Chapter 174: Returning the Result to [Truth], Forcing the Generosity of [Fate]

Returning the Result to 【Truth】, Forcing the Generosity of 【Fate】

To be honest, he wasn't reluctant.

As a walker of 【Nothingness】, he didn't need to comprehend 【Life】, and furthermore, in his view, this 【Divinity】 didn't belong to him anyway.

This was his promise to Cui Lao, and also proof of Cui Lao's upright character.

Cheng Shi had never treated it as a power, only as a memento of the "light of humanity" he had witnessed.

But now, he suddenly felt that using this 【Prosperity Divinity】 here was not inappropriate.

Because of Cui Qiushi, because of the Fire-Bringers!

The World Tree had never bloomed or borne fruit, which meant that the various effects of the Whisper petals in history were all guesses by later generations.

But even if they were guesses, the Fire-Bringers, caught in a crisis of trust, needed such a petal to stabilize the morale of the troops.

Therefore, handing over this 【Divinity】 in exchange for the catalysis of the Conjugate Whisper, and in exchange for a real Whisper petal, was Cheng Shi's best answer to the Fire-Bringers who had summoned him.

He hadn't expected that the favor of Old Master Cui would ultimately be repaid to Cui Qiushi.

Cheng Shi looked at the Great Scholar, then at the Conjugate Whisper behind him, and after a hundred emotions in his heart, he decisively made his choice.

"What do I need to do?"

A light of hope flashed in Ke Wei's eyes.

"Young man, you don't need to do anything.

I still have some ability to extract the 【Prosperity】 from your body.

You only need to relax your body and not resist, and I will be able to catalyze the Conjugate Whisper in the shortest time, making it...

Truly mature!"

It wasn't a lie.

And there was no need for a lie.

Cheng Shi had already seen it; this Great Scholar had long since dedicated everything to this experiment.

Besides the experimental result, he didn't care about anything else at all.

"That's fine, but...

I have conditions."

It was time for Cheng Shi's bargaining again. He looked at the Great Scholar with burning eyes, and before the other party could respond, he stated his price directly.

"You can take all the 【Prosperity Divinity】 in my body, but before the fruit is borne, I need you to help me keep two..." He realized something was wrong halfway through and immediately changed his words, "all the petals of the Conjugate Whisper that haven't withered yet!"

Since the World Tree had never bloomed or borne fruit, the record in the historical materials of only two petals must also be fake.

Since that's the case, since I'm already here, what's wrong with asking for a bit more?

It's not like I didn't pay.

Ke Wei was slightly stunned, his expression hesitant as he said:

"The Conjugate Whisper is not a plant in the ordinary human sense. Although according to our deductions, it will indeed self-pollinate between void and reality to bloom and bear fruit, we have no way of knowing whether picking its petals will affect its fruiting.

Therefore, for the sake of the birth of the fruit, I cannot guarantee your request...

But if the Whisper Tree blooms enough flowers, I suppose this won't be a difficult matter.

So..."

The Great Scholar's meaning was very clear: he couldn't be sure he could give Cheng Shi what he wanted.

Cheng Shi furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, and had to accept Ke Wei's promise that wasn't a promise.

Because he had no other choice.

【Fate】 and 【Truth】 were probably both waiting for this moment.

"Fine, I understand." His answer was concise, "Do it, save time."

"Thank you, thank you, the Void Mass-Energy department will remember you, the Tower of Reason and Quality will remember you, history will remember you!"

The Great Scholar nodded violently, his body trembling slightly from excitement.

Remember?

Better not to remember.

Cheng Shi smiled, relaxed his body, and spread his hands.

Seeing him like this, the Great Scholar also moved.

He saw him extend a hand and point into mid-air; where his fingertips touched, reality quietly faded, revealing countless void cracks.

In these large and small void cracks, dense tree roots were intertwined, flowing with light entangled by 【Nothingness】 and 【Existence】, both pitch-black like ink and brilliant and colorful.

Under Ke Wei's urging, countless tiny roots "crawled" out of the void cracks and stretched toward Cheng Shi.

