Lord: Sequence Overlord

Chapter 328 The Sacred Site of Sculpture and the Miracle Stone Man
Chapter 327

The Floating Empire's Floating City No. 195 is a sacred place entirely belonging to sculptors.

Everywhere you look, you can see the masterpieces of demigod sculptors. This is the God-Painted City that belongs to sculptors. However, this place is far more powerful than the God-Painted City, because the sculptors of Sequence 0 here possess terrifying combat power that is no less than that of true gods.

Such a sacred site for sculptors should not only have numbers but also names.

The sculptor's skill was enough to break the rules for naming the floating city.

However, the Floating City No. 195 ultimately only has a number.

No matter how skilled the sculptors are inside the Tongtian Stone Pillar, they will revert to their original form once they leave this place. Works sculpted using the special stone here are just stubborn rocks once they leave the Tongtian Stone Pillar. Therefore, many sculptors do not actually recognize the value of this city.

Most sculptors prefer to regard the Pantheon on Mount Pantheon as their headquarters.

Even if one can only visit the Pantheon Grottoes once every hundred years, at least the Pantheon Grottoes truly represent the power controlled by the sculptors.

No matter how good the Floating City No. 195 was, it could only remain trapped within the Floating Empire.

Although many sculptors do not approve of the Floating City No. 195, there are not many sculptors who truly reject it.

Because of the endless stone resources here, sculptors have more carving materials and can display greater power. Even if this power cannot take them out of the Floating Empire, it can still make it easier for sculptors who are stuck at a bottleneck to see the road ahead.

They didn't give this place a name, but rather used it to remind each other that this place ultimately didn't belong to them.

Even so, some sculptors never wanted to leave the Floating Empire.

As a Sequence 4 sculptor, Rosen easily integrated into Floating City No. 195.

The Floating Empire has no external network, but it has an internal network.

Those born in the Floating Empire were fine, but those outsiders who came from outside the Floating Empire, accustomed to the prosperity of the outside world, found it difficult to adapt to the living environment of the Floating Empire, which was nothing but stone.

Therefore, the outsiders of the Floating Empire mostly live in various spiritual realms.

Through teleportation arrays and virtual networks, various spiritual realms are connected to construct a unique inner world belonging to the extraordinary.

After Rosen entered the spiritual realm of Floating City No. 195 as a sculptor, he easily gained access to the virtual network within the Floating Empire. The moment the main god's computer connected to the virtual network, he began to infiltrate the virtual network to search for various kinds of information.

There is very little valuable information on the virtual network, at least no detailed information about the relics excavated from inside the Tower of Babel.

Because the World Government has too many large and small forces in the Floating Empire, the World Government gets the lion's share, and the various forces also want a share. So they usually divide up the territory and send miners to mine. They keep whatever good stuff they find a secret and never post it on the virtual network to show off.

However, the virtual network was not without value; Rosen learned about the various factions within the Floating Empire through it.

He also learned what the apparent leaders of these large and small forces looked like. Knowing their appearance, he could use the Hunter's Eye to monitor them. As long as the monitored target did not exceed Sequence 3, he could use the Mind Canvas to directly reflect the mind and further explore the memories.

The towering stone pillar is over a million miles high, while the Suspended Empire has only developed less than three hundred thousand miles of it.

Within this area, most of the good stuff has been dug out. Regardless of its value, the vast majority of it has been taken by the World Government. So don't even think about finding the World Tree's origin inside the Tower of Babel.

If you want to make a profit, you have to go to an altitude of 300,000 miles or more to explore and excavate.

However, it took the World Government 20,000 years to finally dig 300,000 miles.

Even with the Miracle Pocket, it's unlikely that Lawson will achieve anything in a short time.

Therefore, the best way is to plunder the treasury of the Floating Empire, but the one in charge of the Floating Empire is a true god.

301 Floating City, the most prosperous and bustling city in the Floating Empire.

The city infrastructure around the shaft is very rudimentary because the area is still under excavation. Once the demigod miners detect an area that appears to be a site of a civilization, that area will be excavated immediately, so there is no need to build anything too elaborate.

The entire 301 Floating City is actually a huge quarry.

Then, the miners responsible for digging all lived in various spiritual realms during their rest time.

At the very top of the shaft stands a floating city, its diameter equal to that of the shaft, spanning a thousand miles.

This floating city primarily serves to prevent falls; otherwise, if the rocks above were to fall, the vertical shaft, spanning 300,000 miles, would pose a significant threat to other floating cities below.

