Alone and Infinite

"There's no other way. If we want a space where we're not being watched, we can only ask the earth for help, and it has generously given us this shelter."

As she spoke, Baozuan took two steps forward and pushed open the door, and soft light instantly poured out from inside.

Before them lay an extremely spacious area, with crystals that emitted light embedded in the ceiling.

Providing enough light to illuminate the entire cave, it resembled a small market, with the stone figures wearing smiles that would never be seen on the ground.

In another area, young stone warriors were rehearsing their battle formations, accompanied by the commander's shouts.

The stone warriors stretched out their arms to embrace their comrades, and then the earthen-yellow light condensed, forming walls.

Then, following the command, it transformed into a stone ball, rolling back and forth with a rumbling sound.

There are also stone figures that squat down and conjure round stone balls, which are then launched from slingshot-like launchers.

It struck the wall, leaving deep craters.

"Wow, how many meters did the stone man dig underground? This is simply an engineering marvel."

Awoo looked at the vast space in amazement. The hall where Dragon Strike was located in Monster Hunter World was already big enough.

The underground space is now even larger, which is truly terrifying.

If the Griggans and the Stone can live in harmony, the two races combined would be a naturally chosen earth and wood race.

If it's going to be a wonder, why not build it?

"This is the headquarters of our resistance army, where a total of 12,000 fighters live, plus those scattered in various villages, hiding their identities."

There were approximately 20,000 stone figures.

Baozuan looked at the bustling scene, a scene that was clearly very intense, yet his eyes inexplicably held a sense of melancholy and loneliness.

"By the way, I still don't know your name—"

"Just call me Xia."

“Xia?” Baozuan laughed. “That doesn’t sound like a stone man’s name, if we follow the rules of the stone man.”

"Hmm. It should be called, Shakaka."

Aowu paused for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing:

"Hahahaha, Shaka! This isn't your average Griggan anymore, we have to go all out!"

He's a net addict, spending all his time online watching who-knows-what nonsense. I even bought him a special signal jumper with my allowance.

The signal relay can be connected to the real-world internet even in a private room. For the temple, this signal relay is far simpler than sending signals back and forth by people.

"It's okay, just call me Xia, I'm used to it."

Li Xia scooped Aowu down from mid-air and placed him in Heitan's arms. The kitten only understood anime references and was therefore very curious.

The Totoro duo started chirping softly, saying things like, "Six swatters in one second, I won't keep this glory to myself."

Following Baozuan through the market, it was clear that Baozuan was highly respected by the stone figures here. Every stone figure that saw him would stop and greet him with a smile.

"We're almost there. We're about to meet Lord Bedrock, the leader of the resistance. He's been leading us against the Griggans for a very long time, and only he can give you what you want."

Bedrock? Li Xia thought of the old village chief's name, Gangyan, which seemed to have some connection. When Baozuan led him to a secluded little building, it was hard to imagine that this seemingly inconspicuous little building was the core of the resistance army.

After Baozuan said a few words and took out the jade given to him by Gangyan, the guard at the gate readily let him pass.

"When you meet Lord Bedrock later, don't be afraid. He became like this for the sake of the entire Stone Kingdom."

Baozuan suddenly stopped and said in a low voice.

Li Xia nodded. What did he have to be afraid of? He had even seen abstract creatures like the 'Children of the Old Gods' and the 'Corrupted Twisted Entities'.

After seeing that Li Xia agreed, Baozuan knocked on the door.

"Come in, is this the Jewel?"

A deep, muffled voice came from behind the door.

When Baozuan pushed open the door, Li Xia looked at the person sitting inside and understood why he had told her not to be afraid.

Compared to ordinary stone figures, Bedrock's body is covered with black rock that looks like cooled lava.

Its appearance was ferocious, with sulfurous gunpowder smoke emanating from its split mouth, and its glassy eyes were elongated, displaying an eerie scarlet color.

Within the rocks on the body's surface grow cold, hard plants resembling thorns. With each movement of the body, these plants contract rhythmically, as if they were alive.

Those iron spikes, like saws, pierced the stones, producing a screeching sound, and stone dust fell in a flurry.

Hmm. It's a bit like Malphite from League of Legends.

But the bedrock seemed completely unconcerned:

“Diamond, please sit down. And this little guy, I hope he didn’t scare you.”

After he finished speaking, he assumed a listening posture, waiting for the jewel to speak.

"That's right, Lord Bedrock."

Baozuan recounted the story in detail and with great care.

After his voice subsided, the room fell silent.

“Gregor’s relic, huh? No wonder you couldn’t make a decision and had to come to me.”

Bedrock exhaled a long breath, and sulfurous fumes billowed directly from his mouth.

His body was in such a state that it was difficult for him to take charge of specific tasks; in fact, the entire work of the resistance was done by the Diamond.

“Little one, my body became like this because of the Griggs Relic.”

Jiyan turned to Li Xia, his ferocious face behaving strangely gentle as he spoke.