And Cheng Shi just watched as the roots quickly pierced into his body, not moving at all.

It wasn't that he had lost his vigilance, but that he discovered the roots of the Conjugate Whisper actually resonated weakly with him.

Just like the feeling of jumping into 【Giggling and Mocking】, the moment the roots pierced into his body, Cheng Shi felt again that he was... home.

"Do not be nervous, do not be afraid; they will not drain your life force.

They are just hungry, having smelled the scent of 【Prosperity】, and are eager for a full meal.

You must know that when the tree seeds of the Conjugate Whisper were first planted, they were catalyzed using 【Prosperity Divinity】.

Perhaps they smelled the scent of 'Mother', which is why they were a bit impatient."

"..."

The 【Divinity】 of 【Prosperity】 was decreasing.

This giant tree was really feeding on them, and as the roots ate, the branches and leaves of the Conjugate Whisper began to sway weakly.

They became greener and more full of vitality.

The surroundings of the glass curtain wall seemed to have been forcibly applied with a high-saturation filter, making the entire laboratory look lush and green.

But even so, Cheng Shi still hadn't found a single flower, not even a flower bud, on the visible canopy branches of this giant tree.

The Great Scholar was equally confused.

Because after a few minutes of absorption, the 【Divinity】 in Cheng Shi's body was almost empty.

"Great Scholar... are you sure its maturity period is only half a year left?"

"Yes!

I am sure!

We have measured the growth rate of the Conjugate Whisper countless times and constantly fitted its growth curve.

This curve began to converge decades ago, getting closer and closer to the peak position.

After continuous verification by generations, we are very sure that it is about to mature, and it will be in half a year!"

"Then how are you sure that this Conjugate Whisper will definitely bloom and bear fruit?

After all, as you said, it is not a plant in the ordinary human sense, and the theory of self-pollination between void and reality is just your guess!"

Ke Wei said with firm eyes:

"【Birth】!

Because the tree seeds of the Conjugate Whisper were created by borrowing His power!

He unites yin and yang and advocates reproduction; all creations related to Him will definitely give birth to new life.

And this point has also been verified in large numbers in the 【Birth】 experiments of the predecessors of the Tower of Reason and Quality.

Therefore, it will definitely bloom and bear fruit."

"But it hasn't!

And the 【Divinity】 in my body is about to be empty."

It wasn't that the Great Scholar didn't see it; sweat was already rushing out on his forehead, and he flipped through the experimental data in his hands page after page, seemingly looking for where it went wrong.

Cheng Shi sucked his teeth with a constipated expression, really wanting to ask one more question:

"Do you think it's possible that this reflection in the void is the new life born of the World Tree?

Or perhaps, the World Tree is the new life born of the Void Whisper?

Who said that new life must be the next generation?

What if they... grow up together?"

The more Cheng Shi thought about it, the more he felt it was possible, and not long after, his entire face became extremely ugly.

It's over; the experiment that the scholars of the Tower of Reason and Quality had upheld for five hundred years might just be a joke...

No wonder the Benefactor had waited for over five hundred years without breaking through the Wall of True Knowledge to take a look.

Interrupting the fun of this long experiment was far less entertaining than coming out to laugh when these scholars were expecting a result but received nothing.

He seemed to have already heard the laughter of 【Deception】 faintly coming from the void cracks.

That ethereal "hee" sound began to echo over Cheng Shi's soul.

"..."

"How could this be? How could this be?

Why didn't it bloom!

Why didn't it bear fruit!?

【Birth】 cannot be wrong, 【Truth】 cannot be wrong, void and reality cannot be wrong, the experimental data cannot be wrong!

Why!?

Why exactly??"

Cheng Shi's expression was hard to describe.

They were indeed not wrong, because the ones who were wrong were you all...

He looked at Ke Wei with slight sympathy, not knowing how to comfort this poor person whose eyes were red and whose whole body was trembling.

"Great Scholar...

The 【Divinity】 of 【Prosperity】 has been eaten up." ===== CHAPTER 175 =====