The Shadow Beneath Chang'an

Just as he exclaimed in surprise, Li Qi felt a force gripping his vocal cords.

"No, speak," the high priest repeated.

Li Qi nodded.

But we really can't blame him for what just happened.

He could sense the aura of the Dragon Vein!

True Knowledge Dao Charm's clear feedback gave him the same feeling as the detection terminal, which was that enormous, magnificent road that spanned all realms and was almost indescribable!

He suppressed his emotions and silently followed the great shaman onward.

On the way, the shaman began to explain things to him.

"Aren't you curious about what Dragon Vein is? Well, I happen to be here tonight, so I'll take you to see one of the closest facilities to the Dragon Vein, the location of a top-tier second-grade Law Treasure of the Human Path."

Li Qi naturally remembered the instruction not to speak, so he obediently kept quiet and followed along.

Then, very quickly, Li Qi saw the 'machinery' in this void.

It's true, it's mechanical.

It doesn't have the ancient architectural style commonly seen in the Tang Kingdom, nor does it integrate Law Treasure and circuits into one, turning them into a kind of integrated terminal Law Treasure.

Instead, it is purely mechanical, with countless rotating gears meshing with each other, complex mechanical structures vibrating, and a perfect escapement and balance wheel and hairspring system arranged together on a rotating frame of bearings.

Deep underground, beneath Chang'an, lies another Chang'an!

Beneath Chang'an lies a mechanical city!

This was not the hidden paradise that Li Qi had previously guessed, but a city!

Beneath the clean and orderly streets of Chang'an lies a mechanical city that appears like a shadow!

These machines are all interlocking structures, stably arranged underground, and can be rotated, disassembled, and reassembled at will. Through a specific center, the three mutually perpendicular coordinate axes around them can be rotated at will.

Just like a clock and a single-tooth carry machine, the transmission between Law Power and ingenious mechanical structures sends out commands level by level.

These machines are made of an alloy that Li Qi does not recognize, and are crafted using extremely advanced processing techniques. Some servo circuits are made of optical cables, with many hydraulic pistons surrounding the center, and a complete set of protective baffles on the outside.

Impeccable, flawless, from any perspective, it is a logically consistent, seamlessly integrated, ingenious machine that can run for 100,000 years without stopping if left unattended.

Watching this city come into operation evokes a sense of order.

So complex, so exquisite, trillions of parts were used to create this magnificent thing that Li Qi felt his brain twitching just looking at it.

He had to abandon his knowledge and stop examining things closely, instead relying solely on his eyes to analyze.

If he were to keep absorbing the truth, he worried that his brain would boil over. The things here were too complicated, and even his body, which was used to being bombarded with information, felt overwhelmed!

The high shaman led Li Qi through it.

As they walked, he explained to Li Qi, "This is the master of all terminals and all public facilities Law Treasure Human Path, the foundation upon which the entire Chang'an can operate smoothly."

The ground, houses, and various infrastructure of Chang'an are all Law Treasure.

Just like how all human cities on Earth are made of industrial products, no one would build houses with thatched roofs in a city, and even the ground is made of cement and asphalt, Chang'an is the same.

It's just that industrial products have been turned into Law Treasure.

The great shaman walked steadily, seemingly unfazed, explaining to the astonished Li Qi as he went, "This is the Law Treasure closest to the Dragon Vein."

"The pinnacle of the second rank, the ultimate product created by the joint efforts of Reason Way and Human Path, the 'Nexus of All Realms,' the origin of all terminals, and the core of the Tang Kingdom's endless network."

"The energy source of the Nexus of All Realms is the Human Path Dragon Vein. You can directly communicate with the Human Path Dragon Vein here, but just feel it and don't look at it, or you will die."

As he spoke, the Great Shaman traversed the endless mechanical structure and led Li Qi to a huge pipeline.

It was truly enormous. Li Qi even thought he was standing on flat ground. The ground around him was perfectly flat and slippery. It was made entirely of some kind of metal that he didn't recognize and didn't emit any energy fluctuations.

If he hadn't looked far into the distance, and given his eyesight, he could see a circular connector connecting to the pipeline, he might have even mistaken it for a main road.

And that 'distant place' was truly far away; Li Qi conservatively estimated it to be several thousand miles away.

The reason why the prototype's interface could still be seen from such a distance was not only because Li Qi had good eyesight, but also because the interface was simply too large.

