Chapter 1339: Success and Failure, Ethereal Transformation

However, Xia Duo also thought that there should be other ways, such as finding a few more people to cooperate in creating a Semi-plane together, or utilizing the elements and energy stored in the Mage Tower, instead of having to guide them temporarily from the Elemental Plane.

Or perhaps, some functions of Arcane Fire could be integrated into the process of creating a Semi-plane, allowing the embryonic Semi-plane to possess the ability to guide and absorb Elemental Energy itself.

As long as one's thinking doesn't slide, there are always more solutions than problems.

Although Xia Duo could not yet find any good methods, the relevant ideas were not hard to come by; he would just take it slow, as he was still just a novice at Genesis!

……

As the Element Filling entered its final stages, the initial form of the Semi-plane gradually became clear—

It was a relatively independent little world!

Of course, it would be inaccurate to say that he saw a "round sky and square earth little world" appear; in reality, as soon as the little world took shape, it automatically overlapped with the experimental area where the current Main Plane and Ether Plane were overlapping.

The specific scene manifested in the Laboratory was—

A small, barren patch of land appeared abruptly in the experimental area, about ten square meters or so, and it was still slowly expanding.

However, as time passed, the speed of expansion became slower and slower, and later, even though Xia Duo had not stopped the Element Filling, the speed of expansion was hard to distinguish with the naked eye.

Continuing the Element Filling might make it a little larger, but it was unlikely to exceed the size designed from the beginning by much; Xia Duo knew this Semi-plane could reach at most this extent.

Then, he prepared to stop the Element Filling spell and carefully inspect the specific condition of this newly born Semi-plane.

Yet, the moment the Element Filling spell stopped, before Xia Duo could step forward to inspect it, that small patch of land, which had looked normal just a moment ago, actually showed signs of collapse.

It was not the kind of collapse like clods of earth breaking apart, but a disintegration from matter into elements!

In an instant, Xia Duo was nearly scared out of his wits; if the Semi-plane were to collapse here, there was no need to think—the Laboratory would certainly not be saved, and if his luck were worse, perhaps the Tower of Time would also become ruins.

But fortunately, Xia Duo had long since prepared a contingency plan for the bizarre accident currently unfolding before him; without any hesitation, he kicked the cube-shaped 【Plane Limiter】 nearby.

He kicked it over to a different face, and the 【Plane Limiter】's stabilization side instantly took effect, causing the Main Plane and the Ether Plane to separate almost immediately.

Of course, the Semi-plane Xia Duo had created appeared on the side of the Ether Plane, and it would subsequently separate as well, but that would have nothing to do with the Main Plane.

Perhaps it would be a gorgeous fireworks display, or perhaps some other violent impact produced according to some characteristic of the Ether Plane.

What did that matter? In any case, it would not affect the Main Plane, nor would it affect the Tower of Time.

……

After everything returned to calm, Xia Duo began to review the entire process of creating the Semi-plane this time, from the initial construction of the experimental environment to the subsequent creation of the Plane Root, and then to the Element Filling.

Before today, every step had been repeatedly scrutinized by him countless times; theoretically, there should not have been any problems.

If a problem occurred, it was highly likely that the theory designed at the beginning had a problem.

Xia Duo re-examined the thread of his research into the Plane Domain; although he had absorbed many theories and ideas from his predecessors, he had also verified them all, and the theory was self-consistent and conformed to reality.

But now the experiment had failed to achieve the desired result; could it be that some key elements were missing from the theory?

Or was it simply that his operation or experimental process had gone wrong?

If it were an operation or experimental process problem, then the biggest variable might have been the 【Plane Limiter】.

Adopting the perspective of an onlooker, Xia Duo easily discovered that the biggest difference between this experiment and others was the addition of the 【Plane Limiter】.

But to create an experimental environment with a Plane Overlap area, even without the 【Plane Limiter】, one would certainly have to use other similar methods.

After all, the process of creating a Semi-plane is relatively long, and one must consider the possibility of plane separation during the experiment.

……

After thinking about it seriously, Xia Duo still felt the problem lay in the theory.

"Could it be the Plane Barrier?"

Xia Duo had a vague suspicion in this regard; if there was any part of the entire process of creating a Semi-plane that he did not yet fully understand, it would be the "Plane Barrier."

Theoretically, the Plane Barrier is also born from the Plane Root and is an inevitable product of the Plane Creation process.

That Xia Duo was able to create that small patch of land showed that the Semi-plane had taken shape, which meant the Plane Barrier had been born.

Otherwise, that small patch of land could not have appeared out of thin air in the experimental area.

It was just that Xia Duo did not yet fully understand the specific birth process of the Plane Barrier; just like the Plane Creation process, although it followed the blueprint he designed, there were still many unsolved mysteries within it.

This experiment to create a Semi-plane was indeed a bit rushed, but if one always waited until they had one hundred percent certainty before taking action, then what kind of exploration of the unknown would that be?

Failure is the mother of success; only by fighting repeatedly after defeat is there hope of victory.

……

Given that he could not obtain other environmental configurations for Semi-plane experiments from other Mages for the time being, Xia Duo decided to take a risk and conduct a second experiment in the Ether Plane.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo sent a message to Niya to inform her of his thoughts, and then, without waiting for Niya's reply, he resolutely began to take action.

With the help of the overlap-separation process between the Main Plane and the Ether Plane, Xia Duo successfully entered the mist-like, illusory Ether Plane.

Of course, to stay here for a long time, it is very difficult to do so with only a physical body; one also needs to transform the main body into the form of the Ether Plane.

——【Plane Attunement - Ethereal Form】

Generally speaking, the Plane Attunement spell can help a Spellcaster enter an Elemental Plane where they cannot survive; elements are indeed a form of energy, but from the perspective of existence and illusion, they belong more to matter.

The Ether Plane, however, tends more toward the illusory—it is neither energy nor matter, yet it is different from the Astral Plane, which is composed of pure spirit.

In short, it is a very magical place.

When Plane Attunement acts upon the Ether Plane, it transforms the Spellcaster into an ethereal state, rather than gaining an additional elemental life-sustaining state as one would in the Material Plane or Elemental Plane.

This was not Xia Duo's first or second time in the Ether Plane; the earliest time was when he encountered chaotic Magic in the Mythallar Ruins outside the Tower of Time and had entered the Ether Plane for a short time, while later entries were mostly attempts made after he had gained a better understanding of the Ether Plane.

……

And at this moment, the position where Xia Duo appeared in the Ether Plane was outside the Tower of Time; or more accurately—outside the outline of the Tower of Time's Protection system!