With the help of the red light, she could see a round object lying on the ground.
It is about half the size of a head, and its shape is difficult to describe. It is roughly composed of two spherical structures spliced together, one slightly larger and the other slightly smaller.
At the top of the smaller sphere, there is a slightly raised bump.
Because this thing was covered with thick fragments and dust from fallen rocks, and the light was dim, she had not noticed it before, until she kicked it accidentally, and then she realized that there was actually an object here that was different from stones and dust.
"What's this?"
Hill squatted on the ground and looked left and right for a long time, but couldn't figure out what this thing was.
Because she was still unclear about the nature of this thing, she didn't dare to touch it with her hands.
So she looked around the ground and found a piece of slender gravel. After picking it up, she pinched one end of it and used the other end to replace her hand to poke the strange object on the ground.
"Tuk-tuk."
When struck by gravel, this round little thing made a short, crisp sound. It was hard but not very heavy, perhaps hollow inside.
Hill poked it a few more times with greater force, then carefully examined the end of the stone in his hand that was in contact with the object, and found no signs of corrosion, infection, or burning.
"There shouldn't be any danger..."
After hesitating for a while, she decided to give it a try.
Throwing away the stone, she carefully pinched the smaller end of the thing with three fingers and gently lifted it up.
As expected, it was not heavy. As for the touch, it was cold and quite hard, similar to some kind of treated wood, but smoother and crisper.
However, because the light emitted by the fingertip flame used for illumination is very monotonous in hue, the objects reflected can only appear in warm colors such as orange, yellow, and red. Therefore, there is currently no way to determine what the true color of this thing is.
"It should be made from some kind of plant tissue?"
After confirming that there was no danger, Hill became bolder and took it in his hands, feeling around inch by inch and brushing off the dust on the surface.
"Hey, wait, is this a spiritual item?"
After holding it in her hand, she noticed that... this smooth object composed of two spherical bodies had subtle spiritual fluctuations inside.
And it’s different from the spiritual fluctuations of the spiritual items in the “Last Kingdom” and is closer to...certain characteristics of “magic”.
"Is this thing... a spiritual item made by the civilization that once existed in these ruins?"
Thinking back to the spiritual fluctuations she had vaguely sensed from the entrance of the secret passage when she was still on the ground, as well as the aura emitted by the strange "breeze", she naturally came up with this guess.
The civilization of this relic had a spiritual power system similar to the "magician" system in the past, and the objects in their hands are their legacy creations?
Because he didn't know what the specific effect was, Hill didn't dare to inject spiritual power into it and activate it without permission, but just pinned it on his belt.
——The structure of this thing is concave in the middle, which is very suitable for holding with a belt.
"Let's walk a little further, maybe we can make some new discoveries."
She supported herself on her knees and stood up, then raised the "torch" on her fingertips and continued to move forward.
As she walked, she rubbed a shallow mark on the strange soil on the ground with her heels.
This is to help her walk as straight as possible.
The entrance to this "abyss" is a large circular hole with a diameter of several hundred meters under the square.
If the inner wall of this big hole was vertical and even everywhere, then the bottom where she was now should only have a space of about two hundred meters.
And a few hundred meters... is not far for human legs. As long as we keep walking in a straight line, theoretically we can quickly reach the edge of the abyss and encounter an arc-shaped wall that rises very high.
Then walk around the big hole along the inner wall, and perhaps you can find the corresponding passage to try to find the exit to the ground.
"What on earth is this place... Was it built by the indigenous people? It's unlikely. It would take a miracle to build a pit of this size. Even the 'Last Country' can't do it."
Even if its strength allows, the "Holy See of Redemption" will not approve such a project because it is meaningless. Such a vertical pit is an extreme waste of space and resources no matter what its purpose is.
In this land, any creation that is not based on practicality is a waste of precious materials and manpower.
"...Naturally formed? But what kind of weird geological phenomenon can create such a strange underground structure... Hmm?"
Less than a minute into her walk, she noticed another object on the ground that didn't fit in with the rubble.
——With previous experience, she focused her attention on the ground, trying not to miss any new objects that might be there.
"Another spiritual item!"
This time she didn't even need to get close to it to directly determine the nature of the object.
