Inside the Twin Palace, for reasons unknown, the Dark Snake Twins had not left. Instead, they sat off to the side, watching the Swindler.
Igola assumed they were waiting for the latest research findings, so he said nothing and kept his head down, reviewing the documents.
After many days of study, he was now able to cross-reference the context and understand some of the terminology, allowing him to decipher more of the experimental data. Yet there were still pieces of information that, although comprehensible, felt far too outlandish.
He paced back and forth between the blackboards, then suddenly asked, "Have you ever encountered a 'gift of the Void Realm'?"
The Dark Snake Twins immediately responded, "What do you mean specifically by a gift of the Void Realm?"
"Put simply, it's when a Void Realm creature suddenly comes to your aid, either in the Void Realm or in reality," Igola said, looking at the papers in his hands. "For example, a Bronze Dragon, a Resentful Blazing Dragon, and the like..."
The Dark Snake Twins shook their heads. "How could a Void Realm creature help a sorcerer? Don't fights break out the moment you run into one?"
"These experimental records mention that some sorcerers are naturally able to resonate with the Void Realm," Igola said. "Beyond demonstrating astonishing talent in particular sorcery factions, some Void Realm creatures even regard them as kin, pets, or companions, frequently bestowing gifts upon them. Moreover, these Void Realm creatures possess extraordinarily high status and intellect virtually equivalent to that of sorcerers—hardly comparable to edible toddler toys like the Fishcleaver Dragon..."
Harvey glanced at Alice, and Alice glanced back at him. Then he reached out a hand, and Alice immediately parted her jaws, clamping down around all four of his fingers. The necromancer looked toward the Swindler, a subtle look of doubt gleaming in his eyes.
Seeing this, Igola naturally understood the message Harvey's silent performance was conveying. In truth, whether the necromancer really had a brain-dead Void Realm creature wearing his corpse's skin didn't matter in the least; the Dark Snake Twins had four eyes, and Black Crow didn't even need eyes—as if anyone hadn't noticed.
However, Igola wasn't interested in Harvey's talents; as long as the latter could confirm that this experimental data wasn't just a randomly made-up game setting, that was enough.
"Many of the living sorcerer specimens in the laboratory were geniuses endowed with this very gift," Igola recounted, nonchalantly describing the brutal hunts from centuries ago. "They were also the initial twin test subjects. Nightfall pushed their talent to the absolute limit through repeated overlaps of destiny."
Hearing this, the Dark Snake Twins couldn't help finding it strange. "Why do that?"
"Because once talent reaches its limit, a sorcerer can resonate with Void Realm wonders," Igola said. "It doesn't say in here where this conclusion came from—perhaps the knowledge originated from a higher existence... In any case, the core philosophy of the Twin Project was to create beings capable of blazing resonance with Void Realm wonders."
"Even if one can resonate with Void Realm wonders, what good does that do?" The Dark Snake Twins still couldn't comprehend. "Does it make it easier to locate wonders in the Void Realm?"
"Far more than that."
Igola's tone gradually grew impassioned. His entire demeanor radiated an eerie brilliance, the text of the documents reflected in his pupils. A flush of vivid color rose on his sickly pale face, so striking that the Dark Snake Twins nearly missed what he said next: "Though I don't understand the underlying principles at all, the trials beneath the abyss allow the trial-takers to continuously accumulate time talent!"
"If what's written here is true, then so long as we initiate the Divine Fire Trial and activate the Twin system, then throw in a batch of people to consume one another, we'll be able to obtain—"
*Crack.*
Like an ancient fossil peeling away, Black Crow slightly raised his head, his cervical vertebrae letting out a faint yet distinct sound. It sounded like the grating rasp of a whetstone, like the heavy click of a trigger.
Igola turned his head, casting him a sideways glance out of the corner of his eye, and continued, "The trial-takers who complete every trial will, within a short period, acquire the ultimate time talent, resonating with the corresponding Void Realm wonder to the point that their Gates of Truth can connect directly to the wonder itself!"
The Void Realm wonder corresponding to time talent...
Except for Black Crow, the sorcerers instantly realized just how earth-shattering this scheme was. No wonder Igola was so excited. Even if this was merely a relic left behind centuries ago, as a swindler, how could he not be moved by such grand, audacious ambitions of his predecessors?
"They wanted to deceive the Void Realm and divert the Flowing Gold River into reality!" Igola turned to look toward the sealed abyss, recalling an informal note that had appeared in the records:
"Reality and the Void Realm embrace one another, and within them, myths shall be born."
***
"Is it time?"
"This isn't what was agreed upon!"
"Once I get out of here, I'm definitely going to kill them!"
"Looks like fate is playing another joke on me..."
