Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

The entire desert contains only ruins from the time of the Red King and the Flower Goddess.

Even further back, no one has seen it.

Perhaps it is buried deeper and farther underground.

"It's really beautiful, completely different from the '回' pattern in Liyue."

Hu Tao approached and examined the ruins, unable to hide her surprise.

Rugged yet refined, every detail is meticulously carved, like a fine work of art.

"The front door is closed, how do I open it?"

Jiang Bai wanted to go in and take a look.

“There’s usually a control mechanism.” Aite looked around and, sure enough, found the mechanism to open the door.

"Be careful, there are usually guards inside, and those machines are very powerful."

"Ruins Guardian?"

"No, they are machines that are completely different from Tu Ke's machines. The scholars of the Order Academy call them [Elemental Energy Constructs]."

Jiang Bai soon witnessed the elemental construct that Aite had mentioned.

Upon seeing these triangular machines, he was thrown into a state of disorientation.

He subconsciously touched his left arm, where there was an inverted triangle tattoo, which used to be the logo of the organization he belonged to.

This energy construct closely resembles the auxiliary machinery used in the organization in the past.

Although it has little combat power, it is very practical. It can be used as a table and a stool, and can also be used to carry things. In wartime, it can even be transformed into a shield or a protective house.

Chapter 787 Could it be from my hometown?

The primal construct before me now bears an 80% resemblance in appearance to the assisting machine in my memory, especially its deformable three-dimensional triangle.

No way?

Could the forbidden knowledge from beyond this world that the Red King obtained have come from his homeland?

Thinking about it carefully, it does seem like it's not impossible.

It is difficult to perceive the passage of time in the starry sky, and the distance between worlds cannot be judged with the naked eye.

Perhaps his homeland wasn't far from Teyvat, which is why he was able to come here instead of his life force completely disappearing in the starry sky.

When the world collapsed, perhaps a fragment containing relevant knowledge jumped nearby and was accidentally obtained by the Red King, becoming forbidden knowledge incompatible with Teyvat.

"This... is a phasic construct?"

Aite nodded. "That's right. There are many such constructs in the ancient ruins from the Red King's era; they seem to be the guardians of the ruins."

"He's activated! Be careful!"

Aite assumed a fighting stance.

"I'll do it, don't break it, I want to study it."

Jiang Bai reached out, and lightning elements condensed in the air, enveloping the elemental energy construct.

As the current surged, the energy structure trembled incessantly, but soon stopped struggling and returned to its dormant three-dimensional triangular shape.

Jiang Bai was neither a researcher nor a mechanical expert, but he had studied methods for repairing machinery.

Following his own method, amidst the puzzled gazes of the two people beside him, he disassembled the construct into parts, and then reassembled the parts, and an assistive machine exactly like the one in his memory appeared before his eyes.

Unfortunately, the assisting machine could not start as he had imagined, and the two used completely different energy sources.

Now Jiang Bai could confirm that forbidden knowledge was indeed related to their world.

However, the laws of the two worlds are incompatible, and the Red King could not create an exact replica, so he turned it into the Teyvat version.

This extraordinary encounter with products from his homeland in another world left him with mixed feelings.

"What's wrong?" Hu Tao keenly noticed Jiang Bai's unusual mood.

"It's a bit like something from my hometown..."

Hu Tao certainly understood where he meant by hometown.

That's a place I can never go back to.

Hu Tao patted his head, "Missing home?"

Jiang Bai shook his head, "I just have mixed feelings."

There are many reasons for the destruction of his hometown, and internal strife was only one of them.

Other factors, such as escalating class conflict, energy crises, and resource shortages, are also triggers for war.

Humans fought each other for hundreds of years, then destroyed the planet, and everyone perished together.

His organization was supposed to be a mediation group, but how could they possibly mediate a conflict that had been going on for so many years?

As for him, he can only be described as a sober yet pessimistic fugitive.

Tired of all this, he entered the Star Sea before the world was destroyed, thus avoiding perishing with the world.

However, the days spent wandering in the starry sky are also difficult to endure...

Hu Tao patted him on the shoulder, "Wang Sheng Tang will always be your home."

Aite didn't say anything, his thoughts drifting a bit further.

It looks a lot like the things from my hometown?

If his hometown isn't Liyue, then where is it?

Jiang Bai put away the Yuan Energy Construct, stood up, and patted Hu Tao's head.

"Wherever the leader is, that's where my home is."

A blush rose on Hu Tao's face, and she took his hand.

"Let's keep going in."

From the outside, the ruins don't look very big, but the further you go in, the more you realize how large they are.

Despite being an underground ruin, exquisite decorations and carvings are everywhere, and the triangular passageway carries an indescribable sense of grandeur and sanctity.

