Chapter 627

Two sealing containers were suspended quietly above the fountain square, slowly rotating under the amber light.

A test tube containing a salty finger, the blue light forming a strange contrast with the pale finger.

A container containing a graffiti ball, the runes on the surface flickering, and the faint humming sound coming from inside could be vaguely heard.

The moment the sealing was completed, the atmosphere on the square underwent a subtle change.

Nine wizards were scattered around the square, the distance between them neither far nor near.

Their gazes all fell on the two containers, but no one spoke first.

The word "splitting the loot" is not very decent, but everyone present knew it well, because this is what was going to be done next.

The dark-blue-robed wizard coughed lightly, breaking the silence: "Two anomalies, nine people. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"I think these two anomalies can be split." The thin wizard pushed the bridge of his nose. "Although these anomalies have been compressed into a conceptual aggregate, they can theoretically be split. How many parts to split into depends on how we decide."

"Nine parts." The burly wizard said. "One part each, fair."

"The graffiti anomaly can be split into nine parts, but the salty finger cannot." The young witch shook her head. "The operating principle of this thing is completely different from the graffiti anomaly, and splitting it will destroy its integrity. The research value will be greatly reduced."

"So you mean, someone takes the salty finger, and others split the graffiti anomaly?" The burly wizard frowned. "Then who gets the finger?"

No one answered.

After a moment of silence, the Cursed Witch spoke; as she spoke, her pale gray eyes under her hood looked calmly at the two containers.

"The strength of the graffiti anomaly far exceeds the salty finger. Even if split into eight parts, the anomaly strength of each part is stronger than the salty finger."

Her words were very blunt, but it was a fact that everyone present knew well, and it was also the reason why the people present hesitated.

The salty finger was just a low-tier anomaly that mechanically executed rules.

It can kill people, make people taste saltiness, cause kidney failure, but that's all.

For wizards, the research value is not high.

The graffiti anomaly is different.

It can rewrite reality, can twist the arm of a Tier 6 wizard from half a town away, and can maintain amazing activity when compressed to the limit.

Even if split into eight parts, the value of each part is higher than a complete salty finger.

"If you really want to say where the salty finger is stronger than the split graffiti anomaly." Jie Ming spoke, his tone flat. "It's probably that it counts as a complete individual. For research, there is still some difference between complete samples and split samples."

"But this difference is not important." The life-system wizard waved his hand. "We are going to that anomaly plane soon. Wizard Alston said, there are all kinds of anomalies there. By then we won't lack complete samples."

This sentence seemed to be a statement.

Jie Ming looked at him, and then looked at the expressions of other wizards.

Although not explicitly stated, the atmosphere was already very clear.

Everyone tended to give the salty finger to one person, and others split the graffiti anomaly.

Jie Ming looked at the two containers suspended in the air, then looked at the eight wizards around him, and nodded slightly: "Then I will take the salty finger."

The wizards were a bit surprised to hear this.

"I have no opinion." The Cursed Witch was the first to express her position.

"Agreed." The young witch nodded.

Other wizards also nodded one after another, and no one raised an objection.

Facing the strange gazes of these few wizards, Jie Ming didn't say much.

In fact, for him, the value of the salty finger anomaly was higher than the graffiti anomaly.

After all, he had already fully understood the rules related to the graffiti anomaly just now when he was in contact with it, and had collected quite a lot of data.

So for him, another complete anomaly with a relatively lower level had higher value.

"Then the graffiti anomaly is split into eight parts." The dark-blue-robed wizard looked at the Cursed Witch. "You do the splitting? You are most familiar with the structure of curse-type existences."

The Cursed Witch nodded and walked toward the suspended container.

She stretched out her left hand, and the black rune appeared on her palm.

The rune rotated slowly, emitting dense black threads that probed into the container, wrapping the curled-up graffiti ball.

The graffiti ball trembled violently the moment it was split, and the graffiti patterns on the surface changed frantically, as if making a final struggle.

