Just as he exclaimed, Li Qi felt a force grip his vocal cords.
"Don't speak," the Great Shaman repeated.
Li Qi nodded.
But it couldn't be helped just now.
He had sensed the aura of a Dragon Vein!
The True Knowledge Resonance clearly conveyed to him the same feeling as when investigating a terminal—an overwhelmingly vast and magnificent path that spanned myriad worlds, almost indescribable in words!
He suppressed his emotions and silently followed the Great Shaman.
On the way, the Great Shaman began to explain.
"Weren't you curious about what a Dragon Vein is? By coincidence, I was coming here tonight, so I brought you to see one of the nearest facilities to a Dragon Vein—one of the pinnacle Second Rank artifacts of Humanism."
Li Qi remembered the instruction not to speak and obediently kept quiet, following along.
Soon, inside this hollow space, Li Qi saw 'machinery.'
It was real machinery.
Not the ancient-styled architecture common in the Tang Kingdom, nor did it integrate artifacts with circuits into an all-in-one terminal artifact.
Instead, it was purely mechanical, with countless interlocking gears, complex structures vibrating, and perfect escapement mechanisms and balance spring systems laid out on rotating frames.
Deep underground beneath Chang'an, there was another Chang'an!
Beneath Chang'an lay a mechanical city!
This wasn't some hidden grotto as Li Qi had previously guessed, but a city!
Beneath the neat and orderly streets of Chang'an was a shadow-like mechanical city!
These machines were all interlocking structures, sturdily arranged underground, capable of being freely rotated, disassembled, and reassembled. Through a specific center, three mutually perpendicular coordinate axes could rotate at will.
Like clocks and single-tooth incrementing machines, the transmission between mana and intricate mechanical structures sent out commands level by level.
These machines were made of an alloy unfamiliar to Li Qi, crafted with extremely precise techniques. Fiber optic cables formed some servo lines, while hydraulic pistons surrounded the central area, with a complete set of protective flaps externally.
Flawless and impeccable, from any perspective, this was a logically coherent, seamlessly operating, and meticulously crafted machine that could run for a hundred thousand years without stopping.
Watching this city operate instilled a sense of order.
So complex, so exquisite, trillions of parts created this grand entity, making Li Qi's brain twitch just from observing.
He had to retract his True Knowledge and stop probing closely, instead using only his eyes to analyze.
If he kept using True Knowledge, he feared his mind would boil over. The complexity here was too much even for his body, accustomed to information overload!
The Great Shaman led Li Qi through it.
As they walked, he explained: "This is the master of all terminals and the foundation for the smooth operation of all public facilities and artifacts in Humanism."
Everything above ground in Chang'an—houses, various infrastructures—were all artifacts.
Just like how human cities on Earth are industrial products, no one would build houses with straw in a city; even the ground is cement and asphalt. In Chang'an, industrial products have been transformed into artifacts.
The Great Shaman walked steadily, seemingly unfazed, explaining to the astonished Li Qi: "This is the closest artifact to the Dragon Vein."
"A pinnacle Second Rank artifact, the ultimate product of the collaboration between the Dao of Reason and Humanism—the 'Universal Pivot,' the origin of all terminals, and the core of the endless network of the Tang Kingdom."
"The energy source of the Universal Pivot is the Humanism Dragon Vein. You can directly communicate with the Humanism Dragon Vein here, but just feel it; don't look, or you'll die."
Saying this, the Great Shaman navigated through the endless mechanical structures, leading Li Qi to a massive pipeline.
It was truly enormous; Li Qi even thought he was standing on flat ground, with the surroundings perfectly smooth and slippery, made of some metal unfamiliar to him, emitting no energy fluctuations.
If not for looking far ahead with his sharp vision, seeing a circular interface connecting to this pipeline in the distance, he might have thought it was a road.
And that 'distance' was really far—Li Qi conservatively estimated several thousand miles.
Seeing the circular interface from such a distance, besides his excellent eyesight, was also due to its immense size.
If something is large enough, it can be seen, even if it's as far away as the distance between Earth and the Sun.
Li Qi couldn't estimate the size of that circular interface—it exceeded his observational capabilities.
The Great Shaman walked on the pipeline, taking casual steps: "The pipeline under our feet is a tributary of the Dragon Vein. Remember, don't look at it casually; you'll die, and I won't be able to save you."
He repeated this twice.
Originally, Li Qi wanted to use True Knowledge to examine the pipeline beneath his feet, but hearing this, he immediately stopped.
Life is more important, life is more important.
"Then, this is tonight's destination, also my destination. When we get there, you should return." The Great Shaman led Li Qi from the pipeline to another small path.
In this place, countless small paths wound through various facilities, twisting and turning secretly. If left alone, Li Qi would likely get lost as soon as he left.
But without these small paths, no one could traverse the interior of this massive machine.
Following the Great Shaman, they left the pipeline.
Then, Li Qi saw a house.
A house in this place...
How strange.
The Great Shaman quickened his pace and swiftly approached the house.
Li Qi followed closely behind.
Inside the house, Li Qi saw people for the first time in this underground mechanical Chang'an.
Two officials, apparently from Chang'an, stood inside.
One of them stepped forward: "Mr. Mixin, regarding the visitation of the 'Seismograph' as per our agreement, we two will be responsible. Who is the person behind you?"
"He is a junior of mine, accompanying me to see. Don't worry about him; let him see the outer areas, but don't let him enter inside."
The two officials exchanged a difficult glance, and then one of them said, "...This might require approval. The original agreement was only for you, sir."
"Hmm, if it's not possible, then forget it," the Great Shaman replied without much fuss.
Li Qi remembered the warning not to speak and stood still, saying nothing.
However, he heard a term that caught his attention.
Seismograph...
