Chapter 364 - 302: Manuscript, Remnant, and Projection
No. 7 Wisteria Lane, the third basement level.
The silvery-white light of the Isolation Array had faded. On the workbench, twenty-seven different samples had been resealed.
But now, a wide stone table stood in the center of the laboratory.
Two items were laid out on the stone table.
On the left was the charred scroll of the Abyssal Notes, its dark-red stains giving off an eerie shimmer under the light of the Crystal Stone Lamp.
On the right was the Abyssal Ancient Race manuscript on beast hide, left behind by Aidele’s mother.
Dark gold threads wove intricate patterns across the leather’s surface—ancient, mysterious, and heavy with the weight of time.
Ian stood before the stone table, his fingertips hovering over the two documents.
Within his Sea of Spirit, the panel operated silently.
"Detecting Rule information of a shared origin... Beginning cross-comparison..."
"Abyssal Rune Database (Edmund’s Notes) loading complete..."
"Abyssal Ancient Race Language System analysis progress: 41%... Accelerating..."
A pale blue Light Curtain unfolded at the edge of his vision, a waterfall of countless tiny characters and data streams scrolling past.
Ian closed his eyes.
His Spiritual Power split into two streams, fine as needles, simultaneously probing the stains on the notes and the patterns on the manuscript.
His left hand touched the Abyss.
A torrent of crazed whispers instantly flooded his mind, like countless ice needles piercing his consciousness!
"Fuse... Morning Star... Eternal..."
The voices were distorted and overlapping, carrying a sickeningly sweet quality.
It was like the squirming of maggots in rotten honey.
But the panel’s Purification barrier was already active, and the Power of Order Stars flowed across the surface of his Sea of Spirit.
The whispers were sealed away, leaving only the pure structural information of the Rule.
His right hand touched the legacy of the Abyssal Ancients.
HUM!
Two completely different sensations traveled up from his fingertips.
What emanated from the manuscript was not sound, but a kind of... vast silence.
It was like standing beneath a boundless starry sky, gazing up at the eternally turning stars—ancient, desolate, and carrying the lingering warmth of a dead civilization.
But deep within this silence, Ian caught a faint resonance.
Deep within his Sea of Spirit, the Seed of the Stars trembled faintly.
A silver gleam flowed across the surface of the pale gold crystal.
It clearly resonated with the energy rhythm of the dark gold patterns on the manuscript!
’Just as I thought...’
Ian opened his eyes, a silver glint flashing deep within his pupils.
’The Abyssal Ancient Race is connected to the Star Rule... they might even share a common origin with the Star Spirit Race.’
The panel’s analysis progress bar began to jump, accelerating rapidly.
"Abyssal Ancient Race Language System analysis progress: 52%... 67%... 83%..."
"Detected ’Phase Witchcraft Tool’ refining schematic... Reconstructing..."
"Generating core materials list..."
"Eternal Shadow Crystal (fragments acceptable), purity requirement: 70% or higher."
"One High-Purity Void Crystal."
"Twenty grams of Star Realm Silver Sand."
"Phase Stone Fragments, minimum of three."
...
Detailed specifications and alternative options were listed after each material.
It was like a list of precision surgical instruments.
At the edge of his vision, a complex three-dimensional schematic slowly unfolded.
It was the prototype of a strange Witchcraft Tool.
Its main body was forged from a Void Crystal, its surface inlaid with a Rune Array constructed from Star Realm Silver Sand.
At its core, a dark silver crystal floated, and within it swirled a ’Void’ that devoured all light.
’A Phase Witchcraft Tool!’
Dense annotations materialized beside the schematic.
Most of it was in the Abyssal Ancient Race’s script, but the panel was translating it in real time.
"...A Phase Witchcraft Tool can briefly anchor the gap between the Void and reality..."
"...It uses the ’Void’ of the Eternal Shadow to warp spatial coordinates..."
"...Requires the Power of the Stars to operate; otherwise, it will trigger a spatial collapse..."
Countless branching streams of information flooded his consciousness.
Phase Passage Enhancement: The link between the main body and its projection will become as stable as breathing.
Active Phase Shifting: Merge into an Alternate Space at will, causing all attacks in reality to miss.
Positional Limitation: Only one with an extremely familiar sense of the stars can find their way back while in a phased state.
Physical Strength Requirement: The phase compression upon returning to reality can only be withstood by a Level Two Body Refining Wizard or stronger...
Ian leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, digesting the tide of information. His fingertips tapped unconsciously on the armrest.
The tapping echoed in the silent laboratory, the rhythm growing faster and faster, before it suddenly stopped.
’This isn’t an ordinary Spatial Witchcraft Tool.’
’It’s a miraculous creation capable of establishing a "Phase Passage" between the void and reality!’
’If I can successfully refine this...’ He glanced at Gaga, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Gaga, do you remember the Eternal Shadow Crystal? Aidele might have a piece."
Ian’s voice was soft, laced with a hint of temptation.
"The Abyssal Ancient Race manuscript mentions that the ’Void’ Rule within the Eternal Shadow Crystal can stimulate the deepest shackles in a Shadow Creature’s bloodline."
He paused, looking at Gaga.
"That fragment you swallowed back at the Star Spirit Race ruins was only the size of a fingernail."
"If this one is a fist-sized piece..."
Gaga’s feathers fluffed up completely.
The little creature flapped its wings, launching itself from Ian’s shoulder and doing three consecutive loops in the air.
Its dark silver wings traced smooth arcs, stirring up faint spatial ripples.
"Then what are we waiting for?! Let’s go get it now."
It landed back on the edge of the stone table, its little claws gripping the surface tightly.
"I’ve already left a message for Aidele through her Secret Magic Mark. We’ll wait for her reply first. You’ll get your share, don’t worry."
Ian held down its restless little head.
’Besides... there was something else that concerned him even more.’
He closed his eyes again, his consciousness sinking deep into his Sea of Spirit.
There, besides the Crystal Core and the Seed of the Stars, was a ’thread’ that connected him to a distant Otherworld.
Phase Anchoring.
It connected to his projected body on the Yalan Continent: Li Xing.
Right now, that Soul Link was transmitting clear, strong fluctuations.
Ian focused his awareness on those fluctuations.