There were certain things that, unless Su Mo pointed them out, the vast majority of people—Canary included—would never notice.
Even with all the information she had received from him, she had never considered this possibility.
It was only when Su Mo shattered that cognitive barrier that her eyes widened in utter realization.
Of course. If vampires were a future form of humanity evolved through the Third Stellar Particle, and Pure-Blooded Dragons were also a future form of human evolution, then how could the god species be a completely separate entity?
If all fantastical species were forms achieved by various lifeforms combining with the Third Stellar Particle, how could the gods—a species so intimately tied to humanity—be a complete exception?
Thinking about it carefully, if humans could accept the Third Stellar Particle, even with low compatibility, they could indeed wield power on par with the gods of ancient myths.
And if one could become an Original of the TThird Stellar Particle, they could exert power on the scale of a Little Garden patron god, even in a human body!
"So you're saying, it's not just vampires and Pure-Blooded Dragons that were summoned to Little Garden from the future—even the god species might be?"
Only now did Canary truly grasp the sheer scale of the causal reversal within Little Garden.
The pantheons that seemingly dominated Little Garden's past were, in fact, projections of humanity from the future.
If Su Mo's theory was true, the entire foundational structure of Little Garden would be completely reshaped. Creationism would have no ground to stand on.
Gods created humanity?
No!
Humanity created itself!
"That possibility can't be ruled out," Su Mo nodded slightly, a mischievous smile on his face. "If that's the case, the underlying logic of Little Garden would shift completely away from the paradox of materialism versus idealism and toward the strong. If the pantheons learned of this possibility, I'd love to see their expressions."
Before this theory was confirmed, Little Garden could still be considered a paradise for Asuras, gods, and Buddhas—the center of mysticism.
But if this theory were proven true, Little Garden would instead become a materialistic world.
All divine and mystical existences would draw their power from the Third Stellar Particle. Rather than the gods of human cognition, they would be more like Ultraman—aliens who had mastered a higher form of technology.
All mystery would simply be technology from the future.
Hearing Su Mo say this, Canary, having recovered from her shock, couldn't help but retort, "No, you don't need to see their expressions. Just looking at me right now is enough."
Forget the gods, Su Mo's theory was enough to turn the entire world on its head!
After her retort, Canary had no more doubts about Su Mo's ideas.
At this point, she fully realized that a genius of Su Mo's caliber existed in a completely different time and space from her. What she saw as a perilous peak was, for him, a smooth, level path.
Her worries, and those of the billions of gods, were entirely baseless. Su Mo's understanding and construction speed of the human cosmology were far beyond their predictions.
The mediocre cannot constrain a genius with their own fixed ideas. As an absolute genius in the eyes of others, Canary understood this point perfectly.
Therefore—
"With you here, I really don't need to have such pointless worries."
Since Su Mo's vision surpassed her own and he could see things she couldn't, she didn't need to worry so much anymore.
Compared to her old habit of shouldering the weight of the world—a thankless task—foolishly placing one hundred percent trust in Su Mo, like Shiroyasha did, was actually the more correct choice.
For Canary, this was a rather novel experience, and she didn't mind having someone she could rely on with her whole being.
Of course, as an intellectual, her curiosity remained.
"So, Lord Su Mo, what do you plan to do next?"
With all her worries cast aside, Canary asked with an unprecedentedly relaxed attitude.
"My Another Cosmology goes without saying; you can use it as you please. As for the vampire Divinity, you've probably already figured it out from Leticia and Lamia. I can have Koumei come back to let you study the Genome Tree Gift. Do you need any other puzzle pieces?"
Choosing to trust Su Mo completely also meant trusting the path he had chosen. Now, Canary simply wanted to help him in the construction of the human cosmology.
"Of course," Su Mo nodded without hesitation.
"I have already fully mastered the properties of the Third Stellar Particle. But in Little Garden, beyond its physical properties, the Divinity of its source is also very important."
"The Divinity of its source?" Canary pondered for a moment.
The Third Stellar Particle was not an artificial creation but a natural one, periodically forced to the Earth's surface by intense tectonic activity.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call it the breath of the Earth, a material manifestation of True Aether.
Within Little Garden's theoretical framework, this was a star-forged item. Its Divinity's source was the Earth itself.
"You mean, the Earth's Celestial Star Spirit?"
"Mhm," Su Mo nodded.
Although Earth currently had no orthodox Star Spirit—only a Half-Star Spirit at best—the position did indeed exist. It was the eternal vacant seat among the seventeen Full Authority Domains.
"The three core elements of the human cosmology—humanity, the Third Stellar Particle, and the Genome Tree—are all deeply connected to the three strongest species: innate gods and buddhas, star spirits, and pure-blooded dragons."
"The Divinity of gods originates from humanity, the source of the Third Stellar Particle is Mother Earth, and the Pure-Blooded Dragons are closely related to the Genome Tree..."
"To build the path to the future with humanity as the foundation, all three are indispensable."
"As of now, I have accumulated enough knowledge on humanity, the Third Stellar Particle, and the Genome Tree."
"To take the final step, I just need to find the purest sample of the source Divinity in each of these three domains."
Hearing this, Canary wore a thoughtful expression.
If what Su Mo needed were the best templates of the three strongest species—the very sources of the human cosmology's three core elements—then the puzzle pieces he was pointing to were quite obvious.
