Chapter 875: The Mystery of the Remyanska!

At this moment, everyone's faces turned ashen.

How could the exploration team not know? Gusla was using them to probe the mysterious man, and behind Gusla, the mysterious viral entity was, in turn, using Gusla to probe the same man. It was a chain of tactics, with each party reluctant to make the first move.

"Who exactly are you? Are you Renimansga?" The Machine Pillar God no longer concealed its identity, asking with extreme calm.

"Renimansga?" Xu Zhi paused upon hearing the question. He knew more than anyone else. The Machine Pillar God had infected and mutated a signal tower. This very signal tower, now a zombie, was responsible for cutting off communications throughout the Anda Continent ruins, spreading the virus. The electromagnetic waves it transmitted also acted as a radar, making it easier for him than other nascent Pillar Gods to detect invaders.

However, Xu Zhi, who had come to study and kill a zombie sub-entity, knew he couldn't escape the other party's notice. So, he didn't deny it, calmly stating, "If that's what you wish to call me... then yes, it is I."

Renimansga! Gusla's face turned ashen, and he found himself staring intensely ahead, unable to tear his gaze away.

As this ancient, forbidden mythical name emerged, an inexplicable and evil fear echoed repeatedly in his heart. It was as if a voice from the depths of his genetic memory was telling him: *Flee! This is an unimaginable, chilling dread, a cosmic entity more malevolent than evil itself!*

Fear, like an endless tide, crashed against his mind. Terror, like the descent of night, enveloped his body. Trembling, terror, submission—it was as if a small rabbit, merely sensing the scent of tiger droppings, was about to faint from sheer fright. This fear was uncontrollable, etched into the very genes of living beings over long ages. As a deity, he could most profoundly feel the immense dread that had been inscribed in the memories of his ancient ancestors.

Their ancestors were not from this decadent era. Back then, while serving the Cosmic Garden, their forefathers had countless deities. Even though vast eons had covered the past, today, they no longer understood what this ancient name signified, nor what it had done, having lost the memories recorded in history. But that sense of fear constantly reminded them, telling them: that was a great and vast power, transcending the mundane, dominating the cosmos, and standing tall in the firmament!

Irresistible! Invincible! It was said that in that era, even a ninth-tier existence was an almost unmatched, forbidden entity. His colossal body, comparable to a planet, was so powerful that he could casually crush ordinary ninth-tier cosmic enlighteners, just like squashing a laughable ant. When such an existence fell, an infinitely terrifying grand funeral ceremony erupted. Countless enlighteners, who transcended cosmic laws, waged a brutal war in the Cosmic Garden of that time to seize its legacy, leading to the demise of many enlighteners. This showed the sheer power of such a forbidden cosmic entity.

"No one from that era knew what truly happened; everything was covered by the dust of history. Even the youngest ninth-tier enlightener from that time would have found it difficult to survive into this era..." Gusla slowly positioned himself in front of his daughter, his expression more tense than ever before.

Because before him... one was an unimaginable viral chaotic consciousness, possibly the dark hand that destroyed a great civilization with multiple cosmic enlighteners. The other was the ancient ruler of this land, a cosmic overlord of unfathomable power, who had likely revived through some means and whose clone had now arrived on this continent.

Indeed. How could the entities in the Cosmic Garden not know about everything happening here? Such an invasion by an alien naturally triggered an immediate response.

"Are they really this terrified?" Xu Zhi looked at the high-ranking deity before him, feeling only a slight surprise. He was still quite curious about these native civilizations, as he had always been 'farming' in his orchard, and this was his first encounter with a true civilization from the outside.

Xu Zhi paid it no mind. He turned and looked at the new Pillar God before him, saying, "You beings are very interesting life forms. These viruses have merged with all the life on this land, and adaptable variants have emerged accordingly."

"Will you kill me?" The Machine Pillar God asked very directly, "I sense your indescribable power. You are the only existence capable of destroying us."

Beside him, Gusla the Swordsman shivered.

Yes... an eighth-tier deity was still insufficient. Only a complete ninth-tier cosmic enlightener could easily destroy everything on this continent, leaving not a trace. Even if some viruses were missed, such a being could use the power of distorted laws, thread needle-like connections, perceive causality, and trace every escaped virus, utterly exterminating them!

"Only such a terrifying existence can destroy this horrifying forbidden virus that will annihilate our civilization in just one week..." Gusla inwardly roared, as if a sliver of hope had been born from the despair of his civilization's impending extinction, provided only that this being before him could...

