「 The group entered the door, but before they could take a few steps, they were blocked by a Mara-struck.
"I didn't expect even the Divination Commission's grotto-heaven to be infiltrated like this. No wonder the main gate was sealed off."
There are many strong individuals here on Stelle's side. A mere Mara-struck is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; it was dealt with and vanished in smoke in just a few moves."
The group continued forward, and in the distance, a massive array appeared on a platform. Countless intricate talismans, like nimble swimming fish, weaved and moved within the mechanisms, operating ceaselessly and dazzling to the eye.
"Ahead is the Divination Commission's proud large-scale Jade Abacus computing terminal—the Matrix of Prescience," Qingque proudly explained to everyone.
"We've heard the term 'jade abacus' a few times now. Would you mind explaining what it is, Miss Qingque?" Welt was quite curious about this."
"A jade abacus is just... a jade abacus!" Qingque struggled to answer for a moment.
"Eh-he, that's a good question, Mr. Yang — it might take me a minute to give you an answer. Let me think..."
Qingque lowered her head in thought for a moment, then slowly said: "The book Glimpses Into the Beyond describes it as 'living jade engraved with symbols for divination into the unknown.' Just like carving a seal, the artisans of the Xianzhou Artisanship Commission engrave billions of talismans, invisible to the naked eye, within the jade's crystal lattice. These are then embedded into various mechanisms, allowing them to operate according to their designed intent."
"Some jade abacuses are small enough to fit inside bracelets and jewelry. We put the bigger ones into instruments of calculation so we can simulate the future and learn from the past."
Qingque looked at the array behind her, which resembled a palace complex: "Take the Matrix of Prescience here as an example. As long as sufficient information is provided, it can answer questions on anything — from the evolution of natural phenomena to the metabolism of living things." 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
"Billions of talismans… hand-carved?"
On Mt. Aocang, a certain woman who prided herself on her renown in mechanisms and talismans was utterly stunned. She recognized each of these six characters individually, but combined, they were utterly foreign to her.
Even as an adeptus, with thousands of years of experience in carving talismans, she still had to be meticulous when working… any mistake could render the entire talisman ineffective, leading to all efforts being in vain.
In private, she had also researched auxiliary mechanisms, but even with mechanical assistance and adeptal power, she couldn't possibly hand-carve "billions" of talismans. This level of workload… was far beyond what an "adeptus" could achieve.
Even the Lord of Geo himself would probably be amazed, wouldn't he?
"Exaggerating, aren't they? How could human hands engrave such a vast quantity of talismans?"
Xianyun frowned deeply. As an equally skilled talisman master, she understood the true value of Qingque's words.
Honestly, if the concept of "billions" of talismans were the achievement of one of the Star Gods in the universe, she could completely understand it.
After all, whether it was the Star God of 『 Abundance 』, the Star God of 『 Preservation 』, or Nous… any one of them would be incredibly outlandish. But if it were the work of human hands… he would find it very hard to accept.
This meant that the Natives on the Xianzhou had achieved something that even these adepti found inconceivable.
"Hehe, both of you, don't underestimate humans."
The Streetward Rambler, who was drinking tea nearby, chuckled,
"Haven't you noticed? Just how big is that Matrix of Prescience?"
Cloud Retainer followed his gaze, only to see that the Matrix of Prescience appearing in the light screen was just a corner of it. The grand array had three other array cores, and its sheer size almost covered the entire Divination Commission.
"The entire Matrix of Prescience is composed of mechanical talismans. This is probably far from the effort of one or two generations of Xianzhou people; it's the crystallization of thousands of years of human wisdom."
The Streetward Rambler smiled helplessly,
"Even if we live longer, how can we contend with the wisdom and experience passed down by hundreds of millions of people for generations? Besides, the Xianzhou people themselves live long enough…"
"Rather than questioning their wisdom, shouldn't you two place your curiosity elsewhere? For example: how do the talismans they engrave differ from ours?"
—
「 "It is said that the talismans and principles within were inquired from 'Nous, the Wisdomwalker.' The principles are so profound that in the Divination Commission, only the master diviner truly understands them."
"So they're computers?" Stelle pointed out incisively.
March 7th also realized, "Oh, right, Seems like it, but 'jade abacus' does sound a lot better. Besides, ordinary computers don't have cool backstories. Technology handed down from Nous, huh..."
"Even in Madam Herta's space station, I never saw anything related to Nous."
"No need to quibble over names. As long as the mechanism operates effectively, what does it matter whether it's a 'jade abacus' or a 'computer'?"
Qingque's attitude was quite open-minded: "Just like today, as long as someone guides you here, whether it's Qingque or Baique, it doesn't matter at all."
With that, Qingque led the group to the base of the Matrix of Prescience.
Fu Xuan was there, conversing with a projection of Jing Yuan.
"Diviner Fu, how are things progressing?"
Fu Xuan sighed softly, "We're fluctuating between the heaven and thunder trigrams. A step forward bridges no distance hence."
Jing Yuan seemed long accustomed to this, saying helplessly, "...And for those who don't speak Fu Xuan?"
"Great disaster is imminent." Fu Xuan said gloomily,
"The Matrix of Prescience has stopped operating, and the symbols have dimmed. There are Stellaron spirits wreaking havoc inside the commission, and the Cloud Knights are struggling to protect civilians. I want to restore the Matrix of Prescienc, but I have no forces available. And on top of all that, General, we still have to deal with the Stellaron Hunter you handed to us. If that's not an utter disaster, then I don't know what is."
"And that is precisely why we need you in charge. When it comes to handling clairvoyant Stellaron Hunters, who better than Fu Xuan the seer? As for reinforcements, you didn't think I'd be unprepared, did you?"
No sooner had the General finished speaking than Qingque arrived with the others. 」
「 .....」
〜Genshin Impact World〜
"This personnel arrangement and deployment… truly worthy of the Xianzhou General. He can be called 'calculating without omission'."
Inside Sangonomiya Shrine, Kokomi marveled at General Jing Yuan's planning and arrangements. In his eyes, it seemed that all matters, big or small, were meticulously planned and arranged within his strategic mind, needing only for him to make a move.
As the current Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, her duties were highly consistent with General Jing Yuan's—she was responsible for both the civil governance of the island's populace and handling related military issues.
Kokomi could very well understand why General Jing Yuan always looked half-asleep… anyone who had truly experienced it would know that this was absolutely an energy-draining job.
"Sangonomiya-sama, does this General Jing Yuan not carry a pouch of advice with him?"
Gorou asked, puzzled.
"What if he encounters an emergency or an unexpected change?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a pouch of advice from his that he carried with him, which had been revised hundreds of times.
Kokomi immediately lowered her head in embarrassment, her cheeks flushing crimson—it was the first time she felt that her meticulously thought-out pouch of advice was quite childish.
Why had she never thought before… when truly facing a crisis, who would have the time to flip through a thick pouch of advice?
Rather than letting Gorou and the others blindly trust the pouch of advice, it would be better to have no pouch of advice at all.
—