High above in the Shadow World, within a hastily constructed demiplane.
Leilin's true body opened his eyes, gazing at the Mark of the Vessel on the back of his hand.
A wisp of rule-level spiritual power lashed out and coiled around it, instantly activating the entire Mark of the Vessel.
The Vessel's Ghost! This was a rule-level existence from the era of the Mother of Wan She. It was said that it could hear voices from every corner of the Shadow World, regardless of who the speaker was! The Mother of Wan She had made excellent use of this, crafting the entity's true body fragment into this mark as a means of communication.
This rule-level existence had met a truly miserable end, thoroughly teaching Leilin the depths of
"Wan She! Tonight the Night Lady has already found Wanxiong City. My true body has departed..."
He gave a brief account of the situation, and quickly received Wan She's response: "Come to the Imperial Capital, Corvorlan. This is where everything shall end..."
"Additionally, I've obtained two rather interesting things. Would you like to see them?"
Without waiting for Leilin's agreement, Wan She eagerly transmitted two documents over.
"Oh! Plan X and the Life Tree Plan?" Leilin stroked his chin and read through the entire contents in an instant.
"Shar is playing with fire!" The Mother of Wan She's voice carried a rare hint of excitement. "The World
"You're being too optimistic..."
Leilin splashed a bucket of cold water on Wan She without hesitation. "You think I haven't noticed the genetic problems among the humans here? It's just not easy to discuss openly... Take a look..."
He then transmitted the records he had casually collected over to the Mother of Wan She.
There was a silence on the other end. Even the Mark of the Vessel began to fluctuate violently, clearly indicating that the Mother of Wan She was deeply unsettled. "She... how dare she..."
"The X-Gene plan doesn't just exist in humans. It extends to all manner of insects, animals, even every microorganism—anything with thought capacity and genetic material. Current estimates from sampling suggest over sixty percent completion..."
Leilin's voice carried a chill. "And the Life Tree Plan's coverage goes even further. It encompasses numerous two-dimensional ghosts, pure energy entities, even the will of the earth itself... Under the radiation of the Shadow
With the Chip collecting data, Leilin's capabilities in this regard clearly surpassed all other beings. His powerful persuasiveness, combined with the analytical charts, left Wan She on the other end with no room to speak.
"If Shar's target had been only humans, then it truly would have been our opportunity. They hold at most twenty percent of the World Will's authority! Such actions would inevitably lead to the World Will's abandonment..."
"But now, through this extreme level of control and covert erosion, her hold over the Shadow World's entire will has reached at least fifty percent! No matter how much you stir up resistance, we cannot surpass Shar in the World Will's favor!!!"
Leilin delivered his final conclusion.
In truth, he actually thought quite highly of Shar's approach. If they hadn't interfered, she would have succeeded in the end.
Moreover, merging with the World Will would inevitably mean losing part of one's own nature—the assimilation of all sentient beings' thoughts in the Shadow World. Even Shar couldn't avoid this. But once both plans were fully completed, all obstacles would cease to exist.
In other words, what Shar was doing now was shifting from merging with the World Will to devouring the entire world's will!
Such resolve, such audacity—truly worthy of a deity. No rational
In fact, if it were Leilin making the decisions, he would most likely choose a course of action similar to Shar's.
Sorcerers were, after all, a bit more mad. And he believed the odds of success for this approach were quite high. Shar herself was proof of that, wasn't she?
On the other end of the Mark of the Vessel, the Mother of Wan She was silent for a long while before sending over a soul message filled with unwillingness: "Could it be... that we have no choice but to give up?"
"No! We still have a chance! Otherwise, I would have left the Shadow World long ago!"
Leilin's view was the exact opposite of the Mother of Wan She's.
"This plan was originally flawless. Unfortunately, the implementation time has been too short. This is likely the price the Night Lady had to pay for recovering from her injuries and eliminating the other rule-level existences. It means the current erosion of the World Will is not yet complete..."
"And our only chance to disrupt her plan lies in the instant the Life Tree activates..."
After calming the Mother of Wan She and arranging to meet at the Imperial Capital, Corvorlan, Leilin finally closed the Mark of the Vessel. A contemplative look flickered through his eyes.
In terms of understanding the World Will, Shar had given Leilin an excellent lesson.
