Leilin pulled up the data the Chip had recorded earlier.
Those three factions had been scrambling around the outer perimeter for quite some time and had managed to produce some useful findings.
According to Tomar's confession, the interior of the Shifting Sand Fortress was far larger than it appeared from outside — practically a vast labyrinth.
The countless rooms on the outer layer served as the first line of defense.
If one failed to exit in time, they would wander endlessly through the rooms, ultimately trapped to death within.
The second layer began with this Illusion Corridor.
Under the dim, yellowish light, Leilin studied the decorations lining the corridor.
The walls on both sides were pristine white, adorned with peculiar floral motifs but not a single human portrait. The red carpet on the floor stretched all the way to the corridor's end, without a speck of dust in sight.
"This painting style?" Leilin stroked his chin. "Very reminiscent of the ancient era. It's virtually confirmed — this is one of the Shifting Sand Organization's testing sites!"
The wizards of antiquity possessed power far beyond what modern wizards could muster. Leilin even suspected that when this fortress had been constructed, wizards at least at the Morning Star level had been involved.
And the traps within were lethally dangerous for a mere Third-rank Warlock like himself — a single misstep could prove fatal.
Leilin's eyes scanned the oil paintings along the corridor with caution, and his feet began moving in a peculiar pattern.
The floral motifs on either side came alive as he walked — growing, sprouting, blooming, then quickly withering, cycling over and over again.
"In the legends, the Illusion Corridor requires a unique walking frequency to navigate, and it possesses strange powers that can teleport the entrant to wherever they wish to go!"
Leilin recalled a certain passage — and, of course, the continuation that followed: "If the entrant missteps, the entire Illusion Corridor transforms into the most lethal of traps, claiming both flesh and soul."
These specific steps had been purchased at an enormous cost by the wizards on the outside — paid for with human lives, no less. And now all of it fell into Leilin's hands for free.
"What is it that I truly want?"
Leilin strolled along the corridor, asking himself this repeatedly. This was one of the Illusion Corridor's peculiarities — if the entrant's desire was unclear, the corridor would stretch on without end.
Once a certain amount of time elapsed, the same mechanism would activate.
"Something like immortality or power — never mind that they're too abstract, they're also beyond the Illusion Corridor's ability to grant. I can only name a place it can actually reach!"
Leilin pondered. "Directly asking for the location of the Snake Woman's Hair would be equally risky. If that material doesn't exist within, the Illusion Corridor would immediately flag me as an intruder!"
This was another test of entry. The true master would naturally know what lay beyond the corridor.
The corridor's teleportation only led to various locations within the fortress. If Leilin named a place that didn't exist, not only would the teleportation fail, but it would also trigger the magical arrays.
Yet giving up on the Snake Woman's Hair was something he was extremely reluctant to do.
"I wish to go... to a place that can help my bloodline grow!"
After a moment, Leilin made his decision, repeating those words over and over in his mind.
In an instant, the corridor seemed to shrink, and the floral patterns on the walls shifted even more rapidly — completing an entire cycle of growth in mere seconds.
A point of light appeared at the corridor's end and kept expanding.
"Let's go!" Leilin gritted his teeth and walked forward with composure.
Pop! The weightlessness of teleportation lingered in Leilin's mind, leaving him slightly dizzy.
He shook his head sharply, taking in his surroundings.
"Where... am I?"
Before him stretched an enormous laboratory. Through the glass, he could see green plants outside, along with numerous glass vessels and instruments arranged in neat order.
"It appears to be some kind of laboratory. My luck seems to be holding — there really is something here that can help my bloodline grow!"
Leilin let out a long breath. Then he recalled the rumors about the Shifting Sand Organization. Since its members were mostly various kinds of warlocks, they would certainly have had a keen interest in bloodline experiments.
Finding something compatible with his own bloodline growth here didn't seem all that difficult after all.
Leilin walked up to a metal counter and pulled open the top drawer.
Inside was a jumble of items, but the majority were thick sheets of parchment covered with experimental data recorded in the Byron language.
He opened the remaining drawers — they were largely the same, dominated by these experimental records. The documents nearly filled the entire counter.
"So much experimental data. Pity it's missing the most critical receptor and core materials — impossible to reverse-engineer the actual experimental process..."
Leilin felt a twinge of regret, but he still quickly used the Chip to store all the information.
Even a pile of miscellaneous data had value. Perhaps someday he would find the core records and be able to reconstruct the experiment!
