The seventh day.
God said: "There shall be death."
As the voice rang out, despair spread throughout the entire region.
The numbed people obeyed God's will, ending their own lives in all sorts of ways.
There were still some who clung to illusions, wanting to make others die for them.
But it was no use. What God wanted was for them to die themselves.
On this day, God slowed the pace of Its punishment. It would only urge them on inside their minds, not make them disappear so hastily.
Some people took this opportunity to escape the voice's range.
But after six days of torment, most people were no longer thinking about how to escape, but how to fulfill God's command.
They had been tamed.
God's punishment didn't arrive until the very last second of the day.
In that instant, every living creature within the region that had not yet died vanished.
There were no survivors.
The voice of God fell silent. After those seven days, only those who had escaped the region were able to survive.
The harm from this incident was too great, and it was fraught with unknowns.
In the end, researchers could only classify it as a Relic Phenomenon.
What happened in this region spread throughout the world, and people gradually came to realize the terror of Relics.
After reading the record, Mo Ling couldn't forget it for a long time.
He looked at Li Luo again and typed on the electronic screen: "Is what you're hearing now the voice of God?"
Li Luo nodded with absolute certainty, then took a few steps across the platform.
"It disappears here. The range is very small."
Mo Ling breathed a sigh of relief.
Recalling the phrase "There shall be change," a theory immediately formed in Mo Ling's mind.
'Is it the voice of God that's causing the Theseus Cells to change erratically?'
Li Luo also suddenly remembered something and said to the Block, "The voice of God has a different range of influence on different organisms."
Mo Ling had a sudden realization.
The voice of God's influence on the Theseus Cells was actually this widespread.
'And the Theseus Cells, which originally had no self-awareness, are actually being influenced by the voice of God?'
'When the Tree Transformation said the Theseus Cells weren't listening to commands, it must have been because the commands were being overridden by the voice of God.'
'In other words, the voice of God is causing a problem with their recognition function.'
Li Luo quickly took out his electronic screen and recorded this finding.
"I can't go any deeper. I'll be affected too if I do."
Li Luo planned to return to the Tree Transformation Tribe first and wait for Captain Su to bring reinforcements before making any further plans.
But just then, a long, drawn-out howl echoed up from the bottom of the Big Tree Cave.
'What creature was that?'
The entire Big Tree Cave began to shake along with the howl.
The tree roots surrounding the platform snapped instantly, and the small vehicle still on it began to slide slowly toward the abyss.
Li Luo quickly tried to drive the vehicle upward, but it was no use.
Mo Ling could only watch helplessly as Li Luo moved farther and farther away, eventually disappearing from sight.
'It's over.'
Mo Ling plummeted downward, constantly accelerating.
The surrounding scenery rushed upward as Mo Ling remained helpless inside the Block.
The Block slammed into a protruding tree root, knocking Mo Ling around until he was dizzy and disoriented.
In a daze, he had no idea how long he had been falling.
Mo Ling felt gravity suddenly reverse. The direction that had been down was now up.
The high-speed Block was tossed upward over and over, finally getting thrown onto a piece of flat ground.
The Block crashed heavily to the ground, and Mo Ling lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, he was surrounded by a group of small, jelly-like people.
'Tree Transformations?'
'How did I get back up here?'
Mo Ling rubbed his bruised head, completely baffled.
This group of Tree Transformations surrounded the Block, all chattering at once.
"It's the sacred relic!"
"Quick, take the sacred relic back to the tribe!"
The Tree Transformations lifted the Block and began moving slowly toward their tribe.
'What do these Tree Transformations mean? A sacred relic?'
'And where did Li Luo go?'
Traveling along a familiar path, Mo Ling soon returned to a Tree Transformation tribe.
The Block was carried before a speaker's platform, upon which stood a Tree Transformation gesticulating wildly as it spoke.
The Tree Transformations carrying the Block approached and said, "Chief! We found the sacred relic!"
The Chief's eyes lit up. He came over to the Block, his face full of excitement, and gave a thumbs-up to the Tree Transformations who had found it.
He turned to his brethren below the platform and said, "This is the sacred relic of our Qifang Tribe! Its arrival before us now means it is time for us to fight back!"
Hearing this, the crowd below cheered enthusiastically.
'What's gotten into these Tree Transformations?'
Only then did Mo Ling realize something was wrong.
Throughout the Tree Transformation tribe, there were square-shaped totems everywhere—something he hadn't seen in the previous Tree Transformation tribe.
Mo Ling took another careful look at the details of the tribe.
There were no creatures kept in cages, and the architectural style didn't quite match either.
This wasn't the same Tree Transformation Tribe from before!
'Where on earth have I ended up?' Mo Ling wondered, looking at the familiar yet strange Tree Transformations, his heart filled with questions.
The Chief then turned to another Tree Transformation and asked, "How are the recent newborns?"
The Tree Transformation replied, "There are many, and they are all very healthy."
The Chief was filled with relief. "Take me to see them."
"Alright."
The Block was carried along behind them until they reached a forest.
The sight before him shocked Mo Ling even more.
In the forest, countless trees were undergoing a bizarre transformation.
First, ripple-like rings appeared on the tree trunks, which gradually began to soften.
Then, the ripples would grow larger, continuously reverberating and spreading outward.
Immediately after, a jelly-like substance began to push against the liquefied bark from the inside out.
Finally, a creature emerged from the tree.
It was a Tree Transformation!
After being born, this Tree Transformation would dazedly walk toward the Big Tree Cave.
It would continue until a group of its kin stopped it and kept talking to it, after which it would finally cease moving toward the Big Tree Cave.
It was like a sleepwalker suddenly being woken up.
'Is this... the birthplace of the Tree Transformations?'
'They're born from trees?'
Mo Ling instantly pieced together the entire life cycle of a Tree Transformation.
'They start as a tree, are born from it in this place, and then dazedly walk toward the Big Tree Cave.'
'Then, they pass through the Big Tree Cave to another place, and after a lifetime of effort, they eventually turn back into a tree again.'
'The Big Tree Cave is a gateway connecting the two regions!'
At this moment, Mo Ling was certain that he had come to some strange place through the Big Tree Cave.
'It seems the Tree Transformations here are in the middle of a war.'
Just as Mo Ling was still pondering, a Tree Transformation came running over.
"Chief, they're here again!"
The Chief's expression instantly grew grave. "Let's go! We'll defeat them! Defend the Big Tree Cave!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Chief led a group of Tree Transformations to the battlefield, where several giant lizard-like creatures were currently charging the Tree Transformations' encirclement.
With a single swipe of their sharp claws, several nearby Tree Transformations were sliced in half.
Creatures like the Tree Transformations, with no combat power to speak of, could only rely on numbers to win, swarming toward the lizards like moths to a flame.
The difference in combat power was simply too great.