Chapter 4226: Entropy Increase
Heavenly Palace.
The Central Divine Palace stood high above the Nine Heavens.
The Council of All Heavens convened, with Divine Kings and Divine Venerables in attendance.
Together, they discussed the future of the universe.
The "Myriad Realms Grand Formation," "Divine Army and the Power of All Living Beings," "Countering the Seventy-Two Layer Tower," "The Great Calamity and the Eight-Character Heavenly Secret Sent Back by the Great Venerable"—all were topics on the agenda.
Various discussions, deployments, and debates had already lasted several hours.
Some advocated for a direct campaign against the God Realm, some proposed dispersing cultivators to the cosmic frontiers, and others volunteered to self-detonate their Divine Sources.
Opinions differed, and ideas varied, but every deity standing in the Central Divine Palace today was open and forthright. Those who wavered between two sides had either been imprisoned or had perished in wave after wave of calamities.
Xuanyuan Lian, clad in the Xuanhuang Divine Armor, stood with a straight back, heroic and resplendent, and asked, "Does Imperial Dust intend to choose the Myriad Realms Star Domain as the decisive battlefield?"
The so-called "Myriad Realms Star Domain" referred to the star domain where the myriad realms and all heavens of the Heavenly Court Universe converged.
Not only Xuanyuan Lian, but many deities of the Heavenly Court Universe thought so.
Over the past thirty thousand years, Imperial Dust, in his incarnation as the "Heavenly Venerable of Life and Death," had ordered the consumption of vast resources to construct the Myriad Realms Grand Formation.
Now, first the Divine Ancient Nest had migrated here, followed by the Yama Clan, the Primordial Beings, and the deities of the Sword Realm gathering here.
With such a convergence of forces, if not for a decisive battle, then for what?
In many people's view, the "Myriad Realms Grand Formation," "Divine Army," and "Power of All Living Beings" were Imperial Dust's trump cards against the Seventy-Two Layer Tower. Fighting the decisive battle in the Heavenly Court, in the Myriad Realms Star Domain, would give Imperial Dust the advantage of terrain and home ground.
Zhang Ruochen sat on the Heavenly Venerable Throne at the highest point. His white robe, embroidered by Mu Lingxi, was quite elegant, devoid of imperial might, making him appear more like a carefree, refined young master.
He said, "If I choose the Myriad Realms Star Domain as the battlefield, what are your opinions?"
Seeing the silence of the crowd, he added, "Speak freely, without any reservations. To face the dangerous challenges of the future, everyone must join hands sincerely. Today, I want to hear the truth!"
If the Myriad Realms Star Domain became the battlefield, the myriad realm beings of the Heavenly Court Universe could all turn into ashes in the ancestral war.
The destructive energy caused by the previous ancestral melees and the actions of the Immortal in the universe was enough to confirm this.
The homes, clans, and loved ones of the Heavenly Court Universe's deities were all here.
If they truly had to make a choice, Zhang Ruochen believed that no one would be willing to turn their home into a battlefield and place their clan in the flames of calamity.
"Fight if we must. We'll listen to Imperial Dust. The height he stands at must be more comprehensive than our considerations, and it will definitely be the most correct." Xiang Chunan was the first to stand up, unconditionally supporting Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Yan analyzed rationally, "The Heavenly Court is the highest interface in the universe, the heart of all realms. In terms of defense, no other place can compare. Only the Heavenly Court might be able to withstand the attack of the Seventy-Two Layer Tower and stop the God Realm from devouring the universe."
Xuanyuan Lian stood up, cupped his fists, and said, "I am by no means raising an objection, nor are the cultivators of the Heavenly Court Universe afraid of death. I just want to know a definite answer so that we can make thorough arrangements."
"What do you mean by thorough arrangements?" Chi Yao asked.
Xuanyuan Lian said, "The myriad realms and the ocean of Divine Throne Planets floating above them must be further contracted. It would be best to form a single pan-universal great world."
