Chapter 859: Another Civilizational Path Beyond the Extraordinary

Meanwhile, on the other side, the players were still formulating their strategy.

"We originally thought this was a simple dungeon, a primitive civilization with barely any weak ninth-level beings... Who knew it would be far more terrifying than imagined?"

"Indeed, not all 'country bumpkins' out there are truly primitive."

"A truly complete ninth-level being is incomparable to a 'handicapped' ninth-level like the Super Saiyans. In fact, based on historical descriptions, we have reason to suspect they are among the most invincible of ninth-level entities."

"Yeah, we either encounter nothing, or we immediately run into the strongest type of ninth-level being."

The players murmured among themselves.

Despite their seemingly reckless behavior, they were actually very cautious. Their past encounter with the Brainworm Deity proved this; they would use Heavenly Emperor-level power without ever revealing their God-level strength, leading the Brainworm Deity to question its own existence. This was why their progress had been relatively slow; they had been dealing with Heavenly Emperor-level octopuses one by one, without resorting to higher powers.

"According to descriptions, that Cosmic Garden is quite peculiar. Cloning just one hand was enough to dominate everything, which shows how terrifying the original form must be!"

"And their cloning technology, capable of mass-producing gods, is simply astonishing."

"We're here to explore, not to start a war. It seems we need to remain completely hidden and avoid any encounters if possible."

"We'll insert our eyeballs into the eye sockets of a large octopus, creating a true Cthulhu's Eye, and send it to scout that transcendent planet."

They quickly settled on a perfect infiltration plan, intending to visit the octopus species' planet and study its civilization.

At this very moment, in the vast living room:

"These individuals are starting to scheme again. They plan to visit that cat planet and then try to sneak into the outer sect's recruitment slots."

Xu Zhi was speechless but decided not to pay them any mind. He left the Cosmic Manor directly, his clone departing from the giant body in the study and slowly flying into the starry sky. "Perhaps I could also explore the surrounding native civilization planets," he mused. After all, Xu Zhi found their civilizations quite interesting. Although they weren't Zerg and couldn't reside in high-dimensional spacetime, ordinary beings there moved very slowly, almost statically, much like Earthlings.

"A truly distinct race, a living civilized species."

Another point was that he currently had nothing to do. Medusa was already enthusiastically managing everything, preparing to connect her crystal wall universe. How would she do it? Xu Zhi only needed to observe. His role was simply to avoid interference as much as possible and let them develop on their own.

"At the same time, it's quite interesting to observe the structure of another civilization path on the transcendent side."

Six planets remained here from an ancient era. They orbited the central Cosmic Manor, resembling a dark courtyard illuminated by brilliant circular lanterns, creating a dazzling spectacle. One could imagine how beautiful it must have been in the ancient mythical era, when thirty-seven planets revolved around it.

However, after over a hundred thousand years of conflict, the Tier Mechanical Empire had conquered five of these planets, leaving only one transcendent native planet still struggling. The remnants of those planets had gathered, led by the Octopus Bird clan, to resist. These five planets were known as the Five Administrative Planets. Although their spaceships had opened up numerous routes in distant reaches of space, attempting to alter the ecology of some planets for colonization, they ultimately lacked the power to move planets, resulting in scattered and very remote worlds that served as exile planets for lower-caste individuals.

Everyone yearned to live on the highly developed Five Central Planets, but obtaining residence permits there was exceedingly difficult. This was why, year after year, talented but impoverished individuals and beautiful young women would come to settle or marry into families, thereby gaining permanent residency.

In the white-styled mechanical city, buildings towered, creating an exaggerated, fantastical atmosphere. Handsome, deer-antlered humans walked among them, and the sky was filled with dense flocks of birds. Many of them were also 'head-downers.' Their antlers, which served as a second pair of hands, held devices up, blocking their view.

