Blue sky, white clouds, and birds flying in the sky. Not only birds, there were various kinds of flying creatures, including pterosaurs, creatures like bats that glided across the air with membranes, and normal birds like seagulls that fly by relying on the strength of their feathers and muscles.
In front of Sheyan was an endless sea which contained a large number of islands. These islands varied in sizes, and all of them were covered in dense, lush ferns that grew as high as 300 metres. It was almost impossible to see such a scene on Earth. Sheyan could find no words to describe it.
If he had to make a comparison, he would say that the sea in front of him was like a calm lotus pond, and those islands were like lotus leaves that densely crowded the pond. The islands were so close to each other that one could probably sprint and jump across the gaps.
Even more astonishing was that such a scene repeated itself endlessly until the distant horizon!
Sheyan jumped out of the tract and extended his sensory threads all around him to the farthest distance possible. If the threads were to take on solid form, they would be seen as fine threads that looked like countless wisps of smoke, spreading as far as a few kilometres around Sheyan.
Sheyan did not detect any danger, so he walked to the seaside. Only then did he realise that, although the sea water looked clear, it emitted a strong odour. It was common for sea water to have a fishy smell, but the smell here was simply way too strong. He could not help taking out a chemical analysis device that he always carried with him to analyse the water. This kind of device was often used in the field to test whether a water was drinkable.
The test result showed that the water was nontoxic, and it also listed out the composition of the water. There were five kinds of cations: Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and Sr2+, five kinds of anions: Cl¯, SO42¯, Br¯, HCO3¯ (CO32¯), F¯, and the molecule H3BO3.
Sheyan only skimmed through the list of composition, but when he reached the analyser's final summary, it gave him a shock.
"The analysis sample is quite similar to the amniotic fluid in the womb of a female human at three months of pregnancy. The similarity is as high as 95.32%." (Note: Amniotic fluid is actually a colourless liquid. It usually looks turbid only because of the feces and urine of fetuses.)
"...Wow! No wonder this thing smells so strong!" Sheyan exclaimed inwardly in surprise! Because the liquid was so clear, he had actually wanted to take a sip. That thought now disgusted him to no end.
When he got closer to the sea of amniotic fluid, he realised that the sea was probably really deep, because he could not see the bottom at all, only pitch-black darkness. The distance between each island was also not as close as it looked from afar. They were at least 20 metres apart.
Next, his sensory threads discovered a shocking fact! Every "island" was actually an individual creature which possessed its own life! They were not turtle-like creatures, but something like massive lumps of aquatic moss and algae that had gathered into solid objects and now floated on the water. Their life forces felt very weak, like that of a dying old man.
Life force seemed mysterious and impossible to quantify, but in fact, it could be seen from certain signs. For example, when you see a tree with withering leaves, or a skinny old man that stoops low when he walks and seems so frail that the wind might blow him away, you would feel that they have a low life force, like their life force could go out at any moment.
Conversely, when you see a strong tiger with healthy muscles, or a young muscular man with healthy tan skin, you would naturally feel like they have a strong life force.
While Sheyan was still standing there stupefied, it suddenly started raining. The rain was so heavy that his vision was soon filled with a vast expanse of white, and he could even hear the roars of thunder. Sheyan immediately looked around to seek cover from the rain, but he then saw something which made him stop. When the sea water came into contact with the rain and was struck by lightning, an intriguing chemical reaction occurred.
Organic matter was born from the chemical reaction. Amino acids and nucleotides were the two most common and important biological molecules in animals and plants. They were the bricks and stones that constructed the buildings of life. They then became bacteria, then unicellular organisms...
Sheyan witnessed the evolution of life which usually spanned across hundreds of millions of years happening in front of his eyes in mere minutes. He could only watch on with gaping jaws. Just when he thought he would see them evolve into human beings, from the depth of the sea came countless shining lights!!
Never would Sheyan have thought that the final form of their evolution were mayflies!! The mayflies, most famously known for having the lifespan of no more than a day! However, the life force in these mayflies had been concentrated to an astonishing level! The life force inside a single mayfly the size of a palm was stronger than that of ten blue whales combined!
