Xu Jingming turned the page of the Eight Directions Map and began to cultivate the fifth level.
In the book space, Feather Fire Lord's radiant light illuminated the surroundings as he explained the fifth level.
"The Great Joy realm. This is the fifth level of the Eight Directions Map."
"Ordinary living beings are constantly in pursuit of pleasure while avoiding suffering. They seek out safer and more luxurious homes, comfortable clothing, pleasant melodies, and scenic views. All of these things can be attributed to what we call 'comfort.'"
"It's the natural instinct of living beings to seek out comfort, and it impacts every aspect of their lives. That's why so many living beings are lazy—they succumb to the effects of comfort. Without sufficient external pressure, they become even lazier, which only leads to greater comfort."
"But whether you're a low-dimensional lifeform or a high-dimensional one, competition can be cruel. If you're too lazy, other lifeforms will steal or scam your resources, no matter how plentiful they might be."
"To truly understand comfort and use it to your advantage, you must analyze and comprehend it carefully. This is the only way to avoid being tempted by it and harness its power to your benefit."
Feather Fire Lord grinned, and began his lecture on the Great Joy Realm.
"Listen carefully," he said. "The core of this realm is three desires. First is comfort, second is greed, and third is a feeling of superiority."
"Greed… To want a second after obtaining one. After becoming the strongest low-dimensional lifeform, they want to become high-dimensional lifeforms. After becoming high-dimensional lifeforms, one still yearns for the Eternal Realm, the third realm, or even higher."
"Countless living beings are affected by greed."
"Perfect control over greed can become the motivation for living beings to evolve, but indulging in it will destroy you. Even if you become a high-dimensional lifeform, even a third-realm existence should know… what's within the scope of greed and what's beyond it! Exceeding that will only backfire on you."
Feather Fire Lord didn't elaborate on greed, instead moving on to the desire for superiority.
"It's a very complicated desire," he said. "For example, the desire for power and the need to be better can be considered part of it."
"The insatiable hunger for superiority is perhaps the greatest obsession of countless living beings."
"Even low-dimensional lifeforms are not immune to this innate desire. When they see their peers adorned in beautiful robes, they too yearn for such elegance and luxury, and even more precious ones. And if their companions live in sturdy houses that provide them shelter from the elements, they too strive for such security and even better dwellings."
"But this hunger for superiority is not limited to the lower dimensions. High-dimensional lifeforms also succumb to it, driven by a need to keep up with their peers. If their companions are using miniature universes to raise low-dimensional lifeforms, they too crave such tools for themselves.
"And if their peers have built palaces around Eternal weapons, they too want to construct their own with third-realm weapons."
"To strive for better quality and more prestige is an aspect of the desire for superiority," explained Feather Fire Lord.
"But the desire for comfort, greed, and superiority are all part of the fifth realm, the Great Joy realm. These are all very good desires," said Feather Fire Lord. "Controlling them can allow living beings to evolve better."
"But once it gets out of hand…" Feather Fire Lord shook his head.
"And for those who aspire to become third-realm beings, they must learn to control these desires perfectly," Feather Fire Lord said.
…
Xu Jingming's mastery over appetite and lust was not achieved overnight. He spent over a thousand years in the book space, meticulously observing the desires of more than 10,000 individuals on the experimental planet.
Comfort, greed, and superiority were even more complex.
Despite his struggles, Xu Jingming persevered and continued his trials in the book space.
But even with his vast theoretical knowledge and practical experience, he found himself stuck.
And while he managed to grasp the level of comfort in just a year, greed remained a formidable obstacle in his path.
Xu Jingming stood, his eyes fixated on the illusory realm before him as it dissipated.
"Am I expecting too much?" he wondered aloud. "I care about my species, my homeworld, and my relatives. Sometimes, I have to take risks and risk my life. But according to the tests in the Eight Directions Book, I have to endure it if I think that taking risks is wrong!"
The weight of the destruction of an entire species, a homeworld, and the death of loved ones was heavy on Xu Jingming's shoulders.
"One needs to put up with it!" he murmured, his voice low. "As long as one is strong enough, there are too many ways to revive them. But taking risks might lead to true death, making everything for naught. I understand the guidance of the Eight Directions Map, but sometimes, I can't stand it."
He struggled to perfectly grasp the range of greed.
I have to change my way of thinking. It can't be the way a low-dimensional lifeform thinks but the way a high-dimensional lifeform thinks, Xu Jingming thought. Some extraordinary half-step third-realm entities can transform their kin into spawn, but what really makes third-realm beings so powerful is their ability to alter the past!
The past was set in stone?
Wrong!
Third-realm existences possessed an unfathomable power that could rewrite history, bringing the dead back to life, their experiences now woven into the fabric of time. And yet, such meddling came with a cost. For those left behind, their very existence became uncertain, as though they had never been.
The trajectory of an entire timeline could be altered because of a third realm's manipulation.
Third-realm existences held sway over their past, present, and future with a firm hand that could not be broken. Immutable, they were.
…
Xu Jingming was stuck cultivating the Eight Directions Map, but his research of the universe's laws was going smoothly.
How ingenious. He stared at the 20 miniature universes colliding in the beast hide space, each governed by their own unique laws. The way they interacted with each other was a revelation to Xu Jingming, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at how much he had learned.
