Chapter 344: It Was Intentional
Chapter 344: Chapter 331: It Was Intentional
Unlike the greedy and tyrannical Red Dragons, or the Black Dragons who loved to keep Dark Creatures, Silver Dragons abided by noble etiquette and were reserved by nature, while Brass Dragons enjoyed chatting and doing business with various races.
These two were the Lawful Faction of the Dragon Race.
Silver Dragons were typically researchers and scholars of Dragon Language Magic, while Brass Dragons were the socialites and merchants of the Dragon Race.
Though for different reasons, both groups shared the same objective. They expressed their desire to the Firefly God to purchase members of the Lamp Race, hoping to establish a long-term partnership with the deity.
It was at this point that the Firefly God underwent a sudden, profound transformation, like an epiphany.
Perhaps it realized the Dragon Race was a resource in itself, or perhaps it had grown utterly disillusioned and weary of its Divine Kingdom’s previous purpose. Or maybe, it simply got a taste for the profits of trafficking sentient beings…
In any case, it began to completely reorient the purpose of its entire Divine Kingdom.
Starting from the 58th Era, Sun Casting Bay gradually transformed into a trade port where the Lamp Race was the main commodity.
This was especially true after the Lamp Race created the [Celestial Lantern], which caused their value to soar. They were fanatically sought after by the Brass Dragons, a group of draconic merchants who sold them to every corner of the Void Cosmos.
In the 60th Era, the Lamp Race forged the first artificial sun, the [Crown of Light]. This caused the trade value of the Lamp Race to reach its zenith.
The [Crown of Light] became a premium product derived from the Lamp Race, even rarer than the members of the race themselves.
The [History] of Sun Casting Bay described it as follows:
“…Dragons came and went frequently, trade was ceaseless, and the Lamp Race population once dwindled to a mere one hundred individuals.”
Luh Yao clicked on this entry, and the stats panel for the artificial sun appeared.
…
[Crown of Light LV3]: Faith +2/hour.
An Epic Artifact created by the collective effort of the Lamp Race to imitate the Sun. It moves rhythmically through the sky, rising from the west and setting in the east.
Life Value: 1400/1400
Mana Value: 816/816
[Epic]
[Flying]
[Praise the Sun]
When the Crown of Light is active, all life within its radiant range will gain the [Calm] and [Joy] statuses.
Requirements:
Lamp Race (0/1)
…
The [Crown of Light] could disperse darkness, preventing Fog Beasts from touching the Lamp Race in their physical forms. [Praise the Sun] also greatly reduced the attack and aggression of Fog Beasts, bringing the Lamp Race a rare sense of safety and tranquility.
Unfortunately, the abilities the Lamp Race displayed did not bring them peace and stability. Instead, it made the race an even more popular commodity.
The Firefly God continuously excavated its Divine Kingdom, nearly hollowing out the world’s foundations and refilling the space with coal obtained through trade with the Dragon Race.
The coal was ignited, burning to create one member of the Lamp Race after another, and burning to create the black prison that trapped the Lamp Race in this basin-like world.
Sun Casting Bay was like a giant nautilus, its interior almost completely hollowed out for the sole purpose of using coal for continuous Abnormal Interference, creating Carbon People who were then processed into the Lamp Race.
The Divine Kingdom had become a factory and foundry, with the Lamp Race as its final product.
Under the Firefly God’s frenzied exploitation, the world rules of the Divine Kingdom suffered immense damage. The rules’ self-repair couldn’t even keep up with the Firefly God’s rate of destruction.
Then, the foundation of the entire Divine Kingdom completely shattered.
Reading this, Luh Yao was a little confused.
‘Even when mass-producing the Lamp Race, you’d think there would be some consideration for the environmental carrying capacity. The Firefly God was one of the Gods who had created three generations of new humans; how could it not know this?’
As he read on, Luh Yao gradually came to understand everything.
It was intentional.
The Firefly God had deliberately hollowed out the Divine Kingdom’s underground. It used Miracles to tear open larger breaches along the cracks in the rules, following the path of the Nine-Grain Pillar. It then tossed all sorts of life forms into the Abnormal Interference zone, creating strange creatures and non-living things that roamed the subterranean world, running the World Beast ragged.
While the Gods might not be able to mend the rules, an experienced one was certainly capable of breaking them—and could do a very good job of it.
Thanks to the Firefly God’s “sustainable” policy of draining the pond to catch the fish, Sun Casting Bay was ruined.
Some of the Divine Kingdom’s rules collapsed completely and ceased to function, including common natural phenomena the Firefly God found undesirable, such as [Storm], [Low Temperature], and [Humidity].
This maneuver made Sun Casting Bay more habitable for the Carbon People and the Lamp Race, while also permanently halting the progression of Eras, freezing time in the 62nd Era.
For the Firefly God, who trafficked in the Lamp Race, this was a positive development.
It divided the world into three layers. The topmost layer, a basin piled high with refuse, served as a showroom for the Lamp Race: [Fog Harbor]. Black fog and Fog Beasts surrounded it, preventing the small members of the Lamp Race from escaping and forcing them to constantly create light to stay safe.
Constantly living in fear and anxiety, the Lamp Race had no energy to spare for wondering what was wrong with their world, or why they had to live in such a dense fog.
The second layer was [Carbon City], the place where the Carbon People were held immobile. They burned continuously, serving as both the core raw material for producing the Lamp Race and the source from which the Fog Beasts emerged.
