My health recovery is incredibly fast.

"Why don't you reveal this truth to the public? For example, during this mission, taking advantage of the appearance of Kamashiberlein, the guardian of the Eternal Rest, you could tell the truth about the world to everyone in the temple. I think that would have a very good effect."

Little Golden Thorn Flower shook her head slightly. "Xia Zuo, we've already tried. The fact that you're only hearing the truth for the first time now perfectly reveals the attitude of those who already knew the truth towards it."

Xia Zuo was taken aback. "How many people knew the truth before me?"

“There used to be many, but now there are almost none.”

Little Golden Bauhinia continued:

"As the longest-living species among plant life, we, like humans and otherworldly beings, have survived from ancient times to the present. We have always been neutral between humans and otherworldly beings, and have not favored either side."

"For creatures like us who are not very mobile, the safest way to survive is to spread our offspring widely and learn from flexible creatures like humans and otherworldly beings. That's why our lineage has never been interrupted from ancient times to the present."

"My people and I once shared the truth of the world with humans and demons. But apart from groups like the Golden Thorn Alchemists' Guild that studied plants and trees and were willing to believe us, the vast majority of humans and demons scoffed at the truth we told them. Since then, we have stopped telling the truth of the world to the outside world."

"Perhaps, it will be only when the primordial smoke is extinguished and Vasaksat truly descends that humans and demons will realize the truth and accept that they are merely tools of 'fermentation'."

to be honest…

If Xia Zuo hadn't mastered the [Life-Generating Spores], and his understanding of Sodike Black Flag was as superficial as that of the other Temple members, he probably wouldn't have believed the absurd story told by Little Golden Bauhinia when he first heard the truth about the world.

It was precisely because Little Golden Vitex's description of Sodike Black Flag matched the specific effects of [Nurturing Sporangium] that Xia Zuo accepted Little Golden Vitex's explanation in such a short time.

"There's another reason why we're blocking information about the [Land of the Long Sleep]."

The little golden vitex flowers waved their branches and leaves, attracting Xia Zuo's attention:

"The remains of the Tree of Fate contain extremely powerful laws of spacetime."

"Any living being that comes into contact with this power will have only one fate: to experience the three stages of life—[Destiny], [Encounter], and [End]—within a single second, ultimately ending their life in the [End] stage. Unless one has the ability to resist [End], death is the only outcome."

"In order to prevent humans from making pointless sacrifices, and to prevent any creature from successfully fermenting the 'food,' we can only try to block information about the [Land of Long Sleep]."

Xia Zuo nodded slowly, pondered for a moment, and asked, "I have one last question, Melina."

"Okay, go ahead and ask."

"What role does the Genesis Crystal play in the 'fermentation container' we are in now?" Xia Zuo asked.

“They are the original inhabitants of this land.”

"Aborigines?"

“Yes, the natives, you can also think of them as the embodiment of the planet's will.” Little Golden Vitex stretched out a branch and gestured a circle:

"Because human civilization often experiences breaks in its continuity, you have long lost any memory of what this land originally looked like."

"We plants still retain this memory."

"In the beginning, the land beneath our feet was a barren planet devoid of life, with howling winds, sandstorms, acidic soil, and harsh weather that made it unsuitable for any living thing to grow."

"Vasaksat used his magical prowess and planetary devices specifically designed for practicing the Way of Saguma to transform this planet into a suitable place for life to thrive. The Creation Crystal remained hidden deep within the planet until the opportune moment arrived, when it emerged from the earth through the great volcano."

“Wait a minute…” Xia Zuo interrupted Little Golden Bauhinia, “So, the natural world of this planet is actually Vasaksat’s masterpiece?”

“That’s right,” said Little Golden Vitex.

"Everything you know now, except for the Creation Crystal, was created by Vasaksat, including pure water, fresh air, mineral-rich land, and so on. Although we hate Vasaksat, it is indeed the one who created the natural world as we know it."

When Shazo controlled his Blood Element servants to infiltrate the Church of the Otherworldly Demons, he heard Nukoalov deliver a passionate speech at the scene of a forced piety ceremony.

Little Golden Bauhinia's words closely resembled Nukoalov's statement. It's likely that the Church of the Otherworld has a good relationship with Sodike Black Flag, so Sodike Black Flag revealed a small part of the truth to the Church of the Otherworld to increase their loyalty to Vasaksat.

