As for how parallel universes were born, the scientists naturally proposed many hypotheses and conjectures. The most popular one was the 'observer hypothesis', which believed that it was the observation of the observer that led to the collapse of the quantum state, which then led to the birth of parallel universes.
The simplest example was the thought experiment of 'Schrodinger's cat'. According to the 'observer hypothesis', before the box was opened, the current universe was in the quantum state of two superimposed probabilities. Once the box was opened, and the 'observer' saw the result inside the box, the universe was split into two. The two universes were almost identical, except that in one universe, the cat was alive, and in the other universe, the cat was dead.
The theory that 'the life and death of a cat could create a new universe' was hard to accept. However, it seemed to be much easier to understand if it was a more important historical choice. The civilization of mankind had walked on the crossroads of history countless times. If the earliest apes had not looked up at the starry sky, if the tribes that first learned to roast food with fire had been destroyed by a flash flood, if Qin Shi Huang had been assassinated by assassins during the unification of the six states, if Newton had died of a terrible and widespread infectious disease before the famous apple had fallen, if Nazi Germany had developed nuclear weapons instead of the United States … 'If, if, if', the civilization of mankind in the current universe had only chosen one of the countless crossroads, but the countless other crossroads could still lead to countless colorful and different universes.
To put it in an extreme way, some of the 'theoretical explorers' of parallel universes believed that any choice that everybody made every minute and every second of every day would raise a surging tide in the quantum level, which would lead to the 'splitting' of the entire universe and the birth of a new parallel universe.
It meant that even if an ordinary person stepped on the left foot or the right foot first when they went out in the morning, it was possible that a series of chain reactions would be triggered and lead to the birth of a new parallel universe.
Such an argument that was close to idealism placed mankind at the center of the infinite universe. Naturally, it was hard to accept from common sense.
However, if one looked at the problem from a different perspective, 'the universe exists because of me' seemed to be an irrefutable truth.
The reason was simple. When people mentioned the concept of 'universe', they would often think of the vast space, the glittering stars, the glorious sun, and the gentle moon. There might also be all kinds of magnetic fields, waves, and strong and weak forces, as well as black holes, neutron stars, nebulas, and all the cosmic dust.
However, the reason why people believed that the universe was a 'brilliant sea of stars' was because human beings were an 'observer' who had 'eyes' and could observe light and receive radiation. They were also adept at all kinds of calculations and could infer the orbit of a certain planet ten thousand kilometers away with the most basic mathematical formulas.
If there were no human beings but another intelligent life that did not have photosensitive organs and could not even detect light waves and heat radiations as observers, their universe would certainly not be a 'brilliant sea of stars' but something that human beings could not understand at all, perhaps even more chaotic and brilliant.
Thinking deeper, was it possible that the universe was billions of times richer, brighter, and more splendid than what human beings could observe? Was it possible that there were all kinds of waves, force fields, and celestial bodies, but human beings lacked the 'organs' to observe and calculate them. Therefore, they had been dwelling in the colorful ocean of fertility without knowing anything about it?
It was like the primitive tribes who had lived their entire life in the deepest part of the underground caves and had never seen light. They certainly did not know the meaning of color, nor did they need to. The world was a completely different form for them.
Lastly, what if there were no human beings?
If there were no human beings or any intelligent creatures to serve as' observers', would the universe still exist? Even if it did, what was the significance of a universe that had never been observed and might be in the quantum superposition state forever?
Therefore, in a 'meaningful universe', the 'observer' had to be the center of the universe. The universe would be whatever the observer's eyes and other sensory organs looked like. The universe would be whatever the observer wanted it to be. If the observer was full of hope, the universe would be infinitely bright. If the observer was caught in desperation, the universe would perish forever.
Such information flooded into Li Yao's soul like a raging ocean.
What do I do?
Li Yao's face was as gloomy as water, as if he were faced with a great enemy. I don't really understand what the flood tide is talking about. I feel somewhat embarrassed. What do I do?
Hardly had the thought popped up when he felt that the information that flooded into his head was clearer and more concise.
The specific theories and the complicated conjectures, hypotheses, theorems, and formulas were not important. After all, Li Yao would not understand them even if they were explained. All in all, Li Yao only needed to understand that the 'observer hypothesis' was partly true under certain conditions. Parallel universes did exist, and the way they were born was related to the life or death of Schrodinger's cat.
