Chapter 1078: The Astonishing Answer (2)
Chapter 1078: The Astonishing Answer (2)
Qin Ye didn't say anything.
He was gently drumming his fingers against the table as he fell into deep thought.
He wasn't sure whether the second King Yanluo was entirely correct, but there was definitely one thing that he was right about: he really wasn't holding Yin runes and Yin energy in very high regard.
In his mind, Yin energy was represented by Yama-Kings and forbidden arts, while Yin runes were embodied by arts. In his mind, technology was capable of doing everything those things could, so upon uniting the nation, his first reaction was to pursue technological advancement and replicate the model established in the mortal realm.
He couldn't exactly be blamed for this. In less than 20 years, he had united the entire nation and had set the Cathayan Underworld on the path to becoming the dominant global superpower, but prior to that, he had lived in the mortal realm for an extended period of time.
In the face of the unknown, one would naturally habitually gravitate toward what they were familiar with and knew best.
"You're very lucky," the second King Yanluo said as he poured himself a cup of wine. "This world really does need a new energy resource. For example, prior to the emergence of the new energy resource, if you wanted to release a message to the entire nation, then Yin energy would have to be used to conjure up screens across the nation, which is quite taxing even for a Yama-King. However, with the new energy resource, you'll be able to broadcast messages to the entire nation through televisions and radios, and even phones in the future, which is far more convenient. This is the purpose of the new energy resource's existence. However, don't be fooled into thinking that the new energy resource will allow you to conquer the differences between the underworld and the mortal realm to create spacecrafts and powerful weapons. In the research and development of weapons of the highest caliber in the underworld, Yin runes and the Yin energy have always been the only things to have been used. Do you think no one else has tried to create weapons based on the designs in the mortal realm? Take a gun, for instance. That doesn't require an energy resource to power, so why hasn't it appeared in the underworld?"
He paused momentarily before answering his own question. "It's because it's not feasible."
"Why is that?" Qin Ye immediately asked.
He wasn't willing to give up on his own plan just yet.
It had already been clarified that space exploration was indeed the way to go, and any leader worth their salt would immediately jump onto the idea.
However, the way that he planned to bring this plan into reality was being dismissed!
The entire world had just bowed down to the technology he had unveiled, so why couldn't he complete his future objectives through this technology?
He wasn't unable to accept the notion that he was wrong. However, the problem was that if the second King Yanluo were right, then that meant that they had completely strayed onto the wrong path, and that the advantage they had gained over the rest of the world through technology would soon cease to exist. Once that happened, the rest of the world would come to understand that the Cathayan Underworld's third King Yanluo was nothing more than an idiot.
"Could it be that what the three pillars are most afraid of is that I'll use the massive profits earned through the new energy resource to research Yin runes and Yin energy, rather than reinvest it into technology?" he asked.
"That's right," the second King Yanluo confirmed. "Research into Yin runes and Yin energy is extremely costly. For example, you can go and take a look at the prices of S-grade ore on the international market. Those resources cost hundreds of times more than things like rare earth and diamond in the mortal realm! Why are they so expensive? It's because each type of precious ore will display a different reaction with Yin energy under certain conditions, and these reactions created the foundation for all of the underworld's weapons. I'm sure you've heard of the time when our Cathayan Underworld was attacked by seven powerful underworlds at once. During that battle, we had to bring out hundreds of weapons capable of destroying entire nations to intimidate them into retreat, thereby also cementing our Cathayan Underworld's reputation as the most powerful underworld of all. However, you can't achieve this through technology. You asked me why that's the case, didn't you? It's because of the laws of Yin Yang non-interaction. If something arises that can bring a fundamental change to the entire underworld, then the will of this world won't allow it to exist. Don't look at me like that, this is very normal. In a world with a power system like this, there are many, many things that can't be explained."
He picked up his cup and took a sip of wine before continuing, "If you try to create a gun, you'll discover that in the instant the gun is completed, it'll vanish into a flurry of black butterflies. Do you really think the underworld has always remained in a cold weaponry era due to insufficient technology? You're dealing with sly old geezers who've lived for thousands of years, none of them are idiots! Ah, by the way, the one who performed the gun experiment I just mentioned was none other than the Hindustani Underworld, and at the time, the gun was going to be named 'Yamaraja's Pistol'. At the time, the Hindustani Underworld had just been defeated by us, and Yamaraja was thirsty for revenge. Thus, he tried to use the methods of the mortal realm to create pistols that underworld emissaries of all levels could use. With his powers, it only took him three seconds to create a gun, but in the instant that it took shape, it disintegrated. This is an experiment that is renowned across the entire world. After that, countless underworld emissaries performed more experiments along the same vein, creating things like cannons and planes, but none of those things worked, either. However, you'll never know what's feasible or not until you create it. With the current economic situation in the Cathayan Underworld, can we handle such severe potential losses of time and money?"
Qin Ye heaved a long sigh as he massaged his own temples. "Are those things unable to exist because they weren't created using Yin energy and Yin runes?"
"Who knows? No one knows exactly what can and can't be created by replicating the products of the mortal realm. For example, your electric generators seem to work just fine," the second King Yanluo replied with a casual shrug. "However, things powered by Yin energy and Yin runes are an entirely different branch of technology, and it's fundamentally different from the technology of the mortal realm."
Qin Ye was very disappointed to hear this. He had envisioned a smooth path ahead for the Cathayan Underworld's resurgence, only for it to be completely rejected.
