The deepest part of the Brand Island ruins.
This is a long-forgotten relic. Seven huge stone tablets stand in the center of the ruins. The most central of the seven stone tablets has been completely destroyed, leaving only the base... The other six stone tablets are a full thirty meters high.
Deng Xis knelt alone in front of the second stone tablet... and wiped off the dust on the ground with his hands. There were many extremely ancient characters engraved on the ground, which were even older than the existence of this world itself.
He has been trying to interpret these words for years, but at this stage he has only been able to decipher a small paragraph, which means "We created the gods, so why should we obey the will of those gods?"
This passage is not spoken from the perspective of a god, but from the perspective of an ordinary mortal.
Deng Xisi believes that this passage reveals how the world works. The gods in the world do not exist... but it is the faith that people place in the gods that gives rise to the gods.
But now, the gods born out of mortals' beliefs can enslave mortals at will.
Deng Xis imagined that the person who wrote this passage must be quite indignant.
Deng Xis is in the same situation now. As a patient of the crystal disease plague...not only the kings and armies of the countries in this world, but also the gods of this world want to kill him.
But the gods were unable to do this, because he gained power from the crystal plague! The power to fight against the gods.
But this power is still too weak, and Deng Xis must find a way to make himself stronger.
He placed his hand on the second stone tablet and listened quietly to the sound of the island... Soon his arm began to deform, and hideous crystalline barbs tore through the flesh and blood of his arm and grew out. Deng Xis' pupils gradually turned into light golden vertical pupils.
He let out a muffled groan of pain...the scream gradually changed from a human cry to the roar of some monster.
But in the next second, Deng Xis suddenly loosened his arm that was against the stone tablet, and the deformity on his body quickly disappeared. Only the blood dripping on the ground told Deng Xis that the deformity of his body just now was not an illusion.
"With my talent...Is it still impossible for me to maintain my complete self?"
Deng Xis stood up from the stone tablet and looked at his arm covered in blood.
The potential of a Spellthief is not limited to imitating the abilities of others; their true power is to imitate the existence of others.
Deng Xis’ potential is far from enough, and his apprentices do not have this potential either. Only his former student Ye Lina...she has this potential.
As long as Ye Lina becomes a perfect crystal seed, at least the monsters living in the Spirit Vein Forest will bow down to her.
"Master, it's time for dinner!" Deng Xis' apprentice walked into the ruins and shouted to him.
"Aixin, are the recent food reserves sufficient?"
Deng Xis changed into new clothes and followed his apprentice out of the depths of the ruins.
This ancient relic is divided into four layers. The defense magic circuits and inscriptions on the two outermost layers have been abandoned, so Deng Xis has been strengthening the defense of the outermost layers of the relic over the years.
The third layer is the area where ordinary people live. What he wants to establish is a country where law thieves can live freely. A country cannot do without citizens.
Therefore, Deng Xis has been secretly rescuing those Crystal Disease infected people who were being hunted down over the years, and placed them on the third floor.
The third layer is also the largest area in the entire ruins, with farmlands and pastures. If you ignore the crunchy texture of the meat of creatures on Brand Island, this small country with only about two thousand people can barely be considered self-sufficient.
The second floor is the core area of the ruins. At the same time, the second layer of ancient magic defense is still in effect. Deng Xis is confident that even if the four empires unite their armies to attack the second floor of the ruins, it will not be captured.
The only drawback is that the space on the second floor of the ruins is too small, and only five or six buildings for research can be built. The innermost core layer is an area that only Deng Xis can enter.
"It's not enough. We failed to catch the Holy Spirit who stole our food. Every time she stole something, she would leave these non-perishable foods behind." The apprentice named Aixin handed Deng Xis a... roast chicken that looked very appetizing.
"The creation of the God of Devouring God..." Deng Xisi said after taking a look at the roast chicken.
"Several civilians have shown symptoms of poisoning after eating the food left by the Holy Spirit. Mentor, this food looks no different from other foods, except that it has no taste." Aisin said.
"Not everyone can digest the creation of the God Eater. It is very difficult for humans to digest it. Feed this thing to the Molten Dragon we raise." Deng Xis threw the roast chicken back to Aisin.
"I understand. Mentor, the food supply is running low and... there are enemies hiding in the city. There are also rumors that crystal hunters have landed on the island, which have caused the people to be in a state of panic. Some people are now gathering at the entrance to the second floor. How do you decide to deal with this?" Aisin asked again.
"Crystal Hunter... It's time to tell my compatriots... some truths."
Deng Xis walked out of the core layer of the ruins and went straight to the third civilian residential area.
When he arrived at the civilian residential area, a group of civilian law thieves had gathered outside. Their faces were filled with panic, and when they saw Deng Xis, it was as if they had grabbed a life-saving straw.
"Teacher Deng Xisi..."
"tutor."
Some of those law-thief civilians even fell to their knees when they saw Deng Xis.
"I can see fear and panic in your eyes..." Deng Xis began, and while he was speaking, the law-thief civilians around him stopped complaining.
"But why should we be afraid?" Deng Xisi's voice slowly echoed throughout the civilian residential area. "Are we afraid that the soldiers of the Sun Country will hunt you down? Or are they the soldiers of the Flowing Water Country hunting us down? We are afraid of those old humans. They think you are the source of the plague and the symbol of disaster, but in my opinion, they are just the products eliminated by this world. We have stronger power and higher magic adaptability than them. What qualifications do they have to think that we... are the ones who should be eliminated?"
This is what Deng Xisi has been wanting to say for a long time. Those who survive the crystal disease infection possess strength and magical adaptability far beyond that of ordinary people!
Crystallization disease is nothing more than a process of natural selection. People without talent will die on the road of evolution, while people with talent will gain greater power and a better future.
But in fact, it is not so. The existence of the gods makes those infected with crystal disease become outliers, because the mortality rate of crystal disease is too high! The power of the gods comes from the faith of all living beings. If all living beings die... the gods will naturally dissipate.
"We are the future of this world." Deng Xisi said to those confused law thieves, "The power you have now is a gift, not given to you by God! But you fought for it with your own life."
Just as he was about to continue his inspiring speech, an apprentice under Deng Xis hurriedly crawled from the fourth floor to him.
“Gu…Guide…the Holy Spirits…found the entrance to the ruins…and…it’s just as you expected, but it’s too fast!”
After hearing the report, Deng Xisi glanced at the roast chicken in his apprentice Ai Xin's hand.
"It's too fast, but it's only a matter of time. Be prepared to fight and try your best to keep those lunatics out of our city," said Deng Xis.
(End of this chapter)