The Record of Unusual Creatures

Guided by the Aiur, the Petrachelys slowly approached the planet, which was shrouded by an energy barrier and filled with thick clouds as well as endless thunderstorms: the Heart of Destiny.

The ship hovered near the top of the atmosphere, and the external monitor sent in a sharp close-up view of the planet. The striking planetary shield was more solid at that distance, showing distinct textures and “blocks”. It was composed of enormous hexagons with brightly-glinting edges, and its interior flowed with light, giving the shield the appearance of crystal armor that was several kilometers thick. Unlike any shield Hao Ren knew of, the shield had no apparent energy dissipation structure and no detectable sources of energy projected from the planet.

Inside the shield were rolling clouds and electro-optics. Due to the thick atmosphere, it was almost impossible to see the surface of the planet directly from space. They could only get a glimpse of the planet through the occasional cracks in the clouds. What Hao Ren saw through his glance was a land full of crystal clusters.

“Here at last…” Hao Ren stood on the bridge of the Petrachelys, looking at the hologram projection and muttering to himself.

From seeing the planet in the illusion of the Crimson Moon, following the star map engraved in Vivian’s soul to the galaxy, encountering supernatural storms in that mysterious and dangerous galaxy, discovering the traces of star folks to coming into contact with the forces of the ancient guardians and the Mad Lord…

Finally, he was standing there, next to one of the miracles created by the goddess of creation, which was closely related to Vivian.

He could feel that he was one step away from some ultimate truth.

Salaman’s figure appeared on the holographic projection in front of the captain’s chair. The giant was now of normal height, which made communication much easier. “My mother built this place in extreme secrecy. All the heavenly bodies in the Holy Land were shaped out of thin air by her mighty powers. Even the space here was modified by her to ensure that the evolution of the physical universe did not interfere too much with it, thus ensuring the permanence of the Holy Land. In this universe, we, the guardians of the hidden sanctuary, are the only ones who know about it…

“Unlike our brothers and sisters, we were not born in the Star of Creation’s sea of lifeblood. We were created in a more secret place. Mother adjusted our mental network so that we could exist independently of other guardians.

“From the day we were born, we were trained and our minds were hardened. It was our mission to defend this place. We’ve stood guard here for 10,000 years, waiting for the guide to come. Today, you are here, and you have passed the test of the Naqdal Crystal—but this woman must undergo a more formal ‘verification’ before we can confirm her identity. Don’t think it unreasonable: no amount of strict prudence is too much for an eternal mission.”

Hao Ren nodded softly. “After that, will you tell us the secret of this place and the final plan of the goddess of creation?”

“That is actually something the guide has known from the beginning, but…” Salaman gave Vivian a slightly embarrassed look. “I’m afraid that even my mother didn’t expect her creation to lose her memories… Yes, I will tell you all the secrets if you pass the test.”

“I have another question,” said Hao Ren. “Don’t worry, it’s not about the planet. It’s about the Denizens of the Stars. We found a number of warships belonging to the dormant Denizens of the Stars in Star Cluster X. Their energy and consciousness were transmitted here, and if I’m right, this planetary shield above the Heart of Destiny…”

“It was an emergency,” Salaman said with a slight nod. “The lines were breached from the inside, and the Denizens of the Stars who were guarding the outer edges of the cluster had no time to return, so they used their abilities to transfer power to the Heart of Destiny. The corrupted have approached the final defense circle many times over the years, and without this extra-planetary shield, our defense may not have held up.”

“In the outer universe… the Denizens of the Stars have been gone for years. I didn’t expect them to be still alive,” Hao Ren sighed and said

“The Denizens of the Stars… They have been Mother’s allies from dark and chaotic times, but few, including the guardians, know of their existence. It was only in this era that they’ve reappeared beside Mother,” Salaman said, shaking his head. “Even we do not know the whole history of these ancient creatures. They are the ghosts of dark and chaotic times that have survived to this day. They have been wandering along the border of the orderly world, and only Mother knows everything about them. Well, I have said enough. If you want to know more, you must wait until I have verified the identity of the guide.”

Hao Ren did not object. Although he would have liked to ask now about the divine blockade and the crystal throne, the commander was clearly more stubborn and cautious than Muru, Lemendusa and Heve. While Vivian’s identity was theoretically flawless, he still wanted to identify the “authentication” system left by the goddess of creation, not to mention, there was not enough evidence to prove Vivian’s identity.

