The night in the city was long and silent. Ever since the Furnace of the Ancestors was extinguished a few years ago, the temperature of the enclosed space had been dropping, and the power of the lighting system was also greatly affected. The people could only draw a limited amount of power from a few branches to maintain the light, and their entire 'world' was plunged into darkness, as if it was a never-ending dusk.
But it was said that it was not like this in the ancient times.
Master Orrow carried a thick tome with him. The tome was bound with some sort of synthetic material, and it was a huge handwritten copy. The master carefully opened the tome as he slowly spoke. "This is a precious thing. Only scholars who have studied in the Tower of Learning for more than a decade are qualified to copy the encyclopedia. I spent half a year to copy it down … Look, these pictures that record the glorious history of our ancestors …"
Hao Ren and Lily poked their heads over and saw that the pictures on the pages were very complicated. Sometimes, a single page was filled with running machines, electric circuits, maps, and everyday objects. Below the pictures were many complicated notes and personal markings. Hao Ren was a little dazzled. Many of the things on the page were everyday objects, but perhaps because of the many generations of hand-copying, there were all sorts of errors and omissions. The contents of the tome were all weird.
"Many, many years ago, there were days when winter never came," the scholar said slowly, stroking the pages of the book. "The whole world was strong and healthy, and none of the elements of distortion or destruction appeared. Our ancestors lived in a prosperous and stable environment. The electric sprites were much more active than they are now, and they were endless. All the lights and heaters could run for an entire day, and the large factories never had to worry about shutting down. Our ancestors were led by a wise king. Oh, that's right, a king, the only king. Back then, there was only one kingdom, and it was not as fragmented as it is now … "
"What happened after that?" Lily asked anxiously. "How did the people suddenly split into four kingdoms?"
"Patience, my lady. Patience. I was just about to say this." The scholar glanced at Lily and continued to speak in an unhurried tone. "According to an ancient legend, the entire world was built in the body of a giant floating turtle, and this turtle was wandering in the stormy Sea of Ados. There were many monsters in the Sea of Ados, and these monsters were larger than the entire world. They desperately chased after the turtle, wanting to devour the entire human world. So, the wise king of the ancient times prayed to the gods, and they finally received the blessing of the gods. A divine item descended into the turtle's body. The king placed his throne on the artifact and swore to the artifact that he would thank the gods with the loyalty and devotion of all mankind. Thus, the artifact shone in the Furnace of the Ancestors and chased away the monsters around the giant turtle, saving the world from the fate of being devoured … "
Hao Ren listened attentively. As expected, the scholar's narration matched the situation of the Exiled Ark, and the more ambiguous part was the legend of the divine item and the protection of the gods. He did not know if this was a misrepresentation of a religious story, or if it had something to do with the Goddess of Creation. The scholar noticed that his audience was serious, and he could not help but smile. "There are fewer and fewer people who are willing to listen to these stories, especially young ones like you. If Willy's father knew that his son was listening to this again, he would definitely be furious. "
Willy could not help but shrink his neck. "He won't know."
"In short, the ancient world was like this. The divine item chased away the monsters outside the world, allowing humans to roam the Sea of Ados in peace. But it did not last long, and something happened that almost caused the entire world to be turned upside down." The scholar paused for a moment before continuing. "The people had been safe under the divine item's protection for too long, and they finally began to take this protection for granted, and they began to forget the blessings of the gods. After the people stopped praying, the divine item lost its power. As a result, the monsters that roamed the Sea of Ados gathered again and began to gnaw at the shell of the giant turtle. The entire world then experienced a great earthquake and the first 'Descent of Winter'. At such a critical juncture, the king once again asked for help from the gods, and the people swore not to turn their backs on the gods. After many days and nights of prayer, the gods finally bestowed a second favor: He reenergized the giant turtle and saved the world. But this time, to punish the fickleness and cunning of the humans, the gods bestowed three curses at the same time. "
Hao Ren and Lily pricked up their ears at the same time.
"First, the world was no longer fertile, and the elves of electricity were no longer limitless. From now on, the entire world could only provide a limited amount of food, and humans had to constantly suffer from hunger to warn them not to indulge in pleasure.
"Second, the injury suffered by the giant turtle would become a hidden danger, and every once in a while, there would be all sorts of calamities. The elves of electricity would suddenly disappear, Mother Earth would suddenly lose her power, and winds would suddenly blow from the giant's nose. And the greatest calamity would be the Winter. Whenever the giant turtle stopped to rest due to the pain, its blood would turn cold, and the entire world would be sealed in ice, and the Winter would kill countless lives.
"Third, the human kingdom would be divided into four, and the people would fight each other and bleed, but they would not go extinct. The people would always remember the threat of death, and from then on, they would not fear death, and the human soul would also become firewood in the Furnace of the Ancestors. Using their own lives as the power to sustain the world, this was the last shackle that the gods placed on the humans. "
The old scholar was old, and spoke slowly, and took a long time to finish the story. After the old man's story ended, Hao Ren started to ask some simple questions. "Is there only one giant turtle in the Sea of Erdos?"
He wanted to know if the people still remembered the existence of the other arks.
"Of course there is only one." The old scholar's eyes widened. "There is only one world!"
"Err … Then do you know who 'created' this giant turtle?"
The old scholar's eyes widened even more. "Of course it's the gods. Do humans have the power to create worlds?"
Hao Ren held his head in his hands. "Alright, I have no more questions."
The old scholar did not understand, and looked at Willy. "Your friends have a weird way of thinking."
The old man could not keep them company for too long, and he also had the burden of teaching the young technicians in Hearthfire. So after exchanging a few questions with Hao Ren and the rest, the old man left with Willy's help. When they were the only ones left, Hao Ren stood up and stretched. "Whew … What do you guys think of the situation here?"
"I'm very concerned about the 'divine artifact' that the scholar mentioned." Vivian immediately said. "Based on the legends that he described, I think this' divine artifact 'is not groundless."
"I agree." The MDT also popped up. "Have you guys ever wondered how this fleet of exiled arks could escape the pursuit of the guardians for ten thousand years? The technology of these ships is actually not that advanced, and they have only just entered the realm of superluminal speed. The guardians' ships are a few generations more advanced, and the black warship that Muru rode on could have wiped out the entire fleet. But the exiled arks still managed to escape, and in the end, it was because the machines had exceeded their lifespan that they broke down one by one. Compared to those races that could not even escape their home planet, don't you think that these arks are incredibly lucky? "
Nangong Wuyue's eyes lit up. "So they really have a 'divine artifact' to protect themselves?"
"Even if it's not a real 'divine artifact', it should be something powerful that allowed the arks to escape the detection of the guardians, and played an important role in the fleet's escape from their home planet."
Hao Ren looked out the window thoughtfully. From this angle, he could see the giant machine at the end of the sealed space — the Furnace of the Ancestors.
"If there really is a 'divine artifact', then there's only one place it could be hidden: in the control center."
Vivian frowned. "But the Furnace of the Ancestors must be heavily guarded by the locals, and we have yet to gain their trust. If we want to go in and check it out, we'll have to force- Wait, something's wrong!"
She suddenly screamed halfway through her sentence, and pointed towards the direction of the Furnace of the Ancestors. The others looked in the direction she was pointing, and their eyes widened.
A huge bolt of lightning burst out from within the Furnace of the Ancestors, and was shooting out along the outer shell of the ancient machine!
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