Rakih_Elyan
He/Him- 5,514
- 3,917
Chinamen
The Cave-Heaven: Heaven's Punishment Suffer-Realm.
Its unique, non-standard Daoist law that differed from the greater universe was actually very simple.
And that was: [The Refusal of All That is Thoroughly Solidified].
An absolute definition, a thoroughly fixed concept, an unchangeable destiny—all such things, all that was solidified, would be thoroughly rejected by the Heaven's Punishment Suffer-Realm, subsequently shattering and becoming invalid. Any existence that persisted in refusing to change would meet with the supreme technique of the Heavenly Sovereign peak driven by An Jing’s full power—the highest level of power bombardment from the Immeasurable Heavy Calamity—a force An Jing himself likely could not defend against.
However, this sounded somewhat peculiar.
One must know that in this world, things that were thoroughly solidified seemed to be uncountably vast.
Whether it was the stories and words in books, the Dao-laws of heaven and earth, or the common sense that had not changed since the beginning of the universe—
Many things, existences, and concepts appeared to be unshakeable.
The world called these most absolute solidifications, in reverence, the Absolute, the Eternal, and the Infinite—that is, the [Normal State That Will Absolutely Never Be Changed], the [Essence That Will Eternally Never Be Worn Away], and the [Infinite Power of Overflowing Abundance That Will Never Recede].
The world believed that this absolute, eternal, and infinite solidification was the manifestation of the supreme.
But they were wrong.
If a thousand people read a thousand stories, there might not necessarily be a thousand meanings, but there would at least be a dozen or so.
Based on the same seemingly solidified thing, under different cognitions, there would naturally be different understandings.
And the possibilities of these understandings, and the modes of their articulation—based on different languages, thought patterns, soul-foundations, the existential forms of the world itself, and the forms of society and civilization—would create uncountably vast numbers of possibilities.
And stories themselves evolve.
In the past, those who read the story of a demon-race Great Sage achieving the Dao saw the resolve of taming the mind-monkey. But to the people of the present, perhaps they could see the unyielding spirit of resistance.
The small stories of filial piety told in the past might have been meant to highlight ethical virtues, but thinking of them now, one can only sigh with amusement at the madness created by the system of recommending the filial and honest.
Furthermore, the meanings of words also change.
Whether it is the characters themselves, the words, or the idioms, they will all alter their own internal meanings along with the changes in humanity.
Complimentary words can become derogatory, and neutral words can be used for irony or praise—idioms like "satisfactory," "rumors," "the heat of July is receding," and "extremely foolish," all serve as examples of the evolution of words and language.
Even the iron laws and common sense of the universe itself are not absolute.
In extreme circumstances, iron laws can be warped and alienated. In brand-new, complex situations, new Dao-laws will emerge. Within the violently warped space-time of a black hole, the singularity is one such example.
And for other universes, constants and common sense are by no means fixed; they possess the capacity to be changed.
Indeed, is the definition of [Absolute, Infinite, and Eternal] itself [Absolute, Infinite, and Eternal]?
For infinity alone, across mathematical logic and hierarchies, it can be divided into many different kinds: the infinity that relies on definitions; the infinite infinity that is called infinite because it cannot be touched; the infinity confirmed because it sits at the absolute peak; the infinity because it is the total set itself; the infinity beyond the total set that cannot be described; all the infinite of infinities; the infinity between the self and infinity—too many, far too many. And this is merely a conceptual exploration, to say nothing of the different levels in mathematical logic.
[Absolute Change] is also absolute, [Eternal Innovation] is also eternal, and [Infinite Rebirth] is also infinite—
Thus, to that [Solidification], An Jing descended Heaven's Punishment.
An Jing rejected any stubborn, non-changeable thing.
Within the Heaven's Punishment Cave-Heaven, all absolute forces would be forcibly changed and made invalid.
There was no absolute hit. There was no absolute instant-kill. There was no certain victory, certain defeat, and indeed all necessary concepts and existences.
This possessed the highest priority.
Of course, the absolute certainty of change was also an absolute—a thoroughly solidified thing. This was the [Absolute Self-Reference].
Just as refusing refusal itself was also a form of refusal, this continuous self-repetition actually touched upon [Truth].
This was the sole method to counter An Jing’s Cave-Heaven, and that was to construct new [Lies].
The so-called [Truth] is to continuously repeat the same answer to the same question. For instance, water flowing down under gravity, or heat causing molecular motion—under the conventional conditions of the real world, no matter how many times it is repeated, even if infinite times, these things will repeat infinitely.
Reality is composed of infinite, continuously repeated answers and results; this is the essence of [Truth].
Standing in opposition to this was the [Lie].
A lie is an un-repeated answer, a lie is a power unique to an individual's heart, and a lie is the Cave-Heaven itself—a human can lie, choosing to warp the information of the real world for their own will and benefit, speaking false answers.
This is what is called intelligence, choice, sin, and depravity.
The unique laws within a Cave-Heaven were the answers continuously repeated by the Cave-Heaven cultivator with their own power.
The "reality" unique to an individual was a "lie" compared to others and the larger external world.
But lies are not incapable of becoming truth.
To refine the truth from the false is the very essence of cultivation.
When a Cave-Heaven cultivator achieved Harmonization, possessing infinite power, they could repeat their own "lies" infinitely, and thus those lies would become truth.
A Harmonized being could repeat within an infinite world, while the higher-tier Sages, Hongyuans, and indeed those above Hongyuans... represented even higher levels of transcendence.
However, in the Heaven's Punishment Suffer-Realm—
[Truth] did not exist.
An Jing rejected all thoroughly solidified things, which meant he was actually rejecting Truth—any repeated thing could never yield the exact same result eternally within the Heaven's Punishment Suffer-Realm. It had to yield a different answer, finding a second or even more ways to explain. In a sense, letting the impossible happen was a [Miracle]. An Jing’s refusal was also a rejection of common sense, an acknowledgment of miracles, and an eternal battle.