Was it the seismograph he understood?
Li Qi felt puzzled.
Soon, the approval was completed.
The two officials bowed: "Please enter, but as you said, stay in the outer areas."
"Of course, although there is competition, some credit should always be maintained," the Great Shaman said.
It seemed they genuinely trusted each other's character, allowing Li Qi to enter what appeared to be a confidential facility.
Upon entering, Li Qi understood why the Great Shaman had brought him here.
For ordinary people, this place might feel nothing more than slight dizziness; almost no sensation would arise.
But for Li Qi, with True Knowledge Resonance, this place... was simply...
Simply...
No, he couldn't describe it.
Because he saw countless things similar to True Knowledge Resonance.
No, this wasn't Dao Resonance; this was a grand path!
Natural forces between heaven and earth vibrated at an extremely fast frequency, forming invisible strings.
These strings extended endlessly, every second transmitting high-frequency vibrations, spreading their fluctuations inward.
What was inside?
Although Li Qi hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the Great Shaman mentioned it was a 'seismograph'.
A machine named seismograph responsible for receiving information from all these strings and gathering it together.
Countless dense strings extended from the seismograph to various places. Li Qi dared not imagine how much this thing could detect.
Here, these 'strings' were threads of Dao Resonance.
Individually, they seemed inferior to True Knowledge Resonance.
But there were countless such strings here.
This wasn't merely 'Dao Resonance'; it was a complete grand path!
Dao Resonance was just fragments of a grand path. Extracting one strand and calling it Dao Resonance, but combining countless strands formed a grand path, whose position and performance were many times greater than True Knowledge!
The Great Shaman seemed to also sense the presence of the grand path around them.
He sighed, "The seismograph created jointly by the Dao of Reason and Humanism, embedded within the Universal Pivot, its strings endless, covering the world, observing good and evil among all beings, discerning wisdom from ignorance. Seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation."
"Young Master Qi, stay here, don't move around carelessly, lest you die here. I will go in first. Stay here for about two hours, and someone will come to fetch you."
"Afterward, keep your mouth shut, pretend you've never been here, and continue your usual activities."
Li Qi immediately bowed but remained silent.
The Great Shaman seemed satisfied with Li Qi's silence, then turned and left with the two officials, disappearing into the depths of the room.
They were probably going to see the 'seismograph'.
That wasn't something Li Qi could witness.
But even just sensing the external fluctuations, Li Qi was already amazed.
He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
He began to 'contemplate' the nearby Dao Resonance.
Not abstract contemplation by sitting and thinking hard; that was wasting time.
Contemplation meant probing the nature of the grand path, understanding and recording parameters to better comprehend it.
He started collecting information, analyzing data, making tables, summarizing properties.
Opening True Knowledge Resonance, he tried to touch one of the strings.
Individually, True Knowledge seemed deeper and more exalted.
Thus, this tentative contact succeeded.
However, there was no reaction; Li Qi could only vaguely hear some sounds.
It was noisy, like countless people talking.
Like being in a bustling market, hearing myriad voices.
He switched to another string and tried again.
This time, it was a sharp, high-frequency buzzing sound, similar to radio static.
Trying several lines in succession, each produced different sounds.
But they were always noisy and meaningless, seemingly just noise.
Li Qi fell into deep thought.
He searched his memory for records about the seismograph while pondering what these things represented.
"Houfeng Seismograph... Its cover rises in a dome shape, resembling a wine jar, adorned with inscriptions of mountains, tortoises, birds, and beasts. When there is an earthquake, the dragon shakes, triggering the mechanism to spit out a ball, which is caught by a toad. The sound is loud, alerting observers who can determine the direction of the quake." Li Qi recited this passage in his mind.
This passage explained the working principle of the seismograph.
"Is it like that?"
Li Qi looked at the countless strings.
Were these things collecting sounds?
Then, numerous vibration signals were transmitted through these strings to the seismograph for analysis?
Why couldn't he understand those sounds? Was it due to too much information or encryption?
Regardless, only the seismograph inside could decipher them.
In this case...
What was the Great Shaman's purpose in bringing him here?
It could be guessed that coming here wasn't without cost; the Great Shaman must have paid extra to allow Li Qi to stay here for two hours. He needed to make full use of this opportunity.
First, gather data and think about how to use it.
Thinking this, Li Qi wasted no more time.
True Knowledge Resonance fully activated, along with his brain and senses, he began to 'contemplate' the grand path here.
As vast amounts of data flooded his mind, Li Qi started his work.
But two hours was too short.
Soon, someone came to fetch him, asking him to leave.
Li Qi had no choice but to get up and follow.
Before leaving, he took a deep look at this mechanical city.
Beneath Chang'an... such magnificent structures existed.
These underground facilities were the reason for Chang'an's prosperity. All modern institutions of Chang'an were built on these mechanical systems below.
Was it only Chang'an?
Most cities in the Tang Kingdom should be like this, right?
Meaning, beneath every large city lay such terrifying artifacts, maintaining daily life during peacetime and likely serving as powerful weapons during war.
And... could this match a pinnacle Second Rank artifact?
Li Qi doubted.
The so-called pinnacle Second Rank artifact, the Universal Pivot, beneath Chang'an was just a small part of it.
The main body of the Universal Pivot likely encompassed all Tang Kingdom cities across myriad worlds. This way, everything made sense!
Why terminals could connect without delay to other terminals, even across ten thousand miles or multiple worlds, was because terminals only needed to connect to a small part of the Universal Pivot beneath cities, with the rest handled internally by the Universal Pivot.
The true form of the Universal Pivot wasn't just machinery; this was merely its outward manifestation. In essence, it spanned myriad worlds, with each small part appearing beneath a Tang Kingdom city, providing necessary automation services!