Inside the Wizard Tower.
Leilin stared unblinkingly at the massive extra-planar magical array.
With the full power supply from the positive and negative energy pools, the symbols on the magical array were lighting up one after another, and terrifying spatial fluctuations were gradually converging.
"Magical array operating normally. Currently at 67% activation. Gaia curve stable!" The Chip continuously monitored the array, reporting at intervals.
As the array gradually activated, the blue glow atop the Astral Stone at its center was slowly condensing, radiating brilliant light. The spatial fluctuations, which had been trending toward instability, suddenly stabilized upon merging with the blue light, then surged powerfully in a single direction.
At the same time, Leilin sensed a terrifying surge of energy pouring from the Astral Stone, powering the entire magical array.
"Array acceleration detected. Current progress: 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 100%!!!"
The Chip reported rapidly.
When all the symbols in the array blazed to life, massive amounts of spatial energy flowed along fixed channels, converging before Leilin to form a fist-sized silver mirror with a small vortex at its center, leading to parts unknown.
Leilin had seen this situation many times during Gilbert's experiments — it was the sign of a successful connection to the Astral Plane!
However, his spiritual power channel was far smaller than the ones Gilbert opened, couldn't be replicated in parallel, and could only transmit spiritual power seed coordinates — no physical objects could pass through. An incident like last time, where an Astral creature had attacked through the mirror, was naturally even less likely to occur.
While he'd lost the opportunity for "fishing," the trade-off was safety and stability — a fair exchange.
Leilin carefully savored the sensation. Assisting with someone else's experiment versus conducting one independently — the difference was vast. For instance, right now, with the array's assistance and especially the energy connection through the Astral Stone at the center, Leilin felt as though his spiritual power had glimpsed the edge of a terrifying dimension. It was where all space and time converged — the highest point of the entire universe, a higher dimension, or perhaps something that defied even that description! Even the faintest aura emanating from it was resplendent and eternal, stirring his desire to explore.
"This experiment, never mind anything else — just this understanding alone makes it worthwhile..." Leilin sighed.
Such a direct encounter with the Astral Plane was an exceedingly rare experience for any wizard. Even without other gains, simply observing the Astral Plane's conditions and operations daily would bring indescribable benefits to a wizard. Of course, that was utterly impossible. Conducting Astral experiments every day? Even a Morning Star wizard would go bankrupt!
"Astral spiritual power coordinate projection initiated! Recording data!"
On Leilin's command, the Chip reported promptly.
A strand of crystalline spiritual power emerged from Leilin's forehead, shimmering with a crystalline brilliance as it condensed into a spiritual power seed. It shot into the silver mirror and vanished into the vortex.
"Positioning assistance initiated. Navigation mode activated!" Leilin commanded.
Instantly, his spiritual power seed seemed to find direction amid the violent spatial turbulence, forging ahead boldly, even managing to push against the current. The Chip computed rapidly, and streams of data and curves flashed before Leilin's eyes.
"Spatial turbulence estimated in 0.34 seconds. Recommend changing direction — 23 degrees to the left!"
The mental exchange was completed in the blink of an eye, and Leilin's spiritual power seed immediately pivoted, precisely dodging a spatial current while catching the tailwind of another undercurrent, drifting further into the distance.
Compared to Gilbert's trial-and-error approach, Leilin's method was clearly more efficient and far more likely to yield results.
Unfortunately, Leilin was the only wizard with the Chip's assistance, and he certainly couldn't expose his secret. Therefore, when working with Gilbert, Leilin could at most familiarize himself with the Chip's functions but dared not use it freely. Only during his own independent experiments could he explore the more ambitious possibilities.
"Just as expected — with the Chip's assistance, my spiritual power seed attrition rate is far below the average!" A look of delight crossed Leilin's face.
"Warning! Warning! Spatial storm detected ahead. Estimated time to critical threshold: 0.0000001 seconds. Immediate retreat recommended!" The Chip's voice rang out again.
But it was too late. Though Leilin's spiritual power seed tried to retreat, its struggles were as insignificant as an ant's against the spatial undercurrent. With time running out, the terrifying spatial storm materialized ahead and swallowed the seed.
Leilin stumbled back two steps, feeling a wave of dizziness, but quickly recovered. He was no longer the freshly-promoted Third-rank Wizard he had once been. Having entered the crystallization realm and become a provisional candidate for the Morning Star rank, injuries that once damaged his spiritual power were now trivial — he could even condense a dozen spiritual power seeds in one go without issue.