Free Web NovelChapter 406: Chapter 398: The Last Two Large Stone Steles
The innermost part of the Nirvana was the warehouse.
Unlike the collection room, this place stored vast quantities of Energy Stones, currency, a dazzling array of equipment, and spare weapons. Among them were many deep, dark stones whose energy felt even more potent than Pure Dome Crystals. He wondered if these were the so-called "Cosmic Stones."
The vast majority of its foundational assets were here.
They represented the entire fortune and wealth of a powerful expert.
Shi Ming gladly claimed it all. The deep, dark stones couldn’t be upgraded, so the Brain of Creation provided no information on them. As his gaze swept over everything, only some of the weapons and equipment flashed with details. They were indeed more sophisticated than the technology on Earth.
In a corner of the warehouse, there were also two stone steles, each three to four meters tall.
Shi Ming spotted them immediately.
They were piled in the corner, seemingly not given much importance.
It was no wonder. Although Rui Liang had roamed the Star Sea, he didn’t know how to decipher the civilization’s script on the Mysterious Steles. He might have taken these two steles from Earth out of curiosity, or perhaps because he had already sensed their extraordinary nature, but his research yielded none of the returns or results he desired. Thus, he only scratched the surface before casually tossing them into a corner of the warehouse.
Rui Liang was dead; his motives were no longer important.
To Shi Ming, these last two steles were of immeasurable value.
[Divine Revelation Stele: Two]
[Divine Revelation Stele: Five]
There were five steles in total.
The one on Mount Everest, connected to the entire mountain range, was the first and largest stele, recording thirty-three thousand characters.
The one in the Scorpion King’s Pyramid was Divine Revelation Stele 3.
The one in the Twelve Stars’ collection was Divine Revelation Stele 4.
The remaining two were right here.
The smaller steles mostly contained practical techniques or information, such as the method for creating a Contract Core, the Starlight Body Refining technique, and tips for enhancing Spiritual Power. Since this was objective, fixed content, it was highly unlikely to be updated over time.
Shi Ming first looked at the second stele.
[Refining Cosmic Stones.]
[Twelve Uses for Blood Crystals.]
[Three Special Techniques to Forcibly Break Through a Skill’s Level.]
Shi Ming’s attention lingered on the three techniques for breaking through a skill’s level.
Most skills that were S-rank at birth remained S-rank for life. Only a small number of skills with growth potential could be advanced through methods like self-accumulation or fusion.
For example, the [Carrion Sanctuary] had evolved into [Carrion] through accumulation. Zhao Li Luo of Dragon Country’s A-rank skill "Canglang Water" had broken through the A-rank threshold to reach S-rank within the domain of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering. [Ragnarok] and [The Third Law] could be fused to evolve and step into the Holy Hall Tier.
The three techniques on the stele, however, fell into the category of "shortcuts."
They were:
1. Sacrificial Culling.
2. Potential Activation.
3. Origin Supplementation.
As for the fifth Divine Revelation Stele, which Shi Ming was most focused on, it continued the fragmented text from the Twelve Stars’ stele, beginning with the second half of the section on the [Seven Holy Halls].
Translated, it read:
"As long as one possesses three different Holy Hall Origins, one can attempt to fuse them to obtain a sliver of a chance to advance to Nirvana."
"Fusing more is not necessarily better; compatibility is key. The fusion of different Origins will lead down different paths. I have deduced several possible paths for the reference of future generations."
Shi Ming pondered for a moment.
’It sounds like a recipe.’
Different skill recipes would result in different paths of advancement. However, the text clearly stated that fusion only provided "a sliver of a chance" to advance to Nirvana. Not only was it difficult, but it also came with different challenges and bottlenecks. There was no guarantee of 100% success; all paths had to be explored by oneself.
The stele’s author had deduced several concepts and recorded them in the divine revelation language.
[Nirvana Conjecture - "World Cycle"]
[Theoretically, the Space-Time Holy Hall Origin, Life Holy Hall Origin, and Death Holy Hall Origin have the potential to be fused. By harmonizing the boundary between life and death and then using time and space to redefine the dimensions, there is a chance to fuse them into the Nirvana skill "World Cycle."]
[Nirvana Conjecture - "Original Sin"]
[Sin is perpetual; forgiveness and punishment are theoretically the same end. With fate as a guide, by harmonizing pollution, destruction, and eternity, there is a chance to create the Nirvana skill "Original Sin."]
[Nirvana Conjecture - "Zero"]
[This is both a prophecy and a prototype. Life and death cycle, time and space intertwine, destruction and eternity stand in opposition yet contain each other, pollution and purification are codependent. Using fate as the harmonizing note, the ultimate "Zero" can be forged.]
This inspired several different lines of thought in Shi Ming.
But these were all just conjectures.
’To be able to leave text upon the remains of a divine being... even if the author of this great stele didn’t reach the level of a god, their vision must have been incredibly vast.’ Shi Ming had also discovered in his daily use that several Holy Hall Origins did indeed have fusion potential, but whether the results would be as the stele described was unknown.
He mulled over these conjectures.
’The skill names "World Cycle" and "Original Sin" are both two words long.’
’"Zero"... a single word.’
’Perhaps this is also a type of numbered Nirvana skill? But "Zero" requires a total of eight Origins. Besides the Seven Holy Halls, it also requires an Origin called "Purification" to harmonize "Pollution." On Earth, other than the S-rank skill [Purity Domain] derived from the Purifying Marrow, there is no Holy Hall Level Power with a Purification Origin.’
’Does it exist somewhere else?’
One short of eight.
It seemed like only the last 12.5% was missing, but if his luck was bad, it would be just like opening a blind box—"Purification" could be the secret rare that was hardest to get.
The last Divine Revelation Stele only had these fusion conjectures recorded on its front face; the content ended there.
Judging from the time period of the Scorpion King’s Pyramid, all five steles had been left on Earth for at least four or five thousand years. From beginning to end, Shi Ming had no idea who their author was, or why they had come to Earth without leaving any other traces.
Shi Ming used his Spiritual Power to probe the stele for other details.
At its base, he discovered additional writing, separate from the main text.
[Afterword:]
[The god has fallen. The "Eye of the Divine," carrying a part of the god’s remains, traversed the endless void and arrived on this planet, whose civilization is still in its nascent stage. The life forms here have barely even escaped the stage of savagery!]
[...]
[The Brain Domain became the great stele.]
[The ears, nose, and mouth became the four small steles.]
[The eyes have vanished, without a trace, seemingly having entered the river of time.]
[Since they are unattainable, I shall use the divine revelation script as a guide to communicate with the god’s station and memory, compiling the five steles to leave this fortune and enlighten those who come after. I will now wander the Star Sea to seek the Heart of Chaos, the Primordial Flow Body, and the Uncertain Shadow.]
[Author: ■■]
...
...
...
「In a mysterious, lonely, and distant corner of the Star Sea.」
Suddenly, the stars twinkled, and a hazy figure took shape in the void.
"How is that little one progressing in his study of the Civilization’s Script?"
The voice was as lonely as the cosmos itself.
...
「A short while later.」
A lazy voice replied.
"Don’t be hasty. It’s only been a few months."
"In such a short time, he’s probably not even finished learning the characters on a single stele! I can’t easily return to that region of space right now."
"Mm... I’ll go check on his progress in a year."
