Chapter 1909 Lullaby

Vivian had gleaned ancient memories of this world from that crimson crystal, but the memories were incomplete. She could only see fragmented snippets and "foreign emotions" that stirred her feelings. To prevent misleading Hao Ren, she didn't elaborate on what she had seen.

But she was certain of one thing: there had once been a "Vivian" on this planet who looked exactly like her, with powers nearly identical. The crimson crystal Beatrice carried was also made by that "Vivian." As for why the crystal ended up on Earth and in Beatrice's possession, the events in between would likely remain a mystery for some time.

The souls guarding this underground city for millennia were the descendants of the ancient Sun Dynasty, including not only the monarch Glaugon and his entire royal family, but also the priests and knights of the Creator God, Elemental God, and Living God temples, as well as the chosen ones from various kingdoms and tribal states. They were chosen for their extraordinary spiritual power and, ten thousand years ago, built this underground divine capital with the "Goddess," sublimating their life forms into spirits within the city. For the next ten thousand years, they maintained a massive soul-soothing ritual, its sole purpose to appease the First Born deep below, allowing it to modify and protect the world as programmed.

It could be said that these souls, together with the city, formed a giant "control bolt," firmly nailed into the First Born's ganglia. The seventy-seven divine nails in the myth of Toka's back alluded to this—unfortunately, these truth-revealing legends had been lost.

Glaugon identified Vivian as his "Goddess," and the other souls firmly believed it, making Vivian unsure of her own identity. However, Hao Ren's words had calmed her down. She pointed to the massive chasm called the "Throat of Toka": "Go down there, follow the nerve line, and the 'throne' is at the end of the connective tissue. If I'm right... I should be able to open that place."

Hao Ren knew she was going to meet "another self," and he remembered the evil spirit Vivian they had fought together before. What lay deep below was likely similar. So he checked his weapons and shields: "Will fighting 'wake up' the First Born?"

"As long as the city's 'lullaby' program is still running, it'll be fine," Vivian said, looking at Glaugon and nodding with a smile. "Although I don't know exactly what to do down there, I have a feeling I'll know what to do when I get there."

Lily glanced at Vivian with concern: "You 'feel'?"

"Sixth sense," Vivian nodded without changing her expression. "My sixth sense is always accurate."

"Then trust your sixth sense," Hao Ren said with a smile, summoning his "flying car" and preparing to descend. He saw Gezer and Bernia step forward, and this time he had to stop them. "You two stay here."

Gezer instinctively retorted, "But..."

"No matter what, you can't come this time," Vivian said seriously. "It's not just dangerous, but more importantly, I'm going to... well, negotiate with the other half of the deity's divinity, and that's not a realm you can set foot in."

This explanation was far more effective than any other persuasion. As soon as Gezer and Bernia heard that it was a realm exclusive to deities, they stopped insisting. Vivian smiled, patted Bernia's little head, and pushed her to Glaugon's soul: "You two stay here and keep these ancient heroic spirits company. They haven't talked to anyone in a long time. Glaugon, I'm leaving this to you. The 'lullaby' must not stop before we return."

The last monarch of the Sun Dynasty bowed and saluted: "May you have a safe journey."

Hao Ren and the others boarded the flying car and slowly descended into the huge chasm filled with chaotic darkness. Gezer stood at the entrance, watching until the magical vehicle disappeared into the bottomless depths before retreating. Bernia stayed obediently by Glaugon's side, curiously looking at the soul: "You really are from the Sun Dynasty? Did you really have cars that flew in the sky back then?"

"Yes, yes, we even had trains that sped along in orbit, and golems powered by lightning. Those were things from a long time ago," Glaugon said slowly, a hint of a smile seemingly on his blurred face. He placed his hand on Bernia's head, maintaining the pose even though he couldn't actually touch her. "Tell us about the world above... Do people still remember the reverence for the spirits of nature? Do they still remember the sun?"

Meanwhile, Hao Ren and the others were heading deeper into the cavern, where a faint red light had already appeared.

The car's monitor enhanced the surrounding scenery, allowing them to clearly observe the surroundings in this dark place. The cavern was exceptionally wide, with almost no rocks or soil on any side, only huge, tangled roots forming the cave walls, making them feel as if they were traveling through the esophagus of a giant beast. It wasn't Hao Ren's first time in such a bizarre place. Thanks to two years of work experience, he could now face environments more horrifying than this without changing his expression. So, other than marveling at the First Born's size, he had no other thoughts. The data terminal was slotted into the console beside him, connecting to the equipment and mechanically reporting the surrounding conditions: "Crossing the surface layer. This planet still retains a rocky shell of about ten kilometers. The First Born's tentacles support this crust below. We're about to pass through this area."

The red light ahead was growing brighter. After passing through the rocky layer, they would reach the interior of the First Born, which was rich in biological organs. The light they emitted was enough for Hao Ren and his party to see their surroundings without the aid of equipment. The passage began to expand, and the space in all directions was growing wider, with more tentacles abruptly emerging from the walls, intertwining like tree branches.

The flying car continued forward and finally reached the end of the passage. They burst out of a funnel-shaped open exit, entering an indescribably magnificent space.

All that could be seen was a crimson world. The enormous underground cavity stretched endlessly before them, and the flying car floated in the vast space like a small insect lost within. Huge tentacles appeared and disappeared in the crimson mist. The smaller ones were only a few meters thick, while the larger ones were several kilometers in diameter. The First Born's neural tentacles were usually slender, while the thicker ones were organs for movement, predation, and expansion.

Endless tentacles crisscrossed like a jungle, filling all directions. The entire space was like a surreal nightmare, with a bizarre atmosphere impossible in reality, pressing in from every direction.

For ordinary people, it was a distorted world that would drive them insane with just a glance. Hao Ren and his party were also significantly impacted. Lily couldn't help but shrink into her seat: "Is this a fully mature First Born? It's even bigger than Zorm!"

"Zorm just covered a planet, but this one... it completely devoured the planet," Hao Ren clicked his tongue. "But it's hard to say if this is the mature form of the First Born. I'm afraid to define this creature anymore. Heaven knows if it even has a truly ultimate 'mature' stage. It seems to be able to grow endlessly and have endless changes."

Hesperide shrank into the back row. The development of events had long exceeded her imagination, and now it had completely bewildered the poor girl. She asked in an almost trembling voice, "L... Lord Vivian... what exactly is this..."

"This is what we usually deal with," Vivian replied calmly. "Well, Hao Ren usually handles it, and I help out."

"So what exactly do you usually do!" Hesperide said, looking completely distraught. "You can even smile?!"

Hao Ren scratched his head: "I almost pissed myself the first time I saw something like this, but now... tsk tsk, I'm used to it. I even have a few in my lab."

Hesperide bit her lip, deciding that she would never, ever work with this man again—he definitely had a super-expansion curse aura around him!

"Don't be distracted by the scenery here," Nangong Sanba reminded. "We need to find the main ganglion."

Hao Ren nodded, putting the bizarre scenery around him out of his mind. He found the tentacle (nerve line) that guided them forward and stepped on the gas.

The scenery flashed by quickly, like an ever-changing nightmare, and at the end of the nightmare, a huge, slightly pulsating, crimson organ like a temple of an evil god awaited them.

As Vivian's aura approached, the crimson organ suddenly became active.