Moreover, after several upgrades, the Chip's performance was now far superior — scanning and recording these documents didn't take much time at all.
The laboratory was neatly organized. It seemed the warlocks who had originally been here had evacuated in excellent order, leaving very few things behind.
After recording all the data, Leilin turned his gaze to the lush green biodome beyond the enormous glass wall.
Massive leaves like palm fans blocked out the sky, with faint sunlight filtering through and falling upon the thick plant roots below.
It looked like a primeval forest.
But having experienced the Dark Polar Domain, Leilin instantly noticed the difference in the sunlight. It wasn't natural sunlight — it was artificial light and heat. While it served the same purpose, it lacked that natural, harmonious quality.
"This place has been abandoned for thousands of years, yet the entire ecosystem has maintained its balance. Remarkable systems and astonishing technology..."
Leilin sighed, placing his hand on the glass.
"Specially tempered glass. Hardness rating: 3." The Chip immediately provided its assessment.
Hardness level three — meaning even an ordinary Third-rank
"It seems that in its prime, this biodome housed quite a few powerful creatures!"
A massive fireball instantly materialized in Leilin's hand, its terrifying heat nearly incinerating the surrounding air as it began corroding the void itself.
"Explosive Flame Sphere!"
The colossal flame slammed into the glass wall. Blinding light and heat erupted in an instant, so intense that even Leilin had to briefly shut his eyes.
When he opened them again, he saw that the glass wall had dented slightly but still stood firm.
"As expected of a hardness-three material!" Leilin sighed, instantly estimating the load-bearing capacity of the tempered glass wall.
At his current attack intensity, he would need at least ten more strikes to shatter the entire glass wall.
"Is that really necessary?" Leilin stroked his chin. While collecting data earlier, he had also discovered some activation sequences — likely the access code for this place. His previous attack had been purely a hardness test.
"Judging by what I see, the strongest creatures inside are at most Third-rank. The danger shouldn't be too great!"
Leilin was confident of this; otherwise, the defenses wouldn't be this simple. Even accounting for magical arrays that hadn't yet activated, the creatures inside were almost certainly within the Third-rank range.
He quickly walked over to a disc-shaped device, inspected it briefly, and found a slot. He replaced the powder inside with a crystallized Magic Stone.
"Activate!" He then placed both hands on the disc, and fine threads of light flowed from his palms, connecting with the device.
Crack! Crack!
The entire glass wall began to vibrate, sending cascades of dust and sand sliding down.
Rumble rumble rumble! Having not been activated for so long, the mechanism had aged. The glass door emitted a tremendous noise as it opened.
A fissure appeared in the center of the glass, stretching outward toward both sides.
Whoosh! A burst of incredibly fresh air, carrying a faint, peculiar briny scent, drifted in.
In that instant, every cell in Leilin's body seemed to cheer and rejoice, and the bloodline of the Komoin Giant Serpent stirred restlessly within him.
"I hadn't noticed before, but now that I look, every plant in this biodome is quite ancient and several times larger than any currently existing species — they bear certain primordial characteristics..."
Leilin stepped out of the laboratory and glanced back. The laboratory he had just left resembled a giant white egg embedded in the thick stone wall, while all around stretched the scenery of a primeval forest.
"Such obvious primordial features, combined with the activation of my bloodline... It seems this place is a complete simulation of the environment from the ancient era..."
Leilin made his judgment.
"This kind of ancient environment was ordinary back then, but in the present age, it represents invaluable data..." A look of delight crossed Leilin's face as he immediately issued the command: "Chip, record the environmental parameters!"
"Task initiated. Commencing scan. Collecting atmospheric parameters..."
The Chip responded faithfully and began executing Leilin's orders with meticulous precision.
After assigning the task to the Chip, Leilin gripped the Fallen Long Sword and began following an enormous plant root.
At the root's end lay a patch of berry vines, and on a leaf roughly the size of a millstone, Leilin found distinct bite marks.
"Animal feeding traces!" Leilin examined the notch on the leaf. "Likely an omnivorous creature — these are the marks of fangs specifically adapted for tearing muscle tissue!"
At the point where the plant had been bitten, fresh plant tissue was already growing back, gradually filling in the gap.
"With growth this fast, I can see how the cycle in here is sustained..."
Leilin stroked his chin and moved on to the ground level.
At the base of the plant he had just examined, a puddle of thick, greenish semi-solid substance was emitting a foul stench.