fear is 'the unknown'.

“And the ‘unknown’ is precisely the most sacred gift that the God of Myriad Machines has bestowed upon us seekers of the Way.”

With that, he abruptly waved his hand, cutting off all communication with Kelbo!

"Sage!" the young data priest screamed in horror, "You...you are..."

“I am ‘preaching’.”

Alkan slowly turned around, and at this moment, his massive cyborg body exuded an unprecedented, tragic aura, like that of a martyr.

He looked at the laboratory before him, about to be swallowed by the deluge of data, and at the few remaining allies who had fallen into a daze of despair. In an unquestionable voice, he issued his final and most insane order as the "heretic leader."

"Direct all energy to the central reactor."

“Connect all the logical computing power to the ‘Taiyi Core’.”

"Then……"

He slowly walked towards the core of the laboratory, the control throne that resembled an altar and connected all the data networks of the entire forge.

"...For me, establish a connection with the core 'singularity'..."

The young data priest was utterly shocked by his mentor's madness.

"No! Sage! You can't do this!" he roared, his voice shrill with fear. "That core is still in its most unstable stage! And your flesh and blood simply cannot withstand the massive torrent of information generated when it connects to the main reactor! Your soul will be torn to shreds on the spot!"

"This...this is suicide!"

Chapter 110 Triple Connection

"No, kid."

Alkan slowly ascended the cold, control throne, filled with countless neural interfaces and energy conduits. His single human eye gazed upon his student, a rare tenderness, characteristic of flesh and blood, flickering within it.

"This is not suicide."

"This is a 'ritual'."

He knew he could not win against the rules set by the enemy.

He must change the "rules" of the entire battlefield!

He intends to use the still unstable "Taiyi Core" through the only "siege channel" opened by the enemy for him, which was originally intended to destroy him, to reverse the influence of the "Tao" gospel on the entire Mars master data network!