Chapter 147 Chapter 147 Answer. (12w nutrient solution plus more...
His Majesty took a moment to calm down, then looked at her with a searching gaze.
"I've seen many ancient dragons," he whispered, "but someone like you..."
"I'm not quite normal either," Su Cheng interrupted. "Sorry, I'm really curious. You said the Ancient Gods wanted to save this doomed world—at least that's what they claimed, right? Did they explain why it was doomed?"
"No," the silver-haired young man said with disgust, "No, maybe I did, but that was probably just a pathetic lie."
"Well, let's just assume it's fake," Su Cheng said, not wanting him to go crazy again. "What did they say?"
"Source Fire," he pursed his lips. "Logos once mentioned this term. Loki said that in all planes, all energy comes from the 'ether' released by the burning Source Fire. Our magic, fighting spirit, and life are all derived from it. It is because of it that this world can be sustained. However, the life of the Source Fire is not infinite. If it were to burn out one day, all planes would collapse and disintegrate..."
Several thoughts suddenly occurred to Su Cheng, "Can't ether be recycled?"
The silver-haired young man shook his head slightly. "...No, someone else asked a similar question. Lor said that the primordial ether is an extension of the source fire. It is the cornerstone of the world. Once used by humans, especially spells and combat skills, it forcibly distorts and releases the power of the laws in the ether to make it produce an effect. This is called 'burning'. After burning, the ether loses its power and turns into disordered dust in the void."
"How strange," Su Cheng frowned, "No book has ever mentioned that the energy of magic and combat skills comes from the same source."
"So this might just be a lie they made up to gain our trust—"
He said impatiently, "Look at what we have become. You are not the first generation ancient dragon, right? Although I don't know your age, I can feel that the time span of your soul experience is only a few thousand years at most..."
Su Cheng: “…”
In principle, this statement is true, but it seems to be completely different from what he intended.
Su Cheng couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed. "Sorry, I know you don't want to recall this, but I'm really curious. Seriously, can turning you into dragons save the world?"
"No," he sighed helplessly, as if trying to recall for a few seconds. "We... are a plan discussed by the Creator and the Snake. They wanted to create a completely new kind of creature that defied the laws, a transformation from soul to body. They said this might give us the power to reverse the Dust of Chaos and return it to the original Aether."
Su Cheng was silent for a few seconds. "So their theory is that normal creatures, whether elves, humans, dragons, or gods, cannot achieve this kind of reversal. But if a new species that is unconventional appears, perhaps it can do it. Wait, so it can?"
"No! Of course not!"
The silver-haired young man roared angrily, "For so many years! Perhaps thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. We've all been in chaos. Kykleus can still sleep in a plane that's constantly collapsing and reshaping, but we can't. We can only tear each other apart, finding clarity in some brief moments. Many of my friends have committed suicide because they can't bear it!"
Su Cheng hesitated to speak: "But have you ever tried——"
"...No!" He interrupted her. "I know what you want to say. They once brought me the so-called Dust of Chaos. I tried, but I couldn't do it. If I had done it, perhaps all this would have been worth it. Of course, I'm not sure what they gave me. Now I think it's all a ridiculous lie. They were just curious about the power of the dragon race, so they stole the dragon's bones and blood and infused it into us, turning us into bloodthirsty monsters. Apart from blood, we can hardly..."
"Now," Su Cheng said sadly, "are you staying awake longer and longer?"
"...Maybe," he said unhappily, "Maybe it's because it's almost completely integrated with the dragon blood, so it's better than it was at the beginning, but that doesn't mean I like it. And even though I don't like dragons, and I don't want to admit it, being around them makes me more sober."
"Well," Su Cheng patted his shoulder, "I believe that one day you will be able to walk out, walk out of your past, walk out of this palace, and perhaps become a free and happy mercenary."
The silver-haired young man looked at her strangely, "Mercenary?"
Su Cheng recalled that the mercenary guilds of those days were not as large as they would be in the future. "Uh, yes, because they were more free—"
He was silent for a few seconds, "Did you just call me Sasha?"
"Oh, I have a friend who looks a lot like you."
"...I like this name," he said confidently, "If there comes a day, I might use this name, but now I have to go back to sleep, and I hope you get out quickly, because you still have the blessing scent of those things on you."
"No problem," Su Cheng stood up. "By the way, do you have a map? Or could you tell me where your country is located?"
"This is not my country. I am just sleeping here, and those stupid humans touched the bloodstains left by me and my friends!"
He stood up, complaining, "And then they'll get their wish of immortality. Even when I was an elf, I never wanted children. Now, I'm their ancestor, and many people call me father. Damn it, I'm going to leave here sooner or later..."
Su Cheng looked at him cursing, and suddenly felt that this image coincided with his memory.
His Majesty the King gave her a brief description of the location. She figured out the direction and directly activated space magic to teleport.
——Although from some of her previous teleportation experiences, she seemed destined to meet strange people no matter where she landed.
The conversation she had just had with Sasha gave her a lot of guesses.
Some clues are gradually being connected.