Weise was, after all, a sorcerer who had traversed ten thousand li alone in the Sea of Knowledge. Although the sudden emergence of the Flowing Gold River was enough to monopolize all of her mind's processing power, her bodily instincts alone were sufficient to maintain her footing within the rushing torrent.
Because Yaxiu had crashed into her, he had subconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist before he could be swept away. Though Weise kicked him off an instant later, it had granted him a brief moment of respite, allowing him to barely withstand the rushing current of the Flowing Gold River.
Meanwhile, those long-sealed legends of yesteryear in the statues were reviving one by one from the Flowing Gold River!
A young female sorcerer whose pupils had turned into clock dials strolled leisurely through the Flowing Gold River as if unaffected by the rushing water. "Where are the people from the Square-Round Cicada?"
"Stop squawking, Sijiadi," another male beastman sorcerer growled. "Clearly something else went wrong. Nightfall didn't awaken us according to plan... Meisi, do you have any way to contact the surface?"
"No, and there's no need to," Meisi said. "This experiment was designed to mimic a mother's womb in absolute isolation, using the memories of slaughter to achieve a prenatal conditioning effect and thereby foster time talent. There's no way I could have any means to contact the outside... But I assure you, if something really did happen, those outside are bound to be far more anxious than we are. The ones who desire our success most are the people of the Square-Round Cicada."
At this point, the legends' expressions shifted, all of them realizing a distinct possibility. Looking toward the two strangers holding out against the upstream surge in the distance, they asked:
"Are you two newcomers? What happened outside?"
Weise instinctively glanced at Yaxiu, only to find him looking right back at her. Although Silver Lantern was no saint, these unfamiliar legends were hardly benign either. Just as Yaxiu usually left negotiations to Igola, facing these unknown entities now, he decided to leave the floor to Silver Lantern to avoid letting a slip of the tongue give anything away.
Weise's thoughts whirred, and she slowly said, "The year is 1668."
"So much time has passed!?"
"Impossible! The longest estimate back then was only ten years!"
"Over two hundred years... Doesn't that mean countless wonderful cultural and entertainment works have been created since?"
"The Grey Fox Divine Era should be over by now, right?" Sijiadi asked. "What Divine Era is it outside? What is the prevailing philosophy of the grand law? Why are you two here?"
Wearing her mask, Weise naturally gave away no expression, but Yaxiu's face showed a subtle trace of displeasure.
Legendary Sorcerers were all shrewd veterans. Seeing this, the handsome middle-aged Meisi immediately spoke up: "Sijiadi, they aren't your disciples or students. They're under no obligation to disclose information to you. Even if they're only Sanctuary, who here can deploy their sorcery spirits?"
Yaxiu and Weise were both jolted inwardly. How did Meisi know they weren't legends? Everyone here was a Legendary Sorcerer; shouldn't they have instinctively assumed the two were their peers?
Yet none of the others reacted to Meisi's words. Clearly, they had also recognized that Yaxiu and Weise were the bottom of the barrel among the trial-takers. This circumstance could prove only one thing: even without using any techniques, Legendary Sorcerers could effortlessly discern another person's highest faction realm!
No wonder the female sorcerer Sijiadi was so bossy and demanding. Legends truly had no need to be polite to Sanctuaries, just as Yaxiu would never bother greeting a Fishcleaver Dragon. Meisi had pointed this out deliberately as a veiled warning to them—any single person here could crush you like a bug once outside.
Weise fell silent for a moment. "I ask a question, and you ask a question."
Sijiadi said, "Then you go first."
The question itself would be enough to expose their hand; navigating social dynamics and human nature was practically second nature to Legendary Sorcerers. With no other choice, Weise asked:
"What was your original plan?"
The legends in the Flowing Gold River exchanged glances, several of their expressions shifting drastically as they deduced that the situation outside was vastly different from what they knew. After all, an 'interval of over two hundred years' and 'ignorant Sanctuary trial-takers' both indicated that the people in charge of the experiment were no longer the group they had known.
Sijiadi closed her clock-eyes, and her aggressive countenance softened unexpectedly. She said, "To answer this question, we must first explain who we are and why we're here. Thus, you've actually asked three questions, so you'll have to answer three questions of ours later."
*So there's really no playing word games with Legendary Sorcerers...* Weise exchanged a glance with Yaxiu and nodded. "Fine."
"We are Legendary Sorcerers on the brink of death," Sijiadi said. "At most half a year, at least ten days—we could calculate the exact day our souls would be extinguished."
"In our final days waiting for death, we received an invitation from the secret cult Square-Round Cicada to take part in their immortality experiment." She spoke softly:
"Before me, virtually every Grey Fox legend took part in this experiment. After me, there would be no exceptions."
"No matter how magnificent a life may be, none can resist the terror of death. The instinct of living things is just that ugly and hard to defy."
