Chapter 2216: Astral Plane Laws

However, before Dewan could flare up, those two little ones had already noticed the arrival of Xia Duo and Niya, immediately transforming into well-behaved children and honestly admitting their mistake:

"Teacher, we were wrong; we won't dare do it again next time."

"Don't think you'll get off easily this time!"

Dewan wanted to say something more, but Xia Duo interrupted him, "It is a good thing for children to love exploration; there is no need to be too harsh."

"Xia Duo!" Dewan turned back with delight, and seeing Niya was also there, he bowed respectfully, "My Lady."

"Mm."

Niya nodded slightly but did not say more, instead stepping aside to highlight Xia Duo's position; Xia Duo then stepped forward, patted Dewan on the shoulder, and said with a smile:

"I know you are worried about the consumption of Plane Crystals. This issue does not need to be considered for the time being; you can let go and explore to your heart's content. I am not just talking about those two, but mainly you. The situation is changing too fast; it no longer allows us to advance slowly. We must accelerate the progress of exploration."

"The situation?"

Dewan seemed to think of something, his expression changed instantly, and then he nodded heavily, "I understand. I will adjust the upcoming plan."

"As long as you have a clear idea in mind, I won't say much more."

Afterward, Xia Duo changed the subject and continued to ask Dewan: "You mentioned last time that you might have found the Dream Ruins; is it confirmed now?"

"Not yet. At the very least, it will require tracking and observing seven or eight more Projections before it is even possible to confirm."

Regarding Xia Duo's inquiry, Dewan appeared quite cautious; although he had a high degree of certainty that he could find the Dream Ruins, he did not want to give Xia Duo false hope.

"The Projection discovered at the beginning of last month was very critical; it existed for a total of 23 seconds of Main Plane time. If the Projections discovered next are like that one, it might only take two or three to confirm it—whether it is or isn't, it will be confirmed."

"23 seconds? Such a long time?" Xia Duo said in surprise.

"Yes, this is the longest-lasting Projection I have ever seen. Currently, most of the Projections I have observed can only exist for less than a second; it is truly too short."

"How many Projections have you observed so far?"

Xia Duo had actually wanted to ask this question for a long time, but he had held back for fear of bringing unnecessary psychological pressure to Dewan. However, the Tower Spirit had been keeping track of the number of discoveries by the Plane Exploration Array for him!

Counting from the day the Exploration Array was activated, there had been a full 26 times.

This also includes the number of discoveries in the Ether Interlayer, that is, the 【Blue Crystal Plane】, the Yellow Sand Semi-Plane, and even the discoveries Xia Duo made using the Exploration Array to search for known Semi-planes; the number of Projection discoveries was only 26.

This number was far lower than the exploration efficiency of the Arcane Union or Giles Tower. Xia Duo was very clear about this in his heart; the reason for this was that those two organizations had cultivated numerous Astral Mages long ago.

Especially Giles Tower, which even had an Eternal Holy Spirit; their accumulation in the field of Astral Plane exploration completely exceeded the scope of Xia Duo's imagination.

But now the Tower of Time also had an Astral Mage, and Dewan was quite talented in Astral Plane exploration; if he said he had already observed over a hundred Projections, Xia Duo would not be surprised at all.

It was just a pity that the Projections observed by an Astral Mage could not necessarily be discovered and linked by the Scrying Array. In other words, those Projections could only be looked at, but could not be traveled to for exploration.

Of course, they could also be used to correct the characteristics of the Projections in the Scrying Array, thereby providing better discovery efficiency later, but unfortunately, Dewan did not have high talent in data analysis.

Perhaps he could analyze it, but how long it would specifically take was hard to say.

"Counting from the day I arrived here, I have observed a total of over 200 Projections, and only three overlap with those discovered by the Exploration Array."

"So many already!"

Even though Xia Duo thought he had overestimated Dewan enough, he was still shocked by the number of over 200. Dewan had only been at the Plane Exploration Layer for a year or two, and that included the time spent receiving Magic Training as an Astral Mage.

In other words, Dewan's actual Perception ability as an Astral Mage had already far exceeded Xia Duo's expectations!

For a moment, Xia Duo could not figure out whether this was because Dewan was relatively special, or if Astral Mages themselves possessed such strong Perception. If it were the former, then he had truly discovered a great treasure!

Even if it were the latter, it meant that as long as they worked hard to discover and carefully cultivate potential Astral Mage candidates, the Tower of Time would one day be able to enter the incredibly vast treasure land of Projections at any time.

"Perhaps the time for the great development of Projections will come much earlier than expected! If only the exploration of the Ether Interlayer could be done this way too!"

Xia Duo sighed in his heart; although Projections were good, the true future still had to be found in the Ether Interlayer! If someone gave him a Habitable Plane now, he would be willing to pay his entire fortune.

The Main Plane was full of crises and might collapse any day; without a Habitable Plane as a fallback, what was the point of accumulating more wealth!

"By the way, Dewan, have you received the Inspiration Headband?"

"I have received it and used it a few times, but that thing interferes with Perception. I usually keep it in my living quarters. Why do you ask about this suddenly?"

"I was thinking, since you have already observed over 200 Projections, you can start trying to correct the Exploration Array. A person's energy is limited, and one must also consider the impact of the passage of Astral time on the physical body's lifespan; it is impossible to project Perception into the Astral Plane all day long. Constantly updating the Exploration Array and utilizing all available external objects is the only way out for Astral Plane exploration."

"But I have no experience in this area at all!"

"If you have no experience, you can learn slowly. No one is born an Archmage; only learning can make a person progress. I believe you can do it."

But Xia Duo was not emphasizing learning without reason; he provided Dewan with enough suggestions on what to learn and how to learn:

"If the Inspiration Headband only affects the process of Perception and does not damage it, you should utilize it as much as possible. I will guide you in the Spirit Thought Network on how to analyze the Perception data of Projections and help you get started as soon as possible."

Xia Duo's words moved Dewan, but he was also a bit hesitant, "Would this be too much trouble for you?"

"What trouble is there? Use the Inspiration Headband more, and you will know how convenient and useful this thing is!"

Although the safety issues of the Inspiration Headband and the Spirit Thought Network had not yet been completely resolved, it should not be a big problem if they were only used within the Tower of Time.

Furthermore, wasn't Xia Duo currently seeking a solution to this problem? One should not give up eating for fear of choking; it should still be used, especially in this initial stage of fastest development, one must not give up.

"I understand, I will use it when I go back."