The Temple of Thought and the Will of the Collective

Chapter 63 The Temple of Thought and the Will of the Collective

After leaving the barbecue restaurant, Shiichi parted ways with Kakashi, Obito, and Rin.

He didn't want to disturb the three's gathering, although the three didn't mind.

On his way back to the Aburame clan, Shiichi thought about Obito.

"Obito..."

Obito is unaware that he has been targeted by a filthy old man from the earth.

It's quite terrifying to think about.

"Now, it's hard to say what the outcome will be if I face the elderly Madara Uchiha head-on."

"Even though I have set up resurrection points all over the ninja world, there are still many ways to counter resurrection, which are not friendly to me now."

"Leaving aside sealing techniques, just the illusion technique alone makes me hesitant to act."

Thanks to the continuous flow of soul energy in the Pure Land, Zhiyi now has a high resistance to illusions, and ordinary illusions have difficulty affecting him.

But if it's Madara Uchiha, it's hard to say.

Madara Uchiha is unique among Indra's reincarnations, or rather, Madara and Hashirama are quite abrupt among Indra and Ashura's reincarnations.

The brothers Indra and Ashura have been reincarnated in the ninja world for a thousand years. For a thousand years, they have been constantly fighting each other in the ninja world.

In this reincarnation of Indra and Ashura, Hashirama awakened Wood Release, and Madara awakened the Rinnegan in his later years.

It should be noted that Indra did not awaken the Rinnegan.

That's outrageous.

"Genjutsu is quite common in Naruto, and there are many outrageous ones, like Kotoamatsukami, Tsukuyomi, and Infinite Tsukuyomi. We need to find a way to defend against it, otherwise we'll be too passive."

Zhiyi returned to his clan, handed over some of the upgraded insects to the clan for cultivation, explained his situation, and then left.

Zhiyi returned to his secret base, where he would spend the rest of his time and undergo a difficult transformation.

Zhiyi sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and his will immediately sank.

Through an unseen connection, his mind once again came into contact with the primordial Gu.

"No matter how many times, the Primal Gu is still astonishing."

The primordial Gu is still dormant, but with the supply of soul energy and the support of life forms scattered throughout the ninja world, its condition is clearly much better than before.

"However, this time it was much easier than the last time I came into contact with the Primal Gu, so there has been progress."

Zhiyi slowly synchronized his consciousness with the Primal Gu, and then used the Primal Gu to sense the various life forms that spread throughout the ninja world.

Shiichi sensed the countless lives in the ninja world, lives that seemed to want to completely engulf him.

"If I were to connect directly with them, I would probably be assimilated by them in an instant."

Zhiyi took a deep breath. He never overestimated himself; if his level wasn't high enough, then it wasn't high enough.

But then his eyes hardened; no matter how high the risk, he was determined to take this step.

Zhiyi wants to build a temple of thought, partly to prevent the various mysterious genjutsu in Naruto, and partly to lay the foundation for becoming a god.

Zhiyi needs to use the primordial Gu to construct the structure by treating the will of each creature as building material.

It was difficult at first, but Zhiyi persevered, and this was the first key point in his becoming a god.

Using biological will as sand, soul energy as soil, and the consciousness of the primordial Gu and Zhiyi as the main axis, a treasure of the spiritual world is built.

In Zhiyi's vision, it was an enormous Tower of Babel, majestic, prosperous, and bustling.

As far as the eye can see, the floors seem endless.

Of course, there will always be a huge difference between imagination and reality.

In reality, let alone the Tower of Babel, even building the first level of the Temple of Thought would be difficult for Shizuka Aburame.

To formally begin building the Temple of Thought, Zhiyi's first task was to gather the wills of countless beings.

The will of each living being is like a grain of sand; when these wills are gathered together, they form a desert of will.

What Zhiyi needs to do now is to build the first layer of the temple of thought on this wasteland of will.

Zhiyi's will projected onto this desert, gazing upon the desert formed by countless biological wills, and murmured:

"If it were someone else, they might not be able to do this. Even if they did, they might not dare to use the will of other beings to build their own mental palace."

"But I am different, because these lives are all me, and these grains of will are also a part of me, so there is no future trouble."

With Zhiyi's current level of cultivation, it is impossible for him to control all lives at the same time.

After all, you can multitask, but you can't multitask a billion times.

However, this doesn't mean Zhiyi has no other options.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Just like now, building a temple of thought—doesn't that fully utilize the will to assimilate life?

"Take it slow, take it slow. It's normal that you can't reach the mental palace you imagine right now. Being able to build a framework is a victory."

Zhiyi knew that it was impossible to directly complete the imagined mental palace.

His requirements weren't high; he would be satisfied as long as he could lay the foundation for the first level of the temple of thought.

On the vast and boundless desert of will, Zhiyi's projection of will is like God, wielding his great power at will.

A temple of thought is rapidly emerging in the desert.

As Zhiyi watched the Hall of Thought continue to improve, he said:

"If it's just a framework for a mental temple, it's not as difficult as you might imagine."

"However, it's not as sturdy as I imagined; we need to continue building and reinforcing it."

Zhiyi thought for a moment and continued, "Let's focus on perfecting the first layer of the Mind Palace. There's no need to build the second layer's framework. If the foundation isn't solid, the risks are too great. Safety first."

Zhiyi stood in the desert of will, looking down at the framework of the first level of the temple of thought.

Majestic, magnificent, and towering, it stands out dazzlingly in the desert of will.

But Zhiyi knew that this was just a facade. The true nature of this temple of thought was simple, desolate, and fragile, unable to withstand any great impact.

"The basic framework of the first layer is complete. Although it's not perfect, it's still usable. However, it still needs to be supplemented and reinforced."

"Now that the Temple of Thought is showing initial success, how can it remain unoccupied?"

As he spoke, under Zhiyi's consciousness, four consciousness entities emerged in the Hall of Thought: [Azure], [White], [Vermilion], and [Mysterious].

Zhiyi took a deep breath and entered the temple of thought along with his will and the Primal Gu.

After Zhiyi's will took hold, the temple of thought became stable.

Zhiyi's subjective will and mental palace began to constantly resonate, accelerating the spiritual integration of Zhiyi with the assimilated beings.

Only a small portion of their will remained to observe the outside world.

Zhiyi began to attempt to shift from individual transcendence to collective will.

This is very risky, but with the Mindset Hall in place, we can gradually work through the process and experiment.

If successful—

The spirit of every assimilated creature will transform into a guardian protecting Zhiyi.

To exert mental control over Zhiyi is tantamount to exerting mental control over all assimilated organisms.

Zhiyi will also become a collective consciousness with its own subjectivity.

(End of this chapter)