Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 571 Lost Civilization

Li Xia and the three little ones craned their necks, watching intently as the little knight raised the bone nail in his hand, and after a brief gathering of strength, struck the sleeping insect's head with a dark and powerful force.

"Bang!"

The black power enveloped the insect, but the little knight remained motionless. After a few seconds, it raised its head and stared blankly in the direction of Li Xia and the others.

"Meow!"

(He's completely gone mad.)

Li Xia nodded, looking at the insect whose breathing had stopped; it was indeed a magical ability.

However, looking at it from another perspective, shadow energy originates from darkness, and darkness has always been strongly associated with sleep and dreams, so it is not surprising that shadow energy, which is born from darkness, has such abilities.

"The next one?"

Standing on the street of the lush green path, looking at the buildings shrouded in dense vegetation, Aowu suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

"How long will it take to try them one by one?"

Li Xia glanced around, his brows furrowing. The entire lush green path wasn't large, but that was still in comparison to the city.

As a place with an extremely beautiful environment, the buildings here are often far apart, and there are quite a few insects in the commercial street.

Even using a simple calculation with Observation Haki, there are hundreds of insects in this area alone.

Trying them one by one was indeed time-consuming and laborious, not to mention that there were still quite a few buildings scattered around the area.

But there really wasn't a better way at the moment, and Li Xia even felt that coming to the lush green path might not be such a good solution.

After all, what I'm looking for is the Tower of Bliss. As long as I keep asking the insects, I'll eventually find it.

Wait—or a map?

Li Xia suddenly realized why he insisted on asking the insects; the map was the same.

In terms of the development of the insect hive kingdom, there must be detailed maps, and detailed maps of each region must also exist.

Old Os didn't know because it had been in the borderlands for too long, and it didn't know about places other than the larger ones, like the newer areas of the Zerg Hive Kingdom.

"Take a look at the shops on both sides and see if there are any stores that sell maps or bookstores."

This is a favorite spot for scholars and researchers, and there's a high probability that related shops might exist here!

"Yup!"

The three little ones immediately scattered and darted into the building. As long as they didn't wake up the insects, they were relatively safe.

Li Xia also entered the shops, excluding those that didn't look like they were selling maps.

The little knight continued to use its special ability to knock on the insects one by one.

"Clothing stores, restaurants, fabric stores, tool stores"

The commercial street wasn't long, and they quickly reached the end. Li Xia frowned slightly, not seeing any bookstores or similar establishments. Did these insect scholars and researchers not read books?

"Boss, I don't have any here."

"Meow! (I don't have any here either)."

Li Xia remained silent for a moment:

"Keep looking, go into every shop and check it out. If that doesn't work, we'll have to go to the residential areas later."

Although it still involves luck, this enumeration-based approach is different. As long as it exists, it can be found, and the efficiency is much faster than simply waiting for the little knight to enter the dream.

Li Xia turned back and began a second search, while Ao Wu simply flew towards the residential area. The commercial street wasn't large, and searching there would be a waste of time.

As the Zergling Kingdom was in the final stages of its collapse, the shops had very few supplies. Just like the material shop, judging from the shop's decoration, it should have been filled with a wide variety of items during its heyday.

But to Li Xia, the place was ninety percent empty, with only some rather simple-looking materials scattered haphazardly.

On the contrary, the clothing stores had more items, and the restaurants were decorated in an exceptionally luxurious style.

Why is this?

Li Xia pondered for a moment, then realized that the scenery along the lush green path was extremely beautiful, especially compared to other dark places, it was simply like paradise.

This place must be a place that the insects of the Hive Kingdom flock to. During the kingdom's heyday, only scholars and researchers who had made outstanding contributions to the Hive Kingdom and enjoyed great fame had the right to live here.

But the collapse of the kingdom also means the collapse of order and rules. In the final stages of the collapse, how could those researchers and scholars possibly compete with the powerful and wealthy?
Therefore, this place gradually became a vacation spot for the insect elites, and it is normal for the commercial street here to change with demand.