Because the spiritual fluctuations emitted by this thing are very obvious, she can sense it clearly from several meters away, which shows that the spiritual power contained inside is much stronger than the previous one.
After testing it a few more times with the stone, she picked up the newly appeared spiritual object again.
This time it was a long, thin strip about half a meter long, with uniform thickness and about the diameter of a finger. The texture was very similar to the one on the waist, hard and brittle.
The surface is still smooth, but at fixed distances, a circle of protrusions appears, dividing the entire object into segments.
"Hey, this one... is of such high quality!"
Hill didn't know much about identifying spiritual items, but based on the intensity of the spiritual fluctuations emitted by this thing, he could basically tell that its quality was not that low, it was just the difference between eighty points and eighty-five points.
For a moment, Hill, who had a yearning for supernatural powers since childhood, couldn't help but feel a little excited.
If my life were to follow my original path, I would never be able to access spiritual equipment of this level.
And now, it is in my hands...
"By the way, this can be dedicated to the 'True Creator'!"
A flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through her mind, making her suddenly enlightened.
"Although the characteristics are very different, if we compare the strength of the spiritual fluctuations, this thing is not lower than the 'Veil of Secrets' spell, and it may even be higher... In terms of value, the two can definitely cancel each other out!"
That way, she can pay off her debt to the True Creator!
And most importantly...
"It seems that there are many spiritual items of varying quality in this space..."
Hill walked in a straight line for another few dozen meters and discovered another spiritual item that was completely different in shape and quality from the previous ones.
It is hard to imagine why there are so many spiritual items scattered around this place. Could it have been a storage room for the indigenous people?
"If I collect them all and present them to the 'True Creator'... can I get some pretty powerful support in return?!"
In that case, I might be able to escape!
She immediately sat down on the ground, opened her bag and rummaged through it, and quickly took out the candles, lime powder, charcoal pencils and other materials she had prepared before setting out to build the sacrificial ceremony, and placed them in front of her.
Although it experienced such a long fall, fortunately it did not encounter any severe impact, so the things in the bag were not scattered or lost, otherwise it would have been troublesome.
After skillfully arranging the sacrificial ceremony, she extinguished the flames on her fingertips, gently closed her eyes, crossed her fingers and clenched her fists in a prayer position, and devoutly recited in the light of the burning candle:
"Queen of the Night, King of the Twin Moons; the controller behind the disaster, the mediator in the darkness; - the Lord of Tranquility and Balance... We hereby offer our loyalty and pray that you will open the sacred door..."
After the low humming with a mysterious atmosphere, a childish, ethereal, mysterious and familiar voice appeared in her mind:
"You seem to be in trouble."
Chapter 375 Things That Should Not Appear
"You seem to be in trouble."
The moment Qi Ji's senses connected with Hill's, he realized that something was wrong with the environment she was in, so he took the initiative to ask.
It was pitch black, and the ground was made of dry, fine, and fairly solid sand. Under the illumination of the candles from the sacrificial ceremony, it appeared a dim orange-red, and the atmosphere was extremely eerie.
At first glance, the environment where this little girl is now... is a bit like the western desert of North America at night.
But it is daytime here now. Since the day and night cycle in the Gray Forest is synchronized with the human world, it should be daytime over there as well... So she is either indoors or underground.
Anyway, it doesn't seem like a normal place.
Recalling that today was the day Hill went out on an expedition mission...Qi Ji guessed at the first moment that she was probably in danger and was trying to ask him for help.
"Uh, yes, sir... my current situation is indeed not very good..."
Hill laughed awkwardly a few times, but Qi Ji heard no obvious fear in her tone, so he judged that this guy should not be in a hurry.
Since the situation is not so critical that it cannot be delayed any longer, there is no need for Qi Ji to rush. He can continue to maintain his high-profile persona of "the mysterious god from the other world" and make his speech style and rhythm more riddle-like:
"Any apparent gift carries a hidden price tag."
These words seemed to remind Hill. She immediately took out a long object from the ground beside her and solemnly placed her hands on the magic circle of the sacrificial ceremony:
"Sir, this is the reward for the talisman. I hope you are satisfied..."
As she spoke, she lowered her head, closed her eyes, and silently repeated the name of "Moonlight Goddess" Luo Er in her heart.
Qi Ji did not say anything, but silently "caught" the prayer echoing in his mind with his mind, and immediately opened the "Door of Sacrifice and Gift" in front of him.