"Moonlight Grass Pudding! Five copper coins each!"
"Mead caramel pancakes! Forty copper coins a box! Buy three, get one free! Made with our own exclusive fruit wine..."
Su Cheng raised his head and looked up at the clear blue sky and the warm golden sun.
Ahead is a crowded street with colorful stalls on both sides. The solid, striped or spotted tarpaulin roofs look like countless colorful boats stranded on the beach.
The air was filled with the sounds of hawking, talking, pots and pans clashing, and grease sizzling.
There is also a sweet aroma.
The long table diagonally in front of her was piled with hot, freshly baked cakes, and new ones were constantly being brought out from the shops behind her.
The rich aroma of milk and caramel is entangled together, the honey is crystal clear, the chocolate sauce is rich and smooth, and the various fruit pieces are plump and bright.
The stall opposite sells colorful hard candies that have been blown and stretched into different shapes, from cute flowers and small animals to daggers and shields.
It was so crowded that she was almost carried forward by the crowd. She passed a cart with large and small glass tubes filled with colorful jams: translucent cherries, bright citrus fruits, thick mangoes, and blackberries with distinct seeds - next to it was a high pile of bread rolls of various sizes.
The stall owner was skillfully stuffing bread with jam and then handing a long loaf to a customer.
The guest had dark golden curly hair and a raised collar that covered his chin, revealing only his high nose bridge and deep eyebrows.
The long eyelashes hung down like golden threads, half covering the blue and green eyes.
Su Cheng saw his face clearly and immediately frowned.
The blond man glanced sideways at her and then walked forward as if nothing had happened.
He squeezed into the crowd with an expressionless face and entered the shop opposite, where several copper pots were boiling syrup, and the whole room was filled with a strong sweet smell.
The clips are hung with golden-red fruit bunches, including hawthorn, strawberry, candied dates, etc., which are wrapped in a sugar shell that is as solid as ice and sparkle like gems.
Two white-haired men walked out.
Su Cheng paused.
Their hair is as white as mountain snow, and their facial features are extremely delicate and handsome, with sharp and aggressive lines, neutralized by an elegant and profound temperament.
The man on the left has a silk ribbon tied around his face, covering his eyes.
The man on the right seems to have turned his head casually.
Su Cheng met those blue eyes.
It is not a color that can only be found in the secular world. It is like a galaxy that condenses the wisdom and brilliance of thousands of people, with endless levels of depth.
The surface is as cold as a glacier, the middle is the sky after rain, and the bottom layer is swirling with nebula vortices.
The edges of the vertical black pupils were dotted with silver light, just like billions of volumes of text floating up and down, appearing and disappearing, as if gazing at the universe itself.
For a moment, Su Cheng felt as if he had fallen into a surging torrent. All the possibilities and unknowns, and countless developments spread out magnificently like an avalanche.
She saw countless answers and truths, and was reshaped and washed in them.
“…It’s not as delicious as you said.”
Until a familiar voice woke her up.
Su Cheng raised his head with mixed feelings and looked at an old friend.
Camus—or who knows if he is using that name now—was chewing on the bread with an expression on his face that was hard to tell whether it was happy or unhappy.
Su Cheng: “…”
Su Cheng: "You obviously like it very much."
The two white-haired men smiled almost in unison.
Their physiques and facial shapes are exactly the same, and even if they wear different clothes, it is obvious that they are twins.
Of course, considering their identities, the statement that they are twins may not be accurate enough.
The blond man froze for a moment and turned to look at her, "Who said that?"
"I," Su Cheng crossed his arms, "I can only say that I understand you better than you think."
The blond man frowned at her.
"For example," Su Cheng drawled, "if one day you decided to live as a human, or something similar, I guess you'd become a blood mage and then a mercenary. Oh, and I know you definitely don't hate the Black Dragon King. Oh, and you might name yourself Camus. And, you think I'm beautiful."
The blond man looked at her with a look that suggested she was a psychopath. "...Except for the last one, which is indeed true from a human aesthetic point of view, what are the others?"
Su Cheng looked up at the sky and said, "Then let's wait and see."
"I think what she said is true." The white-haired man on the right said with interest, "That should be very interesting."
Camus turned his head and looked at Him, "Why should I become a human being?"
The man on the right waved to Su Cheng, then turned and walked towards the corner of the street, gradually moving away from the noisy market.
"That's not necessarily your choice," He continued. "You know that if that day really comes, they will definitely destroy you and divide your power. This will completely rewrite history and refresh people's memory."
"...Whatever." Camus said coldly, lowering his head to chew his bread again. "It's all your game anyway."
"I wouldn't call it a game," the white-haired man looked at Su Cheng and smiled, "After all, except for the ending, everything else is predetermined."
Su Cheng walked over a few steps, "...you two."
She looked down at the two-headed snake emblem that lit up on her hand, "You know, I thought you guys liked being turned into children."
"We have many images," said the blindfolded white-haired man. "If you try to define me, it will confine you. You must penetrate the surface to get to the truth."
Su Cheng blinked, "Is your relationship with Yingshizhe very bad?"
The other white-haired man smiled. "If there's no sufficiently fascinating maze, where's the fun in 'getting out'?"
Su Cheng took a deep breath, "Your Highness Luo Qi, you once told me that you would always answer my questions."
Those captivating blue eyes looked at her, "...anyone, anytime."
Su Cheng nodded slowly.
She was not sure at first, but when she saw the two of them bringing Camus, she knew that they must be the so-called Snake of Truth.
And their good student, the God of Memory.
Because the book mentions the God of Wisdom, he is often described in the plural, but when describing His head it becomes singular.
One of His true manifestations is a three-eyed, two-headed serpent. On His left is Loel, the Seeker of Knowledge, symbolizing true knowledge and exploration, and on His right is Rocky, the Insightful One, representing true vision and reason.
Of course, these are just people’s understanding of God.
Su Cheng: "Are human life, magic power, and fighting spirit all made of ether? Why has no one ever pointed out that they have the same origin?"
Rocky remained noncommittal. "Ether is just a name. The underlying energy that makes up all planes is interconnected. When it comes into contact with different souls, it is affected by different laws, presenting various states. This is the intuitive result you see. For most intelligent creatures, thousands of years of research have only traced the trajectory of this energy transformation. If you want to sense the source, you must at least possess authority."
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment, "Becoming a god?"
"Well, essentially, authority gives you coordinates, gives you an anchor in this world, and makes you truly immortal. As long as there are still people thinking, people learning, and people thirsting for knowledge, I will exist forever."
"...at most, he will be banished to the void?"
"Expel?" Rocky repeated the word. "Location means nothing to me, but if someone wants me to stop affecting this plane, I might try to do so."
Su Cheng: "But he won't succeed, right? After all, you have plenty of ways, and he only lives for a few thousand years at most."
The twin gods of wisdom smiled subtly at the same time.
It wasn't just a superficial emotion like complacency or pride; it seemed to contain something else.
"I like humans," Rocky said, holding up the candied fruit in his hand. "There's something so captivating about them—the ability to create order from chaos, to extract joy from the ordinary."
"This is also the truth." Lor tilted his head slightly, as if "looking" at her. "It doesn't promise eternity, nor does it explain fate. It only expresses 'I am sweet' at this moment."
Su Cheng: "............You just like to eat sweets, so if someone expels you, you will find a way to come back to eat."
Camus turned his head away, as if he wanted to laugh.
Su Cheng sighed, "I have another question. If you knew that once the Source Fire was released, the Aether would extinguish, the original Aether would cease to exist, and the world would be destroyed, then why did you still teach elves and humans magic? Or learn any power that would consume more Aether? And why did you create races like orcs and humans that reproduce faster than the elves?"
"We have not participated in the creation of any race, my dear lady, but the ether consumed by 'survival' is negligible. The consumption of hundreds of years by the residents of a town is not as much as that of a complex elemental magic for humans."
Rocky patiently explained, "As for why I teach them, it's because I enjoy doing it. Initially, we were just ourselves, until, through interacting with the elves, I discovered that I could embrace authority, become more closely connected with this world, and see more truths..."
"Well," Su Cheng said softly, "You chose to become the God of Wisdom."
"...Then we discovered that the Source Fire would go out." Lor said slowly, "For us, even if the Aether is exhausted, we can still survive. But this is a very interesting topic, so we will try to solve it. Of course, Rocky also wants to know if those intelligent species can help us or come up with a solution on their own."
"Can I?"
"No. As I said before, without the existence of authority, it is difficult for them to understand the nature of the basic energy on their own, and it is also difficult for them to participate in our plan—"
Su Cheng couldn't help but interject, "Is this the conclusion you came to after having the volunteers undergo transformation experiments?"
Camus, who had been silent the whole time, looked at her and asked, "Did you meet Salfinolius?"
Su Cheng: "The current vampire king who you turned into a skinny dragon? Yes, it's rare that you still remember him."
No wonder Sasha wanted to change her name.
Camus seemed guilt-free, and certainly didn't seem to be involved in the plan.
As for the two-headed snake next to it——
Su Cheng didn't expect to see an apology on the ancient god's face.
Su Cheng: "...In short, there will be more gods appearing in the future. Do you hope to have more helpers? With their appearance, there will be more believers, and more people will gain power——"
She stopped talking.
Su Cheng's eyes widened slightly. "There are more and more powerful people among humans, and the ether is consumed faster, until a war breaks out. This war will affect civilians to a certain extent, but more people will die among the powerful believers."
The God of Wisdom listened quietly.
Luo Er looked thoughtful. "The person you mentioned before likes this style of doing things very much."
Su Cheng held his forehead.
If this refers to the God of Falsehood, then the answer to everything is obvious.
The Jingyin Society instigated a war between the Esoteric Cult and the Church.
Therefore, in the era when powerful people emerged in large numbers - that is, the era when the sub-gods rose, many masters died in the war, which alleviated the consumption of ether in a certain sense.
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