Chapter 569 Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin (7200 words, New Volume Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

April 9, 2019, 10 PM.

West Coast of the American Federation, Colinren Research Center, affiliated with the NW Foundation.

Before the spiritual energy revival, the Colinren Research Center was often mistaken for a zoo by visiting citizens. This was not surprising, as the open research center was perpetually lush with greenery, appearing ideal for picnics, and its enclosures did indeed house samples of most of the world's creatures.

Selling admission tickets to recoup research funds was one of the operating methods of the Colinren Research Center. The center even had a mobile ice cream truck specifically for tourists, open 365 days a year, with hazelnut chocolate being the most popular flavor.

After the spiritual energy revival, due to numerous impacts from animal protection organizations, the Colinren Research Center was forced to close its exhibition area. Although many citizens lamented the loss of a place to take their children during leisure time, this did not change its essence.

It is one of the best biotechnology research centers in the Americas, and even the world.

The Colinren Research Center was silent at night, seemingly deserted. Although most of the living samples were sent to other regions, either released into the wild or entrusted to zoos, in the underground non-public areas, many staff members were working. A small number of rare experimental individuals were still kept here, requiring constant care and data recording.

Noel Muer, the chairman of the NW Foundation, was walking side by side with a 'human' with black and silver long hair.

Tain, the envoy from the Celestial Race, the guardian of the Sacred Land, had already perfected his biological interface for communicating with humans. He now looked like a standard, exotic human handsome man.

However, the handsome man's expression was serious, his brow furrowed, clearly surprised by what he saw.

A monitor lizard.

A monitor lizard that had obviously undergone genetic and mechanical modification, its body wrapped in silver-gray metal, its eyes revealing intelligence.

After half a year of living on Earth, Tain already had a considerable understanding of this legendary 'Black Domain Restricted Area Civilization.' He even knew that the former main body of this civilization, the spiritual energy eternal life group of the Immortal God Civilization, had broken through the barrier of the Great Rift before the Silent Era and went to other alien universes and worlds for refuge.

However, the humans who remained in their 'ancestral land' have also developed a quite advanced civilization. Although the current Earth civilization has some defects in terms of space travel technology, it still has considerable strength in various spiritual energy skills. Combining spiritual energy technology with their technological prowess is also a method for them to accelerate development.

As an ambassador, Tain is often invited by official organizations and major forces from various countries to visit different regions and share the technologies of Earth and the Celestial Race. Although Tain is not a professional technician, as an explorer who can drive an exploration ship alone, his knowledge is quite impressive and sufficient for this job.

Now, having accepted the invitation from the NW Foundation to come to the Colinren Research Center on the West Coast, Tain could not help but fall into confusion.

[This monitor lizard...] He exchanged glances with the monitor lizard, most of whose body had been mechanically modified and whose eyes were bright, and then turned to look at Noel Muer, the chairman of the NW Foundation, beside him: [It has intelligence?]

"I have a name."

At this moment, the monitor lizard spoke. His tone was amiable, with a hint of laziness: "I am called Basilisk, the name of a strange poisonous snake in mythology. Of course, if you ask me, the aesthetic sense of the researcher who named me is really terrible. Even calling me 'Little Gray' or 'Spot' would be better than this name, at least more intimate."

The monitor lizard's voice was clear. Although somewhat strange, the translator above his head transmitted a logically clear, fluent human voice.

He even has his own name and aesthetic sense.

This is indeed very strange.

Monitor lizards, an ancient reptile, generally grow to more than half a meter to a meter in length. They are the most intelligent family in the Squamata suborder. The most intelligent monitor lizards even have intelligence comparable to that of cats and dogs among mammals, understand how to use tactics and feints, and understand some instructions.

But this modified monitor lizard is more than 1.5 meters long. He is unusually large, and his brain is also larger than that of a normal monitor lizard. Around this mechanical monitor lizard, there are other ordinary monitor lizards, presumably as controls. They are all resting at the moment, or awakened by the stimulation of the lights, preparing to forage.

Talking lizards are not uncommon. Just recently, Tain met Jiu Ming, the current Dragon King of the South Sea (fifteen years old), in Zheng Country.

Although it is difficult to argue whether Jiu Ming's body is an echinoderm or a reptile, generally speaking, it is not strange for animals to talk in this era of spiritual energy revival.

