Shepherd Tantra

Chapter 774 The Tenth Source River?

——And a short time before that.

Aiwass, who was sleeping in the Eternal Theocracy, unconsciously opened his eyes slightly for a moment, and then closed them again.

And in between reality and dreams, Aiwass suddenly stopped flying freely.

He frowned slightly and looked towards the south, with a hint of worry in his eyes that were as bright as the sun.

"what happened?"

——Just now, Aleister completely lost contact with him.

From the moment Aleister stepped onto the land of Star Antimony, Aiwass vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Originally, when Aleister was on the ship, Aiwass and Aleister could communicate in real time anytime and anywhere... But when Aleister entered the city of Leipzig, their communication gradually began to become blurred.

To describe it, it's like the difference between two people chatting by voice and chatting by typing in a window.

The former can easily perceive what the other person is doing, can talk anytime and anywhere, and can hear the other person's status and emotions from the words.

The feedback obtained from the latter is delayed... Not only can the words not fully express the information, but one even needs to wait for the other party to receive the message.

Like a priest listening to a confession, Aiwass sensed Aleister's fragility and melancholy, and noticed his sentimentality and emotional excitement.

In fact, their connection has weakened, and it is getting weaker as time goes by.

Until just now, they had completely lost contact.

“How sad…”

Aiwass closed his eyes slightly and raised his head. His free-flying spirit was suspended in the air, and he opened his arms to embrace the sky: "It turns out that I am always mortal. I am not never sad, just like I am not omnipotent."

In his half-open eyes was a glorious divinity filled with compassion.

This was the exact opposite of Aleister’s emotions becoming increasingly intense and out of control.

Aiwass clearly felt that his emotions were gradually fading.

Or--

He began to gradually understand the amber and tree-like elves.

"How could you have such a dangerous idea?"

The voice of the Lord of Scales and Feathers rang out from Aiwas's heart.

Then, the voice came from beside Aiwass. A faceless man in black appeared near the sky where Aiwass was flying. He was sitting on a chair, with his hands folded on the back of the chair and his head resting on his arms.

The incarnation of the Lord of Scales and Feathers said lazily: "Omnipotence... that kind of thing is not something you can touch."

"Ok, I know."

Aiwass’ voice is calm, peaceful and somewhat divine: “Human perception and selfhood come from human incompleteness, from fear and incompleteness.

"It is precisely because we can get hurt and die that we feel pain. It is a warning. Humans have touch, vision, hearing, smell, taste... These are all based on survival. They are the sensory tentacles that extend out from our imperfections of being 'not omnipotent'.

"If humans become omnipotent one day, then these perceptions will no longer exist. The civilization, culture, country, and emotions that are born out of perception...how fragile and insignificant are they?"

"——That is why there is no "perfection" or "omnipotence" in this world."

The Lord of Scales and Feathers said casually: "All the extraordinary powers in this world are incomplete. No power is absolute, objective, and the only correct path, and there is absolutely no ability that does not require any cost and has no shortcomings.

"Looking through a piece of glass, we can't see anything - what we see is the essence of the world. But if this piece of glass is broken by external forces, we can also get beautiful broken glass. Just like breaking perfection, we also get many imperfections... Your human civilization comes from this... and it is also brilliant because of this."

"Maybe so."

Aiwass replied calmly.

He did not look at the Lord of Scales and Feathers, but stood in the sky and looked down at the earth.

For Aiwas now, he can move forward as he pleases. He no longer needs to eat or drink, nor does he need to sleep or work. He doesn't need to do anything, and nothing can restrain him. Living in the gap between the material world and the dream world, nothing can affect him.

With the power of the Holy Crown, Aiwas can change everything at will. He merged with the corpse of the entire giant tree, and the entire theocracy became his extended body. Anyone living on the giant tree became his people, his children.

Like the sun, it burns itself quietly and bestows light equally on the earth.

That feeling... is like when you play "Stellaris", after setting everything up, you enter the "sea-viewing mode", quietly overlooking the galaxy, watching the color blocks being dyed.

Calm, curious, bored.

While feeling inexplicably relieved, time is passing by meaninglessly. It is like sitting on the beach, watching the tides rise and fall, and the sun and moon rotate.