Let’s see what this “verification” was all about.

A hexagonal area on the thick planetary shield suddenly became clear and thin. The Aiur and Petrachelys passed through the opening, moving smoothly towards the planet.

“I will keep an eye on the whole ‘verification’ process,” Hao Ren said to Vivian after hanging up. “It isn’t clear how the identification process left behind by the goddess of creation actually works, so we have to be vigilant.”

Vivian frowned. “You suspect that something’s wrong with what the goddess of creation left behind for me? Or is there something wrong with the guardians?”

“Caution is the way to go. What’s left by the goddess of creation may be all right, but it’s not the case for the ‘goddess of annihilation’, and even if the guardian giants seem uncorrupted, you can’t tell whether the orders for them have been distorted,” Hao Ren said, shaking his head. “Even if all of that’s fine, you’re an uncertainty. Remember, you’re only one half of the divine being, and the complete ‘guide’ created by the goddess has already been split in two on Inferno.”

Vivian sighed softly. “As an incomplete guide, I may not be able to pass the test… Is that what you mean?”

Hao Ren looked at Vivian, grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t worry, even if this doesn’t work out, there’ll surely be some other way to unlock the secrets of this planet. I have technical support from a real god.”

After a moment, he added, “Of course I’m not saying that I want to blow up the planet…”

“I wasn’t thinking that!”

“Somehow, I suddenly feel certain that someone’s going to say I’m about to blow up the planet…”

As they chatted, the two spacecraft landed on the Heart of Destiny.

As a holy land, the planet was barely explored. The planetary surface only had very limited infrastructure, which were built by the guardian giants.

The spacecraft landed on a platform made of crystal and metal. The platform was surrounded by vast plains of crystal clusters in three directions, and there was a long crystal ramp behind it.

At the end of the ramp was a peak made entirely of blue and white crystal.

Hao Ren and Vivian approached the crystal ramp together.

The crystal peak in the distance rose high into the sky, and the cliffs around it were so steep and straight that the entire mountain stood like a sword or a great tower on the earth. Continuous thunderstorms formed around the mountain, hitting the crystalline cliffs tirelessly.

“I’ve seen this place in my visions…” Hao Ren murmured to himself. “The crystal throne is in this mountain…”

Salaman’s huge figure appeared in front of the ramp. “Ahead is the heart of the Holy Land. I will take you there myself.” The old giant’s voice sounded like thunder.

“Just you?” Hao Ren looked back and noticed that a lot of guardian giants had also left the ship, but they were just standing quietly in the distance.

“They are with me,” Salaman explained. “What I see, they can see too. And if anything goes wrong with the verification process, they can always come to me. But until then, the Holy Land does not need to be disturbed by more of us.”

“Got it. You want to keep this place quiet.”

Salaman took the lead and walked in the direction of the holy mountain.

Hao Ren, Vivian, as well as the MDT, quickly followed him.

After they walked for a while, the MDT started to make a fuss.

“Do we have to walk? We can just teleport there, it’s a lot faster…”

There was no response.

“Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”

“Can you tell me what the verification process is? So that we can get ready.”

There was still no response.

“Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”

“The great plain out here is very desolate. I thought you’d have a base camp or something.”

Again, there was no response.

“Okay, okay, I know we’re in the Holy Land.”

Salaman suddenly stopped. He looked down very carefully at the MDT floating next to Hao Ren’s head and then at Hao Ren. “Is there a sprite in it?”

“It’s been chattering like this ever since I got it! It has nothing to do with the sprites!”

“Oh, there are so many talkative creatures in this world.”

The MDT immediately flew into a rage. “I’ll fight you! A duel, you understand? Don’t stop me, bro, don’t stop… Damn, you’re really not going to stop me?”

“Just shut up, will you?” Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and put it in his pocket.

After a while, Salaman stopped again. “Here we are.”

Stunned, Hao Ren looked back in the direction he was coming from: he saw a very long ramp, which allowed nearly a thousand Nangong Wuyues in sea serpent form to line up on it, but he felt like they had been walking for only ten minutes at most.

“Walking on this ramp means that you have passed the first test: anyone who has been polluted by the Mad Lord or who is malicious to the Holy Land can’t walk here at all. As for distance… That is an irrelevant issue in the Holy Land, where space is never continuous and uniform,” Salaman explained.

“I know it’s not that simple…”