But the strange thing is that this monitor lizard named Basilisk has no spiritual energy reaction at all.

He doesn't even have a soul.

"Another new visitor. I'm going to sleep now. If there's anything, you can wake me up—although I don't think it's generally necessary."

After answering Tain's question, Basilisk closed his eyelids and continued to rest.

Being visited is something he has long been accustomed to. Anyway, food is automatically delivered every day. He doesn't care whether he lives in a breeding ground or a free but dangerous mountain jungle.

Because he understands human culture, Basilisk knows that his current state is exactly the 'eat, drink, and be merry' state that many ordinary humans cannot obtain, which is very wonderful.

Tain stared at the monitor lizard who fell asleep on his own.

After thinking for a while, he turned his head and solemnly looked at Noel Muer, who was smiling: [So, you used biotechnology, plus electronic brain modification, to create a monitor lizard with intelligence close to that of a fifteen-year-old human?]

[Without using spiritual energy, without promoting enlightenment, just using biotechnology to create a lizard that can communicate normally?]

"Indeed."

In response, the white-haired old chairman nodded with a smile. He stroked his beard, his tone carrying a hint of a smile: "After generations of optimization and cultivation, as well as the transformation of related cyber technology, we can improve the intelligence of most animals to a level comparable to, or even surpassing, that of ordinary humans—they can even go online to learn human-related knowledge, learn human languages, and understand human modes of thinking."

"The monitor lizard 'Basilisk' at the Colinren Research Center is a successful example, and so is the dolphin 'Leviathan' at the coastal breeding center—Leviathan's intelligence even surpasses that of ordinary humans. She can even understand cultivation methods and autonomously cultivate from scratch."

Speaking of this, Noel Muer turned his head with a solemn expression and looked at Tain, who also had a dignified expression. He emphasized: "It's not that they were first enlightened by spiritual energy, gained wisdom, and then spontaneously absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to carry out self-sublimation."

"But from scratch, they used pure intelligence to understand cultivation methods, and then引动 *yindong* (guide and activate) spiritual energy into the body, cultivating like most humans."

[...What's the point?]

Taking a deep breath, the alien from the Celestial Race murmured in incomprehension. The Celestial Race could also do this technology. After all, as the most powerful civilization in biological technology in the observable universe, they can even manufacture living spacecraft that can be planted and sown like plants. It's just a matter of time to create highly intelligent animals.

But, why?

[To be honest, with this technology, there is no need to optimize and transform the lizard's brain. You can create an AI with intelligence comparable to that of humans out of thin air, right?]

This is the most real doubt.

It is as strange as if there were clear streams and lakes around the village, but one had to laboriously dig a well in the rocky ground next to it—since they can already make animals look like humans, wouldn't it be easy to create a smarter AI that looks more like a human?

What the Celestial Race cannot understand is not the technology, but the Earthlings' way of thinking.

"AI is not important, that's another issue."

In response, the Earthling Noel Muer just chuckled. He looked at the monitor lizard in front of him and said: "The difference between humans and animals lies only in intelligence. If animals have reliable intelligence that can be continued and passed down after biological modification, then what is the essential difference between them and humans?"

"And if originally intelligent humans undergo similar modification surgery, then what is the essential difference between the modified humans and the original humans?"

Calmly elaborating everything, Noel Muer's eyes became a little dazed: "What's important is the definition of humans."

——When animals become humans, humans become gods.

"The intelligence and thinking ability of humans who have undergone a complete set of 'Superman transformation surgery' will take a leap—Basilisk looks at his kind like immortals and gods look at mortals, and the modified humans will also obtain some elements of immortal and divine wisdom before obtaining the power of immortals and gods."

"They can browse all their memories, will not forget anything, have extremely rich associative ability, use big data to summarize all information, and use the most efficient algorithms... If everyone undergoes this transformation surgery, and everyone possesses the same power and thinking as immortals and gods... Can this explain that humans have surpassed themselves and become a completely new and powerful species by their own wisdom?"

Saying this, Noel Muer looked at Tain beside him, this pursuer of the NW (New World), waiting for the answer from other members of the civilization.

"The Celestial Race, whose biotechnology surpasses ours and may have already gone through this road, how exactly do you view this process?"

This is the reason why Noel Muer invited Tain to visit here.

