118: Chapter 118: Consciousness Exists More Than Just in the Mind

Soon, a second comment followed.

[Buddhism: "How Much Sorrow Can One Man Bear, Just Like Your Great Tenderness" posted:]

"Buddhism doesn't speak of Wen Gu, but of the Power of Past Lives. In the 'Agama Sutras', Maudgalyayana could know the events of the past eighty thousand kalpas. The principle is that once consciousness breaks through 'Ego-attachment', it can connect to the Sea of Collective Karma. Modern people have too many distracting thoughts; I can only say it's difficult, incredibly difficult!"

"However, I had a similar experience once during a retreat. I clearly saw a Tang Dynasty monk mending a cassock under a lamp, with a little monk in meditation nearby. I even smelled a musty odor, but it only lasted for dozens of seconds."

"I tried to talk to him, but he couldn't hear me."

"After ending my retreat, I looked up information. I happened to be studying the 'Fayuan Zhulin' at that time—one passage in it matches Xiaoyu's brother's description. I've also seen his videos; akashic records, zero-point field."

"Personally, I believe this isn't consciousness traveling through time, but rather consciousness coming into contact with information of people from the past within the akashic records—an interaction at the information level. As for whether Xiaoyu's brother is real or fake, I won't comment."

A third comment followed.

[Intangible Cultural Heritage Successor: "Folk Emperor Ao" posted:]

"What we do in Planchette Writing is invite current existences—colloquially known as 'inviting a deity'—specifically those who have recently died within a few days. It's the same as Taoism's Spirit Viewing Technique, which some southern regions call 'Emperor Viewing Technique'—inviting the dead into one's body to settle affairs in the mortal world."

"Our principle shares similarities with Xiaoyu's brother's; both require a medium. He uses the 'I Ching' numerical hexagrams, which can even be virtual ones."

"In my grandfather's generation, some could invite ancient sages, but the information that came out... was almost entirely fragmented."

"A complete dialogue like this is unheard of. Unless Xiaoyu's brother isn't 'inviting' them but is forcibly projecting his consciousness into past time and space. This consumes a staggering amount of energy, and in our circles, we say it shortens one's lifespan. Looking at how pale he was during the livestream, it fits!"

The fourth was a materialist comment.

[PhD in Physics: "Science is Also a Cult" posted:]

"Let me say a few words from the perspective of quantum information. If consciousness is truly some kind of quantum coherent system, then theoretically, Xiaoyu's brother could change past behavior through his current state—this is based on Quantum Delayed Choice."

"Xiaoyu's brother can cross time and space through consciousness entanglement, referencing the Wheeler-DeWitt Equation."

"But it requires an extremely special 'Decoherence' state. To put it simply, Xiaoyu's brother needs to block out all information from his environment, such as shutting down his five senses. The time when a person's five senses are weakest is: sleep."

"Xiaoyu's brother could even actively let his heartbeat gradually come to a near-stop, or even enter a near-death state as a bridge."

"As for why the brain can receive images from past time and space, he mentioned it in his previous livestream—Nikola Tesla's famous quote: the brain is just a receiver. In our Quantum Mechanics, the brain is indeed a biological quantum receiver."

"The average brain is bombarded by various noises and information from the real world; that won't work."

"Only by blocking all this information can one unlock the connection to past images—this requires specific states: near-death, dreaming, shock, or other negative states."

These topics attracted many big shots from various fields.

Whether they were masters of metaphysics, traditional Chinese studies, or even science, the answers they gave...

...were shockingly similar: It's possible, very possible, incredibly possible!

"I'll be damned... My intention was to have you guys debunk him, but instead, you're telling me it's possible? Then what the hell am I debunking?"

"Damn it, my materialist values are tainted. Even a Quantum Mechanics big shot showed up."

"..."

In the living room.

Jiang Zhe finished the brown sugar water Xiao Yu brought him, and some color returned to his face.

He realized that if he hadn't strengthened his spirit before, he would probably have to lie down for half a day after his first Wen Gu.

Xiao Yu sat cross-legged back on the sofa, her eyes sparkling. "Bro, while I was brewing that 'lava soup' just now, I might have found the answer in advance—where the first consciousness on Earth came from!"

"Oh? Tell me about it."

"Is it the akashic records? Or the zero-point field you mentioned before? Consciousness all flows out from that information bank, right?" Xiao Yu's tone was a bit smug, clearly satisfied with the information she had researched during the day.

The viewers' eyes also lit up, instinctively agreeing with this answer.

But to her surprise, Jiang Zhe said, "To think at this level shows that you've at least thought about it seriously and didn't just listen casually."

"So I'm right?" Xiao Yu looked proud, but Jiang Zhe's next sentence crushed all her self-satisfaction. "Unfortunately, the akashic records are only responsible for recycling and storing information from the entire universe; they are never responsible for production."

"I was actually wrong?" Xiao Yu was stunned, her beautiful eyes blinking. "Then where did the first consciousness come from?"

"What you should be asking is—where the first consciousness on Earth came from."

