CKtalon
Although DiMarco’s encounter had already indicated that Star Cluster Hall appeared some time after the Old World was destroyed, Jingnian’s words were still rather valuable.
First, this confirmed that the Old World’s destruction had brought about a batch of human Awakening. Or rather, a few people had Awakened during the Heartless disease outbreak. For example, DiMarco or someone
in the Monks Conclave.
Second, Jingnian mentioned that the difficulty of Awakening had decreased with the appearance of Star Cluster Hall.
This was clearly not random talk. There had to be the corresponding evidence.
Jiang Baimian could even guess why Jingnian said that.
Some of the people in the Monks Conclave—who had previously been unable to Awaken—Awakened after Star Cluster Hall appeared.
“Is that so?” Shang Jianyao came to a realization before he wore a look of disappointment. “Star Cluster Hall already existed when I Awakened, but I couldn’t challenge the highest difficulty.”
He then curiously asked, “Zen Master, I know that many people in your parish only uploaded their consciousness after they Awakened and became mechanical monks. Then, did any original Eternals Awaken?”
The red light in Jingnian’s eyes flickered a few times. “Yes, but very few. In terms of ratio, it’s clearly lower than that of non-Eternals.”
“Why?” Shang Jianyao looked like he wanted to defend the mechanical monks.
Jingnian’s metal neck rotated from side to side, indicating that he didn’t know the reason either.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a moment before inquiring, “Is there any difference in the Awakening of an Eternal from an ordinary person’s Awakening?”
“There’s none,” Jingnian replied without hesitation.
Jiang Baimian thought for a few seconds and said, “Are there any other changes that came with it?”
The red glow in the mechanical monk’s eyes instantly intensified. After a while, he replied, “For monks that Awakened after uploading their consciousness, the corresponding bionic chip on the body will show a certain
level of chaos during the Awakening. It will take dozens of minutes for it to restore compatibility.”
“Why is that?” Shang Jianyao voiced everyone’s thoughts.
“We aren’t sure either. We’ve been doing the corresponding research,” Jingnian said as he chanted a Buddhist proclamation. “Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti.”
Monks are doing research on chips and mechanical bodies? As a folklore scholar who knew the Old World well, Jiang Baimian found such matters rather ridiculous. But looking at Jingnian’s tall and muscular body made
of black metal, she felt that it couldn’t be far from the truth.
“Shouldn’t you guys study the Buddhist Dharma every day?” the honest Shang Jianyao asked on Zen Master Redemption’s behalf.
Jingnian replied in a synthetic voice, “A large number of people in the parish are researchers who participated in the Eternal project back then. Apart from studying the Buddhist Dharma, they will also find something
else to do for themselves to enrich their long lives.”
Upon hearing this, Long Yuehong couldn’t help but ask, “Can one really achieve eternal life after uploading one’s consciousness? Without considering the flaws in this technology and the serious mental problems it will
bring.”
Jingnian fell silent.
Long Yuehong immediately felt embarrassed. “If this involves the secret of your parish, forget that I asked.”
It wasn’t easy to catch a mechanical monk that he could communicate with. He couldn’t help but want to verify the widely circulated information in the Ashlands that was written in Pangu Biology’s textbooks.
It was clearly impossible for the Old Task Force to calmly discuss such matters with the previously encountered Jingfa.
Jingnian slowly said, “It’s not only mental problems. We later realized that the corresponding consciousness would weaken as the number of uploads increased. The passage of time will also bring about similar changes.
“Those researchers have been working hard to find a reason for the past few decades to perfect the Eternal technology. But no matter what, an Eternals life is several times that of a normal person or even more than
ten times. That’s sufficient time for us to comprehend the Buddhist Dharma, cultivate ourselves, achieve Phala, and transcend.”
This corresponds to the rumors that Eternal technology is far from mature… Jiang Baimian nodded indiscernibly.
Xu Liyan’s heart palpitated. He planned on uploading his consciousness and becoming an Eternal after he enjoyed the bustle of the world after the age of 50.
Of course, Jingnian had also told him that when a person’s consciousness began to deteriorate, the Eternal technology had a certain risk and failure rate. Therefore, Xu Liyan didn’t want to wait until he was in his
seventies or eighties to upload his consciousness.
It was only then that Shang Jianyao seemed to realize that there was a problem with Jingnian’s first answer. “Zen Master, why did the difficulty of Awakening decrease with Star Cluster Hall’s appearance?”
“We have many examples in this regard.” Jingnian only gave the conclusion, not the exact details.
Shang Jianyao tried his best to explain, “I mean, why can Star Cluster Hall bring about a reduction in the Awakening difficulty?”
“This is because Buddha is merciful.” Jingnian—who was wearing a yellow monk robe and a red kasaya—pressed his palms together and said sincerely, “Star Cluster Hall, Sea of Origins, and Mind Corridor are the doors
of convenience that Lokesvara-Tathagata and Buddha Subhuti created to receive all living beings from the world. They are a path that leads from the sea of suffering to the Pure Lands.”
“Namo Annutara-Samyak-Subhuti.” Zen Master Redemption Shang Jianyao chanted a Buddhist proclamation.
Jingnian glanced at him deeply and said, “Any other questions?”
Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and asked seriously, “Will monks be infected with the Heartless disease?”
Ared light flashed and paused. Jingnian replied after a while, “Yes. Although we have already abandoned our mortal coils, we will still suffer all kinds of pain when trapped in the sea of bitterness. Only by attaining Phala
and entering the Pure Lands can we truly transcend.”
As Jiang Baimian nodded solemnly, she stopped Shang Jianyao from saying words like ‘you mechanical monks can’t compare to Old Ge and the other smart bots on this.’
She exhaled and said, “That’s about all our questions. Zen Master, what do you want to ask?”