The probes had sent back disturbing images of the planet's underground .
The images revealed the hollow internal structure of the planet and its original rock formations were gone . After thousands and thousands of years of an exhaustive existence, the planet was no longer a real celestial body, but a large creature . Dark tentacles and hollow spaces were everywhere . The probes had not been able to find any soil or rock formations .
One of the probes flew quickly in the underground, maneuvering past the tentacles that looked like a thorn forest . Red was the only light that filled the underground space . This light was the glow that the ganglia and pump-like organs emitted . There were also ubiquitous, thin clouds of microbes released by the tentacles . Their composition was the same as that of the bacteria in clouds in the atmosphere of the planet . Some heterogenized fragments of crust and mantle in the form of dark, metallic deposits remained in between the tentacles .
The probe seemed to be flying forward in an endless labyrinth tunnel . No matter which direction it headed, there were only hollows and red . The environmental readings that the probe sent back indicated that the surrounding temperature was rising . It was near to the location of the First Born's core organ, where strata had mostly disappeared . The MDT switched on the mic of the probe, and instantly it picked up something sounding wonderful to the ear .
A throbbing sound was in the wind; it was low and slow, like the heartbeat of this planet .
"It's estimated that eighty-percent of the planet has been consumed and used to build a more efficient energy system . " The MDT analyzed using the available information . "The First Born is the only one who could extend the life of the ecosystem without the sun . It swallows the planet into its stomach and converts energy to maintain the cyclic processes . The First Born is very efficient in converting the energy . The probe has also found the 'factory' that produces the microbiota . It is a sporangilike tissue connected to the tract, which in turn to Heaven's Pillar, where the cloud is made . "
The First Born's transformation of the planet and control of energy was akin to a planned economy; it worked best in a resource shortage situation like this .
Hao Ren's brows knit together as he tried to make sense of this incredible biological system . "Looks like it doesn't work anymore . "
The MDT said, "Since the clouds have been working normally, the cloud-making organ has gone into dormancy--not disappeared . So I think the maintenance of the clouds is not regular . The organ would wake up and replenish the atmosphere with clouds, which it discharges through the special part of Heaven's Pillars . "
A thought suddenly crossed Hao Ren's mind . "Would this process affect the 'ecological warehouse' between the two crusts?"
"Possibly," the MDT replied . "The microbial population needs to be replenished, and they are also related to each other . When the cloud-producing organ re-starts, it will inevitably affect the bright clouds . "
Hao Ren and Vivian glanced at each other . "The legendary 'light burial' phenomenon," they said in unison .
"How is the First Born doing?" Vivian sounded a little worried . "Is it normal?"
"How is the First Born doing?" Vivian sounded a little worried . "Is it normal?"
"There's something special about this First Born . It is different from what we have seen before . " The MDT activated a holographic display and called up the image of the First Born . The image was only showing what it had detected so far . Many tentacles were in gray; gray meant inactive . "The gray ones represent the nerve tissues that are responsible for thinking and exercising . As you can see, they are offline . The First Born is working unconsciously now, as its main consciousness is inactive . The transformation of the planet and the production cycles rely on its reflection . We are now standing on one of its most important nerves . This nerve tissue seems to e controlled . "
"So where these nerves connect to?" Hao Ren asked .
"They connect to connective tissue . If I am not mistaken, it is where the brain nucleus located . The probes have not found the entrance though . Maybe we can drill into it as long as we don't irritate it . "
Hao Ren was weighing the option whether to disturb this sleeping behemoth further . Suddenly, a buzzing echo came into his ears . "The fragment of the goddess is asleep there," a voice said .
"Who is it?" Hao Ren looked at the direction where the sound came from and was stunned to see a translucent figure appeared out of nowhere behind them .
It was a stooped, old man judging from the blurry figure . The old man, dressed in a kind of robe that Hao Ren had never seen before, was standing with hands on his back a dozen meters away . As the old man swayed like a blue candle flame, Hao Ren could not help but think that he had seen a ghost .
"I am the king of Sun Dynasty, Gragon . Perhaps people have forgotten about the name," said the old soul, who slowly came up to Vivian and bowed devoutly . "Lord, as per your order, the lullaby has never stopped . Now you can retrieve the thing," the soul said .
"I am the king of Sun Dynasty, Gragon . Perhaps people have forgotten about the name," said the old soul, who slowly came up to Vivian and bowed devoutly . "Lord, as per your order, the lullaby has never stopped . Now you can retrieve the thing," the soul said .
