Chapter 132 — The Gains

"This is a fragment of the eternal stone tablet?"

Gao Yang could not help but show his astonishment as he looked at the metal fragment, no bigger than a palm, before him.

"Yes. I never imagined the eternal stone tablet would look like this either," Viscount Andrew said, shaking his head weakly. "The fragments of the eternal stone tablet are secretly worshipped by the major sects, and any other power or individual who manages to obtain a fragment would never casually display it. So at first I had no idea what I had dug up. But soon my men found surviving documentation in the ruins, and only then did I dare confirm that this metal plate, protected by layer upon layer of magical devices, was indeed the legendary fragment of the eternal stone tablet..."

Here Viscount Andrew could not help but shake his head and sigh. "Many of the magical devices in the ruins had already stopped functioning, but the mechanisms used to protect this fragment alone... those contraptions were still running to this day. I paid a great price to obtain it, yet I never expected that holding it in my hands would be the start of an even greater price..."

Gao Yang could not help but recall a saying from his previous life on Earth: an innocent man is not guilty—until he carries a jade disc.

He picked up that "stone tablet fragment" (and could this thing really still be called a "stone" tablet?), confirming that it was indeed metallic. This pale golden metal belonged to none of the magical conductive materials or conventional materials he knew of; it was more like some unknown alloy. Its front face was exceedingly smooth, as if covered with a thin layer of glaze, and beneath that "glaze" were intricate, fine patterns. The back had several grooves whose purpose was impossible to discern, and some of these grooves were inlaid with small crystals.

Along the edges of the metal plate were neat, uniform fractures, like connecting teeth of some kind, making the entire fragment a geometrically complex solid. Rather than saying it had "broken off" from some whole, Gao Yang suspected that the so-called eternal stone tablet was itself assembled from a great many such geometric pieces, like some sort of puzzle...

It was truly fascinating.

He turned it over and over, examining the fragment, and said thoughtfully, "They say that when mortals come into contact with the eternal stone tablet, they receive revelation from the gods. Why is it that I feel no effect at all when I hold it?"

"Mere contact is useless. You must communicate with it through spiritual power," Viscount Andrew said slowly. "But my strength is meager. Even when I communicate, I can only hear faint, indistinct whispers, and gain no knowledge at all. But if it were you... perhaps it is even possible to directly obtain power."

Gao Yang nodded, but showed not the slightest intention of communicating with it using his own spiritual power.

In truth, he deeply dreaded this thing.

The eternal stone tablet, the legendary object that had brought faith in the gods to the mortal world. It was because the first generation of mortal sages came into contact with the eternal stone tablet that they created that whole pile of religions and gained the power to use divine arts. To the ordinary people of this world, this might be a blessing, but Gao Yang could not help but suspect whether this thing possessed some kind of mental control, brainwashing, or indoctrination power. What if, with one poor attempt at communication, his mind was directly occupied by the spirits of those gods? Even if his mind were not occupied, it would not do to be left with a condition where every few days he heard the gods muttering lowly in his head!

"Please take this stone tablet fragment with you," Viscount Andrew suddenly spoke up. "Whether you keep it for yourself, present it to the king, or give it to some church you believe in and wish to curry favor with—all are fine."

"Are you sure?" Gao Yang raised an eyebrow. "You should know the value of this thing. Even if you dare not keep it any longer, you could hand it personally to the king or a church and exchange it for a great deal of benefit."

"I never want to have anything to do with this thing again," Viscount Andrew said, mustering his strength and shaking his head vigorously. "Even if I were to give it away, I would not wish it to be through my own hands. And today, if not for you, I could not possibly have survived. Just treat this as a gift."

Gao Yang smiled a faint, ambiguous smile. "It's hard to say whether this is a gift or a plague god..."

But despite saying so, he unhesitatingly put the eternal stone tablet fragment away.

This thing was indeed a time bomb—it could even drive a dark organization like the Society of the End of All Things to take desperate risks against a kingdom's noble. Yet this thing was also a treasure; it might hold the secrets of the gods, and might even allow Gao Yang a slight glimpse of a shred of truth about this world. No matter what, Gao Yang could not bring himself to turn a blind eye to it.

With the Society of the End of All Things having just suffered a failure, he could be sure that for the time being no one would scheme for this thing, and word would take time to spread; outsiders would find it hard to learn in time that this stone tablet fragment had already come into his hands. During this relatively safe period, Gao Yang would study this mysterious fragment.

His status as a "nominal Legend" was also a powerful safeguard for retaining this stone tablet fragment. Though the Cecil Territory was pathetically weak at present, in this era the name of a Legendary powerhouse was often more intimidating than a prosperous noble territory. Gao Yang did not mind borrowing some of that prestige.

Of course, he had also considered the hidden dangers of doing so, so if the situation truly became critical, he did not mind handing this thing over to the king or the churches. The gods' knowledge was indeed precious to some, but it might not necessarily be convertible into the productive forces he needed. At that time, trading such a sample for other benefits—so long as those benefits were sufficient—would be worthwhile. But that was certainly a choice to be made only under the most desperate circumstances.

Pi Yun, who had gone to the central courtyard to rescue people, and the two knights returned to the council hall shortly after.

"The cultists' power has already begun to recede from the castle. Lifting the magic from those poor souls is not difficult," the old druid explained why he had dealt with that large-scale dark art so quickly. "I and the two knights rescued a portion of the people, then had those among the rescued who were in somewhat better condition help rescue others as well. Combined with controlling the plants, we managed to dig out all the people buried in the ground. But there were still many who lost their lives—a third are beyond saving. And among those still alive, quite a few have suffered severe damage to their minds. Some may recover; others, I fear, will remain muddled for the rest of their days."

"This is truly a grievous loss." Gao Yang cast Viscount Andrew a rather sympathetic glance.

Andrew could only shake his head with a bitter smile. "I fear I shall have to spend a great deal of money to deal with the aftermath... But I am still alive, and I can always recover in time. Right now what I am most thankful for is that my two sons went to the territory a few days ago to collect rents—their delay saved their own lives. But my little daughter..."

"Your daughter is still alive," Sir Philip spoke up. "But the poor girl has suffered severe damage to her mind. She is now in a deranged state. Perhaps only the gods know whether there is any possibility of her recovery."