"The Square-Round Cicada cult fabricated a Divine Fire system of their own, combining it with centuries of experimental research to successfully help us condense the ultimate time talent, granting our Gates of Truth direct access to the Flowing Gold River. But the number of sorcerers was not enough. At least forty-two Legendary Sorcerers had to be gathered before the Cicada Song Feast could begin. That is why we remained sealed within the statues, waiting for the ceremony to start."
Yaxiu frowned. "The Cicada Song Feast?"
Yet Sijiadi cut off right there with pinpoint precision and asked, "It's our turn to ask—whose grand law governs the Divine Era outside?"
Weise shook her head. "The outside world is not in any Divine Era."
"Just an interregnum between Divine Eras?"
"Could it be that even the Fifth Divine Era has passed? Still, two hundred years... that really is possible..."
The legends buzzed with speculation. However, Sijiadi shook her head and pointed at Yaxiu. "I want you to answer."
"Do I look easier to push around?" At a time like this, Yaxiu naturally wouldn't undercut Silver Lantern. "My answer is the same as hers."
"Then I'll ask another question. If you answer, it will count for two; if she speaks a single word, it will only count for one." Sijiadi said, "I'm old, and I don't feel like playing word games—what exactly happened outside?"
Even without looking back, Yaxiu knew Silver Lantern was giving him subtle hints. The best move here was naturally to conceal the truth as much as possible, then use intelligence to bargain with these bygone legends—not only to learn the truth behind this trial, but perhaps even to swindle them for personal gain.
Yet Yaxiu was simply not a talent on Igola's level. Looking at these remnants of the Grey Fox era who had been abandoned by the world for over two centuries, he didn't believe he could craft a lie without flaws.
*I guess I really am easier to push around...* Yaxiu sighed and said, "More than two hundred years ago, a great cataclysm occurred. Almost all sorcerers were wiped out, and most phantasm creations lost their efficacy. To this day, Senluo remains in a chaotic era of cults at war."
To his surprise, the legends did not panic. Having learned that two centuries had passed, they had already prepared themselves for the worst.
"So that's how it is..." Sijiadi murmured. She paused, then said calmly, "The Cicada Song Feast is our final step toward immortality."
"The essence of the Cicada Song Project is to merge sorcerers with the grand law, thereby achieving immortality in the form of a grand law."
Yaxiu couldn't resist interrupting. "But a grand law itself cannot endure forever. On the contrary, it is a fragile entity that cannot exist without faith."
"Almost all grand laws are as you describe," Sijiadi nodded. "Except for one."
Weise had already guessed it: "The Square-Round Cicada?"
"During the Fire Cat Divine Era, only one grand law successfully ascended: the Fire Cat 'Zhishouhuo'," Sijiadi said. "After the Fire Cat ascended, both the Square-Round Cicada and the Light Chaser gradually lost their believers, and the Grand Law of the Light Chaser perished thereafter. Then the Blue Bird Divine Era began, and new grand laws became the mainstream of the era."
"The Square-Round Cicada should have faded into history as well. Yet whether because it was a rare time-element grand law or because its obsession with 'immortality' was simply too intense, it was actually able to scrape by and survive by drinking the waters of the Flowing Gold River. Even time could no longer erode its essence, allowing the Square-Round Cicada to become a 'secret cult' present across every Divine Era."
"The so-called water of the Flowing Gold River is, in fact, the flow of time for all things in the world—omnipresent, the source of all life. In other words, it is immortality itself, flowing alongside time, coexisting with heaven and earth."
"Therefore, our goal was not merely to merge with a grand law, but specifically with the Grand Law of the Square-Round Cicada."
Sijiadi said, "The Cicada Song Feast requires forty-two sorcerers to gather, open their Gates of Truth together, and converge forty-two distinct tributaries of the Flowing Gold River to fully awaken the Square-Round Cicada—that is the 'cicada song.'"
"At the same time, we would be transformed into time-beings capable of accommodating a grand law. However, for an individual sorcerer, rashly accommodating a complete grand law is far too hazardous. Since all we need is the power of immortality anyway—"
Right at that moment, a cry that felt like a tremor tearing through time and space echoed from above the Flowing Gold River. Even the river's golden waters stilled in response, and time throughout the entire palace seemed to slow down.
Then, the Legendary Sorcerers suddenly abandoned their struggles, allowing themselves to be carried by the surging reverse current of flowing gold—some even actively swam toward the source of the cry!
"—we only need to devour a portion of the Square-Round Cicada."
The moment the words left Sijiadi's mouth, she turned and threw herself into the surging current.
While Yaxiu was still standing dazed, he saw Silver Lantern already rushing forward to join the feast, leaving him no choice but to drift along with the crowd.
*Save a bite for me!*
Chapter 592