"Will I kill you?" Xu Zhi raised an eyebrow, not answering directly, but instead counter-questioned, "What do you think? Do you believe I would kill you? I'd like to hear your perspective."

Gusla saw this scene, and a faint unease welled up within him. They were once planetary civilizations collected by the beings of the ancient Cosmic Garden, used to adorn and decorate this land. But over a hundred thousand years had passed... were they truly important now? Perhaps, even in those distant eras, they weren't important at all.

"I believe you will not destroy us." At this moment, the boy-like figure of the Machine Pillar God emitted a mechanical, chaotic scraping sound, with an eerie, chilling quality: "Because ancient historical records state that Renimansga enjoys collecting interesting and novel civilizations, much like an elegant noble cherishing various famous paintings indoors."

"And are we not interesting?" The Machine Pillar God was very gentle, courteous, like a tender youth, softly saying, "Also, we... are your descendants. Who would kill their own descendants?" The Machine Pillar God looked at Gusla and his daughter, asking, "For example... would you kill your own precious descendants?"

As these words fell, everyone present was utterly stunned! The entire survivor exploration team, as well as Gusla, the high-ranking deity of the natural pantheon, and his daughter Mansa, were so terrified they nearly jumped. At that moment, they felt a chilling sensation shoot up their spines! The terrifying information it contained was too dreadful.

This existence, the Machine Pillar God, the dark hand that had once destroyed a civilization of cosmic enlighteners, the terrifying viral catastrophe, was, in fact... a descendant of Renimansga! It was simply unimaginably terrifying. They suddenly felt an urge to cover their ears and flee quickly. Having learned such a terrifying ancient secret, they were not far from death. Yet, they could only stand there trembling, their faces contorted with extreme fear, daring not to move even a muscle!

Xu Zhi's eyes suddenly became incredibly calm, showing no signs of joy or sorrow. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

The Machine Pillar God remained calm and courteous, saying, "Because the cellular structures before me are all from your body, aren't they? In this continent of Fulijiasi, I've discovered many peculiar things. Certain metals possess unique ancient life structures. And when the virus captured a special ancient museum cherished by a consortium, a black and red iron ore rock, over a hundred thousand years old, was found. Those consortiums thought it was just ordinary dark red extraterrestrial ore, comparable in size to a house, but only I knew that it was dander from some extraordinary, terrifying life form, or rather, sweat secretions, daily shedding much like crimson iron filings... And this, precisely, is a part of your body. Yes, no one knew that the ancient Renimansga, a great and vast giant body comparable to a star, was precisely the legendary iron-based life. This is also why you are so incomparably powerful!"

As these words fell, Gusla's face was instantly filled with disbelief. The most ancient historical truth and secret was suddenly laid bare before them.

"The ancient Renimansga was actually...!?" But at this very moment, he increasingly wanted to escape, deeply understanding the immense terror hidden within.

"Yes." The Machine Pillar God looked at Gusla the Swordsman with an inexplicable expression and chuckled, "The humans on this land don't know, nor do they even guess, how a normal carbon-based flesh-and-blood life form could possibly have such an enormous species size? It's like a skyscraper built of wood, destined not to reach the clouds. Flesh and blood, carbohydrates—their destined body size cannot be so immense, as it would collapse, crumble; bloated cells and skeletons would crush themselves. The largest flesh-and-blood creatures are already the Bird Octopus clan; they have almost reached the limit for carbon-based life forms in terms of body size. They can only barely maintain their structure by relying on their uniquely soft, collapsible flesh. Only a more robust iron-based structure can form such a large body size. Different life forms are destined to have upper and lower limits to their physical size."

The Machine Pillar God remained gentle and calm, its voice like mechanical electronic music, "And how did I acquire this mechanical life structure? Perhaps, in the eyes of other ignorant beings, even the other two Pillar Gods, they might believe it was achieved through the star-destroying cannon, the Cybaran race's omni-cells, and certain specific opportune circumstances. Yet they are wrong, ridiculously wrong! They must also add the most crucial element: cells that are inherently iron-based life..."

"Indeed, they are truly foolish," Xu Zhi agreed.

The Machine Pillar God bowed again and said, "In reality, our race is your descendant. Unlike you, the unique one, our numbers are relatively immense. We have overcome the difficulty of reproduction, that singular life characteristic... We will truly develop, and therefore, you will not kill me."

Xu Zhi's expression finally softened completely. He let out a sigh. "I never thought that, after more than a hundred thousand years, my secret would still be discovered today."