Mu En was unaware of the strange changes occurring in southeastern Ruminecia.
The Scarlet Rot has descended, the imperial army has suffered heavy casualties, and the power struggle between the two great nations is brewing behind the scenes.
Due to geographical distance and limitations in information flow, these messages will likely only spread slowly after the conscripted troops return to the northern kingdoms.
At this moment, he is busy with his own affairs.
Inside the Stone Platform, Mu En repeatedly scanned the entire space with his mind.
Where are my seeds?
Where did my huge Golden Seed go?
Originally an ordinary person, he had been trying to maintain a dignified image in front of his believers and play the role of a deity well, and it had been a long time since he had lost his composure like this.
Those were Golden Seed that had been continuously watered for a month, plus the full-force ripening just now, absorbing more than 30% of the total amount of Rune he had!
Now, the seeds are gone.
Right under Mu En's nose, in this territory completely under his control, it vanished into thin air.
Is this a distortion of human nature, or a moral issue—well, whatever the reason, he couldn't help but be anxious.
Fortunately, no one could see what Mu En was thinking, so only he himself knew whether he had lost his composure or not.
Mu En quickly calmed down and began to carefully recall what had just happened.
"By the way, we might be able to locate it using sensors."
The Golden Seed is part of one's own body, and like the Blessed, it should be able to sense the whereabouts of the Erdtree even when it is far away from it.
Based on my perception, the seed seemed to have traveled to ----
"Under?"
Mu En turned her gaze downwards, to a vast expanse of deep water, as endless as the night sky above.
He remembered.
Just as the Rune were injected in large quantities and the seed was fully mature, it seemed to "sink".
Like a pebble thrown into a lake, it plunged directly into the depths of the Stone Platform.
As for what lies beneath that surface of the water, he seems to have never paid any attention to it.
Mu En condensed his consciousness into invisible tentacles and slowly reached towards the water's surface.
The first sensation upon contact is a sticky feeling, as if penetrating some kind of thick medium.
Then the resistance suddenly disappeared, and I felt myself smoothly entering the water like a fish entering water.
The surrounding scenery began to blur, as if we had entered a narrow and twisted passage.
It seemed like only a moment had passed, only a few centimeters had been submerged; yet it also felt like an incredibly long journey, traversing tens of thousands of light-years.
His perception suddenly became clear, and he regained control of the seed.
Immediately afterwards, Mu En noticed something was wrong.
This clone's state is completely different from the original.
Although its body is profound and incredibly sturdy, all its activities are extremely slow, including its growth.
However, this seed clone was unusually active, so much so that it could almost move on its own.
He could clearly feel the impulse emanating from within this body, the urge to immediately break free of its shell, sprout, and unleash its branches and leaves.
However, seed clones also have some limitations.
He seemed only able to project his consciousness; although he could use various legal abilities, he couldn't provide Rune to the seed.
This means he has to find a new source of "energy".
At the same time, Mu En noticed the surrounding environment; this place didn't seem suitable for sprouting.
Cold, lifeless, and empty.
The temperature was terribly low; there was no air, and sound could not travel.
"Where exactly is this place?"
Mu En began to mobilize Rune energy, spreading it outwards like radar waves.
Energy carries information back to the spirit; even light is captured, analyzed, and reconstructed by him.
This was a new ability he had only recently mastered, through which he gained true vision and the ability to communicate with people without relying on Blessing Link.
This is a complex process that requires him to simulate energy fluctuations as mental waves.
He had to admit that he was a little envious of Nausicaä's innate telepathic abilities.
As his senses expanded, the first thing Mu En "saw" was the sunlight; its brilliance, unhindered by the atmosphere, was incredibly dazzling (even though he had no eyes).
He looked down again, where sunlight shone on the sapphire-blue curved surface.
"Oh, so I'm in space—space!?"
Is this reasonable?
Why is the area beneath the Stone Platform connected to outer space?
He began to carefully observe the planet below.
The blue ocean dominates the view, with land and islands scattered throughout.
But the land surface was riddled with craters, as if it had been hit by many meteorites.
Some of these "meteorite craters" are several kilometers in diameter and have even formed coastlines.
This planet appears to have suffered some kind of devastating blow.
But this is definitely not the planet where Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is located; the shape of the continents and the vegetation on the surface are completely different.
Mu En continued to look at the continent directly below.
Judging from the sun's position, it was a long, narrow piece of land running north to south.
To the southeast, beyond the vast ocean, the outline of another landmass can be seen, several times larger than the one beneath our feet.
That distant land was mostly shrouded in darkness at this moment, with only a few faint points of light scattered across it.
"Artificial light source—that's where civilization exists."
Just as he was analyzing the situation, gravity grabbed the seed clone, and it began to fall.
The initial speed is very slow, but as the gravitational acceleration continues to act, the falling speed increases.
A few seconds later, Mu En felt the surrounding temperature rise sharply, and the seed shell began to emit a blazing light.
The atmosphere is fulfilling its duty, rubbing any intruders into ashes.
[ The Shield of Immutability ]
Mu En reacted immediately, and a layer of golden light unfolded on her body.
The high temperature was directly eliminated by the "regression" rule it contained, and the seed temperature quickly returned to normal.
He is no longer the sapling that could only wait for believers to save his life.
Although it is impossible to transfer energy from the main body to the seed, the seed itself has sufficient energy reserves, which should be enough to support its safe arrival at the ground.
Taking this opportunity, Mu En focused his senses and observed the narrow continent below that was getting closer and closer.
He discovered that this continent was larger than he had imagined, almost the same size as the Saibei Province of his previous life.
At the northern tip of the continent are continuous snow-capped mountains, their peaks covered in snow.
The elevation gradually decreases in the southern part of the mountain range, transitioning into hills and plains, with lush greenery covering the land.
Emerald green represents forests and vegetation, a stark contrast to the grayish-green hue of the Sea of Corruption.
A wide strait stretches across the middle of the continent, the seawater in the fjords appearing light blue, and towns and ports can be vaguely seen on both sides of the strait.
Mu En became even more certain that he had arrived in an unfamiliar place.
Externally, friction intensifies as air density increases, Mu En to repeatedly repair the protective shield, and the seed's volume shrinks as energy is consumed.
The energy fragments left trails behind, and if someone happened to look up, they could see a golden meteor streak across the sky.
Then, the seed crashed headlong into a mountain-like, thick cumulonimbus cloud.
The clouds were dense with water vapor and flashed with electricity, but all of this was blocked by the shield.
Mu En maintained his shield to resist air friction while thinking.
Where exactly is this place?
How did the Golden Seed travel through the "water" layer of the Stone Platform to reach this strange planet?
" Stone Platform— " A flash of inspiration struck Mu En, "That's it!"
He suddenly remembered what the Stone Platform truly looked like: countless golden giant trees standing tall, stretching into the depths of space.
The Stone Platform may be more than just a space of consciousness.
It is likely a unique " Lands Between " for the Erdtree species, a channel connecting the worlds of other Erdtree!
If this conjecture is correct, it means that----
Just as Mu En was deep in thought, the seed broke through the rain clouds, and the view below suddenly opened up.
A city floats above a sea of clouds.
The city is located in the eye of the storm, surrounded by towering, swirling cloud walls, yet its interior remains calm and windless. The upper part, composed of dense tree canopies and ancient ruins, represents both nature and civilization.
The lower half is a cold, smooth, iron-gray hemisphere, representing the pinnacle of technology in this world.
The name of that city is --
Laputa, the Castle in the Sky!