This proposal was extremely crazy, shocking all the deities present.
But to withstand the Seventy-Two Layer Tower and the God Realm, one had to be crazy.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you think forming a single pan-universal great world can stop the Seventy-Two Layer Tower?"
"I don't know!"
Xuanyuan Lian added, "But I know this is the best way to condense the power of all living beings and enhance defense. Either we live together, or we fight and die together. There is no third path."
Zhang Ruochen neither agreed nor disagreed. His gaze swept around the hall, and he said, "I am well aware of the worries and fears in everyone's hearts, but I also know that when the moment of true life and death arrives, none of you will be afraid or retreat."
"I have never thought of setting the Myriad Realms Star Domain as the final decisive battlefield, because even if the myriad realms truly formed a single pan-universal great world, it would be impossible to stop the Seventy-Two Layer Tower. On the contrary, the casualties would be severe, and life would wither."
"This is not the result I want to see, nor do I believe it is the result you all want to see."
"Cultivators are nurtured by the living beings and resources of the world, and they should take it as their duty to protect the world. Take from the world, give back to the world."
"Therefore, the Ancestors and the Immortal of the God Realm are my opponents, and also the responsibility on my shoulders. I will solve all the problems, without needing to sacrifice the living beings of the myriad realms and all heavens."
The man on the divine throne, though elegant and refined, had eyes that revealed unparalleled determination and confidence.
It moved every deity in the hall.
Many deities wanted to speak, but Zhang Ruochen waved his hand to stop them. He said, "I am by no means trying to be a hero, nor have I ever thought that I alone am noble while the rest are insignificant."
"Hao Tian said that he originally did not have the courage to become the master of the Heavenly Court and face the Immortal. But there was no one left in front of him. He could only face the wind and rain, grit his teeth, step forward, and lead the living beings forward, not daring to reveal any weakness in his heart."
"Yan Renhuan, who was struck by the Smoke Blood Curse, said to me before he died that he had been waiting for me, so he dared not die. That day, I went to the Yama Clan, and he waited for me, so he dared to face death. Because he believed that I could be the opponent of the Immortal. From that day on, I owed him a great debt. Only by fighting the Immortal to the death and fulfilling his last wish could I repay it."
"Yan Huanyu said that the path of death is the easiest, while those who live must bear the heavy responsibility, carrying all the pain and hardship."
"Hao Tian once asked me, 'Do you lack confidence, or do you not want to bear this responsibility?'"
"In the Gray Sea, Ksitigarbha King, Meng Weiyang, Hao Tian, Yan Huanyu, and the Fourth Confucian Ancestor sacrificed their lives to win a glimmer of hope for me, transferring all hope and responsibility onto me. It is heavy, and I dare not forget it for a single moment."
"What is responsibility?"
"Responsibility is the Twenty-Four Heavens who never returned, the Five Elements Temple Master who reversed the Five Elements, the existence of Yan Huanyu in this world, the Clan Extermination Art performed by Meng Naihe and Meng Weiyang, and Ksitigarbha King's question to the Nether Ancestor: 'Dare I ask, on the Sixteenth Day, was there an Ancestor in ancient times who self-detonated their Divine Source to kill you?'"
Zhang Ruochen found it difficult to calm his emotions, deeply immersed in thoughts and memories, suffering immensely.
In this life, too many cultivators had given their lives to fulfill him.
At this moment, many deities in the hall had reddened eyes, tears falling on the spot.
Generation after generation of Heavenly Venerables had died, yet they still lived.
Xuanyuan Lian was momentarily dazed. After a long while, she clenched her teeth and said, "We too are cultivators, and we also have the responsibility to give back to the world. How can we watch Imperial Dust go to fight the God Realm alone? Lian, on behalf of all the deities of the Heavenly Court Universe, requests to join the battle!"
"All deities of the Heavenly Court Universe request to join the battle!"
"The cultivators of the Yama Clan will not cling to life disgracefully."
