A spiritual power seed was a condensation of spiritual power.
And a spiritual power seed that had fallen into an alien world would receive no replenishment whatsoever.
Whether it was the earlier probing or the acceptance and transmission of information, all of it required enormous amounts of spiritual power. Once that spiritual power was fully depleted, the seed of spiritual power would naturally reach the moment of its annihilation.
Inside the
The terrifying interplanar magical array had stopped trembling, and threads of radiance gradually dimmed.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I had just established the connection..."
Leilin's eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of collapsing into a frenzy.
"That was an entire world!!! An independent, complete world!!! And it wasn't being controlled by any outside force yet—how many experiments would it take to find one like that..."
He clutched his forehead and groaned.
"Interplanar magical array operation complete. Main array body damage: 0.19%. Astral Stone consumption: 37.98%!" At that moment, the Chip transmitted the rest of the information as well.
"The Astral Stone!" Leilin waved his hand, and the Astral Stone at the center of the array flew back into his grasp.
But the Astral Stone had already shrunk by nearly half its original volume, and the glow upon its surface had grown dim.
Originally, a single Astral Stone of this size could have sustained interplanar experiments for a very long time. But in this instance, merely maintaining the spiritual power link between the two worlds had consumed a massive amount of the stone's internal energy.
"What a waste..."
Leilin stared blankly for a long while before finally regaining his composure, clarity returning to his eyes.
"Without a spatial route, without coordinates—the Black Rain World I discovered this time was completely an accident!"
"Fortunately, before the link between the two sides was severed, the information was transmitted over. At least it wasn't a total loss. Otherwise, I would have spat blood..."
Leilin's expression turned somber.
"Multi-armed Race physical training method: compilation complete!" At that moment, the Chip also finished systematically organizing the data it had obtained.
Although the Morning Star-level alien had called itself the Quark Race, Leilin had insisted on his own naming convention, and the Chip naturally deferred to his judgment.
The Multi-armed Race's foundational training methods were extremely fragmented, with many areas still vague and unclear. Although these were only basic contents, that Multi-armed Race elder had clearly tampered with them to some degree.
But for the Chip, none of these issues posed any real problem. It could immediately systematize and organize everything. It could even extrapolate further and derive even more from the data.
"It seems there are some similarities with the Branded Swordsman and the Iron Knight training methods..." With Leilin's current level of insight, identifying such patterns was naturally quite simple.
Many of the Wizard World's ancient professions had originally been modeled after the power paths of other worlds, so finding similarities was perfectly normal.
"Chip, compile all three into a combined research dossier..."
Leilin issued the command.
"Task established. Beginning parallel data processing!" the Chip responded swiftly.
Leilin actually still held some interest in the Branded Swordsman training method he possessed, but the data in his hands was incomplete. At most, it could only produce first-rank cannon fodder, which was essentially useless to him now.
Not to mention that for a Morning Star Wizard, human wave tactics were completely ineffective—a single Morning Star Domain alone could drive low-ranking wizards to a fate worse than death.
But having more subordinates was always a good thing. If he could develop second-rank and third-rank Branded Swordsman training methods, it would greatly bolster his forces.
For someone like Leilin who held territory, such an investment was well worth it.
Moreover, some of the Multi-armed Race's training techniques and special breakthrough methods appeared to offer certain reference value for resolving his bloodline bottleneck, which made Leilin even more attentive.
Though he did not face a bottleneck in advancing to Morning Star, the Comoran Giant Snake warlock's inability to break past the fifth rank still loomed over him like a mountain pressing down upon his heart.
...
The wizard tower's lockdown persisted for several months on end.
Outside, Pike and the others could witness the wizard tower surging and howling as it devoured massive quantities of elemental particles every few days.
This phenomenon was caused by the positive and negative energy reaction pools running at full capacity to supply the interplanar array.
Beyond their shock, they could only marvel at Leilin's wealth.
A third-rank Wizard who could sustain a single experiment for this long was exceedingly rare across the entire Central Continent. The Astral Stone reserves alone were enough to drive countless wizards into bankruptcy.
"Lord Marquis Leilin is truly..."
Even his own subordinates felt this way, let alone outsiders—such as the visiting warlock standing before them.
The warlock who had arrived possessed excellent looks, as was common among warlocks, but the pure Comoran Giant Snake bloodline fluctuation radiating from him prevented Pike and the others from treating him lightly. They even felt a sense of inferiority.
"The Astral Stones consumed alone must be enough to drive an ordinary third-rank Wizard to despair, wouldn't you say?"
