Chapter 369 - 304: Abyssal Altar, Rebuilding the Passage
「Three days later.」
「Underground at No. 7 Wisteria Lane.」
On the stone platform, the silver-white patterns of the Phase Stabilization Array had fully dried, gleaming with a cold, hard luster under the Crystal Stone Lamp.
Ian stood in the center of the array. The sleeves of his dark gray robe hung low, his fingertips hovering in the air.
Before him, twenty-eight Void Anchor Stones levitated in a ring, rotating slowly.
Fine, silvery patterns flowed across each Anchor Stone, like ripples in space frozen solid.
"Let’s begin."
His voice was soft, barely disturbing the silent laboratory.
Ian closed his eyes.
Within his Sea of Spirit, the Two-Realm Phase Analyzer began to vibrate softly.
On the surface of its dark silver shell, Rune Arrays etched with Star Realm Silver Sand lit up in sequence, while the pure black Crystal at its core began to rotate gently.
A Gravity Field of the Void spread out.
In mid-air, the twenty-eight Void Anchor Stones shuddered in unison!
The once-disordered silver patterns began to flash in sync, linking to one another and weaving a three-dimensional, spherical network in the air.
Each node of the network was an Anchor Stone.
Every connecting line was a stable spatial coordinate.
Ian raised a hand, retrieving Abyssal Rune Stones from his Dimension Ring.
The surfaces of the dark red stones were covered in twisted, natural patterns. They were cool to the touch and carried the unique, chaotic aura of the Abyss.
With a flick of his finger, the Rune Stones settled precisely into the hundred-odd foundational nodes of the spherical network.
FZZT!
The instant the dark red and silver-white made contact, fine electric sparks erupted in the air.
Two completely different Space Rules began to clash and grind against each other.
Finally, under the compulsory force of the Two-Realm Phase Analyzer’s Gravity Field of the Void, they reached an equilibrium.
Maintaining his Spiritual Power output, he took out the Uncertain Iron from his Ring.
The gray metal powder dispersed into the air, guided by his Spiritual Power to evenly coat every spatial connecting line.
It was like plating a fragile glass pipe with a protective film.
Next came Void Dust, Abyssal Crystals... and finally, hundreds of Magic Crystals.
The fine gray dust merged into the Uncertain Iron coating, forming a second insulating layer.
Ian crushed them in specific proportions, sprinkling the powder over the entire spherical network.
VMMMM!
A low, resonant hum filled the laboratory.
The spherical network began to shrink and compress, slowly collapsing from three meters in diameter down to one.
The silver patterns of the Void Anchor Stones, the dark red glow of the Abyssal Rune Stones, the gray-black coating of Uncertain Iron and Void Dust, the milky-white halo of the Magic Crystals...
All the colors, all the Energy, all the Rules—at this moment, they fused together in perfect harmony!
Ian clenched his jaw as a waterfall of information scrolled down a panel in his Sea of Spirit.
"Spatial Structure Stability: 87%... 92%... 95%..."
"Abyssal Rule Compatibility: 74%... 81%... 89%..."
"Energy Passage Throughput: Standard Met"
The data stream refreshed frantically at the edge of his vision.
He could clearly feel that the altar he was building now was fundamentally different from the one he had constructed a year ago beneath Shadow Moon Tower.
That altar had used the Will of the Abyss as a bridge to "randomly" send contract fluctuations into the endless Void.
It was a gamble on luck.
But this one... used the Two-Realm Phase Analyzer as its core, with a Phase Anchoring ten times stronger to serve as its coordinates.
’I guess... I’ve enabled "Precise Positioning"!’
There was only one destination: Starlight Main City on the Yalan Continent.
Ian opened his eyes, their depths reflecting the spherical network, now contracted to its limit.
In the center of the network, space began to twist, fold, and finally... tear.
A dark vortex, one meter in diameter, slowly emerged.
The vortex spun slowly, yet it possessed a certain heavy, tangible quality.
As if it were stirring space itself, not just air.
Deep within the vortex, faint points of starlight were visible.
This wasn’t an illusion. It was a projection of the night sky over the Yalan Continent, transmitted through the passage.
"Success."
Ian let out a long breath, nodding in satisfaction as he gazed upon his latest masterpiece.
Then, he sat down cross-legged, his hands hovering over the ground on either side of the altar.
In his Sea of Spirit, the Witchcraft Array for the Phase Soul Weaving Technique began to operate.
The Soul Link, dormant for over six months... suddenly lit up!
It was no longer a blurry signal, no longer intermittent fragments.
But a complete, clear, and direct connection, as if they were face to face...
"Main body."
Li Xing’s voice echoed in the depths of his consciousness. It was calm, yet it carried an undercurrent of irrepressible emotion.
"You’ve finally... arrived."
Ian closed his eyes.
In an instant, a deluge of information, like a bursting dam, surged through the Link, now a hundred times stronger!
Countless memories, images, emotions, and... a full twelve-year expedition!
The first image was of Starlight Main City, ten years ago.
Gray clouds pressed down from above. The roars of Corrupted Beasts echoed from deep within the Wilderness, a never-ending background noise.
It was a frenzied counterattack by the Corrupted Beasts in response to the ever-expanding Holy Land.
Li Yao stood in a breach in the city wall, his body ramrod straight, a Wide-Blade Greatsword in his hand.
His expression was resolute, and he was brimming with killing intent.
Behind him, thirteen Starlight Guard Captains stood in silent formation.
Every one of them was wounded, the blood on their coarse clothes dried into dark brown patches.
But they stood tall, their breathing steady, like thirteen steel nails hammered into the city wall.
"Brother," Li Yao said, turning to look up at Li Xing, who stood on higher ground.
"The northern defense line has fallen back another three hundred meters."
Li Xing didn’t answer. He raised a hand, palm up.
A silver gleam lit up at his fingertip, transforming into fine threads of Starlight that wove a complex, three-dimensional topographical map in the air.
On the map, red dots representing the Corrupted Beasts swarmed like a tide, constantly pressing against the blue line representing the human defense.
The blue line retreated bit by bit, like the edge of a piece of paper being scorched by flames.
It curled, charred, and turned to Ashes, piece by piece.