Because the road to be taken next is an unknown road that Earth humans have never taken before. It is a dark road, without knowing the end, and how bumpy the journey will be, so he wants to ask the pioneers in this regard for their opinions.

[Is this important?]

The Celestial Race asked in confusion: [No matter what kind of transformation they have undergone, as long as they are children of the earth derived from the spirit of the planet, they are members of the Celestial Race—whether they are intelligent or foolish, wise or beast-like, they are all our compatriots.]

[Not all Celestial Race members have wisdom in the usual sense—the atmosphere that envelops our 'living planet' is essentially also a child of the planet with basic wisdom, in other words, it is also a member of the Celestial Race, but because it is too large, it cannot have intelligence like ours.]

[Wisdom, for us, cannot be used as a factor to distinguish races.]

Ultimately, the Celestial Race and humans are completely different from the root, these are two intelligent races with completely different origins.

"I see, I understand..."

Hearing this, Noel Muer couldn't help but sigh: "But for humans, this is very important."

Humans.

Homo sapiens.

Primates with great intelligence, with language and labor, with sociality and class, the obvious difference between this species and other primate apes lies in brain capacity, that is, intelligence.

With intelligence, humans invented tools, created a civilization system, and a cultivation system. Humans used their almost unique innate wisdom on Earth to defeat the numerous primitive spiritual beasts and divine beast clusters that needed spiritual energy to gain wisdom, and created the glorious Immortal God Civilization of the past.

Everything is based on this.

But what if this foundation changes?

"If humans can create species similar to themselves, surpassing themselves, can humans extract their own genes and create biochemical humans who are genetically closer to themselves than their own children, who can better inherit their genes—and those biochemical humans, from birth, hold the best genes, the best modes of thinking and algorithms, possess all the big data database of previous generations of humans as a basis for analysis and judgment, and can connect to the network to directly inherit the technology of the entire human civilization... Wouldn't such an existence be more human than humans?"

"In that case, what is the meaning of reproduction? What is the meaning of naturally conceiving offspring?"

"And can those manufactured 'humans' really be considered humans? Are we creating our own replacements?"

Narrating the imagined future, the old man's tone carried a trace of heaviness... and a trace of longing.

He could vaguely see a future—all humans connected together through the network, sharing spirit and computing power through big data algorithms, sharing knowledge and thinking, and each individual human having far more powerful thinking hardware than before. They are connected through consensus algorithms, working together to overcome difficulties, sharing joys and sorrows, and pursuing higher realms of cultivation together.

At that time, one person's breakthrough is the breakthrough of all mankind, one person becomes an immortal, and everyone can become an immortal.

In this future, humans transcend themselves and become a higher-level species, creating a completely new world landscape—that is precisely the wish of the NW Foundation.

However, the creatures in that future also made him feel a trace of fear in addition to longing.

"Superman transformation surgery, as well as other transformations, or the emergence of high-level anthropomorphic AI, will make most ordinary people lose their meaning of existence. The value they create, added together, may not be comparable to a high-level supercomputer or a modified person... and their thinking and wisdom may not even be more important than an AI."

"These powerful artificial creations, and those powerful people, their will will become the torrent guiding the human thinking network, transforming other weaker people."

Such a future will become a paradise for the strong.

It will also become a hell for the weak.

Just like the Immortal God Civilization of the past.

In the Immortal God Civilization, powerful cultivators emerged from the human cluster and became high-ranking gods and celestial deities.

They lead humanity, rule humanity, and regard human groups as farmland, cultivate, nurture their own kind, and constantly grow their group, an eternal life group called the God Realm, the Heavenly Court.

Immortals and gods are beings who have transcended humanity and do not regard themselves as the same kind as humans. They do love humans and are full of expectations, but that love is mostly high above.

Moreover, most importantly, for immortals and gods, most of the human population is meaningless—what is meaningful are those individuals with endless potential who can become longevity seekers and immortals and gods, and their love is mostly poured into these individuals, and the other humans are just a population base.

Therefore, the current Earth civilization intends to break through this point. They are trying to lead the whole people to cultivate, carry out various human optimization transformations, and walk a path different from the Immortal God Civilization—they want all human existence to have its meaning.

But now it seems that, with the development of technology, the ending seems to be no different.

"So, I wanted to ask you."

Saying this, Noel Muer couldn't help but sigh again.

According to Tain's previous reaction, the Celestial Race did not seem to have worried about this issue.