Of course, Sodike Black Flag's ultimate goal remains to fulfill its mission of "fermenting food," and everything it does is to incite war between "microorganisms."

Little Golden Vitex asked:

"You've probably heard of the 'Law of Corruption,' right?"

Xia Zuo nodded. "I've heard of it. I find this law very strange. According to human nature, which seeks advantage and avoids harm, one should actively avoid falling into demonic possession knowing that it's a path of no return. But reality clearly goes against human nature..."

The little golden jujube flower explained:

"This is a shackle that Vasaksat deliberately buried in the human will when he created humanity, in order to balance the power between humans and the Otherworldly Demons. Without the [Law of Corruption] to restrain humanity, the Otherworldly Demons would have been wiped out by human weapons long ago. There are similar things in other races as well."

Xia Zuo rubbed his chin. "I understand. Continue talking about Vasaksat's creation of nature."

"Our recorded history begins with the first golden thorn planted on the earth by the Vasaksat."

Jin Jinghua gestured for Xia Zuo to pour her some medicine. After resting for half a minute, she told a myth similar to that of a creator opening up the world.

The origins of Vasaksat are unknown, but the planetary devices it used to terraform planets, and the insignia of its Vasaksat vanguard outposts, all bear the same symbol:

The logo features an octopus with eight tentacles at its center. The eight tentacles are evenly distributed around the octopus's head, symmetrically arranged, with four tentacles on each side of the head.

Each tentacle's end is entwined with a symbolic pattern, arranged clockwise as follows: vegetation, minerals, animals, monsters, demons, humans, otherworldly beings, and orbs of light. (Note ①)

(Note ①: Monsters refer to creatures whose physical abilities have greatly improved after mutation, but who have not mastered spellcasting. Demonic creatures refer to creatures that have mastered spellcasting after mutation. The spellcasting ability of otherworldly demons comes from training and advancement rituals, not from mutation.)

The order of these eight patterns corresponds to the order in which Vasaksat terraformed the barren planet.

The first step is to plant plants that can transform the harsh environment of the barren planet.

These plants were planted on this planet before the golden thorn, and they are all now dead.

Plants that can adapt to harsh environments must thrive in those environments. As the environment continues to improve, they will slowly wither away and eventually die amidst birdsong and fragrant flowers.

The second step involves altering continental plates and topography to bury minerals.

This step is crucial.

By manipulating the distribution of water resources, mineral resources, and farmland resources, Vasaksat planned in advance which regions would produce which civilizations.

Take, for example, the place where the Wild Hammer Kingdom is located. For tens of thousands of years, no matter how many dynasties changed, the country there has always relied on mineral resources for its livelihood.

The third step is to introduce animals to build a complete food chain.

Start by introducing animals with the simplest growth habits. After confirming that nature can withstand the growth pressure of the animals, gradually introduce more complex animals, including apes that evolved into humans, animals with mutation capabilities, and so on.

All animals will evolve freely in nature, and eventually, certain animals will evolve into humans, monsters, demons, and otherworldly beings pre-designed by Vasaksat.

At this point, the planetary transformation is essentially complete.

The Tree of Bonds is a spiritual being, possessing neither flesh nor metal, nor vegetation. To release its remains directly into a newly transformed natural environment is as terrifying as dumping a lethal poison into a pond.

To protect the "tiny creatures" that have not yet grown up, Vasaksat used a dimensional device to create a sub-plane on this planet—essentially giving the planet storage space.

The first sub-plane created by Vasaksat was the Land of the Long Sleep, used to store the remains of Kamahirbia.

The spacetime law power emanating from the corpses penetrated the barrier of the plane and affected the natural world.

In Vasaksat's original design, all things in nature were devoid of spirit.

However, once Kamasibia's remains were placed in the [Land of the Long Sleep], the overflowing power of the laws of spacetime immediately "infected" Vasaksat's creations, imbuing a small portion of the creatures with spiritual bodies. Vasaksat then arranged more sub-dimensions, stacking them between nature and the [Land of the Long Sleep], in order to weaken the spacetime power emanating from the remains of the Boundary Tree.

At this point in her story, Little Golden Bauhinia paused and raised a guess that had been discussed among the Golden Bauhinia clan:

“Shazo, the spirit connected to our bodies, is very likely the means by which Kamahirbia resurrected himself.”

"Why do you say that?" Xia Zuo asked curiously.

