Chapter 684
The Outside World
Chapter 684 The Outside World
As Gaode's highly focused attention was released, a strong sense of fatigue surged in like a burst dam.
With such intense rune deduction and calculation, and having continued for so long without sleep, his energy had long since reached its limit.
"I'll rest for a bit." She fed herself a gem-like sweet berry and then treated herself to a [Comfortable Sleep+] treatment.
He lay down directly on Liu Ying's lap, feeling the warmth of the girl's body and the steady rise and fall of her breathing, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
The construction of the magic array is an even bigger project, and no mistakes can be tolerated.
You must get yourself into the best possible condition before you can begin.
Gao De slept exceptionally soundly that night.
When he woke up again, the bloodshot in his eyes had faded, and his mental energy was full and abundant.
He stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and looked down at the final blueprint on the floor above the ashes.
The dense array of numbers and runes was already etched into his mind like a brand.
After eating another gemberry to replenish his energy, Gao De's eyes became incredibly determined.
“I’m about to begin,” he said to Liu Ying.
Gaode was prepared to succeed in one fell swoop.
The first step in constructing a magic circle is to lay out the basic rune grid.
This is the skeleton of the magic array, like the foundation of a building. It must strictly follow the honeycomb arrangement rules to build countless precise tracks for the flow of energy.
Before Gao De, all the fragments of soul essence in his hand floated quietly, radiating a gentle yet pure soul energy.
The next moment, his mental power, like a fine net, began to mobilize the soul energy contained in the fragments of soul essence.
Under the guidance of spiritual power, soul energy slowly overflowed from the fragments, transforming into strands of energy as thin as hair yet incredibly solid.
In the air, following the rune array structure originally designed by Gaode, they traced a line as thin as a hair yet incredibly solid, like a snake.
The strands of soul energy moved rapidly through the air.
Gao De's writing flowed like a divine hand, because the position of every rune, the thickness of every line, and the angle of every node were already imprinted in his mind and were thoroughly familiar to him.
Under his mental guidance, the soul energy threads did not deviate or dissipate in the slightest, flowing obediently along the predetermined trajectory like a tamed wild horse.
Each rune line is rounded and full, and the energy field is as stable as a still lake.
Runes took shape one after another, densely connecting with each other in mid-air, their edges aligned.
The faint light shimmered gently, illuminating the entire interior of the stone tower in a dreamlike manner.
Three hours later, the first phase of drawing was completed.
The densely packed honeycomb-shaped runes, like twinkling stars, form a perfect honeycomb matrix.
Gao De withdrew his mental energy and hovered among the fragments of soul essence in front of him. The energy of dozens of soul essence fragments was just exhausted, and they turned into ashes and dissipated.
His gaze swept over the half-finished drawing he had created.
All rune spacing errors are controlled to within millimeters, perfectly meeting the blueprint requirements.
Each rune interacts with the others, forming a stable basic network.
Gaode Maps, however, was not particularly pleased with itself.
After all, for a rune constructor, the margin of error allowed by rune arrays is simply too large.
This level of error control is just basic skill and not difficult at all.
It's not fair to say that runic literature is high and mighty, and that runic constructs are the jewels in the crown of runic literature.
There's always a reason for superiority.
carry on.
Gaode Maps didn't stop there; it entered the second phase.
With a thought, he drew upon his soul energy once more and began to outline and fill in the composite runes.
The whole process is neither simple nor difficult.
Because Gaode doesn't need rune tuning, all the details have already been repeatedly confirmed during the simulation phase.
At this moment, all that is needed is precise landing, just like laying rails on a predetermined track.
This stage takes even longer.
Soul energy once again flowed from the remaining fragments of soul essence, beginning to outline more complex rune patterns on the unfinished rune array.
This stage took even longer, a full six hours.
When the last composite rune was completed, a complex energy network had formed in the air, with basic runes of all levels intertwined, like a spider web.
Each "spider web" is perfectly aligned, exuding mechanical precision.
The soul energy flowed slowly through the meridians without any obstruction. A faint energy fluctuation could even be felt inside the stone tower, as even as breathing.
But it's not over yet.
He was about to begin the third and final stage of constructing the magic array.
That is, the assembly of composite runes.
This is also the most complicated step.
Even the slightest mistake could undo all the previous efforts.
