Extraordinary Pedigree.

Chapter 977 The War in the Hidden Paradise: A Sudden Change in Art Style

[Poplar combustion rate: Current rate is 4.3 units/minute, estimated remaining flight time is 12 minutes]

[Current coordinate offset: Plane boundary]

[Passage Level Activated: Level 3 Penetration]

[Warning: Crystal wall thickness tends to fluctuate; please pay attention to channel stability]

[Target Plane: Peaceful Kingdom - Paradise on Earth]

[Note: Reaching the outer plane requires 83% of the remaining stable phlogiston. Please ensure that phlogiston is retained on the return path.]

The ship trembled slightly, and Xia Xiu felt the energy circuit beneath the floor quiver gently, as if it were struggling to maintain some kind of extreme operation.

"The phlogiston is burning too fast..." he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing as he looked toward the porthole at the bow of the ship.

Externally, cracks finally appeared in the crystal wall, and the ship broke through the amber-colored light curtain like a fish leaping out of the deep sea, entering a completely different world.

A peaceful country, a paradise on earth.

He was suddenly startled, and the scene before him slowly unfolded like a scroll painting.

This is a dimension that is visually and logically completely "normal".

There was no abyssal tremor like that of the Ether Ocean, nor the complex, densely packed gears of the Mechanical Realm. What came into view was a pastoral tranquility: the sky was azure, the distant mountains were layered, and rows of white poplar trees swayed gently in the flat fields.

The sunlight was not harsh; in fact, it was quite gentle.

Xia Xiu looked up and immediately saw the slowly rotating sphere.

It hangs atop the sky, above the highest peak in this world, like a celestial lantern personally hung by a deity.

This pearl of day and night is half pure white, radiating brilliant light; half dark, profound and silent. It rotates silently, thus clearly dividing day and night.

There is no dusk.

There was no dawn.

Only day and night, in their long cycle, each fulfill their respective roles, like an "ideal calendar" born under the dominance of some kind of extreme rationality.

Xia Xiu narrowed his eyes, secretly sensing the feedback between his spiritual consciousness and the rules of the plane—the “peace” here is not the superficial harmony, but a kind of self-consistency, a “sense of harmony” formed under the extreme suppression of order.

He could clearly sense that some ancient and hidden divine will was lurking within these orderly mountains and rivers, like a sleeping behemoth huddled on the edge of civilization, constantly monitoring the intentions and actions of all outsiders.

He realized that it must be the local god of this world—Saint Cuthbert, the god of discipline, truth, and punishment who wields a rod of retribution.

This guy isn't the kind of neighbor you can just knock on the door and say hello to anyone.

Xia Xiu's gaze swept across the distance with a deep look. The towns were laid out in geometric patterns, and the waterways were like artificially stitched blood vessels. Every inch of land exuded an aura of "rational order," but this rationality was not human sentimentality, but rather more like an absolute division of labor under the suppression of some kind of god.

An inexplicable sense of oppression gradually crept up my spine.

"Just as the rumors said," he murmured.

[Successfully entered the first level of the Peaceful Kingdom - Paradise: Abelio]

[Gravity Standard: Terra Equivalent]

[Divine Power Shaping: High-Strength Restriction]

[Environmental status: Normal; low-interference actions are recommended]

[Note: This plane has a highly sensitive cognitive divine filtering mechanism. Any high-level divine magic or faith dissemination will automatically trigger the local defense protocol.]

Xia Xiu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and quieted down the phlogiston engine.

*Pfft—*

With a soft click as the valve was unlocked, the hatch of the small, gothic-style ship slowly opened, and mist escaped from the gaps, much like a steel behemoth that had been dormant for a hundred years awakening from its slumber.

A tall, slender figure stepped forward first.

The silver-white metal cane reflected a cold gleam in the sunlight as Xia Xiu stepped out of the ship.

He stood on this peaceful and serene land, and then, a ripple of air spread through the air.

Amund's phantom was like a flowing data afterimage. He stood in the void with his arms crossed, his gaze like lightning, sweeping over the neat and picturesque city outline and landform in the distance.

“The structure here is somewhat similar to the Unknown Lands,” Amund said, squinting, his tone carrying a hint of cautious assessment, “but the energy levels are far apart.”

Xia Xiu did not respond. He slowly walked down the slope, and with a light wave of his right hand, several thin, almost imperceptible strands of light escaped from his fingertips and struck the ship behind him.

[Weakening Presence - Breast Extract]
A silent ripple spread rapidly across the surface of the ship—

In physics, its color, shape, and structure are layered and folded into the surrounding scenery;
In psychology, its presence and attention capture coefficient are artificially suppressed to a negative range.

