Chapter 877: Structural Limitations and Reflections

Seven days.

This was an unimaginably terrifying piece of information. A great deity, with a lifespan of eight or nine thousand years, was now forced to live for only seven days? This revealed the horrific extent of the situation.

"We're doomed as well." Nearby, the entire mechanical exploration team was filled with despair. Even a deity was pushed to such limits, and they couldn't even enter higher-dimensional spacetime. They had considered themselves a high-level cosmic civilization, with an unimaginably powerful empire that colonized the stars, yet now, it felt as though all their dignity was ruthlessly shattered, like dry branches being broken. Only with this outbreak did they realize how incredibly weak they were.

They nervously held their machine guns, looking around. "We can't even see their movements... If this Sword God hadn't set up a protective shield for us, we'd be torn to shreds instantly!" In lower-dimensional spacetime, they were like almost static statues to higher-dimensional beings, existing in completely different dimensional spaces.

"We... we must survive!" Their faces were grim. "Shields, resources! We need to establish armories, mine minerals, and produce an army! We are elite imperial soldiers; we have our pride!" They had brought the finest equipment, naturally including spatial rings, which contained numerous emergency survival devices and even top-tier intelligent assistants, storing vast amounts of technological construction data, enough for them to re-develop their civilization.

Gusra was slightly surprised. "These little ones are following the path of ancient times. The tech-side, their ancestors, also established armories here, hoping to pass the selection trials."

The tech-side and the transcendent-side. Among two hundred million geniuses, these two civilizations were competing, locked in a struggle of life and death. After all, this land was as vast as a planet, with immense resources and countless other things.

"As for us, we must follow the transcendent path." Gusra didn't harm them; after all, an extra force was always beneficial. He looked at Mansa. "Daughter, I can only protect you for seven days in higher-dimensional spacetime, which is seven hundred years. You must break through and become a deity, and a very powerful one, at least reaching my current level... only then will you have hope of survival!" He had already braced himself for death.

"What an interesting discovery." Xu Zhi returned to his study, sitting on his chair, while the towering giant propped his chin, his handsome face almost inhuman. "Iron-based life? So Renimansga is actually iron-based life." Now that he thought about it, it was indeed true. Differences in the fundamental elemental structure of life naturally affect the maximum size achievable. The giant octopus was already the largest natural flesh and blood form for carbon-based life, the size of a continent, yet even then, it was flabby and couldn't support its own massive body. Looking like a giant octopus was the most logical form; that's how the structure worked. Like a pile of tofu, it couldn't support a skyscraper. This was an inherent racial limitation. There was an upper limit to the body size of carbon-based flesh-and-blood life, and the giant octopus essentially represented that limit.

"Theoretically, the larger the body, the stronger the combat power... but carbon-based life limits body size... while other cosmic life forms might be even more colossal and bizarre." Xu Zhi showed a thoughtful expression. "So that's how it is? The universe is too vast and mysterious. Most of the life forms we observe, probably 98%, are carbon-based, naturally having humanoid structures. They are widespread and numerous, found everywhere, but their starting point is relatively low-level. Silicon-based, iron-based, and even various other exotic life forms would be different, with different body sizes and appearances. There are life structures comparable to stars, even unimaginable ones... This is the true boundless universe, inherently possessing infinite possibilities."

Xu Zhi only then realized how limited his perspective had been! He had always instinctively and subconsciously believed that carbon-based life constituted all life in the universe, and thus, humanoid intelligent life seemed like a natural evolution. Antlered aliens, cat-tailed aliens... On planets with flesh-and-blood carbon-based life, the evolutionary history often involved ape-men, Homo sapiens, and so on; because they shared the same structure, they were naturally largely similar. This applied to carbon-based life, but not to others.

"Carbon-based life is a foundation for a life edifice, and iron-based life is a new foundation." "It seems that the Machine Pillar God serves as the starting point not for a single race, but for an entire category of life. Many interesting iron-based life forms will emerge, possibly even developing various unique talents." His eyes glimmered as he gazed into the distance. "For example, if a smart vacuum cleaner gains sentience and gives birth to many small vacuum cleaners, what would be the genetic ability of this race? Suction?... If a smart toilet gains sentience, would its genetic talent be flushing?" He understood clearly. Carbon is the foundation of a great tree, from which ancient carbon-based humans, demon-world carbon-based humans, and various other genetically distinct life forms with unique talents branched out. This "iron-based life" is also a foundation, from which various corresponding branches and genetic talents will emerge.

"A new life form is setting sail." Xu Zhi's expression was calm. "So, the problem is, my current form is still ambiguous and hasn't been discovered, but it will be exposed sooner or later. How do I transform into a true giant iron-based creature?" Xu Zhi felt troubled; the information on Renimansga was still too vague. The universe was vast and still very interesting.

Medusa had taken away the nearly extinct Plant Pillar God. On this land, only the Humanoid Pillar God and the Machine Pillar God remained, furiously battling and competing. Within this land, there were also various other forces: indigenous survivors, mechanical warriors from the outside empire, and transcendent deities arriving from the neighboring area. It was truly a melting pot!

At this moment, the players within this eyeball were instantly shocked, causing a considerable stir on the internet. "This is too outrageous! The Machine Pillar God, I saw a flush toilet give birth to a small toilet, oh my god... Is it growing by eating steel?" "Iron-based life eats this stuff?" "What good teeth!" "Who said that? I found it even eats plants. So, does it need bones and calcium supplements?" They were utterly astonished. "Oh my god! What has this even evolved into?" They never would have imagined that the Pillar God would undergo such bizarre mutations under these circumstances, leaving even them utterly horrified!

This iron-based life form was terrifying. It seemed to be following a purely technological path under the Pillar God's control. What was the most terrifying aspect? Its unique inherent advantages. Now, having consumed tens of thousands of years of accumulated technology from this empire, it was likely to innovate rapidly, leveraging its own life structure. Within just a few months, it might become a terrifying Rank-9 technological civilization. At that point, it was very possible that even after Carolyn, Emperor Qi, and others broke through, they still wouldn't be able to match it.