Chapter 598: Celestial Phenomenon — The Ancient Comet, The Living Planet

Starry Sky Observatory.

Yu Yuan waited here, timing his arrival.

Under the Green Forest World’s polar night, the whole world was wrapped in inky blackness.

On the Starry Sky Mirror, however, a faint speck of starlight began to condense.

Yu Yuan stepped forward and took the newly condensed Silver-tier Celestial Phenomena Card into his hand.

"Ancient Comet?"

[Celestial Phenomenon — Ancient Comet]

Quality: Silver

Function: Can be released onto one target to inflict Fate of Being Cursed, duration 72 hours.

(This status is undetectable and cannot be dispelled)

— [Fate of Being Cursed]: The target is plunged into absolute misfortune, the probability of negative events drastically increases, and the bad luck can spread to companions around the target.

"Ugh... no wonder it's called a comet, it's truly domineering."

You can imagine, whoever gets this Fate of Being Cursed would instantly become a walking jinx and a curse-bringer.

"If used well, this alone could change the course of a war."

He put the card away.

Yu Yuan returned to the shelter.

He began preparing for the upcoming exploration of the civilization relic, and habitually went to the Hidden Library to check today’s refreshes.

As soon as he entered, he saw a silver-white glow flickering on the display rack.

Yu Yuan’s eyes brightened.

A Silver-tier card.

"Hey! Today I hit the Silver-tier nest!"

Though his words were self-mocking, Yu Yuan was genuinely excited. Silver-tier cards were quite rare.

He immediately picked up the card.

[Intelligence Card — Inside Information]

Quality: Silver-tier.

Function: Using this card grants you an inside piece of information related to the subject you target (Silver-tier).

"Inside Information card!"

Counting that, Yu Yuan now had two Inside Information cards in his possession.

One was the Bronze-tier Inside Information card he had obtained earlier.

The other was this Silver-tier Inside Information card.

For this civilization relic exploration, Yu Yuan had originally planned to use the Bronze-tier Inside Information card to get direct intelligence about the relic so he could have first-hand knowledge.

He hadn’t expected the Hidden Library to give him such a big surprise at the last moment.

There was no doubt the Silver-tier Inside Information card’s effect would surpass the Bronze-tier one.

Yu Yuan took this relic exploration very seriously — it was a relic likely left behind by a Gold-tier powerhouse.

No amount of caution would be excessive.

He immediately activated the Silver-tier Inside Information card in his hand.

Target — intelligence on the civilization relic.

The next moment, the Silver-tier Inside Information card vanished from the Book of Fate.

The last-generated Civilization Ladder publication on the display rack before Yu Yuan began to flutter open on its own.

The rustling sound immediately drew Yu Yuan’s attention.

Having experience, he instantly understood that the intelligence was in that magazine.

Only, this intelligence took an unusually long time to appear.

He waited a full twenty to thirty seconds.

The Civilization Ladder publication finally came to rest.

Yu Yuan looked through it, flipping pages.

Soon, he saw an unfamiliar entry.

— It did not die. Although the god is already dead, it still remains a living planet.

Quality: Silver

Danger Level: Extremely High

According to our reporter's survey of this civilization relic, we have finally traced some clues and records about this civilization relic from those corners of history that others have nearly forgotten.

Warning! (bolded)

The following content involves great beings above the Gold tier. These contents are forbidden knowledge, possessing traits of madness, contamination, and distortion.

Only lifeforms of Gold tier and above may read. If you are below Gold tier, read only in the company of a Gold-tier companion.

If an accident occurs, consequences are at your own risk. (marked in crimson)

At just this sentence, Yu Yuan’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He shouted loudly, "Zhi Zhi!"

Zhi Zhi, who had just returned to the shelter and was lazily lying on Mie Mie, instantly transformed into a black blur and leapt onto Yu Yuan’s shoulder.

"Zhi Zhi?"

Yu Yuan pointed at the publication.

"There’s forbidden knowledge here, top-secret Gold-tier stuff, extremely nourishing!"

Hearing Yu Yuan, Zhi Zhi’s expression turned excited.

Naturally, after its last evolution, Zhi Zhi’s path to evolving again had become more difficult.

Whether it was spying on the Wendigo’s private life, or absorbing hidden intelligence gleaned from the Pen of Longstanding Heritage and the Civilization Ladder publications, Zhi Zhi had taken them all in.

Though the material had been high quality, it still hadn’t reached the level needed for Zhi Zhi to evolve again.

Now, suddenly hearing that it could access Gold-tier secret information, it was even more excited than Yu Yuan.

"Zhi Zhi! Zhi Zhi!"

Zhi Zhi stood up, placing both front paws near Yu Yuan’s ear, emitting an anxious chitter.

Yu Yuan let out a light laugh; he was also eager to see what the Silver-tier Inside Information card would reveal.

He read on.

-According to investigations from multiple sources, the civilization relic about to open belongs, in part, to the world of Morpheus, the domain of the "Life Manipulator," the "Gene Weaver," the "Stern Father" Mortarion.

Morpheus, as Mortarion’s core civilization world, is also called the Living Planet.

Under the crafting of the "Stern Father" Mortarion, Morpheus became a complete, unified, breathing super-organism.

It can be regarded as another body of Mortarion — in fact, Mortarion truly built it that way.

He transformed the entire planet, elevating it to a Gold-tier life level and endowing it with the ability to contain Ether.

The crust became a hardened keratinous layer and mineralized bone armor; the mantle flows with plasma rich in powerful nutrients and genetic information; countless vessels (subterranean tunnels) transport this blood to every part of the planet.

The core is Mortarion’s central area, and it is where the planet’s biological consciousness resides.

This planet constantly devours and grows; it possesses the ability to traverse star tracks and remain hidden.

Apart from Mortarion, others find it difficult to truly locate it; some say it is hidden in another dimension, others claim it has effects that shield it from detection.

In short, there are many theories.

The existence of Morpheus instilled fear and dread in many great beings.

Because Morpheus’ appearance proved one thing: Gold-tier life can be created through technology, knowledge, and methods.

Perhaps a Gold-tier life planet alone might not astonish everyone, but when this planet can contain Ether, it means it has the potential to become an existence above Gold.

That was absolutely unacceptable to everyone.

Therefore, not only did some members within the Wild Throne display ambiguous attitudes, other Gold-tier factions likewise grew apprehensive.

They secretly began related research into artificial divinities while waiting for opportunities.

After Mortarion’s original body suffered an accident, the soul fragment he left on Morpheus was activated and had a possibility of revival.

But it was suddenly attacked by five Fallen Abyss beings of the same rank.

They were unanimously coveting his civilization knowledge.

After Mortarion’s soul fragment decisively activated, it chose to self-destruct.

Using the self-destruct’s tremendous power, it disrupted the entire star track trajectory, and sent part of Morpheus’s core civilization shards and biological modification inheritance into the Spiritual Dimension, hiding them away.

Waiting for a successor one day to awaken his soul again.

"Successor, I await your coming..."