In the infinite astral plane, the Wizard World and the World of Gods stood like the two faces of a funnel — immensely powerful — with a vast number of smaller worlds sandwiched between them.
Among these smaller worlds, there existed large-scale realms such as Purgatory, Frost, and Shadow. Though they could not compare to the two great worlds, their world origin force was still incredibly abundant.
The Dream World, however, was far more peculiar.
It had no fixed form, yet it spanned across countless worlds as if it were omnipresent. At the peak of its Dream Force, it was not inferior to the Wizard World itself!
But this bizarre and terrifying world had fallen into a trough due to the waning of its Dream Force.
This characteristic of the Dream World had clearly been exploited by numerous beings as a bridge for communication and exchange — especially by the Mother of Myriad Serpents, who had mastered the power of dreams.
"Since I've been invited — then I shall go!"
Leylin chuckled, and his entire figure vanished from the laboratory in an instant.
When it came to Dream Force, he had his own confidence. In his current state, even if he still could not defeat the Mother of Myriad Serpents, he certainly possessed the strength to buy himself time and withdraw from the Dream World.
Under these circumstances, the Mother of Myriad Serpents could not possibly be coming to deal with him. It was far more likely that she intended to negotiate peace.
After all, no matter how unwilling the Mother of Myriad Serpents might be, the fact remained that Leylin had already broken free from her bloodline shackles and had even ascended to become a new Bloodline Origin!
As a being who had survived for countless ages and had weathered the Ancient War of Ending, the Mother of Myriad Serpents could not possibly fail to recognize reality.
Within the flickering of dark crimson flames, a colossal gate materialized upon an open plain, and then Leylin's figure walked straight through the doorway.
"Is this… still the Dream World?"
Leylin gazed into the distance. As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but withered trees, dried-up streams and lakes. The entire world seemed desolate, without the faintest trace of life.
He had already known that the Dream World would enter a period of dormancy as its Dream Force declined, but this state of affairs still caught him off guard.
"Judging by this, it seems the entire Dream World has fallen into death…"
Leylin's brow furrowed slightly as he thought of the native inhabitants he had encountered in the Dream World back when he was still at the fifth level.
"Gillian and the others — I wonder how their tribe is faring. Their fate probably won't be good…"
The dream natives Leylin had previously encountered were among the most wretched tribes in the entire Dream World. Even after his guidance during his last visit, they had gained only a slightly greater ability to protect themselves.
And that meager strength was still nothing before the Calamity Lords — merely ants of a somewhat larger size.
Having encountered the terrifying collapse of Dream Force — something that even Calamity Lords had to flee from — Gillian and the others, with their current abilities, almost certainly could not have survived.
"Still, given the bizarre and absurd nature of the Dream World, Gillian and the rest are not entirely without hope of survival. It's just that the probability has shrunk to something so small it can practically be ignored…"
Leylin shook his head and chose not to dwell on it any further.
"The exhaustion of the world… represents a truth of the Astral Plane. Even we who are beings of rules cannot escape the fate of eventual extinction… Progenitor of the Targalian Winged Serpents… what do you think?"
The surrounding earth instantly turned to nothingness, and the entire wasteland seemed to transform in the blink of an eye into a boundless starry sky.
A serpent sphere resembling a star materialized, with countless colossal serpent heads roaring as they revealed the bewitching visage of the Mother of Myriad Serpents.
"It is precisely because of this that we are driven to pursue eternity and transcendence with unwavering resolve, right to the very end! Mother of Myriad Serpents, there is no need for such theatrics in front of me…"
Leylin let out a soft chuckle and took a slight step forward with his boot!
Crack! Crack! Pitch-black fissures emerged from the starry sky, accompanied by terrifying booms.
Then, the numerous cracks spread outward like a spider's web, spawning violent spatial storms. The entire starry sky shattered beneath Leylin's feet, and the surroundings reverted to the restored Dream World.
"Leylin! Your current power now holds value worthy of our attention!"
The Mother of Myriad Serpents watched Leylin shatter the starry sky, a profound light flickering deep within her beautiful eyes. After a long silence, she finally spoke in a slow, unhurried voice, laced with an indescribable sense of allure.
This was the natural manifestation of her bloodline's bewitching ability—though, of course, it had long since lost any effect on Leylin.
"Only equal strength can serve as the prerequisite for any relationship!" Leylin had long understood this principle, so his expression remained unchanged as he asked calmly, "Mother, I trust you did not invite me here this time merely to discuss this matter?"
"Indeed…" The Mother of Myriad Serpents' voice sounded like a melodious chant.
"Among my bloodline descendants, having an existence like you is both my fortune and my misfortune! But since the essence of the bloodline has already been separated away, no amount of entanglement will change anything…"