Aiwass felt that his mood was extremely peaceful, without any distractions.

His pupils are clean and transparent, his brain is clear and ethereal, and his soul is calm and peaceful.

"Do you gods usually feel this way?"

Aiwass suddenly asked.

"What does it feel like?"

The Lord of Scales and Feathers raised his head and said, "Are we free to act? It's not impossible, but it's meaningless. The so-called 'Pillar God' is the pillar of the human world that stands tall and upright... We are indeed the pioneers on the path of the Tao, but we are also prisoners of the Tao.

"Compared to the Pillar Gods, the Heavenly Officials are much freer. The Heavenly Officials have powers that are not much weaker than the Pillar Gods, but they are not bound by the Tao. They do not need to worry too much about the consequences of their actions, nor do they have to worry about violating the principles of the Tao..."

"——I mean, this feeling of emptiness and tranquility in the soul."

Aiwass' eyes were empty and emotionless: "I feel something is wrong, boss."

"Ah, don't take it too seriously, it's a good thing."

Although the Lord of Scales and Feathers has no face, His expression seems to have become serious: "It's best not to think too deeply. Just enjoy your hard-earned vacation. This is the extra-long paid annual leave given to you by your boss..."

"I feel bad, boss."

Aiwass said calmly.

He looked down at the earth, his eyes as compassionate as a god.

At this moment, in the material world - above the 22nd ring, in the "real sky" that no one can see, a huge eye opened silently.

——That was Aiwas’ left eye.

Its appearance seemed to make the sky a little darker - as if it absorbed the light, or blocked the sun.

“Is this all really normal?”

Aiwass said softly, his voice sounding like overlapping thunder and brilliant like the echo in the sanctuary: "I feel that my happiness is decreasing every day... Do all popes have to go through this?

"I can clearly feel that the power of devotion in the depths of my soul is constantly increasing. Logically, this should be a kind of enjoyment... or at least a test. But on the contrary, I feel that my love for the children is becoming thinner, and my willingness to contact Aleister is becoming weaker and weaker..."I feel that everything in the material world is gradually fading. I seem to be... forgetting. No, not forgetting, but abandoning...

"I understand what you mean, and I may understand the secret behind this. But I don't want to be a lofty god. I just want to be an ordinary person, boss."

Aiwass made a rare sound.

He raised his head slightly, and the huge eye in the material world disappeared.

"This is a test, like a moth emerging from a cocoon - if I say this, will you still be determined to know the answer?"

"I'm worried about Aleister."

Aiwass replied softly, "If this trial only affects me... I think I might be able to bear it. But I can't use another person..."

"--Someone else?"

The Lord of Scales and Feathers interrupted Aiwass: "Shouldn't she be you too?"

Aiwass was slightly stunned.

……strangeness.

When did he start to see Aleister as another person?

When Aiwas's mind was in chaos, the voice of the Lord of Scales and Feathers became more serious: "You should have enough faith in the cutting technique of the Sand Clock, Aiwas."

"Of course. That is the great art that created the Great Master and the Supreme Heaven." Aiwass replied.

"In this world, the art of cutting is indeed a great art... After all, when you rise high enough, the mixed self is not enough to grasp more power of the path. If you want to go further, you must get a purer self. Hengwo's egg moon secret art, Huantiansi's tail cutting method, and the gap between the two yin and yang of the sand clock... are all like this.

"And the 'gap between the two yin and yang' will, in principle, divide all your power completely and evenly into two parts."

"I already know this."

Aiwass's voice was ethereal and sacred: "What I want to know is why this ritual caused Aleister and I to gradually become abnormal, and why I could no longer sense Aleister."

"The Sand Clock has already asked you for details before. He has hinted to you twice, but you still want to cut out the Moon Child body that the Twin Mirror gave you. This is undoubtedly a test given to you by fate."

"Trial..."

"It's a test. You have chosen the most difficult division - but if you can finally return, this will also be the foundation of your path to becoming the Heavenly Master or even the Pillar God."

The Lord of Scales and Feathers said softly, "Don't forget that the body of the 'Son of the Moon' that Aleister manifested has the characteristics and power of a true Son of the Moon. If her path of transcendence is equivalent to your path of dedication...

