Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1423 Xu Fu's Elixir of Longevity
"Okay. Now that things have come to this, let's talk about your immortality, Xu Fu. First of all, you are indeed immortal, right?"

The Jade Rabbit who called himself Xu Fu nodded.

"So, how did you achieve immortality?"

Shangluo wanted to know whether Xu Fu's immortality plan was of reference value. He also wanted to know whether Xu Fu's immortality medicine was replicable.

"I wonder if you, Shangluo, have ever heard of the story of the 'Ship of Theseus' when you were dealing with the Romans?"

The Ship of Theseus was a household allusion in Rome, and its usage in Rome was almost like an idiom because it was well known.

This story is also very simple. Theseus is a person's name, a mythical demigod king of Athens, who had many experiences in various parts of Greece.

The most memorable adventure in his life was defeating the Minotaur in the labyrinth with wool. At that time, seven pairs of boys and girls wanted to enter the Minotaur in Crete to appease the Minotaur. Because there was no Nezha to save the situation, Theseus had to find a way on his own. He asked the boys and girls to bring wool into the labyrinth where the Minotaur was, and then followed the wool into the labyrinth where no one could get out, and killed the Minotaur.

The Minoan Labyrinth and Theseus' Yarn are two other allusions born from this story, and are also Roman idioms. One is used to describe an unsolvable problem, and the other is used to describe a clever way to solve a problem.

Because he contributed two idioms at once and killed the Minotaur, Theseus felt that he was great, so he erected the ship used in this operation in Athens as a monument. The monument should be preserved forever, but the ship was made of wood after all, and it would inevitably rot over time, so every piece of wood on the monument had to be constantly replaced.

Let me ask you, if the monument is kept being repaired and the wood is replaced, is Theseus' ship still the original ship?
"I see." Shangluo nodded. He knew he would also face this problem. "So, what is the specific form?"

"I am Xu Fu, and the one you met before was also Xu Fu. All these Xu Fus together constitute the concept of Xu Fu, a person who seeks medicine for longevity. These Xu Fus will show different states in different situations, and together constitute the Xu Fu in the eyes of outsiders."

"In the eyes of outsiders?" Shang Luo was stunned for a moment. "You mean, although Xu Fu is immortal in the eyes of outsiders, it is not actually the case? Xu Fu's body is not continuous, but it is continuous from the outside world's perspective? So, Xu Fu is a fluid immortal?"

"That's right. Xu Fu is fickle, but Xu Fu is everlasting."

"This is also fluid, right?! You really have a flexible definition of immortality! Is there helicopter-style immortality or shopping bag-style immortality? What use do I have for this?"

"No, no, no, you misunderstood me. I did this to maintain the status quo where Xu Fu is researching the real elixir of life."

"Huh." Shang Luo breathed a sigh of relief. "If you were to discuss with me today what immortality is, I would not let you go. You know that, right? There is only one kind of immortality I want—immortality in which the continuity of the individual is not interrupted."

"Of course, of course, this is what I mean by longevity. And I have made great progress in my medicine."

"So what's your idea?"

"To put it in the terms you are familiar with - it means to cleanse the tendons and marrow, restore to the innate state, and achieve an immortal body. This is the most orthodox way to achieve longevity. When the immortal innate body is achieved, the only thing that can limit life span is the Five Degenerations of the Celestial Being. In other words, as long as you don't want to die, you won't experience the Five Degenerations of the Celestial Being, and if you don't experience the Five Degenerations of the Celestial Being, you won't die. So, if you don't want to die, you won't die."

"So what you're going to do is, the Foundation Building Pill?"

"Yes and no. I have also talked with the emperor. I have no opinion on his ideas. His knowledge is comparable to that of the best alchemists, and he knows a lot that I don't know. But... he is still one step behind."

"Tian Zi is my senior brother. He is very talented and a serious person. In fact, I have always felt that there is something wrong with his behavior of refining the foundation-building pill. After all, he has such a hard time saving himself, let alone saving everyone in the world."

But he is not an alchemist, and it is not even easy to call him a cultivator, because he has never practiced. Like the real strong, he never practices, but can become stronger through innate advantages and opportunities. He can indeed lead the way for everyone, but the path he takes has no reference value for others.

