Chapter 1 The Ecological Ship

The massive guardian spacecraft was essentially an "ecological ship" carrying countless life samples.

Behind the thick isolation walls lay vast, interconnected storage sections. Ninety percent of these giant spaces were occupied by various biological tissues. An incredible ecosystem had been running here for ten thousand years, maintaining a comprehensive specimen library.

In awe, Hao Ren took the lead, stepping through the isolation door and into the seemingly endless specimen library.

"Biological tissue..." Antonio followed, the old mage bending down to examine the crisscrossing red fibers. He discovered that these were not inorganic materials. They felt warm to the touch and contained surging life force. The fibers resembled a mix of muscles, nerves, and fluid ducts. "Symbiotic with the ship."

"This ship is unique, half-biological, half-mechanical," Galazur said, her voice tinged with wonder. "No wonder the data terminal can't crack the other half of the ship's control system – the two systems are completely independent. The other half of the control lies within these biological tissues."

Hao Ren looked ahead and saw that the red fibers filling the chamber had turned it into a bizarre and frightening twisted jungle. Only glimpses of the ship's steel structure could be seen through the gaps, and even those structures were fused with the biological tissue. But this place wasn't just a monotonous red; there seemed to be something else in the distance.

He strode forward and found another group of "ducts" on the other side of the red fiber network. These were fibrous tissues that emitted a faint blue light. The new fibers were more slender and had a metallic sheen, but their general shape was similar to the red fibers. Between these pale blue ducts were also oval crystal chambers, also filled with living or dead organisms, but these creatures were clearly different from those elsewhere.

They had a more metallic feel.

"This is the silicon-based life storage area..." The data terminal floated over from behind, reaching a conclusion after a quick scan. "The First Seed can also give rise to silicon-based life, as long as it lands on the right planet. Basically, as long as a creature has a material form, the First Seed can create it. The Creator Goddess's life system is quite complete. I predict there are other specimen storage areas in other chambers, used to preserve samples of various life forms."

Hao Ren silently browsed the specimen chambers, most of which contained only biological residue. It took a long time to find a container that wasn't empty. He stopped in front of a silicon-based creature chamber, where an elongated, strange being was immersed. It had a smooth exterior and pale silver skin, and its slender back was covered with a layer of translucent crystal armor. Hao Ren curiously leaned closer to observe, but before he could see the creature's other details, a large amount of murky substance suddenly surged out of the container.

In the blink of an eye, the creature inside was completely corroded and destroyed by the murky substance, leaving only black biological residue.

"The last Kryptonian in the world is dead," Bai Huo's voice came from behind. "He must have buried himself in a shelter deep underground, but he couldn't withstand the passage of time after all."

"What exactly is this place?" Hao Ren turned his head sharply, looking at the ball of white light floating behind him.

"'Ultimate Absolution's' ritual hall. All races created by the Mother of All Beings have a place here, and through a great ritual, they continue to receive the comfort of the Mother of All Beings after being scattered to this world, while those who are guilty also receive permanent absolution here," Bai Huo answered softly, continuing to float deeper into the chamber. "Don't worry about the specimens in these containers, because they are not the creatures themselves, but unconscious symbolic idols made of life essence. They are here only to monitor the state of those races."

Under Bai Huo's guidance, the group continued to delve deeper into the maze-like specimen library. As the path narrowed, Lily had to return to her usual form (ruining another outfit). Suddenly, Nangong Wuyue saw something and shouted, "Look at this!"

Hao Ren followed the direction of her finger, his expression changing.

In a carbon-based creature chamber, a humanoid figure was immersed. This body had pale golden skin and a head of dazzling golden hair. Its features were almost perfect, and its figure was so well-proportioned that it seemed to have stepped out of an ancient Greek sculpture. This distinctive form was unforgettable once seen: the Godslayer.

Bai Huo casually explained, "He shouldn't look like this originally, but the specimens in the ritual hall change with the races they represent. Because they completely changed their genetic sequence, the specimen here changed shortly after the ritual hall was built."

But that wasn't the explanation Hao Ren wanted to hear. He was most shocked that this Godslayer was also placed in this sacred place – undoubtedly sacred, and guarded by the Guardians. Logically speaking, Guardians like Mimir and Yggdrasil should never have allowed this specimen to be placed here.

"Even the Godslayer is in the Ultimate Absolution sequence?"

"This saddens me greatly, but this is the will of the Mother of All Beings," Bai Huo replied softly.

Hao Ren couldn't help but recall the Godslaying scene he had seen in the illusion, a detail flashing back into his mind like lightning:

The "forgive" that the Creator Goddess had uttered before collapsing.

Besides, there was also the divine word that had entered Zhao Xi's soul: I forgive all the faults of my children, and I will forever absolve them.

Now it seemed that these were not just simple last words, but part of a powerful ritual!

"What exactly is Ultimate Absolution?" Hao Ren asked directly.

At this time, Bai Huo had led the group to the core area of the chamber. Various fiber bundles were arranged symmetrically around them, and in the center of the circular open space was a silver-white platform. Embedded in the platform was a fist-sized transparent crystal, and inside the crystal, one could see a drop of red liquid that resembled blood.

The moment Vivian saw the red liquid, she felt a trance. She felt a power of the same origin or even the same substance calling to her from within the crystal. In an instant, she understood what it was: the blood of the Creator Goddess.

Not ordinary Source Blood, but "God Blood" directly from the Creator Goddess.

"How do you completely eliminate a god and all her influence?" Bai Huo suddenly brought up a seemingly unrelated topic.

Hao Ren was caught off guard. "Completely eliminate a god?"

"Not just the god, but her influence as well. The latter is more important," Bai Huo's tone became quite serious. "Eliminating a god is indeed very difficult – gods are powerful, omnipotent, and hold the authority to directly change the laws. Unless you can also control the laws of the universe, you can't even leave a scratch on a god. But compared to eliminating a god's influence, eliminating the god herself is actually much easier. Godslaying is only the first step of a sin. The most fundamental purpose of the rebellion ten thousand years ago was far more serious than 'Godslaying': the purpose of the rebellion was to erase all traces of the god."

Galazur clearly understood gods better than Hao Ren. The Dragon Queen had already vaguely guessed the other party's meaning. Seeing that Hao Ren and the others were still confused, she took the initiative to explain, "A god's 'influence' is not just 'influence' as you understand it, but something far more profound. The existence of a god itself means the operation of the universe's laws. Their every word and action means the evolution of the world. Their influence is law-like, or rather, their influence means what state the entire world will be in. Eliminating a god's influence is essentially equivalent to erasing all the changes caused by the god in this world, and also cutting off the future destiny that this world will welcome because of the god. Take our goddess as an example – if her influence in this universe disappears, then this universe will not only lose a guardian, but in fact all magic based on arcane power will weaken or even disappear completely, and the various cosmic phenomena born from Raven 12345 will also end. Even more terrifying is that when this universe faces some terrible disasters from the outside world, it will become completely defenseless."

Lily gaped. "...Sounds scary."

Hao Ren looked at Bai Huo. "So... the Godslaying event ten thousand years ago was just a prelude? The big news from the mastermind is still to come?"

"Exactly."