The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

"The prophet is performing daily 'prayer'."

A pious expression appeared on the old man's face. He bowed slightly, his hunched body facing the direction from which the song came: "It is her song that protects us, preventing us from being completely lost in the drowsy ramblings of the god of sleep. Young people, if you truly wish to obtain supplies and know the secrets of this sea, go to the 'deep.' Go and pay homage to the 'Prophet' with your reverence. She will decide whether you become our companions or fertilizer for the moss."

After saying this, the old man ignored them and turned around, walking unsteadily back to his bone house, as if trying to avoid the direct "baptism" of the "hymn".

Shen Ge stood there, looking at the area deep inside the tortoise shell shrouded in a faint light, listening to the inhuman "hymn" echoing in the air, his gaze darkening.

This so-called "settlement" was far more complex than he had imagined.

A chaotic and frenzied outer perimeter, and an orderly "deep within".

A group of "outsiders" struggling on the verge of madness, and a mysterious "prophet" who can "control" everyone with his songs.

Is this the last refuge for survivors, or another... better disguised prison of despair?

The hymn lasted for about fifteen minutes before gradually subsiding.

As the last syllable dissipated into the air, the eerie "sense of order" on the entire turtle's shell also faded away. Shen Ge could clearly sense that the all-encompassing network of mental energy slowly retreated into its "depths."

Some of the "foreigners" who had been prostrate on the ground with pious expressions slowly stood up, their expressions returning to their previous numbness and confusion, as if they had just experienced a brief dream.

Some continued to deal with the strange fish in their hands, while others silently returned to their huts, and the entire outer area once again returned to that lifeless and stagnant state.

"Are we...really going?" Ellie asked uneasily. The "prophet" and her singing filled her with a deep-seated resistance and fear.

"We have no choice."

Shen Ge's voice was calm: "Given the situation in the fog zone, we need to be prepared to be trapped here for a long time. We need a lot of resources, food that won't mutate us, and intelligence. Here, that 'prophet' is the only source of all intelligence."

Most importantly, Shen Ge was extremely interested in the "hunters" the old man mentioned, and the secret of why the giant tortoise carcass could become a "sanctuary." This information was crucial to their future survival in this raging ocean.

Moreover, the "Ark" is currently entangled by strange tentacled threads from the seabed, so even if Shen Ge wanted to leave this place immediately, he couldn't.

"Kyle, Roca, you stay here." Shen Ge gave the instructions: "Hold the ropes and protect 'Ark Number One'. If things go wrong, I will give a signal, and you will immediately take Moya to evacuate. Remember, the ship is our foundation."

Then he looked at Allai: “You and Ellie come with me. Your intuition is sharper than theirs, and you can help me notice things I might miss.”

This arrangement was clearly the result of careful consideration, and Alai nodded firmly upon hearing it.

The five-person team was reassigned, and Shen Ge, along with Alai and Ellie, headed towards the towering ridge in the center of the tortoise shell.

The path to the "deepest parts" is not hard to find.

A clearly man-made path, made of bone fragments and dried seaweed, winds its way up the rugged surface of the tortoise shell.

The further you go in, the "cleaner" the surrounding environment becomes.

The carelessly discarded skeletons of strange fish and the broken debris have disappeared, replaced by strange jellyfish skeletons hanging from the skeletons, emitting a faint glow and illuminating the road.

The eerie energy fluctuations in the air, representing madness and chaos, grew increasingly thin. It was as if an invisible barrier had completely separated the "deepest parts" from the insane world outside.

But this "normality" only made Shen Ge feel more uneasy.

He noticed some strange, crystal-clear plants growing in the crevices of the tortoise shells by the roadside. They emitted a soft glow and looked beautiful and harmless.

But Shen Ge's eerie eyes saw that the roots of these plants were deeply embedded in the giant tortoise's flesh and blood, absorbing the purest eerie energy.

They, along with the energy cycle of the entire turtle's back, form a perfect symbiotic system.

