282: Chapter 217: Lost Civilization, Giant Stele Inscriptions Resembling Oracle Bones

Gray mist permeated the air, and a deathly silence reigned.

The sensation beneath their feet was a mixture of coarse sand and some kind of hardened, fine-grained sediment. The air was heavy, almost stagnant; inhaling it into their lungs (simulated by their Divine Bodies) brought a faint, stale scent like the accumulation of eons of dust, along with a trace of an indescribable, lingering sorrow and desolation.

The five of them maintained a defensive formation, quickly assessing their surroundings under the protection of Qin Qing's contracted but more solidified Order Barrier.

They seemed to have landed on the edge of a relatively flat "plain" composed of dark gray rock. Their field of vision was limited by the gray mist, with visibility less than five hundred meters. The ground was scattered with fragments of rock, large and small, their sharp edges worn away by time. Between them grew some low, dark-colored (deep brown, grayish-green) strange vegetation, twisted in shape and devoid of any sense of vitality, as if they were merely decorations for this dead world.

The sky was an eternal dark gray, without sun, moon, or stars. There was only a chaotic, uniform glimmer of unknown Origin, enveloping the entire world in a constant, oppressive twilight atmosphere.

Divine Power sensing was clearly suppressed and distorted here. Lin Zhou tried to extend his perception of the Fire of Civilization, but the feedback was extremely blurred and full of "noise," as if the rules of this world themselves were constantly emitting faint, broken wails. The air was filled with an extremely thin yet exceptionally pure "inert energy" that was difficult to absorb and use directly; instead, it would attach to Divine Thought, bringing a slight sense of sluggishness.

"The environmental rule suppression is estimated to be 1.5 times that of a normal Astral Realm. Energy activity is extremely low, and recovery efficiency is expected to drop by 40%." Li Mo reported preliminary data while quickly operating several newly released micro-reconnaissance mechanisms shaped like metal spiders, his face still somewhat pale. "The air composition is complex, with a high proportion of inert gases and unknown particles. There are weak mental suppression factors. No obvious signs of life activity have been found, but... the existence of non-life-form threats cannot be ruled out."

"For safety's sake, let's establish a temporary base first and recover our status," Lin Zhou decided immediately. In such a strange and oppressive environment, maintaining peak condition was the first priority for survival. The resources they carried were enough to support them for a while; there was no need to rush blindly forward.

Wang Meng and Zhao Hao immediately began clearing an area, while Li Mo directed engineering Puppets to start constructing simple defensive works and shelters. Qin Qing maintained the Order Barrier while attempting to use the Light of Jurisprudence to further purify the environment within a small range, dispersing those uncomfortable mental suppression factors.

Lin Zhou walked a bit further away, knelt down, and carefully examined the rocks on the ground and those strange plants. The texture of the rock was very hard, far exceeding ordinary granite, with fine patterns on the surface that looked like they were washed by water or formed by some immense pressure. Those plants looked even more bizarre up close; they had no leaves, only twisted branches, with a material that seemed like both wood and stone. Touching them gently, they felt cold and hard, lacking the elasticity and warmth that life should have.

"These things... look like they've been 'petrified' or 'solidified by rules' for countless eons," Lin Zhou thought to himself. He tried to inject a trace of the Fire of Civilization, and the strange plant's branch brightened slightly, with extremely dim, almost unrecognizable pale golden patterns surfacing before quickly receding, as if it were just an illusion. But in that instant, Lin Zhou caught an extremely faint residual aura belonging to a "civilized creation"—these plants were likely not natural, but remnants of some lost civilization's technology, or mutated under its strong influence!

This discovery made Lin Zhou's heart tighten. It seemed that everything in this world might be closely related to that fallen civilization.

Just then, Zhao Hao, who was responsible for the outer perimeter, suddenly let out a low cry: "Old Lin! Look over there! The mist seems to be... clearing a bit!"

Everyone immediately looked over alertly.

Sure enough, about three or four hundred meters ahead, the originally thick and uniform gray mist seemed to be disturbed by some invisible force, slowly flowing to both sides and thinning out. A larger, hazy shadow gradually revealed its silhouette behind the mist.

"The reconnaissance mechanisms are sending back images!" Li Mo's voice carried a hint of surprise as he projected the images seen by the micro-spiders onto the light screen in front of everyone.