As long as it's big enough, you can see it. Even though the Earth and the Sun are so far apart, you can still see the Sun from Earth.

Li Qi couldn't estimate the size of the circular interface; it was beyond his observation capabilities.

The high shaman walked on the pipeline, taking casual steps. "The pipeline beneath our feet is a tributary of the Dragon Vein. Remember, don't look at it carelessly, or you'll die. I won't be able to save you then."

He repeated it twice.

Li Qi had originally intended to use his True Knowledge to examine the pipes beneath his feet, but upon hearing this, he immediately stopped.

My life is more important, my life is more important.

"Then, this is our destination for tonight, which is also my destination. Once we get there, you can go back." The shaman led Li Qi from the pipeline to another path.

This place has countless paths winding through the various facilities. These paths are twisting and turning, extremely hidden. If Li Qi were left alone, he would probably get lost as soon as he left.

But without these paths, it's unlikely anyone could navigate the interior of this enormous machine.

They followed the great shaman and left the pipeline.

Then, Li Qi saw a house.

The houses in this place...

How strange.

The great shaman quickened his pace and swiftly reached the house.

Li Qi followed closely behind.

Inside the house, Li Qi saw human beings for the first time in this underground mechanical Chang'an.

Two officials who appeared to be from Chang'an were standing inside.

One of them stepped forward. "Mr. Mi Xin, the two of us will be in charge of the agreed-upon visit to the 'seismograph.' And who is this person behind you?"

"He's one of my younger brothers who came with me. Just ignore him and let him look at the outside. Don't let him go inside."

The two men exchanged a troubled look, and then one of them said, "... This may require some consultation. Originally, it was only agreed that it would be for you alone, sir."

"Well, if it doesn't work out, then forget it." The high shaman didn't hesitate for long and readily agreed.

Li Qi remembered the earlier warning not to speak, and stood still obediently without saying a word.

However, he heard a word.

Seismograph...

Is it the seismograph that I understand?

Li Qi had some doubts.

The request for instructions was completed quickly.

The two bowed and said, "Please come in, but you must stay on the outer perimeter as you said."

"Of course, there is competition, but this level of credibility always exists," the Great Shaman said.

Seemingly trusting each other's character, Li Qi brazenly entered what appeared to be a secret organization.

As soon as he entered, Li Qi understood why the Great Shaman had brought him here.

Here, ordinary people might not feel anything at all, except for a little dizziness.

However, for Li Qi, who True Knowledge Dao Charm of rhythm, this place... was simply...

It's simply...

No, he can't describe it.

Because he saw countless things that resembled True Knowledge Dao Charm.

No, this isn't the Daoist rhythm; this is the Great Dao!

The natural forces between heaven and earth rippled at an extremely fast frequency, forming one invisible string after another.

It is unknown where these strings are connected, but an endless number of strings extend outwards. Every second, every string seems to be transmitting at an extremely high frequency, with ripples and waves, and then transmitting its own fluctuations inwards.

What's inside?

Although Li Qi had not seen it with his own eyes, the great shaman had just said that it contained a 'seismograph'.

A machine called a seismograph is responsible for receiving all the information transmitted from these strings and then collecting it.

Countless dense strings spread from the seismograph to different places and continued to extend. Li Qi couldn't imagine how much this thing could detect.

The 'strings' here are all strands of Daoist charm.

However, a single strand seems to be much inferior to the True Knowledge Dao Charm.

However, there are countless strings here.

This is not 'Daoist rhyme', but a complete Great Tao!

Daoist rhyme is merely a few fragments of the Great Dao. One strand extracted from it is called Daoist rhyme, but when these countless strands are combined, they form the Great Dao, whose status and properties are many times greater than true knowledge!

The great shaman seemed to be able to sense the presence of the great road all around him.

He exclaimed, "The seismograph, created by the union of Reason Way and Human Path, is embedded in the Nexus of All Realms. Its strings are endless, covering the world. All the nine departments, mountains and Altar of Earth and Grain, grotto heavens and blessed lands, the five insects and five immortals, all observe good and evil, and listen to the wise and foolish. Seeing it with my own eyes today, it is indeed well-deserved."

"Young Master Li Qi, stay here and don't move around, lest you die here. I'll go in first. You stay here... for a Chen. Someone will come to pick you up after a Chen."

"After that, keep your mouth shut, act as if you were never here, and just do what you normally do."

