Chapter 2250: Immortal Tea Talk 17: Mist and Reality

Immortal Tea Talk 17: Mist and Reality

Immortal Tea Talk 17: Mist and Reality

The tea talk has finally opened again; everyone, sorry for the wait.

"Shan Jin" concluded its arc without a tea talk — not because I was slacking, but because the "Cang Yan" arc is actually the endpoint of the second major part, representing the full unveiling of all the "mist" in the story so far; it needed a very solemn and formal summary.

Coincidentally, a few days ago I received a private message from a reader, long and sprawling, exceeding my daily word count, and brimming with enthusiasm. Its content focused on analyzing the various images, references, and metaphors in the novel "After the Immortals Vanished"; he firmly believed these all have prototypes in reality.

For instance, he said Panlongcheng symbolizes "history."

It cannot be seen or touched, yet you distinctly know it exists, because it teaches you knowledge, infuses you with courage, even grants you the power of faith;

It lets you survey the experiences and lessons of predecessors, and strengthens your conviction, shapes your character, allowing you to form consensus with countless strangers.

Isn't that precisely history?

I must say, your idea is excellent, and very close. But with the author's hand lifting Panlongcheng's veil, its true face should be:

Civilization.

Because besides the above traits, it also makes demands of you.

It demands you inherit, it demands you redeem, it demands you glorify and expand it.

It demands you devote yourself wholeheartedly, give your all, to drive the great revival of this civilization!

So the Panlongcheng inside the Great Fanghu changes because of He Lingchuan's determination and effort, but history? History has become the past, destined never to turn back.

All suffering cannot be avoided, all regrets cannot be undone — that is history.

Civilization contains history. Just as I repeatedly mention in the text that memory shapes personality, our history has also shaped the backbone of our civilization.

Of course, everyone may retain their own differing opinions.

There was much more in this reader's private message; I was truly gratified, because he noticed details, thought seriously, and indeed understood a great deal.

In fact, many related discussions can be seen daily in the book review section.

For example, many friends repeatedly discuss: Between Between Between Beijia = America, Mouguo = Big Goose;

Some also believe the ancient era ruled by immortals represented slave society, while the era ruled by Heavenly Demons and Between Between Between Beijia was...

There are countless varied discussions, some interesting, some serious, because everything in "The Immortals" looks just that similar to reality.

I like every friend who thinks seriously, just as you like a hardworking, diligent author.

However, in this work, these are not so simple as one-to-one symbolic correspondences. You make such inferences only because you've spotted especially familiar surface "features."

But there are a few essences hidden beneath the features, which are also the key among keys; I'll now tell everyone directly, no beating around the bush:

Heavenly Demons and Lingshan correspond to colonizers of different eras, different forms;

Between Between Between Beijia and Mouguo also do not refer to specific countries, but correspond to hegemons of different identities;

Qingyang Guoshi once repeatedly questioned He Lingchuan: what exactly is it you want to rebel against?

Substituting the above two essences, the answer should be practically self-evident, right?

Yes, our protagonist came to this world to do essentially one thing:

Anti-colonialism, anti-hegemony, anti-oppression!

He wants these nine characters to resound through the human world;

He wants these nine characters to be not merely slogans;

He wants these nine characters to truly become reality.

Why does he oppose Heavenly Demons yet can cooperate with Between Between Between Beijia, why does he cooperate with Lingshan yet oppose Mouguo?

Because He Lingchuan deconstructs colonialism and hegemony as systemic existences that can be guided, differentiated, and precisely struck, rather than fixed entity enemies.

With a clear and definite goal, methods can be flexible and efficient.

Simply put, he opposes the deed not the country; whoever the implementing subject, any act of colonialism or hegemony, He Lingchuan will never compromise.

Linking the above together, this is actually the core theme and framework of this work (highlight this) —

"He Lingchuan, as the new force and greatest variable of this world, when a once-in-a-millennium great transformation arrives, leads all living beings in the struggle against colonialism and hegemony, while simultaneously fighting for the great revival of Panlong Civilization."

I'll throw this sentence out plainly first; when you read, you'll have a handle, and can use it to fully enjoy the pleasure of speculative thought.

Of course, I've also carefully buried many, many other clues and foreshadowings in the text, making whatever angle you look from seem familiar. That previous reader was right — these things all come from reality, so everyone can't help wanting to ask me for verification. But I'm sorry, from here on I won't give standard answers anymore, nor should there be any standard answers.