The images were somewhat blurry, interfered with by the gray mist and rules, but clear enough to see—

It was the base of an extremely vast, upward-sloping "platform" or "plaza"! The ground was paved with even larger, neatly cut black stone slabs, the gaps between them almost imperceptible. The plaza extended forward, disappearing into the deeper mist, with no end in sight. And at the start of the plaza, which was the direction they were facing, in the area where the gray mist had cleared the most, stood a base so massive it was breathtaking.

It was a giant trapezoidal stone platform, a hundred meters high and over two hundred meters long on each side, also built from black stones. Its surface was covered with traces of erosion from wind and rain (or perhaps the scouring of rules), yet one could still feel the magnificence and solidity of its construction. The side of the stone platform facing them was a cliff as steep as if it had been sheared off.

And on that cliff wall, supported by the stone platform, an even more shocking object appeared—

It was a section of a stele!

A section of a giant stele that reached from heaven to earth, with only its lower half exposed and its top still hidden in the higher gray mist!

The visible part alone was over three hundred meters high! Its width was also over fifty meters! The entire body presented a deep, heavy bluish-gray, its material neither stone nor jade, as if it carried the vicissitudes of eternal ages. The surface of the stele was not smooth but was covered with dense, crisscrossing... characters deeply carved into the body of the stele!

Each of those characters was as large as a house, with a complex and ancient structure, strokes as vigorous as if cut by knives or axes, containing an indescribable majesty and mystery. They were arranged neatly, clearly being a meaningful inscription, but they were definitely not any kind of current universal script or common divine script known to Lin Zhou.

However, when Lin Zhou's gaze focused on those giant characters, his heart suddenly skipped a beat!

A throb originating from the depths of his Soul, from the core of his memories as a transmigrator, both incredibly familiar and incredibly strange, suddenly exploded!

The structure, stroke characteristics, and pictographic meaning of those characters... were seventy to eighty percent similar to the Oracle Bone Script and Bronze Script in his memories of his past life! But they were more complex, more refined, as if they were some kind of high-level ancient Huaxia script developed, sublimated, and systematized on the basis of Oracle Bone and Bronze Scripts!

At the same time, the Temple of Civilization lying dormant in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness vibrated violently, without warning and more intensely than ever before!

It wasn't a slight resonance, but like a great bell being struck by a heavy hammer; the entire phantom of the sanctuary was shaking! Inside the sanctuary, the phantoms of the classics recording the Hundred Schools of Thought and the evolution of civilizations flipped open automatically, and the Origin of the Fire of Civilization blazed even more fiercely, erupting with unprecedented brilliance and longing!

An unimaginably massive flow of information, mixed with complex emotions like indescribable excitement, sorrow, inquiry, and confirmation, rushed directly from the core of the sanctuary into Lin Zhou's consciousness!

[Warning! Detected ultra-high concentration, homologous variant 'Lost Civilization' information radiation!]

[Comparing information characteristics...]

[Core character structure matching degree: 71.3% (Compared with 'Huaxia Civilization · Ancient Ancestors' Prototype Script' database)]

[Rule residual fluctuation matching degree: 58% (Compared with incomplete data of 'Humanity · Civilization Dao' basic rule model)]

[Energy characteristic residual matching degree: 49.1% (Fuzzy matching with 'Innate Qi · Civilization Kindling' mixed characteristics)]

[Comprehensive Judgment: Discovered a large-scale surface ruin suspected to be from the 'Lost Huaxia Civilization' (or a highly related civilization)! Ruin Status: Severely damaged, rules shattered, information dissipating, unknown risks present.]

[Contacting high-concentration homologous civilization information, civilization points acquisition efficiency significantly increased! Starting automatic analysis and absorption of dissipating civilization information in the environment...]

As the sanctuary's prompts appeared, in the corner of Lin Zhou's vision, the value representing civilization points actually began to grow slowly and continuously at a speed visible to the naked eye! Although the individual increase was not large, it was constant, as if this world itself was a giant "mine" emitting civilization information radiation!

"This is..." Lin Zhou forcibly suppressed the stormy waves in his heart, but the shock and excitement in his eyes could not be completely hidden. He never expected that in this Chaotic Grotto-heaven marked as related to the "fall of an ancient civilization," the first significant ruin discovered would actually be related to the Huaxia Civilization! Although the sanctuary's prompt said "suspected" and "highly related," the sense of familiarity brought by the script and the sanctuary's violent reaction already explained everything!

"President?" Qin Qing keenly sensed the violent fluctuation in Lin Zhou's aura and the unusual light in his eyes that was hard to hide.