After all, there is only one jar of Phaethon's wine, and there is no second Phaethon. Shangluo's own situation is also unique, and there will never be a second one.

"So, what exactly did my senior brother do wrong?"

"He was wrong in direction," Xu Fu replied. "He was wrong in going in the opposite direction. He should not have looked for the foundation-building elixir from the mustard seed, but from Mount Sumeru. This is the difference between the mustard seed and Mount Sumeru. Alchemy is a dead end, and external alchemy has long been proven to be wrong. If external elixir could really be made, then the First Emperor would not have died."

"Wait. You knew that?"

"Not only do I know, but I have also demonstrated the correct method. It's just that I don't have enough time to write about the correct method myself. As a mortal, I don't have the time to write about it. So, I wrote it here. As for my demonstration, it has been recorded by a historian who is hiding somewhere. People in the future should be able to find my demonstration in the mausoleum of the First Emperor."

"Ah! So it's not alchemy, it's..."

When the First Emperor first ascended the throne, he dug and excavated Mount Li. When he unified the country, more than 700,000 people from all over the country came to help him. He used mercury to represent rivers and seas, and pumped mercury through machines to create astronomy on the top and geography on the bottom - this event is also recorded in the "Records of the Grand Historian: The Basic Annals of Qin Shi Huang".

"So the correct answer is not to refine the small Zhou Tian, ​​but to refine the big Zhou Tian? Refining the rivers, seas, astronomy and geography first?"

"That's right." Xu Fu replied, "So the correct approach is to reshape the earth, water, fire and wind, and elevate the mountains, rivers, earth veins and feng shui together. By changing the Great Circulation, the people living in it can achieve immortality. Refine the entire land of Chixian Shenzhou into an innate blessed land. In this way, anyone who lives on this land will be immortal."

There is no need to do anything, and there is no need to give everyone pills. All you need to do is transform the environment itself into a fairyland of national level, and then the people living in the fairyland can naturally ascend to immortals.

This kind of ascension is not achieved overnight, nor does it require everyone to change their lifestyles, but it will be accomplished imperceptibly. "Ah!" Shangluo clapped his hands fiercely, "That's right. Mr. Xu Fu, you did a good job, a good job. So what stage have you reached now?"

“The blueprint for the project has been drawn up!”

【He means that a new folder has just been created. 】

"." Shang Luo covered his forehead, "Sir, Mr. Xu, what have you been doing all these years?"

"I have to prove that this is feasible, right? The barber is still practicing on pig skin, how can he just attack the country directly? If he really attacks, he can't take it back."

"That's reasonable. Have you verified the feasibility?"

"Over the years, I have been collecting the dead and observing their wishes. I found that all people's wishes have one thing in common, that is, they want to watch their own glorious years."

"Wait a minute. I think I have seen one of your clients, Taira no Kiyomori. But what Taira no Kiyomori repeatedly watched was their country being destroyed, their family being ruined, and their entire family jumping into the sea, and they even hugged the young Japanese king and jumped into the sea with him."

Shangluo witnessed the shocking scene with his own eyes. The whole family jumped into the sea together, including the "sacred artifacts" used for national sacrifices in the plot. Even the ignorant 6-year-old King of Japan was held and jumped with them. When they jumped, there were monks chanting beside them. After they finished jumping, the monks who were chanting also jumped down. There was still fighting on the battlefield. When the generals of the Taira clan who were still fighting in front saw the people behind them jumping into the sea, they also jumped into the water.

The whole family, young and old, with all their belongings, fell into the water like dumplings, which stunned the Genji army on the opposite side, especially the famous Minamoto no Yoshitsune himself.

"This is what Taira no Kiyomori believes is the most glorious time for the Taira clan."

"What kind of logic is this? I can't understand it. Jumping into the sea is the most glorious time? The most glorious time of the Ming Dynasty was not hanging on Coal Hill."

"What is the hanging on Coal Hill? Yes... ah, that's it." He pressed his hand and said, "Don't let the secret out - Taira no Kiyomori, you'll understand once I tell you. At that time, there were two families in Japan, the Minamoto and the Taira, and both sides were fighting for the righteous cause. The Taira clan had been doing atrocities and had lost the support of the people, so they took the King of Japan hostage and fled west. If the Taira clan was defeated here in a mediocre way, the whole country of Japan would definitely submit to the Minamoto clan. Then the Taira clan would have lost completely.

