At the peak of the White Bone Mountain from last time, the place where Gegewu had been sealed, Leilin had used the Chip to record a map.
Only later did he learn that this was the main map of the entire Soul-Slaying Secret Realm, and that this map had played an enormously helpful role in his eventual escape.
Now what he needed to do was compare the previous map with the areas he had explored since.
As time ticked by, the condition of the entire secret realm gradually revealed itself before Leilin.
The Soul-Slaying Secret Realm had been thoroughly ravaged. Not only had every trap and mechanism been rendered completely non-functional, but Leilin couldn't even find a single intact building.
It seemed the Gegewu who had been sealed here harbored extraordinarily deep resentment.
Moreover, the colossal White Bone Mountain and the resources within the numerous laboratories were all gone. Even the record cabinets and the like had been emptied — clearly the work of that Gegewu, who had ransacked the place.
Leilin's consciousness then directed the small black snake into the silver emergency corridor.
The metal here seemed to possess some kind of extremely powerful suppressive effect against spiritual entities, so it had been preserved remarkably well. However, massive boulders had been hurled in, blocking the passage.
The small black snake slipped effortlessly through the gaps between the boulders and arrived at the spot where Leilin had discovered the hidden chamber last time.
Boom! After pressing the switch, one side of the wall slowly opened, revealing a small secret room.
This chamber was very compact. In its center stood a black magical array, with four stone pillars rising around it. Beside one of the pillars lay the remains of a wizard.
Hsss!
The small black snake circled around the magical array, then suddenly raised its head and hissed.
Then, from the surface of its scales, wisps of black flame began to burn.
The flames grew larger and larger, eventually coalescing into the shape of a doorway. Along the doorframe were inscribed extraordinarily profound spatial runes.
"This is the spot!"
Leilin stepped through the black-flame portal. Seeing the teleportation array before him — clearly still largely undamaged — a look of satisfaction crossed his face.
"Chip! Scan the teleportation array!" Leilin pressed his fingers to his temple, and a blue glow visible only to him began sweeping across the entire array.
"Beep! Scan complete! Array integrity at 98.7% — energy slot depleted!"
The Chip reported promptly.
"Compared to the 98.8% from last time, it's degraded a bit further. It seems the Gegewu's destructive range was truly immense — even this place was affected."
Leilin stroked his chin, then issued a command: "Based on the teleportation array data I obtained last time, begin running simulated repair experiments..."
During his previous exploration, Leilin had also obtained a notebook from the remains here, one that recorded knowledge related to this teleportation array. Combined with supplementary materials he had gathered afterward, he had acquired the complete ancient technique for constructing teleportation arrays. Repairing this small deficiency now would be as easy as flipping his hand.
Although according to the Chip's calculations, any teleportation array with integrity above 97% could still function, there was still a certain probability of error!
Leilin had no desire for anything to go wrong during an ultra-long-range teleportation! Whether it was encountering spatial turbulence or a burst of spatial particles, either could kill him so thoroughly that not even a corpse would remain.
He had no intention of dying so wretchedly to some accident.
"Beep! Damaged portions scanned. Initiating simulated repair procedure..."
As the Chip's voice sounded, Leilin felt as though he had been transported right in front of the teleportation array. His fingers moved with the precision of the finest surgical scalpel, making modifications to the entire array's formation.
The runes inscribed across the teleportation array were extraordinarily dense and complex — ten times thinner than a strand of hair. Even Leilin himself had no absolute confidence that he could execute them perfectly in a single pass, but under the Chip's guided assistance, every motion he made flowed with a seamless elegance. In less than an hour, he had finished repairing all the deficient sections.
Hummm! The blue light faded, and Leilin snapped back to awareness. That sensation lingered in his mind, unable to be shaken off for a long while.
Before him, the black teleportation array remained in its original state, without the slightest change.
"The Chip's simulation is becoming more and more lifelike!"
Leilin's hands flickered alternately, his fingers forming a variety of different runic gestures — all the sigils he had just used during the array repair. An enormous number of complex, profound hand seals were continuously reproduced by his hands, as though he had practiced them tens of thousands of times. "This wondrous feeling has been memorized by my body..."
Watching himself fluently execute runes that he had used only once in the simulation, as though he had been studying them for over a decade, a flash of astonishment crossed Leilin's face.
He immediately thought of how this ability could be applied elsewhere — for example, learning second-tier spells! Previously, although he could memorize spell templates through the Chip and cast spells quickly, his movements had been stiff and mechanical, just like those of many novice wizards.
But things were different now. If he went through the Chip's casting simulation again, his spell manipulation ability was bound to ascend to an entirely new level.
Having experienced just a single simulation, Leilin now possessed a remarkably deep understanding of the teleportation array as a whole. He might not necessarily be able to construct one from scratch, but simple maintenance was no longer a challenge for him in the slightest.