However, he was also very grateful that he had decided to make this trip. Otherwise, he would've gone ahead with his original plan, and that could've resulted in catastrophic consequences.
Of course, this didn't mean that he completely believed what the second King Yanluo said, he was still going to conduct experiments for himself once he returned to the Cathayan Underworld.
At the very least, he had confirmed one thing here, which was that space exploration was indeed the right way to go.
"If what you said is true, then the accumulation period will be very long." Qin Ye poured a cup of wine for himself as well, and it was premium wine that he would've thoroughly enjoyed under normal consequences, but it was completely tasteless to him at this moment.
"It won't take too long. After all, there are still some people from the past administration present in the current Hell, and you also have Ghost King Zhao to help you," the second King Yanluo replied. "A Yama-King and a being above the Yama-King level are entirely different concepts. He stands above everyone else, thereby allowing him to see more than everyone else, and it would only take about 10 years to re-establish the field of Yin runology. Of course, it'll require a lot of hard work from him to make that happen."
Qin Ye rolled his eyes in response before asking, "So why did you suddenly bring up this topic?"
The second King Yanluo scratched his own head with a dumbstruck expression. "You're right... Why did I bring up this topic?"
He discovered that during the course of their conversation, he had forgotten the original subject they were discussing!
Amid the awkward silence, Qin Ye rolled his eyes again as he said, "What I was asking you earlier is why the witnesses of history help us quell the three pillars' protests?"
"Ah, yes, that's right!" The second King Yanluo slapped his own forehead with an enlightened expression, then replied, "The reason for that is very simple: precious ore is far too rare in the underworld, and only with enough money can sufficient precious ore be purchased. It's clear that the Cathayan Underworld is going to become the wealthiest underworld in the next few decades, and everyone thought that with this massive advantage that you've created for the Cathayan Underworld, you'll definitely be dedicating your efforts to the research and development of Yin runes and Yin energy."
So it was a misunderstanding...
A wry smile appeared on Qin Ye's face upon hearing this.
He gently swirled the wine in his cup, and the surface of the liquid reflected an image of his face as he fell into a contemplative silence.
The second King Yanluo didn't care about what he was thinking at all, and he continued to tuck in to the delicious feast laid out before him.
All of a sudden, Qin Ye asked, "Do you think I'll be able to succeed?"
He was naturally referring to his space exploration endeavor.
"It's hard to say," the second King Yanluo replied with furrowed brows as he set down his knife and fork. "Do you know why space exploration was never researched in the underworld in the past?"
Qin Ye shook his head in response.
"It's because no one had the required resources. In order to invest in space exploration, a massive amount of precious ore would have to be used up. The underworld's economy didn't allow for this luxury, and due to the fact that the four pillars were constantly competing with one another, none of them was able to become a dominant force in the world economy. However, you've managed to do this. You have earned the Cathayan Underworld a special privilege that no one has ever had access to in the underworld, and in the next few decades, you'll have access to massive sums of funds that you'll be able to invest into space exploration. On top of that, you've chosen the right path. If you can dominate the heavens, then the entire world will be under your scrutiny and sitting on the palm of your hand. Once that happens, the Cathayan Underworld will be the undisputed number one underworld! If you can convert Yin energy or Yin runes into kinetic energy, then you'll be able to send anything into space, even entire cities, and the entire world will erupt into a frenzy once you manage to achieve that!"
Qin Ye stared at his own cup in a contemplative silence. This meant that the underworld was about to enter a space exploration era, but at this point, he didn't even know how he was supposed to go about creating spacecrafts anymore.
There was no reason for the second King Yanluo to lie to him, and if everything he said was true, then if he were to create a spacecraft based on the design of the mortal realm, then it would most likely disintegrate as soon as it completed. Thus, he had to consider what a spacecraft of the underworld was supposed to be like.
Was it supposed to be a flying fortress with countless Yin runes engraved all over its surface?
Was it supposed to be some type of giant mystical space tree?
Perhaps it could be a hollowed-out mountain?
He didn't know what to think anymore.
"Truth be told, I'm also very concerned," the second King Yanluo continued.
"About me?" Qin Ye asked as he set down his cup.
"That's right."
The second King Yanluo leaned back in his chair as he said, "You have a brilliant mind, and your courage is... acceptable. However, you haven't spent a long enough time in the underworld for you to completely grasp the concept of Yin Yang non-interaction. Let's continue with our initial topic of space exploration. Do you know what the space of the underworld is?"
Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, he continued, "We were discussing this topic earlier, but you led our conversation astray. Now, prepare to be shocked again. The so-called space of the underworld is a long stream formed by many Yin Space Rivers. From the outside, it looks quite similar to the Milky Way of the mortal realm. I call it Yin Space Spirals, and we are situated in the seventh spiral. Here, our civilization is a high mid-tier civilization. However, in the space of the underworld, there is a law known as the magnetic law, which states that two similar civilizations will attract each other. Outside of each plane is something called a planar scale..."
"Hold on!" Qin Ye suddenly raised a hand to cut him off.
The term "planar scale" seemed very familiar to him for some reason...
After some deep thought, he suddenly recalled something.
During his last visit to the world's gate, he had seen the Moonlit Crown, and at the time, the second King Yanluo had mentioned the planar scale.
The second King Yanluo nodded in confirmation as he continued, "A planar scale is something that is constantly balancing a plane's position in Yin space. Each plane has its own planar scale, and when the planar scale reaches 90 degrees, an exit will appear in the plane. At the same time, certain... unfathomable things will happen."