This is a mist-style work; what you see is what you get. The author is only responsible for sketching the world's outline, and telling you the architecture's key points and underlying logic; then the rest of the wonderful content, please use your handle well and explore on your own.

A thousand people, perhaps a thousand views, a thousand hypotheses, a thousand experiences — isn't that where the fun lies?

Moreover, a good work should not only give readers enjoyment and inspiration; it itself should also, as times change, be endowed with more connotations and developed with more extensions by readers in turn.

I cannot use the author's perspective to imprison its development.

So, please explore, imagine, argue, and extend to your heart's content; with your thinking, enrich and expand this work together with the author.

Many people have already asked me, why write such a book?

Web novels don't need to be this abstruse, and I've never lacked good stories; I could completely write in a concise, clear, more widely acceptable way, without having to be like now, exhausting brainpower every day, straining every nerve every day.

Writing a conventional web novel, earning money easily — what's wrong with that?

The problem is, I drew a big pie for myself early on.

This book began in May 2022; counting from then, how many major events have occurred domestically and abroad, consecutively or simultaneously — is there anyone who can count them off one by one on their fingers?

In a few not-quite-accurate words, to describe these past years, perhaps it is:

Wind and clouds shaking, internal and external troubles coexisting, breaking the old and establishing the new, crises existing side by side.

Domestic and international situations are complex and tangled; the fates of nation and individual have been completely transformed; the speed at which old concepts and old patterns collapse is unprecedented; the East rising and the West declining has become the general trend.

Truly a once-in-millennia great transformation.

For a creator, isn't this the best subject for a novel?

The surging waves of the era, aren't they the best source of inspiration and material?

Why should I leave these unused and go write pretentious, face-slapping pieces that are all the same, or write affected, so-called beautiful prose?

When outlining the novel *Xianren*, I set a grand goal for myself—no, not a big pie, but a lofty vow!

I want to write a story where the protagonist leads all living beings to victory over immortals and demons; it should be complex, wondrous, filled with endless mysteries and variables, both overturning people's fixed perceptions and resonating with readers on an intellectual level.

What if, what if I endowed the novel *Xianren* with the grand-nation perspective, developmental thinking, and struggle philosophy of our era, giving it a contemporaneity aligned with ours—how would that be?

Then it would closely link and deeply resonate with the real world, and those who understand it could view our real homeland with new eyes.

If my readers gain even a little insight or feeling from it, that is my supreme merit.

As soon as this idea arose, I felt I was ill, seriously ill.

It's too hard, not suited for me.

Whoever loves to write it can write it; anyway, it shouldn't be me writing it.

Frankly, I am not a stubborn person; I am especially good at adapting and especially good at reconciling with myself.

But this idea clung to me desperately for months, occupying my thoughts day and night, even in dreams, as if it had taken root and sprouted in my mind.

If I don't write this piece, it probably won't let me go.

In the end, I could only give in.

Why does the book say that the Great Vast Pot borrows the hands of all great powers from both realms, breaking through layer upon layer of obstruction to come into being?

Because in reality, the book *Xianren* is just like that—stubborn, insisting on breaking through the shackles of the virtual and the real, to be realized in the human world through my hands.

What to do? Write it.

Of course, the reason it's called a "lofty vow" rather than a "grand vow" is "because back then, the aspiration was too vague and too lofty, like a lone swan—neither practical nor understood."

Now you know why He Lingchuan would say those words, right?

I and he share the same state of mind; in the end, we both chose the most difficult path, which we also believe to be the most correct.

……

Having set the lofty vow and drawn the pie, I also need the ability to bring it to life—just as issuing a military order requires the capability to win battles.

Otherwise, I would be beheaded.

I know many authors directly copy history and theory into their books, writing easily and letting readers read smoothly, with both sides effortless—how nice!

But I am not like that.

I cannot memorize texts, I cannot recite scriptures.

After all, this is a xianxia novel; I want the story under my pen to have a fresh, spiritual flavor rather than an earthy, vulgar one—that is, the flavor I want, not the thing I don't want.

I want to retain the mysterious, fantastical exterior while using the long span of civilization and rigorous dialectical thinking as the filling.

I want it to trigger associations, to let everyone have a tacit understanding, yet like an antelope's horns leaving no trace; otherwise, it would fall into mediocrity, better not written at all.

This also determines that what we write is not a self-indulgent or pretentious piece.

