Chapter 355: Ley Lines and Shackles
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 355: Ley Lines and Shackles
The price of using a Transcendent Item really is the consumption of one's own flesh and blood.
As someone with total dominion over my own body, I can clearly sense that this extraction of flesh and blood takes precedence even over the sacrifice rituals performed by those Dream Demons.
With the previous sacrifice ritual, I could ignore its effects simply by achieving perfect control over my entire body. But now, I find myself unable to perfectly resist the cost of using this Transcendent Item.
However, I’ve discovered that as long as I fully concentrate on controlling my form, the cost of the Transcendent Item can be offset by my own inherent strength.
And the effect... remains undiluted!
What does this imply?
It means the operating principle of a Transcendent Item isn't a simple exchange of "cost" for "effect." It functions on a higher level, somewhat similar to completing a ritual to produce an outcome. Could a Transcendent Item be understood as a specialized, self-contained ritual?
You pay the price to complete the ritual, and the ritual produces the effect.
No wonder the First Generation City Lord consumed flesh and blood energy so rapidly back then. He lacked the personal strength to offset the Transcendent Item's cost, meaning he had zero resistance to the side effects. Consequently, he required a massive price just to achieve a mediocre effect.
Therefore, if I use my own body as the price, the effects I can achieve shouldn't be inferior to those of the First Generation City Lord.
As expected... the Resurrection Spell was the right insurance policy to bring along.
At this moment, my right hand—having been the first to touch the Transcendent Item—has already begun to wither. This effect is gradually spreading across the entire right side of my body.
But in this instant, I have once again gained the blessing of Luck.
That’s right; this time, the blessing was achieved through my own methods. The power of Luck doesn't just manifest because it's on my person; its use requires specific prerequisites.
For instance, a Child of Destiny usually needs to be in a desperate situation or facing a reversal of fortune for Luck to explode. But now, by utilizing this Transcendent Item formed from a Luck Seed, I only need to pay the price to trigger an active eruption of Luck's power.
That Dream Demon was right. The power of Luck—becoming someone favored by the world—is truly addictive. Fortunately, I haven't reached the point of addiction yet.
I am using the power of Luck for a specific purpose: to find and lock onto the abstract concept known as the Ley Line Shackles.
Even though my goal is to find them so I can sever them, Luck isn't some kind of AI search engine; it doesn't care why I'm looking for them.
The moment Luck erupts, I place this thought at the forefront of my priorities. Then, this irrational power exerts itself to push the "script" forward.
The Academy Dean wants to use the power of the script to drive the creation of a Great Spellbook; surely I can use Luck to find a few things?
Besides, I already have a lead.
Through successive deaths and resurrections, by personally experiencing the boundary of death and sensing the existence of the soul, I have felt those Ley Line Shackles reaching deep into the essence of my life.
The Ley Line Shackles that carry the spellbooks and mana sources within my body—they are the basis for me finding them.
In this world, obtaining something only involves two steps: first, discovery; second, reaching out.
No matter how complex a thing is—be it the starry sky or the Truth—people must first see it and understand the concept of its existence. Everything else is merely preparation for reaching out.
Ever since I accepted the effects of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, my mindset has undergone a subtle, specific shift. Perhaps this is the manifestation of wisdom?
Of course, it might just be my own narrow understanding of what wisdom is.
But you cannot deny that I have indeed gained useful things from it. The fact that the effects of the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art are permanent will not change.
And now...
Facing this Abyssal Demon whose name I still don't know, I only need to provoke it.
"Now!" I told myself internally.
In the next heartbeat, I seized a gap and struck directly at its face—specifically, its eye. For most life forms, the eye is a window to observe the world, but it is also an incredibly fragile organ.
This strike relied primarily on Body Cultivation power, using a Concentrated Fireball Spell as a shield-breaking method to bypass the defense of its eyelid.
I pulverized the entire structure of its right eye.
But that wasn't enough. Acid Erosion Curse, Explosive Trap, Floating Spell—I used them all to thoroughly and continuously destroy its vision. You can heal, can't you? You can regrow limbs and organs?
