Chapter 467: Concept Derived from "The Matrix" (Fifth Update)

For an old man like Gu Tingyun who had long intended to pass his remaining years in peaceful retirement, every morning was spent drinking the morning dew, dining on golden clouds, circulating his internal energy for a full cycle, and sitting to watch the idle clouds rise.

Standing by the cliff's edge, behind him lay lush green grass and verdant pines, alongside an elegant small cottage; upon the stone table before the house sat a pot of clear tea, carrying quite the aura of a detached hermit.

But now...

Clouds and mist drifted beneath his feet as he pinched an ancient sword in his hand, forming a hand seal with one hand while muttering incantations: "Sword Control Technique! Rise!"

Absolutely no movement.

"Sword Control Technique! Rise!"

The edge of the sword trembled slightly.

"Could it be that this old master... hasn't used enough spiritual energy?"

Spiritual energy gathered: "Rise again!"

A sharp sword-light shot out, cutting through the empty air.

Wang Xie, who had just walked to the front door, shuddered.

It worked!

Gu Tingyun gently stroked his silver beard and laughed heartily: "How is this old master's Sword Control Technique?"

"Superb, reaching the pin—"

Boom!

The house collapsed, the old pine fell, and the freshly brewed tea, along with the teapot, was completely gone...

"..."

After a long while, a loud cry echoed from the mountaintop: "My Purple Cloud Mysterious Sand Teapot—!"

...

Inside the Haotian Academy, four young ladies formed a beautiful scene.

"Junior Sister Xiaoyue, where are your lackeys today? Why don't I see them?"

"Hmph, who knows? It's said they went to the Tang family to custom-order firearms. After all, the Desolate Sea Realm is so far away..." Jiang Xiaoyue said, "Let me tell you, the boss has a huge cannon barrel that can fire rockets infinitely, it's incredibly powerful! But that stinky boss is stingy to death and won't let me play with it."

"Is it true the boss even has the Sun and Moon Golden Wheels?" Mu Qing's eyes shone with gossip as she asked curiously, "And he even knows Sword God?!"

"I haven't seen Sword God," Li Lanruo beside them added, "but I saw the boss perform Flash with my own eyes. Its power was absolutely terrifying!"

"What kind of supreme technique is Flash?!" Several of them crowded closer.

...

In another part of the Haotian Academy, a young master in a black robe held a feather fan in one hand with elegant grace, while his other hand conjured a strange clump of blue flame.

Beside him lay a scroll of extremely detailed blueprints, clearly drawn just last night.

With a gesture of the folding fan in his left hand, a piece of metal was drawn into the flame in his palm.

Then, within the fire, the metal was continuously elongated and shaped.

Quite a few parts had already been placed nearby; looking at them one by one, they were various components such as the gun body, magazine, spring, and so forth.

"Success!" He deftly assembled the parts together, then placed the single bullet inside.

"Senior Brother Tang...?"

"Tang...?"

"Come in!"

A young master in blue robes and another tall young master walked in from outside: "Senior Brother Tang, is... is this a gun?"

"Of course! When I, Tang, take action, these small trinkets are easily captured!" He gestured twice with the pistol, pulling the trigger while speaking, "Yesterday, I incidentally improved the ammunition formula. Its power is even greater than before!"

Lei Ge was overjoyed: "Really?!"

Xu Chengfeng said: "Please be sure to sell me one!"

"Boom!"

A dark cloud of smoke rose inside the room.

"..."

...

In another part of the Haotian Academy, within a magnificent pavilion, a young man in luxurious purple robes stood with his hands behind his back, his expression ancient and elegant.

"Have you investigated thoroughly?"

"Young Master, it has been found out. 'The Matrix' is a movie, and 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 3' they are discussing is a game, which can be played at the Origin Internet Cafe." Standing behind him was a lovely maidservant dressed in purple.

"Wang Xie, oh Wang Xie, after defeating me, can you lose yourself in such frivolous pursuits?!" The young man's face darkened slightly.

He pinched the communication jade in his hand: "He actually sent a message inviting this young master to go play together? Do I look like the kind of person who loses his ambition to frivolous things?!"

"This Wang Xie does not seek progress. Before long, he will surely be surpassed by the Young Master!"

"No!" Xun Yuan said in a deep voice, "That fellow Nangong Zhuo is all flash and no substance. Right now in this Haotian Academy, only Wang Xie is worthy of being my opponent. It is rare to have such an adversary. Since he does not repent, then I, Xun, shall give him a proper wake-up call!"

"Brilliant insight, Young Master!"

"Where is he now?" Xun Yuan asked.

"He must have gone to that shop again."

"Take me there!"

...

"Ah..." Boss Fang stretched deeply as he walked out of his room.

By this time, Li Wuya had already gone downstairs to open the shop doors.

"Good morning, Boss!"

"Morning!" Boss Fang greeted the somewhat shy girl before heading off to wash up, "Help me brew a bucket of instant noodles! Add a sausage!"

Although the shop currently featured 'Sword and Fairy 3' and 'The Matrix'—single-player games and movies—and the new online game hadn't been released yet, the customers in the shop were already quite numerous.

There weren't many sci-fi options in the shop, but driven by 'The Matrix' this time, many customers from Half City and Yuanyang City went back to catch up on 'Resident Evil'.

As for artificial intelligence...

In fact, the Wuwei Daoist Alliance had long begun researching it. After all, with their original level, there had been no precedent for artificially generating artifact spirits.

If the research succeeded, artificial artifact spirits would no longer be an issue.

Of course, on this point, their foundation could be described as extremely poor. There wasn't much they could learn from 'Grand Theft Auto 5'; even the operation of the communication jades was established based on the magical spell system, so it could be said there was almost no programming at all. Something like artificial intelligence was nothing short of a fantasy right now, and they were pretty much on the verge of giving up.

These programs composed of data were simply too ethereal for cultivators, just like an ordinary mortal trying to understand the construction system of magic spells; perhaps it wasn't as profound as spell structures, but it was indeed a bit too mysterious, lacking any foundation.

On the contrary, when it came to refining magical artifacts, they still had some foundation to speak of.

But now, following 'The Matrix', another wave of enthusiasm for studying this path quickly erupted—if they could also construct a virtual world like in the movie, where they themselves were the creator god, how incredible would that be?!

Of course, for now, they might all be overthinking it a bit.

From starting out to just getting their feet wet, it would likely take them a considerable amount of time.

Of course, constructing a virtual world was entirely out of reach for the time being, yet drawing inspiration from the simulated reality of *The Matrix* nonetheless provided them with a sudden, illuminating flash of insight regarding their understanding of the worldly laws in the physical realm.

Take array formations, for instance.

The architecture of an array could simulate the revolutions of the cosmos; if the one laying the formation could pierce through the profound mysteries of stellar alignment and motion, discerning the laws of their arrangement and progression from within the Five Elements and the Yin and Yang, and then connect and replicate them using elements of equal stature to those very stars, an array operating in such a manner could even resonate with the sun, the moon, and the celestial bodies, thereby borrowing their primordial strength.

Yet, that was an act of absolute, unyielding imitation.

Now, however, a completely fresh trajectory of thought lay before them: how to build from the very foundations, to construct a relatively complete, flawless illusion array.

.