Chapter 625 — Protective Archaeology and Destructive Archaeology

Though Emperor Shi was proficient in archaeology, it was in essence merely one of his abilities, not his main pursuit; in his order of studies it even ranked below precognition of the future, a skill he held in little regard.

What Shi Jin had obtained from Emperor Shi was everything Emperor Shi possessed.

Shi Jin had long since discussed all this with Emperor Shi. Besides, in that age of chaos and war, Emperor Shi would never have bothered researching preservation-style archaeology; so long as he could swiftly grow his power and strength, smashing a few ruins was no matter at all.

The old man had no interest in the history of the Totem Era or the Mythic Era; he wanted only to carve out a future belonging to the human race.

Lin suggested, "Actually, we could go to the Overlord's Domain first. The finest archaeologists in the entire universe are gathered in the Cosmos Overlord's legion; there are bound to be plenty of preservation-style archaeology experts there."

"Captain Zijian is only one of the many top-tier archaeologists in the Cosmos Overlord's legion, and she alone is enough to suppress the Kaiwang Star Archaeology Association—so you can imagine how many capable and extraordinary people must be gathered there."

"And the reason the Cosmos Overlord Saibos supports archaeology is said to be to learn how to escape the fate of cosmic annihilation. That goal, too, is about gathering more information rather than power, so it should have cultivated a great many preservation-style archaeology experts."

"We can go there and study for a while. It's on the way anyway."

Shi Jin: "That makes sense. We happen to be going to the Overlord's Domain to find the Wishing Star legacy for Teacher Maomao. Once we arrive, we can look up the Zijian Special Squad and have Captain Zijian make the introductions."

Having made the decision, Shi Jin walked out of the room and called out with his mind.

"Godmother, are you there?"

Lan Yanzhi, who was in the middle of instructing Xiao Zi, fell briefly silent, then turned an exasperated look toward Donghuang's Shendu.

"What is it?"

"This ruin that Senior Goddess Wa sealed... I'll call it the Chiyou Obsession Ruins for now. I'd like to ask you to reinforce the seal, and then guard it for me—don't let anyone else damage or crack it."

"This ruin holds some important information. Cracking it rashly could cause that information to be lost; it needs preservation-style exploration. With my current abilities I'm not up to it, so I plan to try again after some time."

Lan Yanzhi said, "Fine. But we still have to head to the Cosmic Sea next—weren't you worried that the planet's movement might affect the ruin?"

"I am worried about that," Shi Jin said.

"Then how about this: until you've finished exploring this ruin, I'll stay where I am. No need to worry about danger—the Blue Star of today is stronger than you imagine."

"Before I leave, I'll think of a way to add a bit more defensive strength to Blue Star," Shi Jin said.

"No need for all that trouble."

"And staying here isn't entirely for your sake, either."

"These past few days, as I've been getting ready to set out for the Cosmic Sea, I've had a nagging premonition, a bad feeling. Perhaps the Cosmic Sea isn't as safe as we imagine."

"A premonition?" Shi Shuo was taken aback.

Was something big about to happen in the Cosmic Sea? Could it be because of the war in the Corrupted Lands? Surely not.

"I'm not sure either. But this star system may grow quieter still."

"All right." Shi Li said. "In any case, I'll acquire the ability to explore the ruins as quickly as I can."

"Oh, right—once you're done, you can take this household familiar with you. It's already fully mastered the 'Star Pact.'"

"Little Purple has mastered the Star Pact??" Shi Jin was overjoyed.

Last time the Void Emperor came to reinforce the ruins' seal, he had grumbled to him about it—he had gone to enormous trouble to bring the Suspended Star here from the Cosmic Sea, only for Blue Star to teach it for a single day, declare it unteachable, and send the Suspended Star packing.

Shi Jin had been anxious too, wondering whether Little Purple could learn it. If not, he would have to try Duplicate Teaching. But now it seemed that Little Purple, hatched on World Tree sap, was really quite compatible with Blue Star—like a daughter of its own blood, able to learn the skills Blue Star commanded.

"Excellent. Lin, let's get ready!"

Shi Jin turned his head and said to Lin.

"Yes!"

……

Before setting out, Shi Jin sought out Senior Lin and said, "Senior, there's a reason for this—let's hold off on exploring the Chiyou Ruins for now. With our current strength, we're not yet capable of exploring them fully. I plan to wait a while. For the next couple of days, use this Inheritance Droplet to pour everything you've gained into it."

He produced a pendant shaped like a water droplet. "Don't worry—this is vastly different from the Memory Droplet. It won't affect the user's memories."

"All right." Sister Xiong Qi felt tired as well. The gains she had made in the ruins these past days, she felt, would take her a year or two just to digest. Exploring further held little point.

"Also, what kind of weapon does Huahua like to use? What suits its grip? Tell me, and in a bit I'll have Eleven use Metal Mastery to forge it a divine weapon."

"Hmm, that…" Sister Xiong Qi said, "I don't know either… It's never used a weapon before."

"Then a bamboo staff. The Iron-eating Beasts should be well used to handling bamboo by now anyway," Shi Yan said.

"That makes sense." Sister Xiong Qi could hardly disagree—her own family ran an iron-bamboo breeding grove, after all, and she knew bamboo best. If one had to say what weapon the pandas of the Iron-Bamboo Breeding Base would handle most naturally, it would certainly be a bamboo staff.

"I'll leave it to you, then," Sister Xiong Qi said.

"A small matter. Just win the next World Championship for me."

"No problem." Sister Xiong Qi was brimming with confidence now.

After all, she was now a woman who had inherited the Iron-eating Beast legacy of the previous epoch!

And now that they had decided to postpone exploring the Chiyou Ruins, Shi Ying's affairs came down to just stat points and training.

Not only had the ruins not been explored successfully, but more troubles had piled up.

For one, she needed to develop a protective archaeology skill, while the Shi Jin beast had to attempt training in the cultivation system of the previous epoch.

The materials gathered so far were still enough to let the Shi Jin beast give it a try.

That was what Shi Yan's Shi Jin beast needed to train. As for the familiars' stat points, those would proceed as before—only by possessing a perfect (+47) divine skill could one have any hope of challenging the Transcendent God's Will. Aside from Susu, Eleven, Ginseng Baby, and Lin, the other familiars in the team had clearly not yet met the mark.

Of course, eager as Shi Jin was to explore the Chiyou Ruins, he knew it couldn't be rushed. The Gem Cat had not yet succeeded in breaking through to Transcendent God; it was still refining the Source of Transcendence.

If he wanted to go to the Overlord's Domain, he would certainly have to wait for the Gem Cat.

So Shi Jin chose to first look through the Realm King Star Archaeology Association for any valuable protective archaeology techniques.

Shi Jin temporarily returned to Realm King Star.

At this moment, the Apotheosis War on Realm King Star had already concluded. Unfortunately, though this generation's Donghuang line was fierce, they still fell a little short of the previous generation's Shi Jin.