It must be noted that a blue whale has a lifespan of more than 60 years, some even reaching a hundred years. Meanwhile, these mayflies that were only as big as a palm had ten times the life force of a blue whale, but would completely consume the entirety of their life force in a single day. How dazzling would their lives be!!
"This is the biggest and most valuable secret of Noah Realm E!" A slightly excited voice suddenly rang in Sheyan's ears. Then, a ray of light shot out of Sheyan's Nightmare Imprint and soon formed a figure made of light.
Although the figure was faint, he could tell that it was vaguely feminine, and he felt an unspeakable feeling majesty and sanctity from it, and even felt the urge to worship it. She turned around and smiled at the astonished Sheyan.
"Don't be surprised. I'm your mother Realm, Noah Realm C. In order to communicate with the contestants more conveniently, I will sometimes appear in this form. You can also call me Eve."
Sheyan suddenly understood. No wonder he would be feeling this way. Eve, as the bestower of his strength, would naturally possess this kind of power. By now, the mayflies had already rushed to the islands. They devoured the trees and leaves, grew, and mated with each other.
Mating is a process of life. During the process of breeding offspring, the life force of both the mother and the offspring will become extremely strong. In the real world, there are many cases of pregnant women who suffer from terminal diseases miraculously recovering by themselves during pregnancy and childbirth. The concentration of life force in the mayflies in Noah Realm E at this moment had rose to a shocking level due to the process of mating and reproduction!!
"So that's how it's purified," Eve remarked with a smile.
"Forgive my bluntness, but can you say that it in a more understandable way?" Sheyan could not help asking in confusion.
Eve gave Sheyan a deep stare and said, "Based on the achievements you've gained so far, you are indeed qualified to know these secrets. We Noah Realms aren't created by humans; we're products left by the Creator from the last Age. Although all Noah Realms have the same functions, our core methods of combat and survival are different."
"It's a bit like the different means of transport that you humans use in your everyday life. They all share the same function of making travel more convenient, but they are powered by different kinds of core energy. The core energy supply mode of a bicycle is human power, the core energy supply mode of an electric vehicle is electrical energy, a car is powered by fuel, a sailboat is powered by wind, a nuclear submarine is powered by nuclear energy, and a steamboat is powered by steam. It is the same for Noah Realms. Every Noah Realm has different secrets at its core."
Upon hearing that, Sheyan suddenly came to a realisation. He took a deep breath and asked, "You mean, the core secret of Noah Realm E lies in this sub-world in front of us?"
"Yes," answered Noah Realm C firmly. "That's absolutely right. This whole world seems to have been compressed to the limit. The only function of the living creatures in this world is to provide a constant stream of terrifying life force to Noah Realm E to be its core energy! This entire world in front of you is the core engine of Noah Realm E, the heart of Noah Realm E!"
"The evolutionary speed of these mayflies have been hastened billions of times. They contained strong essences of life which are further purified when they mate! See, the mayflies don't lay eggs after they mate, but wither and explode. Those white spots of light floating upwards are the purified essences of life. They will be supplied to the entire body of Noah Realm E to support its activities."
"How can life be converted into energy?" Sheyan found it hard to understand.
Eve's reply sent him into a daze. "Think about your 'Extinction' ability and the Awakening Skill of your teammate, Reef. They're powerful attacking skills that can only be performed by consuming a certain amount of life force!"
Sheyan had no reply to that. He stared at the amazing sight, which looked somewhat like snowflakes flying all over the sky, in a trance. Never would he have thought that the Noah Realms had advanced to the point of using an entire world as an "engine"! Only after a while did he snap back to reality.
"What can I do for you, then?" he asked with some difficulty.
"You can see that the extracted essences of life are floating into the air. There must be a hidden energy absorption device up there. I'm currently in an illusionary state and have no combat power, but I can still analyse and calculate. You just need to go to where the energy absorption device is and stay there for a while," said Eve while staring into the sky.
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