DipNovel Chapter 574 The Middle World!
Chapter 574 The Middle World!
"rest assured!"
If things truly become hopeless, Xu Si doesn't know what choice he will make.
After giving a brief instruction, Xu Si's senses spread across the endless starry sky, searching for a suitable small world to prepare for another smuggling trip.
This time, his target is a small world where the laws are balanced.
His perception was like an invisible tide, spreading along the veins of the stars into the depths of the void.
This time, he was more patient than ever before, carefully distinguishing each lit star.
Those faint ones are small worlds yet to take shape; those still as deep as a pool are small worlds in slumber; and those shimmering and vibrant, pulsating like living things, are very likely small worlds that are pregnant with life.
Only now could he fully appreciate the allure of the Astral Ruler.
At the same time, his perception stopped in front of a dark golden spot of light.
That point of light was unlike any other small world he had encountered before.
It is not simply dominated by the laws of matter, life, or elements, but by five fundamental laws—matter, life, time, space, and energy.
They are interwoven in a near-perfect proportion, like a meticulously composed symphony, where every note is just right, neither too much nor too little.
"This is... the Middle World?" Xu Si's consciousness was shocked and confused at this moment.
This was unlike any small world he had ever encountered before, because its laws were too stable and too powerful.
With Xu Si's current strength, it would be extremely difficult to find even a trace of it.
Therefore, he was certain that it was the Middle World, distinct from the Small World.
Xu Si was captivated by the dazzling world before him.
Although he could not steal even a single strand of the power of the laws from it.
However, even from this brief observation, Xu Si felt that he had gained a great deal.
"...It's too perfect," Xu Si murmured to himself.
The rhythmic interplay of the five fundamental laws flowed gently through his senses: the law of matter was as weighty as the earth, the law of life as gentle as spring water, the law of time as serene as a long river, the law of space as vast as a starry sea, and the law of energy as intense as the blazing sun.
They intertwine, permeate, and transform each other in a dark golden halo, forming a perfect cyclical system.
He had never seen such a structure of world laws.
Compared to this world, his little world was like trash in a recycling center, so rough it couldn't even be considered presentable.
The resource planet he had previously plundered also had simple and crude laws, like an unpolished ore.
Although that life-bearing planet was rich in laws, the law of life was dominant, and the other laws were merely subordinate, like a giant baby that was overly specialized in one area.
But in this world, every law is just right, neither too much nor too little.
It's as if every law is in its proper place.
"Yi-yi," he called out in his heart.
"Hmm?" Yi Yi's voice came quickly, carrying a hint of keen awareness of Xu Si's unusual emotions.
"I may have found a medieval world."
Xu Si thought Yi Yi would be surprised, but she remained quiet.
Unlike Xu Si, Yi Yi is a world consciousness, which has a strong shielding effect on other world consciousnesses, so she cannot perceive the location of the middle world that Xu Si mentioned.
However, according to her inherited memories, her home planet was also a powerful medieval world, and the birthplace of the God of Life.
So she knew what a medieval world meant.
They also learned more about what kind of beings exist in a medieval world.
"Don't go!" she immediately stopped Xu Si.
Unlike small worlds, some small worlds, even if they are inhabited planets, may be unclaimed.
But every medieval world absolutely has its own master.
The laws there are more complete, the levels of life are higher, and it may even be inhabited by a deity.
"Is it that dangerous?" Xu Si could only sense that it was a planet full of allure, but he could not sense the danger within it.
He's not thinking about how much he can exploit in this world; he just wants to observe and determine the future path of his own little world.
Even if it's just in one direction, it's still a gain.
Xu Si's senses lingered for a long time at the edge of that dark golden halo, like a moth cautiously testing the temperature of a campfire.
Although he hadn't tested it yet, he felt that with his current strength, it would be difficult to sneak in.
Even if they managed to sneak in, they would probably be captured by the world's consciousness instantly.