The third layer was the deepest part of the underground, connected to the Nine-Grain Pillar at the other end of the Divine Kingdom. This was also the place where the Firefly God was trying to create the fifth generation of humans.
The Lamp Race in Fog Harbor eked out a difficult existence, and were periodically purchased by Dragons.
The Carbon People in Carbon City burned with a perpetual fire. Their thoughts ran wild in Fog Harbor, manifesting as the predatory and aggressive instincts of a beast. For the Carbon People, these sensations were like a vague dream.
Neither the Carbon People nor the Lamp Race knew of the other’s existence.
Life continued like this for many years, until the Dragon Residence incident, the departure and fall of the Firefly God, and the quiet arrival of Ju.
Luh Yao looked down at this Screw-Shaped World.
At the sharper, conical tip of the screw, a Nine-Grain Pillar did indeed stand.
This Nine-Grain Pillar was also displayed as damaged. Without repairs from the Dragon Race or the Pillar Clusters, it was unusable.
Luh Yao summoned Cancong to repair it.
By now, several generations of Cancong had already passed, but Luh Yao had stopped continuously using the Apostle Mark on it. The cost was too great, and there was no longer a need.
Cancong could not leave the Yao Race World on its own, and its goal aligned with Luh Yao’s: to search for Tunnel Worlds. So, Luh Yao had it serve as Pasha’s tutor in the Dragon Nest, to counterbalance Snowman Jimmy’s influence on Pasha.
The repaired Nine-Grain Pillar now showed:
[Location Acquired]: Continent Island.
The Tunnel Worlds around Sun Casting Bay were either completely destroyed or impassable. There was no other path.
Luh Yao felt a twinge of regret.
‘The only option now is to go check out Blood Hill, that world where martial culture is prevalent.’
Compared to Continent Island, the world rules of Sun Casting Bay were so severely damaged that it was almost like a miniature Yunzhong Temple. However, a significant population of Carbon People and Lamp Race still remained.
Lamp Race: 2,021.
Carbon People: 16,788.
Luh Yao focused his attention on the Carbon People.
They looked like dark red, cone-shaped stones, immobilized within Carbon City, which resembled a gigantic coal furnace.
…
[Carbon People LV2]
Life Value: 1,899/1,899
Mana Value: 1/1
Damage: 0
Defense: 1
Speed: 0
[Abnormal Interference]
[Fog Beast]
As the Carbon People burn, their thoughts manifest as Fog Beasts. These beasts move through darkness and smoke, giving form to all their creators’ fantasies and desires.
…
The Fog Beasts were bizarre monsters formed from black smoke. Some resembled four-legged, black jellyfish that could either drift through the smoke or sprint at high speed.
…
[Fog Beast LV2]
Life Value: 189/189
Mana Value: 1/1
Damage: 5
Defense: 1
Speed: 5
[Hunting]
Possesses an instinct to hunt other life forms.
…
The Fog Beast’s combat stats were unremarkable. To the Yao Race, they were just another type of wild Extraordinary Creature; a single Armored Warrior could wipe out a whole pack of them. But to the Lamp Race, the Fog Beasts represented an irresistible and deadly Fear.
Luh Yao first extinguished all the Carbon People to prevent Fog Beasts from appearing.
He looked toward the bottom-most layer of the Screw-Shaped World.
There was something there that had caught Luh Yao’s attention.
The World Pot.
Though called a pot, it was actually a special Miracle formed from the Abnormal Interference Mining Area at the very bottom of the world, where the Carbon People continuously created Fog Beasts and mist.
It was connected to the base of the Nine-Grain Pillar and resembled a cave. This cave was filled with [Abnormal Interference] coal deposits, and these crimson coals shimmered with a fluorescent light.
Previously, when Luh Yao captured Sun Casting Bay, it was because of the black smoke spewed from the World Pot that the Rule Power of the Vortex World was briefly delayed.
A delay like that could be fatal at a critical moment, and he was very curious about this ability.
This was the first time he had ever encountered a World Level Miracle.
…
[World Pot Lv4]: Exquisite Miracle. A special product formed from the combination of the Mythical Miracle, the Nine-Grain Pillar, and Abnormal Interference. It is the birthplace of the Fog Beasts, a topographical Miracle created unconsciously by countless Carbon People who yearned to escape the binding of the rules and walk freely. It can spew forth an Interference Fog Sea to disrupt Rule Power.
[Exquisite]
Enduring through multiple Eras, it is widely remembered and famed, possessing a unique power.
[Interference Fog Sea] (200,000 Faith)
Unleashes a fog sea with the [Abnormal Interference] ability, temporarily disrupting the operation of world rules in a designated area.
Requirements:
Carbon People (0/1,000)
…
‘No wonder Sun Casting Bay only used the World Pot once during the Divine Kingdom chase,’ Luh Yao thought.
‘This Miracle is great, but the cost is astronomical. It doesn’t just take 200,000 Faith, it also consumes 1,000 Carbon People. For most Gods, using it even once would be a crippling blow.’
Luh Yao loved it.
‘I’m the perfect target audience for the World Pot,’ Luh Yao mused. ‘A high-Faith consumer!’
Speaking of Miracle classifications, a new term had just popped up: Exquisite.
Luh Yao quickly summoned his experienced Master to inquire about the details.