But the Cursed Witch's technique was extremely precise; the black threads cut in along the conceptual cracks inside the graffiti ball like a scalpel, splitting it into eight roughly equal parts.

Each part was individually encapsulated in a black sphere condensed by curse power, suspended in the air, emitting constantly changing faint colors.

"Take them." The Cursed Witch said.

The eight wizards each took a black sphere, and Jie Ming also reached out and collected the test tube containing the salty finger into his internal cave heaven.

The splitting of the loot was completed, and next was receiving the "reward."

The splitting of the loot was completed, and next was receiving the "reward."

The dark-blue-robed wizard walked to the center of the square and raised his hand to draw a rune in the air.

The rune flickered in the air a few times and connected to the magic network terminal.

"Mission completed." He clicked on the terminal and uploaded the completion mark.

Almost at the same instant, the air above the square vibrated violently.

A huge space crack tore open from the void, as if someone had slashed a knife on the amber sky with an invisible blade.

The crack extended from the ground to the high sky, a full hundred meters long and tens of meters wide, with the edges glowing with dark blue light.

A phantom condensed from the light of the crack; it was exactly the projection of Wizard Alston.

After the projection of this Tier 8 Great Wizard appeared, his pale blue eyes swept calmly over everyone on the square.

His gaze stayed for a moment on the position where the two containers were originally suspended, and then nodded slightly.

"Efficiency is not bad."

His voice was not loud, but every word carried a weight that made people straighten their backs unconsciously.

"I will open the entrance to the mission reward for you now." Alston raised his hand, and the hundred-meter-high space crack became more stable under his action, the dark blue light at the edges transformed into a stable silver-white. "Across the crack is that anomaly plane. I have already invaded the interior of the plane, so after you go over, you will be directly inside that world."

The originally pitch-black space crack suddenly became transparent; across the crack was the scene of another world.

Then Wizard Alston added: "I have a few requirements."

The wizards listened quietly.

"First, I will not forcibly limit your output energy level; you can cast spells at will in that plane. However, I hope that when you capture anomalies, you will limit your power as much as possible. Act according to the situation; if you can solve it in a small range, don't destroy it in a large range. The environment of that plane is very fragile and cannot withstand the full output of high-tier wizards."

"Second, if possible, I hope you can disguise your identities and not be discovered by the indigenous people of this plane. The conditions for the birth of anomalies are still unclear to this day. If you want this plane to continuously give birth to anomalies, it is best not to destroy this plane, and not to destroy the social structure of the indigenous people."

"Anomalies are indeed rare research resources." The dark-blue-robed wizard nodded. "We understand. In order to make it a 'renewable resource,' maintaining the social structure and basic state of the plane is necessary."

Other wizards also nodded one after another.

This is not some noble sentiment, but a pure interest consideration.

Which is more valuable, a plane that can continuously produce anomalies, or a plane that no longer produces anomalies after being destroyed, any wizard can calculate clearly.

"Very good." Alston's projection nodded. "Then, I will give everyone a hint."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"In this plane, there is an anomaly I call 'Night'."

"'Night'?" The young witch frowned.

"It is the night as literally meant." Alston said. "At night, never let yourself be in a state without light. Otherwise, it will be quite dangerous."

"Dangerous to what extent?" The life-system wizard asked.

"For you, this night anomaly is not dangerous." Alston's tone was very flat. "But it has a troublesome characteristic... it is basically connected to the entire plane. If you resist too fiercely, your power will be conducted along its 'body' to the rule structure of the entire plane, which is very likely to cause irreversible damage."

"The way to avoid it is very simple: just let yourself be in a state of having light even at night." Alston spread his hands. "It's that simple. No need to fight, no need to seal, just light a lamp. I remind you, just because I'm afraid you don't know this characteristic, and you will destroy it as soon as you go over, then the ecology of this plane will be ruined."

"Understood."

The wizards present nodded one after another, indicating that they already understood.

"As for other anomalies." Alston's projection began to become transparent. "How to discover and capture them, depends on everyone's own ability. Good luck."