The dean and the others have imparted me a wealth of knowledge, and I have even acquired the secrets of establishing an inner universe. Not to mention the 20 miniature universes, carefully crafted by an invincible half-step third realm for his offspring, and the tens of thousands of real universes at my disposal. These are enviable conditions for any ordinary Firstborn realm high-dimensional lifeform. Xu Jingming was in a great mood.
His clones were scattered across nearly 2,000 dominions, each one observing the intricacies of the universes within.
The laws governing tens of thousands of universes were as diverse as the stars in the sky.
Only high-dimensional lifeforms of the Heart Realm Force lineage possessed the power to observe these countless universes through their multitude of clones scattered across the dominions.
The inner universe of Eternal lifeforms is far from vast. In fact, it is more akin to a pocket-sized universe. For Xu Jingming, however, all focus was fixated upon the 20 miniature universes that collided with one another.
…
The days of cultivation flew by.
Just like how hours might pass unknowingly for an ordinary person when they got lost in painting, studying, reading novels, or binge-watching television shows… High-dimensional lifeforms possessed an unparalleled focus and energy, far surpassing anything mere mortals could ever hope to achieve. Even with a clone at his disposal to oversee the survival tests, Xu Jingming allocated more than 99% of his boundless energy to the study of cosmic spacetime.
It was a passion that consumed him entirely, leaving him utterly engrossed in the constant gains that his tireless efforts yielded.
Life continued to unfold around him during his research, and many things happened.
In the universe where Test Planet #57 was situated, a violent conflict erupted between two low-dimensional lifeforms.
It turned into a genocidal war.
The two sides were equally insane, and their high-dimensional counterparts joined in the battle.
The fighting was fierce, and in the end, only one of the high-dimensional lifeforms on the losing side escaped. The entire species was wiped out.
The victorious side fared only slightly better. Though their high-dimensional lifeforms survived, over 70% of their species perished in the aftershocks of the battle.
Xu Jingming couldn't help but shake his head as he recounted the horrors of the war. "It was a battle between high-dimensional Eternal lifeforms gone mad, and low-dimensional lifeforms that stood no chance against them. Despite the full protection of the high-dimensional beings on the winning side, over half of the species still perished."
But the high-dimensional lifeforms were not deterred by such losses. They knew that their species would soon multiply to a scale that far exceeded their current size.
The war was massive in scale, and as a member of the Heart Realm lineage, Xu Jingming was simply protecting just one habitable planet. Both sides in the conflict deliberately avoided him.
"It was in the year 1298 of the experiment when the genocidal war broke out between neighboring species in the universe where Test Planet #57 was located. But perhaps there was a deeper reason, one that lay beyond the petty squabbles of the high-dimensional lifeforms."
"Then, in the year 3620 of the experiment, another catastrophe struck. This time, it was the universe where Test Planet #3021 was located that was under attack. All living beings in the universe were sacrificed, slaughtered without mercy or hesitation. What could I do being at the Firstborn realm? I could only watch in horror as the shadow of the Abyss descended and enveloped the entire universe."
Xu Jingming couldn't forget that scene.
The sacrificial ceremony had unleashed the shadow of the abyss, a menacing force that had consumed the entirety of the universe, leaving no living being spared.
"In the year 5085 of the experiment, chaos erupted throughout the universe where Test Planet #9773 resided. A third-realm weapon had surfaced, sparking a ferocious battle that extended far beyond the realm's limits. The aftershocks alone were enough to annihilate one-sixth of all cosmic lifeforms."
Xu Jingming was not yet qualified to enter the fray. Even so, he bore witness to the sheer vulnerability of low-dimensional lifeforms.
The initial tremors were enough to make even the bravest of souls quiver with fear. The later battles took place in high-dimensional space, where two half-step third-realm powerhouses waged war.
"Yet, this was just one of many conflicts—great and small—that raged across the universe, ones that I've only heard of."
Xu Jingming's clones—scattered throughout countless dominions—kept a low profile, devoting themselves to the study of spacetime in each respective universe. They observed the experiment from afar, never engaging in any battles or drawing undue attention.
"It's been 7,000 years."
Nearly 2,000 clones in the various dominions, all sported knowing smiles.
"The survivability observation has been ongoing for 7,000 years," he continued, "and I've also been studying cosmic spacetime for just as long."
"Seven thousand years feels like a mere blink of an eye," Xu Jingming mused, his mind racing with mixed emotions. "Time to high-dimensional lifeforms is indeed different from low-dimensional lifeforms."
It had taken him more than 3,900 years to ascend to the level of a high-dimensional lifeform, and during that time, he had undergone a multitude of experiences.
However, 7,000 years of cosmic spacetime research felt like the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
The feeling of time was clearly different.
"It's no surprise that the research of our kind can span tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. I have devoted myself to studying for 7,000 years, yet my mind feels no fatigue. It's evident that my focus has yet to reach its limits. I only stopped because I achieved my goal—to comprehend the method of establishing a universe."
"Even if Miaomiao and the others possess a lifespan of 100,000 years, it might only be sufficient time for me to complete one or two research studies in the future." He couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotions.
The contrast between low-dimensional and high-dimensional lifeforms became more apparent to Xu Jingming with each passing day.