The visitor stared at the massive wizard tower, his face openly displaying shock.
"Lord Baron Dim!" Pike stood respectfully to the side.
Although this Dim was only a second-rank warlock and held only a baron's title, his noble bloodline meant he would face no bottleneck advancing to the third-rank, and even the Morning Star realm was within reach. His status was therefore equal to that of Pike, a third-rank Hollar Black Snake warlock. And factoring in age and potential, he might even have the edge.
Furthermore, the other party came from an established family within the Ring of the Ouroboros, with deep-rooted connections and vast latent influence—making him someone who could not be underestimated.
"I came this time to deliver an invitation, but it seems the timing may be somewhat inopportune..."
A look of helplessness appeared on Dim's face.
"Please rest assured, the Master does emerge once every month. It's been nearly a month since his last outing, so you need only wait a little while, Baron," Pike replied.
Dim nodded. He had no intention of forcing entry or demanding an audience. He understood perfectly well that when high-ranking Wizards were conducting important experiments, interruptions were absolutely unacceptable. If an experiment failed or even triggered a spell backlash due to outside interference, they would be the type to kill without a second thought.
"I've heard that Lord Marquis Leilin turned the Black Fortress fief into one of the few prosperous territories in less than ten years. I'd very much like to see it for myself!"
"It would be our honor..." Pike nodded and summoned another warlock dressed in a butler's uniform.
"This is Gubule, the steward of the entire fief. He can show you around later."
For Wizards, the governance of a territory was merely a trivial matter. Dim, being still young, retained some interest in such things, but the larger motivation was simply to pass the time.
"Gubule greets the Baron!"
On the other side, Gubule's face broke into the most sincere of smiles as he bowed with deep respect.
...
The Wizards outside continued chatting and laughing, utterly unaware that at that very moment, inside the wizard tower, Leilin was drenched in cold sweat dripping drop by drop from his forehead.
Before him stood a creature with a goat's head and a crocodile's body that had risen upright on its hind legs, and it was posing all manner of questions to him like some philosopher.
"Do you know how many times a gardenia blooms?"
"What is one plus one?"
"How many tails does the Infinite Loop Serpent have in total?"
The creature wore a black overcoat and spoke in a language entirely foreign to Leilin, yet he could understand its meaning perfectly.
Cold sweat continued to slide down Leilin's forehead, but inside he was screaming: Impossible! How could such a fragile spatial mirror possibly still allow a living being to cross through?
As a high-ranking warlock who had served as a research assistant to Duke
Countless Morning Star Wizards had perished precisely because they had connected with entities too bizarre and too powerful. Some had been cursed to death after hearing even a single note from such an existence, the curse extending to every bloodline descendant as well!
But today's event was nothing short of a catastrophe out of nowhere.
The moment his spiritual power seed had entered the spatial turbulence, this entity had detected it—and had even manifested directly inside the interplanar array.
"Anomalous energy source detected! Countermeasures initiated!" the Chip's voice rang out.
An array designed to connect with other planes naturally accounted for this scenario during its construction. The many fallen Morning Stars before served as the ultimate warning.
Following the Chip's voice, numerous symbols on the floor blazed to life, forming a cage of blood-red lightning that enveloped the creature completely.
Crimson bolts, carrying the immense power of the wizard tower, hammered into the creature's body.
Sizzle! Blood-red arcs of electricity danced across its form. Pieces of its clothing disintegrated into ash and drifted downward. Even the creature's own body sprouted festering yellow pustules that burst open one after another.
Pus and lightning collided, producing a piercing shriek.
"Do you know how many times the Vankel Bell rings in a century?"
Chunk after chunk of rotting flesh sloughed from the creature's body, yet it seemed entirely oblivious, still pressing its questions directly into Leilin's mind.
"Maximum power output!" Leilin felt a chill creep up his spine and barked the order.
Rumble! The multitude of blood-red lightning bolts converged into a massive sphere and bombarded down upon the creature.
"Do you know..."
At the edge of the ball lightning, the creature's body vanished inch by inch. Its enormous goat head toppled to the ground, yet it persisted in asking its question.
But now, from both of its goat-like eyes, streams of blood-red liquid were flowing.
Rumble! The blood-red lightning flashed past, and the world around them seemed to freeze for an instant before resuming its flow.
"Hmm?" Leilin gazed at the silver mirror surface before him.
Everything in the laboratory was intact. The interplanar array was still operating.
And in the spot where the creature had been, not a single trace of its existence remained—not even the slightest mark.