"Yi-yi, what is the highest level of life in the Middle World?"
"That must be a deity!"
Yi Yi doesn't actually know much either. No matter how high her memory inheritance is, there won't be any records about anything above the gods.
"I want to go in and take a look!" Xu Si wasn't acting as a thief but as a tourist; he wanted to see what the differences were between the Middle World and the Small World.
"But even if you go in, you won't be able to steal the laws!"
"Even without stealing the laws, I think I'll still gain something!"
Stealing the laws is ultimately just a stopgap measure; the laws must grow autonomously to become the right path.
A medieval case study was clearly worth learning from.
Moreover, as long as he conceals his world consciousness well enough, and presents himself as a firefly in the starry sky, a meteorite, or a nebula, it is possible for him to enter this world.
"But!" Yi Yi was still worried because the combat power of life forms in the Middle World was uncontrollable, and Xu Si might encounter all sorts of dangers.
This is another reason why Xu Si entered the Middle World.
On Earth, without other Sequence Nines, he would have no way to reference his own combat strength.
In a medieval world, level nine life forms should not be uncommon.
Having a combat strength reference before the divine messenger descends is of great reference value for the upcoming battle.
"One by one," he said again, his voice carrying a hint of solemnity.
"...Are you really sure?" Yi Yi's voice came from the depths of her consciousness, tinged with a hint of helplessness.
She knew Xu Si too well; when he spoke in that tone, any attempt to dissuade him was futile.
Xu Si never considered himself a person full of adventurous spirit.
But when he started talking about it, his first feeling was excitement.
But standing before this opportunity, he couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Because such opportunities may not be many.
Is this a side effect of an expansion of power?
"Hmm," Xu Si responded, then changed the subject, his tone becoming more relaxed.
"Since we'll have to face level nine life forms sooner or later, it's not a bad thing to get to know their kind beforehand."
"But your injuries from the laws haven't healed yet."
"I'm mostly recovered. Even if I'm no match for a level nine life form, I still have the ability to escape. Besides, I'm just going to take a look; I don't necessarily want to fight," Xu Si comforted him.
Yi Yi remained silent for a while, as if she were weighing various possibilities with her newly formed world consciousness. Finally, her slightly immature voice rang out again, carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.
"Then promise me that you'll come back immediately if you sense anything is wrong."
"I promise you." Xu Si's lips curved into a smile.
He didn't say anything more.
His senses were completely withdrawn from the edge of Earth, and his will, like a drawn longbow, aimed at the dark golden spot of light in the void.
His body then transformed into countless tiny starlight rays, silently shooting from the top of the World Tree into the starry sky.
This journey was longer than the previous two.
The stars he used as "stepping stones" became sparse and distant in this star field, like being separated by layers of dense forest. Each jump required more stellar energy to barely lock onto the next coordinate star.
"No wonder Fan Wanwan and the others are so wary of the so-called divine messengers," Xu Si muttered to himself.
"Just crossing this distance has already eliminated most of the level nine life forms."
Of course, if it's a deity who intervenes, that's a different story.
His leap was extremely fast, but this illusory journey still took far longer than expected.
As he finally approached the edge of that dark golden halo, he felt a far clearer and heavier sense of oppression than when he was perceiving and observing it.
It's like the kind of awe a tiny ant can only feel when facing the sun directly.
The golden halo appeared as thin as a cicada's wing to Xu Si.
But Xu Si only realized when he got closer that it was actually a barrier of laws as thick as a continent.
The barrier, woven from the five fundamental laws of matter, life, time, space, and energy, is like an impenetrable suit of armor that this small world has woven for itself.
Anyone who tries to remove even a sliver of its armor will likely suffer the strongest backlash.
Xu Si stopped on a gray-white dead star that was very close to the barrier of law, and looked up at the dark golden light in the void that almost blotted out the sky from the cracked ground.
"This feeling... it's completely different when you're not close," he said softly.