Unlike humans, the starting point of the Celestial Race is too high. They don't need to be transformed. Compared to ordinary creatures, they are strong enough. They are not like humans, who are extremely fragile without cultivation.

The existence of every Celestial Race member itself is meaningful.

[The meaning of existence...]

In response, the ambassador was silent for a moment.

Then, he spoke slowly: [Unlike humans, we Celestial Race members have a meaning beyond birth. Before we are born, we already know our mission.]

[That is to worship, protect, sublimate the Galaxy Star, and have faith in our mother planet under our feet—don't forget, for you, we are a religious civilization, and the entity behind the Galaxy Star is a great existence that may transcend our universe, we are precisely worshipping Him.]

[As long as you can do this, it is meaningful. No matter whether a life is strong or weak, noble or lowly, it is the same. Even if it is transformed and smarter than us, or not transformed and more foolish than us, as long as it can do this, they are all our fellow travelers, enjoying the same dignity under the glory of the Galaxy Star.]

"Humans cannot take this path." Noel Muer shook his head slightly.

Tain nodded slightly: [Civilizations are different after all, it is a pity.]

"Yes, it's a pity..."

Just then.

Suddenly, all the spiritual energy-related instruments in the Colinren Research Center began to glow and vibrate suddenly.

This abnormal phenomenon interrupted the conversation between Noel Muer and Tain. Both of them noticed an unusual and incomparably magnificent spiritual energy fluctuation coming from the distant other side. This huge energy fluctuation not only stimulated the instruments of the Colinren Research Center, but its range of influence was greater than everyone imagined.

First, on the entire dark side of the Earth, in the West Coast of North America, all the spiritual energy instruments showed abnormalities, then the entire Americas, the Pacific region, and Asia and Europe on the sunlit side of the Earth.

The incredible fluctuations spread at the speed of light. It reached the moon in just over a second, affecting the joint international space fleet conducting experimental navigation in the lunar dark side base.

The Earth fleet's spiritual energy radar, guided by the Tarin and Cro people, was overloaded by more than half in the first time, and the sensors that detected jump fluctuations issued sharp warnings, because the mass fluctuation of 'exceeding an entire battleship fleet' was distorting space-time from the distant other side, and the huge space-time vibration foreshadowed what inconceivable existence was approaching.

"What's going on?! Are aliens invading?"

"How is that possible? Even the Celestial Race cannot produce an entire space fleet at this time, let alone a heavy-duty fleet cluster of 'more than forty battleships'—Ambassador Tain just said that!"

"Then what exactly is it? Is it the 'cosmic disaster' in the mouths of those aliens? A wild aether dragon, a star-eating behemoth?"

For a time, space stations around the world, space agencies and aerospace organizations of major forces, all realized that the source of the abnormal fluctuations appeared within the solar system, outside the Earth-Moon orbit.

Therefore, various observation facilities, using various methods, cast their eyes in that direction.

Then, they saw it.

April 9, 2019, 10 PM, in the silent and cold vacuum of the universe, an incomparably huge coffin was crossing space-time in incomparably bright silver brilliance.

The silver-gray giant coffin floated in the dark starry sky. Its exterior flashed with bright light patterns, containing various mysterious meanings. Just looking at it made people dizzy.

Previously, the huge spiritual energy fluctuation that swept across the entire Earth-Moon system came from this coffin. The aura within it was pure and profound, solemn and sacred. Just a trace of the afterwave made the entire surface of the coffin release incomparably bright light, making it the brightest star in the night sky over North America.

The most shocking thing was the existence that was pulling this coffin, allowing it to move in the universe...

That was nine seemingly illusory, but lifelike spiritual energy giant dragons!

[That is... the Dao Yuan Nine Dragons!]

On Earth, in the Secret Realm of the Transmission Tower, sensing a familiar but powerful aura, the cyan aura surged and finally condensed into a three-eyed goddess.

The Miro Goddess lowered her head, her divine eyes seeming to be able to penetrate the earth, seeing the giant coffin on the distant other side of the earth, and the spiritual energy giant dragons in front of the coffin, pulling it forward.

In an instant, she couldn't help but be shocked.

——伏渊潜龙 *Fu Yuan Qian Long* (Hidden Dragon in the Abyss), 见野真龙 *Jian Ye Zhen Long* (True Dragon in the Wild), 安忍居龙 *An Ren Ju Long* (Patient Dragon in Dwelling).

