Alone and Infinite

He pointed to himself and gave a bitter smile:

"Do you know how I became like this? It's because of the sacred object."

Li Xia's expression turned serious, and Aowu and Heitan also became much more serious, as if the cutscene in a game was finally about to end.

What followed was closely related to his mission.

"When I was young, I had the same idea as you: to steal or destroy the Gregane Relics."

This way, the Griggan population won't grow so quickly, and the Stone Golems will have a chance to catch their breath.

Bedrock closed his eyes, as if that would allow him to escape from that terrible memory:

"But I didn't expect the side effects of the sacred object to be so severe, and I obtained it very easily."

While I was fighting the guards of the Griggan, the radiation from the relic continued to erode me.

It gradually turned my body into wood, and Grigan, the 'Empire's Whip,' took the opportunity to plant his whip in my body.

I barely managed to escape back, in order to fight against the petrification of my body and the thorns growing on it.

They had to resort to many unusual methods to survive until now.

After saying all that in one breath, Jiyan paused and looked at Li Xia:

"Now, do you still want to retrieve the sacred relic?"

"want!"

Li Xia nodded without hesitation. The side effects of the sacred artifact were indeed terrifying, but it was only at the third level.

"it is good!"

A light seemed to shine in Bedrock's eyes as he slammed his hand heavily onto the stone slab.

The thorns crackled and felled as he moved, but he seemed completely unconcerned.

"Baozuan, bring over the map hanging in the back."

Baozuan, who had been listening quietly, immediately stood up, quickly walked to the back, and hugged the map to his chest.

"Put it upside down on the table."

When the large map, one meter wide and two meters long, was turned over and laid out on the table.

Only then did I discover that there were also scattered lines and patterns drawn on the back of the map.

"This is the sacred place and surrounding environment in my memory. The petrification of my body brings immense pain, and sometimes when I have an attack, I recall the actions of that day."

"If I had known more about the Holy Land back then, perhaps the outcome would have been different."

Li Xia stood up and looked down at the map.

"The sacred relic is located in the sacred ground, not far from Tianbi City, approximately—"

He lightly traced the route from Tianbi City to the Holy Land on the map with his fingernail:

"It would normally take 7 days to travel this route."

Seven days. Li Xia nodded. Judging from the speed of the booming, it was about a thousand kilometers, which was indeed not far for a third-level expert.

"The Holy Land is protected by the 'Holy Land Guard,' but because the effects of the relics are too powerful, even the Griggans cannot stay within the range of the relics' effects for long."

If they stay there for too long, they will also undergo irreversible petrification, because there are no guards in the holy land.

They all stood guard on the edge of the holy site.

As for the outer perimeter, it was handled by Griggs's Southern Army, whose "Sword of the Empire," Scapo, was very powerful.

Their strength ranks among the top ten in Griggs.

Bedrock's fingernail pointed to the location of the holy site.

"Simply put, obtaining the sacred object is easy; the difficulty lies in escaping and enduring its corrosive influence."

If the relic is stolen, the entire population of Griggs will go mad; they will hound you relentlessly.

The Griggans possess unique methods for tracking relics, and this particular relic cannot be destroyed by conventional means.

Li Xia frowned. He had originally thought the biggest challenge was how to obtain the sacred artifact.

It seems that obtaining the sacred object is not difficult; the real challenge lies in escaping the pursuit.

"Baozuan, you go out first. Xia and I need to talk alone for a few minutes."

Seeing Li Xia deep in thought, Jiyan unexpectedly spoke to Baozuan.

"Ok!"

Baozuan showed no dissatisfaction, stood up cleanly and decisively, and left the room.

Once only the two people remained in the room, Bedrock suddenly said:

"I want to know, now that you've obtained the relic and escaped the pursuit, what do you plan to do with the Griggan Relic?"

Awoo suddenly tensed up.

Because the Stone Men's expectation was definitely to destroy the sacred object, but the task was not.

The Temple of Light issued this mission in order to obtain the sacred relic through the apostles and link the apostles' illusory fate with the sacred relic.

Then, it takes another eight hours to inscribe the mark of the Temple of Light, and then this world will belong to the Temple of Light.

Therefore, sacred objects must never be destroyed!

What to do now? Use lies?

This is completely different from the kind of performance that involves rolling one's eyes. Whether the sacred object can be destroyed is closely related to the fate of the stone man!

Lies were undoubtedly the most frequently used skill by the apostles, but...

"I need to possess the relic for a period of time, that's all."

Li Xia's voice was unwavering as she stated her purpose.

