Chapter 2344 The Forgotten World

Li Yao and Li Jialing walked under a "towering giant tree".

This big tree is hundreds of meters high, located between dozens of high and low stalagmites and stalactites, stretching out countless "branches" to the surroundings, and has roots protruding like ridges. It spread radially to the surroundings, all the way to the ground.

Li Yao gently tore off a few vines, wiped off a piece of moss, and could vaguely identify the interface of a row of crystal cards.

This thing that looks like a giant tree is a very sophisticated and huge central control system. He has only seen similar systems on the bridges of some super-large starships in the past.

But now, all the crystal brains and computing chips embedded in the central control system are all rusty, and the surface is covered with moss, vines, and various small insects similar to ants, and there are even spore-like life forms similar to tumors, dotted on the ground. Between the vines and moss, misty mist is constantly spraying out.

Dim, as if breathing, making it look like a monster combined with life and precision machinery.

This is the largest "playground" in the town. Many playful children climbed to the branches of the "giant tree", which is the crystal line transmission pipeline, caught the bugs that grew out of the crystal brain, and sent them to the heads and spines of their companions. They played tricks on each other, laughing like silver bells one after another.

Li Yao noticed that these children with crystal clear skin and slightly red eyes were also one of the few people in the whole town who could laugh.

Li Yao looked at the children and said thoughtfully, "The underground towns numbered after 10,000 are the limit of the empire's statistics, so the residents here are the oldest exiles?"

"no."

Li Jialing shook his head and said, "Forty thousand years ago, the exiles in the ancient repair era and the rise and fall of the monster clan were too far away from now, and most of them have decayed in the darkness of the ground under the erosion of time. , or 'merged' with the latecomers.

"Even if there are occasional very few people who are still alive, they have long forgotten their identities, the meaning of civilization and even the most basic wisdom, and have been reduced to savages who drink blood, or even degenerate into muddled, ignorant, human-shaped beasts with only instincts.

"These savages and humanoid beasts were all expelled to towns deeper than five digits. Don't mention the names, the dark death area that doesn't even have a number. Sister Long went to the tribe of these savages to mediate their disputes."

Li Yao frowned slightly, and said, "Then when did the people here escape into the ground?"

"It should have fled underground when the Star Sea Empire collapsed 10,000 years ago."

Li Jialing said, "This was originally an underground refuge in the Star Sea Empire era. The ancestors of most of the residents should have escaped at that time and wanted to take refuge temporarily. Who knew that it would take ten thousand years to hide here. Struggling, thriving, and never having the chance to return to a sunny world."

Li Yao sighed, still a little puzzled and said: "Since it is an underground shelter built by the Star Sea Empire, it should have all kinds of facilities and education system. Even if the first escaped people are civilians, they should They all have basic survival skills and the fire of civilization, right? Why do I see this place as lingering, lifeless, and everyone degenerates to the appearance of the medieval world?"

Li Jialing thought for a while, seemed to be recalling Long Yangjun's words, and finally said: "Sister Long said, the way of cultivation is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat, and the same is true for the continuation and development of civilization. The faster the speed of evolution, surpassing one peak after another, the existence of civilization can be maintained.

"If you want to stop and take a breath, you are likely to be crushed by your own weight, and you will inevitably embark on decline and even death.

"However, the more advanced the civilization, the more sophisticated the social structure, the more complex the conditions for maintaining the same social form, and the weaker the ability to withstand the pressure of the environment. Sister Long said, you are a craftsman, you must understand that 'the more components The less, the lower the failure rate; and as more and more components make up a magic weapon, no matter how carefully it is refined and how carefully it is used, it will always break down over time."

Li Yao nodded. In the magic weapon refining circle, there is a saying that "adding one component will double the failure rate". Although it is a bit exaggerated, the truth is true.

With the increase of magic weapon components, the difficulty of refining, assembling, and maintenance will increase geometrically. A large magic weapon composed of millions of components is simply a chaotic system that is completely unpredictable, and no one can guarantee that it will not There will be strange and weird problems in the process of using it, even Li Yao can't guarantee it.

Perhaps, as the components and talisman break through the limit, the magic weapon also has a life in a certain sense, and the life body is the most uncontrollable and unpredictable existence in the universe, right?

"Sister Long said that the magic weapon is the same, and the civilization is the same. No matter how repaired and maintained a super-giant magic weapon is composed of tens of billions of components, it is doomed to collapse one day; and a highly advanced and developed civilization is too fragile. , can easily be ruined by the slightest problem."

Li Yao snorted coldly, "Why are magic weapons and civilization the same?"

Li Jialing spread his hands and said, "Sister Long said, if it were a village in the ancient world, made of the simplest logs and rocks, all the villagers would work at sunrise and rest at sunset, and depend on hunting and farming for their livelihood. The seemingly backward social form is easy to resist the erosion of time and changes in the environment. Even if it migrates from the ground to the ground, it can maintain its original form and survive for a long time.

