Xing Tie: Wait a minute! How come Weng Xing has two saviors?

Chapter 226 The Black Tower: Onpharos? Let me see!

After the last scholar's figure disappeared into the light of the Hundred Realms Gate, the Divine Enlightenment Tree Garden returned to silence, leaving only the remnants of war and the embers of the Black Tide drifting in the wind.

Two figures stood silently atop the tree-lined courtyard, overlooking this sacred land of knowledge that had just survived a calamity.

“Xi Lian, you’re right.” Caislan’s deep voice broke the silence as he turned his metal mask toward the pink-haired girl beside him. “Perhaps they… those extraterrestrial visitors really are the ‘variables’.”

"So..." Xi Lian's pink hair fluttered gently in the breeze. She didn't look up; her voice was calm and even.

"You've finally agreed to stand by my side? Good. After completing that last thing, I can finally... carry out my plan without any worries." There was no surprise in her tone, as if she had already expected this outcome.

"Is there one last thing?" Caislana caught this crucial information.

“Yes.” Xi Lian nodded gently. “In that seemingly endless cycle of reincarnation, I not only carried his expectations, but also made a promise to my companions of the Golden Blood. Something I had to accomplish.”

She turned her head slightly, as if she could feel the scrutinizing gaze from behind the mask. "Don't worry, it won't interfere with our final plan."

"Your plan..." Caislana's voice carried a hint of complex emotion, "I've heard you mention it repeatedly. What exactly is it? What makes you so persistent, even..."

“I can’t tell you right now.” Xi Lian interrupted him, turned her head, and blinked at him, trying to show a hint of her usual ease, but the smile didn’t really reach her eyes. “When the time is right, you will understand what to do.”

“Xi Lian…” Caislana’s voice grew lower and lower.

"I...maybe I've long since lost the right to call you 'Sister Xilian'." His words carried the weight of more than thirty million reincarnations.

"But I want to tell you that no matter which version of me it is, from the original Bai'er to Bai'er No. 33550335... we still care about you."

He took a half-step forward, his gaze seemingly piercing through that feigned toughness: "Ever since that little fellow named 'Mimi' was born, bearing the power of 'Time,' your condition has clearly been off."

“You are more impatient and anxious than before, as if you are racing against time. The you in front of me who always has ‘plan’ on his lips and is almost consumed by it… is not the Xi Lian he wanted to see. You are no longer the ‘Sister Xi Lian’ who would smile at us at the beginning of countless reincarnations.”

Xi Lian sighed deeply. She gazed in the distance toward Ohmma, her eyes momentarily unfocused before settling into a deep sorrow.

"Maybe... I'm just overthinking it. But... I wish he could really see me like this."

Xi Lian's voice was soft, yet carried immense weight: "Before coming here to see you, I went inside the Dawn Machine."

She paused, as if recalling the horrifying scene, before continuing in a somber tone:

"In that room... he should have been waiting for me there. But now... the outside of that room is covered with amber-colored crystals. I can't get in."

Xi Lian turned her head and looked directly at Caislana, her eyes sharp and sorrowful: "You witnessed Nicardoli's end, didn't you? His twisted path of 'existence,' his so-called 'salvation'..."

"He has slid into the abyss I least want to see, just like you did back then, like countless other 'white calamities' who have gone astray."

Her fist clenched silently, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

“If Onphalus’s fate is truly reduced to the path of ‘salvation’ that leads to ‘survival’, then I will not only not stop him, but I will also accompany him to the very end.”

Xi Lian's voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolute determination, "But now Onfaros has more than one path! The changes from beyond the heavens have arrived, and their destinies have intersected here. Hope has appeared! Now that there is a new path, I absolutely cannot stand by and watch him... remain alone on that old path destined for ruin!"

Another unknown point in time.

Onfaros' outer firewall.

The Great Black Tower, a spiritual projection composed of data and will, has traversed countless light-years and now stands outside the strange world barrier of Onpharos.

What appeared before her eyes was not an ordinary planetary shape, but a huge infinity symbol that seemed to be woven from starlight—"∞"—slowly rotating in the void, emanating a mysterious and unsettling fluctuation.

"∞? Infinity? A Möbius strip? Or some kind of more complex topological structure?" A ripple of intense interest flashed across Black Tower's eyes.

"Knowledge, memory, preservation, destruction... and so on? What other traces of destiny are there? 'Pleasure' and 'Harmony'? This world is truly interesting."