Of course, it did not mean that, if such a cat existed, its life or death would really create a brand-new parallel universe.
It also did not mean that, when an ordinary person yawned and went to work in the morning, a brand-new parallel universe would also be created if they stepped out of the door first.
No, it was not that simple. The key was the conservation of mass and energy and heat. Creating a brand-new parallel universe would consume tremendous energy, and the simple, low-level observation behaviors such as' the life or death of the cat 'and' stepping out of the door first 'were not enough to trigger enough energy to' push 'the birth of a brand-new parallel universe.
Only when enough observers triggered the most powerful energy stored inside their bodies and performed a certain high-level observation behavior would there be a chance that a brand-new parallel universe would be born.
In the series of universes where the flood tide was located, the observers were all human beings.
The energy of the highest level inside a human body, and the ultimate strength that could possibly break the law of conservation of mass and energy or even the barrier between dimensions and universes, was feelings, willpower, and imagination.
Parallel universes might be infinite, but the feelings, willpower, and imagination of all the observers in the infinite universes were the same.
Therefore, as long as those observers were placed in a very extreme environment and triggered their most intense feelings and imagination, it would be possible to create a brand-new parallel universe!
What was a 'very extreme environment'?
The answer was obvious, and that was when the apocalypse came, and the Earth was destroyed!
That explained a lot!
Li Yao finally understood what the flood tide was doing.
First of all, it used the power that it controlled more than half of the Multiverse Sea, which could be called a 'quasi god' level, to manipulate matter and energy and create countless Earths, trapping billions of heroic spirits inside.
Then, it destroyed those Earths one by one, using the intense stimulation of the apocalypse to trigger the most powerful strength of feelings, willpower, and imagination hidden inside every heroic spirit.
As long as those forces were strong enough, it was possible to trigger the 'observer effect' and split the current universe, giving birth to a brand-new 'parallel universe'.
However, creating a brand-new parallel universe was still not the flood's ultimate purpose. On the contrary, when those brand-new parallel universes were created and were about to explode and expand, the flood tide would confine and seal those parallel universes in a way that Li Yao could not understand!
The splitting of atoms would generate powerful energy, and the splitting of universes would be even more so.
Gathering and sealing the force of splitting atoms and outputting it stably and continuously was the working mechanism of part of the nuclear power plants. The flood tide, on the other hand, had intentionally triggered a 'fission chain reaction' on the cosmic level, turning the countless newly-born parallel universes into its' energy source '!
The flood tide was indeed not lying.
What it really wanted to make use of was not the feelings, willpower, and imagination of human beings. Although such 'energy source' was powerful, it was still nothing compared to the energy source of the cosmic fission chain reaction.
The strength of human beings as observers was merely the fulcrum for it to leverage the cosmic fission energy or the quantum energy.
The flood that controlled infinite quantum energy was indeed not something that Li Yao, Ding Ling Dong, or the remaining forces of the Primeval Civilization, or the unyielding resisters in the Multiverse Sea, could resist if it projected 100% of its quantum energy to the battlefield.
However, Li Yao discovered that the flood tide did not intend to annihilate them with the quantum energy at all. Instead, it had invested most of the quantum energy and the power of the splitting and explosion of countless parallel universes into a certain mysterious place, a certain thing that was even weirder and more inexplicable than a black hole.
In the words of the Cultivators, it seemed to be a piece of universal — no, multiverse — magical equipment. It was the core of a piece of magical equipment!
"What are you doing exactly?"
After seeing the ultimate picture of the universe clearly, Li Yao felt that his blood was freezing. He mumbled, "You have created countless parallel universes and sealed them at the moment of their birth. In such a way, you have obtained countless' energy sources', 'cosmic batteries', and 'world engines'. You — you control such enormous energy. What are you driving with it? What is your purpose?"
"I'm already old."
The flood tide's ancient and weathered voice echoed behind Li Yao. "Like you said, time has left too many scars and wounds on my body. Even the real god-level civilizations cannot resist the erosion of time. If you consider me a person, I will be a white-haired old man who has one foot in the grave.
"For a dying old man, it is meaningless even if he has all the wealth and power in the world, isn't it? If — if — if there is a chance that he can trade all his wealth and power for a wish, what kind of wish do you think he will make?
"Exactly. A hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand old men will not have a second answer. What I ask for is nothing more than to reverse time and return to youth!"
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