Gao De's gaze became increasingly focused, his mental energy highly concentrated.
Assembling composite runes is like building a precision instrument; the connection between each basic rune must be seamless.
The junctions between runes of different ranks are particularly prone to energy conflicts.
At this stage, Gaode unleashed Mandora's Eye.
It endows Gaode with keen and accurate energy insight, and can also play an important auxiliary role in the construction of rune arrays.
It allows Gaode to perceive the subtle fluctuations of energy within the rune array.
Whenever the energy of a rune resonates slightly with its surroundings, Gao De immediately slows down the drawing process and fine-tunes the thickness of the rune or the position of the connection points.
Just like calibrating the meshing precision of gears, it instantly resolves fluctuations.
The entire process requires only precise execution of the rune blueprint and rapid response to energy feedback.
Gao De's every movement was smooth and steady, as if he had drawn the magic circle a thousand times.
The moment the last set of composite runes completed their connection, the massive rune array suspended inside the stone tower suddenly burst forth with blinding light.
The faint light turned into a bright light, and the energy of the soul intertwined and entwined.
Within the entire magic circle, all the runes seemed to come alive, rapidly circulating.
call--
Gao De let out a long breath, and Mandora's Demon Eye slowly disappeared.
A hint of weariness flashed in his eyes, but more than that, there was a sense of relief.
"The magic array is complete." He nodded in response to the questioning look from Liu Ying beside him.
Because the fragments of soul essence are limited, he still feels some pressure.
Fortunately, thanks to the Rune Constructor's precise control over the runes, the assistance of Mandora's Eye, and countless rune calculations in the early stages, he succeeded on his first try.
"Next, we just need to wait for the arrival of the Soul-Slaying Wind, then inject soul energy, activate the magic array to draw in the storm, and tear apart the dimensional barrier," he added.
"You can finally leave this boring place."
At least he could concentrate on studying runes, and his days were fulfilling and purposeful.
But Liu Ying could only wait idly in the stone tower, facing only a monotonous and unchanging environment. One can imagine how agonizing and boring it must have been. "Actually, I don't find it boring at all." To Gao De's surprise, Liu Ying shook her head and said in a very soft voice, "It's not so bad here."
“It’s huge, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The girl's voice and tone were very calm.
But Gao De felt a sudden chill in his heart.
Because he sensed a deep sadness beneath the calm.
Gao De suddenly realized that because of Liu Ying's noble status and terrifying magical talent, he had always subconsciously believed that Liu Ying could have whatever she wanted and was the richest princess in the mage plane.
That seems to be the case.
She possesses boundless wealth, top-tier magical resources, and the adoration of many.
But in reality, since the girl had memories, her world has only been the size of one room.
He thought Liuying had everything, but Liuying's world was so small.
For eighteen years, she stayed in that gorgeous but monotonous room day after day, with no one around to interact with her, as if she were in a cage isolated from the world.
Therefore, what he considered a desolate and boring Soul Realm was not so hopeless for Liu Ying; on the contrary, it was full of novelty.
At least this place was spacious and open, far superior to her room. The monotonous scenery was also novel to her, and the harsh, magic-free environment could suppress the divine radiance energy within her.
Most importantly, there is also Gaode, which is completely new to her, where she can communicate on an equal and pleasant basis, and even have "intimate contact" with her.
Therefore, Gaode's view of boredom and torment does not actually apply to Liu Ying.
That was freedom and novelty.
They say you can never guess what a girl is thinking.
That makes perfect sense.
Even a pure and straightforward girl like Liu Ying has many thoughts that Gao De could never have guessed.
“The real world is much bigger than this,” Gao De said to Liu Ying.
"It's much more lively than here."
"This place is dead."
“Is that so?” Liu Ying murmured softly.
After the age of sixteen, she could leave the room slightly, but not too far or for too long.
From then on, her world expanded somewhat, but remained confined to Mithril City.
She had never seen the world outside the city.
"Once we get out, I'll take you to see what this world is really like." Gao De nodded, perhaps in a moment of impulse, or perhaps for some other unknown reason, making an extremely solemn promise.
"Okay." Liu Ying had complete trust in Gao De.
Outside the tower, a faint, mournful sound of wind began to rise.
The sound didn't last long before it quickly rose and tightened, gradually turning into a sharp shriek.