"Then what does her power as the child of the moon correspond to in yours? If the powers on both sides are not equal, then it won't be a perfect 'Yin and Yang'."

...The power of the Moon Child?
Isn't that the blessing of the twin mirror? The mirror image of reality and illusion is also a kind of balance...

As soon as this thought came to Aiwas' mind, he was suddenly startled, and suddenly remembered something in his mind -

[——My holy number is 11, that is the number of people who belong to us]

Those are the words spoken in the visions by the "divine entity" summoned by Jacob in the past.

The sacred number is eleven.

The so-called sacred number is actually the number of the source river.

The Source Rivers are so powerful that their numbers alone are mysterious.

But there are only nine source rivers in total, so it is impossible for the "Holy Eleven" to appear.

Aiwass had realized before that the so-called "Holy Eleven" refers to the sum of two holy numbers. Using the power of two existing source rivers to create a new source river is also an "impossible power".

Devotion is three, transcendence is eight - pastoral care is a skill that can only be mastered by learning dedication and transcendence at the same time!
And if devotion and transcendence are established as a mirror image in the "gap between the two poles"...

The sacred number of the path of love is one.

In other words, the symmetrical force that made Aiwass's emotions gradually become weak should come from...

"The sacred number is... ten?"

Aiwass murmured: "The tenth path?"

……yes!
If Huan Tiansi wants to transcend the established principles of the entire world and become a new pillar god besides the Nine Pillar Gods... then the holy number should be ten, why is it eleven?
Unless... the tenth source river already existed.

Huan Tiansi knew about the tenth source river, so He directly planned to create the eleventh source river.

Once he realized this, Aiwass's gradually rigid mind became active again.

As he gradually sensed the crisis, he seemed to be about to wake up from a dream, and his thoughts gradually became clear:

The original god of this world is the Stag of Candles.

"...The candle ignited the holy fire, burned all the sins, and shared the power of the source river with all living things... Thus, this world gained extraordinary power, the path, and mystery."

Aiwas' pupils trembled slightly, and he suddenly woke up from the meaningless death, and his expression came alive in an instant.

Just as his consciousness gradually returned to reality from a dream, even his speaking speed and tone gradually returned to normal: "So, in the very beginning... where did Sizhu get the extraordinary power to burn the Sinthorn?"

As Aiwas gradually woke up from that hazy dream, he once again restored the vague connection with Aleister.

——And at this moment, Aleister regained consciousness briefly, and the noise in his head and the uncontrollable instincts disappeared.

"That is the tenth source river that does not exist and should not exist, but has already existed. It is like a dry well, connecting to other worlds.

"Sizhu came from there, and so did I. Your predecessor...also came from there.

"However, the Twilight Wall has now completely blocked the road to the Tenth River. The 'world outside the Twilight Wall' that Snake Father is curious about is the other side of the Tenth River. What is there?"

Seeing Aiwas' pupils gradually become clear, the Lord of Scales and Feathers also gradually relaxed: "But... although the tenth path is now broken, since you have walked that path, some of its excess remains on your body. Because of this, Aleister obtained the corresponding power of the path of love.

"That was a blessing from the Twin Mirror... That guy is like a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He has long given you symmetrical power, but neither you nor she can use it. But even so, the immersion of the path itself is enough to corrode her mind... But just as your dedication can overcome the will of nothingness, I believe Aleister can also surpass the instinct of the Son of the Moon.

"What you need to do is to keep your mind steady. Walk firmly on the path of dedication... Don't be deviated by temptation. Although telling you this will have some impact on your tempering of your heart... But with your dedication, you can get rid of those remnants. As long as you don't tell this secret to Aleister, the final result will not be any different.

"Because your problem has never been on the path of dedication - but on your lack of transcendence. Huan Tiansi only gave you a part of the heart of transcendence, but gave you the whole heart of dedication. In other words, you have to cultivate a transcendent nature comparable to that of a saint... Now is the best opportunity.

"——That's why I said this was a trial."

"…I have one last question."

Aiwass realized something: "What level is Aleister's Dao impulse...?"

"Of course it is... the sixth energy level."

The Lord of Scales and Feathers answered mercilessly: "After all, the material world can only allow the sixth energy level to exist at most."

(End of this chapter)