Chapter 430 - 328: All is Ready, Three Worlds

Beside the Teleportation Array, Lucian sighed softly, then turned and returned to the City Lord’s Mansion.

Late one night, at No. 7 Wisteria Lane in East City.

In the living room, the Crystal Stone Lamp was turned to its dimmest setting.

The dim yellow light fell on the old sofa, revealing its worn-out texture.

Ian sat on the sofa, his palm gently stroking Gaga’s small head.

The little creature was curled up on his lap, a small ball of black fluff.

Its feathers shimmered with a dark silver sheen in the gloom, its wings tucked in tightly.

"Ian..." Its childish voice held a trace of somberness.

"Are we... going to be busy again?"

"Yes. The path of a Wizard has no end, so how can one rest? But as long as you’re with me, I won’t be lonely."

Ian gently picked up Gaga, holding it close.

"I’m going to be very busy for a while. You need to use this time to stabilize your Realm and increase your strength."

Gaga raised its head, its silver eyes staring at his face.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to guard the Altar again, gaga?"

Ian’s voice was soft, but clear.

"If you want to grow strong quickly, you have to continuously embark on... journeys to Otherworlds."

’How had I been able to advance to a Level Three Great Witch in such a short time?’

’Countless people grind away at this threshold for hundreds of years before making a difficult breakthrough.’

’The feedback from a single one of my projections is worth their centuries of painstaking accumulation.’

Gaga’s little claws scratched at his knee. "Are you... going to a faraway place again?"

"It’s just a projection. I’ll still be here, but I probably won’t have much time to go out."

Ian comforted Gaga softly, stroking its fluffy body.

"This time might be a bit different. I need to be well-prepared, not as rushed as the first time."

"I’ll keep an eye on things outside for you." The little creature nodded emphatically.

"Within half a year... I’ll definitely reach the Tier Two Late Stage, gaga!"

"I believe in you." Ian smiled, his eyes gentle.

He stood up and walked to the window, gazing out at the pitch-black night sky.

A few stars twinkled in the gaps between the clouds, faint but firm.

’Everything... is ready.’

’Titus’s contamination has stabilized, so there’s no need to worry about him. Gaga just advanced to the Middle Stage and needs time to consolidate. Aidele’s position as Clan Leader is already secured.’

’For now, there are no other matters that require my attention... It’s time.’

「The next morning.」

Ian walked into the third basement level and activated the three-layered Isolation Witch Array.

A faint, silvery Light Curtain rose from the corners of the walls, enveloping the entire space.

He walked to the entrance of the tunnel he had dug earlier and leaped down. The Gravity Rule activated, and his body slowly descended.

Fifty meters, one hundred meters, one hundred fifty meters... two hundred meters.

With each stage of his descent, another layer of the Witch Array’s runes on the rock walls lit up.

Three layers stacked, isolating everything.

Below him was a spherical space one hundred meters in diameter. The rock walls were as smooth as a mirror, with three layers of silver Witch Array runes flowing across their surface.

In the very center, a brand-new altar stood silently.

Ian walked up to the altar and raised his hand to stroke its edge. It was cool, hard, and carried the unique slight chill of the Void.

’This time, the passage will be more stable than ever before,’ he muttered to himself, a sharp light glinting in his eyes.

’The rewards and dangers... will also be greater than ever before.’

He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sank his Spiritual Power into the depths of his Sea of Spirit.

The Silver Crystal slowly rotated, surrounded by three silently hovering Star Orbits.

The Power of the Order Divine Body flowed silently within him.

’Let’s begin.’

He opened his eyes and lightly tapped the center of the altar with his fingertip.

With a low HUM, the complex Runes on the altar’s surface lit up one by one.

They spread outward from the center, like ripples in water.

The Dark Silver light grew brighter and brighter, finally coalescing into a spinning vortex.

Within the depths of the vortex was the endless Void.

With a slight shift of his will, Ian activated the Two-Realm Phase Analyzer at full power.

A speck of golden light appeared on his fingertip. Within the light was the contract Rune for the [Phase Soul Weaving Technique].

This was the "seed" he had prepared long ago, just waiting... to find a suitable world.

He whispered, "Go."

He flicked his finger, and the golden light transformed into a streak that shot into the vortex.

