Chapter 2164: Rebirth from the Ruins

Watching Saville leave, Xia Duo also departed from Hengchun Square, leaving only a Dwarf behind in the previous venue, boredly playing with a hammer.

And in the south.

Zhamu Dasi had also completed its preliminary exploration of the land of Gemstones left behind after the disappearance of Tuokesente City. Zhalanmonai, leader of the Zeqi School and current Speaker of the Executive Council, listened to his subordinate's exploration report in Huolinsi City.

"My lord, that area is so clean it's simply unreal; even the Magic Net has been reborn. It is impossible to detect any useful information there. If the Lord of Huolinsi hadn't recorded the events as they happened, I fear it would be nearly impossible for us to reconstruct the scene."

"Give me the results directly!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The subordinate acknowledged, first handing over a thick investigation report before beginning to explain: "The opponent used some kind of extremely powerful Spell to directly destroy the very existence of that area. Even the 【Mind-Clearing Gemstone】 left behind no debris, nor any traces, including the Mental Image World created by the 【Mind-Clearing Gemstone】."

"So, you mean to say that until now, you have no idea what means the opponent used?" No joy or anger could be seen on Zhalanmonai's face.

But the subordinate who knew him well knew this was a sign before his rage. Sure enough, the next moment Zhalanmonai cursed "Useless," and then threw the investigation report in his hand heavily to the side.

"What about Calimshan? That Floating Fortress stayed in Kalim for several days before; is there really no accurate intelligence about that Floating City fortress from there?"

"Not yet."

The subordinate braced himself and continued: "Not only that, but for some reason, some kind of investigative measure suddenly appeared there. Several of our infiltrators have been exposed, and news from there is now extremely sluggish. I believe—"

"What do you mean by 'don't know how some kind of investigative intensity suddenly appeared'? Before that Northland barbarian went to Kalim, those things didn't exist. He went, and then they appeared; what else could it be!"

Zhalanmonai felt as if his lungs were about to explode with rage, but seeing Suolinkala, who had just entered from outside, he suppressed his anger and waved his subordinate away:

"From now on, do not contact that side. Let them remain in silent hiding. Everything will wait until the war there ends."

"Yes, my lord."

After the subordinate left, Suolinkala couldn't help but shake his head. "While you have me negotiate a ceasefire with Calimshan, you keep meddling in their Homeland. Do you really not consider the possibility of dragging Zhamu Dasi into the Abyss if all this is exposed?"

"Rest assured, Calimshan is riddled with internal problems. Once a ceasefire is reached, I fear they will never again have the courage to go to war with us. Perhaps by the time we finish the war in the south, we can easily take over a ruined Calimshan!"

Zhalanmonai spoke with full confidence, but to Suolinkala, this scene seemed like an Illusion. He wanted to tell the other party: you can see the problems within another country, but can you not see the problems within Zhamu Dasi itself?

If it were before, he might have had an argument with Zhalanmonai over this, but now Suolinkala understood that Zhamu Dasi had developed to a point where it was already too late to turn back. Without undergoing a thorough excision of rot, even if it luckily survived now, it would eventually fall into the Abyss of destruction in the future.

It would be better to take advantage of his remaining strength to let it collapse completely, and then rebuild the true spiritual Homeland that the First Generation Psionic Mentor had hoped for on the ruins.

Thinking this, Suolinkala did not say another word, but turned and left.

Yet his departure did not attract much attention from Zhalanmonai; this ambitious school leader and Council Speaker remained immersed in his own grand plan.

Only the land of Gemstones, which he recalled from time to time across the river from Huolinsi, could pull him back to Reality.

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But after cursing the Northland barbarian a few times, he forgot about the matter again. If one cannot face something, then temporarily forgetting it is also a kind of Wisdom.

……

Two days later.

Yinaole visited Xia Duo's Floating City again and brought good news: "Despite some setbacks, the Seven Towers have agreed to provide some key elements of the Longevity Ritual."

"Additionally, I borrowed a Cold Gemstone from Aien. It was originally used in certain special Longevity Rituals to stabilize a Spellcaster's emotions. I thought you might need it in your situation, so I borrowed it."

Aien is Kangjienio, the one who invented the Ioun Stone. When Yinaole was young, he had sought instruction under Kangjienio for a time, and even after achieving success later, he still respectfully addressed the other as his teacher.

"Thank you for running around for me, Teacher."

Xia Duo knew in his heart that the "setbacks" Yinaole mentioned were likely no small trouble; he must have paid a considerable price to obtain the key elements of the Longevity Ritual.

As for the Cold Gemstone borrowed from Kangjienio, it was likely just mentioned in passing and then taken; perhaps he even took it from the treasury himself.

But regardless, Xia Duo was equally grateful for both matters.

"So, are you preparing to start clearing the hidden dangers in your consciousness?" Yinaole asked again.

"More or less. I will first study the specific plan and then perform the actual operation. I worry there will be accidents if I drag it out too long."

In every aspect—not just accidents regarding consciousness and Soul, but also potential accidents from the outside world—Xia Duo naturally hoped for it to be as soon as possible.

"Then—"

Yinaole hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help but speak, "Do you need my help?"

"I won't trouble you with this, Teacher. Things at the level of consciousness must ultimately be handled by oneself." Xia Duo politely declined Yinaole.

In fact, it wasn't that he couldn't let others help, but because it involved a person's most private consciousness and Soul, even one's wife and children who were by one's side every day would be somewhat inappropriate, let alone an outsider!

Xia Duo would never pin his hopes entirely on someone else's morality or rationality. He believed Yinaole had no subjective malice toward him, but what if?

Not to mention, even a Great Arcanist has times when they cannot act according to their own will. If an existence showed Yinaole its absolute power and said that if he didn't destroy Xia Duo, it would destroy Netheril, Yinaole would absolutely choose to apologize to him without hesitation.

Therefore, as long as it wasn't a situation where he would surely die without someone else's help, he was unwilling to let anyone else handle anything at the level of consciousness.

This is a principle, whether it is for Yinaole or Niya, it is the same.

This is somewhat similar to a young person on Earth who, while dying in a car accident, struggles to clear their browser history with their last breath.

……

After seeing Yinaole off, Xia Duo couldn't wait to return to the Laboratory to examine the key Spell elements the other had brought. Just by looking at the general idea, he guessed what the special Longevity Ritual possessed by the Seven Towers was all about.

And that Cold Gemstone, if nothing went wrong, could also serve as an auxiliary to that ritual.