Chapter 1278: Everything is Ready, Only the East Wind is Missing

The link to the Magic Net for any Magic Item or Magic Array is, in essence, the casting of the spells involved in said Magic Item or Magic Array in another form.

At this very moment, Xia Duo needs to link the Magic Net for the 【Long-term Spatial Coverage Avoidance Detection Array】, which is effectively casting an Avoidance Detection Spell higher than the 9th Circle.

However, compared to direct spellcasting, where the Spellcaster must complete the process in one go due to the Magic Net's tendency for automatic restoration, this is not required when linking the Magic Net.

During the design phase of the Magic Array, Xia Duo had already considered breaking down the energy circuits into several branching systems that are relatively independent based on Spell Element units, yet can be integrated through empathy.

Each branching system can be linked to the Magic Net individually, which greatly lowers the difficulty of spellcasting; otherwise, the difficulty of casting such a Magic Array higher than the 9th Circle would definitely be much higher than direct spellcasting.

Soon, each branching system was lit up one by one—literally—as in Magic Vision, various areas of the Magic Array began to emit bright Magic Aura.

At this time, Xia Duo also almost held his breath; up to this step, he had not made any mistakes, and what followed was the final integration of the branches.

When the final Node was cleared, surging energy began to pour out from the Magic Net, flowing continuously through the various branching systems of the Magic Array, either entering or exiting, and the Magic Net Strings linked to and participating in it also began to emit an extremely dazzling Magic Aura.

Due to the short design time of the Magic Array, Xia Duo did not spend much energy on hiding the aura, but fortunately, the Magic Array itself was designed for Avoidance of Detection, and outside the cubic space, no abnormalities would be visible.

……

After linking the Magic Net, Xia Duo casually threw a marked piece of paper onto the ground, then exited the cubic space through the portal passage he had dug earlier, arriving in the large cave outside.

Xia Duo first glanced at the cubic space, which appeared golden under the illumination of 【Light】, and the piece of paper on the ground was also clearly visible; immediately after, he cast a Scrying spell while looking at that piece of paper.

Next, a miraculous scene appeared—

Whether it was the Scrying spell targeting that marked piece of paper, or the Scrying spell targeting this area of the cave, neither could discover the marked piece of paper that was clearly right before his eyes.

The former was "no such object found," while in the Perception Field of the latter, that cubic space did not even exist; there was only a portal-type passage dug from one side of the cave wall into the mountain.

Inside the deepest part of the passage, it was clearly a golden cubic space to Xia Duo's naked eye, but in the Perception Field of the Scrying spell, there was nothing at all—just a blank space.

However, a blank space is not good either; if someone happened to Scry this cave and discovered this passage, and there was nothing in the passage, they might perhaps detect an abnormality.

Therefore, after conducting several more tests and confirming that the Avoidance Detection Array met all design requirements, Xia Duo began to backfill the passage.

With the waste stone material dug out from the previous excavation, this step was very simple.

First, use a Force Wall to block the entrance of the cubic space and the other end of the passage, then fill the passage with waste material, inject water into the gaps, and use a Petrification Domain to solidify it.

As for the traces left on the cave wall, Xia Duo also found crushed stone dust in other parts of the cave to touch them up; with the disguise skills of a "Drow Assassin," looking only from the surface, there were almost no flaws.

The only flaw was the residual aura left by the Petrification Magic, but this could not be considered a very fatal flaw; he still had to teleport into the cubic space inside later anyway!

Teleportation would also leave residual aura (the essence is the distortion of the Magic Net, which can be used to track the teleportation destination); as long as one waits for a period of time, the aura will naturally be automatically erased by the Magic Net's tendency for restoration.

……

Since everything was already prepared, Xia Duo did not intend to stay outside any longer; he first buffed himself with 【Surrounding Wind】 to ensure he would not die due to the lack of an air source inside the cubic space.

Afterwards, he checked the situation in the large cave one last time, and after confirming that no overly obvious traces were left, he teleported into the cubic space.

The cubic space, which was about three meters in length, width, and height, was slightly cramped for a living person, but it was not unbearable.

And before actually starting, Xia Duo still needed to completely finish the 【Summoning-Sealing Array】; even hiding in a secret room with Avoidance of Detection, this thing only had one chance, including the step of linking the Magic Net during the production process.

Because there were too many variables in failing to link the Magic Net, it was impossible to guarantee that it would not cause Cormanthor to notice.

Next, Xia Duo paid even more attention; having reached this point, if he made a mistake again, he would be absolutely devastated.

He who travels a hundred miles covers ninety as half the journey; the closer to the end, the more cautious one must be.

……

Whether it was attributed to luck, caution, or the fact that Xia Duo's design and production were perfect, the 【Summoning-Sealing Array】 was completed without any danger.

As for testing, there was no testing to be done; this was a one-shot deal, and Xia Duo was not very confident either. He was betting that the Crown King of Cormanthor was completely defenseless against the summoning of the divine sword.

After all, the 【Sword of Ruling】 had been in the other party's hands since its forging was completed; if it were the second-generation Crown King, that might be possible, but the first generation should not have spent too much thought on a secret that only he knew.

In any case, it was a no-cost business; if he could summon it, it would be a huge profit, and even if he couldn't, it would at least make the Crown King of Cormanthor suspicious, allowing the Empire Remnants to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

This was also very favorable for Xia Duo to obtain the resurrection spell.

If the Empire Remnants were wiped out on the first day of entering the Projection Plane, then he wouldn't know where to start to obtain the resurrection spell.

……

North of Cormanthor, Dragonspine Mountains.

Ten thousand meters above the Underground Passage, Xia Duo projected his Perception Field here; the light on the ground passed through ten thousand meters of propagation and entered the Perception Field, where it was received by Xia Duo.

Although blurry, it was not without gains.

At least he could confirm that no changes in terrain had appeared near the Underground Passage, which indicated that the raid by the Empire Remnants had likely not yet occurred.

Next, Xia Duo slowly lowered his Perception Field toward the ground, just like an invisible eye, quietly approaching the target.

As the Perception Field descended, the perception information Xia Duo received, especially the information from the light passing through from afar, became clearer and clearer.

Before long, he very clearly "saw" the trees parted on the ground, as well as the Elf sentries hidden in the woods.

At this step, Xia Duo decisively stopped the descent of the Perception Field and just watched from afar; until the spell ended, he did not manage to wait for the raid by the Empire Remnants.

……