Fine. I'll make that passive regeneration the trigger for your pain.
And now... Perception Enhancement, Five Senses Enhancement. I will drive the concept of "pain" deep into its mind.
Unfortunately, I don't have any spells like Numbness Dispel, so once this monster adapts to the pain and visual deprivation, I will still be in danger.
But this is enough for now. After all, I only wanted to enrage it.
Enraging it forces it to unleash even more terrifying power. Blinding it increases my margin for error and buys me more time.
"Ley Line Shackles..."
I might not be able to manifest an abstract concept into a physical object just yet. When you actually try to do something, you realize how difficult it truly is. But when you set out to solve the difficulty, you find it is merely a deduction from the known to the unknown.
"Found you!"
As I uttered those words, the Transcendent Item had completely drained me. Because of this, it sent me to the brink of life and death once more. But this time, fully prepared, I would not miss the opportunity!
In that expanse of nothingness, I gripped tightly onto the strand I identified as the Ley Line Shackles. It carried the mana source and the spellbooks. Even if these two things had never truly belonged to me, at this moment, they became beacons lighting my path, pointing the way I sought.
In this land of nothingness, a wisp of golden Luck accompanied me, always guiding my way forward whenever I faltered.
It was a shore that seemed eternally unreachable, yet I pressed on without hesitation. I had no other choice.
Until a glimmer of light expanded in my eyes, drawing closer and closer, within arm's reach... A white radiance enveloped my entire world. I passed from that land of nothingness into a place I had never been before.
When I turned around, I saw a celestial river hidden in the horizon. It originated from an unreachable distance, surging forth, its end lost to sight.
It seemed to flow along the very boundaries of the world, winding and meandering, passing through countless twists and turns, branching into tributaries and segments. The world gained its vitality from the rushing of these waters.
The river carried an endless, unknown power. Where it struck the bends, the splashing spray transformed into phantoms of life, lasting only a moment from birth to decay.
It was a great river, laden with information and flowing with soul essence. It seemed to be the source of all life's development, drawing me forward.
"What is that?"
My voice echoed within my consciousness, but no one answered.
However, the thundering water and that familiar sensation told my intuition that this was the Ley Line. Could this be the River of Ley Lines?
Just as I tried to step forward, a golden thread wrapped around my waist, pulling at me and hindering my progress. Still, I pushed on.
As I took another step, more golden threads appeared, binding my wrists, ankles, and neck...
Yet I continued forward, because within that River of Ley Lines, there was a tributary directed straight at me. I didn't know what it was, but perhaps it was the most primal Ley Line Shackle protecting me.
"Just a little more..."
I reached out with all my might, my fingers straining for that Ley Line Shackle that was only a hair's breadth away.
More and more Luck threads coiled around my body, taking root in my flesh.
Until my fingertips finally brushed against that Ley Line...
Sizzle!
The moment the tributary of the Ley Line touched me, it pierced through my body.
No... here, even my body was merely an abstract concept of my consciousness.
In the next moment, I felt unknown things begin to emerge within my form. They took root in every part of me, seizing control of my everything.
And the source of it all linked back to that tributary of the Ley Line piercing through me.
"So... these are the Ley Line Shackles... Finally... I see them..."
That tributary from the Ley Line hadn't so much pierced my body as it had established a connection with me as a living being. It was because of this connection that my Spirit Vision could share the information of the Ley Line Shackles. That was why they had slowly manifested in my sight—they had been rooted in my life all along.
At that moment, it felt as if all my energy was being siphoned away. I allowed the Luck threads to pull me back. If I had looked back then, I would have seen that the source of the Luck threads... was also a great river...
When I opened my eyes again, I knew I had returned. The ritual for the Resurrection Spell had dissipated after I used it, due to the fragmentation of my consciousness.
In that void of consciousness, from seeing the River of Ley Lines to witnessing the Ley Line Shackles, it felt as if an eternity had passed. In reality, it had likely been but an instant.
The blinded monster was still roaring.
