"Has this land become so desolate?"
After bidding farewell to the One-Eyed Dragon, Lei Lin finally arrived at the previous signal location.
However, compared to the terrain he had seen when the laboratory first teleported here, the area had undergone obvious changes — vast stretches of jungle had vanished, and only the undulating ground retained a faint sense of familiarity for him.
As for the original laboratory site, it had long since been swallowed by seawater, and the rank-six spider he had encountered before had disappeared without a trace.
"
The clay pots and iron implements on the ground were all steeped in decay.
"This level of deterioration?" Lei Lin picked up an iron sword — the very one he had gifted during his last visit, forged from the finest steel the Central Continent had to offer, using its most advanced smithing techniques.
Yet now, the entire blade was crumbling to powder in his hands, disintegrating inch by inch through corrosion and entropy.
"Only three hundred years, yet judging by these other objects, it looks as though tens of thousands of years have passed... Was this the change wrought while the power of dreams was still active?"
Lei Lin stroked his chin and made his way to the dwelling where Gillian and her father had once lived.
No — calling it a "dwelling" was no longer possible; only "ruins" would suffice. The former structure had long since weathered and rotted away, with only faint traces still visible on the ground.
"The sedimentation of time shall reveal all truth before my eyes..."
A certain depth flickered in Lei Lin's eyes as he spoke those words, almost as though reciting an incantation.
As beings of law, Wizards had already begun to transcend incantations and magical templates. They could now directly contact the most primordial magical forces, achieving the effect of words becoming reality.
Rustle!
The soil split apart. Rocks subsided, revealing crumbling walls and broken foundations — even a few corroded vessels and such.
"It seems that after I left, Gillian survived here for quite some time..."
As the flow of time was reversed, Lei Lin's understanding of the gathering point grew ever deeper.
Hum! At that moment, the subsidence of the ground reached its limit, and a burst of black radiance floated upward, carrying with it several fragments of something that resembled tattered, rotting cloth.
On the tattered cloth, there were also some fragmented symbols and the like, long since unrecognizable.
"Is this... the notebook I once gave to Gillian?" Lei Lin's eyes flickered. According to the Chip's spectral analysis, these cloth-like fragments were actually many sheets of paper fused together and compressed into a peculiar state by immense pressure.
"Reveal yourselves!" Lei Lin swept his hand over the remnants. Soon, layer upon layer of fine text projected from the debris, rippling with different hues of light in midair.
The Chip quickly absorbed this information and rearranged it in chronological order.
[Today was very fortunate. Father and the others, following the methods Uncle left behind, trained many outstanding clansmen. We accepted the allegiance of other tribes, and the gathering point continues to expand. It's just that Uncle still hasn't returned, and Gillian is very worried...]
In the beginning, the notebook only recorded everyday matters. After receiving Lei Lin's support and assistance, Gillian's tribe grew at a rapid pace.
But afterward, between the lines of the journal, a heavy sense of dread began to permeate every word.
[First came the famine! Then the plague! Could it be that this region has also been afflicted by the Disaster Lord's curse? Must we abandon it? Father is deeply troubled, for none of the explorers he dispatched brought back any promising migration targets. It's as though the entire world was suddenly consumed by famine...]
"The beginning of the decline? Hmm! This timing... it's still before the exhaustion of the Dream Force?"
Lei Lin's eyes flashed.
After that, the entries in the notebook became extremely disorganized, as though its owner had little heart left to keep writing.
Only scattered words remained, each one a testament to death and despair.
[During this period, many of our clansmen's bodies began to change—they started growing eerily powerful. But at the same time, their sanity seemed to vanish along with the arrival of that strength. To contain them, the camp suffered enormous casualties. Oh gods! I hope I don't become like them...]
These lines were saturated with terror, yet they piqued Lei Lin's interest enough to read them several times over.
[All the crops have failed. We must abandon this place. No matter how severe the disasters in the north, anything would be better than staying at this camp... I will leave this notebook behind, in hopes that those who come after can read it. Especially Uncle...]
On the notebook's final page, the handwriting had become extremely sloppy and rushed, suggesting its author had been in great haste.
"Famine, plague, war, and finally... annihilation..."
Lei Lin recalled the contents of the entire journal.
It seemed the original camp at this location had long since been relocated. And as for Gillian's band of natives, they appeared to have undergone some truly wondrous transformation.