The frequency was getting faster and faster, becoming more and more piercing, so piercing that it felt like it was going to pierce the eardrum.
Having spent a considerable amount of time in the desolate and barren Soul Realm, the two were already extremely familiar with everything here.
"They're here," the two said, exchanging a glance.
This is a sign that the withering wind is coming.
Soon after, the stone tower began to tremble slightly.
Outside the stone tower, on the plain of withered bones, the fine bone dust had been swirled up and was now spreading out in the air like white dust.
The entire desolate and barren Soul Domain became unusually murky at this moment.
Bone dust filled the air, drifting with the wind and coalescing into thick, white tornadoes that raged and surged across the wasteland.
Wherever it passed, scattered bones and remains were forcibly swept into the air and then crashed down.
Only the howling of the wind and the crashing of bone dust remained in the world, as if the end of the world had arrived.
"The golden age is coming." Gao De felt a chill run down his spine.
Judging from the sharpness of the wind and the ferocity of the bone powder, this is precisely the peak of the withered soul wind, which coincides with the weak point of the dimensional barrier, as recorded in Mordekay's records.
Gaode had already produced the broken travel dial.
It is no longer a useless, broken antique.
In Gaode's perception, the dial had already resonated with the dimensional energy of the Desolate Soul Domain.
Even with severe damage, this artifact can still sense the resonance between the astral plane and this dimension.
At that moment, a faint yet resolute force pointed towards the northwest sky.
That is the direction of the strongest resonance, and also the weakest point of the dimensional barrier.
It's now!
Gao De immediately took out all the fragments of soul essence.
With a thought, all the fragments flew toward the guiding array 21.0 suspended in the air, like migratory birds returning to their nests, and precisely embedded themselves into the energy nodes preset by the array.
In an instant, a continuous stream of soul energy gushed out from the fragments of essence, flowing into the guiding array along the rune veins.
The entire rune array lit up simultaneously, bursting forth with dazzling light.
The four colors of light—pale purple, light blue, golden yellow, and silver white—were like four rushing rivers, intertwining and flowing rapidly within the magic array.
In an instant, they formed an invisible giant hand with a powerful pulling force. The palm was covered with intricate rune patterns, piercing through the stone tower and grabbing straight at the raging withered soul wind on the wasteland.
Outside the stone tower, amidst the chaotic white storm, a massive column of wind, tens of feet in diameter, suddenly stopped, abruptly deviating from its original trajectory.
It charged toward the stone tower with great momentum.
The wind column carried a cloud of bone dust and skeletal remains, creating a terrifying spectacle.
Wherever it passed, the withered bones on the wasteland were forcibly swept up and added to the torrent of the storm, making the wind column even thicker.
Before the enormous column of wind could get close, another tornado of withered souls was drawn towards them from afar by an invisible giant hand.
Then came the second, third, and fourth rounds...
Centered on the stone tower, all the raging, withered winds on the wasteland seemed to be summoned by some irresistible force, converging one after another.
Like countless tributaries flowing into a great river, they all merge into that initial colossal column of wind.
In the blink of an eye, these countless strands of withered soul wind had condensed into an incredibly refined tornado containing terrifying withered soul energy, radiating a heart-palpitating aura of destruction.
Meanwhile, the four-colored light within the guiding array surged once again.
Like four nimble ribbons of light, they intertwined and climbed up the outer wall of the tornado.
Ultimately, it transformed into a fine chain of runes, firmly locking in the raging, withered soul energy and preventing it from dissipating prematurely.
Northwest. 47.35 degrees. Three miles away.
At this point, the travel dial had stopped vibrating, completed its final positioning, and was steadily pointing in one direction.
Gaode then uses Mandora's Magic Eye to "see" the accurate parameters.
Everything is ready.
Gao De suddenly raised his hand, his mental power like drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, firmly locking the power of the guiding magic array onto the target.
"Go!" he shouted in a low voice, but with an undeniable determination.
With a slight thought, the astonishing tornado that pierced the heavens and earth suddenly stopped.
Then, like an arrow released from a bow, it broke free from the ground's restraints and, following the direction indicated by the runes, charged towards the northwest sky.
Wherever the tornado passed, the air was torn apart, producing a sharp, piercing sound.
The withered winds along the way were forcibly drawn in, causing the tornado's power to surge once again.
(End of this chapter)