"Sigh... But the most urgent thing is to get those passengers out of the Star Train first." Without further hesitation, she began to analyze and attempt to pass through the world barrier of Onfaros.

"I apologize, Your Excellency." An elegant, steady voice came from behind her data projection. "I think it would be best if you didn't get involved in this... muddy water."

"Huh?" Black Tower turned around instantly.

She recognized the newcomer—an intelligent machine with an exquisitely designed structure and a symmetrical aesthetic.

"Interesting... an omnic? And the level of information encryption... the last omnic that could keep secrets so tightly guarded in front of my Black Tower was that guy, Screwgoom. So... who exactly are you?" Her voice carried undisguised inquiry and a hint of provoked excitement.

“My name is Lycurgus. Of course, you can also call me—Lygus.” Lygus calmly gazed at the data projection of the Black Tower and continued.

"As for my specific identity and background, those are not important at this moment. You only need to know that no matter how many great achievements you have made in the vast sea of ​​stars, or how outstanding your wisdom is, this time, you'd better choose to stand by and watch."

"Oh?" Black Tower chuckled softly, data circulating rapidly around her, showing her keen interest.

"In this vast universe, are there still 'muddy waters' that my Black Tower dares not touch or cannot analyze? Your words only make me more curious and want to go in and see for myself."

When the Star God casts his glance, does he ever give people the right to refuse?

“If you insist on forcing your way into Onphalus,” Lycus said, his tone still steady, but the words carried an undeniable weight.

"I can only be frank with you: like you, I too have had the privilege of being glimpsed by the star god of 'wisdom.' I can responsibly assure you that in the extreme event of a conflict between us, our mutual destruction is mutually assured."

"Hmph." Black Tower snorted nonchalantly on the surface, but secretly, a message had already crossed the sea of ​​stars and been sent to a fellow member of the Genius Club.

“It seems that conventional reasons are indeed not convincing to you.” Lai Gu Shi seemed to have grasped the implication in Black Tower’s words, and this time, his tone carried a clear warning.

"Then, please allow me to give one last direct reason—if you ignore my advice and insist on intervening in Onpharos."

"You will personally break the cage of a 'monster'. And this monster, after undergoing an unimaginable transformation, now has the initial ability to bring all life in the entire galaxy into eternal silence."

It was at this moment that a gentle and refined voice abruptly intervened in the increasingly tense standoff.

"Perhaps you are right, but... esteemed Mr. Legus, please forgive me for reminding you, any assessment of risk must take all variables into account."

"What if Onpharos is not a simple 'cage' but an extremely dangerous 'imperial scepter'?"

“In this situation, leaving it unchecked may lead to even more irreparable and catastrophic consequences.”

As these words fell, another projection made of information gracefully coalesced and took shape beside the black tower.

He was tall and imposing, with impeccable manners; he was none other than the current Omnic King—Screwgoom.

Lai Gushi's previously expressionless face seemed to stiffen for a moment the instant he detected the appearance of Sluggum. Clearly, he hadn't expected his opponent to be so shameless as to directly call for reinforcements.

"You arrived pretty quickly, Screw." The data projection of the Black Tower emitted an almost smug wave. "It hasn't even been a standard system point since I sent you the message, and you've already arrived."

She turned to Lai Gushi, her tone carrying the pride unique to geniuses, "Dare to threaten me? Brother Bao, no one in this world can bully my Black Tower."

Then, the Great Black Tower turned its gaze to Screw Gum, asking in a questioning tone: "However... you just said that Onpharos's essence is an 'Imperial Scepter'?"

"Is it the kind of calculation system that uses the anti-life equation as its core and is specifically designed to simulate the path of destruction for countless civilizations?"

“That’s right, Lady Black Tower.” Screw Gum’s projection nodded slightly, a rare hint of solemnity, stemming from the past, flashing across his elegant mechanical face.

"Moreover, my statement that it is dangerous is not without reason. In my long life, I have had the good fortune—or the misfortune—to witness a 'scepter' that operated continuously for two hundred standard years."

"The mad consciousness that was conceived within it and nourished by the anti-life equation almost... corrupted and distorted the core of my logic."

His voice remained gentle, but the lingering fear and warning within it were crystal clear: "Imagine, Lady Black Tower, if Onpharos had truly functioned as a complete 'Imperial Scepter' for hundreds of Amber Ages..."

