Chapter 606: The Meaning of Life_1

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How could a tree grow in such a place?

Or perhaps I should ask,, how did this Big Tree manage to grow in the vacuum of space?

Once you consider the environment where the tree exists and then look at the tree itself, the more you look, the more surreal it feels.

The intelligent signal spoke again,, "You must be surprised by my appearance, right?

"After all, a very long time ago, I attempted to scatter my genes throughout the universe, and the results were fairly good. I believe every intelligent creature has seen a species similar to mine.

"Yes, I saw the descendants of mine in the data you sent to me.

"You call them plants, you call them trees."

This signal was emitted by the Big Tree!

Jiang Yu was the first to recover from his surprise, and he asked in confusion,, "Are you a First Epoch Life Form? Or a Second Era Life Form?"

Big Tree,, "According to your concepts, I am a Zeroth Epoch Life Form.

"A very long time ago, I appeared in the universe, and then life began to emerge, making it gradually lively."

The Solar System State was once again struck by shock, including Jiang Yu, who asked with a face full of amazement,, "Are you the origin of three-dimensional life?"

Big Tree,, "In a sense, yes."

Jiang Yu leaned back in his chair and suddenly smiled. He never expected the source of three-dimensional life to be "alive."

He had thought that he might only find some relics or vague clues.

Could it be that the prosperity of three-dimensional life was a deliberate act by this entity?

Jiang Yu suddenly felt his throat go dry. He took a couple of sips of his drink and then asked,, "You are, you are, sorry, I can't seem to find the right adjective at the moment, what are you?"

Big Tree,, "I understand your question. You are asking where I come from? What is my significance to the universe?"

"Right, right, right!"

Big Tree,, "You can consider me an extension of the universal will, but you cannot equate me with the universe.

"The process of my appearance was instant: the moment I became, I took the form you see now.

"I appeared in many places in the universe at the same time, and soon, the whole universe was brimming with life."

Jiang Yu stroked his chin and pondered for a while,, "Sorry, this is a bit hard to understand."

Big Tree,, "I know, I know. As a reward for your courage, I will explain it to you in detail; after all, I've been silent for so long, and I also wish to have a conversation with someone.

"I find that, in your concepts, life is always distinguished from the universe, which is incorrect!

"No matter how advanced a civilization must admit one fact: life is a part of the universe.

"Just as the earth is to the soil, so is life to the grass; even the most powerful grass cannot be independent of the soil.

"The process of the universe forming life is natural, like a robust plant going through the process of germination, leafing, flowering, and fruiting.

"The relationship between life and the universe is incredibly firm.

"Such talk might lead you into a misconception: the universe is alive!

"This line of thought is also incorrect; the state of the universe is beyond the understanding of life because life is only a part of the universe.

"Just like you, your bodies are composed of cells. Each cell requires energy and water, but you, as life forms with self-awareness, have complex spiritual needs.

"How could a cell understand your spiritual needs?"

Jiang Yu nodded,, "So, even you don't know what the universe looks like?"

Big Tree,, "I know, but I don't understand.

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"It's like a cell not understanding why we need to waste energy communicating now."

Jiang Yu then asked, "You say you appeared in an instant, did you change from a state of non-existence to existence all at once?"

Big Tree: "I can roughly perceive that once the universe reached a certain state, I appeared.

"It's like your nine months of pregnancy, followed by childbirth.

"The process is lengthy, but for me, it was instantaneous.

"Just as you now understand the process of fetal formation, but what about the process of consciousness formation? How did this energy body come into existence?

"Like you, I have questions about my own origins, but the universe knows no doubt; its laws are always clear.

"The universe probably knows much more than we do, but we do not know how to ask it, much like a cell has no way to communicate with human consciousness.

"Although I say this, do not think of the universe as a life form.

"I can feel it is completely different from life, yet I am not clear about its specific state, or perhaps its state is beyond our understanding."

Jiang Yu smiled, "It really is ironic that the very source of life is beyond life's understanding."

Xiao Qi suddenly spoke up in the channel, "Perhaps this is precisely our motivation to move forward. Only with the unknown ahead do we seek to unravel the mysteries.

"Forever unknown, we will always search for answers."

Jiang Yu hummed in agreement and then asked Big Tree, "Can you tell us about the evolutionary history of life?"

Big Tree: "The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning."

He proceeded to explain: "At the start of life, it already represented the most ideal state of life.

"Yet as the cosmic environment improved, life began to degenerate.

"After the emergence of intelligent life, it began to use external forces to change itself, eventually returning to the peak of life, which is the original state!"

Jiang Yu had not expected that in Big Tree's view, the evolutionary process of life could be so concise.

Could this be related to its long lifespan?

Then Jiang Yu recalled a concept he first heard from Thirty-Six: going out and then coming back.

Everything seems to follow this principle; the universe is expanding, but one day it will reach a critical point and begin to collapse.

Life is similar now; the perfect life form humanity seeks actually existed at the beginning of life.

Jiang Yu asked, "So, what exactly is the meaning of life? Is it just to devolve and evolve?"

Big Tree: "Life itself is the meaning of life."

Jiang Yu attempted to interpret, "Simply being born, whatever life does gives it meaning? Survival, living, all these are the meanings of life?"

He thought further, "Regardless of how it evolves, life must have a target form for evolution to aim towards. The process of retrieving this information is the meaning of life?"

Big Tree: "Yes, and no, the meaning of life is: constant rejuvenation!

"The power of life is magnificent; it witnesses the changes of the universe.

"As you said before, seeking the truth is the meaning of life; striving for betterment is also the meaning of life.

"Overall, seeking a higher spiritual realm is the meaning of life.

"This is something the universe lacks, for it is too cold.

"Alright, your reward ends here."