Chapter 106 The Element Seed is the Ashes of a God.

In the courtyard directly opposite the altar of the temple, Du Yu pinched the reluctant nine-tailed cat's ear with one hand while looking at a virtual screen that only she could see.

Even knowing the system's cryptic nature, Du Yu was still speechless when he saw that even the last two words of the task had been crossed out.

"You've even blurred out the mission objectives, how am I supposed to complete the mission?"

Finding out the required quest items is part of the quest itself.

The red-eyed pigeon remained unmoved, calmly stole the last French fry from the plate, and flew away.

"That was a tribute from my believers!"

Although the spirits were severely damaged and not as clever as the miners in the lower city, the villagers that Du Yu rescued from the weekly dungeon had a unique skill—farming.

When potatoes were first successfully grown, even those with supernatural abilities, like Cat Whiskers, came to watch. Although they didn't believe, like ordinary miners, that the land's ability to grow crops was a gift from the gods, they still squatted down and watched for a long time.

The crops grown on the land of the gods should naturally be offered to the gods in the first batch. Yu couldn't bear to eat three palm-sized potatoes all at once, so he simply made them into French fries.

She hasn't eaten much of these fries yet; they've almost all been stolen by that fat pigeon, 166!

The white dove stood smugly on the altar, raised its head, and a French fry vanished instantly. The others sullenly leaned back, clenching the nine-tailed cat's annoyed paw as it swung at them, and continued to ask themselves:

"I guess I'll just find the task myself. But what was that element seed she mentioned in the dream just now?"

【Didn't you already know?】

The pigeon folded its wings, its bright red eyes reflecting Du Yu's figure; a profound aura emanated from the pigeon.

Seed, transcendence, element, tendency, divine position.

The pigeon was stingy with its words, but it was enough to inspire Du Yu.

What exactly is a Transcendent? How is the boundary between humans and gods broken? Why does the City of the Sun want to exterminate Transcendents?

seed……

Seeds are the reproductive bodies of plants, the starting point of everything, and possess infinite, certain yet uncertain possibilities.

Element Seeds... After last month's chaotic battle with gods such as [Mimi Yin], [Lord of the Pure Sea], and [New Sun], Du Yu has discovered the differences between the abilities used by superpowered individuals and gods.

The superpowers of those with special abilities are often quite specific, and the areas they involve are relatively narrow. For example, the cat whiskers trait, although belonging to the element of "fate," only involves good luck.

Gods are different. Even the weakest of them, the [Mimi Yin], uses their abilities without any restrictions. It's not like they're using a tool; it's as if they've become one with the elements.

The transcendent are beings who have transcended the boundaries of mortals and touched the realm of the gods. Is the element seed the core of "transcendence"?

A person with superpowers awakens their special ability, uses it, and through years of accumulation, deepens their understanding of the elements until they nurture a seed of an element that may have a bright future or may have nothing at all, thus achieving transcendence.

Transcendence, that is, moving from simply using superpowers to mastering the essential elements, is the first step to becoming a god.

"Seed, Transcendence, Elements"—after transcending, one takes control of the elements. And what happens after mastering the elements?

To influence, or even shape, the direction.

Taking the [Domain] tendency controlled by the [Lord of the Pure Sea] as an example, its three superior elements, [Fate], [Mind], and [Calamity], are all relatively abstract conceptual elements except for [Calamity].

Anything related to human thought seems to be connected to the "mind," not to mention "fate," which is an even broader and more diverse concept.

However, due to the limitations imposed by the "group domain" tendency, the connotation of elements is greatly restricted. Thus, they are "destined" to be constrained by the group domain and unable to be free.

A mind filled with the filth of selfish desires must be purified in the ocean of the collective.

There is a "calamity" that makes humanity realize the insignificance of the individual, and is both a disaster and an opportunity.

The elements are like fireflies flying haphazardly in the night, and the tendency is like a large net that envelops the nearby light. Although the illuminated area is not as large as before, the brightness and stability of the light are greatly enhanced.

Light--

Du Yu seemed to have been struck by lightning, remaining motionless. She didn't even notice when her subordinate, Jiu Tiao, took the opportunity to scratch her, having no hope of escape.

Dusk, candle, lamp; stars, moon, night...

"Seize the three elements of different inclinations, and ignite a lamp in the darkness; elevate your divine kingdom until it becomes the stars in the spirit world; finally, reach the end of each inclination, and your divine position will manifest. Welcome the eternal night, and all calamities will end—"

Deep within Tai Sui Mountain, Chen Xingzhi's shouts and the altar's upgrade levels flashed alternately in Du Yu's mind. Suddenly, Du Yu opened his personal profile on the game panel:

[Traits: Wheel of Fortune (lost), Dudu Loves Synthesis, Listener (Beginner)]

Trait: [Listener], Element: [Promotion], [Leapfrog] Tendency.

Trait: Wheel of Fortune; Element: Fate; Tendency: Community.

The trait "Dudu Loves Synthesis" has unknown elements and tendencies... but Du Yu guesses it should be a tendency towards "chaos".

The system never does useless work. It seems that Chen Xing, who is from the 21st century, said that the correct path to becoming a god should first include three elements. When Du Yu had just transmigrated, the system even calculated her unawakened traits, which were exactly the three traits she had.

Du Yu no longer believes in coincidences.

【Frenzy】, 【Corruption】, 【Twisting】... Which of these three overarching elements under the 【Chaos】 tendency does the synthesis game represent?