He is now extremely curious about what kind of planet this is.
However, entering a medieval planet is not so easy.
His gaze lingered on the slowly flowing patterns of laws on the surface of the dark golden halo.
He observed it carefully for a long time, as if he were examining a sophisticated creation, trying to find the location of the "door" from its operating rules.
"This is it." After a moment of silence, his voice rang out.
His body did not transform into star power and surge forward again, but instead approached the dark golden barrier at an almost still speed, like a feather being blown by the wind, carefully compressing his presence to the minimum.
His little world was completely enveloped by his starry sky; he was now nothingness, a meteor, a nebula.
Xu Si discovered that his sequence was actually quite suitable for disguise.
Just as his body was about to touch the barrier of law, a strange resistance came from the depths of the barrier, flexible and dense.
However, it is neither rejection nor resistance, but rather like being enveloped by natural gravity.
His figure, like a dandelion seed carried by a gentle breeze, quietly passed through the dark golden barrier of laws.
Xu Si did not sense the world consciousness spying on him, which was at least good news.
Without hesitation, his figure transformed into an extremely thin streak of starlight and sped towards his destination.
A new world suddenly unfolded before his eyes, like a huge scroll being slowly unfurled.
His disguise remained intact until his senses reached the land.
However, he sensed a difference that was far clearer and more intuitive than when he was observing.
The difference didn't come from vision, but from the impact on the entire level of sequence perception.
His starry eyes widened slightly.
The world before him was completely different from any small world he had ever seen before.
The sky was not filled with the rising sun, yet it was still bright and warm.
The ground beneath my feet was dark brown, like fertile soil that had been repeatedly cultivated, covered with a thick layer of meadow. It must have felt soft and springy underfoot, with a warmth that seemed to linger after years of being thoroughly exposed to the sun.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of grass and trees, moist and clean, without any of the rusty or decaying smells of the post-apocalyptic world, nor the alien, indescribable sense of unfamiliarity that had been present in any of the previous small worlds.
Everything was harmonious and self-consistent.
Xu Si also seemed to sense a special kind of energy.
This is distinct from his sequence energy and eerie energy, or life energy.
This might be a strange planet.
Could it be a world of cultivation? Or a world of beast taming? Or a world of the abyss?
In short, this must be a world with special powers.
Xu Si didn't know if this was standard in the medieval world, but it opened the door to a new world for him.
He subconsciously took a deep breath.
Then, his brow twitched slightly.
He could feel a very slight resonance occurring in the little world inside his body at that moment.
It seemed that as his knowledge and perception deepened, those patterns of laws, those edges that had just been repaired, became clearer.
It seems to resonate subtly with the laws and rhythms of this world, as if it is repairing its own deficiencies and flaws.
"...It's such a strange feeling."
He never expected that, being in the Middle World, instead of stealing the power of the laws, his injuries from the laws would begin to heal themselves.
Xu Si stood in mid-air, not moving immediately.
His perception unfolded like a drop of ink falling into clear water, slowly spreading, small and cautious.
The meadow beneath my feet extends into a gentle slope, below which flows a winding stream with clear water and smooth pebbles on the bottom, gleaming warmly in the light that seems to come from nowhere.
This ordinary pebble would probably be a top-grade gem on Earth.
Shrubs about waist-high grow on both sides of the stream, with thick leaves and small purple berries hanging from them.
A plump, palm-sized, bright green creature peeked out from the bushes.
Xu Si hadn't expected that the first creature he encountered would have only a round body, without a head or limbs. It seemed to feed on dew, and its round body got quite wet as it rolled around in the bushes.
The dew seeped into his body through his fur.
Even Xu Si could sense his happiness.
"Plant spirits?" Wanliuchun asked in surprise.
"An elf?"
Xu Si was initially surprised, because he didn't recognize plant spirits, but he was very familiar with spirits.
"No, plant spirits aren't spirits; they're just the essence of crystalline plants!"