Leilin had never forgotten his primary objective — to shatter his bloodline shackles and break free from the Myriad Serpent Curse Mark!
Smuggling himself into the Purgatory World and quietly lying low was the first step toward success. As for what came after, he had a rough idea in mind, but it would still require constant adjustment and adaptation.
"Now that I've entered the Purgatory World, with the Chip's assistance, my aura and fluctuations have been calibrated to match those of the natives. I even have the Dreamless Mask to conceal my bloodline, plus a Substitute Puppet to confuse any tracking. Even the Mother of Myriad Serpents, no matter how formidable she is, won't be able to detect my presence in the short term — unless she has already reached the ninth rank, omnipotent and omniscient…"
The ninth-rank Wizard was the highest rank a Wizard could achieve, said to have grasped absolute truth, omnipotent and omniscient!
In Leilin's view, that was power that transcended even the gods, but these were merely descriptions found in ancient texts. Who truly knew whether any of it was real?
Even in the most brilliant and glorious ancient era of the Wizard World, the highest rank a Wizard had ever attained — with clear historical records to prove it — was only the eighth rank. A genuinely verified ninth-rank Grand Wizard had never appeared.
Perhaps the ninth rank was nothing more than the ultimate fantasy for Wizards.
What Leilin could be certain of was that the Mother of Myriad Serpents was at most comparable to an eighth-rank Wizard, and had absolutely not yet reached the ninth rank.
The Purgatory World was vast beyond measure, and numerous Rule Entities held dominion across it. Even if the Mother of Myriad Serpents wanted to search through the continents one by one, it would be impossible.
Therefore, according to Leilin's deductions, she could at most attempt to trace his bloodline in secret or issue a bounty on him.
The most reliable — and most likely — approach the Mother of Myriad Serpents would take was simply to wait, because no matter what, Leilin could not break through his bloodline shackles without eventually confronting her. And in this short span of time, there was no way he could break through several ranks in succession and reach the same level as the Mother of Myriad Serpents.
"The most urgent priority is to integrate into the Purgatory World as quickly as possible — find the natives, learn how the various factions are divided…"
Leilin thought silently, then closed his eyes.
Under the moonlight, his entire body seemed to be shrouded in a hazy glow, casting brilliant reflections across the surface of the sea.
…
Night passed, and an orange-red radiance soon rose above the horizon, shimmering across the waves. At the end of that orange-red glow hung a dark crimson sun.
A faint golden light spilled downward, gradually dispersing the white mist that blanketed the surrounding sea.
"Hmm?" Lying on the ocean surface as he recovered from his injuries, Leilin flexed his fingers. In this situation where he could only rely on his body's natural recuperation, boredom had set in, and he began to turn his attention to other matters.
"The sun in the Purgatory World appears noticeably smaller than the one in the Wizard World. And based on my calculations from last night, the nighttime here lasts at least twenty hours. Given the rate at which this star is rising…"
Leilin watched the Dawn Sun, now fully above the horizon, as his mind raced through calculations.
His computational speed still couldn't rival the Chip's, but after several rounds of spiritual power enhancement and soul nourishment, his brain's processing capability and speed were now on par with some of the top-grade intelligence cores from his previous world.
"Four hours and fifteen minutes! Perhaps even less, and this sun will complete its entire cycle from rise to set!"
Leilin was quite confident in his result: "And the Purgatory World isn't like a planet — there are only endless continents and oceans, all existing on roughly the same plane, so the times of sunrise and sunset would be nearly identical no matter where you are…"
"Days are so short, and dark-energy particles are so abundant — that much I understand now. Creatures that lack access to sunlight and solar energy have no choice but to seek other ways of obtaining power, which is why fire-element energy is so widely utilized…"
From a macro perspective, Leilin had essentially grasped the evolutionary history of the entire Purgatory World. This kind of long-range insight was the crystallization of his previous life's scientific spirit and his current life's Wizard abilities, surpassing even the understanding of many Rule Entities.
"The light levels in the Purgatory World are among the lowest of any world — only that Shadow World, which has never known sunlight, ranks below it. No wonder the Mother of Myriad Serpents relocated her clan here after failing to seize control of the Shadow World. It really is a perfect fit — if you set aside the Purgatory World's Chaotic Will…"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Leilin's lips. "The Chaotic Will of the Purgatory World is a double-edged sword. Precisely because of its chaos, the Mother of Myriad Serpents found room to exploit. But at the same time, the other Myriad Serpent bloodline descendants aren't Rule Entities — they can't resist the intrusion of the Chaotic Will. That's what gave rise to the frenzied bloodline disease afflicting the Myriad Serpent progeny, which can only be cured by the Primordial Force of the Ice World…"
"Perhaps, as part of this plan, I could seek the aid of native powerhouses from the Purgatory World…"
A sharp gleam flickered in Leilin's eyes.
"Squawk! Squawk!" At that moment, several large white birds — resembling seagulls but more than a dozen times their size — circled overhead, catching Leilin's attention.
"That's…" Leilin's pupils contracted slightly.
[Alert! Traces of a large vessel detected! Based on its heading, probability of encounter with the host: 99.999%! Anomalous thermal and radiation fluctuations detected — the vessel carries entities with supernatural power!]
The Chip delivered its report with its usual accuracy.
"After just two days, I've already run into natives. In an ocean this vast, that's not bad luck at all!]