——临渊跃龙 *Lin Yuan Yue Long* (Dragon Leaping at the Abyss), 驰天飞龙 *Chi Tian Fei Long* (Dragon Flying in the Sky), 有悔心龙 *You Hui Xin Long* (Dragon with Regretful Heart).

——无首众龙 *Wu Shou Zhong Long* (Headless Dragon of the Masses), 否天代龙 *Fou Tian Dai Long* (Dragon Replacing the Heavens), 众妙道龙 *Zhong Miao Dao Long* (Dragon of All Mysterious Dao).

【求道 *Qiu Dao* (Seeking the Dao)】, 【示道 *Shi Dao* (Demonstrating the Dao)】, 【行道 *Xing Dao* (Practicing the Dao)】.

【蓄道 *Xu Dao* (Accumulating the Dao)】, 【现道 *Xian Dao* (Revealing the Dao)】, 【破道 *Po Dao* (Breaking the Dao)】.

【人道 *Ren Dao* (Human Dao)】, 【天道 *Tian Dao* (Heavenly Dao)】, 【大道 *Da Dao* (Great Dao)】.

Nine dragons with nine colors and nine daos appeared together, each different, and the inheritance and meaning represented by each were also different. The divine dragons were lifelike, towering and majestic, and every move flowed with immense momentum, almost like that of immortals and gods. Each giant dragon was thousands of meters long, stirring the starlight and transforming into various mysterious runes and cloud patterns.

Faintly, it could also be seen that on the surface of the coffin, there were phoenix patterns faintly flashing, and a silent but deeply moving phoenix cry was resounding.

Dragon and phoenix singing together, nine dragons pulling the coffin!

Such a shocking sight was just a phenomenon of pulling the coffin. Such a great phenomenon, which only the Great Heavenly Venerate and even the Heavenly Emperor would have when traveling in the former Central Divine Court, actually appeared in the Immortal Sky Star Field, which was only five years after the revival of spiritual energy... This, this...

[This is, the fluctuation of an α-level spiritual energy user?!]

Hastily walking out of the underground area of ​​the Colinren Research Center, standing on the ground, and looking up at the brightest star in the starry sky, Tain and Noel Muer's expressions were equally sluggish. Although this Cenosian had often been shocked by various incredible things since coming to Earth, what this brought him was not shock, but horror.

α-level spiritual energy user, immortal and indestructible master of the stars, able to rule an entire planetary system with his own power, resist a full-fledged battleship fleet, the strongest of them, if they explode with all their strength, is enough to destroy the entire planetary ecosystem, a cosmic disaster that can even physically tear apart the planet!

Spiritual energy users of this level can sign equal treaties with major galactic powers as individuals, and have the heads of other small countries swear allegiance to him!

And the fluctuations from that huge coffin, which affected the entire Earth-Moon system, were true and real, an α-level spiritual energy fluctuation that was extremely conspicuous in the inherited memory of the Cenosians!

[Su Zhou... Heavenly Immortal!]

The Miro Goddess stretched out her hand. Having already identified whose aura it was, she covered her mouth and then gasped—after all, the ancient virtuous lady did not show her teeth when she laughed. Although Miro was just a tower spirit, she still remembered the basic etiquette: [How is that possible?! Five years as an Earthly Immortal is already exaggerated enough. He, even if he has the posture of a Heavenly Emperor, it is impossible in such a short time...]

Just then, Yan Sheng, who was originally analyzing the computer systems of alien spaceships in the lunar base, also saw the scene of the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin on the distant other side with the latest observatory on the lunar orbit space station.

Immediately, this Holy Seat, who was even more like an AI than the Miro Goddess, couldn't help but gasp a virtual breath of the electronic world: [Wait, isn't that Su Zhou's aura?!]

[He greeted us before, saying that he was going to cultivate in another world to find opportunities. We thought he would be back in a month or two as in the past, but this time it has been eight months... But, but, even if it is eight months, this is a Heavenly Immortal from an Earthly Immortal...]

[This is too exaggerated...]

Although Su Zhou's advance again was indeed incredibly surprising and even shocking.

However, what was even more shocking than this was another obvious thing.

——That is, Su Zhou, who has already become a Heavenly Immortal... is now seriously injured!