"Speaking of which, how were these ruins built? Were they carved piece by piece by people?"

If that's the case, how much manpower would be needed?

Aite shook his head; he didn't know either.

“There are many such ruins in Mount Sumeru, especially the largest, the Mausoleum of the Red King. Such a magnificent and grand building, I think, could not have been built by humankind…”

The Red King's Mausoleum is so magnificent that everyone who sees it is awestruck by its grandeur.

It stands like a giant Holy Grail in the desert, like the will of God.

Just looking at it inspires awe and makes one want to bow down in reverence.

How could such a building have been built by humans?

Ete is more inclined to believe that the Red King used his power to conjure it with a wave of his hand.

"It must have been built by those elemental constructs."

Jiang Bai could tell that those elemental constructs were not originally intended to be guardians. They were simply dormant in the ruins because their creators had died and they had not received any new instructions. Later, they were discovered by adventurers from outside and given the name "Guardians".

Although what they are doing now is indeed guarding the ruins.

I just don't know what this ruin was used for.

The construction of such large buildings always has a purpose, whether it is to inspire faith and awe, to provide guidance, to control people's hearts, to record information, or to be used for sacrifices. It is never built for fun.

Jiang Bai wandered through the maze-like ruins until he finally arrived at the lowest level of the hall.

This hall is a standard sacrificial site, with huge jackal sacrificial statues on both sides holding golden cups in their hands, and a golden triangle representing the will of the gods carved at the top.

Aite knelt on the ground and worshipped devoutly.

Jiang Bai's gaze fell on an obelisk in front of him, which was engraved with many characters, but he did not recognize any of these desert characters.

After Aite finished his worship, Jiang Bai called him over.

"Aite, do you recognize these words?"

Aite shook his head.

The history of the desert is severely fragmented, and so is its written language.

In his small tribe, there was no written language, and they all used a common language.

Seeing that no one recognized the characters, Jiang copied them down one by one in order with paper and pen, so that if he encountered a textual expert in the future, he could ask the expert to help him take a look.

Come to think of it, I did the same thing in Heguan last time, but unfortunately I haven't encountered any textual experts yet.

"This temple feels so empty..."

Looking at the temple, where nothing could be taken away, Jiang Bai felt a little sad.

He dug up quite a few antiques in Heguan last time, but now in this desert underground ruin, there's nothing left to stay in. The exquisite carvings and the like are all integrated with the walls, and most of them are made of rock, so you can't take them with you.

"After all, it's a temple."

Hu Tao didn't share his sentiment. It was a temple, after all. What else could he possibly want inside?

"Let's go, let's continue deeper into the cave..."

Leaving the empty ruins, we continued walking and encountered several more ruins.

This seems to be a cluster of ruins, except that the later ruins are not as large as the one we encountered before.

Chapter 788 The Huge Sinkhole

"Speaking of which, are these kinds of elemental constructs only found in ruins?"

“That’s right, these machine constructs can only be seen in and around ruins.”

"I see..."

Jiang Bai had felt that the technological level of Teyvat was seriously skewed before, and now that feeling has become even stronger.

Whether it was Kanria, the former Red King civilization, or even Fendnir of the snowy mountains, their technology had developed to a very high level, enabling them to create mechanical artifacts that could still function after hundreds of years.

However, these highly advanced technologies have not been applied to people's livelihoods. Of course, it is also possible that history has lost records of this aspect, which led to this misunderstanding.

However, when comparing Liyue, which has been with the gods for thousands of years, with these civilizations, the anomalies become very apparent.

Under the guidance of the old man for thousands of years, the entire Liyue region has remained relatively primitive. They rarely studied this unknown power and instead used power based on Teyvat's original forces, creating Celestial Power and Celestial Artifacts.

The old man was undoubtedly a man of great wisdom. He must have known the benefits of developing technology, but he simply did not do so.

That means he has a reason not to do it.

Moreover, Jiang Bai seemed to have vaguely grasped some kind of pattern.

It seems that the more technologically advanced a country is, the faster it dies.

Why is this?

Will the excessive development of technology shake the rule of the Sky Isles?

Jiang Bai, still puzzled by this question, unknowingly ventured deeper underground and closer to the center of Dama Mountain.

"The road ahead seems to be blocked."

Huge rocks blocked the road, forcing the three to stop.

This road seems to have come to an end.

"Let's set up camp and rest, eat something to replenish our energy, and then I'll look around."

After walking through this underground cave for several days, suddenly reaching the end felt somewhat unreal.

Walnut and Aite lit a fire to cook food, while Jiang Bai placed his hand on the rock blocking the cave.

He wanted to confirm whether there was a road ahead or if this road really ended here.

The massive rock gave a response: it hadn't merged with the surrounding rock strata; it had simply blocked the path.