"Then, what kind of mentally devastating, eternally repetitive madness will the data life forms, or collective consciousnesses, trapped inside, as the subjects of computation, face and experience? I... cannot imagine, nor do I want to simulate that extreme despair in detail."

He paused briefly, then continued, his tone now carrying an unwavering resolve: "Corpses strewn across the fields? Rivers of blood? Darkness reigning? These words are probably far from sufficient to describe even a fraction of the horror of what lies inside that machine."

"Therefore, if I may be so bold, I could never allow such a dangerous and unstable entity to continue operating unsupervised."

“It seems…” Lai Gushi’s voice lowered, “You are determined to trespass into this area marked as a ‘forbidden zone’.”

He locked onto the two geniuses before him, a massive stream of data silently accelerating within his body. "I will prevent you from interfering with Onpharos's calculations. But before conflict becomes inevitable, please allow me to raise one last, and perhaps most crucial, question—"

His voice carried a power that penetrated appearances and went straight to the essence:

"Back then, when you were fortunate enough to bask in the gaze of the Star God, illuminated by the light of the destiny of 'intellect'... did you ever possess... the right to 'refuse'?"

Black Tower frowned, and even the data projection trembled at this almost absurd question: "What kind of question is this? In this vast universe, how could there possibly exist an intelligent life that can refuse, or even be willing to refuse, the power that a Star God actively bestows upon it?"

"If he can truly be watched by the Star God, that in itself proves that the path he pursues must be highly consistent with the destiny governed by the Star God! Under such circumstances, how could he possibly say 'no' to the Star God, who represents the ultimate manifestation of that destiny?"

“Yes… how could that be?” Laigushi let out a very soft, complex laugh, a laugh that contained a kind of confirmed sorrow or mockery.

He stopped trying to persuade the other party, his attitude shifting to one of utter resolve: "It's pointless to say more now. The equation that was being conceived within Onphalus, after experiencing a total of 729 process regressions, has finally reached the theoretical end of its calculation cycle due to interference from the 'preservation' process."

His mechanical arms slowly rose, forming an embracing gesture, and his entire figure began to be swallowed up by the surging, tangible torrent of data.

"Of course you can make the choice to forcibly enter Onphalus based on your own logic and ideas. That is your free will."

The data flow completely enveloped him like a cocoon, then collapsed and reconstructed in an instant.

When Lai Gushi's figure became clear again, he had switched to a more aggressive, structurally more ferocious, and coldly aesthetic combat mode.

Azure energy patterns flowed across his brand-new armor, radiating a chilling aura of oppression. "And I... can, and will, stop you with all my might."

Chapter 228 The Trial of "Reason".

Ohmma, the Library of Caesar.

This magnificent building, commissioned by Cerrudra to enlighten the people and spread knowledge, has now become a sanctuary of knowledge and tranquility.

Beneath the towering dome, countless bookshelves hold the wisdom and history accumulated by Onphalus over thousands of years.

In a relatively quiet corner on the second floor of the library, Cecily's avatar floated in mid-air, her gaze fixed on the emerald-haired sage below, who was engrossed in his books.

“Son of man,” Ceres’s voice broke the soft rustling of turning pages, carrying a hint of a test, “the trial I gave you—to decipher the legendary oracle of Cephalus concerning the so-called ‘recreation’—have you pieced together even a clue?”

At that moment, Xia didn't even look up; her finger was tracing the blurry, small characters on an ancient book, and she let out a soft, enigmatic laugh:

"Heh, Titan. You don't need to worry about me. Just keep the flame of 'reason' safe as agreed, and once I've fully revealed the truth hidden beneath the dust of history, hand it over to me according to the bet."

He paused, finally lifting his gaze from the pages of the book, his eyes carrying their usual sharpness and a hint of mockery: "Besides, I think you should be more worried about yourself than about my progress."

"Almost ten days have passed. Can your consciousness, which is barely maintained by the spark, continue to exist stably? Don't let your consciousness dissipate prematurely, allowing me to 'pick up' a precious Titan spark without lifting a finger. That would be too boring."

As he spoke, he closed the book in his hand, a rather worn-out book titled "Priestess Fajina: From Beginner to Imprisonment to Burial".

On the desk beside him and on the floor nearby, there were scattered books such as "Miscellaneous Records of the Kephat", "Titan Secrets You Must Know", and "A Study of the Romantic Past of the Golden Age".

Without exception, the covers of these books are mostly old and even somewhat damaged, exuding an air of vicissitudes. But just by looking at the titles of these books, you can tell that the contents must be very "wild," which is out of place with the serious historical classics in the main area of ​​the library.