Upon hearing this, Li Qi immediately bowed respectfully, but remained silent.

The Great Shaman seemed satisfied with Li Qi's silence. Then, he turned and left, disappearing into the depths of the room along with the two Human Path practitioners.

They are probably going to see the real 'seismograph'.

That's not a place Li Qi should be looking at.

However, these external fluctuations alone were enough to astonish Li Qi.

He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

He began to 'comprehend' the Daoist principles in the vicinity.

Of course, it's not that kind of vague and ethereal enlightenment. Sitting there trying to figure it out isn't enlightenment; it's a waste of time.

The word "paralysis" here refers to the meaning of "exploration". How can you explore while sitting still and dreaming?

True understanding comes from gradually exploring the nature of this great path, understanding and recording its parameters, so that one can better comprehend it.

He began to seriously collect information, compile statistics, create analytical tables, and summarize the characteristics.

Let's explore the True Knowledge Dao Charm and tentatively touch one of its strings.

If we consider only one thing, true knowledge seems to be more profound and sublime than this.

Therefore, this tentative contact was successful.

However, there was no reaction whatsoever; Li Qi could only vaguely sense some sounds.

It was noisy, filled with the sounds of countless people talking.

It's like the sound of countless people chattering and talking on a busy street.

He changed the string and tried again.

This time, a sharp, high-frequency buzzing sound came through, similar to the buzzing sound of a radio.

I tried several wires, and each time it produced a different sound.

However, it was always noisy and meaningless, as if it was all just background noise.

Li Qi fell into deep thought.

He searched through his memory for records about the seismograph, while also pondering what these things represented.

"The seismograph... its lid is raised, shaped like a wine vessel, decorated with seal script and images of mountains, turtles, birds, and beasts, covering everything completely. If there is an earthquake, the vessel will shake, triggering a mechanism to spit out a ball, which a toad will catch. The shaking sound is loud and clear, alerting the observers, who can then locate the source of the earthquake." Li Qi silently recited this passage in his mind.

This passage explains the working principle of the seismograph.

"Is that so?"

Li Qi looked at the countless strings.

These things... are they collecting sounds?

Then, countless vibration signals were transmitted through these strings to the location of the seismograph, where they were then analyzed.

Is the reason I can't understand those sounds because there's too much information, or because they're encrypted?

But in any case, only the seismograph inside should be able to analyze it.

In this situation...

What was the great shaman's purpose in letting him in?

It's easy to guess that my arrival here wasn't without cost; the Great Shaman must have paid extra to Human Path to allow me to stay here for a Chen. I need to make good use of it.

First, collect the data and think about how to use it.

With these thoughts in mind, Li Qi decided not to waste any more time.

True Knowledge Dao Charm, with his full power and combined with his own mind and senses, began to 'comprehend' the Great Dao of this place.

As a flood of data entered his brain, Li Qi began his work.

However, a Chen is too short.

Soon someone came to him and asked him to leave.

Li Qi had no choice but to get up and leave with the other person, as he couldn't force them to stay.

Before leaving, he took one last, deep look at the mechanical city.

Such a magnificent architectural complex was actually built underground in Chang'an.

These underground things are the reason why Chang'an is so glamorous; all of Chang'an's modern institutions are built on these underground machines.

So... is it only available in Chang'an?

Most cities in the Tang Kingdom must be like this, right?

In other words, beneath every large city lies such a terrifying Law Treasure, used to maintain the daily lives of ordinary people in peacetime, and likely to be a deadly weapon in wartime.

And... does this even deserve to be a peak second-grade item?

Li Qi was suspicious.

The so-called second-grade peak Law Treasure 'Nexus of All Realms' is only a small part of what it is in the underground of Chang'an.

The true form of the Nexus of All Realms is probably all the cities of the Tang Kingdom throughout the entire world... wait, more than that! It should be the automated machinery beneath all the cities of the Tang Kingdom in all the myriad realms!

That explains everything!

Why can a terminal connect to other terminals without delay, even if they are separated by tens of thousands of miles or even many worlds?

The fundamental reason is that the terminal itself only needs to connect to a small part of the Nexus of All Realms below the city, and everything else is done inside the Nexus of All Realms.

The true nature of the Nexus of All Realms is probably not these machines; they are merely its outward manifestation. In reality, it permeates all the heavens, and each of its smaller parts appears beneath a Tang Kingdom city, providing these cities with the necessary automated services!

Li Qi felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it.