Having experienced that strange encounter, when I examined myself with Spirit Vision again, I saw the Ley Line Shackles rooted in every part of my body. They covered me like a network, or rather, like a cage, imprisoning my life within shackles woven from my own flesh.
So... now I finally understand why severing the Ley Line Shackles is so difficult. Perhaps after advancing to the Transcendent level, a new level of life provides enough power to strip these shackles away one by one. But I don't have that luxury.
To truly escape these shackles, I must completely destroy the whole!
However, my repeated use of the Resurrection Spell proved that even resurrection cannot sever these shackles that cling like maggots to the bone. They don't just lock my body; they lock my very essence. Otherwise, no matter how many times I replaced my body, the Ley Line Shackles would still use me as a medium to turn the new body into a cage.
It’s hard to imagine how much despair the first person to discover the Ley Line Shackles must have felt.
Therefore... I have to "die" one more time.
As for death, I am not afraid of dying; I am only afraid of dying without value. Since the Ley Line Shackles are rooted in every part of my body, I can no longer use the Resurrection Spell—at least, using it before the shackles are completely severed is meaningless for me.
Only the loss of the physical body can expose the connection between the Ley Line Shackles and my essence.
But there is still a major problem: having no body means having no vessel to carry my soul. Without a vessel and the five senses, there is no channel to contact or perceive the world. The void I experience every time I die is formed precisely because I lose the channel for information exchange with the outside world.
Is it truly impossible to perceive the world without a body?
No... one thing clearly told me otherwise. Even without a physical body in reality to carry their consciousness, they can still observe this world through dreams—especially here, where the dream and reality overlap.
The Dream Demons.
So... the dreamscape can also carry consciousness... But can it carry an independent soul?
How does it carry it?
Perhaps I need a Dream Demon, just as I studied the Nightmares before to derive the Primitive Rune Ritual and eventually summarize it into Nightmare Spells.
Then I can similarly summarize Dream Demon Spells through a Dream Demon...
Even if I can't quite manage that, it's fine. I only need to prove one thing: whether the dreamscape can carry my soul after I lose my physical shell and provide me with a channel to perceive the world.
But... there is a very serious problem now. I killed all those Dream Demons...
No, there’s still hope. There are still Dream Demons at the Beyonder Research Base that I didn't have time to deal with. Although those Dream Demons seem to be mere defective products, they can travel between dreams and reality, and that is enough.
I am confident that with the support of Luck, the Great Wisdom Enlightenment Art, Spirit Vision, the Memory Bookshelf spellbook, the Unity of Knowledge and Action, and Practical Learning, I can transform their talents into spells I can master.
Without realizing it... I’ve suddenly acquired so many means of learning...
But it’s not enough. It’s far from enough. As long as I can be hindered by a difficulty for even a moment, it is not enough.
At this moment, my greed was on full display.
"Hmm? Looks like I don't need to run all the way back to the base."
Just as I was preparing to leave, I caught sight of a figure. It was the very Dream Demon who had brought the Transcendent Item underground earlier. It really was the right choice not to kill her back then!
Once I locked onto this Dream Demon, she stared right back at me. After all, she had stayed behind hoping to see that Blackstone Great Demon crush her enemy.
The Blackstone Great Demon had indeed "crushed" me several times as she wished, but the creature clearly lacked brains, and in the end, I kept resurrecting.
"Don't... don't come any closer! Aaaah!"
"It's okay! It won't hurt. It's not like I'm going to kill you~" I flashed her a "kind" smile. To run into her at a time like this—it really was my lucky day!
"As long as you cooperate obediently, I guarantee your life won't be in danger. If you don't cooperate, well, I can't make any promises."
I grabbed her. To understand her innate talent—the ability to travel between reality and dreams—I naturally needed her to constantly demonstrate it for my observation.
More importantly, I wanted to understand how she used the dreamscape as a vessel for her consciousness and through what channel her consciousness received information from the outside world.
Once this problem is solved, I can formally attempt to sever the Ley Line Shackles. Isn't that the whole point of this trip?
Everything is for the sake of escaping the script as soon as possible. For that, I am willing to pay any price.