Chapter 641: Doubt

Indeed, even the weakest Ninth Tier is still overwhelmingly superior to the Eighth Tier. The higher the realm, the more significant the qualitative transformation of a life form, making progression almost insurmountable.

It seems my impending slumber is putting too much pressure on Caroline, driving her to constantly seek to break through to the Ninth Tier and become my protector. This short-term pressure is excessive.

"You've worked hard; you should rest more," Xu Zhi said.

"It's what I should do. Without you, I wouldn't exist. Everything I have now was given to me by the Super Ancient God," Caroline replied, her expression seeming to calm down, no longer as abnormal as before.

How could a deity feel tired? It was merely her mind being unsettled. Honestly, that book had too profound an impact on her worldview. As a serious and rigorous traditional scientist, she wanted to consciously forget it, but the heartwarming plot within still deeply affected her mind. This made her unable to remain as composed in front of the Super Ancient God.

In fact, precisely because of the fanatical spirit of the Ishudarans, she couldn't simply brush everything off. She even felt a subtle sense of being bewitched, developing a strange obsession. Originally, some hidden thoughts she hadn't consciously noticed seemed to be ignited and unearthed. Once they took root in her mind, the more she tried to ignore them, the more persistent they became. Those damned Asura! Just thinking of their carefree, smiling faces made her angry; the more she thought, the angrier she became!

Xu Zhi thought for a moment, then brought up the main topic, "By the way, how do you feel about seeing other world civilizations from the Asura side recently?"

"Not bad, especially the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique." Thinking of the gains from that side, Caroline also showed a hint of a smile and said seriously, "Currently, those Digimon summoners they use are essentially small spatial devices, aren't they? They are the fruits of wisdom from the Wizard Civilization. This spatial technology is worth studying to improve our own techniques... These Asura seem to have traveled through many worlds, and their knowledge is vast and rich. We still need to find more ways to extract information from them."

Xu Zhi, however, felt indifferent about it.

Caroline sighed, "However, in the new era on the ancient lava land, there are now a few newly advanced High Gods—three or four of them—who have reached the same realm as me." If one stagnates at the High God realm, they will surely be slowly caught up by those who come after.

"But their paths are far from as long as yours, and they are still no match for you," Xu Zhi said with a smile.

Caroline nodded, her confidence boosted, "Precisely." In her view, between the High Eighth-Tier Gods and the Ninth Tier, there exists an invisible realm. It's about whose path is longer; someone with 30% fusion throughout their body naturally dominates someone with only 10% fusion. This means that among High Gods of the same realm, their combat power can vary dramatically. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say that the High God realm itself could be divided into ten sub-realms.

After a quiet chat with Xu Zhi, Caroline returned. She needed to continue creating planets, deduce the Ninth Tier, and enter seclusion. Currently, there are only twenty-three delicate clay planets, which is relatively few. However, after excavating one or two more from the "Central Planet," it should be sufficient. Too many satellites would lead to insufficient mass for the main planet.

After Caroline left, Xu Zhi silently watched her retreating back. "Is something bothering her? I keep feeling... her Dao Heart is unstable?" Xu Zhi frowned. He also sensed an anomaly.

Experts who can break through to godhood are all outstanding individuals of their respective eras, typically unwavering in their beliefs. Simply put, they possess a strong aura of confidence. Caroline's previously vibrant and spirited demeanor was gone; instead, she was very cautious in her attitude towards him, as if hiding something. Over the long years, it was common for such powerful individuals to experience an unstable Dao Heart. He often provided guidance and intervened to resolve issues, as this was the true responsibility of a "Creator God."

He knew what they needed and gave it to them. Just as years ago, he knew Medusa needed a battle to resolve her confused heart, so he gave her one, allowing her to witness the passage of time and the profound changes in the world around her. Similarly, he knew Di Qi needed a grander dream, so he granted him the vision: "To behold the mysteries of heaven and earth, to expound the Three Vehicles, to master all subtle techniques," and "A single epoch consists of 129,600 years." Likewise, when he knew Caroline had lost her will to live, he gave her a tomb keeper companion and stayed by her side, proving she wasn't alone.

"Now, I'm a bit stumped." Xu Zhi raised an eyebrow, falling into deep thought, feeling that even his role as a "spiritual mentor" seemed to be failing.

Xu Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Sub-brain, has Caroline shown any anomalies recently?"

"No, this deity's realm has been steadily improving, with gratifying progress. She might truly be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Ninth-Tier life form." The Zerg sub-brain replied with a mechanical voice, "Through Shangguan Man's channel, she has read various knowledge-based civilization newspapers and spiritual comfort books from the Asura warriors. This has been an intensely impactful encounter for her... Her understanding of external civilizations, internal cultivation refinement, and confronting her fundamental self have all shown significant improvement across these three major aspects."

Xu Zhi frowned and confirmed again, "No problems?"

"Absolutely no problems," the Zerg sub-brain replied.

Xu Zhi pursed his lips. Given the sub-brain's limited AI, it merely analyzes data... It understands nothing of human emotion; it's just a hunk of metal. He even wondered when he could smash this thing and replace it with a high-IQ AI, like the ceramic maid robot he kept at home. The Ishudaran household robot AI felt quite good—very sensible and capable of emotional changes. But it was just a thought. An auxiliary computer that controls core permissions—if its AI were too intelligent, it would be terrifying.

Xu Zhi pondered, concluding it could only be attributed to his impending slumber. He murmured, "This time... what must I do to ease her unstable Dao Heart?"

Xu Zhi decided to observe secretly first and let nature take its course. Seeing no immediate developments, he planned to wait a few years. He stretched in the living room, took a moment to wander out, and then went to see Medusa and the group of evolved players. After all, leaving them in the yard in the freezing cold without checking on them wouldn't be good.

Thinking this, he silently picked up a cup of steaming spiritual tea, pushed open the door, and stepped outside. He sat on a chair, the spiritual tea emitting fragrant steam, while curled up beside the chair was a serpent-haired maiden, still unconscious. Xu Zhi gently stroked her dark hair, then turned his head to look at the entire sandbox. A group of players were currently in a state of intense fervor, desperately evolving new species. Icy species, imbued with a strange, demonic aura.

"It seems the species they're evolving have found a new environment," Xu Zhi mused, holding the steaming spiritual tea. He took a small sip, feeling utterly relaxed and content, his mouth watering with the tea's rich aroma and unique refreshing sweetness.