Chapter 1003: Hidden Big Shot, Astral Movement

At the time, he saw an old Mage who had stayed in the Tower of Time for decades, neither returning home to enjoy his twilight years nor making any further progress, and he could not help but feel puzzled.

During his interview with Kasa, Xia Duo had a sudden inspiration; instead of discussing life or ideals as he had with others, he talked about Magic problems, and Kasa answered fluently.

Afterward, Xia Duo also asked Niya and Aiboke about this person, but to his surprise, Niya said she had never heard of him before, and as for Aiboke, he was also vague, only remembering that such a person existed.

Yet, when checking Kasa's file, Xia Duo discovered that this person had appeared in the Tower of Time during the same period as Aiboke, and was of the same generation as the previous Wier Lingzhu and the current High Mage Depake.

Was Aiboke forgetful, or was this Mage Kasa actually a hidden big shot?

This question was difficult to verify; after all, a Mage's strength, setting aside external factors, relied entirely on their own Knowledge, and Knowledge was not something written on one's face—if someone intended to hide it, who could discover it?

But now, hearing Kasa's name again from Dewan, Xia Duo was more inclined toward the latter; otherwise, how would a low-rank Mage know about the Astral Wind?

If it were someone else, they might not be so suspicious, as there were so many books in the Tower of Time, and who knew from which obscure corner Kasa had seen it.

But Xia Duo had long since "scanned" every book in the Tower of Time that he could see; these books, apart from a few notes involving the private affairs of the various Wier Lingzhu, already contained the vast majority of the Tower of Time's collection.

He was very certain that not a single book mentioned the "Astral Wind."

Thus, whether Kasa knew it himself or obtained it from some book that was also obscure to Xia Duo, it all showed that this person was not simple!

Of course, the so-called Astral Wind could also be something Kasa made up at random, but for something made up at random to happen to correspond to some of Dewan's experiences and Xia Duo's current encounter...

Wouldn't Kasa's identity be even more terrifying than a hidden big shot?

But wild guessing served no purpose and would only scare himself; Kasa had stayed in the Tower of Time for decades and had always been peaceful.

In fact, if not for the transformation of the Tower of Time and Xia Duo interviewing all Official Mages, perhaps no one would have noticed Kasa for another few decades.

Since that was the case, there was no need for Xia Duo to go and disturb him; if Kasa were a true big shot, a big shot would always have a big shot's ideas, and how could he be easily persuaded?

If he were not a big shot, then for a low-rank Mage in his twilight years, letting him exert his remaining energy in an educational position was just right.

Additionally, Xia Duo had a tiny bit of selfishness: if Kasa really were a big shot, and he were to expose him, how should he arrange for the other party?

It was better to just play dumb for once.

Consequently, Xia Duo did not tell Dewan to deliberately approach Kasa, nor did he even mention it; various thoughts merely flickered through his mind as he continued to ask Dewan for advice on how to stabilize emotions in the Astral Plane.

"You cannot use a Mage's focused concentration; the more focused you are in the Astral Plane, the easier it is to develop a sense of falling. You must relax and let your Perception spread out, but do not let your thinking spread; too many thoughts will stir up the Astral Wind."

In Dewan's description, the Astral Wind was not entirely a bad thing, but to perceive a Projection Plane, one needed a relatively stable environment.

The appearance of the Astral Wind would cause Perception to drift; in other words, if you wanted to move in the Astral Plane, you just had to think about it.

But that was only something to be used after a certain area had been fully explored and it was confirmed that there were no Projection Planes.

Otherwise, if you kept changing places, wouldn't you be starting from zero every time!

Xia Duo humbly accepted Dewan's advice, and upon knowing that his consciousness was powerful enough to stir up the Astral Wind, he placed even more importance on the subsequent exploration.

Before, when he had just arrived here, it was only to increase the discovery probability for the Exploration Array; as for discovering a Projection Plane himself, he had thought about it, but his reason told him the possibility was not high.

But now, he felt he might be able to do it again!

The Astral Plane was a world of the spirit; having a little more confidence was a good thing!

Next, Xia Duo reset the relevant parameters of the Exploration Array, still locking onto the previously projected area, and soon, he arrived once again at that unchanging silver Void.

Having had the experience once, Xia Duo no longer tried to use concentration to stabilize his emotions, but instead let his Perception spread; however, having not undergone much Perception training, as his Perception spread, his thoughts also began to drift.

And "gazing" at the boundless, vast silver Void, feelings of fear and emptiness arose once again, and from this, more thoughts were generated.

Thus, the Astral Wind rose again, and unlike last time, Xia Duo did not experience a sense of falling this time—after all, he was not maintaining concentration this time!

And riding the Astral Wind, Xia Duo felt as if he were moving, but surrounded by the unchanging silver Void, movement without a reference point could basically be considered stationary.

This feeling was somewhat similar to the feeling of the Soul and the surrounding space when Xia Duo perceived the Soul.

Setting aside that small piece of tangible space illuminated by the radiance of Cloud Qi colliding with the Soul, the Soul itself should also have a foundation of existence.

Perhaps it could be called the "Spirit Platform," "Purple Mansion," "Divine Palace," "Sea of Consciousness," or "Mental Space," but regardless of which one, it was a truly existing existence.

Xia Duo had tried moving his Soul in such a space; there were also no reference points, and outside the small tangible space illuminated by the radiance was a Void, and he could not even perceive whether the Soul was moving.

It was the same in the Astral Plane.

But it was slightly better; at least Xia Duo could feel that he was moving through the trend of the Astral Wind, relative to the movement of the Astral Plane itself.

But because there were no reference points, he could not judge at all whether he was truly moving, or how long he had been moving.

Having "drifted" blankly for who knows how long, Xia Duo gradually became able to feel something from the endless silver radiance around him, yet it seemed he could feel nothing at all.

"Is this the daily life of an Astral Mage?"

Once this thought occurred, Xia Duo again had the idea of returning, and he did indeed return.

Astral Perception was indeed not quite the same as he had imagined; it was very dull and very boring, with everything entirely dominated by Perception and interpreted by consciousness.

In this unchanging environment, even if there were a discovery, it was very easy to treat it as unconscious stray thoughts and thus ignore it.

To use non-focused concentration to meticulously analyze—if such work were done for a long time, one would likely become neurotic, if not schizophrenic.

Xia Duo looked again at Dewan's current appearance—bloodshot eyes, hair as messy as a bird's nest, and a spirit that was simultaneously agitated yet revealed an inexplicable depth.

"Dewan, you go and rest first; I can be here alone!"

"No, Xia Duo, I can do it."

Hearing Xia Duo tell him to rest, Dewan's eyes became even redder, but while his mouth spoke words of refusal, his body began to yawn uncontrollably.

"Don't force yourself, go back and rest!"

Regarding this, Xia Duo simply used a mental Spell; originally, a Cleric's resistance to mental Spells was higher than an ordinary person's, and Xia Duo did not use a forced Spell, just a tiny bit of suggestion, and Dewan threw down the record book in his hand and left, swaying.

Seeing this, Xia Duo shook his head and ordered the Tower Spirit to teleport him back.