CHAPTER 590: THE SILENCE OF THE WORLD

Harvest here.

Harvest there.

Harvest everywhere!

The harvest was so abundant that Jax actually wanted the elders to move into his settlement cottage just to boost his chances of a good crop.

Regretfully, Luca decided against that plan. Now that the elders were open to living in proper houses instead of cultivating in caves, it was better to give them their own settlement cottages.

But while everyone else talked about improving living conditions, the outside world, and new plans for farming, Luca suddenly raised a different concern.

Identity.

As someone who had been chucked into Tesseris without so much as an identity, he knew how important it was to pave the way for the elders, who now had bodies that could walk around freely.

So he asked about it.

Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one thinking about it. Their "unfortunate big brother" spoke up first.

"I’m on it. I figured they might want to go outside eventually. To do that without raising too much suspicion, it is best to make sure they have proper identification."

The cadets’ eyes shone at his reliable tone. Killian Nox, who had only just woken up from his purposely prolonged fainting spell, could only sigh.

Because honestly, how could he not give them identification? Everywhere the elders walked, plants bloomed, trees sprouted, and crops grew.

In the meantime, though, it would be good to let them familiarize themselves with people and the world again.

Killian could have questioned everything. The logic of it all. The sheer absurdity. But after realizing that even walking bones could suddenly wear fresh bodies, or that his imp of a brother could somehow land himself an unsuspecting partner, he figured that nothing was impossible anymore.

Hell, even their Imperial Crown Prince looked a tad bit too happy for someone who used to not know the meaning of that word.

So did he really have room to doubt?

No.

Also, if the elders’ casual walks could result in this much harvest, then wasn’t this something advantageous for the Empire?

Of course.

Provided that he wasn’t the one explaining how the House of Kyros seemed to have literal deities lounging in their backyard.

But what could he do?

Before, he would cry in his office because of life’s difficulties. At least now, he could cry while drinking chicken and ginger soup, and comfort himself with the knowledge that if they could weather the incoming storms, there was actually a very high chance of maximizing their extended lifespans. And if he survives, he’d take a fifty-year vacation.

And sure enough, he wasn’t the only one thinking this way. The elders had their eyes on the soup as well.

"Ah! This!" Elder Shen exclaimed, gripping his bowl like a sacred relic. "It is splendid to farm and cultivate, but to taste the fruits of your labor? How magnificent!"

"And to think only the chickens tried to eat us!" Elder Feng blurted, causing every single person to whip their heads toward him.

"Eh??"

"Yes, yes! Back in the old days, you never knew what wanted to kill you. But look at this, not only do they have these marvelous machines to cook, they don’t even need to offer sacrifices to eat!" Elder Wei said with reverence.

Elder Pao Xi gave a small nod, his calm face betraying the faintest smile. Eating again. Truly something he never thought to experience after all this time.

They might not need food anymore at their current cultivation level, but they had always been deities tied to farming. The abundance of nature was their joy.

That was why when their Lord opened that pot back in the kitchen, their heads nearly snapped in unison. They were so eager that they almost forgot they had proper necks now, not bones that could turn all the way around.

"That smell!"

The elders nearly swarmed Luca in their excitement, their nostrils flaring, their eyes wide and wet like children seeing candy for the first time. Their joy was so intense it bordered on frightening.

And then the first spoonful entered their mouths.

The reaction was absurd.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" Elder Shen clutched his chest. "The balance of flavors! It’s like my meridians are being cleansed!"

Elder Feng sobbed openly. "How could ginger taste so alive! This chicken is pure, untainted by tribulation or poison that someone has been experimenting with!"

Elder Wei slammed his empty bowl down. "Another! Quickly! This is more effective than those disgusting larvae we used to choke down!"

The others could only watch in awe as three ancient elders squabbled like children over a pot of soup.

They praised Luca so much that he nearly shrank into the floor. The shy dungeon owner just scratched his cheek and said softly, "I’ll... I’ll try to cook more good things for everyone, now that we actually have more ingredients."

The elders instantly lit up like firecrackers.

More ingredients equaled more food. More food equaled more happiness.

They were ready. Fired up.

And this time it was Elder Pao Xi who finally spoke, turning to Luca. "If possible, could we see the conditions outside? It would help us determine a proper plan of action."

Xavier, sitting calmly nearby, replied, "It should be fine to bring them to the Aquaponics Complex back at the Duchy. If they wear the right uniforms and come as a group, they can look around while their identities are being processed."

The soup was wiped out. Practically licked clean.

Usually, the crown for gluttony went to Ollie, Cece, or Jax, but this time, they didn’t even stand a chance. The elders ate like men who hadn’t touched food for centuries—which was true—and the others quickly realized it was only fair to give up their portions.

But when someone tried, the elders waved their hands with solemn dignity.

"No need. We should practice restraint." Elder Shen said this with absolute composure as he dabbed his mouth delicately with a napkin.

Unfortunately, that noble line lost all weight when everyone noticed the pile of empty bowls stacked around them like fortifications.

Kyle coughed into his fist. Restraint, apparently, was relative.

It was similarly relative when, later that day, the elders donned modern uniforms for their first trip outside the dungeon space.

The moment they took their first breaths, they froze.

Utter shock.

Elder Feng clutched at his chest so dramatically that it looked like he would need a spiritual ventilator.

At first, they had worried they wouldn’t even be able to leave, given the contracts. But no, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was... the air.

"The stillness," Elder Wei whispered.

"Stillness?" Ollie tilted his head, confused. "Elders, is everything okay? Why do you sound like you’ve been poisoned?"

"Actually, brother, I had a similar reaction when I first came here," Luca admitted, his voice quiet. "It felt different. Like something was missing. There was no... thumming."

The elders looked grim. Elder Wei was the first to explain. "Spiritual energy normally flows in a cycle. A path. It courses through everything, converts, and returns. But here..."

He raised his hand, frowning deeply. "Here, the path is gone."

"There should still be leylines," Elder Shen muttered. "Even if diminished. But I can’t feel a single one."

Elder Pao Xi exhaled slowly, his voice calm but heavy. "It’s apparently worse than we thought."

Ollie’s bravado cracked immediately. He squeezed Kyle’s hand like a lifeline. "Is it really that bad?"

"For cultivators like us, yes," Elder Wei replied. "For those without cores, most would never notice. But for us, who rely on the environment to cultivate... this is a disaster."

Elder Feng’s face turned pale. "And this isn’t the only place like this?"

"Yes," Kyle answered, his voice steady though his jaw was tight. He glanced at Xavier, who gave a small nod of confirmation. "Records show that over the years, spiritual energy has dwindled everywhere. This is what remains."

Elder Shen clenched his fists. "Then this is why mortals turned to relying on spiritual goods?"

"Yes," Luca said, his tone firm as he gestured toward the looming structure before them. "And this is also why we built something like this."

The Aquaponics Complex rose like a jewel of innovation, gleaming under the estate’s light.

"Because while people can live without spiritual energy for a time," Luca continued, "that isn’t possible when corruption is present."

The elders shared a long, weighted glance. Their eyes narrowed, their gazes hard. But instead of arguing, they nodded in unison, then moved toward the facility.

"When possible," Elder Pao Xi said softly, "we hope to see this corruption with our own eyes."

They all understood something was lurking beyond. They knew the purification chamber in the dungeon was constantly being used. They knew something was terrorizing mortals and cultivators alike.

But because those being purified came already sealed in cubes, the elders had yet to witness it themselves.

And deep down, none of them wanted their suspicions to be correct.

Because surely, and of all things, it couldn’t possibly be that, no?