The true god who reigns over the Floating Empire lives in seclusion in the Floating City year-round.

Rosen stayed in the floating city for two months but still couldn't find any way to get close to the Floating Empire's treasury.

Having exhausted all other options, he began searching for other ways to obtain the World Tree's essence.

This time, Rosen didn't pretend to be a painter; instead, he used the miner's extraordinary source material to paint a Sequence 4 miner.

For the mining profession, Sequence 4 is already a rare top talent.

So he easily joined the mining team in 301 Sky City, and without arousing anyone's suspicion, he went deep into the mine. After choosing a completely abandoned mining area, he quietly hid a corner of the mining area.

Rosen opened the Void Album, which contained a portrait of an ancient god carved by stone.

His divine perception had come into contact with the Ancient God Stone Chisel, and he had some understanding of it. The Ancient God Stone Chisel was forged from the heart of the World Tree. Although the origins of the Lesser World Trees were very different, they were absolutely of the same origin. Therefore, the Ancient God Stone Chisel he drew possessed some of the power of the genuine article.

Although it is impossible to fully control the special rocks inside the towering stone pillar, it is not a problem to slowly move through it as if burrowing underground.

Rosen held the ancient god stone chisel he had drawn, and as he moved vertically upwards, it was as if he were floating on the deep sea.

His divine perception, transmitted through the ancient divine stone, could extend outwards for dozens of miles.

Ninety-nine percent of the ancient relics discovered over the years are located within a radius of 1,500 li around the core of the Tongtian Stone Pillar.

This is why the diameter of a vertical shaft is only about a thousand miles in circumference.

Clearly, the ancient civilization that once dug upwards inside the Tongtian Stone Pillar did not excavate too much outwards in the cross-section, because it can be seen from many civilization relics that the ancient civilization inside the Tongtian Stone Pillar was trying to reach the very top of the Tongtian Stone Pillar.

Moreover, the closer the stone pillar is to the core, the more fragile it is; the closer it is to the outer layer, the harder it is.

Miners with a Sequence 9 core can mine it. Miners with a Sequence 7 core can barely mine it beyond a radius of 1,500 miles. Miners with a Sequence 7 core can barely mine it beyond a radius of 2,000 miles. Only demigod miners can mine it beyond that radius. Only gods and true gods can barely destroy it.

Therefore, the area within a radius of 1,500 li (approximately 650 kilometers) for excavating the core is definitely the easiest and most cost-effective excavation range.

Rosen could ascend the towering stone pillar and travel thousands of miles in a day, but his detection range was only within a radius of a few dozen miles.

So after ascending more than two thousand miles, he was fortunate enough to discover the first ruins of a civilization.

In his perception, this civilization site was a cave, covering an area of ​​less than a kilometer in radius. The entire site was filled with growing rocks, and many rock artifacts had grown together with the rocks and had no value.

However, Rosen discovered that one statue was not attached to the surrounding rocks.

Instead, there is a gap about one finger wide on the surface, which prevents the growth of rocks from getting closer.

Rosen immediately traveled over and added the statue to his World Domain.

Within the field, he began to carefully examine the stone carving with the help of the sculptor's extraordinary abilities.

Judging from its appearance, this is clearly a carved miniature World Tree.

After careful examination, it was discovered that a spiritual realm once existed inside the stone carving of this small World Tree.

However, the hidden spiritual realm inside has collapsed, leaving only the stone sculpture that once housed it.

The material used for this stone carving is extraordinary.

Rosen has been in the Floating Empire for some time now, and even disguised himself as a sculptor for a while in Floating City No. 195.

The stone extracted from the Towering Stone Pillar has many uses. When ground into powder and mixed with soil, it can greatly increase the production of magical potions. When used to feed those extraordinary beings that eat stones, it can also promote the rapid growth of these extraordinary beings.

Furthermore, the stone itself is very sturdy, making it the best material for carving stone sculptures.

The closer to the core, the lower the quality of the stone; the closer to the periphery, the higher the quality of the stone. Currently, the highest quality stone that can be mined reaches Sequence 1. Higher quality stones do exist, but miners cannot mine them because they do not have Sequence 0.

If the true god were to engage in destructive mining, only a few stone fragments could be harvested.

The stone sculpture in Rosen's hand was made of stone of the True God level, and it was a complete piece. Before it was carved, its diameter exceeded one hundred meters. The material of this one piece of stone alone was worth a Sequence 0 extraordinary artifact.