"Every cultivator of the Sword Realm is a sharp sword in Imperial Dust's hand."
One after another, divine voices echoed within the Central Divine Palace.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand and said, "What you need to do is to quickly go and destroy the altars throughout the Heavenly Court Universe. Not a single one can be left. I hope it's not too late. Matters of Ancestors are decided by Ancestors. It's not yet your turn."
Those who understood Zhang Ruochen knew that when he said such words, it was not because he was confident he could eliminate all the Ancestors and the Immortal of the God Realm.
Rather, he was confident that he could take away all threats at the cost of his own death.
It was precisely this will to advance even in the face of certain death that allowed him to often find life in death, step by step reaching today, becoming the number one Imperial Dust under heaven.
This state of Imperial Dust was what the Immortal of the God Realm feared.
Whoever feared would retreat. Retreat once, and they would retreat ten thousand times.
Inside the hall.
Some struggled in silence, some were filled with high battle intent, and some were helpless and worried.
Zhang Ruochen changed the subject and said, "All the wise people of the world are gathered here today. Has anyone comprehended the eight-character heavenly secret that the Great Venerable sent back from the past? This is likely related to the origin of the Calamity of Quantities!"
"Myriad Forms in Chaos, Entropy Increase Irreversible" was brought up again, and many cultivators expressed their insights.
After a bout of chaotic debate.
Feng Yan said, "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor once said that entropy only increases and never decreases. When it reaches the final critical point, the universe will be unable to bear it. After the entropy flare, stars will rapidly expand, triggering a collective supernova explosion, and the Calamity of Quantities will follow, ending everything in the universe."
"The Fourth Confucian Ancestor never experienced a Great Calamity, so it's obviously impossible for him to know this so clearly. These ideas were clearly passed down by the Immortal of the previous era."
"I searched through all the records of the Wind Clan and found some clues. Empress Wa once studied entropy!"
"She believed that all things in the universe are evolving towards disorder and chaos, and the entropy value will continuously increase, and this process is irreversible."
"When the entropy value reaches a certain level, it will transform into the Calamity of Quantities, destroying everything in the universe and restarting a new era."
Zhao Gongming said, "All things are evolving towards disorder and chaos? I don't think so. If all the deities present here issue an order to restore order to the universe, making everything orderly, wouldn't the entropy increase be reversed? The Great Calamity would be easily resolved and would never come."
Feng Yan shook his head with a smile, "It's not that simple. Even the words and speech of War God Gongming just now caused an entropy increase. Ordering all cultivators in the world to be orderly is also an entropy increase. Living beings, as long as they act, as long as they breathe, as long as they are alive, cause an entropy increase every moment."
"According to your meaning, if we kill all living beings in the world, the entropy increase would be reversed, right? Hmm, isn't that the intention of the Minor Calamity launched by the Immortal?" Zhao Gongming said.
Feng Yan shook his head again, "The process of killing is also an entropy increase. According to the explanations in ancient texts, the consciousness and activities of living beings accelerate the rate of entropy increase. Killing most living beings can slow down the rate of entropy increase for a certain period, but one thing remains unchanged: entropy is always increasing."
Bai Qinger said, "If Empress Wa had already given the reason for the formation of the Calamity of Quantities, why would the Great Venerable send back the eight characters 'Myriad Forms in Chaos, Entropy Increase Irreversible'? In the Great Venerable's understanding, entropy increase and the Great Calamity must be solvable. The key might be hidden in the chaos of myriad forms. Imperial Dust, can't myriad forms truly change from chaos to order?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Of course they can!"
The deities present had their eyes light up.
The Great Calamity—even the Immortal was not confident in confronting it.
If they forcibly confronted it, they would surely die.
Only by fundamentally solving the problem, making the Great Calamity never come, could the civilization of this era be continued.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The birth of life is an entropy decrease, a change from disorder to order. But once life gains consciousness and produces actions, entropy increase immediately begins."