Xu Zhi watched, somewhat speechless. "Antlers seem to be another pair of hands for this race... but they're really no different from Earthlings; the common people are just ordinary individuals." Not just the lower classes; even the lifespans of the elite weren't exceptionally long. They relied on technology. However, the life-level enhancement provided by technology was limited. Their average lifespan was only about three hundred years, and even the elite's lifespans did not exceed a thousand years.

"But for ordinary people, three hundred years is quite long," Xu Zhi remarked calmly, sitting in a shop and sipping a drink. "It's still a very advanced cosmic technological civilization."

Outside on the street, a protest was underway. A large group of people were marching, waving banners.

"We demand human rights for the captured gods!"

"They can be captured and cloned in gene factories, but their dignity must be preserved! The disgusting high-ranking lords manipulate them to satisfy their personal desires!"

"And the Milcy Group is openly auctioning off slots for bidding on and playing with those gods!"

"As ordinary beings with short lifespans, we should show sufficient respect to those high and mighty deities!"

"Their long lifespans of nearly ten thousand years are not for us to control!"

"Without reverence for great life, we are surely condemned!"

A large image, its origin unknown, showed a middle-aged man toying with an imprisoned god, with crucial areas mosaicked. Xu Zhi watched, slightly surprised.

"Recently, with the resurgence of ancient gods, these protests have become more frequent. It's said that the Rennie Church is behind them, seemingly vying for influence among the populace."

Xu Zhi glanced sideways to see a plump, pale-skinned owner approaching, carrying a drink with his large antlers, holding it atop his head.

"Is it causing a lot of trouble lately?" Xu Zhi asked.

"Isn't it? It's said that by rejoining the ancient cosmic beings, we can obtain the technology to become gods," the owner said, placing the drink on the chair. His face was full of yearning as he chatted. "That kind of technology is simply epoch-making. What is a god? They are advanced life forms that those natives have cultivated for countless years, continuously breaking through life levels, with lifespans of nearly ten thousand years... While those natives rely on gradual cultivation, our technology can directly transform us into such beings."

The owner's face was alight with excitement. "Our technology is amazing! Those native planets still live primitive lives, without even electricity, using ancient methods for lighting. How could they be as comfortable as us? It's said that those powerful individuals treat lives like grass... Our high-ranking officials are similar, but they at least have some considerations; we can overthrow them. But how can those gods be overthrown? The difference is too vast; a god's combat power is ninety percent of ninety percent, meaning there's simply no way to push against that. We are advanced; we can achieve in an instant what takes natives thousands of years of arduous cultivation to become that kind of life." The owner seemed to look down on the transcendent side.

Xu Zhi was also stunned. He also found this situation quite terrifying. Transcendent realms were achieved through gradual cultivation, but the technological path was fundamentally different. Was it like an assembly line? A click, then into a device. Come out, and a realm is ascended. Click, click, repeatedly, until finally, one becomes a god? Xu Zhi pictured the scene in his mind. This was probably the legendary... the poor becoming gods through diligent cultivation, while the rich become gods through technological wealth?

"By the way, aren't you going to participate in that selection process?" Xu Zhi asked.

"That's got nothing to do with us. It's for big shots," the owner replied. "Even if such technology exists, it certainly wouldn't be available to common folk like us. It's definitely for high-ranking government officials, then those corporations, and then the armed cosmic teams involved in interstellar exploration and mining."

Xu Zhi pondered this.

"What do you think about those gods?" Xu Zhi asked, gesturing towards the protest.

"What do I think?" The owner, being pragmatic, sat down to chat. "If you ask me, fighting for human rights for those native gods is just a waste of time. How many of our people have those gods killed? Countless! But the high-ranking officials are disgusting too, casually toying with them, exploiting every bit of their value... Neither side is good, but I still believe... there should be respect. One must have reverence for these beings."

"Reverence?" Xu Zhi said with a smile.

"Absolutely!" the owner grumbled. "We must have reverence for higher-level life forms. For gods with eight thousand years of lifespan, we, as lower-level beings, absolutely must show reverence!"