The Record of Unusual Creatures

Yes, in truth, when Hao Ren carefully observed the ruins of the man-made building, which was floating in the void, he also thought of the towering ancient temples in the mysterious atmosphere of Coldpath. Nevertheless, he was not very sure of it.

The temple remains were similar only in style to the temples in Coldpath, but there was a clear difference in detail: the temples in Coldpath were built with mysterious materials beyond human comprehension. Those divine creations personally blessed by the goddess of creation did not match with anything known on Earth. Meanwhile, the temple in space was obviously made of huge stones. The inlaid patterns were also of a common material, which could be analyzed by the Petrachelys’ scanning device. Besides, the architectural features of the two temples were not exactly the same. The ratio of the four spires to the central building, the shape of the spires, and the pattern of some of the buildings’ accessories could all be distinguished.

But in any case, they were consistent in general style, and there was no doubt about it: the man-made building in front of them was related to the temple of the goddess of creation.

“Interesting…” Hao Ren said, touching his chin while asking Nolan to release more probes to scan the massive structure. “The goddess of creation’s style… Well, it’s quite possible that there are signs of the goddess of creation in this place, but this building is clearly a mortal creation. That’s kind of intriguing.”

Lily scratched her head and asked, “What do you mean? Can’t humans build temples?”

Hao Ren glanced at the husky and explained, “In the present, no mortal race who’s ever believed in the goddess of creation has any idea what the temple on the Star of Creation looks like or how to restore its ‘style’. The goddess’ temple in Holletta, the ancient temples in the database of Tannagost, and the man-made temple in Zorm’s memory are all created by different races based on their own understanding as well as the imagination of the goddess. This is because no mortal race has ever been to the Star of Creation. But this one… Although the style is somewhat different, it’s already a really nice counterfeit.”

Hao Ren soon got a response from Muru. “Our mother wasn’t keen on establishing the religion, so belief in the goddess among all mortal races was actually a spontaneous act of blood memory. The temple they built was bizarre, and the portrayal of the goddess was quite wild. The people who really had the opportunity and ability to reach the Star of Creation account for a very, very small share of the total Second Borns. And if they did reach the star, they would have reached a very high level and no longer build temples out of stone.”

“Maybe that’s their culture?” Hao Ren raised an eyebrow. “Some fairly advanced races still insist on building houses out of stone. It’s part of their tradition.”

“I don’t remember such a group.” Muru shook his head.

“Then it’s just a coincidence,” Lily said, nodding earnestly. “Maybe they had a similar aesthetic view to the goddess of creation and built houses that look like the ones on the Star of Creation.”

Vivian looked at Lily and said, “Do you know how low the probability for that is?”

Lily kept quiet.

Hao Ren turned to Nolan and said, “Get ready. I’ll go and have a look myself.”

Before Nolan could say anything, Lily jumped up and said, “I’ll go with you!”

Hao Ren rolled his eyes. He was not surprised at all. In fact, when he decided to go in person, he was ready to take this girl with him. Under no circumstances could one suppress a husky’s desire to go out and have fun…

“The rest of you don’t have to come with me.” Hao Ren looked around and said, “The probe has scanned the structure of the building. There’s not much space in it and there are no dangerous energy reactions. I’ll go and check with Lily. I’ll send you a signal if necessary.”

Vivian actually wanted to join them, but she was not headstrong, so she just nodded after she heard Hao Ren’s arrangements. “You have to be careful. And Doggie, protect our landlord.”

Lily waved her hands and tail before she said, “Don’t worry, our landlord’s stronger than me now. He’ll surely be able to protect me.”

Everybody was speechless.

“You could try to play your role as a loyal dog.” Vivian sighed, covering her forehead. “At least you could look after the house in the past. Why are you so useless now?”

But Lily could not hear what Vivian was saying. The husky was dancing and skipping happily into the preparation room for teleportation.

The next moment, Hao Ren and Lily were teleported directly to the floating temple.

Once they moved closer, Hao Ren realized that the seemingly dilapidated stone building actually possessed a pretty large scale, as well as an amazing degree of elegance.

Although it was built out of primitive stone and could not compare with the real palaces of the gods in Coldpath, the temple built by mortals was still impressive. The exquisite reliefs and mosaics on the exterior walls of the building reflected the meticulous craftsmanship involved. The magnificent main body of the building showed the hard work and painstaking efforts of the builders. Hao Ren could imagine that those who built it in the past must have accomplished the grand project with great pride and responsibility.

However, he found it strange at the same time because such a man-made building was floating in the vast space all alone.

It looked like a temple from medieval times, yet it was bathed in the stars of the universe, surrounded by the vacuum, which spanned 10,000 light-years.

Hao Ren and Lily followed the main information from the scanning probe to find their way into the strange building. They soon saw the entrance where probe No.1 had gone through.

At the front of the main building, there was a long and narrow opening leading to the interior.

“This looks like a window,” Hao Ren said as he passed through the opening. “The lower part of the building is gone. The formal entrance must be at the lower part.”

“Landlord, how long has it been floating here?” Lily’s eyes were filled with curiosity.

“Who knows? We haven’t measured it yet, but I estimate it to be 10,000 years.” Hao Ren shrugged.

The inside of the temple was, of course, dark. The lonely stars from the distant space seemed too weak there. The vacuum environment in the temple also made starlight impossible to diffuse in, but a small bright spot flew by Hao Ren’s eyes and quickly got brighter. The soft halo spread around, instantly making the place as bright as day.

It was the probe that flew into the building before. It had a photon generator, making it a good light source in there.

Hao Ren grabbed onto Lily and floated along.

Inside the building, there was a large open space without complex walls and corridors. There were four stone bridges extending from the surrounding walls in the magnificent hall. The stone bridges were connected to a large round altar at the center, which levitated in the air. Religious tools such as small columns and stone statues had been placed on the round platform. Above the levitating platform, the dome of the hall was open. The large circular skylight was covered with intricate, hollowed-out patterns, and the stars behind it could be seen faintly in the distance.

When the building was still on Earth, every time a priest preached on the round platform, he would be bathed in holy light.

“There must have been a lot of people here.” Lily also saw the round platform. As a writer, she probably had a better picture than Hao Ren. “This round altar was for the preacher, and the believers listened from the main hall below. I guess the skylight must have been designed to keep out the rain, otherwise, the bishop would have been embarrassed if it rained…”

You’re right, Lily’s imagination was indeed much richer than Hao Ren’s.

Hao Ren drifted towards the round platform. Halfway through his descent, he looked down and saw deep darkness beneath him. The building was neatly cut off by the darkness as if it had been engulfed by something.

He was immediately drawn to the darkness.

The building was cut off in the middle and Hao Ren was likely able to see the stars in the space between the upper and lower parts of the building. How could there be such abnormal darkness between them?

He pulled Lily’s tail at once. “Let’s go down and have a look.”

“Awoo!”