Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
In the Flower Valley, the beautiful and enchanting rainbow glow gently enveloped the entire world. Various insects leisurely roamed as carefree as the most innocent children, unaware of the world’s complexities and unaware of the inevitable end. They remained oblivious to the countless carcasses forming a dark gray continent beyond the Flower Valley, steadfastly guarding the last line of defense with death, inscribing a silent and heroic anthem of protection with their grotesque and colossal exoskeletons.
Silence lingered for a long time, indicating that Ling Yang’s speculation was currently the most reasonable explanation. However, the revelation of the answer did little to lighten the mood of the group. The weight they carried since leaving the Giant Wood Rainforest seemed to become exceptionally burdensome at this moment. They once again witnessed the accumulation of beliefs formed from widespread corpses, and those convictions now pressed heavily on each person’s shoulders.
Everyone continued their tasks in silence. As the campfire flickered to life and dinner was consumed, the atmosphere of silence did not dissipate with the warmth of the fire. Only Little Bliss continued to happily flutter around the Flower Valley, clearly enjoying this colorful land.
“Are there any more clues about this Rainbow Land?” In the quietude, Meng Muyu deeply inhaled and then calmly inquired.
Ling Yang, who was tilting his head, raised it at this, pondering for a moment. “No, I only saw a sentence about it in the ruins’ written records. The Rainbow Land is guarded by the Earth Tribe, and Earth is known as the Mother of the Earth. If other races want to conceal certain traces on the mainland, it would be extremely challenging for them to find. Hence, the Nest of Colors has always been treated as a legend.”
Meng Muyu reached out to pat Ling Yang’s little head. “Don’t be sad. Look at the insects in the valley; they are in a normal state. The flowers and colorful clusters in the valley are similar to the Three-Leaf Green Grass above Xuanqiu City. This indicates that, on this pristine land, there is a significant possibility that the last trace of consciousness and determination of the insects has been preserved. Perhaps, just like the Three-Leaf Green Grass guarding Xuanqiu, the giant insects are guarding the valley, and the valley is also guarding the insects.”
Hearing this, Ling Yang’s eyes, filled with sadness, brightened slightly. He surveyed the surrounding flowers and then turned his gaze towards Shu Xun, hoping to get a positive confirmation from him.
Shu Xun habitually went to tug at his hair, only to realize after raising his hand that a strand was missing. He then lowered his hand. “This speculation is entirely reasonable. The fact that insects can retain consciousness is likely not coincidental and should be related to the Earth Tribe. If the Xuanqiu Tribe guards the Three-Leaf Green Grass behind them, then it’s highly likely that the Earth Tribe guards the Rainbow Land. There must be a connection between the Earth Tribe and the insects. The Earth Tribe can help the Three-Leaf Green Grass preserve the last strand of the Xuanqiu Tribe’s spiritual essence, so they would undoubtedly not leave no room for the insects to guard the Rainbow Land they are entrusted with.”
“Not only that, but the records in the Spirit Tides Ruins mention that the Earth Tribe can transform into towering giants and even petrify their own appearance. This description actually bears certain similarities to the existence of giant insects—both undergo colossal transformations, reinforcing their bodies. In other words, insects might subconsciously be following in the footsteps of the Earth Tribe. To a certain extent, this indicates that insects may actually be aware of what the Earth Tribe intends to do, where they are headed, and that the Earth Tribe requires colossal bodies and indestructible shells. The insects want to assist the Earth Tribe, and what the Earth Tribe needs assistance with is likely our passage condition. However, what are the colossal size and hardened bodies meant to counteract? What does the true form of the invaders look like? Could it be that the invaders not only possess extraordinarily high mental strength but also have an extremely robust physique?”
Lie Yang curled his antennae and looked at the pensive group around him before hesitantly asking, “I don’t quite understand! Wasn’t the giant evolution of insects caused by the environment? And why is what the Earth Tribe wants to do our passage condition? Does this mean that as long as we continue towards the center of the continent, we will soon encounter the Earth Tribe, learn about the end and truth, and swiftly pass through? But didn’t Nuan Dong say that the world’s consciousness is rejecting our help? Would the Earth Tribe need our assistance?”
Shu Xun glanced at the puzzled Lie Yang, unusually refraining from retorting and instead earnestly pondering for a moment before continuing to explain, “Looking at the Xuanqiu City and the continent’s ecological environment, it’s been at least a few hundred years since this world was invaded by the invaders—longer than Ling Yang’s age. During this extended period, the planet has not yet reached its end despite the invaders’ presence, indicating the extraordinary nature of the native life. Let’s straighten out the history of these few hundred years. Centuries ago, the invaders suddenly arrived, and how they came is unknown. However, they quickly launched their first attack, targeting the strongest race of this world: the spiritual bodies of the Xuanqiu Tribe.”
