Chapter 7: The Glowing Condensation Ring and the Phantom Star (Part 2)

Guo Shieru was willing to trade, but the items Lan Landai offered had very low compatibility with the talismans, so after some thought, he shook his head.
Unlike Xing Yunzi, who could produce treasures like the Spiritual Spring, Lan Landai found it difficult to come up with something comparable. Abandoning the Soul-Nurturing Wood was absolutely out of the question for her. After a long pause, she said, “Tell me… what kind of item you need. As long as it exists here, I’ll try to find it for you…”
Guo Shieru couldn’t help but laugh—this woman was again thinking of robbing him. He said, “If there’s a certain item, I’m not averse to exchanging it for the Divine Wood.”
Lan Landai asked eagerly, “What item? Tell me, quickly!”
Guo Shieru replied, “Equipment that can protect the body in the void. If such something exists… it can be exchanged for the Divine Wood. Ah, and one more condition: it must be able to protect all seven of us and allow me to activate protective gear.”
Lan Landai widened her eyes in surprise and asked, “Is that all?”
Guo Shieru said, “Yes, that’s all. Do you have such equipment? If so, we can trade.”
Lan Landai immediately beamed with joy and said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You had me worried for so long! I don’t have many of these, but I do have a few!”
Li Ran, Qi Wu Zhen, and the others showed delight—what they lacked most was defensive equipment for the void. Relying on breaking through barriers, they could only temporarily resist the void’s attacks. Over time, they would have to expand their secret realm to enhance defense, but that method was extremely costly.
Lan Landai took out an item—a milky white ring about three fingers wide, round on the inside and square on the outside, with many strange patterns on it. They weren’t runes but patterns unknown to Guo Shieru and the others.
“The Glowing Condensation Ring! It can serve as defense in the void. When activated to its fullest, it creates a 50-meter-radius safe zone that can completely block the void’s attacks.”
Everyone took turns examining it before it ended up in Guo Shieru’s hands. He fiddled with it for a while before asking, “What are these patterns?”
Lan Landai replied, “These are Spiritual Patterns. You can try to activate them. The Spiritual Mantra I’ll give you might not be enough to activate the Glowing Condensation Ring though.”
Guo Shieru said, “I’ll give it a try. Tell me the Spiritual Mantra.”

Lan Landai didn’t possess the ability to pass on knowledge; she could only teach on the spot, with everyone learning together. It was then that one could see each person’s aptitude. Guo Shier was actually stronger than Li Ran, mastering the spirit formula in just a few minutes and successfully activating the Huining Ring. A ring of white light spread out, instantly enveloping everyone. Lan Landai showed surprise—learning and activating it so quickly truly impressed her.

The next person to master it was unexpectedly Kuumu. He directly cast the spirit formula and brought the Huining Ring into his hands. Then came Qi Wuzhen and Li Ran, who mastered it almost simultaneously, followed by Wang Dayang and Monier. As for Sericeline, she didn’t even try to learn it, as her knowledge system had nothing to do with either group’s.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Lan Landai said, “There must be some connection between us. It’s strange—this spirit formula can’t be activated without a certain foundation, yet you all mastered it so quickly. I’m really curious. Maybe the skills we learn share some commonality.”

Li Ran smiled inwardly. He hadn’t understood this before in the Greater World either. It wasn’t until his split soul came to the Spellcraft World and learned the unique skills of the Spellcraft族 that he realized their strength. This strength didn’t lie in their skills but in their control over the soul. A Soul Grandmaster was truly extraordinary—whether in learning ability or the use of force, they were stronger than his main soul in the Greater World. That’s why he thought about fighting for control of the main soul once he returned. As for mastering their spirit formulas, with spells as a foundation, it wasn’t difficult at all. Still, he admitted that the Spellcraft族 and the others seemed to have some connection.

Guo Shier asked, “Is that all?”

Lan Landai was momentarily stunned before realizing that indeed, it wasn’t enough. They had used Divine Wood, while she had only given a Huining Ring. After thinking for a while, she said, “This Huining Ring can protect you all in the void. Well, I have another defensive item for personal use that I obtained by chance. How about I give it to you too? If you like it, consider the deal done.”

Guo Shier nodded. “Okay. If it’s similar to the effects of the Huining Ring, then it’s a deal.” He didn’t dare agree too quickly. Nourishing Soul Wood wasn’t rare to him, but it was different for Lan Landai. Agreeing too fast might make her suspicious. He had always been good at this.

Lanlandai couldn’t help but laugh, knowing she had already obtained that sacred tree. She handed Guo Shier a palm-sized hexagram, a very delicate object with six corners, one of which was longer. At first glance, it resembled a falling meteor, in a light silver-gray color, with each sharp corner golden. Upon closer inspection, the hexagram appeared to be layered, and it was unclear what material it was made of, giving it a mysterious feel.

Guo Shier found the hexagram extremely beautiful, on par with the sacrificial treasures of the Spellcrafters. He liked it right away. The incantation to activate it was very simple; after a brief attempt, he managed to connect the hexagram to his soul, and it could be activated with just a slight thought.