"By the same logic, controlling the entire world's will through this method of gradual erosion seems like it could work in the
"And now, although Shar controls over half of the World Will and can call upon the World's Primordial Force at any time, it also means severing the harmonious relationship with the original World Will. The remaining uncontrolled portion will inevitably resist this corruption, even clashing violently with Shar. Perhaps her true body is busy dealing with that very issue... And the fact that Wan She and I can still operate covertly in the Shadow World without being directly unearthed by the Night Lady is the best proof of that!"
In the dim expanse of heaven and earth, the light of stars and moon flickered ceaselessly. The cold wind blowing toward him carried fresh air.
"It's already night..."
Leilin checked his bearings. "Imperial Capital, Corvorlan! That's where everything will be settled!"
...
The Imperial Capital. Here resided the most advanced scientific researchers, the greatest number of high-level Weave operators, and even Legendary Weave Watches!
Many things that hadn't yet appeared in the outside world—or existed only as rumors—were released here first.
The most heavily equipped Royal Guard stood watch day and night, defending the Imperial City at the very center.
The entire Imperial City occupied a tenth of the capital's area, but it was no solemn or majestic structure. Rather, it was a mechanical city brimming with a science-fiction aesthetic.
The Royal Research Institute, the Imperial University, and numerous high-tech research institutions surrounded it, forming a constellation crowning the moon.
Within this Imperial City suffused with a high-tech atmosphere, in a secret chamber hidden to the extreme.
The chamber was located thousands of meters underground, surrounded by a layer of Mander Alloy a hundred meters thick—the hardest and most insulating metal yet discovered in the entire Shadow World, each gram worth an astronomical price.
The Empire's princess silently approached the entrance, removing the watch from her wrist, her bracelet, and anything else that might be connected to technology.
After enduring several rounds of rigorous inspections that bordered on humiliating, she finally entered the chamber.
The furnishings inside were exceedingly antiquated. An oil lamp cast a dim glow, and one could barely make out several broken bookshelves laden with disheveled volumes.
Behind a desk of dark hardwood sat a middle-aged man with gray hair and an air of extraordinary magnificence.
Illusory light emanated from the ancient magical array behind the middle-aged man, circling around the princess.
Looking more closely, one could see at the array's center—serving as both energy source and core—two objects: several bright red fish scales! And a pair of shriveled eyeballs!
"Father..." The princess slowly knelt down.
"The Blind Eili's Book of Redemption has been recovered and secured in the vault, fully sealed! The rebel forces on Demon Island have been largely eliminated. Only Wuyan of the Bloodline Alliance escaped at the last moment... I await your punishment, Father!"
The princess reported in a meticulous manner.
"You've done well enough, Ling!" The Emperor who ruled the entire Shadow Empire spoke slowly. "As long as we can satisfy that Sovereign and reduce her attention toward us even slightly—that is success! Even surrendering the Book of Redemption was worthwhile..."
The Emperor seemed somewhat excited, a rare flush coloring his cheeks.
"Do you know... who the Blind Eili was—the one who wrote the Book of Redemption?" Today the Emperor seemed particularly talkative, and Ling, despite being a princess, had no choice but to kneel and listen obediently.
"He was an ancient Sovereign being of the same rank as the Mother of Wan She—the reincarnation of a fragment of Prophet Kalei's will! That is how he possessed terrifying prophetic abilities!"
"Prophet Kalei!!!"
The princess looked up sharply, staring at the shriveled eyeballs within the array behind the Emperor.
"Correct! His eyes are here! That is why after reincarnating through will-transference, he could only be a blind man! And also the Mermaid Guardian—that unknown Sovereign's reverse scale!"
The Emperor coughed suddenly, the flush on his face growing more pronounced. "The Empire spent hundreds of generations of effort and incalculable costs to obtain these two artifacts. Only under their protection can we speak so freely, without fear of being discovered by that Sovereign..."
When referring to that Sovereign, the Emperor lowered his voice—a product of ingrained fear.
"Now! This is our opportunity! The Book of Redemption also prophesies that the Mother of Wan She will surely return! She is sufficient to rival that existence, and when the time comes, our plan can succeed. The royal family can truly rise again, free from control!!!"
Ling vaguely felt that her father's expression was so twisted, like a madman—it reeked of a desperate gamble.
"Even so... to rashly alter the Life Tree Plan and Plan X, I fear that would also..."
Ling hesitated, then spoke in a dry voice to caution him.
"I've arranged everything! Nothing will go wrong!"
The Emperor waved his hand with iron resolve. "As long as, at the appointed time, I am able to merge my will with the assimilated consciousness... I will instantly become a god!!! Leading the royal family out of bondage!"