"Since when did she disappear? I didn't notice a thing?"
Leilin's pupils constricted as he stared at the now-empty blood fountain pool.
Crack! Crack!
At that moment, the fountain crumbled even faster. Countless bricks, stones, soil, flowers, and grass seemed to transform into tiny particles, combining together to form a twisted human silhouette.
This twisted figure continuously devoured the garden's architectural layout, growing more and more solid, until finally, it transformed into a woman holding a black parasol.
"I heard from the owl that you've been looking for me?"
The woman wore black clothing, her back turned to Leilin. The wide canopy of the parasol concealed her upper body, allowing him to see only her black dress and crystal shoes.
Her voice was beautiful, filled with a rich, mellow quality that made one involuntarily fall into a trance.
"Looking for me? Could you be Mrs. Minaz? Yes, I want to know — the method to freely enter and exit the Dream World!"
A layer of dark Comoin snake scales materialized across Leilin's body. Even his eyes transformed into amber vertical slits. After all, Mrs. Minaz's method of appearance was far too bizarre.
She seemed to be the very incarnation of the garden from moments ago.
And after transforming into Mrs. Minaz, the original garden had become nothing but bare emptiness — the very concept of ground had ceased to exist.
"The Dream World... far too eerie. If I don't have absolute certainty next time, I absolutely cannot set foot in here again..."
A trace of irritation stirred in Leilin's heart. This kind of uncontrolled factor and uncontrolled world was something he deeply despised.
Or perhaps, no wizard truly liked the Dream World.
Because of the Dream World's irregularity, most of their usual methods became ineffective. Of course, some claimed they simply hadn't discovered the Dream World's absolute rules yet.
And once those absolute rules were found, the Dream World could be easily deciphered — and perhaps the wizard who deciphered it would gain boundless benefits.
"Yes! That owl! It's always causing trouble for people!"
The woman with the black parasol turned around.
Leilin staggered back several steps. Mrs. Minaz's frontal appearance was truly beyond his expectations — a distorted face with no eyes, nose and mouth all misplaced, like an abstract painting.
And across her upper body, a dense array of eyes had eerily materialized. Every one of those eyes contained dull, lightless pupils, coldly scrutinizing Leilin.
"A Thousand-eyed Woman! In legend, their gaze can plunge even wizards into eternal abyss..." Leilin cried out, the massive phantom of the Comoin Snake Emperor already manifesting behind him.
"Are you afraid? Why?" At that moment, the Thousand-eyed Woman's voice had undergone a dramatic transformation — from its previous gentleness to a mechanical coldness, even carrying a sense of utter indifference.
The countless eyes covering her upper body suddenly erupted with brilliant light.
An overwhelming deluge of radiance instantly engulfed the entire area. Compared to this, the Evil Eye race's so-called Death Ray was nothing but child's play.
The intense light was so blinding that it caused a long-forgotten stinging pain in Leilin's eyes.
He clutched his eyes shut, and when he finally opened them again, he froze in stunned silence.
Surrounding him was a dark, shadowy forest. The Lone-Eyed Treant from before had vanished entirely. Beneath his body, the earth lizard still rose and fell in gentle undulation.
Belinda's voice drifted from ahead: "Suit yourself! Since I've already given it to you, it's yours now!"
"This scene... it's from when I first entered the Dream Forest and ordered the Chip to analyze..."
Leilin's pupils contracted as he saw the Chip's other records.
But what filled Leilin with both disappointment and even dread was that after he issued the task to explore the Devil White Phosphorus Snake's method of traversing the Dream World, the Chip's records had fallen into complete blankness.
"Why would this happen?"
【Beep! Uncontrollable interference detected! Recording function malfunctioning!】The Chip's mechanical voice caused Leilin's expression to darken completely.
Then he saw the Chip's latest record: 【Beep! Devil White Phosphorus Snake Dream World traversal ability analysis complete. Dream World entry and exit possible through consumption of Bloodline Imprint. Current subject possesses insufficient bloodline! Cannot forge Bloodline Imprint!】
"That's impossible — didn't it say before that it would still require a great deal of time?"
Leilin's eyes were filled with deep gravity: "I'm afraid... everything that happened before was real. And this ability to enter and exit the Dream World wasn't developed by the Chip at all — it was given to me by the Thousand-eyed Woman, Mrs. Minaz..."
"Time..." Leilin sighed.