"Growing eerily powerful, with most of them losing their sanity? Was it an active infusion of the Dream Force? Who would have thought they'd actually stumble upon odds like that..."
The Dream World was filled with all manner of oddities — something that might be a mere caterpillar one day could transform into an entity on the level of an Evil God the next.
And before the Dream Force ran dry, such transformations would only become more violent. Gillian's batch of natives had clearly been among the beneficiaries.
Otherwise, in such a brutal environment, they probably wouldn't have survived until the final migration.
"I just wonder what they'll ultimately become?"
Lei Lin stroked his chin. If Gillian and the others could also achieve tremendous growth, it would obviously benefit him.
"But the Domain of Calamities in the north?"
Lei Lin let out a bitter laugh. He had certainly scouted that direction before, but it was filled with the territories of numerous Evil
Even at his peak, he wouldn't have dared to charge in recklessly. The trail of the natives could only end here.
"They're just contingencies anyway. It'd be great if they succeed, but there's no real loss if they don't..."
Lei Lin comforted himself. "Since the seeds have been planted, all that's left is to wait for the Dream World's decline to pass, and then check on the harvest..."
He took one last look at the campsite here. His figure gradually turned transparent, then vanished into the void.
Crackle!! Crackle!!! After he departed, the remains of the notebook immediately weathered away, crumbling into fragments that danced through the air.
The dark red light flickered once more. When everything settled, Lei Lin had already returned to his original laboratory in the
"The dormant Dream World is not only a bridge for numerous existences to connect and communicate, it's even become a paradise for adventurers — yet the natives have all vanished without a trace... What an interesting transformation..."
Lei Lin pondered over this, then pressed another twisted ring rune.
"Inocite! It's Lei Lin. How is the matter I entrusted you with last time coming along?"
The twisted ring shimmered with silver light in midair. After waiting several minutes, Lei Lin finally heard Inocite's distinctive voice carry over from the other side.
"Rustle... Sorry... the signal here isn't great... As for the method to strengthen control over a clone's spirit that you mentioned last time, Lei Lin — I've already found it in the library. Shall we go ahead with the trade now?"
"Of course!" Lei Lin said with a note of pleasant surprise.
Then he saw a withered hand reach out from the twisted ring before him, clutching a shriveled black apple.
"This method of spatial transmission is truly terrifying!"
Suppressing an inward eye-roll, Lei Lin simply took the apple directly from the fur-covered palm before him.
[Ding! Soul-force data interface detected! Initiate data transfer?]The moment the withered apple was in his hand, Lei Lin immediately noticed something different, and at the same time, the Chip's notification tone chimed.
"Yes!"
Following Lei Lin's command, a stream of information flowed directly past his eyes — it was indeed the method for controlling a clone's true spirit. Though he hadn't tested it yet, Lei Lin could largely confirm the authenticity of the data.
"Excellent! This is exactly what I needed. The things I promised you before will reach your hands soon!"
Lei Lin nodded with great satisfaction.
"As long as it's useful to you! But honestly, I still don't recommend you attempt something like this — it's far too dangerous…"
From across the channel came Enosite's well-meaning warning.
After thanking the other party once more for his kindness, Lei Lin finally ended the communication.
"If this were simply a matter of world exploration, I wouldn't want to do this either… What a pity…"
As he browsed through the data the other party had provided, Lei Lin's expression grew somewhat somber.
Although all the preparations were nearly complete, truly making up one's mind was no easy matter.
Yes! Everything he had prepared to this point was all in preparation for the
The crystalline wall of that world was far too stubborn — for any other being of laws, it was practically an unsolvable problem.
Lei Lin had the Mandehoke Plate in his possession, along with the memories of Belusebab, which would allow him to barely manage a smuggling passage. But the toll was so enormous that even his Law Body would struggle to bear it.
What Lei Lin found even more unacceptable was that the soul force of an outsider was far too conspicuous — no matter where he went, he would inevitably be discovered by the gods. A forced invasion from the very start was therefore virtually impossible.
Since a frontal assault wouldn't work, the only option was to coordinate from both inside and out.
Lei Lin's plan was to project a portion of his true spirit into the heart of the gods' domain, forming a semi-independent clone that would grow on its own without receiving any power from the main body.
Once that clone ascended to godhood, it would have sufficient ability to coordinate with Lei Lin from within and shatter the crystalline wall of the World of Gods.