What inspired Li Xia was the exorbitant price tags on the clothes in the ready-to-wear store and the names of the people who placed the orders.

'High-end colored clothing - Price: 2400 Georgies, Pre-ordered by: Sibala 'Kumbu''

'Spider Silk Dress - Price: 5800 Georgies, Reserved by: Desla 'Sheen''

"Kombu" and "Sheen" are terms used in the Zerg Hive Kingdom. Based on the powerful subconscious mapping of the Temple of Light, Li Xia understands them as "Viscount Sibala" and "Marquis Desla".

The Geo of the Bug Hive Kingdom has extremely strong purchasing power because it is a non-renewable resource made from the fossils of ancient special insects. Therefore, a few hundred Geo are roughly equivalent to a few hundred dollars.

It was precisely because of Geo's strong purchasing power that Old Os was able to send the country boy from the outskirts all the way to the "Imperial Capital," the City of Tears, and even buy him a large house near the Second Ring Road.

Similarly, the insects Li Xia killed and the Geo he looted were all only one or two, because Geo is really valuable!

Well, from this perspective, Old Geo really dared to ask for that much.
However, it's normal not to understand the value of currency when you first arrive in this world. Besides, Geo is indeed not very useful to me. Even though you get very little Geo from killing bugs, you can still kill a lot of them.

He still has over a thousand Giornos in his hands, which is quite a lot.

Once Li Xia understood this, she felt somewhat speechless; no wonder she couldn't see any bookstores or similar shops.

What do the powerful and wealthy need? They need food, drink, and entertainment, but they don't need books.
At this moment, the clothing store is located near the end of the commercial street, behind which is a large and rather luxurious restaurant.

Since he was already here, Li Xia hesitated for a moment before deciding to go in and take a look.

His gaze swept casually across the dusty hall, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the sign that he had almost overlooked before. It was covered in dust, obscuring most of the text, but the exposed text clearly stated what it said.

'Lavance the Gourmet's Kombu presents his most detailed account ever!'

The Insect Kingdom Food Map Guide is officially released!

Li Xia walked forward involuntarily, picked up a not-so-thick booklet from the table next to the billboard, and blew away the accumulated dust on it.

The words above seem to have traveled through time and reappeared.

The manual wasn't brightly colored; the simple strokes on the plant paper vividly depicted an insect sitting at a dining table, feasting on its meal.

Li Xia's eyes lit up when she opened the book, because the first page featured a drawing of a towering tower. Next to the lifelike map was an explanation.

Tower of Bliss

Recommendation rating: Five stars! (A must-visit for insect enthusiasts)
Founded by the noble Pale Spirit, Gluttony, one of the seven knights of the Insect Hive Kingdom, the tower has seven floors, each corresponding to a different kind of "extreme culinary torture." Only true gourmet believers can enter the first floor.

—The first layer of the humus steaming room: using the humus soil that has been underground for thousands of years as a stove, the "bursting ground maggots" that are a specialty of the insect nest are steamed. The tree sap contained in the maggots is fermented at high temperature, and the sweet and sour taste is accompanied by the fishy smell of the soil. It bursts in your mouth and is the first test to open your taste buds.

—The second layer of the beeswax roasting platform: Beeswax threads secreted by the queen ant wrap around fresh meat and roast it, forming a thin, cicada-wing-like sugar coating. When you bite into it, the aroma of honey and meat explodes between your teeth.
Li Xia quickly browsed through the menu. The first three floors were simply filled with gourmet food, while the floors above the third floor were not open to the public and were only for nobles or descendants of the Pale Spirits.

Finally, he saw the message he wanted most.

The Tower of Bliss is located at the top of Lonely Peak by taking the No. 4 railcar to Gem Mountain, then taking the Bighorn Bug car to the edge of the Ancient Basin.

You search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly.
Li Xia shook his head, holding the food map in his hand. No wonder Old Os didn't know. How could Old Os possibly know about such a high-end consumer venue that was similar to a fusion of Heaven and Earth and Li Family Cuisine?