The question swirled in Du Yu's mind, and his train of thought continued, "Seize three elements with different tendencies, and light a lamp in the darkness"—is acquiring three elements with different tendencies the way to advance to the level of [Lamp]?

To become a god, the lowest level is a "lamp"?

The depths of the gray fog are filled with corrupted creatures, but most of them are at the [Darkness] level. The few [Candle] level creatures that you occasionally encounter are rare, and the [Lamp] level creatures... I haven't encountered any yet.

While the cat was momentarily stunned, it suddenly rolled over and, before Du Yu could escape, it landed and was lifted up by the scruff of its neck, its eyes meeting a pair of purple eyes.

"Speaking of which, Xiao Jiu, you're also a [Drowsy] level Fallen Being, so why aren't you as irrational as your kind?"

"Meow! I'm not like those idiots! Those guys who only know how to eat and kill, whose brains are full of gray fog, will never make a seed sprout!"

"You also know about element seeds?"

Du Yu was slightly taken aback, but the cat in her arms was even more surprised than she was, its voice so shrill it could practically be used as a sonic weapon: "Don't tell me you've already passed through that door and you still haven't found the seed?"

Du Yu calmly stared at the nine-tailed black cat for a moment, piecing together the information he wanted from the cat's incredulous questions.

As she had predicted, even for powerful corrupted beings, "elemental seeds" were a rarity. Only a very few beings whose minds had not been destroyed by "corruption" could possibly give birth to seeds that would allow them to advance further.

However, according to Xiao Jiu's description, no beings of the [Lamp] level or above have emerged from the depths of the gray fog for a long time.

As for why this knowledge, which should have naturally appeared in my mind after awakening, didn't appear... I kept it all to myself and made a note of it to the system.

"If elemental seeds are so precious, why not just steal them from others?"

"Meow?"

The nine-tailed cat gave her a look that said, "What kind of horror story are you telling me?" and retorted loudly, "What do you take seeds for? Every 'seed' is unique! Not only can you not steal them, but even if you did, you wouldn't be able to use them! Unless you also want to become a mad idiot who loses his mind in a frenzy!"

Du Yu was taken aback. The nine-tailed cat seized the opportunity and landed successfully in a freefall posture. In an instant, it disappeared from sight, leaving behind only a series of "meows" that sounded like it was cursing.

Elemental seeds are unique, scarce, and cannot be plundered...

As her fingers traced along her brow bone, across her eye socket, and down her cheekbone, Du Yu couldn't help but see a face "exactly the same" as her own—or rather, they were one, sharing a body in different times and spaces, and would plant the same seed.

It seems we absolutely must get this seed.

The map lying on the stone table trembled slightly in the air currents, its uneven, graffiti-like lines pointing to a single location—

Shangcheng District.

——

Welcome!

The cheerful greetings seemed out of place in the downtown area. The woman clutched her cloth bag tightly, quickly scanning her surroundings with a critical and wary look. Then, she paused, her voice slow and deliberate: "...Is this really a recycling company that takes in everything?"

“It’s a ‘recycling company that takes in everything’,” ma’am.

With a strangely enthusiastic smile, the shop assistant, after inexplicably and persistently correcting a completely unimportant word, finally got to the point: "Is there anything I can do for you?"

He wore a worn-out combat uniform, wrinkled at the joints because it was the wrong size, with firearms strapped to his waist and thighs, and his eyes, almost nervously, constantly scanning his surroundings—

A typical Lower City Mist Hunter, well, one of those who aren't doing too well.

Du Yu became interested, and with the help of Qin Xinhong, a local bigwig, the recycling company quickly established itself within a month or two, and its business was doing well, which even calmed the restless hearts of the new believers.

However, the disappearance of the powerful hunter groups Catbeard Pirates and Gentlemen's Club, the repeated sweeps by the Sheriff's Department, and the frantic sweeps by the two major financial groups have disrupted the peace of the lower city, causing many intelligent people to go into hiding.

This is the first time a Mist Hunter has come into the store today.

"Call your boss out. I have a big deal to discuss with her."

The woman unconsciously hugged her bag tighter. The purple-eyed shop assistant stared at her for a few seconds, his gaze falling on the bag in her arms. He raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he could see what was inside the bag.

Before she could even open her mouth with her bluster, the strange shop assistant looked away and led her into the inner lounge.

"Alright, you can speak now."

After confirming several times that only the shop assistant was in the store, the woman hesitated for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and squeezing out a trembling voice through her teeth: "I'm only doing this because of Sister Qin... I know you also accept things from the gray fog, so I raised the protection level to the maximum."

An unknown fluctuation enveloped the room. The familiar, suffocating feeling of approaching gray fog receded, and the woman began to tremble. As if throwing away a hot potato, she abruptly threw the bag she was holding to the ground, her voice shrill:

"I don't want money, I don't want anything, I'm giving this away for free, just let me leave!"

The shop assistant picked up a corner of the backpack, and those piercing purple eyes looked over again, a half-smile on her face: "Madam, you haven't said what's in your bag yet, so we can't put it in the warehouse."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

The woman's jaw trembled uncontrollably, her eyes bulged, and she spoke slowly and deliberately, her voice low and hoarse yet thunderous:

"—It is the ashes of a god."

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Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! I get really stuck when it comes to complex settings. I want to explain things more clearly, but I'm also afraid of writing too verbosely, so I'm just struggling with myself while sitting in front of the computer.