"But if the entire Taira clan took the King of Wa and the sacrificial vessels and jumped into the sea, leaving no one alive, then someone must be held responsible. At this time, if there was one person who was still alive, he would be the one held responsible. But all the Taira clan members resolutely jumped into the sea, resulting in no one being held responsible. Then the Genji who were present must be held responsible for forcing the King of Wa to death.

"The highest commander of the Minamoto clan present was Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He was a very promising young man. He had fought his way here with great momentum, but he failed to achieve his goal because he forced the King of Japan to death. There was a dispute over the reward, which led to a civil war among the Minamoto clan. The Minamoto clan was depleted of its members and there was no leader or good general in the family. In the end, the Minamoto shogunate died in the second generation, and the huge family business was usurped by the Hojo clan, who were its ministers. Later, when Kublai Khan conquered Japan, it was not the general of the Minamoto family who was in charge, but the Hojo clan."

"Ah," Shangluo nodded, "So this move is the young master offering his head?"

"This move directly made the Taira clan's determination recorded in history books - after all, this scene is rarely seen in human history. Sometimes life is like a dream. History can only watch for a moment. Among many options such as surrender, fight to the death, and peace talks, the Taira clan chose to hold a grand farewell ceremony for everyone to see. This is what Taira Kiyomori is proud of."

"So, they all care about what people think of them after they die?"

"Indeed. Think about it, they already knew everything about life when they were alive. So after death, they certainly want to know what happened in this world. After all, people don't just live for themselves, they also think about what the relationship is between themselves and the world. If we understand this, we will know how to construct the Great Circulation that can affect the Small Circulation."

"The sky has the sun and the moon, and man has two eyes; the sky has four seasons, and man has four limbs; the sky has five sounds, and man has five internal organs; the sky has six rhythms, and man has six bowels. This correspondence between man and heaven and earth is what we should establish. But it is not about man responding to heaven and earth, but about transforming heaven and earth to suit man's destiny."

"You have to shoot the arrows first and then draw the target, right?"

"That's right. We want to prove that the arrow had already hit the target before it was fired. We want to prove that man is the spirit of all things and that the heaven and earth were created for man's achievements. Man's existence itself is in accordance with the way of heaven. Man comes from heaven and will eventually return to heaven. In this way, it is not surprising no matter how strong the power of heaven and earth is. This is also what Taoism itself aims to achieve, and it is also the goal of elixirs. I have had some exchanges with the Romans on this point, and they also think so."

Alchemy is actually also about making elixir, but it is called panacea. And just like the metaphysical research shifted to inner alchemy after the collapse of external alchemy, alchemy also turned to the idea of ​​inner alchemy after the real "making panacea" and "making philosopher's stone" had no results. Alchemy began to believe that gold is a symbol of perfection, and people should not eat gold directly, but should reach the realm of gold through practice.

Even alchemy has evolved into a school of ley lines such as the Golden Dawn, which began to search for the inevitable connection between nature and humans.

"So, how can we do this?"

"The universe is the central kingdom." Xu Fu replied, "We must first prove that we are at the core of the universe, the center of the entire universe. Heaven hears as the people hear, and Heaven sees as the people see. Only by placing us at the center of the universe can we allow these heavenly beings to find the foundation. If the earth is just an inconspicuous little stone ball in the universe, how can we prove that humans can transcend the universe? Why can you ascend, but the big rocks in the asteroid belt can't?"

[This question does exist. If the Earth is just an ordinary member of the universe and has no special characteristics, then why are there no other immortals in the entire universe, and only the Earth has immortals? 】

"I see." Shangluo nodded, "I know what to do now."

【How to do it? 】

"I have understood the foundation of the foundation. There is no two suns in the sky, and there is no two masters for the people. First of all, we must stand in the center of the earth. So the first thing to do is to send Rome to the west. We should first clear the universe, sweep across the eight wildernesses, and unify the world."

Xu Fu grabbed Shangluo's hand and said, "Congratulations! You can answer the question quickly! That's what the First Emperor thought!"

(End of this chapter)