Moments later, the ship vanished as if it had evaporated from reality, completely disappearing into the edge of the secluded forest. Unless it was a god-like being or a special observation mechanism forcibly bypassed, it was impossible to detect.

After completing this step, Xia Xiu began to feel the oppressive influence of the secluded paradise on him, an outsider.

That was the "crown suppression" transmitted from the plane itself.

Unlike the chaotic and disorderly Void Tunnel, in the highly coordinated and orderly plane of Shangri-La, the power of any being deemed to possess superior external authority is severely compressed and constrained.

Xia Xiu felt himself being forcibly flattened by a complete threshold level.

In other words, he can only maintain the level of the second threshold (second threshold: 5 × 10 times/second (50 trillion) - the normal synchronous state of the Gospel Holy Machine; the triple crown rotates stably).

This means that if he were to use his original all-encompassing power here, he would not only be severely restricted, but more importantly, he would immediately attract the attention of the local deities.

"As expected, this is not an easy plane to get along with..." Xia Xiu murmured in a deep voice.

Before he could discover the exact hiding place of the Fifth Church, he had to act as far as possible according to the standards of a sovereign, so as not to disturb this kingdom of God that "seems gentle, but whose blades are hidden in the law."

He looked around, his gaze gradually sweeping across the vast terrain of this plane.

The first layer of the landscape in this paradise is as flat and open as a scroll painting.

Neat, straight forest belts are interspersed with perfectly orderly fields, and irrigation ditches crisscross like a chessboard, every inch of land meticulously planned. Rivers flow like silk, and lakes, like mirrors, are inlaid among the grasslands. The distant hills and mountains seem to have been sketched by a master craftsman, appearing both solemn and perfectly harmonious.

This is a designed world, not a product of natural growth. It is a product of a certain philosophical order, a perfect experimental field under the rule of reason. In such an environment, any "chaos" and "disorder" will be systematically rejected and erased.

This is somewhat similar to my own [World Modulation Mode]. I might even be able to refer to this and learn how to design a Minecraft.

Just as Xia Xiu was slowly surveying this "perfect land" of Shangri-La, a subtle and strange oscillation suddenly occurred in the surrounding airflow.

It wasn't the wind—but rather the subtle fluctuations transmitted through spiritual perception.

It was an extremely low-frequency yet highly aggressive "disturbance," like some kind of consciousness rubbing and churning in the air, tearing open the first crack in this tranquil shell.

Standing beside him, Armand noticed it too. He raised an eyebrow, casually pointed his thumb in a certain direction, and then said:

"There's something going on over there."

Xia Xiu narrowed his eyes, remaining silent, and his aura and presence were instantly weakened to the extreme.

[Presence weakened - Injection complete]
Then, a twisted ring-shaped rune suddenly appeared beneath his feet, as if time and space themselves were folded over there.

[Möbius strip]
The next instant, Xia Xiu's figure seemed to be pulled by an invisible membrane, and with a gentle bounce, it completely disappeared into reality.

……

……

Northern part of the Shangri-La-like paradise, in the Abelio Hills.

The air was still filled with the residual heat of the phlogiston exhaust, and the heat wave swept across the hill ridge, like the vortex of air left behind by some large armed transport ship that had just taken off.

boom--!
A piercing, high-frequency vibration echoed throughout the hilly area.

The battle has begun.

Two ant-like combat formations are engaged in fierce fighting in the heart of the Abelio mountain range—unlike traditional cold weapon conflicts, this is a tactical computational war composed of plasma beams, particle strikes, orbital data links, and exoskeleton propulsion armor.

Swarm-style tactical jumps, crossfire blockades, and jamming armor cloaking attacks—the air in this mountainous region was scorched into expanding ripples.

On the left flank of the image is a squadron of ant-like warriors with dark brown shells covered in ablation patterns. They are tall, with limbs resembling the sharp shapes of arthropods, but their bodies are embedded with nanoscale tactical processors and neural link modules. Folding thrusters at their tails intermittently spew out short bursts of blue flame, clearly indicating their ability to perform short-distance air jumps.

Their weapons were a type of railgun, entirely dark silver with a barrel embedded in a shaped charge mechanism. Each time the trigger was pulled, a beam of incandescent particles shot out with a piercing shriek, piercing through the enemy's optical armor.

Meanwhile, the opposing ant colony had a more sophisticated tactical structure. All members wore low-reflection helmets, and when moving together, they resembled synchronized data nodes. They used lightweight explosive grenade launchers and heat-guided systems to deliver precise, area-of-effect attacks across the battlefield.

