My brother is so cunning

Chapter 924 Theory of Life

The newly born fairy experimental sample spat out a mouthful of culture medium, opened its pair of large amber eyes, and stared blankly at the world that was both completely unfamiliar and novel to it.

"Eeya... giggle..."

This newborn little life, unable to speak yet, saw the mosquito Taoist holding it and seemed to instinctively grin, muttering a tender, adorable sound that no one could understand in its indistinct baby voice.

"Human babies cry instinctively after birth and are very fragile, requiring care from their own blood relatives."

Wen Rui stepped forward and, as if handling newborn kittens or puppies, stroked the insect fairy's tender body while recording information on a tablet computer.

“During the sample preparation process, I specifically enhanced the survival ability of the juveniles. They can supplement their nutrition by eating the egg cases, and they can also learn to fly quickly after their wings dry.”

The insect fairy wasn't afraid of strangers at all. When Wen Rui played with her, she innocently returned his affection with a cute smile, just like a child being teased by an adult.

"Well, I also added a little bit of affinity genes that make it easier to evoke goodwill across species. Even if this little thing accidentally escapes the swarm and is left in the outside world, and is picked up by other intelligent races, they will probably feel pity for her and decide to raise her regardless of what species she is."

"Imagine if the new specimen had the mouthparts of a mosquito, or the fangs of a centipede, was covered in carapace, and had compound eyes that would trigger trypophobia. Even if it was a juvenile, if other species saw it, they would definitely stomp it to death immediately, without caring whether it had a pure and complete soul."

Upon hearing Rui's words, Mosquito Taoist seemed to understand something, and the disdain in his eyes lessened considerably.

Looking at the contours of the high-quality, smooth-lined experimental samples in the surrounding petri dishes, one no longer feels that someone designed the appearance this way for some ulterior motive.

"Sample 1 has a lifespan of two hundred years."

Wen Rui continued, "Under natural growth conditions, its various bodily functions are comparable to those of a human in the Qi Refining stage, indicating cultivation potential and moderate cultivation aptitude."

At this point, Wen Rui emphasized, "The cultivation aptitude I'm referring to is the cultivation of the orthodox methods of the Xuanmen sect, following the righteous path of cultivation, not the demonic and evil path of drinking blood and eating human flesh."

"However, the lifespan and average quality of this sample are relatively high, which leads to a decrease in reproductive capacity. It cannot reproduce like insects, which can lay a dozen or even hundreds or thousands of eggs at a time and hatch into a large swarm as soon as they hatch."

"She needs to go through a 30-year juvenile period to develop into a reproductive adult. Each reproduction can only produce three to five eggs, and the eggs take ten years to hatch into juveniles."

"It's taking this long?"

Mosquito Taoist frowned and said, "Can't you speed up the breeding process? I can hatch millions of demonic mosquitoes in the sea of ​​blood at once. Reproduction is clearly the strength of the insect race, so why has the intelligent insect race you created had this greatest survival advantage weakened?"

Wen Rui smiled knowingly, grabbed the wing of the bewildered newborn fairy, and led it to the ancient mirror on the stand. Pointing at the mirror, he said, "This is not up to you or me. If we create a new species that has a lifespan of two hundred years and can reproduce like a cockroach, the rate of genetic deterioration will be very fast. Within a few generations, the newly born individuals will become mentally challenged again."

"Can't this problem of genetic degradation be solved using technological means?"

Wen Rui shrugged, gestured towards the ancient mirror, and said, "It can't be solved. The root of the problem lies in metaphysics, not science. Simply put, there are too many physical bodies and not enough souls. A body without a complete soul is just a body, the same thing as your billions of cannon fodder mosquitoes." "I suppose you tried to increase brain capacity when you were creating the mosquitoes? And what happened? A bigger brain doesn't make you any dumber."

Mosquito Taoist nodded thoughtfully and said, "I have created a batch of big-headed demon mosquitoes. Compared with ordinary demon mosquitoes, they can obey more and more complex commands, but there is no essential difference. I have also tried to treat unique individuals with specialized brains, but even if the brain tissue weighs a ton, it can only be used as a biochemical computer and cannot generate autonomous consciousness."

"A body without a complete soul cannot even enter the cycle of reincarnation; it is merely a heretical monster."

Wen Rui looked at the ancient mirror and said, "This ancient mirror is called the 'Qiankun Mirror' or the 'Qiankun Diagram.' It is the supreme treasure that Tathagata used to attain enlightenment. The greatest function of this treasure is to create a small world that can accommodate spiritual beings, called 'Mengshi,' which means 'enlightenment' or 'enlightenment.'"

“Spirits that enter the small world of the Qiankun Mirror can be nourished and repaired, and their incomplete souls can be gradually restored. Once their merits are fulfilled and their sins are washed away, they can leave the Mist Realm and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, being reborn into one of the three paths.”

"Every time this mirror liberates a broken, resentful spirit or a wronged soul, the heavenly merit gained is immeasurable. It was through this merit that the Tathagata attained the supreme position of the Western Sect and is now the supreme fruit of Buddhahood."

Mosquito Taoist then suddenly realized why Wen Rui had assigned her to steal the mirror.

For so many years, the Mosquito Taoist, who has created countless demonic mosquitoes but failed to create civilized races, lacks precisely such a crucial tool that can continuously produce complete souls.

"It's not difficult to create a large number of skins using biochemical technology; many low-level magic techniques can do it, such as turning beans into soldiers or plucking hairs into monkeys."

Wen Rui continued, "But these physical bodies lack a complete soul to control them. It's like how robots can be mass-produced, but the core control chip is blocked. Without a core chip, a robot is just a puppet toy or scrap metal."

"A longer lifespan means a longer time for the soul to reside in the body, resulting in fewer souls being reincarnated and reborn, and a slower rate of reproduction."

"On the contrary, a shorter lifespan means a higher rate of soul reuse and faster reproduction. If it reproduces like cockroaches, there won't be enough souls, and only wandering, scattered, inferior soul fragments will be able to reside on it. Such broken soul fragments cannot possibly develop intelligence; they will only be born stupid or survive by instinct."

"I see, no wonder they set such a long breeding cycle."

Mosquito Taoist nodded repeatedly. The question that had puzzled her for so long, and had troubled her for countless years, was finally cleared up after Wen Rui's explanation.

"Mom..."

As they were talking, the larval insect spirit that Wen Rui was holding suddenly began to babble, uttering a coherent string of words.

While calling out, she stretched out her delicate little hand towards Mosquito Taoist, as if she wanted a hug.

Over the years, the number of Blood Sea Demon Mosquitoes created by Mosquito Taoist has exceeded tens of billions, but not a single one has ever had any emotional or intellectual exchange with her.

(End of this chapter)