Many deities were deep in thought.
Zhang Ruochen added, "The Great Calamity is also an entropy decrease! It destroys everything, resetting entropy to zero."
"There are two paths to entropy decrease: one is life, the other is destruction. The latter is definitely not the path we want to take, so the key might lie in the birth of life."
Pan Yuan Ancient God muttered to himself, then looked at Zhang Ruochen, who remained calm and composed, and asked, "Does Imperial Dust already have a way to stop the Great Calamity from coming?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly, then shook his head, "I can only say that I have found a path that might work. But after the entropy flare, the stars in the universe have already begun to expand. The Great Calamity has essentially already started. Regarding the Great Calamity, everyone, including me, must hold a reverent attitude. No one dares to claim absolute certainty."
"Even if there's only a ten percent chance, we will firmly support Imperial Dust. Even if we ultimately fail and all die under the Calamity of Quantities, we will have no resentment."
"Imperial Dust, follow your thoughts and fight with all your might."
The deities present were almost all loyal supporters of Imperial Dust, trusting him without reservation.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, "It's not me fighting with all my might, but you. I will pass this path on to the members of the Supreme Council. If I do not return, they will lead you to seek the final chance of survival."
"Imperial Dust!"
"Imperial Dust!"
"Father..."
Everyone could tell that Imperial Dust was implying a final testament.
Zhang Ruochen raised his voice, "I only said 'if I do not return'... Why are you grieving? I am an Ancestor. On this campaign, you should sing war songs."
"Go now. Empress Chi Yao, Ling Yanzi, Pan Yuan Ancient God, and Dragon Lord Jiwang, stay behind."
The deities left the Central Divine Palace one after another, casting their final glances at the figure on the divine throne, none knowing if this would be the last time they saw him.
Walking out of the palace, most of the Divine Kings and Divine Venerables transformed into streaks of meteor-like light, going to lead the cultivators in destroying the altars of the various realms.
Jing Daoren, with his round belly, waddled to the right side of the palace gate, looking as if he was waiting.
Zhen Yuan walked out, looked at him with a strange expression, and asked, "Uncle Master isn't returning to the Five Elements Temple?"
"I... I'm waiting."
Jing Daoren smiled.
Zhen Yuan seemed thoughtful, and instead of leaving, he stood beside Jing Daoren.
Jing Daoren was surprised, "Why are you staying?"
Zhen Yuan smiled, "Waiting for someone!"
Seeing Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, Qingsi Xue, and Meng Ge emerge from inside, Zhen Yuan immediately blocked their path and said to Feng Yan, "A word?"
Feng Yan was a bit surprised but still nodded. He said to Xiang Chunan, "Even if Big Brother is leaving, it won't be right away. We should hold a family banquet to see him off. Let's share a jug of wine and wish him a victorious return."
Xiang Chunan's eyes were a bit red, secretly hating that he couldn't help, that despite vowing to live and die together, he didn't even have the qualification to go to war with his big brother.
Hearing Feng Yan's suggestion, his mood recovered somewhat, "Right, right, right. It's been many years since we last gathered. We must hold a family banquet and have a good drink. My children and grandchildren—Big Brother hasn't met them yet! Sixue, set the banquet at the Truth Divine Temple. Go back and prepare quickly. I'll stay here and make sure to invite Big Brother over."
Xiang Chunan shouted loudly towards the square outside the Central Divine Palace, "Gu Shen, Beize, what are you two still standing there for? Get your asses over to the Truth Divine Temple and help out."
Zhang Gushen, Zhang Beize, Chi Kongle, Zhang Hongchen, Zhang Nihe, Yan Ying'er, Zhang Su'e, as well as Bai Qinger, Yuan Sheng, Wu Yue, Moon God, Yu Chenjing, and other women who hadn't left were naturally waiting for Zhang Ruochen.
Even Zhang Ruochen himself didn't know if he would return from this journey.
