Advanced Experimental Base

Above the upper cone, endless energy formed a crimson waterfall that rapidly poured into the cone's interior.

Within the hollow center, the three-ring spherical device spun madly. The crimson energy flowing down from the upper cone condensed into golden liquid.

After being transformed by the three rings, the golden energy was injected into the lower cone. The sky turned scarlet beneath the energy's glow, as though the sun had fallen from the heavens.

No one noticed that every type of detection device had fallen silent, Yuan included. Everyone's attention had been drawn to the unknown object within the pit.

"Your Excellency, do you think this might be what Wu Daozi left behind? Didn't he say he was researching beast bodies here? Maybe this is his Experimental Base."

Yuan nodded. "That isn't impossible. There really is something in the optical projection."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan looked around.

"However, no one knows what exactly is inside. And since this was a God-making civilization, would an Experimental Base really be so fragile that you could break it open so easily?"

At that, Bruis scratched his head in irritation.

"I had the same thought. But then I considered that thirty thousand years had passed. It seems reasonable that it would lose its former durability after so much time."

"That makes sense, but not entirely. Perhaps we should change our way of thinking."

"Please enlighten me."

"It's simple. A comparison will make it clear. Look." As he spoke, Yuan pointed at the palaces before the pit.

"Based on the data from these palace complexes, this is a large-scale advanced computer. There's also a very high chance that it's the Dark Matter Computer I urgently need—the threshold of God-making Technology. Without it, I can't truly be considered a god.

"Whether it really is a Dark Matter Computer or merely a model, these palace walls have endured thirty thousand years of erosion as well. In fact, they have endured even more, having been battered by wind and sand.

"Look. Aren't they just as pristine as before?"

"You mean..." Bruis felt his head itch, as though something was about to grow out of it.

"The importance of an Experimental Base's stability goes without saying. So what if it looked like this?"

With an unreadable expression on his face, Yuan swept both hands through the air. Under Daybreak's control, the energy from his armor moved in accordance with his fingers.

Remove the yellow sand covering the ground!

Remove the useless statues!

Remove the useless outer palaces!

Leave behind the palace complex that formed the supercomputer!

Leave behind the opposing cones suspended in the air!

Raise the Experimental Base model above the ground, lifting the palace complex's supercomputer and the cones higher.

"Whoa!" The crowd erupted in shock. They could hardly believe that with a casual wave, an enormous Experimental Base model had been laid bare before them.

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant. Your Excellency, you are as wise as ever." Bruis's face practically had the words admiration written all over it.

"Brilliant?"

"Brilliant!"

"They are the truly brilliant ones. Thirty thousand years had passed, and this was only one instructor from the God-making civilizations. I can't imagine how far the gods, knowledge, and technology of those God-making civilizations had advanced over those thirty thousand years.

"Wu Daozi once said that the principal of the Super Seminary wanted to become the will of the universe. I used to scoff at that. But now that I think about it... it's terrifying!"

Yuan let out a deep sigh. In the past, when he saw gods, he had been like a frog at the bottom of a well.

Now, when he saw gods, he felt even more like a mere mayfly. The more he knew, the more he understood how terrifying those gods were.

"Your Excellency, there's no need to belittle yourself. Those gods may have started early and may still be ahead of you now, but you are barely twenty years old. Starting early is no match for reaching the end.

"I don't understand gods, but I know that no matter what civilization it is, once technology and knowledge reach a certain level, they inevitably fall into stagnation. Take us, for example. The Taotie went from a primitive civilization to an Astral Civilization in only twenty-seven hundred years, but how many years had it been since we last made any progress?"

Seeing Yuan's melancholy, Bruis did not know how to comfort him. He could only try to reassure him in his own way.

"More than ten thousand years. We had stood still for a full ten thousand years. So there's no need for you to be so anxious."

"Ha? You're the one comforting me now. You're overthinking it. I'm not anxious. As long as I don't get myself killed, my life is endless. I'm just... uneasy."

"You sensed danger?" At Bruis's words, the Taotie behind them changed expression as well. They put down their pickaxes, drew their weapons, and went on guard.

Yuan shook his head.

"I don't know. I'm not sure. I don't understand why Wu Daozi brought us here or what he wants. If someone gives, they must want something in return. We are neither relatives nor friends, neither master and disciple nor companions. Why would he inexplicably give me such a grand gift? I simply can't figure it out. And besides..."

At that, Yuan paused and looked up at the rapidly spinning three-ring sphere in the sky.

"Ever since just now, I've had a bad feeling. Look, isn't that three-ring sphere spinning faster and faster?"

Bruis and the others followed Yuan's pointing finger. At the center of the hourglass-shaped cones suspended in the air, the sphere formed by the three rings was spinning faster and faster.

Even the Taotie behind them could no longer remain calm. They gripped their weapons tightly, their bodies growing increasingly tense.

"That's right. It really does seem to be speeding up."

The cones seemed to possess some special device, preventing them from seeing the changes in the energy above. However, the three-ring sphere did not appear to be concealed, allowing Yuan to notice that something was wrong.

"There's too little data, so I don't understand Wu Daozi's intentions either. But from what we can see now, the upper cone should be the power supply, while the palace complex below should be a modified Dark Matter Computer."

"With abundant energy and an advanced supercomputer forming an advanced computing cloud, while the base below serves as the Operating System for calculations and compilation, this is a very complete advanced Experimental Base."

As he said this, Yuan looked down toward the area beneath the pit entrance.

"If Wu Daozi wanted to pull something, it could only be inside that base. God-making knowledge? Beast body research materials?"

"Your Excellency, I can lead soldiers inside and scout the route for you." Hearing Yuan's muttering, Bruis immediately grew excited.

God-making knowledge and beast body research data—if they could obtain them, then with Yuan's wisdom, the Taotie's troubles could soon be resolved.

Even outdated materials could allow Yuan's research to take a great step forward.

"No matter what, the situation is unclear right now. We can't rush in. The computer data from the palace complex gave me quite a few benefits, but that doesn't mean the Experimental Base below is free of danger.

"Bruis, I told you that when the situation is unclear, you need to change your way of thinking."

After saying that, he patted the sand from his hands. This place had brought him plenty of surprises, but the sand filling the sky was also incredibly irritating.

"Go, Bruis. The model is already complete. I'll have the central system guide you. Start digging!"

"Ah? We're mining again?"

"This isn't mining!" Yuan's face was filled with mystery.

"It's digging out our path to survival!"