Chapter 1286 — Where the Clues Converge

The sound of some mechanical locking mechanism engaged, rising from deep within the earth. The self-operating ship completed its docking with the self-operating home port. Once the two expanses of steel had joined, everyone heard the low, deep hum that had been rising continuously from the ancient vessel beneath their feet gradually fade—as though the ship's systems had entered a dormant mode and begun receiving resupply and inspection from the home port.

After setting down the "passengers" on her back, Metzgen reverted to human form within a curtain of light. She looked toward a point a hundred meters ahead—the original edge of the ship, now joined to the home port's docks, where the corresponding section of the ship's shield had merged with the home port's own. What lay before her now was an unobstructed avenue leading straight onto that "home port," which was almost like an artificial continent.

"Shall we go ashore and take a look now?" She turned to Gao Yang beside her. "Only, we don't know how long this ship will stay here. If it suddenly departs while we're ashore exploring..."

"It will stay at least twelve hours." Gao Heng shook his head slightly as soon as Metzgen finished. He looked up at the junction between the ship and the port, where a vast holographic projection stretched across the space between the deck and the connecting passage. A line of characters flickered and danced on the projection. Others could make no sense of the thing, but he saw it clearly: it showed the progress of the ship's engine calibration and shield charging at the port. It seemed that although the primary systems here had been destroyed, as with the lighting fixtures still operating throughout, a portion of the home port's basic functions remained operational—though all of them appeared to have been affected to varying degrees.

The group had grown accustomed to Gao Yang's "familiarity" with the relics of the Pathfinders, so no one raised any questions now. Upon learning they had twelve hours to act, everyone immediately wasted no more time and followed Gao Yang toward the astonishingly vast home port in the distance.

Enormous withered branches, snapped vines, and leaves nearly as large as rooftops lay scattered around them. The "Cycle Giant Tree," larger than a city, leaned over and draped itself across the distant port facilities. Its canopy, long stripped of leaves and left with only broken, skeletal limbs, resembled an interwoven and hideous curtain of iron overhead—the mere sight of it brought a tremendous sense of shock and oppression. Everyone's gaze was drawn involuntarily upward to the canopy that blotted out the entire port. Mary, the most timid and soft-hearted in the group, was trembling so badly that Daniel could no longer stand by; he cast a high-tier calming spell on his apprentice, and the poor mage finally steadied herself.

Gao Yang was also gazing up at the canopy of the Cycle Giant Tree, at those withered limbs that faintly wove themselves into the shape of a vast city. He pictured the process by which this divine realm had collided with this Pathfinder relic, and marveled at Amorn's great feat in those days—but regardless, this magnificent tree of divinity had ultimately died, withered away in this silent ruin deep in the darkness. Fragments of its remains lay scattered everywhere, and whether it was the pollution of the Countercurrent or something else... none of it had anything to do with this dead tree anymore.

"It seems the Cycle Giant Tree is like the War God's divine realm—it has no polluting effect on us," Kamael suddenly said, floating near Gao Yang. He raised an arm to the side, directing a mage hand to gather fragments of the withered plants into a small box floating behind him, preparing to recover them as samples. "I just wonder whether these things will also 'dissipate' once they enter the real world, like the things from the War God's divine realm..."

"Amorn has been severed from his divine station for over three thousand years," Gao Lan said. "Though his initial severance was not as thorough as the War God's, after so long, the divine influence he left behind should have dissipated completely. And even if his own divinity had not fully faded, his divine realm could not possibly retain any mental pollution—this is a relic left by the Pathfinders. Any divine remnant that falls upon it is purified within moments into something 'safe and harmless.'"

"'Purified,' is it..." Metzgen mused, sweeping her gaze around. "Perhaps this Cycle Giant Tree died of 'rejection' during the purification process—look at those enormous vines. Some of them show a tendency to coil around the surrounding facilities, but they withered and died in the very act of coiling. That means this tree was still alive when it first 'crashed' here. Unfortunately, facing the Pathfinders' power... it couldn't even struggle for long."

Gao Yang said nothing. His gaze fell on an alloy tower at the edge of the port, around which dead, withered vines were coiled. Yet deep within that pile of remains, tiny leaves and plants had grown out, stubbornly displaying their faint vitality in this withered, deathly place—and these small plants were everywhere among the giant tree's remains further away.

They even faintly formed a tiny ecosystem of their own.

Mojin had also taken an interest in the plants growing from the giant tree's remains. His adventurer's instinct made him ignore the eerie, oppressive environment; he made his way among the colossal plant remains, climbed over withered limbs and dead vines, and carefully observed the vegetation growing within. Turning back to the others, he said, "These things don't look like the plants of our 'Mortal World,' but apart from that there doesn't seem to be anything special about them..."

"They look like ordinary flowers, grasses, and shrubs, sprouting from the remains left after the divinity's death, but they themselves are merely mundane things," Metzgen said, also observing the vegetation growing from the Cycle Giant Tree's remains. She reached her conclusion: "The Cycle Giant Tree was, in essence, still a 'tree.' After shedding its divinity and dying, it would leave behind tremendous nutrients—enough for new 'offspring' to sprout from its corpse, and even to sustain a small-scale ecosystem... only, three thousand years have passed now, and there's no telling how much longer the vitality in these remains can last."

No one could answer Metzgen's question—even Amorn himself, were he here, would probably be unable to explain. All they could do was observe their surroundings as meticulously as possible, keep recording footage, collect whatever samples they could, and keep pace with Gao Song as they continued deeper into the port.

They reached the area covered by the giant tree's canopy, and the enormous plant remains around them reached a peak—countless roots, vines, branches, leaves, and fragments of dead wood spread across the steel ground, piled up even into small hills and ravines. Withered tendrils hanging down from the canopy intertwined like a forest, their surfaces overgrown with new "offspring" green vines. Death and new life were woven together in this incredible fashion, and beneath this wondrous spectacle of intermingled life and death lay the cold, hard steel ground left by the Pathfinders 1.8 million years ago.

Much of the port's original structure was covered by the remains of the Cycle Giant Tree. Only some floating streetlight orbs still operated as usual, illuminating this "dense forest" that should have been very dark. Gao Yang led the group through the forest, and fortunately every member had some measure of strength; the harsh environment did not much hinder their steps.