This is by no means a natural occurrence.

After walking for about half an hour, they finally reached the top of the ridge.

A building resembling a cathedral dome, constructed from massive, intact, pure white ribs, appeared before them.

The building's entrance has no door, only a soft "curtain" woven from the tentacles of those bioluminescent jellyfish.

A melodious humming, even softer than the "hymn" from before, was drifting out from inside.

Two "guards" stood at the entrance of the building.

They were completely different from the survivors on the periphery who had been eroded.

They were tall and wore close-fitting armor made of some kind of tough, strange leather, and held obsidian spears that had been polished to an extremely sharp edge.

Their skin was a healthy color, and their eyes were clear and sharp, full of wisdom and alertness.

Most importantly, there was almost no trace of being corrupted by the strange energy on them. They were... pure "humans".

In this "graveyard" where even the air is filled with toxicity, how can there be such "normal" humans? This in itself is the greatest abnormality.

Upon seeing Shen Ge and his companions arrive, the two guards showed little surprise, as if they had expected it. One of them stepped forward, holding his spear horizontally across his chest, blocking their path.

"Outsiders."

The guard's voice was deep and powerful: "'The Prophet' is willing to see you. But according to custom, you must first undergo 'purification' to wash away the 'external filth' and 'the ramblings of the god of sleep' that have tainted you."

As he spoke, he pointed to a pool carved from a giant skull next to the entrance to the dome.

The pool was filled with a crystal-clear liquid that emitted a faint glow, just like the liquid seeping from the crevices of the turtle's shell.

“Only by drinking from the ‘holy spring’ can you see the prophet.” The guard’s tone left no room for argument.

Alai and Ellie both looked wary. They had heard the old people on the outside say that drinking these liquids would slowly assimilate them. This so-called "purification" was more like an "initiation ceremony," a spiritual imprint.

Shen Ge's gaze fell on the pool of "holy spring." His strange eyes could see through its essence; it was indeed the purest energy liquid inside the giant tortoise's corpse.

However, an extremely subtle and hidden kind of eerie energy, different from that of the Giant Turtle King, was artificially mixed in, and it felt similar to the eerie energy emanating from the "Prophet's" song.

Drinking it can temporarily resist the erosion of external evil energy, purify the mental pollution, and make the mind clear.
Shen Ge didn't believe it. This kind of thing could very well directly erode the human brain, thus "controlling" them. It might indeed be able to resist the giant tortoise's strange power, but in the same way, it would also be affected by the "prophet".

It is both a refuge and a shackle.

Looking at the two guards with clear eyes and strong bodies, Shen Ge instantly understood the reason for their "normality".

They maintained their sanity and human form by constantly drinking from this "holy spring" and listening to "prayer".

But because of this, they became the "Prophet's" most loyal soldiers, whose thoughts were unified.

Or rather, a puppet.

Shen Ge didn't refuse immediately. He calmly asked, "We only want to exchange some supplies and don't want to bother the Prophet. Perhaps we can exchange something else?"

The guard shook his head, his face expressionless: "Anyone who wants to get anything from the 'deep' must first prove their 'purity.' That's the only rule."

The air instantly became heavy.

Shen Ge knew that they seemed to have no choice but to drink this "holy spring." But how could he allow Alai and the others to be controlled in this way?

Just then, an extremely risky plan took shape in his mind.

He took the initiative to walk forward and approach the pool.

Under the worried gazes of Alai and Ellie, he looked at the guards and calmly said, "They are not used to the atmosphere here. Can I purify it for them?"

The guard paused, seemingly never having encountered such a request before. He glanced at Shen Ge, then at the obviously weakened Alai sisters behind him, and finally nodded: "Alright. But you must drink three servings to prove your sincerity."

“Okay.” Shen Ge agreed without hesitation.

Concentrated supernatural energy—isn't that a "tonic" for him?

