The next day, Nova was already waiting for Song Jia in the library. Because he had nothing to do, he started making a book fort.
When Song Jia arrived, he had just laid down the last book on his book igloo. [1]
Song Jia saw his handiwork and speechlessly looked at him.
"Boss, if you're bored, you can just explore the castle."
Nova surveyed his igloo with a satisfied look before giving her a sideways glance.
"What, and then provoke that male god of yours into drinking vinegar again? I'm not so bored that I want to court death."
Of course, with the situation of Song Jia having Xu Jinhai's powers right now, Nova was more powerful than Xu Jinhai. However, if one was to strut around putting gold on one's face and not recognizing Mount Tai [1], one wouldn't even know how they died.
Song Jia choked. "He isn't mine."
Nova was too lazy to argue with her.
"You came here to ask more questions, aren't you? Fire away."
Song Jia also wiped away her previous expression and became serious.
"You said that the previous worlds I transmigrated in are now the current dominant planetary systems in the galactic confederation. According to that logic, the underworld we're in would be the past of Manzusha, since it's the only planetary system I haven't been in the history of."
She leaned her hip against one of the library's table and crossed her arms.
"Coincidentally, the symbolic flower of Manzusha is the red spider lily, which is the flower of the underworld. And the vengeful reincarnator also once hinted that this world might be virtual reality, which is similar to Manzusha."
Nova started building another fort again, this time an archery tower. He didn't even spare her a glance as he responded, "Well done. Looks like you've figured it all out."
Song Jia glowered at him. "What I can't figure out is Xu Jinhai's role in all of this. The vengeful reincarnator blamed him for brainwashing her, but when I asked, he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Also, is this virtual reality, or the underworld? Or is it both?"
Nova finally looked at her. He handed her a stack of books. "Hold this for me."
Song Jia automatically carried it, then felt her mouth twitch as Nova knelt down and took the books in her arms one by one, continuing on building his archery tower.
"Manzusha originally wasn't part of the galactic confederation," Nova finally opened his mouth and spoke. "If you can recall, histories talked about how suddenly, in the world of virtual reality, the world of Manzusha just appeared without warning. That was why many players treated Manzusha as simply a game, until they died from their own stupidity, never to wake up in real life again."
Nova added another book to his tower, building it up little by little.
"That was when the whole galactic confederation realized that Manzusha was a real planetary system, which might exist in a bubble universe existing in a different space-time, accessible to them only through virtual reality. But what they didn't know was that Manzusha had already been around for a very, very long time, created when thousands of souls suddenly died from a world collapse."
The books Song Jia was holding were already gone, so Nova helpfully put another stack of books for her to hold.
"You might have already known this, but the underworld that was introduced through Buddhism in the Han dynasty all have the flavor of ancient culture. The architecture, the demons, Lady Meng Po...was it that the underworld simply echoed the tastes of the Han dynasty, or was it that the underworld was simply too similar to the Han dynasty?
"I've already once told you that souls carry energy, and that energy could create matter. Just like how the universe started with a big bang, which is purely made of energy and created all the matter in the universe. The outflux of souls that happens in an abnormal world collapse could also create a dimension, a planet, or a world. When Zhao Cheng collapsed the first world you transmigrated into, the release of several thousands of souls also created this kind of great energy. I guessed that was how Manzusha—the underworld—came into being."
Song Jia finally recovered from her shock.
"Then...then, doesn't it mean that mythical figures like Lady Meng Po, Ox-head, and Horse-face were all Zhao Cheng's citizens?"
"That is implied, yes."
"What about Yanluo? And the other demon lords?"
"Manzusha has been around for a very long time. Which people were the original souls and which were added later, how would I know?"
Nova carelessly shrugged.
Song Jia put down the books that she was carrying and sat down on a chair.
"This is crazy...all because the male god collapsed a world?"
"Not every male god has the capability to cause a domino of devastating consequences. Let's just be grateful such a high-ranking male god only collapsed a single world."
Song Jia pursed her lips. "But if Manzusha was originally the underworld, how did it get connected to virtual reality? And how does Xu Jinhai relate to all of this? The vengeful reincarnator told me that he brainwashed her too, but when I asked him, he doesn't seem to know what she was talking about."
Nova arched an eyebrow at her.
"Isn't it obvious?"
He turned his back on her and continued building his book fort.
"The male god had an amnesia, that's all."
Song Jia was stunned.
"Amnesia?"
Xu Jinhai had amnesia?
"The male god tore his soul in half. The other half, Zhao Cheng, was in the underworld. The other half, his new reincarnation Xu Jinhai, used his consciousness to enter a virtual reality game. Counting from the moment the male god had torn his soul in the Wangchuan River, Xu Jinhai would be his fourth incarnation. The fourth number, the end and death of all things, shi (四). [2] The soul could only endure so much after being torn that for normal people, after only tearing their souls in half, they would directly cease to exist.
"The male god managed to endure the length of four lifetimes with his torn soul, but that was the limit. Zhao Cheng, whose direct actions caused the formation of the underworld, fused back with Xu Jinhai. Because of this, the underworld and virtual reality overlapped together. This was how the Manzusha that we know now was created."
"Wa, wait, wait..." Song Jia held up a hand. "I don't understand. How could the fusion of the male god's soul also cause the two worlds to collide? I could understand how this might happen with Zhao Cheng since his actions created the underworld, but what about Xu Jinhai?"
[1] To have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai: to be ignorant or arrogant; to fail to recognize someone or something of great status
[2] Chinese superstitions beware the number 4 (四) as the most unlucky number because it sounds like the Chinese word for death. It's to the extent that buildings often don't have the fourth floor, no one gives money ending in 4, and Chinese drivers would avoid license plates ending in 4.