“I said this will could last for fifteen days, and it will not dissipate on the fourteenth day.” Sersis's aura flickered slightly, seemingly displeased with Xia's “curse,” but her attention was immediately drawn back to the books.

"I'm telling you... you were so righteous and stern before, telling me to read more orthodox classics. Now, you're indulging in these books that are obviously just anecdotes and unofficial histories?"

"And what is this book, 'A Study of Titan's Emotional Entanglements,' about? The 'rational' Titan is irrevocably attracted to the cunning of the 'deceitful' Titan? This is utterly absurd! And you actually enjoy reading this kind of unofficial history?" Her bickering with Xia Ke had become a daily occurrence in the past few days.

"Shortsighted. These aren't just ordinary miscellaneous books," Xia retorted, tapping the pile of "wild" tomes with her finger.

“Some of these are rare and unique copies left over from the Golden Age. The most authentic historical fragments are hidden inside those that official histories disdain or dare not record.”

"Oh? Isn't that still just miscellaneous books?" Sersis persisted. "I say, Your Excellency, why don't you consult those official histories that are regarded as the ultimate truth?"

"Do you think I don't want to?" Xia snorted coldly, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness and resentment towards the historical gap.

"Most of the historical records before the Golden Age of Onphalus, like the outdated and corrupt senatorial system of Ohma, were intentionally or unintentionally burned and destroyed during the brutal Golden Wars."

"The so-called 'official history' that has been passed down to us today was almost all rewritten by priests after the end of the Golden War, according to past divine pronouncements."

"To glimpse the true face of those earlier eras, I can only painstakingly piece together and discern from these 'fragments' that are rejected by the mainstream and are full of personal opinions and even conjecture."

"Oh?" Cecis's light seemed to brighten slightly, revealing genuine interest. "Then, you clever son, have you noticed any noteworthy points in these trivial discussions?"

“Suspicious points? More than just suspicious points.” At that moment, Xia stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the Dawn Machine in the center of Ohma.

“I have seen too many accounts that contradict current understanding. For example, in older descriptions, the Dawn Machine was not as revered as it is now, as the only sacred object to resist the Black Tide and maintain the survival of civilization.”

"The Altar of the World was originally just a solemn place for people to admire and remember the great body of the god Kephale, not the sacred altar for offering fire and communicating with the gods as it is today."

He turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Sersis: "So, here's the question—why does the Titan Spark, necessary for 'Recreation,' now need to be submitted to the Dawn Machine to take effect? ​​Was it truly the most important core of Onpharos from the very beginning? When did this shift in status occur, and why?"

“That’s true,” Sersis’s light and shadow swayed gently, acknowledging this. “In my memory, the Dawn Machine was initially… more like a gift of friendship from the Sky Titan Egler to his close friend Kefal.”

"Before the sky of Onfaros was swallowed by darkness, its light was more of a symbol, representing the unbreakable alliance between Eger and Kefal."

“And then there’s this book,” Naksha picked up the “strange book” about the priests of Fajina again, weighing it in her hand. “The book mentions more than once, in a subtle way, that the priests of Fajina often gather to hold some kind of large-scale joint ceremony.”

“Each ritual often requires hundreds of priests to act simultaneously and mobilize their powers. I feel that... the scenes they described don't seem like prayers or summoning, but more like... 'reinforcing' something?”

His brow furrowed slightly, with a hint of regret: "Unfortunately, this is ultimately just an introductory textbook for priestess Fajina, filled with various essays, anecdotes, and even complaints from its former owner."

"Even this outrageous title was added by the eccentric former owner himself for fun. The lack of systematic records makes it difficult to confirm my guess."

“Reinforcement?” Sersis caught the key word, and the light and shadow solidified slightly. “The powers of the priestesses of Fajina are indeed known for sealing, isolating, and protecting. Are they… hiding some secret from all the beings of Onpharos? Or are they protecting something?”

After she finished speaking, watching Xia begin to methodically tidy up the scattered books and notes, her tone couldn't help but carry a hint of excitement in her pursuit of truth:

"What? Clever son, have you already found a crucial clue in these fragments? Are you preparing to set off immediately for the Dawn Machine to personally explore and verify the 'truth' you've discovered?"

At that moment, Xia stuffed the last roll of parchment into her research bag, walked towards the stairwell without looking back, and casually uttered: