Linde's cold gaze fell on the aged Insect King, the invisible pressure emanating from the level of life itself almost suffocating the latter.
Without saying a word, Linde reached out and pressed his hand towards the Insect King from a distance.
The deconstructed halo silently operated, and a power far more subtle and profound than that used when scanning the environment instantly enveloped the insect king's entire body.
In Linde's perception, the life structure of the Insect King, composed of chitin, complex bodily fluids, and a faint mental network, was like the pages of an open book, being rapidly turned.
The traces of time leave their mark deep within its cells, on the worn layers of its outer shell, and even on the degree of wear and tear on its consciousness.
He traced these clues, deducing backwards, his gaze piercing through the mists of time, reaching the very beginning of this insect king's life—
Beneath a damp, fungal rock, an egg trembled slightly under the care of its kind before finally breaking open. A tender larva, its shell still soft, struggled out and began its life as a Qitar Worm.
The scenes flash back rapidly, depicting hunting, growth, struggle, and coronation... the journey of life is compressed into a brief stream of information.
(Only about fifty years...too short.)
Linde withdrew his hand, and the [Deconstruction Halo] stopped operating.
The conclusion is clear and unambiguous. The history of this civilization, or rather, the lifespan of this insect king, is as fleeting as morning dew on a galactic scale.
Trying to find clues about ancient star chart markings or extraterrestrial evil gods directly from their individual life imprints is like trying to catch fish by climbing a tree.
Their very existence, in relation to the ancient timeline marked by the dragon race, may only be a "recent" event.
After Linde withdrew his power, the Insect King collapsed to the ground as if exhausted. The muscles under its carapace were still trembling slightly uncontrollably, and its compound eyes were filled with fear of being completely seen through and having no secrets left.
It seems that direct scanning won't work. We'll have to resort to a more traditional method, which also relies more heavily on the authenticity of the information.
With a slight thought, another invisible ripple spread out from him—[Activation Aura].
In stark contrast to the cold analysis of "deconstruction," "revitalization" contains the power of the original order of life, warm and vibrant.
The halo brushed against the insect king's aging body like spring rain.
A miraculous sight has occurred!
The insect king's dark brown carapace, covered with old scars and signs of wear and tear, became shiny and tough at a speed visible to the naked eye, and several tiny cracks quietly healed.
The few crystal tentacles on its head that were originally somewhat dim and even slightly curled at the ends have now become crystal clear, like newly sprouted branches, standing upright again and emitting a brighter glow.
His compound eyes, which had become somewhat cloudy due to old age, were now clear and sharp, and the decaying aura within him was replaced by a vigorous life force.
It raised its forelimbs in disbelief, feeling the long-lost, surging power of its prime within it, an unprecedented lightness and vitality filling every cell of its body.
Fear was replaced by immense surprise and a deeper sense of awe at that moment.
"Thank you... thank you for the blessings of the great god from beyond the heavens!"
The insect king's mental fluctuations became clear and powerful, filled with immense excitement and piety. It even attempted to express its gratitude using the gesture that its race used to show the highest respect—pressing its head and forelimbs firmly to the ground.
Linde was unmoved by the Insect King's gratitude; it was merely a small tactic he used to gather information, ensuring that the "guide" would live long enough and remain mentally sharp enough to answer questions effectively.
"Get up." Linde's voice remained calm, interrupting the Insect King's worship. "I have a question for you."
The insect king, now rejuvenated, immediately rose respectfully, his posture humble, his compound eyes intently "gazing" at Lind, awaiting divine guidance.
"How long has your people lived here? When did the oldest legend begin?" Linde cut straight to the heart of the matter.
The Insect King dared not be negligent and immediately focused its energy to transmit the message:
"Reporting to the great gods, according to the memory sacs of the royal nest's heritage, our Qitar race established order on this planet approximately a thousand 'Great Cycles' (the period of Qitar's revolution around its star, roughly equivalent to fifty years for Qitar) before."
As for the oldest legends… those go back to the distant, primitive era, when our ancestors were still fighting with raging giant fungus beasts for survival. The legends mention the gaze of the ‘Eye of the Stars’ and the guidance of ‘whispers from the earth’…”
"Whispers from the earth?" Lind caught this crucial information, which subtly corresponded to the unusual underground fluctuations he had sensed earlier. "Explain in detail."
“Yes, yes.” The Insect King organized memories from ancient traditions. “Legend has it that when the tribe was first struggling to survive, sometimes when the earth’s crust shook or when digging deep into the fungal rock, some tribesmen would hear incomprehensible, subtle sounds from the depths of the earth. Those sounds were not the fluctuations of our tribe’s mind, nor the sounds of any known creature. Sometimes they were like murmurs, and sometimes they were like rhythmic tapping.”
Among our ancient ancestors, a very few claimed to be able to communicate with the 'whispers,' gaining more efficient nesting techniques or the ability to warn of danger… But legend also warns that excessive listening to the whispers can lead to madness and eventual disappearance into the depths of the cave. Therefore, exploring too deeply underground is considered taboo.
Linde's eyes flickered slightly.
Abnormal underground fluctuations, incomprehensible "whispers," the imparting of knowledge, and the insane... these characteristics are strikingly similar to the methods of mental erosion and knowledge seduction commonly used by extraterrestrial evil gods when they infiltrate! It's just that the manifestations appear primitive due to the level of civilization and perception of the Tar insect people.
"What about the 'Eye of the Stars'?" Lind pressed on.
"Legend has it that during a certain season, when the largest 'Azure Guiding Star' rises to the zenith, the night sky seems to open an invisible eye, watching over the earth. On such nights, the 'whispers' underground become exceptionally active... But these are all extremely ancient legends. In the records of the last few decades of the Royal Nest, there has been no explicit mention of the appearance of the 'Eye of the Stars,' and the 'whispers' underground have almost become stories used to deceive larvae."
The Insect King answered honestly, explaining that it did not understand why this god from beyond the heavens was so interested in these vague and unfounded legends.
(The gaze of the "Eye of the Stars"... matches the pattern of how evil gods observe the world. The whispers from the ground... are likely some remnant creation or communication node of an evil god, which, due to energy decay or deliberate concealment, only shows a faint reaction at specific celestial locations. The history of the Taal civilization is insufficient to witness the full extent of the evil gods' activities, but their ancient legends may preserve clues that that star field was once "watched"...)
The clues are gradually becoming clearer. The "abnormal activity" marked by the dragons may not be continuous, but rather periodic, or the main force of the evil god may have already moved away, leaving only some semi-dormant "observation points" or "beacons" buried deep underground on this inconspicuous planet.
“Point out the areas in your legends where ‘whispers’ occur most frequently, or where your people have disappeared,” Lind commanded.
The Insect King dared not disobey and immediately used its newly restored spiritual power to sketch a rough map of the planet Qitar on the ground in front of Linde, using the faint fluorescence and secretions of the fungi. It also marked several specific locations deep within the giant fungal forest or in mountain crevices.
"These are the places, the great gods. The legends of the 'Silent Rift' and the 'Core Area of the Fluorescent Bacteria Sea' are especially ancient and... ominous."
Lind noted down these locations.
His senses once again turned to the ground. This time, with a clear direction, he could more clearly perceive the unusual fluctuation coming from the direction of the "Silent Rift" marked by the Insect King. Although it was still weak, it did carry that unpleasant, "non-native" information quality.
"It seems I need to go down and take a look myself," Linde thought to himself.
He glanced at the Insect King, who seemed both apprehensive about providing information and secretly excited about regaining his youth, and coldly uttered a single sentence:
"Maintain order here until I return. Your vitality is enough to keep you there until then."
Before he finished speaking, Linde's figure had already disappeared from the mushroom rock platform, leaving only the rejuvenated Insect King standing alone in place, feeling the surging vitality within his body. His compound eyes were filled with awe for the unknown, and a hint of... a budding, fanatical faith in this "god from beyond the heavens" that had quietly sprouted due to the gift of power.
Meanwhile, Linde had already begun a thorough exploration of the first potential target of this trip, heading towards the "Silent Rift."
The clues to the mystery of the starry sea seem to lie hidden deep within the crust of this primordial planet.
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