Let alone three portions, even if he absorbed all the strange energy here, Shen Ge wouldn't mind.

With his back to the guards and Alai, Shen Ge bent down and used a snail-shell cup to scoop water. Using his body as cover, one hand appeared to be taking water, while the other hand silently rested on the edge of the pool.

The next moment, the progenitorous strange cells in his body, like a black hole, released their original "devouring" power, frantically devouring the concentrated strange energy within.

An invisible, terrifying devouring force suddenly erupted from his palm.

The "holy spring" in the entire pool seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, and began to converge toward Shen Ge's palm at a speed and amplitude that was imperceptible to the naked eye.

The surface of the pool was completely still, but the water level was dropping at an alarming rate!

The two guards standing behind him felt as if the air around them had frozen for a moment, as if something had been sucked away instantly.

But when they looked closely, Shen Ge had already straightened up, holding three cups of "holy spring" in his hands, and was about to drink them all in one gulp. Everything seemed normal.

Unbeknownst to them, in those brief few seconds, this seemingly calm man had already swallowed more than half of the energy in the skull pool!
A massive and pure torrent of strange energy surged wildly through his body, causing the system progress bar to spike at an unprecedented speed.

"Damn, can't we have more of this kind of good thing?" Shen Ge couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This wave of "unexpected surprises" is already comparable to the low-level monsters he hunted on Ark Island for a whole year. If it happens a few more times, the system might just wake up directly!
"Purification... is complete."

Shen Ge put down the snail shell cup and said calmly.

But only he himself knew that the power within him had reached a completely new level, sufficient to cope with the vast majority of unexpected situations.

The guard nodded in satisfaction. In his eyes, this man had been branded as a "prophet" and had become "one of their own."

He turned to the side and gestured for you to enter: "The prophet awaits you inside. Go in, outsiders. Listen to her teachings, and you will be reborn."

Shen Ge, leading the uneasy Alai and Ellie, lifted the curtain woven from jellyfish tentacles and stepped into the bone dome.

The moment they stepped into the "temple," the three felt as if they had entered another world.

There is no pungent fishy smell or putrid odor here; instead, there is a strange and tranquil aroma, similar to a mixture of sandalwood and humus.

The light was dim, emanating from a colossal, slowly pulsating, luminous pearl atop the dome. Below the pearl was a platform constructed from stacks of even smaller skulls.

Around the platform, a dozen or so humans, as "pure" as the guards at the entrance, knelt. They wore uniform robes made of some kind of white membrane, their heads bowed and hands clasped together, as if they were performing a silent prayer.

In the very center of the platform, a figure stood with his back to them.

It was the back view of a woman, also wearing a white robe, with long, silvery-white hair cascading down like a waterfall, almost touching the ground.

Even just her back view exuded an otherworldly, sacred, and aloof aura. The melodious humming came from her direction.

Is this what they call a "prophet"?
Shen Ge's eyes narrowed suddenly, and an extreme sense of vigilance rose in his heart.

Because in his psychic eyes, everything before him presented a completely different, terrifying scene that sent shivers down one's spine.

This "temple" is not a bone structure at all.

It is a "living thing"! It is an enormous, translucent cap that resembles a jellyfish or a fungus!

Those white ribs on the wall are actually bone structures that have grown inside the plant.

And the glowing "pearl" on the dome is an enormous, rotating "eyeball"!
In the vision of the eerie eye, each of the kneeling believers around him had a semi-transparent tentacle extending from the back of their heads, connecting to the platform below where the "prophet" was, as if they were being manipulated puppets.

In Shen Ge's eyes, that sacred and noble "prophet" had no human form whatsoever.

Below that figure were not legs at all, but countless tangled, writhing, dark purple tentacles like tree roots!

These tentacles are deeply rooted in the ground of the entire "temple," in the flesh and blood of the giant tortoise beneath, and have completely merged with the energy circulation center of the entire "tortoise shell"! (End of this chapter)