Chapter 1322

Spirit Cage.

"It, it…… Is this speaking to us?"

Shanda's pupils trembled violently, and he pointed in astonishment at Laigushi on the sky curtain, "Can it see us? Could it be like Sangbo and Huahuo, able to know that we are watching them through the sky curtain?"

Panic instantly spread.

In Longgu Village, the air seemed to be sucked dry in an instant. All the men, women, young and old in the village stopped what they were doing, held their breath, and paid close attention to every word Laigushi would say next.

Unlike Sangbo and Huahuo, those mask-wearing fools, Laigushi is a bona fide member of the Genius Club; if it can see them through the sky curtain, does that mean…… it has the means to threaten them?

"Calm down." Bai Yuekui raised a hand and patted the tense shoulders of Shanda and Xiadou, feeling that these two were so tense their bodies were about to stiffen.

"But it—"

Shanda still wanted to say something, but Bai Yuekui pressed him back with a glance.

"Precisely because it knows of our existence, we must not act rashly." Bai Yuekui said, "Moreover, Laigushi doesn't seem to show much malice; we might as well first hear what it wants to say."

"Indeed, Laigushi isn't the kind of genius who would casually trample ordinary life; even in Weng Faluos, it has never actively attacked ordinary civilians." Ma Ke said in a low voice, "And it mentioned the 'First Cause of Life'…… I'm also very curious about that."

——

"Although that is so, this proposition seems somewhat grandiose; where should we begin?"

Laigushi raised both hands; behind it hung countless frames, and the one directly behind it depicted the Black Tower Lady and countless scholars bowed in thought.

"Got it. Let's start from the origin of the universe: after an explosion, elementary particles were born, evolving into all things." Laigushi laughed lightly, "Hehe. Just kidding. What I mean is that whether time, space, matter—all concepts exist because of our cognition. This is 'wisdom'; without it, the universe is merely a chaotic book written by chance, with no readers to appreciate it."

"Your familiar Lord Anaxagoras also proposed a similar viewpoint: everything in Wengfalusi comes into being through the 'wisdom seed' in the memories of later generations."

"What a wonderful consistency—just a few strokes sketch out the truth of the world. Only he can clarify the question 'What exactly are we?'" Laigushi paused, then suddenly shifted his tone: "But do you remember? Even having become the embodiment of reason, he still has an unsolved problem..."

Sesis: "Then... where must the original wisdom seed take root and sprout in whose memory?"

Laigushi calmly continued: "Just as throughout the ages, countless sages have asked the gods: What is the 'first cause of life'?"

——

Earth. Concerning the motion of the Earth.

What is the first cause of life?

Upon hearing this question, Okogi's mind went blank for a moment, but after a brief moment of thought, he still sincerely clasped his hands together.

"It is God." Okogi's voice sounded somewhat hoarse, "The first cause of life is, of course, God."

Heaven and earth, all things, the sun, moon, and stars, and even their bodies that breathe and think—the "first cause"—all come from God's creative act. The distinction between life and non-life lies in the "spirit" bestowed by God.

In Okogi's view, this is not a scientific problem requiring proof but a matter of faith. Laigushi's question, on the contrary, left him feeling puzzled—could this question possibly stump a member of the genius club?

"Creationism..."

Beside him, Badeni glanced at him, then quickly averted his gaze. Although he himself was also a clergyman, from his expression it was clear that Okogi's answer could not satisfy him.

"Aristotle once said that all things have four causes: material, formal, efficient, and final. The first cause is God, the creator; then where does God himself come from? If God needs no cause, why do all things in the world require one?"

"This..."

Okogi lowered his head in embarrassment; he had never read Aristotle, and didn't even know how to answer Mr. Badeni's question.

"I suppose Laigushi would also not accept an uncaused 'first mover'." Badeni looked at Okogi's shrinking figure, turned and lifted his gaze to the genius in the heavens: "The first cause of life should not be a personified will, but rather some more fundamental, more universal law—the necessary evolution of matter under specific conditions, the internal logic of the universe's own operation."

Could it be that Laigushi raised this question because he is seeking the full realization of an object's internal purpose in life's evolution?

"Ah? Hidden, hidden what... Sorry, Mr. Badeni, could you please repeat that?"

"The full realization of an object's internal purpose—this is a philosophical term proposed by Aristotle, referring to the full realization of an object's internal purpose. He believed that an object's purpose is not imposed externally but lies inherently within its own potential."

Okogi's expression grew even more ashamed: "I don't get it..."

Badeni couldn't help but roll his eyes, he raised his hand and pointed to a fruit tree outside the window: "Just like a tree's seed, its full realization of an object's internal purpose is to grow into a towering tree; becoming a tree is the seed's 'purpose'."

"However, Laigushi constantly simulates the evolution of civilizations within the Imperial Scepter; could it be that he is trying to discern the ultimate purpose of all life in the universe?"

——

"Of course, I don't intend to discuss the philosophy of Shu Ting; let's instead turn our gaze farther afield. Beyond Wengfalusi, that which people call the forbidden outer heavens... Have you ever heard of the 'School War'?"

"In that magnificent, brutal war waged in the name of wisdom, a genius's legacy was utterly cast aside, scattered across the galaxies. That is the Scepter, a macroscopic computational array unimaginable to mortals. It was born to simulate the thoughts of star gods, and in the instant of its birth it became part of the star gods' thinking. They spread throughout the universe, like the celestial neurons of the erudite venerable."

"It is unfortunate, but in the end wisdom abandoned them. This is known to all."

"But what people do not know is: the forgotten ones still tirelessly seek to answer that one question of the divine. That question, which exhausted countless geniuses—including the two mechanical emperors—in the fires of war and catastrophe, remains unproven..."

"Hehe, now you are finally about to enter the truth of Wengfalusi." Laigushi chuckled lightly, "If—I say if—there were a Scepter that completed the answer to the 'first cause of life'... if, at the end of that empty, cold, lonely computation, the one deemed a failure by the wisdom star god, after an immensely long time, personally completed the proof..."