In an instant, it vanished.

The vortex in the center of the altar began to spin slowly as he poured his Spiritual Power into it.

The Dark Silver light began to surge like boiling water.

Ian’s Spiritual Power followed the Phase Passage, probing into the depths of the Void.

It passed through layer upon layer of spatial folds, through distorted torrents of Energy, and through cold stretches of vacuum.

Like a thin thread, it extended into the darkness, stretching farther and farther...

「An unknown amount of time passed.」

Suddenly, he sensed something.

In the extremely distant Void, three faint "points of light" were responding to his call.

They were three... desperate Souls that had sent out distress signals to the Void at the moment of their deaths.

Now, the signals had been captured by the altar and transmitted back to him.

Ian’s will slowly approached the first and closest point of light.

’There’s... no Extraordinary Power here?’

He frowned slightly as his will followed the soul fluctuation, probing into that world and scanning it quickly.

Mountains, rivers, cities, crowds...

No Extraordinary Fluctuation, no Rule Manifestation, no Wizards, no Demons...

Just a purely... mundane world.

’Completely unsuitable.’

Ian withdrew his will and turned to the second point of light.

This one was slightly farther away, but still within an acceptable range.

His will had just touched the world’s barrier.

BOOM!

An indescribable pressure descended from an infinite height!

It was like a giant mountain slamming down on Ian’s consciousness!

Ian "saw" it.

Beyond the world barrier, in the depths of the Void... a pair of indifferent, merciless eyes floated.

The eyes were immense, their pupils reflecting the birth and death of stars, the cycle of planes.

No emotion, no fluctuation.

Just... a pure "gaze."

But this gaze alone made Ian’s Soul tremble violently.

Warning bells blared wildly in his mind, like countless needles simultaneously piercing the depths of his consciousness.

’Holy shit... What the hell is that thing!’

Ian’s face went pale with fright, and he instantly severed the connection!

The golden light shot back into his mind from the world barrier as if it had received an electric shock.

He gasped for breath, cold sweat beading on his forehead, his back already soaked through.

’That feeling... that wasn’t the World Will!’

His heart still pounding with fear, he didn’t dare look in that direction again.

The standing of those eyes... was too high. So high... he couldn’t even begin to comprehend it.

’Fortunately, the entity seemed to just be "passing by" and didn’t give chase.’

Otherwise... Ian didn’t dare to imagine the consequences.

He calmed himself and turned his will toward the third point of light.

It was the farthest, yet the connection was the clearest. The moment his will touched the world barrier...

BUZZ!

A peculiar "resonance" transmitted from the barrier.

It was like a certain frequency had created a subtle resonance with his Spiritual Power.

’It’s strange. How can a world linked via resonance with an Abyssal Altar have no Abyssal Aura?’

Ian increased the input of his Spiritual Power, sensing it carefully.

Inside the world on the other side, Energy was abundant, and Extraordinary Factors were extremely active.

Cities were filled with towering buildings, roads crisscrossed everywhere, a clear aura of Rules would occasionally manifest among the mountains and rivers, and countless strange creatures inhabited the forests...

’The Rules of this world... how can they be so obvious?’

’Also, the structure of these cities is so similar to the Blue Star from the depths of my memory!’

But he knew... this was not his home, Blue Star.

Suppressing his excitement, he continued to sense and discovered several hidden, powerful auras.

’Level Four? Or Level Five... It’s impossible to be certain from across two worlds.’

’But the upper limit of this world seems acceptable, probably around the level of a Level Five Radiant Moon.’

Ian made up his mind.

"You’re the one. Go."

The golden light on his fingertip, carrying the prepared contract, flashed and plunged into the vortex.

The altar shook violently, and the Dark Silver light surged wildly.

It nearly broke through the blockade of the three-layered Witch Array!

From the center of the vortex, an incredibly clear Soul Link... extended from the distant Otherworld.

Like an invisible thread, it passed through the Void, through the world barrier, and across an endless distance.

It fastened itself securely to the depths of Ian’s Soul.

The passage was formally established. The [Phase Soul Weaving Technique] began to operate silently.

Ian slowly opened his eyes, a light flickering in their depths.

’A new world... here I come.’