Although Vivian had been playing god in front of Gezer and his compatriots for the past days, she was still stunned by the ancient soul who called her 'lord . ' She pulled her brows together and said, "Are you sure I am your Goddess? You must know what is hidden underground . "
"We know, we all know," the ancient soul, who self-proclaimed to be the king of Sun Dynasty, said slowly in a rhythm that sounded like he was singing . "You are beyond reason, and your existence is a miracle . Your presence, no matter where, when and in what form, is the benefactor of this world . . . "
As Gragon chanted, mysterious halos appeared on the stone columns . More figures started to emerge from the electric light . They all dressed in the costumes of the Sun Dynasty . Just like Gragon, these souls were translucent, faces were blurry, and had a calm and serene aura . These ancient souls quietly gathered before Vivian . Rows after rows, one after another, they formed into a square formation as if they were coming on a pilgrimage .
The souls did not utter a single word as they came before Vivian .
Seeing these souls, Nangong Wuyue almost jumped out of her skin . She curled herself up and hid behind the team . The scene gave Hessiana the heebie-jeebies as she took a couple of steps back instinctively . Meanwhile, Bonia was standing beside Vivian . She smiled, reached out to the souls and greeted her ancestors happily . "Hello, I am Bonia!" she said .
The little girl was only about ten years old, but she did not turn a hair . She felt the goodwill and kindness of these souls and treated them as her kind .
Hao Ren had noticed the seriousness on Vivian's face from the beginning . He knew she had known something from the blood crystal . Perhaps she had seen these wraiths in the illusion earlier . "It seems you know something . "
The little girl was only about ten years old, but she did not turn a hair . She felt the goodwill and kindness of these souls and treated them as her kind .
Hao Ren had noticed the seriousness on Vivian's face from the beginning . He knew she had known something from the blood crystal . Perhaps she had seen these wraiths in the illusion earlier . "It seems you know something . "
"I only know that they are the builders of this ancient city," Vivian said in a low voice . "Looks like these souls have been performing certain rituals to suppress the First Born since ten thousand years ago . The blood crystal contains only fragmented memories . I'm here to find the missing part . "
Hao Ren could not help but look up at the colossal stone columns, which continued to give out an electric discharge to suppress the tentacles . Since the appearance of these souls, the electrical discharge had weakened .
The spirits of the late king of the Sun Dynasty who built the city had never vanished . They became part of the city, powering a lullaby uninterruptedly for thousands of years . They were the 'programs' stored in the stone columns, where human souls were the software that ran this complex system .
However, there was an unresolved mystery . Even if these ancient people had made such sacrifices, their strength was not enough to exert control over the First Born . Something stronger must be helping them build this facility and complete the first ritual that forced the First Born to surrender itself .
It was apparent who the transcendent power was .
Hao Ren looked at Vivian . "What's underground?"
"Another me," Vivian said with a smile .
The probes had sent back disturbing images of the planets underground . The images revealed the hollow internal structure of the planet and its original rock formations were gone . After thousands and thousands of years of an exhaustive existence, the planet was no longer a real celestial body, but a large creature . Dark tentacles and hollow spaces were everywhere . The probes had not been able to find any soil or rock formations . One of the probes flew quickly in the underground, maneuvering past the tentacles that looked like a thorn forest . Red was the only light that filled the underground space . This light was the glow that the ganglia and pump-like organs emitted . There were also ubiquitous, thin clouds of microbes released by the tentacles . Their composition was the same as that of the bacteria in clouds in the atmosphere of the planet . Some heterogenized fragments of crust and mantle in the form of dark, metallic deposits remained in between the tentacles . The probe seemed to be flying forward in an endless labyrinth tunnel . No matter which direction it headed, there were only hollows and red . The environmental readings that the probe sent back indicated that the surrounding temperature was rising . It was near to the location of the First Borns core organ, where strata had mostly disappeared . The MDT switched on the mic of the probe, and instantly it picked up something sounding wonderful to the ear . A throbbing sound was in the wind; it was low and slow, like the heartbeat of this planet . Its estimated that eighty-percent of the planet has been consumed and used to build a more efficient energy system . The MDT analyzed using the available information . The First Born is the only one who could extend the life of the ecosystem without the sun . It swallows the planet into its stomach and converts energy to maintain the cyclic processes . The First Born is very efficient in converting the energy . The probe has also found the factory that produces the microbiota . It is a sporangilike tissue connected to the tract, which in turn to Heavens Pillar, where the cloud is made . The First Borns transformation of the planet and control of energy was akin to a planned economy; it worked best in a resource shortage situation like this . Hao Rens brows knit together as he tried to make sense of this incredible