Chapter 167: The sound of a needle dropping on the floor
Below the plaza were neatly laid floor tiles.
Around the perimeter of the plaza were hollow foundations; apart from that, the plaza was eerily empty.
Besides the statue and the bronze cauldron, nothing else was seen.
Looking up, only a dark ceiling could be seen.
The source of the light was unknown, with no visible illumination, only a dimness that was sufficient for Mu Qiu to see things.
After waiting for a long time, there was still no movement.
Where did the giant beast she saw earlier come from?
With such a large size, this plaza definitely couldn’t hide it.
Opposite the bronze cauldron was the entrance to the plaza, with equally massive and wide stairs leading all the way down, seemingly connecting to some abyss, beyond which visibility was lost.
But on the other side of the stairs, there was another bronze gate.
“What a mysterious place…”
Mu Qiu murmured, “System, can’t you take a photo?”
System: “I’ll try.”
After a while, it spoke with a strange tone, “No.”
Although it could crack the energy source, Song Jiulai’s current energy pool couldn’t afford the price of cracking it.
This proved that the power of this place was incredibly strong.
Even the image was blocked, preventing the System from transmitting it.
It couldn’t even take photos for Song Jiulai.
Yet, the small world near the water pool could be photographed.
Clearly, different small worlds had different specifications, and Mu Qiu had likely stumbled upon a large one.
When Mu Qiu heard the System say it couldn’t, she felt no regret, only awe at the scene before her.
In an instant, she thought of many things. This was just a game world, but could such a civilization be imagined and created by a game world?
As her excitement subsided slightly and the giant beast was still nowhere to be seen, Mu Qiu cautiously flew down from the eyes of the bronze giant statue.
Her spiritual energy was not restricted here.
She flew to the ground, stepped onto the stone slabs below, and examined them closely.
These stone slabs had naturally formed patterns, which had been shaped into their current form, making it quite easy for cultivators.
With vigilance, she walked cautiously and slowly with every step, Flying Snow fluttering around her.
She didn’t rashly head towards the stairs, instead moving closer to the bronze giant cauldron.
The cauldron was too large; she couldn’t see its complete form even when looking up.
She flew up to the top of the bronze giant cauldron and saw that the interior was empty, with nothing inside.
Mu Qiu said, “Where might the treasure pearl the spirit body mentioned be?”
System: “I’ll guess for you.”
Mu Qiu: “…”
She didn’t actually intend to ask the System; she just subconsciously spoke her thoughts aloud, knowing there was something that could respond.
The System’s presence helped alleviate her tense emotions.
Then, Mu Qiu saw the back of the bronze giant cauldron.
Behind it was a tall, impenetrable wall.
However, in a very inconspicuous corner, Mu Qiu saw a passage at the very bottom, about the size of a person.
Compared to the immense indoor environment, it was too insignificant and was partially blocked by the cauldron’s legs. Only after landing on the ground did Mu Qiu confirm it was a tunnel that a person could pass through.
Considering the overall environment, this passage seemed somewhat abrupt. Was it for transporting something?
Mu Qiu raised her fingertip, probing into the passage with the dim light, only to see a dark end.
“Bronze giant cauldrons are usually related to sacrifices. Could this place have been a plaza for sacrifices before? So huge, what kind of existence was it sacrificing to? If what that spirit body said is true, and this is a city of Demonic Cultivators, would Demonic Cultivators also do such things?”
Sacrificial activities seemed like something only humans would do.
Demonic Cultivators were essentially still demons.
They merely had humanoid appearances.
The history of the earliest Demonic Cultivators was lost to time, but there was a legend on the Yunzhou Continent that the first Demonic Cultivators were the offspring born from the union of Cultivators and Demonic Beasts.
Because it went against the Heavenly Dao, most Demonic Cultivators were violent in nature, an influence from their bloodline.
They also enjoyed eating humans, which made them seem unlike the descendants of Cultivators.
Players generally considered this to be the unofficial history of Demonic Cultivators.
If Demonic Cultivators were truly the result of a union between Demonic Beasts and Cultivators, given the shocking appearance of Demonic Beasts, what kind of monstrous Cultivator would be able to partake?
The Yunzhou Continent currently had roughly three factions.
One was native to the Yunzhou Continent, completely controlled by Cultivators, meaning humans.
The second was outside the Yunzhou Continent; this had already been confirmed, with the legendary true Spirit Beasts, also known as Sacred Beasts. It was previously said that Demonic Cultivators were actually of Sacred Beast bloodline.
However, their violent nature didn’t align with Sacred Beasts at all, which led to the speculation that they were born from Demonic Beasts…
Some Spirit Beasts currently raised by humans were descendants of Sacred Beasts introduced from outside the Yunzhou Continent, but their bloodline gradually thinned through reproduction. They could no longer be considered truly powerful Sacred Beasts and were only called Spirit Beasts.
These Sacred Beasts were generally what players on Blue Star commonly recognized as divine beasts.
Unlike Demonic Beasts, Sacred Beasts were pure beasts, gentle in nature, favored by heaven and earth, and possessed powerful cultivation from birth, surpassing humans.
Although they were favored by the Heavenly Dao, they also had extreme difficulty in reproducing. Coupled with the covetousness of Demonic Beasts and Demonic Cultivators, and even some human Cultivators’ envy of Spirit Beasts, Spirit Beasts rarely appeared on the Yunzhou Continent and were essentially legendary.
The third type was Demonic Beasts, including Demonic Cultivators. They not only existed on the Yunzhou Continent but also had stronger counterparts outside of it.
The existence of Demonic Beasts was also peculiar. They were true beasts, yet unlike Sacred Beasts, they were mortal enemies of both Spirit Beasts and humans.
From a human perspective, Demonic Cultivators were pure troublemakers.
They didn’t help Demonic Beasts or humans, their main agenda being that everyone should die.
For players, these historical details were merely parts of the background story, with a mix of truth and falsehood, and players who couldn’t gather much information couldn’t distinguish them.
Mu Qiu had already chosen to descend from the eyes of the bronze giant statue, embarking on a path of self-destruction, and there was no reason to stop here.
Behind the plaza, besides this gate, was the abyss below the stairs outside. Mu Qiu wasn’t brave enough to go and look into the abyss.
After hesitating for only a second, she chose to step into the passage.
The light inside this passage was dim, and it was spotlessly clean. Unlike some ruins, there were no traces of text or carved images left behind, except for the statue.
There wasn’t even a clue for Mu Qiu to deduce where this place was.
“How marvelous…”
Mu Qiu’s fingers traced the cold walls of the corridor. These structures were made of stone, but they fit together perfectly, and the touch felt like an exceptionally fine, powdery dust.
She walked forward step by step. Because she was alone, it was so quiet that the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.
—Wait.
Mu Qiu’s pupils contracted: “Where did the sound of a needle dropping come from?!”
