CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 37: ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

The path ahead lies clearly, with no doubts.

The two agreed on their opinion and goal, and after a brief rest, began preparing to leave the Island Heart World.

Li Ang initially thought collecting the gemstones would take a good half day, but Zoe summoned the Earth Serpent.

The Golden Divine Serpent coiled beside the young girl in a glow, now devoid of its fierceness, and like a pet dog, it nestled close to her.

"I’m already familiar with her, and we can communicate mentally."

Zoe gently stroked the giant serpent’s chin as she spoke. The serpent’s massive mouth could swallow her whole, but it seemed they shared a mutual understanding.

"She can help us gather the gemstones."

Zoe exchanged a glance with the Holy Snake, which turned its head, causing the jeweled crown atop its head to glow, seemingly invoking some magic. The surrounding air trembled slightly.

Soon, the sound of breaking earth and the clashing of hard objects echoed in the hollow space, and the gemstones surfaced from the rubble and hovered in mid-air before flying towards the Earth Serpent.

It opened its jaws wide, and the gemstones flowed like water into its mouth lined with amethyst.

"What’s this?"

"Her body can store these gemstones, and once she merges with me, I can carry them easily anywhere."

That was indeed a good method.

In the Nebis World, equipment like Storage Rings and Space Pockets from previous fantasy works were extremely, extremely, extremely rare, only possessed by remarkably wealthy and powerful factions.

Even the Celestial Group might only have one or two, used solely for carrying the most essential items.

As Li Ang estimated the value of the gemstones swallowed by the serpent, he realized they might not buy a manor in the Holy City, but certainly a small building with a courtyard.

To purchase a Flying Airship, he’d need to gather more for good equipment and a Magic guided Engine, but the hull should be achievable.

A substantial starting fund for renewed adventure had suddenly arrived.

The system map’s claim that "hidden locations offer substantial rewards" was no exaggeration.

He wondered if other places, whether visited or not, had "hidden locations."

He surmised that this hidden location wasn’t simply the Island Heart Hollow; rather, the hollow in Satus Island’s heart contained something, qualifying it as a hidden location.

It was necessary to examine every place.

He hoped that in high-tier hidden locations like the Holy City, they wouldn’t be bank vaults...though not impossible, considering he still had unresolved matters with the bank.

How did they handle Rams’ bribes? Freeze them just like that?

As he pondered, various troublesome matters gradually resurfaced: old debts, invitations to explore the desert, long-term commissions he took on, custom orders, and an invitation from a persistent young lady to join their group...

Putting these aside for now, Li Ang and Zoe returned to the ruins.

The Earth Serpent unleashed five consecutive shockwaves, shattering the rocky surface of the cave walls into massive boulders, burying the ruins beneath them. Yet, it seemed to possess Divine Power maintaining its form, neither destroyed by the rocks nor shielding itself against them, except for some cracks on the pillars.

With the Earth Serpent, its body merely needed to push forward, and the boulders would be dislodged effortlessly.

Reentering the hall, once again seeing that half-remaining circular array and the mechanical pillar, Li Ang noticed a small amount of golden light specks left in the deepest part of the array’s grooves.

He rubbed a bit with his gloved index finger, finding it to be golden dust, much like something left by dried liquid.

At the center of this half-circle was a shell of gold, with the egg long since hatched.

"Is this it?" Zoe glanced at the Earth Serpent.

"According to your dad’s notes, this serpent was born here," said Li Ang.

The young girl said to the giant serpent, "Do you remember this, Xiaohan?"

"Xiaohan?"

"Yeah, she just told me her name is Anastasia, but that’s such a long, awkward name, so I shortened it."

"Alright then."

The Earth Serpent, or Xiaohan, nudged the eggshell at the center of the array with its sizeable head.

"She says she can’t remember," Zoe said.

Li Ang, however, had an intriguing thought as to why the Star Soul had a name.

Demons, unlike the Intelligent Races, usually don’t name their offspring to identify individuals. They emerge from magical disasters or phenomena, often similar to beasts in behavior.

Once they form groups, Intelligent Races give them names, but those are species names.

Some people enjoy naming contracted Summoned Beasts, akin to keeping pets.

Powerful demons such as the King of the Island or regional bosses are identified by titles, like "King of Wyrms," "King of Purgatory," "Celestial Calamity God," "Abyssal Demon," and so forth.

Zoe’s father noted in his journal that Anastasia was "conceived" by this relic.

Li Ang pondered for a moment in the ancient ruins.

After letting various speculations sink into his mind, he merely sketched the runes into his exploratory notes.

Before venturing into the Dark Night Ancient City, he had visited Magic Capital Thousand Tower City, where he specifically researched all related information in the Vault of Endless Tomes.

The Dark Night Ancient City earned its name due to spatial distortions above it, causing supernatural and natural worlds to collide, continuously interfering with the material world through this distortion, leading to the disappearance of daylight and perpetual darkness over millennia.

In the perpetual night, demons constantly spawn, with the ancient city below becoming their nest. Many scholars surmise this was the civilization’s downfall.

Among these demons, the most powerful is the King of Wyrms, wielding the Power of Death, continuously resurrecting ancient inhabitants who perished in the city into High tier Undead Creatures, rendering Moonlit Island a desert and polluting the surrounding aerial realm, affecting other islands.

In his campaign against it, Li Ang discovered an old civilization that had mastered travel in the sea of clouds, building cities on various islands with numerous runes of unknown meaning.

Thousand Tower City’s scholars categorize civilizations using similar runes as the "Deus People."

Li Ang didn’t continue his research on the Deus People, as such an endeavor might bind him to the library for ages.

Nebis is ancient, with various magnificent old civilizations flourishing and perishing one after another, their intervals even longer than their own durations.

Adventurers often exploit the wealth of these civilizations, frequently finding items with special functions yet indecipherable principles, impossible to replicate.

The now-prevalent Magic guided Technology was similarly developed through inventors combining their cross-era knowledge with remnants of these ancient civilizations.

Li Ang regarded the relics related to the Star Soul and the Deus People as valuable watchpoints.

Aside from the circular array and Creation Equation indicated by the system, there was nothing else in the relic. Zoe exhibited no special reactions either.

The two then returned to the surface.

The return was exhilarating because they could ride on Xiaohan, whose serpentine body adeptly ascended the steep crevices, carrying them back to the surface.

On the fifth night at Satus Island, their journey in the Island Heart ended, feeling like a rebirth.

Upon reaching the underground well, Xiaohan transformed into a light and merged with Zoe, and the two returned to her home.

"Finally back, so exhausted, I want to sleep." The young girl stretched and was about to head inside.

"I suggest you wash up," Li Ang said.

After the underground ordeal, both were covered in sweat and dust.

The backyard had only a makeshift bath shed with piped water, but a full bath required trekking to a pond in the forest, and Zoe’s bath supplies had already run out.

It wouldn’t be long before Li Ang would lead her away from this scarce living situation.

Evading this issue, she pulled him into the shed, only to pout when she emerged, allowing him inside.

He soaked himself under the pipe, refreshing mountain springwater brushing over him, while red light shimmered in his dark vision.

Opening his eyes, he saw the distant night sky glowing red, like dusk-stained clouds, though mixed with a hint of purple.

Various booming sounds resonated across the sky, especially explosions.

He furrowed his brow.

The purplish-red cloud formation was a dust cloud created by a Magic guided Ship Cannon, indicating a battle occurring not far from the sky.