biological system . Looks like it doesnt work anymore . The MDT said, Since the clouds have been working normally, the cloud-making organ has gone into dormancy--not disappeared . So I think the maintenance of the clouds is not regular . The organ would wake up and replenish the atmosphere with clouds, which it discharges through the special part of Heavens Pillars . A thought suddenly crossed Hao Rens mind . Would this process affect the ecological warehouse between the two crusts? Possibly, the MDT replied . The microbial population needs to be replenished, and they are also related to each other . When the cloud-producing organ re-starts, it will inevitably affect the bright clouds . Hao Ren and Vivian glanced at each other . The legendary light burial phenomenon, they said in unison . How is the First Born doing? Vivian sounded a little worried . Is it normal? Theres something special about this First Born . It is different from what we have seen before . The MDT activated a holographic display and called up the image of the First Born . The image was only showing what it had detected so far . Many tentacles were in gray; gray meant inactive . The gray ones represent the nerve tissues that are responsible for thinking and exercising . As you can see, they are offline . The First Born is working unconsciously now, as its main consciousness is inactive . The transformation of the planet and the production cycles rely on its reflection . We are now standing on one of its most important nerves . This nerve tissue seems to e controlled . So where these nerves connect to? Hao Ren asked . They connect to connective tissue . If I am not mistaken, it is where the brain nucleus located . The probes have not found the entrance though . Maybe we can drill into it as long as we dont irritate it . Hao Ren was weighing the option whether to disturb this sleeping behemoth further . Suddenly, a buzzing echo came into his ears . The fragment of the goddess is asleep there, a voice said . Who is it? Hao Ren looked at the direction where the sound came from and was stunned to see a translucent figure appeared out of nowhere behind them . It was a stooped, old man judging from the blurry figure . The old man, dressed in a kind of robe that Hao Ren had never seen before, was standing with hands on his back a dozen meters away . As the old man swayed like a blue candle flame, Hao Ren could not help but think that he had seen a ghost . I am the king of Sun Dynasty, Gragon . Perhaps people have forgotten about the name, said the old soul, who slowly came up to Vivian and bowed devoutly . Lord, as per your order, the lullaby has never stopped . Now you can retrieve the thing, the soul said . Although Vivian had been playing god in front of Gezer and his compatriots for the past days, she was still stunned by the ancient soul who called her lord . She pulled her brows together and said, Are you sure I am your Goddess? You must know what is hidden underground . We know, we all know, the ancient soul, who self-proclaimed to be the king of Sun Dynasty, said slowly in a rhythm that sounded like he was singing . You are beyond reason, and your existence is a miracle . Your presence, no matter where, when and in what form, is the benefactor of this world . As Gragon chanted, mysterious halos appeared on the stone columns . More figures started to emerge from the electric light . They all dressed in the costumes of the Sun Dynasty . Just like Gragon, these souls were translucent, faces were blurry, and had a calm and serene aura . These ancient souls quietly gathered before Vivian . Rows after rows, one after another, they formed into a square formation as if they were coming on a pilgrimage . The souls did not utter a single word as they came before Vivian . Seeing these souls, Nangong Wuyue almost jumped out of her skin . She curled herself up and hid behind the team . The scene gave Hessiana the heebie-jeebies as she took a couple of steps back instinctively . Meanwhile, Bonia was standing beside Vivian . She smiled, reached out to the souls and greeted her ancestors happily . Hello, I am Bonia! she said . The little girl was only about ten years old, but she did not turn a hair . She felt the goodwill and kindness of these souls and treated them as her kind . Hao Ren had noticed the seriousness on Vivians face from the beginning . He knew she had known something from the blood crystal . Perhaps she had seen these wraiths in the illusion earlier . It seems you know something . I only know that they are the builders of this ancient city, Vivian said in a low voice . Looks like these souls have been performing certain rituals to suppress the First Born since ten thousand years ago . The blood crystal contains only fragmented memories . Im here to find the missing part . Hao Ren could not help but look up at the colossal stone columns, which continued to give out an electric discharge to suppress the tentacles . Since the appearance of these souls, the electrical discharge had weakened . The spirits of the late king of the Sun Dynasty who built the city had never vanished . They became part of the city, powering a lullaby uninterruptedly for thousands of years . They were the programs stored in the stone columns, where human souls were the software that ran this complex system . However, there was an unresolved mystery . Even if these ancient people had made such sacrifices, their strength was not enough to exert control over the First Born . Something stronger must be helping them build this facility and complete the first ritual that forced the First Born to surrender itself . It was apparent who the transcendent power was . Hao Ren looked at Vivian . Whats underground? Another me, Vivian said with a smile .
Chapter end
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