Sif had recovered some strength after resting for a while, thanks to the strong life force of a Guardian. Supported by Lementusa, she stood up and began a series of complex operations beside the stone platform, which was about thirty meters in diameter. The stone platform didn't seem special at first glance; it was just a huge table made of a material resembling obsidian. Around the platform were incomprehensible patterns and green crystals, and next to it stood a crystal pillar several meters high. Sif nimbly tapped the top of the crystal pillar, producing a series of crisp sounds like musical notes, and the stone platform suddenly trembled.

Lementusa went to the other side of the stone platform and tapped out a complex sequence of notes on the crystal pillar corresponding to Sif's. As this second command was entered, all the patterns on the surface of the stone platform lit up simultaneously. Then, accompanied by the sound of mechanical movement, it slowly sank into the floor and opened in all directions. Revealed beneath the stone platform was a series of extremely complex and ingenious locking devices, along with several layers of protective light films radiating a scorching red glow. These various arrangements made it clear that something extremely important must be sealed here.

Layer after layer of security devices automatically disengaged, and then a huge disc radiating golden light floated up from the vault under the effect of an anti-gravity field.

Hao Ren and Lily's gazes were simultaneously drawn to the golden disc. They saw something that was completely different from the style of the surrounding Guardian Temple. It was about ten meters in diameter, perfectly circular, and slightly curved like a shield. In the center of the disc was a hole the size of a human head, surrounded by complex and incomprehensible patterns and symbols. The edge of the disc was inlaid with crystals arranged as if according to some kind of law. As it rose from the vault, these light green crystals almost simultaneously emitted a faint glow, as if sensing the surrounding environment.

For a moment, Hao Ren's entire attention was drawn to the disc. He felt as if his brain was completely immersed in the brilliant light of the golden disc, as if he saw all the truths of the universe since its birth, and as if he saw the future plan of the universe at some point in time. Some kind of grand information was transmitted to his spiritual world through the golden disc—but a moment later, all these illusions vanished.

"A divine artifact," the data terminal's voice startled Hao Ren from his trance. "And a highly relevant divine artifact. Looking directly at this kind of thing will be affected by it. The more divinity you have, the greater the influence will be. You must have had hallucinations just now, because you are a demigod, enough to partially understand the thoughts of a god."

Hao Ren touched his chest, calming his somewhat rapid heartbeat while murmuring in surprise, "A demi? Am I that awesome?"

The data terminal slapped him on the forehead with a "pa" sound. "Why is your brain always off track?!"

Hao Ren pushed the data terminal aside and looked up at the golden disc floating in mid-air. "Is this what you call the Creation Engine?"

"Just a part," Lementusa corrected. "And a very small part. I have seen the Creation Engine half-assembled. It is a… almost an entire planet in size, with a structure so complex that it is difficult to understand. Its form contains the truth of the universe, and merely looking at it is enough to drive mortals mad. But it is only three-quarters complete. Mother said she would need at least another thousand years to completely finish it. The golden disc in front of you should be placed near the core of the Creation Engine. I have seen several similar discs in the center of the engine."

"My intuition is warning me… this is probably a big deal…" Hao Ren murmured to himself. "The Goddess never said what this Creation Engine was used for, did she? Not even a casual mention?"

"We wouldn't ask about things that Mother doesn't actively tell us," Mulu replied indifferently. "The truth of the universe is a powerful and dangerous existence. Sometimes, just 'hearing' it can lead to unexpected consequences, so Mother only says what is necessary. She built the Creation Engine and didn't let us interfere too much, so there must be her reasons. The only time she mentioned the role of the Creation Engine was when it was half-assembled. She said… it was a device that could re-establish balance, it would change the trajectory of the entire universe. She didn't say anything else."

"Re-establish balance…" Izhaks stroked his chin thoughtfully, rubbing off a large piece of spark. "If we need to re-balance, then that means something has already broken the balance. Did anything happen before the Creation Engine was built?"

The three Guardian Giants looked at each other, not knowing what Izhaks was referring to, and finally could only shake their heads together: "No."

Lementusa was somewhat puzzled: "Why are you so concerned about the Creation Engine? This shouldn't be something that concerns you."

"You don't quite understand the nature of my work," Hao Ren shook his head with a smile. "Basically, anything that sounds like it has a lot of backstory will be related to my work as long as I encounter it. And the War of the Gods took place at a critical moment when the Creation Engine was about to be completed. Those rebellious sons seemed to know about the existence of these sacred objects… Could their actions also have something to do with this? They just want to become gods, and in addition to becoming gods, might they also be thinking about taking over this Creation Engine? Does this engine have an even greater role? How attractive is it to the rebellious sons? I want to know all of this."

In other words, Hao Ren was interested in anything related to the Goddess of Creation, even if it was a sneeze the goddess made before her "fall"—especially the Creation Engine that the goddess spent thousands of years assembling and didn't have time to complete until the War of the Gods began. But there was so little known information about this thing, and even the guardians closest to the goddess didn't quite understand its principles and function, so Hao Ren could only guess blindly at a golden disc.

Lily walked around the golden disc, this dazzling thing completely mobilized the husky girl's strong curiosity. After circling twice, she simply lay on the platform and arched the lower end of the disc with her nose. The cold disc made her sneeze loudly.

Hao Ren rolled his eyes and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

He thought that although Lily was unreliable, she could still say a few profound judgments after the part of her brain that belonged to a literary youth went online, and Lily really had something to say. She pointed to the disc with her nose and began to express her opinion: "Woof woof, awoo, woof woof woof, woof awoo awoo…"

Hao Ren kicked Lily's paw hard, reached into his Dimensional Pocket, took out her spare clothes, and threw them over: "Alright, alright, go find a place to change back, who understands what you're saying."

Lily took the clothes and trotted away from the hall, and after a while, she turned back into human form and ran back: "I mean, let's not discuss the disc first, let's transport this thing back to the space station for further study, isn't the top priority now to find clues about the Dark Domains?"

Hao Ren thought it made sense, pointed to the golden disc and discussed with Lementusa: "Can I take this thing away?"

Lementusa and Sif's expressions suddenly became very complicated, because they instinctively felt that this was a bit inappropriate: the golden disc was a sacred object created by the Goddess of Creation, and they stayed on this planet in order to prevent this thing from falling into the hands of others—when Hao Ren and his group entered the hall, Sif was putting her hand on a crystal next to the stone platform, that crystal was the self-destruction device of the entire temple, if Lementusa failed to destroy the rebellious sons outside, Sif would reverse the energy well of the temple and turn the entire city into a mass of magma. They risked their lives to protect this sacred object, but they were not prepared to hand it over to anyone.

Of course, he knew that the outside world was already ten thousand years later, and that it was meaningless for him to continue guarding this temple, but knowing was one thing, and whether he could accept it emotionally was another.

Finally, Mulu stepped forward and said a few words to Lementusa, and the temple guard sighed heavily: "Okay, you can take it away, after all, it's useless to leave it here. But I have a condition."

Hao Ren nodded: "You speak."

"I must know what you are going to do with this disc," Lementusa looked at Hao Ren with a burning gaze. "Before I fully understand your origins, I want to watch it at all times."

Hao Ren laughed: "Of course, no problem, in fact, even if you didn't say anything, I would have to take you away—Tanagrus is short of manpower."

Saying that, he waved to the golden disc in mid-air, and then the sacred object was put into his Dimensional Pocket.

"Now let's talk about the Dark Domains."