CHAPTER 247: EARTH GODDESS

As they communicated, the group continuously pressed deeper into the central ruins, navigating various dangers along the way.

After several more days, they arrived at a silent valley.

The soil here was dark, devoid of any living vegetation. A scent of decay permeated the air, as if this place had been abandoned for millions of years.

Above, dark ash drifted down like dark snow, origin unknown, destination unknown. It fell upon the earth and disappeared into it.

The sight tightened the hearts of Carlotta and her companions. It wasn’t unfamiliar.

When Carlotta first arrived in the second world, she had seen this same scene, a manifestation of the world’s end. The endless dark ash chilled one’s heart and foreboded ill.

"Why is this world covered in this stuff too?"

Carlotta murmured, feeling uneasy.

The High Priestess carefully examined the area ahead and said, "This place has suffered a great calamity. That’s why it bears the signs of the world’s end. I don’t know what happened here in the past, but undoubtedly, it involved gods."

Only events involving gods could unleash such power, enough to bring about the end of a world.

Divinities were unfathomable.

"It’s close now."

Carlotta slowly walked through the world sprinkled with dark ash.

The ashen zone wasn’t small. She walked through it for quite some time before finally spotting a structure.

It was a tall tower, covered in weathered marks of time, appearing on the verge of collapse at any moment.

When they reached the tower, the guiding light from the Lion Key faded and disappeared, as if indicating they had arrived at the precise location.

"Is this it?"

Carlotta curiously examines the structure.

Aside from the location, such a weathered tower placed elsewhere wouldn’t attract much attention, it looked too ordinary, merely ancient.

The High Priestess hadn’t expected their destination to be like this. For a moment, she was stunned, unsure whether she could find the information she sought here.

Without hesitation, the group approached the base of the tower.

There stood a door. The Lion Key, however, served as the key here. Inserted into the lock, it opened the door without issue.

Immediately, a rotting stench saw out from within.

Inside the tower was a scene similar to a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with numerous books.

In some places, only dust remained. Carlotta instantly understood what had happened.

These books had deteriorated over time. As long as they remained intact, they remained intact. But the moment someone touches them, they will crumble into powder.

The dust on the shelves was the result of the previous visitor’s touch, likely the Pirate King. Seeing this, Carlotta refrained from touching the remaining books.

After circling the area, Carlotta could only gather a few insignificant bits of information. Unable to open the books, she could only examine the covers to judge their contents.

After a quick survey of the first floor, Carlotta and the others ascended to the second.

The second floor was different. Many scattered blueprints lay around, covered in scribbles and drawings.

The three had to float above them to avoid stepping on the delicate documents.

"These look like... methods for using third-stage ships, including second-stage and even first-stage ships just one level below."

Carlotta said, her expression switched shifting.

The answer became clear. The blueprints the Pirate King had obtained came from here. He must have copied them himself.

"But how did the Pirate King understand these foreign world scripts back then?"

Amelia asked curiously.

"Perhaps he didn’t understand them at all, maybe he just imitated them?"

Carlotta speculated.

She recalled the differences between the blueprints she’d obtained and the actual ships built.

According to the Pirate King’s description, second-stage ships ruled the seas, while third-stage ships could travel on land.

In reality, even second-stage ships could move on land.

Amelia realized, "It must be that way. He guessed the construction methods from the blueprints. Although inaccurate, we must admit, he was a genius."

"Exactly."

Carlotta stared intently at the scattered blueprints.

Judging from the illustrations, the second-floor blueprints were identical to the ones she’d acquired, except for the language, which differed greatly.

Minor descriptive differences could lead to greatly different construction outcomes.

Carlotta immediately began memorizing the blueprints, determined to master the correct versions.

Amelia did the same, using her own method.

The High Priestess, however, briefly and continued climbing to the third floor. She had matters of greater concern.

It didn’t take long for Carlotta and Amelia to finish recording the blueprint details.

Carlotta estimates that if she provided the corrected blueprints to Stellar Workshop, she could further improve the New Moon. At the second stage, it wouldn’t just travel on land, it could even fly briefly in the air.

And if upgraded to the peak third-stage ship level, it could hover permanently and even journey through the stars.

Thinking this, Carlotta immediately took out the Stellar Workshop and put the second-stage New Moon into it. This would consume some materials, but she had plenty to spare.

After all, she’d already reached 99% completion on a third-stage ship. Perfecting the second-stage vessel was more than feasible.

"Whose residence could this have been? A master alchemist? Or more than that?"

Amelia murmured.

She remembered the High Priestess saying that once built, third-stage ships were nearly divine artifacts, objects used by gods, not something mortals below the divine could create.

Carlotta felt the answer might lie downstairs. Without delay, she continued climbing to the third floor.

The third floor was a resting area, furnished with tables and chairs, and containing alchemically crafted devices resembling refrigerators. However, these devices had long lost their functionality. They could only be observed, any touch would break them.

There was nothing of interest here, so the group proceeded to the fourth floor.

The fourth floor appears to be a workshop, filled with tables, chairs, and scattered blueprints, likely a place for alchemical research.

Carlotta didn’t see the High Priestess here and continued upward.

"I’ll stay here and memorize these blueprints. I don’t know their use, but I’ll record them just in case."

Amelia said.

Fifth floor, sixth floor, seventh floor.