Below the hillside, where the firepower of the two groups of ants converged, they were instantly turned into scorched red earth by the high-heat particle beams.

boom--!
A giant ant warrior equipped with "Explosive Armor" charged to the front line. Its four thick limbs were covered with reactive layers. As it charged, a pair of machine gun devices automatically deployed on the top of its shoulder armor, releasing a dense barrage of bullets that even stirred up folding waves in the air.

A high-explosive shell swept across the airspace and accurately struck the energy storage compartment behind the enemy's bunker. The next moment, the entire hillside exploded like a volcanic eruption, with limbs, shell fragments, and broken armor flying through the air, even carrying smoldering energy fragments and runic plasma.

"This is... a direct tactical confrontation between heavy combat groups."

On a distant platform of broken rocks, a figure slowly materialized from thin air. With a gentle tap of his silver staff on the ground, Xia Xiu's figure returned to its original state of spiritual folding.

Xia Xiu's expression was a little strange at this moment.

What did you do to him?

The battle art style in this idyllic paradise... feels a bit strange.

A rumbling sound came from afar, deep and heavy, like the roar of steel biting into the earth.

The sand and gravel on the hill trembled and churned, the air thick with the smell of burning metal and plasma friction. Xia Xiu hid in a terrain node shrouded in Mimu Su, silently overlooking the battle raging in the distance.

He saw something even more drastically different.

boom! !

A massive shockwave cleaved an entire mountain ridge flat, and dozens of ant soldiers were thrown into the air by the explosion, turning into charred remains.

In the center of the battlefield, two war machines confront each other.

One is a multi-legged, highly mobile combat platform, resembling a giant metal spider, crawling on the ground with a deafening mechanical clatter. Its main armored compartment is equipped with a surrounding railgun turret in the center, and six mechanical legs steadily support the massive fuselage. High-temperature particle streams are constantly ejected from the surrounding nozzles to adjust its attitude, as if it could leap up and pounce on the enemy at any moment.

On the other side is the heavily armored, mobile Raider, with a sharper structure and a gray-green paint job. Its structure resembles a predator crouching low, possessing two modes: when deployed, it is a crawling attack mode, and when retracted, it can transform into a cruising movement mode. Each mechanical limb is equipped with a cluster particle cannon and a smart guidance module, capable of adaptively adjusting the firing rhythm and distinguishing friend from foe.

"Heavy firepower platforms have engaged in combat."

Xia Xiu's eyes narrowed slightly. He saw the spider-shaped platform in the distance suddenly activate its secondary thrusters. The entire platform rushed forward like a cannonball, its six legs piercing the soil and stopping. The rotating multi-barrel electromagnetic railgun on the top of the main cabin lit up with a dark blue halo.

【Drip drip-】

[Lock acquired...Fire]

Om-! !

Several metal railguns streaked across the sky, creating plasma trails in the air, and hurtled towards the heavily armored Raider.

Bang bang bang! !

Explosions rang out, and amidst the flames, the Heavy Raider forcibly separated its left shoulder armor and immediately switched to "Cruising Shield Mode," concealing its core behind the armor. A multi-barreled anti-missile foam interceptor deployed from its left shoulder, blocking part of the ballistic trajectory.

Immediately afterwards, the Raider's leg propulsion modules spewed out scorching flames, and it suddenly lunged forward, its two heavy claw blades opening to lock onto the right control hub of the spider-shaped platform.

Click! !
The sound of metal tearing apart was like a roar. A huge gash was ripped open on the side of the spider-shaped platform, but in an instant, it released an automatic defense sub-module. The unmanned combat vehicle module slid out from inside, splitting into three small flying platforms, which immediately launched flame suppression grenades at the raiders.

“This is no ordinary conflict,” Armand whispered again. “Both sides have industrial capacity, war platforms, personnel, organizational structures, and the transmission and feedback of combat data. This war is not accidental, but…systemic.”

“Given the level of civilization in this paradise, it shouldn’t have developed to this point… Judging from the situation, they must have had contact with the third kind and been influenced by a foreign civilization. They might even be related to the Fifth Church,” Xia Xiu said in a low voice.

Third-kind contact—this is a term in a classification system for contact with extraterrestrial life, and the systematic classification of contact is as follows.

First-kind encounter: An unidentified flying object (UFO) is sighted in the distance, but there is no interaction.

Second type of contact: physical traces left by UFOs, such as burning, radiation, interference, etc.

Third-kind contact: witnessing or encountering an extraterrestrial entity itself, such as a humanoid or non-humanoid life form, and having an interaction.

(End of this chapter)