"On Earth, in the universe... Are the first consciousnesses of Earth and the universe separate?"

The viewers' eyes lit up; this was the first time they had heard this theory. It was very novel, even nine parts wonderful!

"Yes, they are indeed separate. We'll talk about the universe later; let's talk about Earth first."

Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. Instead of going deeper into that topic, he asked a seemingly simple question:

"Xiao Yu, within your cognition and understanding, where in your body is consciousness, or the soul?"

Once the question was asked, the viewers who were previously immersed in the Wen Gu discussion snapped back to reality.

"The brain!"

"It has to be the brain!"

"Maybe it's inside the body?"

"..."

Opinions in the livestream were divided, but basically, everyone assumed: In the head!

At this moment, in the Qingfeng Temple in Kyoto.

Zheng Ming also blurted out, "In the cranium, of course. Consciousness is the emergence of high-level brain functions. Do you even need to ask?"

Wang Chongyang looked at the large screen, lost in thought. "Taoism says the Primordial Spirit resides in the Niwan Palace, which is the Upper Dantian—located between the eyebrows, deep within the forehead. It also falls within the scope of the head—it's indeed in the brain."

Celestial Master Zhang nodded slightly; there was nothing to deny about this answer.

Only Dr. Zhou Ming frowned slightly, his eyes shifting. "Perhaps, it's not in the head."

"Not in the head?" Zheng Ming turned to look at him, somewhat puzzled.

Zhou Ming hesitated, wanting to bring up medical papers and evidence, but he shook his head. "I'm not quite sure. Let's hear what Xiaoyu's brother thinks first."

It was for no other reason than that Zhou Ming used to be very confident and authoritative, but after these few livestreams, his confidence was being systematically dismantled by Jiang Zhe from thousands of miles away...

In the frame.

Xiao Yu looked disdainful. Was her brother trying to stump Steel Rain with such a simple question?

She naturally gave the answer: "In the head, of course!"

Jiang Zhe smiled, then his expression suddenly turned serious as he refuted her. "No, consciousness does not only exist in your brain."

"Does not only exist?" Xiao Yu gasped, catching the keyword.

At this time, even the livestream was filled with [???] comments.

"Yes, Xiao Yu. Whether consciousness—the soul—is complete is something that can be discovered." Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. "I'll give you a few cases, and you'll know that it truly doesn't just exist in the head."

Xiao Yu sat upright, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"1: In the USA, 1995, a middle school teacher with heart disease received a heart transplant from an 18-year-old police officer who died in a car accident. The surgery was successful. But after the teacher recovered, he was surprised to find himself unconsciously humming rock music he had never heard before. Furthermore, this teacher began to develop a fanatical hobby for motorcycles—and even started having vivid dreams of a car accident that clearly belonged to someone else. These preferences and memory fragments were confirmed to belong entirely to that young police officer."

"How did one person's preferences and memory fragments appear in a middle school teacher? There's no explanation."

"Therefore, this middle school teacher's consciousness, or soul, was altered."

Jiang Zhe had caught a glimpse of these records while researching on his computer earlier, and his photographic memory had recorded them all.

As soon as he said this, Xiao Yu and countless viewers were stunned.

Without waiting for them to verify the truth, Jiang Zhe's voice came again.

"Switzerland, 2008, a vegetarian woman who received a kidney transplant suddenly developed a frantic craving for burgers and fried chicken after the surgery, completely different from her previous vegetarian tastes."

"A later investigation revealed that the donor of the kidney she received was a truck driver who loved fast food during his lifetime."

"This vegetarian woman's soul was also altered."

"And a more famous one: the Clara case. After pianist Clara Rockmore received a heart transplant from a young violinist, she suddenly mastered all violin techniques without a teacher. After waking up, her compositions and style were exactly the same as the original violinist's."

"Even the violinist's family felt that their child was living on inside Clara Rockmore's body!"

"This pianist's soul was altered even more."

He found these cases on his tablet and handed it to Xiao Yu. As she read each case, her beautiful eyes widened further.

"Xiao Yu, look!"

"These cases are recorded in transplant centers of major hospitals worldwide; they are not isolated incidents." He explained calmly, "In modern medicine, doctors define them as 'Cellular Memory' and 'Physiological Information Residue'."

"Actually, you should have noticed that these explanations are very forced and hollow!"

"Why should a kidney, a heart, or even blood from another person allow a patient to acquire someone else's personality preferences, skill memories, or even inexplicable memory fragments of the donor?"

Jiang Zhe nodded slightly. "Xiao Yu, if consciousness only existed in the brain, then where did these memories and personalities that appeared after the transplant—which did not belong to the original owner—come from?"

As her brother finished speaking, Xiao Yu was stunned. It was as if a lock inside her brain had been snapped, and a clear possibility emerged. After a long while, she opened her cherry-like mouth to ask:

"Bro, are you saying..."

"The soul... it doesn't just exist in our brains, but is spread throughout our entire bodies, in every single cell of our bodies?"