"But what about a modern town?

"Think about it, what does it take to maintain a modern town? Even from the most superficial point of view, there must be a criss-crossing vacuum pipeline system and ultra-high-speed crystal track system above the head, tunnels and lifting platforms extending in all directions under the feet, and densely populated The sewers, ventilation pipes, information and energy transmission pipes will be connected to each other, and there will be enough space to accommodate vehicles such as shuttle cars, all of which require a continuous supply of energy.

"Assuming the same number of people, the energy consumption of modern towns is a hundred times or even a thousand times higher than that of medieval towns. In addition to geothermal energy, there is almost no more spiritual energy in the barren ground. How can modern towns not collapse?

"There is also a human factor. Sister Long said that commoners in the ancient world may look like weak ants, but ants are actually very capable of surviving. The ancients were rough-skinned and thick-skinned, and endured hardships. They only needed a few bowls of the roughest scum every day. If you eat porridge, you can continue farming and hunting, and you have the concept of having more children and more blessings. Even if most of the offspring die young, a very small number of descendants can continue their blood.

"However, although modern society has produced such a powerful group of cultivators, and all kinds of strange magic weapons, which make life extremely convenient, it also weakens the ability of human beings to survive. Most people's stomachs are only suitable for the finest food , Air-conditioning arrays are needed to provide a cool and comfortable environment, let alone sewers and toilets, even if there is no spiritual net, it will become a walking dead.

"Modern people have long forgotten the ability to farm and hunt with the crudest tools or even bare hands in harsh environments. They are engaged in the work of crystal brain engineers, crystal rail train drivers, high-rise building builders, and singing, dancing and storytelling. These survival skills all need to be supported by a rigorous, complex and error-prone platform. When this platform disappears, the survival ability of 99% of modern people will be close to zero.

"In addition, the more civilized and advanced the race, the more inclined it is to have prenatal and postnatal care. They don't even have a single offspring, and they don't have the ability to resist risks at all.

"This is the case with the remnants of the Star Sea Empire who migrated deep underground. Perhaps when they first escaped, the facilities in the refuge were very advanced and the supplies were sufficient. The doctors, scholars, teachers and engineers among them were all modernized. Talents are readily available, enough to continue the small civilization.

"But this is just an illusion of self-deception. In the face of the strong pressure of the crustal movement, the seemingly indestructible outer walls of the shelter are no different from illusory soap bubbles. Just a 'small' earthquake is enough to destroy their entire modern era. Civilization system, and if engineers in some key positions unfortunately fall, it will be difficult to cultivate good enough successors within a few years.

"For 10,000 years, there have been dozens of earthquakes and underground magma eruptions, which is nothing more than normal. These remnants of the Star Sea Empire have struggled to survive in such a harsh environment until today. They have not lost all of their humanity, and they can still have language, thinking and The basic social organization ability is already very good!

"By the way, Sister Long also said that maybe the civilizations of Pangu and Nuwa were destroyed in this way. The more advanced the civilization, the weaker the inner structure is. So when the civilization of Pangu and Nuwa developed to the extreme, the internal social structure should be better than today's. Human civilization is a hundred times more fragile, and it is a typical example of 'strengthening the outside but doing the work'."

Li Yao scoffed at this kind of statement. He could give a hundred counterexamples. Could it be that the ability of the Tianyuan Realm to deal with disasters is not as good as that of the Ancient Sacred Realm? What a joke!

However, he didn't intend to stick to words, but looked at the hazy darkness above his head and said: "Do the imperial authorities know what's going on here? Why don't they take care of it?"

"Of course I know, otherwise how did the area number '10084' come about?"

Li Jialing said, "However, why do you want to control it? Who will control it? What good is it? Immortal cultivators are the most selfish. If there is no benefit, they...we won't do it!

"If any rare mineral veins or precious ancient civilization relics are found deep in the ground, then the immortal cultivators will naturally scramble to be the first, flock to them, fight, and even wipe out the entire underground town.

"However, the barren villages in the 10084 area, which rely on farming rock worms for a living, really don't have any oil to squeeze. If you want to collect a dime here, you have to waste a hundred yuan in tax collection costs. It's not worth it at all. How could a cultivator waste his precious training time to take care of these insignificant ants and 'garbage'?

"Besides, Jitian Realm and Tianjixing are theoretically a 'vacuum zone' where the forces of the four major elector families clash. This is the imperial capital directly under the Emperor's Majesty. Which elector is thankless and wants to help the emperor manage the deep underground What about untouchables and savages?

"So, apart from a census more than 200 years ago, which assigned numbers to many underground areas, unless rare mineral veins and ancient relics were found somewhere, very few immortal cultivators would go down to such a deep underground , this is the world that has been ignored and deliberately forgotten by people, and has been completely abandoned by the rulers on the ground."