“At that time, the Xuanqiu Tribe was in the midst of evolution, and a doomed battle concluded with countless corpses outside the city walls. The entire Xuanqiu Tribe was wiped out, and the Three-Leaf Green Grass flew out of the city, making a promise to protect the Xuanqiu Tribe and Xuanqiu City. The invaders, after suffering heavy losses, briefly paused before rallying again, preparing for another invasion. However, an unexpected turn of events occurred—the invaders’ progress was hindered, and even their own movements were restricted. Yet, since the beginning of the invasion, only the Xuanqiu Tribe and the insects controlled by the invaders had come into contact with them. Therefore, a crucial change must have occurred within these two races. Let’s attribute the sudden change in oxygen concentration in the atmosphere to the Xuanqiu Tribe. Now, what did the insects do? To control the insects, the invaders must have consumed their own mental strength. While this mental consumption might not be considered high individually, one must not forget that insects are the most numerous creatures in this world. Therefore, there is a significant possibility that the Xuanqiu Tribe did something in the final battle that led to the invaders losing control of their mental strength. The insects, being aware of this, began to evolve madly. Using the controlled mental strength as a medium, they absorbed the invaders’ mental strength. Once the immense power is broken down into smaller components, it would be severely weakened. Thus, the invaders’ rhythm shifted from active to passive.”
“From the current situation, it can be easily deduced that the evolution speed of insects and Three-Leaf Green Grass is far below that of the other three major races. Therefore, their consciousness is limited, and they choose only the most direct, simplest, and most effective methods. Upon realizing they are controlled by the invaders and cannot break free, the insects, as a last resort, use their own bodies as restraints, imprisoning the fragmented mental strength of the invaders within themselves. Since they cannot win, they choose to go down fighting. After the death of giant insects, the integrated mental strength is inevitably affected, leading to a severe impact on the invaders’ mental strength. This, in turn, forces the invaders to opt for an indirect approach, concentrating their remaining power to influence the oceans controlled by the Spirit Tides Tribe to submerge the continent. As long as all life forms in this world die, their mental strength will naturally disappear, liberating the invaders. Perhaps, with the death of all insects, the invaders’ mental strength may suffer setbacks again, but it won’t be fatal.”
“According to the records in the Spirit Tides Ruins, insects and the Earth Tribe also have a mutual protective relationship. When insects undergo mutations, the Earth Tribe likely quickly noticed abnormalities. This is why the continent is continuously flooded by the sea, while the Earth Tribe consistently believes in the reasons provided by the Spirit Tides Tribe. The Earth Tribe is probably the second evolved form to discover the invaders and, during continuous exploration, both races gained something. At the very least, the Earth Tribe discovered the Xuanqiu City and left behind a metallic spherical object, assisting the Three-Leaf Green Grass in protecting the spiritual body of the Xuanqiu Tribe. Life in this world thus began its struggle against the invaders.”
“In the course of this struggle, the Earth Tribe disappeared without a trace, and the Spirit Tides Tribe, shedding tears, also vanished. Giant insects, through inter-species battles, wore down the invaders’ mental strength, struggling to this point. Among the three evolved races, the Xuanqiu Tribe might be the turning point where the invaders fell into a passive situation. Insects serve as mediators, Three-Leaf Green Grass as guardians, and the Earth Tribe and Spirit Tides Tribe provide continuous beliefs and motivation. It’s the inadvertent or tacit cooperation among these races that has created a situation where they can contend against an immensely powerful enemy.”
Shu Xun didn’t tug at his beard, unconsciously searching for something to fiddle with in his hands. As he continued to explain coherently, he absentmindedly picked up a large hand that had been handed to him at some point. The owner of the hand was a certain general who wore an expressionless face, looking extremely serious. In the livestream room, the audience, who had been attentively listening to Shu Xun’s explanation, suddenly wore black faces, showering comments mocking Ye Qian for taking advantage of the situation.
On this side, Shu Xun’s explanation continued. “Is ‘Winter’s End’ powerful? However, from the invasion to the world’s end in just a few short years, the endurance of this world is certainly not just luck! ‘Winter’s End’ favors a specific race, the Blue Butterfly Tribe. ‘Deep Blue Sea’ favors all the races in the world. Among these races, the Earth Tribe undoubtedly plays a significant role. If, as Nuan Dong mentioned, the world’s consciousness rejects our help, then encounters with Ling Yang, encounters with Three-Leaf Green Grass, and the discovery of Xuanqiu City have all occurred within the allowed scope of the world’s consciousness. In other words, they don’t involve the most crucial clues. The Earth Tribe, which has consistently been without leads or clues, is the real key point we cannot touch and is the key to unraveling all mysteries!”
“As for why I say the giantization of insects follows in the footsteps of the Earth Tribe, it’s because if insects can control the growth of their own defects and fatal weaknesses, then after the invaders enter a period of passive fatigue, they can also control their body size to some extent. However, in today’s world, the rate at which insects are becoming gigantic far exceeds that of other life forms. Even with a racial advantage, from the smallest to the largest, it still occurs in the process of constant struggle and death. This speed is too fast as if it is the result that insects actively pursue. Coupled with the connection to the Earth Tribe, I can only make such speculation. After all, with the low mental strength of insects, their thinking must be the simplest and most direct. They want to help the Earth Tribe, want to accomplish some task for the Earth Tribe, but currently, it seems they haven’t achieved it.”