?

Awoo and Black Charcoal, who hadn't taken it seriously at first, immediately perked up their ears. It sounded like the Griggs Relic was actually dangerous?

"Before making a decision, you might want to listen to my experience."

Li Xia nodded: "I'd like to hear the details."

"First, let's talk about what the Griggan relic totem is—"

Bedrock adjusted his posture, trying to make himself more comfortable. His huge rocky hands were crossed, and he gazed into the distance, lost in memories.

"We once had a period of peace with the Griggans when they had just arrived here, and the beastmen of this world caused them considerable trouble."

The Griggans were so forced that they could only live on their sacred tree.

This sacred tree is the origin of the sacred object.

Yes, that's how older people are; they like to start telling stories from a very, very long time ago. It's normal.

Li Xia also adopted a posture of attentive listening. This background information was also very useful; she could organize it and sell it to the guild later.

According to the mission description, after completing the mission, the Griggan Relic will become a beacon, and the Temple of Light will permeate the fate of the entire world.

We will incorporate this world into the pasture of the Temple of Light, and then apostles will descend to perform tasks.

This completely undeveloped, pristine world is a guild's dream, as it represents a vast amount of resources.

They can definitely make a profit from this information; for example, Aowu and Heitan over there have already started taking out their recorders and recording.

The main focus is on being thrifty and managing a household well.

"It is said that in the original world of the Griggans, sacred trees were everywhere, covering the entire world."

But when they arrived, they found only a single seed from the sacred tree.

Li Xia pondered Ji Yan's words carefully, then suddenly asked:

"Besides the legends, this sacred tree must have some special abilities, right?"

“Indeed, your thinking is very sharp. Stone people rarely have such sharp thinking.”

Jiyan looked at Li Xia with his scarlet eyes and said with a meaningful smile.

Li Xia remained calm and unfazed; he had never claimed to be a member of the Stone Clan.

However, Bedrock didn't seem to care much, and after a pause, continued:

"To discuss the significance of the sacred tree, we must first talk about the reproductive practices of the Griggan people."

Li Xia, Aowu, Heitan:

"The reproductive methods of the Greganes are very similar to those of the Stone Men. Their males produce a spore that combines with the follicles inside the mother's body."

They would then expel something resembling a seed, which the Griggans would plant in the ground, like trees, waiting for it to sprout and grow.

This seed will slowly grow and eventually bear fruit. Peeling open the outer shell of the fruit reveals the newborn of the Griggan.

A tree can normally bear 1 to 5 fruits, usually two or three. It takes 3 years from planting the seed to bearing fruit.

Legend has it that the first Gregan people were born from the sacred tree.

Bedrock extended a finger and gently smoothed out the messy scratches on the stone table.

Then, he used his fingertip to draw a slightly abstract tree on the table.

Two more lines were drawn diagonally downwards from the top of the tree on both the left and right sides.

It looks like an isosceles triangle with a line perpendicular to its vertex.

"And the sacred tree's function is to shorten the gestation time of the fetus in the Griggs within the radiation range."

And it can improve the quality of the fetus.

Jiyan looked up at Li Xia and held up one finger.

"Fetuses within the radiation range of the sacred tree will develop within one year."

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 305 Griggs Holy Land

No wonder!

No wonder the sacred tree is so important to the people of Grigg, that the temple even brings it out specifically when introducing its history.

Under normal circumstances, population is the greatest wealth and power.

It's perfectly normal for something that can save two-thirds of gestation time and optimize population quality to be canonized.

In ancient times, whoever possessed this would undoubtedly be a world hegemon.

"When the Griggans arrived here, they only had one seed of the sacred tree, but it eventually grew up."

Bedrock sighed:

"In fact, a large part of the reason the Griggans fought against us was because of the Sacred Tree."

Baozuan also sighed deeply.

"Perhaps because the environment is different from before, the sacred tree of the Griggan people did not continue to exist as it did in the past after it grew up."

Instead, it began to wither, and in an attempt to save their sacred tree, the Griggans frantically tried every possible method.

The purpose of the mud that the stone figures transformed into was also discovered at that time.

The rest is history.

The Griggans, driven to madness, finally couldn't resist, or rather, they never intended to resist when they discovered its effect.

Nothing is more important than the interests of their race. They are greedy, selfish, cunning, and ungrateful; they truly deserve to be called beasts.

But for the stone men who live a life of peace and tranquility, friendship and gratitude are equally important, and they are willing to die for their friends.

Therefore, they felt immense anger and hatred towards the Griggans' betrayal.

Jiyan shook his head, pulling himself out of his emotions.

"The sacred tree of the Griggan people continued to collapse and eventually became a woody seed."

This is both good news and bad news for the Griggs.

The good news is that the original beneficial effects of the sacred tree on newborns are still present in the woody seeds.

The bad news is that the area affected has shrunk dramatically, to about one percent of what it was when the Sacred Tree was there, and there are strong negative effects within that area.