Chapter 657: 657. Sculpture

Knowledge about the Mortal and Immortal Lands!

Noah and the elders' focus immediately went on that part.

The history of the Mortal Lands didn't interest them, but any heroic cultivator would pay a fortune to learn more about the Immortal ones!

It couldn't be helped, that was the ultimate goal in the cultivators' journey.

"The vast assortment of delicacies is enough to feed a nation for a decade, and the knowledge stored inside the palace covers four thousand years. It starts somewhere ten thousand years ago and ends right before Master's ascension six thousand years ago."

Thirty-seven explained further when he saw that his guests were interested.

'No resources, techniques, or items. Yet, obtaining that kind of knowledge can be incredibly helpful, and the elders would surely hand some of their methods to the Hive anyway. Also, there is this automaton.'

Noah summarized the gains obtained in that journey in his mind.

Thirty-seven was the spirit automaton of a rank 6 item, and his usefulness couldn't possibly be limited to his management skills.

Noah knew that well, even his ring's automaton could perform tasks that surpassed his level.

"What can you do? I guess your expertise must cover formations, inscriptions, and runes."

Noah asked Thirty-seven to obtain a clear idea of his value.

The spirit automaton of his space-ring could catalog a countless number of resources and identify which one of them would be the most useful in specific situations.

Instead, Thirty-seven's abilities had to be in line with Divine Architect's area of expertise since she had created him to handle the palace.

"Exactly. Divine Architect has authorized me to help my new masters with my vast expertise in all the inscriptions' fields. I can only pass down the method to build this dimension though. Master was very careful in maintaining her monopoly over her creations."

Thirty-seven explained, and the trio didn't know how to react to his words.

The help of a rank 6 automaton was terrific, but learning how to create a separate dimension couldn't bring that many benefits.

After all, those places were mainly built by powerful beings to pass down inheritances.

The Hive was at its prime, and Chasing Demon was far away from the divine ranks, a separate dimension wouldn't be that useful in their case.

Thirty-seven didn't fail to notice their slight disappointment and began to list the benefits of the dimension as he led the group on the staircase.

"There is nothing safer than a separate dimension! You can store wealth and use its insides to perform dangerous experiments in an environment that bends to your will!"

Thirty-seven seemed really heated when he explained those points, but the trio wasn't interested.

Building a separate dimension required an immense amount of wealth and work, and it could only become a secret area of some sort.

The Hive couldn't divert so much man-power and resources during that period since it would only slow down its growth.

Noah began to focus on the staircase and the sculpture at its center when he lost interest in the automaton's words.

The steps were transparent, they had been built with an alloy that resembled glass, but that was far sturdier.

'It is as if Divine Architect wanted to be sure that the staircase wouldn't hinder the sight of the sculpture.'

Noah thought as his gaze moved toward the floating spheres above him.

The sphere slowly rotated as they remained in their spots, but there was a bigger one that stayed still.

The group continued to climb the transparent steps, and the automation continued to argue with the elders, but Noah's mind had begun to wander.

The spheres became more detailed as the group neared them, and Noah's eyes widened when he noticed a few details on one of them.

That sphere was mostly azure, but there were a few brown spots of various shapes on its surface.

The issue was that their shapes seemed to match the continents in the Mortal Lands perfectly!

"You humans are all the same, always thinking about benefits. Do you want resources? With this dimension, you can reac-"

"Thirty-seven, is that our world?"

Noah's question interrupted Thirty-seven's words, and the elders immediately followed his gaze to stare at the sculpture.

The automaton suppressed his anger with a snort and wore a proud expression when he saw the amazed faces of the heroic cultivators.

More details appeared on the spheres as the group kept on climbing, and Noah began to notice other smaller brown marks on their surfaces.

His focus was on the sphere that seemed to depict his word.

He saw how accurate it was in representing the continents and the small islands on the vast sea.

His surprise further increased when he saw the piece of Immortal Lands depicted on it.

"Explain."

Noah said that simple word at that point.

The automaton wanted to gloat a bit, but his eagerness to show off Divine Architect's creation took over that feeling.

"The sculpture is an attempt to represent the Mortal and Immortal Lands that Master has been able to see with one of her creations. Of course, this world is the most detailed."

Silence fell on the group when the automaton spoke.

The heroic cultivators analyzed the sculpture with a newfound interest, and there was some disbelief in their expressions.

That disbelief originated by the fact that the sculpture represented multiple Mortal Lands!

'The five small spheres should all be Mortal Lands, which means that the bigger one depicts the Immortal ones.'

Noah quickly moved his focus on the bigger sphere at the center of the sculpture.

He already knew that other worlds existed out there, so it took him less than his companions to recover from that realization.

The bigger sphere was white, and it only featured one small black dot on its surface.

"Even Master's masterpieces couldn't allow her to learn much about the higher plane, which was why she had ultimately decided to ascend. Yet, she had been asked to build this dimension right before that."

Thirty-seven radiated an intense pride as he revealed events that happened far in the past.

"The job was incredibly ambitious. She would have to create a copy of the Mortal Lands with the hope that a higher plane would naturally form because of it. Yet, Heaven and Earth intervened and stopped the expansion of this place."

Anger appeared on the automaton's expression when his story reached that point.

However, his next words made the heroic cultivators focus on him again.

"Creating Mortal Lands while under Heaven and Earth's domain is impossible. Yet, one of the amazing features of this dimension is that its exits must be built from inside it. I believe you can understand how useful it can be."