"There's no need to look for a god species. Lord Su Mo, you yourself are the most powerful god species there is."
"The last two puzzle pieces you need must be a Pure-Blooded Dragon and the Earth's Celestial Star Spirit."
At this, Canary's expression turned troubled.
"The former is manageable; you already know of her movements. But the latter... Ever since Big Sis Dasheng joined the Buddhist sect, I've had little contact with her. I don't know if I can convince her to meet."
"Big Sis Dasheng" referred to the leader of the Seven Great Demon Kings, an existence known as Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
In Little Garden, this existence held a very special status. This stone monkey was not born as an innate god or buddha, but as a Half-Star Spirit of Earth, a natural candidate for the Celestial Star Spirit Original.
With Earth yet to produce a complete Star Spirit, Sun Wukong was the closest concept to it.
It was worth noting that in the Little Garden universe, Sun Wukong was female.
When Canary traveled among the gods, learning from various masters, one of her former teachers was Sun Wukong. Judging by Canary's pitiful combat prowess, she probably didn't learn a single ounce of Sun Wukong's martial skill, only her strategic mind.
Having deduced that Su Mo needed to research the Earth's Star Spirit, Canary naturally wanted to help.
Given Big Sis Dasheng's personality, if I appeal to her sense of responsibility for Little Garden's safety and reason with her, she should agree to come with me, right? If that doesn't work, I can ask Little Jia Ling or the Bull Demon King for help. I can even have that useless god Indra pass a message.
Just as Canary was planning to use her connections to help Su Mo...
"It's not that much trouble," Su Mo shook his head, surprisingly refusing her offer.
"Eh?" Canary paused, then pouted, a rare sight. "Lord Su Mo, are you being formal even with me?"
This was, perhaps, the first time Canary had ever shown such a girlish side.
If Indra had seen this, his jaw would have hit the floor, and he would have blurted out, "Canary, since when were you such a woman?"
After all, those who knew this cunning, almost demonic young woman found it difficult to see her as a delicate female.
In fact, Canary had always presented herself as a calm and collected strategist. She had no one to rely on; it was always others who relied on her.
But now, with Su Mo—the only person who could surpass her in intellect and whom she could depend on emotionally—it was only natural for her to act a little spoiled.
She was, after all, a young woman, not a cold machine.
"I'm not being formal," Su Mo said, shaking his head at her complaint. "It's just truly unnecessary."
While Canary was still confused, he looked up at the sky and suddenly asked, "Where did the Genome Tree originate?"
"Eh?" Though puzzled by the sudden question, Canary answered obediently. "The Dystopia Demon Lord."
It was originally a living armament created by the Dystopia Demon Lord to fight the pantheons of Little Garden, but it ultimately became the very thing that led to its own demise.
"And when was the theory about the Pure-Blooded Dragon's Divinity source confirmed?" Su Mo asked next.
Canary answered again.
As she spoke, she suddenly realized something.
"Speaking of which, what a coincidence. The answers always seem to be hinted at by Humanity's Last Embryos, don't they?"
"As the time limit itself, besides counting down, the Last Embryos also serve as a hint, like options in a multiple-choice question," Su Mo explained patiently. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about. I'm talking about Little Garden itself."
"Think about it. The Divinities of the Pure-Blooded Dragon and the vampire clan were summoned long ago. The Earth's Half-Star Spirit, Sun Wukong, was also awakened long ago. The three core elements for the human cosmology have already appeared in Little Garden. It's just that no one ever realized it, which is why various hints have appeared one after another."
Hearing this, Canary thought for a moment, then her eyes widened.
"Are you saying that the central hub of Little Garden itself has been helping us all along?"
Thinking about it, it became clear. To show the correct path, the central hub of Little Garden had used almost every means at its disposal.
At the very beginning, when no one knew humanity's future, it summoned the Pure-Blooded Dragon—the correct form—to Little Garden as an example.
When everyone ignored that example, it summoned the god species to show a direction of development and the vampires as a cautionary tale.
If the summoning of Sun Wukong, the Pure-Blooded Dragon, and the god species were the necessary and sufficient conditions to solve the puzzle of the apocalypse...
Then the later appearance of the Genome Tree from the Dystopia Demon Lord and the evil dragon form from the Absolute Evil Demon Lord were blatant walkthrough hints.
Looking back at the development of Little Garden, one could say that its central hub was like a painstaking teacher, who wished they could just answer the test for their students.
First, it gave the standard answer and let the students reverse-engineer it.
Then, it highlighted the key parts of the problem and provided examples of common mistakes. Finally, it even presented the entire solution method in the form of the Last Embryos.
It had done basically everything short of answering the test for humanity itself.
Its efforts were enough to make humanity itself feel ashamed.
"Correct," Su Mo nodded.
"So, we don't need to rush. As the time limit approaches, someone else is in more of a hurry than we are. If Little Garden itself is desperately calling for an answer, the puzzle pieces we're missing will deliver themselves to our door."
This was the reason Su Mo wasn't concerned about the time limit.
Since Little Garden was in a hurry, he didn't have to be.
Even if he did nothing, the world would respond to him and move on its own.
"As expected of you!"
Understanding Su Mo's meaning, Canary looked at him, half in admiration and half in bewilderment.
Although she felt such an assessment was a bit disrespectful, she couldn't help but think to herself, You really don't act like a mortal at all, do you?!