He picked up the remaining booklets, about to call out to Aowu to tell the three little ones to stop looking, but Aowu spoke first:

"Boss! Boss, my treasure-hunting radar is working!"

Li Xia reacted extremely quickly: "High-value item detection aura?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The Awoo on the other end was obviously very excited, as this was the first time it had encountered the detection halo being activated.

"almost there!"

Li Xia put the booklet away and, with a single step, appeared outside the door.

Outside, the little knight was still carrying his bone spikes, earnestly tapping the head of the insect lying by the roadside.

"Bang—bang—bang—"

Just like a night watchman.
Li Xia lightly touched the ground again, and his whole body turned into a dotted line. When he passed by the little knight, he picked up the little knight who was raising the bone nail to strike, then turned a corner and flew directly into the sky.

Skimming low over the treetops, it soon came into view an exquisitely crafted building in the jungle. Even though it was a semi-circular insect nest, it still displayed a unique beauty. The three little ones were sticking their heads out in the courtyard.

"Boss! Boss, this is it!"

Awoo rubbed its little paws together, its face full of excitement, even though what the 'high-value item detection aura' detected wasn't necessarily high-value to them.

But just like finding money on the ground, the mere fact that this happened is enough to make people happy.

Li Xia put down the bewildered little knight, walked slowly to the window of the house, and glanced inside.

They discovered that the owner of the house had disappeared, leaving only some rotting insect shells on the ground.

died?

Li Xia's gaze shifted slightly, and she saw a box on the table in the room emitting a faint light, with a dark-colored piece of paper next to it covered with writing.

After sensing for a while, Li Xia did not detect any danger or abnormality, so he simply took the item out of the window.

It's another amulet.

Soul Catcher

[Grade: Blue - Ultimate (Tier 4)]

[Type: Amulet/Jewelry]

【Origin: Seeking Light World】

[Durability: 80/80]

The amount of Soul Photons gained has been increased by 100%.

[Summary: The vibrations of the shadows cause the soul to release more soul photons.]

"What good stuff?"

Aowu immediately came over and asked with great interest.

Li Xia glanced at it and handed the box to Aowu, then looked at the paper, which should be an unfinished letter.

“Dear Dickson, I have carefully studied the artifacts you sent and am quite certain that they are relics of an ancient lost civilization.”

Both the carving style and the materials used are very similar to the discovered 'Dark Soul Totem'.

Currently, many people within the kingdom firmly believe that those statues were simply made by the insectoid tribes before the establishment of the Hive Kingdom.

However, this jewelry-like pendant powerfully refutes that claim, as both its craftsmanship and materials far surpass our current technology.

I used a carving knife capable of working the hardest metal in the kingdom, yet I couldn't leave a single mark on the pendant.

Do you understand? This not only proves that a civilization existed before us, but that this civilization was far more advanced than we are now.

My God! This is so beautiful and amazing!

Just imagining it makes me incredibly excited. What was that civilization like? Where did they live? And how did they perish?

I can't wait to find out for myself.

"Coleson, my friend, I'm afraid I won't be able to carry out this great research."

Since the Pale King disappeared, the kingdom's attitude toward scholars has changed drastically.

They even cut more than 90% of the funding from academics and instead built all sorts of luxurious entertainment venues.
I have just received notice that I have three days to move out of this residence.
Dickson, do you know that this residence was a reward from the Pale King to me for discovering twenty-six uses for green crystals, which brought the kingdom tens of millions of geodes.

Aside from being the chief researcher of the Zerg Hive Kingdom and this house, I didn't ask for any other compensation.

But now they want to take away my only home, my honor.
Goodbye, Dickson. They should send this letter to you, if they have any conscience left.

Li Xia let out a long breath, shook the letter, and then turned to look at the insect shell lying in the room.

In the final days of the kingdom, all sorts of strange phenomena will appear, and demons will roam freely.

However, this letter did explain a lot of things.

He looked thoughtfully at the still clueless little knight and the amulet in Aowu's hand.

If I'm not mistaken, the lost ancient civilization should be the Shadow Civilization, which was born in the darkness.

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)