Zhao Hao also stared wide-eyed at the giant stele: "My god... this stele is too big! What's carved on it? Ghostly scribbles? But it looks... a bit familiar? Like I've seen something similar in some ancient book..."

Wang Meng scratched his head: "I don't recognize a single one of these words. But they feel... very powerful."

Li Mo, on the other hand, had fallen into a researcher-like frenzy. He controlled the micro-reconnaissance mechanisms, trying to photograph the details of the inscription from all angles, with data streams racing across his glasses: "The character structure is extremely complex and contains a massive amount of information! Preliminary analysis suggests its construction logic is fundamentally different from many current divine script Systems, leaning more toward 'imagery expression' and 'direct rule mapping'! This is very likely an extinct, primitive divine script that points directly to the Great Dao! Its value is immeasurable!"

Lin Zhou took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady: "If I'm not mistaken... this script is extremely similar to a certain ancient ancestral script recorded in my Legacy." He didn't explicitly mention Huaxia, as this concept might not exist in this world.

"Ancient ancestral script?" Qin Qing thought for a moment. "If it can be verified with the President's Legacy, the Origin of this ruin must be extraordinary. Shall we approach for investigation?"

Lin Zhou looked at the towering giant stele, feeling the continuous vibration of the Temple of Civilization and the steady growth of civilization points, and he had already made a decision in his heart.

"After recovering our status, we head to the giant stele immediately!" His tone was decisive. "That place might be the key entrance for us to understand this 'Civilization Graveyard.' Li Mo, prioritize analyzing the safety of the environment around the stele. Zhao Hao, Wang Meng, be prepared for emergencies. Qin Qing, have the Order Barrier ready to deal with possible rule impacts or mental pollution."

"Yes!" the four replied, also realizing the immense value and risk that this giant stele might contain.

About one hour later (the sense of time in the grotto-heaven was blurred, this was a rough estimate), the five of them had recovered seventy to eighty percent of their status. The temporary base was set up, with basic defense and warning measures left behind (mainly Li Mo's automatic mechanisms).

They no longer hesitated, maintaining a cautious formation as they slowly advanced toward the base of the giant stele where the gray mist had cleared.

The closer they got, the stronger the sense of pressure from the giant stele became. It wasn't just physical magnitude, but a mental weight, as if they were facing the final tombstone of a glorious civilization. The sense of sorrow and desolation in the air also became more apparent, and even those dark, twisted plants became scarcer.

Finally, they stepped onto the vast, boundless plaza paved with black giant stones. The coldness of the stone slabs beneath their feet seeped through their soles; they were also covered with fine decorative patterns, homologous to the stele's script but more abstract.

Looking up, the lower half of the giant stele was like an eternally existing mountain, obscuring the "sky." Those giant carvings, suspected to be ancient Huaxia script, were now even clearer. In some deep parts of the strokes, there were actually extremely faint, star-sand-like pale golden light points slowly flowing and flickering, like the embers of a civilization that had not yet been completely extinguished.

Lin Zhou could no longer contain his inner excitement and longing for exploration. He walked step by step to the very bottom of the giant stele, looking up at the magnificent body of the stele, and slowly reached out his right hand toward a relatively complete, giant character about ten meters above the ground (within his reach).

The moment his fingertips were about to touch that cold stele surface, the vibration of the Temple of Civilization reached its peak!

Hum—!

A flow of civilization information, countless times more massive, pure, and ancient than the dissipating information in the environment, rushed into Lin Zhou's body like a bursting flood, following his fingertips into the Temple of Civilization!

[Contacted core civilization carrier (incomplete)! Starting deep analysis...]

[civilization points acquisition speed increased by 500%!]

[Detected 'Lost Civilization' basic historical fragments (incomplete)... 'Daoist Lineage Dispute' blurred information... 'Great Tribulation' keyword residue... 'Kindling' concept fluctuation...]

[Warning! The information flow is too massive and chaotic, containing a large amount of negative emotional residues (despair, unwillingness, resentment, attachment...) and rule pollution fragments. Please maintain mental clarity and hold fast to your Dao Heart!]

Lin Zhou's body shook violently, and his face instantly turned pale, but he gritted his teeth, the Fire of Civilization in his eyes burning fiercely as he stubbornly held onto a point of clarity in his mind, like a pillar in the middle of a stream, enduring the final "outpouring" and "imprint" of this ancient civilization.

And his civilization points, in the instant of that touch, began to jump and grow wildly at an unprecedented speed!