Lanlandai explained, “I don’t know its original name. After I got it, I named it the Void Star. Remember, it’s very effective at resisting attacks from the void, but it can’t withstand real attacks. Once someone breaks through its defense in the void, you’re done.”

Guo Shier asked, “Does it have no defensive ability at all?”

Lanlandai smiled and said, “Of course not. What I mean is… someone like me can shatter this defense. You don’t need to worry about ordinary experts; they can never break through it. Of course, this includes those dreaded spatial rifts as well.”

Everyone was secretly astonished. The Void Star was incredibly powerful, capable even of resisting spatial rifts. None of their sacrificial treasures could defend against spatial rifts aside from breaking through dimensions. It was clear that this thing wasn’t as defenseless as she claimed—it had extremely strong defenses.

Guo Shier was very satisfied and said with a smile, “Good, the deal is done. The sacred tree is yours.”

After obtaining the sacred tree, Lanlandai’s need for the Spirit Spring diminished. In high spirits, she began chatting with everyone. Due to her overwhelming strength, no one dared to neglect her. In this world, other things might not matter much, but formidable personal combat skills were highly respected. Thus, instead of refusing, everyone was eager to talk to her. Interacting with a master not only provided a lot of information but also brought many benefits.

The eight of them hovered in the air, talking, surrounded only by a protective shield. Spatial rifts kept appearing around them, but they vanished instantly upon touching the shield. This shield itself was also a treasure.

Lanlandai said, “This space is about to collapse. Why are you still staying here?”

Li Ran didn’t hide it and said, “We need to pass through this space to find a path to the greater universe.”

Lan Landai was surprised and said, “Huh, aren’t you from the Greater World?”
Guo Shier said, “Yes, we came from Projected Starry Sky…”
Lan Landai widened her eyes again and said, “What… what did you say? This is Projected Starry Sky? The legendary Projected Starry Sky!”
Qi Wu Zhen asked, “Is that so strange?”
Lan Landai shook her head repeatedly and said, “How is that possible? There’s actually a passage leading to the legendary… void of Projected Starry Sky? Hehe, I’m lucky, uh… no, I can’t enter… Sigh!”
Guo Shier asked curiously, “Why can’t you enter? I know the way to Projected Starry Sky.”
Lan Landai gave a bitter smile and said, “This space will collapse soon. Once it does, even I won’t be able to return to the Greater Universe, unless I find another similar spatial rift… Otherwise, I’ll be trapped in Projected Starry Sky. It’s a pity, such a pity…”
Guo Shier said, “It should be fine for a short time. It will take at least a few years, or even decades, for this space to completely collapse—enough time for you to make a trip.”
Lan Landai shook her head and said, “You don’t understand spaces well enough. I can’t take such a risk.” She sighed deeply and said, “It’s a shame. If I had discovered it decades earlier, I would have gained a great deal.”
Li Ran asked in confusion, “In Projected Starry Sky, can’t you simply tear open space and enter the void?”
Lan Landai replied, “That’s a stable space. How could I have the ability to tear apart a stable space? Only in spaces like this can we enter and exit freely. Even when leaving, we need to find a similar space—just like you need to find a passage to exit. Even if there are obstacles in that passage, it doesn’t matter because the space is unstable, so you can easily break through. But if it’s a stable space, hehe, then you give it a try.”
Everyone suddenly understood. Upon reflection, it made sense. If one could tear open space from anywhere and directly enter the void, that would be too mythical—impossible to achieve. Even if they entered the void themselves, they had to find weak points in space; it wasn’t possible to break through space anywhere.
Guo Shier thought for a moment and said, “But even if this space collapses, some unstable spaces will remain. With your strength, it should be easy for you to get out, right?”

Lan Landai shook her head and said, “Space rifts can heal on their own. This space actually formed from a large rift. Once it completely collapses, it will vanish into the void, and so will the world of projected stars. Those unstable spaces you mentioned might even become more stable. You must have seen it before… a dagger plunged into a tree trunk; once the dagger is pulled out, the wound heals quickly and becomes thicker than the surrounding area.”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly and said, “I see… We’re really lucky. If we had missed this opportunity, it would be hard to find such a space again.”

Lan Landai rolled her eyes and said, “It’s not just luck. I’ve traveled through the void for so long and rarely seen such a miraculous space that can connect the universe and projected stars. It’s a shame I learned about it too late… This space is already extremely unstable. I don’t know what’s causing it…”

Suddenly, a strange expression appeared on Lan Landai’s face as she said, “Is it… is it a Void Worm?”

Guo Shier still didn’t understand and asked, “A Void Worm? What does that have to do with spatial instability? Could it be that the Void Worm caused the space to collapse? He found this reason too strange. With the capabilities of a Void Worm, it’s impossible for it to cause such a huge space to collapse.”

Lan Landai pointed at a group of dark dots not far away and said, “That’s… that’s a Void Worm!”