Furthermore, Rosen discovered that the stone carving could bring out the towering stone pillar unaffected.

No wonder the World Government spent so much money developing the Floating Empire. These ancient stone carvings, made of true god-quality stone materials found in the ruins of civilizations, are enough to make the World Government's investment worthwhile.

Rosen soon discovered that the small World Tree stone carving in his hand, when ground into powder, was a great tonic for plants.

He sent some powder to the base of the small World Tree, and after the small World Tree absorbed it, its essence indeed grew a little stronger. Rosen immediately realized that these stone carvings of true god quality left behind by ancient civilizations contained the essence of the World Tree he was looking for.

In the following years, he devoted himself to searching for buried relics of civilizations at the Tongtian Stone Pillar.

Six or seven sites of civilization were found, along with more than a dozen stone carvings of various sizes.

All the shattered stone carvings became nourishment for the miniature World Tree. Its growth rate, originally 86%, soared to 90% in just a few years, meeting the conditions for advancing to Sequence 2 of the Miracle Sequence. However, the Miracle Treasures to be acquired were somewhat difficult to choose.

Lawson now possesses Sequence 2 Miracle Treasures, including the Apocalypse Treasure Map and the Ecological Planetarium.

Both of these are top-tier extraordinary artifacts. The former still holds secrets that he has not yet discovered; the exact location of the Apocalypse Treasure Map remains unknown. The Ecological Astronomical Instrument, on the other hand, possesses powerful predictive abilities and the terrifying capacity to alter ecological patterns.

If you choose the Apocalypse Treasure Map, it will enhance the power of the Miracle Pocket.

If an ecological planetarium is chosen, it can further enhance the relationship between the monarchy and its authority.

These two miraculous artifacts are evenly matched, and it will be difficult to make a decision unless a better one comes along.

Rosen decided to postpone the fusion and continue collecting more stone carvings.

Through the discovery of several ancient ruins, he has found much more than just stone carvings.

All the ruins were abandoned, unlike the Floating Empire which dug upwards and occupied them one by one.

The ancient civilization inside the Tongtian Stone Pillar once had a small population, and the spiritual realm within the stone carving was enough for them to survive. Therefore, it was not necessary to excavate the entire area within a radius of 1,500 li around the core of the Tongtian Stone Pillar; it was sufficient to excavate diagonally upwards continuously.

After all, the goal of this ancient civilization was to reach the top of the towering stone pillar, so the civilization was constantly digging upwards in a small area.

Then the temporary encampment below will be abandoned after a few years.

The spiritual realm inside the stone carving seems to be impermanent, so every time the spiritual realm inside the stone carving is destroyed, it is abandoned by that ancient civilization. Following this line of reasoning, the higher up in the civilization where the relics are discovered, the higher their value should be.

Rosen stopped searching for relics of civilization along the way and instead focused all his energy on traversing upwards.

At a rate of several thousand miles per day, it would take less than a year to reach the top of the Heavenly Pillar, which would be over a million miles.

Time passed day by day, and more than half a year has gone by in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Rosen suddenly sensed an unusual vibration and followed it as he approached.

He soon arrived at a mine, where knocking sounds came from above.

Rosen followed the sound and soon saw a human-shaped stone sculpture, wielding a pickaxe and digging upwards. Behind the sculpture was a basket containing a small World Tree sculpture, only a foot in size.

He was already close to the top of the towering stone pillar, and he never expected to see any living creatures here.

Rosen did not disturb the human-shaped stone sculpture, which gave him a sense of danger.

He explored directly out of the mine and soon discovered that there was an ancient divine stone chisel every certain distance inside the mine. These ancient divine stone chisels seemed to be carved replicas, and all the replicas were inserted into the rock.

Rosen carefully examined the rocks where the ancient god's stone chisel replica was inserted and discovered that the rocks here were actually growing.

These ancient stone chisels, used to imitate ancient artifacts, inhibited rock growth and filled the mine shafts.

Rosen spent two days exploring the surrounding area, but found no other mines or traces of civilization.

The mine and human-shaped stone sculptures discovered a couple of days ago may be the last remnants of an ancient civilization.

Rosen quietly slipped into the miner's cave from the rocks and approached the human-shaped stone sculpture from behind.

Despite posing a significant threat, the humanoid stone sculpture remained oblivious to his surroundings.

Rosen had been standing there for quite a while before he finally noticed that there was someone behind him.

The human-shaped stone sculpture suddenly stopped, turned its head, and stared blankly at Rosen without moving.

