Chapter 322: Tai Sui Points the Way
Chapter 322: Chapter 310: Tai Sui Points the Way
Luh Yao carefully read the description of this Miracle.
…
[Nine-Grain Pillar: Continent Island] (Damaged): Mythical Miracle. A spatial coordinate created by Dragon Residence. The Nine-Grain Pillar can locate Dragon Residence and allow entry into a nearby Dragon Residence Passage World.
Life Value: 0/633
Damage: 0
Defense: 20
Speed: 0
[Myth]
Found across countless Eras and a myriad of worlds, it has witnessed the rise and fall of the Gods, praised in song and passed down in legend by innumerable people.
[Dragon Residence Anchor]
Anchors to the nearest Dragon Residence Passage World within range, calibrates and locates it, and sends a Divine Being into the Dragon Residence Passage.
Requirement: Divine Being.
…
The [Dragon Residence Anchor] ability was grayed out and unusable.
This called for a specialist, so Luh Yao immediately summoned Cancong.
Cancong stood on the small island on the back of the Deep Sea Lord. When it saw the familiar Miracle under the sea, an orange-yellow exclamation mark lit up above its head.
“A Nine-Grain Pillar! The Nine-Grain Pillar here is still intact!”
It said excitedly, “Lord God, to think you found a new Nine-Grain Pillar so quickly… Your judgment is unerringly accurate.”
Luh Yao frowned.
‘There’s more than one Nine-Grain Pillar?’
“That’s right. My Lord, the predecessor of the Nine-Grain Pillar was the Tai Sui Hook, which the Dragon Race fashioned from a World Stone and placed upon the Exotic Object, [Tai Sui]. It bears some resemblance to the Dark Sun.”
Cancong said, “The Dragon Race confronted Tai Sui for many Eras and finally tamed this Exotic Object, forcing it into slumber and transforming it from a living state to a dead one.”
Luh Yao asked it to elaborate on Tai Sui.
‘This thing is the subject of many bizarre legends. I wonder what the story is from the Dragon Race’s perspective.’
“Tai Sui… Taming Tai Sui is a tale from a very ancient time.”
Cancong recalled for a moment before slowly explaining, “Exotic Objects come into being for various reasons, but each one is unique. When Tai Sui was discovered, it had already devoured the Unowned World it resided in.”
“To say it purely devoured it isn’t quite right. It was more like assimilation.”
“Most Exotic Objects are born in Unowned Worlds with complete rules. They can be considered prototypes of Natural Divine Spirits. However, forming a Divine Format within the framework of a world’s rules is an extremely difficult feat.”
“Most Exotic Objects either devolve into mad monsters during their evolution or become vessels for some special rule.”
“Tai Sui was different from both of these cases. It gradually encroached upon the Unowned World, assimilating and expanding until it had enveloped the entire world, integrating it piece by piece into its own body.”
“At that stage, it was the world, and the world was Tai Sui.”
“And if it had continued to annex the outside world and sink deeper, it would have become an extremely dangerous cataclysm in the Void Cosmos, one that would be impossible to control or eliminate.”
“Just like a Dark Star, it would eventually fall into the Real Cosmos where the High Realm Dimensions are located, adsorbing and assimilating everything within its sphere of influence.”
“Unfortunately, the place Tai Sui was approaching was a region of the Void Cosmos where the Dragon Tomb would appear.
“If it had been left unchecked, Tai Sui would not only have swallowed the Dragon Tomb, but it would have also followed the passage down toward Dragon Residence… ultimately destroying the entire Dragon Race.”
Cancong continued, “To contain this apocalyptic disaster, the Divine Beings of the Dragon Race threw themselves into the fray one after another, driving their Divine Kingdoms to intercept and repel the Tai Sui World… Hundreds of Dragons were assimilated and devoured by Tai Sui.”
“At that time, the Dragon Race was not as powerful as it would later become, and it had very few Pioneers.”
“Two Dragon Race Pioneers decided to accelerate a Main God Space and crash it into the Tai Sui World to forcibly alter Tai Sui’s rules.”
“After accelerating, they caused the Main God Space to completely overlap with Tai Sui, nailing the Tai Sui Hook made from the World Stone into that world’s rules. They themselves perished in the process.”
“Relying on this hook embedded in Tai Sui’s body, the Dragon Race was able to alter the trajectory of the Tai Sui World, pulling it into an endless loop of circling and wandering within the Void Cosmos.”
“This bought the Dragon Race enough time to develop. Eventually, the Dragon Race completed sufficient war preparations, converted Tai Sui from a living entity into a dead state, and turned it into a controllable asset for Dragon Residence.”
Luh Yao felt a little wistful as he listened.
‘Even a race as mighty as the Dragon Race didn’t have a smooth journey. The strong defeating the weak is usually a given, but for the weak to resist the strong in a desperate situation—that is a true Time of Shining Stars.’
Cancong summarized, “The hook left behind by the initial Dragon Race Pioneers to alter the rules was assimilated by Tai Sui and became a precious treasure of Dragon Residence.”
“Later, the Dragon Race modified the Tai Sui Hook and continued to use it, developing the abilities of anchoring, passage, and guidance from it. This is the [Nine-Grain Pillar].”