"Kong——"
The ancient double doors, outlined by brilliant light and with a texture that looked like they were carved from onyx, slowly opened with a rough and low friction sound, revealing layers of rippling light.
“Swish——”
The sound of an object emerging from the water was heard, and a green-yellow pole emerged from the dreamy and misty waves.
“…What is this?”
Qi Ji reached out and took the thing. After ending the maintenance of the "Gate of Sacrifice and Gift" and making it fade away, he turned it over and looked at the thing that Hill had sacrificed.
This thing feels hard and slippery, and looks like a bamboo, with obvious traces of bamboo nodes.
The overall tone is beige, but you can vaguely tell that there are some uneven light blue residues, which should be the pigment that has not completely faded.
After using his senses to investigate, Qi Ji discovered that this thing was actually bamboo. On this basis, he used spiritual means to give it an inert but stable independent spirituality, making it a spiritual item with extraordinary powers.
The quality is pretty good. Although it is not even a toy for Qi Ji, based on the manufacturing level of spiritual items in the human world, the amount of spirituality it contains is enough to sell for a good price in the circle of powerful people.
"Even if she has paid it off... Wait, there are bamboos over at Hill?"
After writing off Hill's debt, Qi Ji suddenly realized a problem.
The information about the "Last Country" that Hill had sent to him before briefly recorded the basic situation of that gray-white land, including of course the main plants that grew there.
In addition to large areas of grass and trees that have been affected by the "rust plague" and have become deformed, white, poisonous and inedible, there are also some relatively normal plants.
But... according to the existing information, those normal plants are all herbaceous and woody plants, and there is no mention of grass plants such as bamboo.
Logically speaking, if bamboo existed there, this natural resource, which is light, strong and fast-growing, should be a very practical and cheap building material, and it would be impossible for it to be completely omitted from the information.
In other words, on that land... at least within the knowledge of the "Last Country", there is no such plant as bamboo.
Then where did this spiritual item in your hand come from?
Qi Ji had a vague guess, so he asked in a low and mysterious tone:
"Are you in some newly discovered ruins now?"
"Yes, Lord True Creator."
Hill opened his eyes and nodded:
"I set out early in the morning from the long-term camp about ten kilometers away from the headquarters of the 'Last Country'. I followed the team through a journey of about half a day and came to this town ruin that I had never explored before..."
While trying to maintain authenticity, she briefly recounted everything that happened during this mission, causing Qi Ji to frown slightly.
According to Hill's description and the characteristics of the bamboo-shaped spiritual object in his hand, there is a spiritual power in the strange city ruins that is highly consistent with the "Mage" system.
Judging from the performance, the strange "breeze" that can forcibly fuse people and inorganic matter without harming lives is indeed very close to the effect of spells in a certain field.
That is, the field of "mutation" characterized by "temptation", "unknown" and "mystery".
Before Qi Ji mastered the "Fourth Authority: Distant Star" of the "God of the Ocean and Love" and "God of the Sea" Dicka, the main god of the "Enterprise Chamber of Commerce" of the nine major churches, and thus mastered the skills of psychic communication and divination, the spiritual spells he often used roughly belonged to this field.
In addition to mental spells, there are many branch skills in the "Mutation" field, which basically meet the characteristics of weirdness, changeability, and psychedelic.
And that "breeze" does have a skill with a similar effect in the human world's spell system.
For example, the intermediate advanced spell "Meshing and Union Spell" in the "Mutation" field can fuse organic and inorganic matter in a short period of time.
If used well, it can be used to make some precise and practical high-performance wetware structures. Of course, it can also be used to simply and roughly knead people and stones together, thus appearing as an attack in a certain sense.
But the question is...how could order, rationality, and the knowable skills of the human world appear in the gray forest known as the "forbidden zone of civilization", "the wilderness of chaos", "the place where rationality evaporates", and "the deformed earth"?
And if Hill's inference is true, the ruins have been abandoned for at least fifty years, which means that fifty years ago, these extraordinary powers originating from the human world had already developed quite maturely there.
Is it just a coincidence? Or does the development of the power system of extraordinary civilizations have some universal internal laws, so that even civilizations with different geopolitical environments will eventually converge?
Or……