Even if they couldn't go with him, they should say a proper goodbye.
"Third Uncle always yells at us two. Didn't he see those girls are still here? Don't you think he's acting a bit like an old man throwing his weight around?" Zhang Beize pointed at Chi Kongle and the others, muttering under his breath.
"Shut up."
Zhang Gushen was supreme in talent, temperament, wisdom, and natural endowment, steady and magnanimous, thus holding the highest prestige among all of Zhang Ruochen's children, second only to Chi Kongle.
Of course, Chi Kunlun and Zhang Hongchen, who were labeled as rebellious, were not included in this.
Zhang Gushen bowed to Xiang Chunan, then led Zhang Beize, following Qingsi Xue, and headed to the Truth Divine Temple first. Traveling with them were Moon God and Yu Chenjing, as well as Zhang Su'e, who was forcibly dragged away by Zhang Beize.
"Try dragging me again? I want to wait here for Father."
Zhang Su'e resisted all the way, ready to strike her full-blooded younger brother.
Zhang Beize was not afraid at all, "You can wait at the Truth Divine Temple too. Didn't you learn cooking from the Divine Maiden of Wonderful Hands? You can help out and let Father taste your cooking. Father has never tasted it before!"
Thinking that her father, who had just returned, might leave again and never come back, Zhang Su'e's heart was heavy with pain.
Zhang Ruochen shared his speculations and the method he had thought of with the four people in the hall.
These four all had the strength to enter the Supreme Council.
Chi Yao showed a look of interest, "Since there is a way and a chance to stop the Great Calamity from coming, why not negotiate with the Immortal about this?"
She made this suggestion because she was the only one present, besides Zhang Ruochen, who knew who the Immortal was. Therefore, she believed that once the greatest contradiction of the "Great Calamity" was resolved, both sides might be able to negotiate a peace.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If I can think of a method, do you think the Immortal hasn't considered it?"
Chi Yao fell silent.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "The feasibility of this method is very low. The chance of successfully resolving the Great Calamity is less than twenty percent. But for the Immortal, even ninety percent certainty is not enough; it must be foolproof."
"Do you think that with the God Realm's power being so great, why did they only start acting after the Nether Ancestor died?"
"Do you think that with the Immortal's strength, if they didn't launch the Minor Calamity, what is the probability of them surviving the Great Calamity on their own? I believe that with the support of the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, the Immortal of the God Realm has at least a seventy percent chance."
"But why did they still launch the Minor Calamity to harvest living beings? It's because of those four words: 'foolproof.' A two to three percent mortality rate is enough to make them uneasy, unwilling to take the risk."
"The longer a person lives, the more they fear death, not the less. Especially when they have so much—how could they be willing to lose it like this?"
"Therefore, when the Immortal has absolute power, they will not choose to bear any risk."
Pan Yuan Ancient God snorted coldly, "An existence that can feed on the living beings of the world for immortality—do you expect them to show mercy? Do you expect them to take risks with us?"
"To such an existence, the living beings of the world are like fish in a pond to us. Catching and eating fish carries no guilt. They are no longer of the same mindset as us, nor the same kind of creature." Dragon Lord said.
Ling Yanzi said, "Tell a fisherman who owns a pond full of fish to go up the mountain and farm with you, with only a ten to twenty percent chance of growing food to survive until next year. What do you think he would think?"
"We still need to talk."
Zhang Ruochen changed the subject, "But not to beg them to give up launching the Minor Calamity, but to tell them that persisting in their own way will come at a cost. By then, don't even mention a seventy percent chance—they won't even have a ten percent chance."
Chi Yao was uneasy, always feeling that Zhang Ruochen's journey was fraught with danger, "He knows you too well, so he must have calculated all possibilities. He is so patient. I'm worried that everything is within his calculations."
How could Zhang Ruochen not have such concerns? But at this critical juncture, what other choice did he have?
