"I first used the Fortune
"Risky as it is — gambling the total destruction of the Coin of Destiny — this attempt has a seventy percent chance of success!"
Scorching light blazed from Lei Lin's eyes as he raised both hands high: "Power of Destiny! Guide my path — lead me to the Inferno World!"
Boom!
The instant Lei Lin finished his incantation, the light upon the Coin of Destiny surged to its zenith, its dazzling dark-golden radiance flooding the entire laboratory.
The force of destiny reached its apex in that very moment. Across the entire Wizard World, every astrologer lifted their heads in stunned astonishment as they felt the current of the River of Destiny ripple and shift.
Strands of dark-golden light drifted onto the Astral Gate. Inside the silver mirror, the Anxuan Nebula continued to shrink, slowly locking onto the coordinates of the Inferno World.
Crack! Crack!
The Inferno World harbored a rules-level existence like the Serpent Mother. Even merely calculating its coordinates sent fine, hairline fractures spidering across the surface of the Coin of Destiny.
[Alert! Alert! Coin of Destiny undergoing rapid self-destruction! Countdown: 1.1 seconds! 1.0 seconds! 0.9 seconds!]
A blood-red countdown box flashed onto the Chip's display at blinding speed.
Yet even now, though the target was drawing closer and closer, the Inferno World still had not fully materialized.
"Not enough… still not enough!" Lei Lin's face flushed crimson. He barked his next command: "Chip! Push the Fortune Wizard Array to overload!"
[Ding! Fortune Wizard Array amplification re-engaged. Current overload: 200%! 300%! 400%!]
At the Chip's words, the several energy piles surrounding the Fortune Wizard Array let out an ear-splitting roar. The terrifying amplification force surged forth once more.
Crackling and snapping, massive streams of energy cascaded through the formation, blowing apart countless tiny runes. The entire Fortune Wizard Array collapsed in an instant.
But in that final heartbeat before the array crumbled, the colossal amplification power had already manifested upon the Coin of Destiny.
Pop! First, the skull face — the side representing misfortune — blew apart entirely. Then the Lucky Bird seemed to come alive, spreading its wings and letting out a piercing cry.
The entire Coin of Destiny shattered into fragments.
And at that very same moment, a beam of dark-golden light, sharp as a blade, slashed through the veil of the Anxuan Nebula. It pulled the mirror of the Gate of the Star Realm to the edge of a dim, dark star.
[Ding! Lucky Wizard Array and the Coin of Destiny have been destroyed! Purgatory World coordinates detected!]
The Chip's voice rang out, and a burst of elation instantly surfaced on Lei Lin's face.
"Success! The hope of all Comoin warlocks — and the solution to the Bloodline Shackles!" Lei Lin clenched his fist tight.
[Ding! Purgatory World coordinates entered. Opening spatial corridor!]Alongside the Chip's mechanical voice, a gate of blue light erupted open before Lei Lin with a thunderous boom.
A terrifying aura radiated from the other side, subjecting Lei Lin to an overwhelming sense of pressure.
The Purgatory World! A world of immense power since the ancient era, one that had never declined even to the present day. The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents and other formidable Rule powerhouses still existed there.
"One step forward — and there is no turning back!" Lei Lin chuckled softly, then stepped straight into the light.
Boom! The blue radiance flared and enveloped the entire laboratory within it.
……
A streak of blue light, like a meteor, hurtled through the vast expanse of the Star Realm.
Lei Lin, wreathed in that blue glow, watched the dim star in his field of vision grow larger and larger, until it ultimately became a colossal world.
The entire world was shrouded in gray mist, obscuring his view. He could barely make out a few continents and oceans.
Each individual continent was comparable in area to the Central Continent of the Wizard World, and the faint yet formidable auras emanating from within made even Lei Lin shudder.
Before long, the power of the Gate of the Star Realm carried him to the very edge of the Purgatory World — the boundary membrane's exterior.
But just as Lei Lin was about to enter the Purgatory World, an abrupt change struck!
"Who goes there? Some outsider from beyond who dares to offend my majesty!" Terrifying waves of energy coalesced just outside the Purgatory World. An enormous dark shadow materialized, so imposing that even the spatial storms and chaotic currents scattered before it.
An overwhelming and domineering aura, infused with the power of Rules, continuously emanated from the figure.
The shadow possessed massive, incomplete wings, and its entire body was like a towering mountain. A colossal hand bristling with bone spurs reached directly for Lei Lin, as though a giant were snatching at a mosquito.
"A Rule-level existence of the seventh rank or above! Damn it! With so many powerhouses around, they're still this vigilant toward outsiders?"
Lei Lin's expression shifted, and immediately the golden-red patterns on the Dreamless Mask began to flicker with radiance, the bloodline aura of the Devil White Phosphor Snake pouring out in waves.
"Hmm! It's the bloodline of Myriad Serpents! Even though it once ruled the Shadow World, it is now a part of our Purgatory World!"
