Chapter 747: A Skewed Opening to the Second Discourse

That’s right. There’s no space whatsoever—not even a virtual Magic Space!

They essentially use the Artifact Dao to create a type of Magical Artifact called an “Integrated Circuit Board.” They build countless tiny units on it, each capable of storing electricity, which they call capacitors.

Then, by charging and discharging these units, they create a binary state of “charged” or “not charged” to store data.

Fundamentally speaking, the Celestial Universe’s data storage and retrieval is no different from writing in a book. It’s a complete imitation of a book’s “read” and “write” functions.

There is no Magic Space, Spiritual Space, or anything of the sort. In essence, they’ve just imagined a fictional space for storage and retrieval. The core of it is just a pile of capacitors being either charged or not.

Yes, the bookshelf analogy is very apt!

It is because of this core, fundamental difference that I say the two Daos are essentially different.”

Zhang Deming paused, then said, “For this reason, the birth of ‘big data’ in the Celestial Universe required another condition: computation. With massive amounts of data, to get the information you want, you need to process it between storage, reading, and writing. This requires computation. Thus, the foundation of data in the Celestial Universe split into two paths: calculation and storage.”

Zhang Deming held up two fingers and continued, “In our Hongmeng, on the other hand, the path of computation has been pushed to its limits by Cultivators. Every Array Cultivator’s Tier Two Foundation Establishment Technique begins with a Rune Heart Calculation Technique. From there, they continue to develop their Brain Calculation abilities step by step.”

Therefore, in the Array Dao, while computation exists, it is mostly performed by the Array Cultivator. The remaining minor processing has never developed into its own Dao. So, strictly speaking, our Array Dao only has ‘storage,’ not ‘computation.’

In the Human Array Separation, storage and computation were also split apart. It is this difference that creates the fundamental distinction between the Hongmeng Array Dao and the Celestial Universe Array Dao.

So, in my view, if the Hongmeng Array Dao is to make a developmental leap—or even converge with the Celestial Universe Array Dao—we need to add ‘computation’ to it. This path can be combined with the Artifact Dao. After all, Arrays and Artifacts are inseparable!

Only by reducing the Array Cultivator’s direct control, lessening the reliance on the Brain Domain’s calculations, and enhancing the autonomous operational capabilities of the Array Dao itself can our Hongmeng Array Dao undergo a revolution. And only then can the so-called path of Rune Life emerge.”

Having said his piece, Zhang Deming turned to the silent Shang Tingjie. “Isn’t that right, Fellow Daoist Shang?”

“Fellow Daoist Zhang, your understanding of the convergence between the two realms’ paths puts me to shame. Many of us have traveled among the great Holy Lands and learned of the Daoist Techniques of both realms, but I have never met anyone who understands them as thoroughly as you. I have been enlightened.” With that, Shang Tingjie gave a slight bow, and his form dissipated.

This was the Celestial Universe’s turn to present, and the topic of computation had now been brought to light. There was no need for him to stay any longer. All that was needed now was for the Disciples who understood to begin their own discussions.

Although all the Disciples understood Zhang Deming’s discourse this time, not every one of them could grasp its full depth.

However, those who specialized in the Array Dao were deeply inspired, especially the Disciples from the Array Department. When Zhang Deming pointed out the fundamentals of ‘computation,’ many felt a jolt in their hearts, as if they had skipped a beat.

In the main control room, Fang Jixiang himself was stunned for a moment. “I think I understand why our Array Department’s research into the path of Rune Life has been stalled for so long.”

None of the Disciples in the main control room were fools; their eyes glinted with understanding. As for Fang Qing, his Spiritual Power surged, and countless fish scales tumbled before him, coalescing into a strange, scale-covered egg.

Everyone in the core main control room was astonished.

“Is this…? An epiphany? A leap to the Law Level?”

As this thought occurred to them, some were envious, while others fell silent.

Fang Jixiang, startled, raised his hand and summoned a junior Disciple. “Watch over the area Fang Qing is responsible for,” he ordered. “Don’t let him be disturbed.”

The Disciple nodded, and the main control room suddenly fell silent.

CRACK…

After a long silence, the strange, scale-covered egg in the main control room suddenly began to shake. A moment later, a slender, bizarre fish leaped out.

As it appeared, the eggshell of scales transformed into streams of light that flowed into its body. A Spiritual Light ignited in its eyes as it began to swim around Fang Qing.

‘A Law-Level Array that chose to advance with a tendency toward Summoning and Spirit Shaping?’

Fang Jixiang’s thoughts raced as he watched the strange, long fish. But when he saw its eyes, he froze completely.

“This is… Rune Numerology?”

Hearing this, Fang Qing shook his head. “It’s not Rune Numerology, Ancestor!”

He paused, then continued before anyone could ask, “This is the Main Control Array Fish I created by combining the Computation Dao, the Array Dao, and the Shaping Dao!”

“In a way, it’s an Array Cultivator. It can help me handle certain matters related to Arrays.”

“Rune Life!” a Disciple exclaimed in delight.

Fang Qing shook his head. “It only borders on it. Essentially, it’s still my Magic Spirit. I only have this one and I can’t repeat the process. It’s just that this Magic Spirit of mine possesses some characteristics of Rune Life and excels at computation.”

But Fang Jixiang was thrilled. “Who cares if it just borders on it? At least it’s a start! And a start means our path is not wrong. It’s worth pursuing.”

Hearing this, everyone paused. With various expressions on their faces, they all stared at the strange fish swimming around Fang Qing.

…

After Zhang Deming finished his discourse, the entire scene erupted with activity.

Compared to the previous session, there weren’t as many Disciples who fully grasped the core of the argument and experienced a clash of ideas, but the scene was somehow even livelier.