Bedrock stared at him intently, its scarlet eyes seemingly filled with unusually complex emotions.

"understood."

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 306 Heart of Stone

"You are not a stone man."

Bedrock slowly said:

"You're not from Griggan either."

Aowu and Heitan became a little nervous. Not all worlds are human; rather, the temple only selects human or humanoid worlds.

This raises a very serious issue: as outsiders, especially with completely different appearances, it can easily lead to various problems.

Therefore, most apostles have developed the habit of going straight for their target, skipping unnecessary interactions with local forces or figures.

The ability to navigate between different factions with ease is a skill not every apostle possesses.

Local world figures are not fools either.

Bedrock then dropped an even more shocking statement.

"You are not from this world."

Aowu and Heitan suddenly went on high alert, even though they had heard legends about characters in the story or local figures guessing the identities of the apostles.

But this is the first time I've actually encountered it!

Li Xia remained silent for a moment, neither denying nor admitting it.

The temple forbids its apostles from revealing information about the temple itself, for fear that the natives would go mad if they knew about this miraculous place.

For those who have already reached the pinnacle of their respective worlds, there are endless possibilities and an unlimited path to becoming stronger.

This is a fatal temptation; once they know the location of the temple, it's hard for them not to seek a way to join this miraculous place.

And when they get no response, they become increasingly frantic, such as engaging in large-scale massacres, hoping to sacrifice their lives and blood.

Such horrifying things have happened before.

Long ago, there were no restrictions on the existence of the temple; apostles could freely reveal its existence.

They call themselves beings sent from heaven, traveling between worlds and stirring up their destinies; the title of apostles was given to them by the natives.

The powerful individuals who had reached the end of their own worlds were so desperate to enter the hall of fame that they did all sorts of incomprehensible things.

Eventually, they even began a large-scale hunt for the Apostles, trying to prove that they were stronger than them.

The result, of course, was nothing, and even the original fate of the world was thrown into chaos, causing a sharp decrease in global output.

Later, the temple added a rule prohibiting apostles from voluntarily revealing the temple's existence.

Therefore, behind every seemingly inexplicable rule lies an even more inexplicable story.

When the apostles' identities are guessed by the characters in the story, their most common approach is to neither deny nor admit it.

Thus, the local people could only know that the Apostles were not from this world, but they were unaware of the incredible power behind the Apostles.

Bedrock shook his head, a low, hoarse laugh echoing in the room, as stone dust dripped from his body.

"Even if you come from another world, it doesn't matter. Since we can accept the Grigan, we can accept others as well. As long as you consider us Stone Golems as friends, then we will be your friends forever."

That's true, because when the Griggans first came to this world, it was the Stone Men who extended a helping hand.

How strong are you?

Bedrock asked again.

"My overall strength is probably slightly weaker than that of a centurion, but in a life-or-death struggle, a centurion might not be my match."

Li Xia pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

Slightly weaker than a commander of ten thousand?

The sharp fingernail of the bedrock tapped lightly on the stone table, quickly carving a small, shallow pit in the desk.

"How long do you need to possess the Gregan relics?"

"10 hour."

Li Xia didn't reveal everything, but instead added two hours.

"Then your strength is still not enough, at least not stable enough. Ten hours is very difficult."

Bedrock closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his scarlet eyes seemed to be glowing.

"I'll help you, no, the entire Stone Golem race will help you!"

Black Charcoal's round eyes widened, and its ears, hidden in its mane, twitched and stood up.

"What about the conditions?"

"After the whole thing is over, send the Heart of Stone back to the Skywall Mountains, back to the origin of the Stone People."

"The Heart of Stone?" Li Xia frowned.

"The Heart of Stone, the most precious treasure of the Stone Clan, is currently inside my body. It is because of the Heart of Stone that I have been able to hold on until now."

Bedrock stated frankly:

"The Heart of Stone has no effect on others who are not stone people. I sent it back to the ancestral land for the sake of the future."

Awoo suddenly raised its paw and asked curiously:

"Why doesn't the stone figure return itself? Tianbi Mountain is right above your heads, isn't it?"

"because."

Bedrock shook its head bitterly:

“We can’t go back. Tianbi Mountain is too steep. The higher we go, the steeper it becomes, until finally it’s almost vertical.”

Li Xia immediately understood. He clearly remembered that the Stone Golem illustrations mentioned that the Stone Golems had very low agility, and their climbing movements were actually limited.

The Tianbi Mountains are over 10,000 meters high and steep at nearly 90 degrees, making it impossible for stone figures to climb them.