The phantom dissipated.

The hundred-meter-high space crack was suspended steadily above the square, across from which was a wilderness plunged into night.

The young witch was the first to move.

She walked toward the crack, and before crossing, she raised her hand to condense an energy light ball the size of a fist in her palm.

The light ball emitted a soft white light, shrouding her entire person in a halo.

Then she stepped into it.

Her figure disappeared on the other side of the crack.

Other wizards also followed one after another; everyone who crossed the crack would first light up a light source.

Some were light balls, some were glowing runes, and some were magic tools burning with flames.

No one felt it was troublesome; a small action that could be done with a casual hand could protect the ecology of the entire plane; this account is worth it no matter how you calculate it.

Jie Ming was the last one.

He walked to the crack, looked at the dark wilderness across from him, and raised his foot to step in.

Then his foot stopped in mid-air.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go over, but that he couldn't.

The moment Jie Ming's body touched the crack, he felt a strong sense of repulsion.

That feeling... was like trying to stuff an elephant into a refrigerator.

Jie Ming was stunned for a moment, and then understood the reason.

Because his true body now is a thousand-meter-high Dharma image.

Although he looks no different from an ordinary person now, that is just a virtual image.

An appearance presented after the true body is compressed, folded, and disguised.

His essence is still that dark golden, thousand-meter-high behemoth.

This space crack is a hundred meters long and tens of meters wide, which is more than enough for the body size of ordinary humans, or Tier 6 wizards who have not fully unfolded their law solidification domains.

But for a thousand-meter-high Dharma image, it is too narrow.

Jie Ming stood in front of the crack, his expression a bit awkward.

Just at this moment, he felt a gaze fall on him.

The silver-white light at the edge of the crack trembled slightly, and then stabilized again.

But Jie Ming keenly noticed that the "texture" of that light had changed——before it was like an automatic program with set parameters.

And now, it became "alive," as if something had been injected into it.

Alston's phantom emerged again.

But this time this phantom was different from before.

Its eyes were no longer that kind of blue without focus, but became agile and deep.

Clearly, after noticing the accident here, Wizard Alston turned his consciousness over.

"Hmm?"

Alston's gaze fell on Jie Ming, his pale blue eyes narrowing slightly.

That glance, Jie Ming felt his disguise had been seen through.

"Interesting." Alston said softly.

His phantom circled around Jie Ming, those eyes looking up and down at Jie Ming's body, and then stopped directly in front of him.

"Your research is very interesting, little guy. You are indeed still at the Tier 5 wizard stage, and haven't even completed law solidification, but..." Alston tilted his head slightly. "Your current existence form is already somewhat similar to the law solidification domain of a Tier 6 wizard."

"Just insignificant research." Jie Ming bowed respectfully and saluted.

"Insignificant?" Alston repeated the word, the corners of his mouth rising slightly. "Little guy, excessive humility is equivalent to arrogance."

Jie Ming felt a bit awkward hearing this; after all, he couldn't say that this was actually the power of another system.

"Forget it, let me see... your 'existence' has actually exceeded a thousand meters, no wonder you can't get through." Alston smiled, the smile full of interest in new things. "This crack of mine was opened according to the standard 'existence' size of a Tier 6 wizard; it is indeed too small for you."

He raised his hand and waved it casually.

That hundred-meter-high space crack expanded violently under his action, like a giant door being pushed open.

The edges of the crack extended from one hundred meters to over a thousand meters, and soon stabilized.

The wilderness across the crack presented a broader view in the expanded crack; under the dark sky, one could see faint firelight flickering in the distance.

Alston's phantom turned around, those agile eyes looking at Jie Ming again.

"Little guy, work hard." He said. "I have high hopes for you."

Then the phantom dissipated.

Jie Ming stood in front of the expanded crack, silent for a moment, and then raised his foot and stepped in.

His figure disappeared into the silver-white light.

(Something came up today, so just this chapter.)