Accompanied by another woman's voice, a colossal vertical eye materialized as well.
Deep will radiated from the great eye, and then a torrent of black lightning enveloped it, crashing into the enormous hand that was reaching for Lei Lin.
"My apologies! Upholding covenants is the foundation of all orderly existence! According to the pact we previously signed together — the bloodline of Myriad Serpents holds the right of passage through the Purgatory World!"
Within the storm of black lightning, the massive bone-spurred hand shattered, drawing a furious roar from the dark figure before. "Damn you, Eye of Judgment! I won't let you get away with this! One day… one day…"
"Chirp chirp…"
Just as Lei Lin let out a sigh of relief, a piercing cry rang out, and an enormous grey bird of prey emerged from the Purgatory World.
"Wherever the Covenant of Judgment stands, there shall be my nemesis — the Defiled Bird!"
The Defiled Bird's titanic wings seemed capable of blotting out the entire world, positioning themselves squarely in front of Lei Lin.
"Hsss…" At that moment, even more powerful wills projected themselves toward the scene, giving Lei Lin the feeling of being surrounded by a pack of wolves.
A serpentine sphere of light, resembling a blazing star, forced its way out of the void.
Countless great serpents roared and lunged directly at Lei Lin, and within the cluster of serpental spheres, a hazy human silhouette took shape. One mere glance from it nearly sent Lei Lin's bloodline into violent upheaval.
"The Mother of Myriad Serpents! Even if it's only an apparition!" Lei Lin's pupils contracted sharply.
"Oh? It seems this descendant is quite interesting — interesting enough to make even you, Myriad Serpents, so eager to claim?"
From the Defiled Bird's eye, a distinctly human hint of mockery drifted across.
"Then…" The massive grey wings swept once, and every obstacle in Lei Lin's path vanished. Behind him, terrifying force and spatial storms surged forward, dramatically accelerating his momentum. In an instant he slammed into the boundary membrane.
"Defiled Bird! How dare you!!!" An exasperated voice erupted from behind Lei Lin, accompanied by the furious roar of a colossal serpent.
Stars seemed to detonate one after another behind him — the horrifying energy contained in those detonations caused the entire space to shudder, while the vast Purgatory World silently absorbed the aftershock, revealing the true depth of a truly powerful realm.
"What appeared just now… those should have been nothing more than projections of will and avatar reflections — and yet they were still this terrifying!"
A hint of bitterness played across Lei Lin's lips, mingled with a profound sense of relief.
The process of piercing through the membrane between worlds was as conspicuous to the seventh-level beings of the Purgatory World as a robber breaking into someone's home — going unnoticed was virtually impossible.
Fortunately, while the seventh-level rule-entities presiding over the Purgatory World appeared to be numerous, they seemed to be rife with contradictions among themselves, and in the midst of their conflicts, they had finally given Lei Lin a sliver of opportunity.
"My blood kin! Return to my embrace!"
At that moment, a vast will swept across the void, so powerful that even Lei Lin's mind trembled beneath its weight.
"Once I enter the Purgatory World and successfully blend in, everything becomes manageable. A stone standing alone in the open is blindingly conspicuous, but once it's tossed onto a riverbed, picking it out again won't be nearly so easy! And besides..."
Forcibly suppressing the bloodline turmoil raging within his body, a wooden puppet suddenly materialized in Lei Lin's hand.
"Hehe..." The puppet let out a sweet, crystalline laugh, and a soul signature — even a bloodline force remarkably similar to Lei Lin's own — continuously emanated from it.
"Go!" At Lei Lin's command, the substitute puppet drifted into midair, swaying back and forth like a shooting star as it and Lei Lin each plunged in different directions.
"I hope it can buy me enough time! And—"
[Ding! Dreamless Mask activated. Secondary bloodline concealment in progress!]
Accompanied by the Chip's mechanical voice, a layer of fine white scales suddenly surfaced across the mask. Blending with the existing bloodline aura, the distinctive fluctuation of the Devil White Phosphor Serpent instantly masked Lei Lin's original soul and bloodline forces.
"In the Purgatory World, the serpent clan led by the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes is a massive faction in its own right. Even she can't possibly distinguish every single Devil White Phosphor Serpent under her command, can she?"
[Ding! Purgatory World rules collecting! Adjusting primary aura fluctuation!]
Following the Chip's announcement, vast quantities of the Purgatory World's rules were gathered and processed, gradually altering the aura fluctuation emanating from Lei Lin's body.
Before long, Lei Lin appeared entirely like a native of the Purgatory World, with no trace of that out-of-place otherworldly sensation remaining.
"Everything is done!"
Lei Lin let out a long breath, only for his face to flush crimson almost immediately.
Even in that brief clash of a few rule-intents, he had sustained injuries that were far from trivial.
"Everything that could be done has been done. The rest is up to luck!"
Lei Lin hurtled down like a meteor, and at this moment, several massive consciousnesses followed close behind, only to completely lose track of Lei Lin.