Zhang Ruochen said, "If he could calculate everything, I would never have reached the Ancestor Realm. If he could control everything, he would not have been severely wounded by the Great Venerable back then."
Dragon Lord suddenly asked, "What about the Nether Ancestor? Is there a connection with Fanxin?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were deep, as if talking to himself, "In this confrontation, she will be the key. If she comes to see me first, the Immortal of the God Realm will either be defeated or forced to compromise. If she wants to be the fisherman who profits from the conflict, she only needs to hide, and she will naturally become the final victor!"
"Uncle Dragon, where is the Ancestor of Creation?"
The Ancestor of Creation possessed the Ancestor Stone Body of the former "Creation Ancestor" of the Stone Clan.
Among the Nine Ancestors of the God Realm's Ten Thousand Generations, the one Zhang Ruochen most wanted to suppress was him.
"Hua!"
In the Central Divine Palace, space extended.
Dragon Lord unfolded a corner of his Divine Realm World, and everyone walked inside.
The Ancestor of Creation, originally dozens of meters tall, had become enormous, over a billion miles in size, even larger than the Stone God Star.
"Shua! Shua! Shua!"
The Abyssal Divine Sword and the Blood Drop Divine Sword flew out, emitting bright black and red light, joyful and with long sword cries, then respectively plunged into the left and right heads of the Ancestor of Creation, refining and absorbing Ancestor matter.
Chi Yao was somewhat surprised, "Abyssal and Blood Drop seem to share the same origin with the Ancestor matter contained in the Ancestor of Creation. The rank of the two swords is rapidly increasing. Could the Creation Divine Iron be related to the Ancestor of Creation?"
When Zhang Ruochen had forged the star core of the Creation God Star into the Abyssal Divine Sword, he had already noticed some connection between the two.
However, at that time, Huang Tian had told him that the so-called "Creation Ancestor" was only at the Heavenly Venerable level, so Zhang Ruochen hadn't thought much of it.
Huang Tian had made that judgment because the material structure of the Creation God Star was the worst among the Stone Clan's ten divine stars, placing it at the level of a Heavenly Venerable-level Stone Clan cultivator.
But upon seeing the Ancestor of Creation, Zhang Ruochen knew that someone had hidden the truth.
The Creation God Star was not formed from the body of the Creation Ancestor after death.
Only the hardest star core part was a piece of the Creation Ancestor's stone body.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Ling Yanzi, "Ancestor Ling should be able to help us answer this question, right?"
The Creation Divine Iron used to forge Abyssal and Blood Drop was divided into "Creation Living Iron" and "Creation Dead Iron." It was given by the Great Venerable to Xumi Saint Monk, who then passed it to Ming Emperor, who forged it into the two swords of life and death, respectively passed to Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao.
The Living Sword could refine all weapons under heaven.
The Dead Sword advanced by absorbing blood.
If it didn't have a great purpose, how could Saint Monk have crossed time and space to give it to Ming Emperor?
Ling Yanzi said, "Creation Divine Iron seems to have been found by him at the Biliuo Pass in Tianhuang. As for its specific function, he never told me. Now it seems to be the most essential substance within the Creation Ancestor's body."
Dragon Lord analyzed, "The era in which the Creation Ancestor existed was extremely ancient. His corpse is in the God Realm, but his most essential substance was at Biliuo Pass. The only reason for this situation is that he was killed jointly by the Immortal of the God Realm and the Nether Ancestor. What did he do to deserve this? What was so special about the Creation Ancestor?"
What Zhang Ruochen was thinking about at this moment was whether the Creation Divine Iron was given to the Great Venerable by the Nether Ancestor or by Fanxin.
………………
PS: The Calamity of Quantities is based on the "Entropy Increase Theory." Of course, in a fantasy novel, take it as entertainment and don't delve into it from a physical perspective.
Also, some readers still don't know about the Great Venerable's side story? The side story is after Chapter 4137, filling in the holes about the Great Venerable, the Nether Ancestor, and the Mani Pearl.