Many readers have feedback that the sense of immersion in this book is problematic; I think, there is a mismatch here.

Compared to other novels, the immersion focus in *Xianren* has never been enjoyment, pretentiousness, or venting, but exploration, thinking, analysis, and decision-making—immersing in He Lingchuan's perspective, experiencing his situation from hanging by a thread to becoming the Flashing Gold Sovereign, feeling his shift from helpless isolation to iron-blooded resolve, to solve one concrete and complex problem after another.

From the author's angle, it is not limited to the "chaotic era hegemony" gratification plot; rather, it emphasizes using our contemporary thinking to build frameworks, construct stories, and echo reality.

From the protagonist's angle, the wisdom, strength, courage, and responsibility forged through a series of events are far more important than the events themselves, or even than gaining rewards; events pass, but these excellent qualities are an inexhaustible wealth for life, and moreover, the "golden finger" for defeating future strong enemies.

From the reader's angle, a considerable part of the enemy-our strategy has real-world handles, allowing for targeted interpretation and further deliberation.

Also, because the content to be presented and expressed is truly too much, the pacing and progress of *Xianren* are naturally relatively slow; the author can also honestly admit that my writing skills from the past ten years do not really apply to this book, with no precedent to follow.

Alas, over the more than a thousand days since the automatic pen, I have not had a single day without groping forward in the fog.

This book, I myself cannot categorize it, hence I gave it the name "Mist Piece."

How could one not say, the most pitiable thing for a person is not others baking pies for you to eat, but baking your own pie and eating it yourself, thus perfectly closing the loop.

Fortunately, the novel *Xianren*, written up to this point, still has a high completion rate.

I will nag once more: although you see in the book characters, events, causality, and even logic that seem familiar, on the tip of your tongue, they are absolutely not in a one-to-one correspondence with reality!

That is the real world, projected through the author's pen and paper into your eyes as a dazzling, bewildering kaleidoscope.

If you see through the Great Thousandfold World we inhabit, then the mist in *Xianren* cannot possibly obscure your eyes.

For, no matter how bizarre, grotesque, exaggerated, and absurd that kaleidoscope appears, every one of its colors and every ray of light originates from our real world.

……

The volume *Cangyan* has reached its conclusion; most of the old mysteries have been answered, the article's core and framework have become clear, and discussions in the book review section have also increased.

The conclusion of this volume signifies that the mist shrouding the early period has basically lifted, and the progress in the book and in reality have finally synchronized.

And new mist is about to strike head-on, its name being "the Future."

The future has come, the imminent has arrived.

Whether it is He Lingchuan or ourselves, we must face a great change unseen in a thousand or a hundred years; this is the mist that no one can see through. The only thing I can be certain of is that the future is about to overturn heaven and earth, and old experiences and old methods may not be useful anymore.

This will be truly embodied in the next major part, namely the final volume of the entire book.

I will completely break down the ecology, structure, and logic built up over more than five million characters in the preceding text, greatly increase the proportion of xianxia and xuanhuan elements, enhance combat intensity and war dimensions, and once again change the way of struggle.

No destruction, no establishment!

Frankly speaking, to align with reality, for the previous thirteen volumes I have been holding back, not daring to go too far while looking ahead and behind, thus stubbornly holding back for over three years.

But upon reaching this final volume, I finally can let go, fully releasing my imagination and creativity.

For, no one knows what the future actually looks like.

I want to let thought be freer, let imagination soar like a heavenly horse, and write a truly romantic, hot-blooded xianxia xuanhuan novel full of optimistic spirit.

Is not the detailed elaboration of over five million characters precisely for this volume's fervent unfolding?

In the final volume, all mysteries will be solved, and all suspense will have results.

The truth of the Great Vast Pot, the meaning of primordial force, the future of Panlongcheng, the power of fate, and the protagonist's emotional destination;

A story that can be sung and wept over, the world undergoing yet another dramatic transformation;

Of course, the biggest highlight will definitely be the personal power of the Great Heavenly Demon and the True Immortal at their peak versus the power of all beings led by He Lingchuan.

Ideals, passion, battle, progress.

The opponent is extremely strong, the future unpredictable, but we are certain to win, right?

Well, this pie I'm holding is quite big—I can't possibly finish it myself, so I'll share it with you all.

Come on, come on, one piece each, don't be shy.

—

Feng Xing Shui Yun Jian / Jiu Fang Ye