Free Web NovelChapter 381: Chapter 374: The Rank 1 Wondrous Item
The "fish" swam on.
In some of the sci-fi novels Shi Ming had read in his past life, the inside of a planet’s core either harbored a terrifying behemoth...
...or it connected to an unknown Secret Realm.
In short, it was always an extraordinary place.
Humanity, with its boundless imagination, had made all sorts of wild speculations about the very center of the planet, yet had never found a way to see its true face.
...
There was no more magma here.
Matter, under terrifying pressure, had been compressed into a solid, dense, crystalline metallic structure. Gravity emanated from this point, and here it reached its peak.
This was the planet’s true "core."
The temperature was extreme, the pressure immense.
The Sunshot stopped its traversal.
If they went any deeper, Shi Ming felt that even something as abstract as his Spiritual Power would be compressed or even incinerated. Even if the Sunshot and his own body could withstand such high pressure, the Three-Eyed Golden Crow and Ah Jian could not endure such violent compression.
’I should be able to get some intel here!’
"Eye of Destiny, acquire intel!"
[BEEP~ BEEP~]
[Compiling intel...]
[Searching. Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing intel... Intel generated:]
[Creation Star Core]
[The planet’s original core, the foundation of civilization’s origin. It appears to be extremely extraordinary. It has nurtured one civilization after another, and in turn, has been nurtured by them.]
[The Creation Star Core is a white-hot, solid planetary core with a diameter of 193 kilometers. It is enveloped by a violently boiling ocean of iron and magnesium. The convection between the metallic ocean and the core acts like a giant generator, producing the "Gravity" and "Magnetic Field" that sustain the entire planet, and it has also become the planet’s most crucial engine.]
[...]
[Undoubtedly, no matter how many versions the Chart of Extraordinary Items has gone through, this has always remained the number one extraordinary item. Its rank has never changed.]
[Trait 1: Creation Engine]
[Trait 2: Gravity Magnetic Field]
[Trait 3: Civilization Foundation]
[...]
[The "Creation Star Core" and the "Unceasing Water" are polar opposites. One is the earth of the star core, compressed to the extreme; the other is the unquenchable water, expanded to the extreme. They have a love-hate relationship, a cycle of mutual creation and destruction. One day, they will battle to the death to determine a victor.]
There was a lot of intel on the Creation Star Core.
But most of it was scientific terminology, some of which even Shi Ming didn’t fully understand, so he simply committed it to memory.
What did catch his interest, however, was the "entanglement" between the number one and number two extraordinary items.
’Water is dammed by earth.’
’So the Creation Star Core and the Unceasing Water have this kind of connection?’
The ultimate goal of the Unceasing Water is to invade the Earth Core. To upgrade infinitely, the material it needs is the Creation Star Core. In that case, if the Creation Star Core were to upgrade infinitely, would the material it needs be its counterpart?
Infinite Brain, activate!
BEEP!
New text appeared before Shi Ming’s eyes. It was an upgrade notification from the Infinite Brain.
[Creation Star Core]
[Level: 10]
[Number 1 Extraordinary Item. The densest and most massive proto-core on the planet, with a diameter of 193 kilometers. It contains enough energy to enrich a civilization or to destroy one.]
[Required for Infinite Upgrade: Unceasing Water]
’Just as I thought!’
’A love-hate relationship, all to possess each other and use the other to achieve their own ends!’
’So much for being star-crossed lovers.’
His curiosity satisfied, Shi Ming prepared to leave the core.
But he didn’t plan to take the usual, time-consuming route of swimming back. Instead, he prepared to use the Sunshot’s third King-level Trait.
Ultimate Lightning!
This was a King-level Trait that had evolved from the trait "Super Overload."
Activating Ultimate Lightning would allow the ship and its occupants to transform into a bolt of pure lightning for 0.001 seconds. They could instantly teleport 161.99 nautical miles, achieving true light speed for a brief moment. It could also be stacked with the "Ten Thousand Realms as a Sea" ability. It was perfect for offense or retreat, unstoppable and able to go anywhere!
’Time to experience the thrill of light speed!’
He prepared himself and alerted Ah Jian and the Three-Eyed Golden Crow.
King-level Trait, activate!
WHOOSH—
In an imperceptible 0.001 seconds, the stationary Sunshot vanished without a trace.
All that remained was the sound of a cavitation bubble collapsing in the liquid iron, a sound like a flying sword cleaving the air. It vibrated endlessly, echoing through the silent interior of the Earth Core.
...
A few minutes later.
More than 80 kilometers deeper than where Shi Ming had been, from within the true interior of the Creation Star Core, a muffled sound emerged, as if in response to the sound of his departure.
Unfortunately, Shi Ming was already long gone. Having reached the outer edge of the Earth Core at light speed, he could not hear the muffled sound, nor could he investigate the secrets of that deepest place.
The region returned to a searing silence.
...
...
...
「Da Yu, Jiuzhou Platform.」
Elder Zhou sat at his desk as always.
After finishing his work, he rubbed his temples and then stroked the golden toad in his hand.
The Destiny Golden Toad.
It was also the "Golden Toad," ranked sixth on the *Chart of the Endless Ocean’s Extraordinary Items*. According to the information on the chart, it was a lucky golden toad that had swallowed a spiritual artifact transformed from a gold-inlaid imperial seal. It could only display its power within the Old Domain of the Dragon Country.
It was incredibly miraculous.
Elder Zhou didn’t know its specific ranking on the chart.
But he had long since figured out some of its uses. At this moment, the awakened power of Harmonizing Light flowed into the Golden Toad, and Elder Zhou carefully observed the changes in the different clusters of light within it.
The red light of the "Toppling Heavenly Pillar" had vanished,
and the golden light was also about to disappear.
This meant that the opportunity it represented had either been seized...
...or missed.
Reviewing their gains, Da Yu had indeed found many "Snow-Tipped Jade" seedlings on Mount Everest and excavated partial remains of a Holy Hall Sea Beast. In terms of benefits, it truly qualified as a "golden" fortune.
The other golden fortune, the "blurry figure,"
...had changed from "gold" to "red."
This red was not the red of danger, but a fiery crimson that deepened from a pale hue—warm and blazing. At the same time, the blurry figure’s silhouette had become more and more solid. No matter which angle he observed it from, it had the appearance of Shi Ming.
’The Destiny Golden Toad has never made a mistake.’
’This young man will bring an unprecedented, great fortune to Da Yu!’
Overcome with excitement, Elder Zhou felt a stir of anticipation.
If he hadn’t recently learned that the threat of the Unceasing Water had never receded—and was, in fact, growing stronger, brewing a crisis destined to erupt in a few decades beneath the calm sea—he might have poured himself a celebratory drink.
His assistant knocked on the door.
"Elder Zhou. Commander Lady Xivier of Black Gold has sent a message. She hopes to have a maritime meeting with you. The location... she hopes to set it at the Xirang Research Institute on Mount Everest."
’Xirang?’
’Black Gold?’
’Shouldn’t they be busy developing new seas right now? How do they have time for an in-person meeting?’
’And why choose such a peculiar location?’
Elder Zhou’s intuition told him that new trouble might be on the horizon.
Trouble even bigger and more urgent than the Unceasing Water.
But it had to be dealt with.
On the Endless Ocean, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and even General-level wandering ships fought constantly over resources for survival. Only the King-level Wandering Ships knew that all of humanity shared a common destiny.
When one thrives, all thrive; when one falls, all fall.
If one King-level Wandering Ship ran into major trouble, the other five could hardly expect to remain unscathed.
When the ocean capsizes, no ship remains afloat.