“Using the power of Tai Sui, Nine-Grain Pillars were sent one by one into distant Void Cosmos Worlds, becoming the Dragon Race’s Road Signs and guides for traversing the Void Cosmos.”
The coordinates pointed to by the Nine-Grain Pillars were the location of Tai Sui.
After being tamed by Dragon Residence, Tai Sui became the closest Void Cosmos World to Dragon Residence, serving as the final stop for the Dragon Race before returning home.
The sensing and anchoring between the Nine-Grain Pillars also originated from the pull between Tai Sui and the Tai Sui Hooks—a precious legacy from the era when the Dragon Race fought against Tai Sui.
The Tunnel Worlds use the Nine-Grain Pillars as signposts. They connect to one another, paving a cosmic railway through the Void Cosmos that leads to Dragon Residence.
Cancong dived underwater and started tinkering with the Miracle. As the Life Value on the Nine-Grain Pillar ticked up by +1, Cancong’s own Life Value rapidly declined.
‘Only then did Luh Yao understand. So, Cancong was a glorified repairman.’
‘Cancong will undergo Rebirth after it dies. The cost of the Apostle Mark is continuous, so I’ll have to spend another one.’
While the Miracle was being repaired, Luh Yao took the opportunity to observe the Nine-Grain Pillar.
Although this Miracle was located deep under the sea, he could still switch to a clearer view by zooming in.
It looked very similar to the Shang Bronze Divine Tree from the museum, but none of its branches had natural curves. Instead, they were geometric barbs, like a giant ship’s anchor sunk beneath the waves.
Vast quantities of red coral covered and clustered around it, leaving only a part of the base exposed, making it look like a Giant Long Halberd submerged underwater.
Luh Yao suddenly realized why it was underwater.
‘It’s using the [Red Coral Mirage] to disguise and protect the [Nine-Grain Pillar].’
‘As one of the Dragon Residence Passage Worlds, the fact that Continent Island has remained perfectly intact after the incident at Dragon Residence is all thanks to the [Red Coral Mirage].’
“Lord God, the repairs are complete.”
Cancong had finished its work.
However, the Nine-Grain Pillar’s name was still displayed with a (Damaged) status, as if this damage was unrelated to its previously depleted Life Value and was instead a malfunction on a different level.
The [Dragon Residence Anchor] entry had turned a usable white, but clicking it didn’t open a passage. Instead, a line of text appeared beneath the ability.
…
[Location Acquired]: Blood Hill / Sun Casting Bay
…
“These are the two worlds the Nine-Grain Pillar can still locate. They are also Tunnel Worlds.”
Cancong explained, “The Nine-Grain Pillars in these two worlds should still be relatively intact. The pillars in the other seven worlds have either been completely destroyed, or the worlds themselves no longer exist.”
Luh Yao understood.
‘The final destination of every Nine-Grain Pillar is Dragon Residence, and each pillar represents the coordinates formed by the intersection of nine passages. It’s a cosmic transit system built by the Dragon Race in the Void Cosmos.’
‘Each one is a transit hub, and the Nine-Grain Pillars are the platforms for making transfers.’
But there was one thing Luh Yao didn’t understand.
‘Since they went to all the trouble of creating the Nine-Grain Pillars, why not make them express routes? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to go directly to Tai Sui, the final stop before Dragon Residence?’
“Lord God, direct contact between Real Cosmoses is extremely dangerous, and the dangers are multi-layered.”
“The way the Nine-Grain Pillar is used in the human world is to have a Pioneer first descend in dimension into the Void Cosmos, transfer through a series of passages, and then gradually ascend in dimension to reach Dragon Residence. Of course, this journey takes a considerable amount of time, but once you enter the Dragon Residence anchored passage, the path is clear all the way.”
Cancong was only an executor. It remembered commands and procedures, but it was unaware of the deeper mechanisms behind them.
As for why the Nine-Grain Pillar was damaged, Cancong had long suspected the reason.
“I had a theory before that something might have gone wrong with Tai Sui. Now, it seems that’s highly likely.”
Continent Island’s Nine-Grain Pillar could currently only locate the two nearest Tunnel Worlds.
‘What was once a one-click trip now required him to find his way and transfer from one platform to the next.’
Luh Yao clicked on the Nine-Grain Pillar but found he was unable to convert it.
‘Once a Miracle reaches the Myth level, it becomes more like a public Miracle that belongs to everyone. The Dark Sun was like this, and now so is the Nine-Grain Pillar.’
‘However, Mythical Miracles also have hidden requirements for their use.’
‘The Dark Sun needs the Dark Sun Dragon, and the Nine-Grain Pillar needs Cancong or the Dragon Race. Otherwise, the Dark Sun itself would just operate according to its own patterns, and the Nine-Grain Pillar would become unusable due to disrepair once its Life Value hit zero.’
Having obtained two major prizes, Luh Yao finally turned his attention to the Continent Island World itself.
According to the system logs, the God of Continent Island, [Suo Liweng], had suddenly left via the Nine-Grain Pillar without any warning during the 9th Era. A Dragon that had been recuperating on Continent Island left along with him.
After he left, Suo Liweng’s Fire of Faith was quickly extinguished, his Apostles died, and then the Nine-Grain Pillar was damaged. The world entered a godless age.
Without the protection of a God, the once stable and peaceful Order gradually began to crack over time.