It took a long time for the human-shaped stone sculpture to come to its senses, tears of blood streaming from its eyes as it knelt on one knee.

"Can you speak?"

Seeing that the humanoid stone sculpture did not show any malice, Rosen couldn't help but ask directly.

The human-shaped stone sculpture raised its head, pondered for a while, and then took off the basket on its back.

Then he raised the stone sculpture of the Little World Tree towards Rosen.

Rosen carefully took the stone carving and discovered that there was still a spiritual realm inside that had not collapsed.

His senses immediately penetrated the spiritual realm through the stone carving, and he discovered that this spiritual realm, like the one inside the engraved mural, was shrouded in darkness. It seemed that this spiritual realm would not last many years before being swallowed by the darkness.

At the center of the Spirit Realm is a small World Tree stone sculpture, but there is no Spirit Realm inside this sculpture.

Beneath the stone sculptures are hundreds of thousands of densely packed human-shaped stone sculptures.

The heart parts of all the humanoid stone sculptures were broken open, and other organs could be seen inside, but the heart was not visible. All the humanoid stone sculptures knelt on one knee facing the Little World Tree. Among the stone branches of the Little World Tree, there was a stone book about three feet in size.

Rosen's divine perception touched the stone book, and he easily opened it.

The text above is the same script as the one on Shi Yan's tombstone.

Using his professional authority as an ancient scholar among the nobility, he quickly translated the contents recorded in the stone book.

These human-shaped stone sculptures originated from the Rock Tribe.

Rosen's guess was correct. After the destruction of the rock tribe inside the towering stone pillar, the new civilization that emerged was indeed stone people carved by Shi Yan using the ancient god's chisel. These stone people collectively revered Shi Yan as their father god.

After the rock buries itself, these stone figures initially lived in the lower layer of the Tongtian Stone Pillar.

However, starting from the lower layers, the rocks begin to grow upwards at an alarming rate.

Although the stone men are naturally powerful, their level of intelligence and civilization is not actually very high.

It was discovered that the rocks grow from bottom to top, initially destroying the newly formed rocks.

However, the rate at which rocks were destroyed could not keep up with the rate at which new rocks were formed. The stone men were forced to migrate upwards because the higher they went, the slower the rocks grew. Although their living space was constantly being compressed, the stone men could barely survive.

After all, stone people eat rocks, so they don't have to worry about food, drink, or a place to live.

In particular, the stone golem possesses the talent to activate the inner essence of the stone sculpture to create a small world.

However, the small world is gradually being devoured by darkness, and the stone men have to search for special stones to carve stone sculptures. The closer to the outer edge, the more God-quality stones there are, but the rocks there grow at an astonishing rate, making it increasingly difficult to mine God-quality stones.

Finally, the stone golem had no choice but to keep digging upwards, because the darkness's corrosive power diminished the closer it got to the top.

Over the years, the stone men lost count of how many years had passed, and their living space dwindled more and more.

Even the Stone Golem's talent for controlling rocks has weakened over time.

The ancient stone chisels that Rosen had previously seen were made from the hearts of stone figures.

The humanoid stone sculpture in front of him was the last living stone figure.

The remaining stone figures were exhausted from endless digging, and most of them committed suicide. A small number grew weaker and weaker over time. Clearly, although the stone figures did not have physical lifespan concerns, their spiritual lifespan was constantly fading.

Like Shi Yan, Rosen is a flesh-and-blood being, unlike the stone people.

So when the human-shaped stone sculpture in front of him saw him, his ancient memories were already blurred, and he instinctively thought that he was Shi Yan, the creator of the stone man, which is why he excitedly knelt on one knee to offer his eternal loyalty.

With a complicated expression, Rosen stepped forward and helped the stone man up, carefully examining his condition.

Unexpectedly, the spirituality within the stone body was extremely vigorous and powerful.

Although it has not transformed into divinity and has not changed in quality, it is probably no less than the great true God in terms of quantity.

However, despite its exceptionally strong spirituality, this stone man possessed very low intelligence.

Stone people are not very intelligent to begin with, not to mention that over the long years, this stone person has been alone for who knows how long, and his memories of his past life with his people have become blurred. Now, this stone person is essentially in a state of amnesia, only able to act on instinct.

Finally, Rosen also discovered why this stone man had survived until now.

Because he has unknowingly become a miracle life form, possessing the eternal and indestructible characteristics of a miracle life form.

(End of this chapter)