"Kamasilbia's mastery of the spacetime domains is [Destiny], [Encounter], and [End]. It can draw power from these three stages of biological growth. The spirits attached to the bodies of living beings are the medium through which Kamasilbia collects spacetime power."

"While we are alive, our spirits witness our growth and reproduction. When we die, the spiritual thread between our spirit and body breaks. Our bodies are buried in the dust or burned to ashes in flames, while our spirits go to the Land of Long Sleep and transfer the spacetime power they contain to Kamahilbia."

Little Golden Vitex waved its branches and leaves. "My ancestors clearly remember that when Vasaksat placed the remains of the Tree of Fate into the [Land of Long Sleep], there was no Tree of Fate guarding Kamashiberline, the white tree we saw in the thick smoke."

Xia Zuo pondered and said:

"You mean, Kamashiberion is a product born from Kamashiberia's extraction of spacetime power, right?"

“Yes.” Little Golden Vitex swayed its flowers up and down. “We suspect that Kamasilbia is reviving, and the appearance of Kamasilberlein is just one piece of evidence. It should be something like a reincarnation or rebirth.”

The little golden jujube flower bowed its head slightly, its petals opening as if in a sigh:

“Xiazo, the plant community is not a monolith. We Golden Vitex and other long-lived plants that witnessed Vasaksat's transformation of the planet clearly know that this planet was used to 'ferment' corpses. Together, we chose to block the news of the [Land of Long Sleep].

"But those plant species with a shorter history and no memory of the planet's original appearance have been trying to open the [Land of Long Sleep] after discovering that they possess spirit bodies, in pursuit of spacetime power beyond their control."

"It was these greedy plants that revealed to the shamanic school the way to open the [Land of the Dead]."

Xia Zuo recalled the entire sacrificial ceremony, the scene of the burning meditation incense flashing through his mind, and he pressed his forehead in sudden realization:

"I understand."

"When plants are made into spices, they do not actually die. Their bodies change from complete herbaceous forms to dispersed particles. At this time, the plant's body is still connected to the spirit."

"Gather these granular plant parts together to make spices, then burn them. Only then will the plant parts die, and the spirits connected to them will travel to the [Land of Eternal Rest] after the spiritual thread breaks."

"The more incense is burned at once, the greater the flow of spirits. The dimensional rift between nature and the [Land of Long Sleep] will be stretched open by a large influx of spirits into the [Land of Long Sleep], turning it into a dimensional rift."

“Yes, you’re right.” Little Golden Bauhinia nodded. “I can tell you another secret.”

"What secret?"

The little golden chaste tree points to the other with its leaves:

"When a creature capable of free movement, thought, and continuous growth possesses a near-infinite lifespan, it experiences more 'destiny' and 'encounters,' accumulating far more spacetime power than other creatures. The spacetime power of 'ending' contained within the spirit of such a creature is extremely vast. When its spirit enters the 'Land of Long Sleep,' it creates even larger dimensional rifts, or even directly opens a large dimensional rift capable of encompassing a residential area and existing for a long time."

Xia Zuo's expression changed.

Little Golden Bauhinia continued:

"There are many long-lived creatures in this world, but most of them have obvious defects."

"For example, although we Golden Vitex flowers are long-lived, we cannot move freely. Some monsters that carry heavy stones are also long-lived, but they are not intelligent and do not understand what 'destiny' and 'encounter' are. We can hardly accumulate the spacetime power in this regard and can only make up for the gap with the number of individuals."

"Only pure-blooded mages meet all the requirements and are the most suitable key to open the [Land of Long Sleep]."

"That's why you've been targeted by that mysterious cloaked man."

Xia Zuo's expression was solemn. "Since we're going to use our spirits to open the [Land of Eternal Rest], then our physical bodies will..."

The little golden chaste tree spreads its branches and leaves, saying, "Your physical bodies will be set ablaze, like burning torches illuminating the path to the [Land of Eternal Rest]."

Chapter 23 Shell and Wildness

Within the cave complex of the Wild Hammer Kingdom.

The large underground alchemy chamber remains busy.

The alchemists moved silently between the alchemy tables and shelves, carrying out the alchemical instructions from their superiors without uttering a word.

Deep within the caverns, in an alchemy chamber separated by heavy metal doors, two female bodies dressed in plain robes lay flat on two soft sofas beside the alchemy table. They were Rena and Hughie, fast asleep.