Carlotta walked down the floors. Along the way, nothing seemed particularly special. She continued all the way to the top, the tenth floor.

On this floor, she finally met the High Priestess.

This place appeared to be merely an observatory, equipped with some astronomical instruments. Perhaps someone had once stood here, gazing at the stars and observing the changes in celestial paths.

But now, dust covered everything. The distant-viewing alchemical devices appear blurry, no longer functional as they once were.

Next to it stood a desk, scattered with papers, as if someone had been writing something. The High Priestess was reading through these writings.

Carlotta approached and slightly glanced over. It was someone’s contemplation on the path of alchemy, questions on what the highest achievement alchemy could reach might be. Was a divine artifact the ultimate pinnacle of alchemy? Could there exist even more terrifying and powerful alchemical creations?

Could alchemical creations, in the end, kill a god?

It truly was a bold idea. Normally, who would dare to think along such lines?

"Who left this behind?"

Carlotta asked.

"The Earth Goddess."

The High Priest replied.

Carlotta’s heart immediately tensed.

The High Priest had once told her about the Eight Great gods. The Earth Goddess was one of them.

So this god was also skilled in alchemy?

Carlotta stared at the writings before her. A god contemplating how to advance alchemy further, considering even using alchemical means to slay a god. It was undeniably terrifying and powerful.

For a god to ponder such matters, clearly something pressing must have forced them to think this way. But what could it have been?

"Did the god mention what happened in the past?"

Carlotta couldn’t help but ask the High Priestess.

The High Priestess shook his head regretfully. "No."

The page only shows pure exploration into alchemy.

Perhaps the next page will reveal why this exploration began, and would contain all the causes and consequences.

But... the page couldn’t be turned.

Time was merciless. Everything strong, everything enduring, eventually turned to dust.

"If we don’t turn the page, perhaps we might one day find a way to resist the erosion of time and see what’s written on the next page. But if we turn it and reduce everything to ashes, then truly, nothing will remain."

Carlotta murmured softly.

Based on such considerations, they never forced anything. Doing so would only be in vain.

"So in the end, we didn’t find anything here?"

Carlotta sighed regretfully.

The Pirate King had left a key, guiding her here, yet left nothing behind? That didn’t make sense. Surely the Pirate King didn’t just want future people to come see where he obtained his blueprints?

Thinking for a moment, Carlotta took out the Lion’s Key she had kept away after opening the door.

The Lion’s Key glittered golden, appearing out of place in this decaying tower. She’d felt this before when opening the door, the Lion’s Key seemed mismatched with the surroundings. It couldn’t have been something the Pirate King took from here. But if so, why did it work as a key? Could it be that the tower’s door was installed by the Pirate King himself?

Carlotta had no strength to comment on such speculation. She simply turned the Lion’s Key over in her hands.

Then, with a slight force, the Lion’s Key suddenly cracked. Within moments, cracks spread across the entire key.

This result left Carlotta stunned. She opened her palm, and golden fragments began to fall away piece by piece, revealing beneath a rust-covered key.

As soon as this rust-covered key appeared, ripples began spreading through the air of the tower’s top floor. Along with the ripples, a deep, dark cave gradually emerged.

"What is this..."

The High Priestess stepped forward, his expression astonished.

"Do you know what this is?"

Carlotta hadn’t expected such a sudden change, but it probably wasn’t a bad thing.

The High Priestess pondered and said, "It should be the God’s Secret Vault."

"What is that?"

Carlotta’s eyes instantly lit up with interest.

After all, the name "God’s Secret Vault" sounded incredibly significant, something to yearn for.

The High Priestess answered, "In our worlds, there’s a legend that occasionally sets up Secret Vaults to reward those who strive. Anyone who has put in effort can, guided by divine revelation, find the Secret Vault and claim their reward. Yes, I can confirm, this legend is true."

As a figure of great status, the High Priestess clearly knew which of those elusive legends were real, and which were entirely false.

Carlotta grew even more excited. "So we’ve opened the God’s Secret Vault? We can get a reward from a god?"

"Don’t get too excited."

The High Priestess remains expressionless. "The God’s Secret Vault doesn’t possess special preservation effects. The passage of time still applies there. Whatever was originally placed inside this vault, by now, it’s likely all unusable."

Carlotta immediately calmed down upon hearing this.

Still, the Pirate King must have been pointing toward this place. The key only worked within this tower, so they had no choice but to come.

Then again, if the Pirate King himself had already been here before, wouldn’t he have taken everything already? Could there be something the Pirate King couldn’t take?

"If there’s nothing valuable left, why would the Pirate King guide others here?"

Carlotta stared at the dark opening before she grew wider, preparing to go inside.

The High Priestess agreed with her reasoning and followed close behind.

When the passage expanded to a suitable size, the two stepped into it.

Then, a scene resembling a mountain’s inner cavern appeared before their eyes. Beneath the jagged stone walls, a faint, ethereal figure flickered in and out of existence.

"Will someone come? Will they see me? Will they remember me? Or... will they know who I am? Will they know what must be done next?"

A voice echoed from where the ghostly figure stood.

After speaking once, the figure repeats it again and again, without end.

It was a woman, emanating a heavy aura. Just one glance conveyed a sense of solidity and reliability.

The High Priestess, upon seeing this woman, immediately showed deep respect, bowing towards her.

Without a doubt, this was the Earth Goddess!