Chapter 957: Nightmare Workshop
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 957: Nightmare Workshop
Since the spatial channel Sister Bai tore open wasn't a fixed teleportation point, no one was there to greet us the moment we arrived.
However, it didn't matter. I had already informed Ninglan Qiuyue beforehand that her secretary, Lan Ke, would receive us once we entered Ninglan New City.
Originally, Ninglan Qiuyue had intended to come personally, but I talked her out of it.
After all, Ninglan Qiuyue was now a City Lord with plenty of matters to attend to. There was no need for her to waste so much time on someone like me, whose arrival time and location were so unpredictable.
Most of the people Millian brought along had been here during the last opening of the Expansion Realm.
Even so, after some time had passed, the development of Ninglan New City still left them wide-eyed with wonder.
The Expansion Realm was developing at high speed; one could say it changed almost every single day.
"Scholar Xiao Han, Mentor Bai Yu, and everyone else—welcome to Ninglan New City." Lan Ke hurried forward with warm concern the moment she saw our group.
She had learned from the City Lord that Scholar Xiao Han was visiting again, which had genuinely surprised her—and, of course, delighted her.
Under Lan Ke’s enthusiastic guidance, we arrived once more at Ninglan Township Castle.
Ninglan Qiuyue regarded us as VIPs, so a grand reception was naturally in order.
However, Sister Bai and I had only come to the Expansion Realm for some leisure and relaxation. After meeting Ninglan Qiuyue and exchanging a few pleasantries, I let her and Millian begin their formal negotiations.
Even though official business was pressing, Ninglan Qiuyue repeatedly offered to introduce several guides familiar with the Ninglan Territory to lead us through the rapidly developing region. In the end, we politely declined.
Although I didn't know much about the professional business discussions that followed, I could tell from my conversations with Millian that Ninglan New City was currently feeling a bit overwhelmed.
As the core region of the Expansion Realm, the Witch Academy held high expectations for it. It was the city responsible for interfacing with the various shelters across the Expansion Realm.
To be a leader, one had to shoulder the responsibility first. Even if Ninglan New City wasn't the only city in the Ninglan Territory, the fact that it bore the "Ninglan" prefix meant it had to serve as a lighthouse for the entire Expansion Realm.
And being a lighthouse... was no easy task.
After a polite farewell to Ninglan Qiuyue and the others, Sister Bai and I departed.
As for our accommodations in the Expansion Realm, those had been arranged long ago.
The news of our arrival hadn't been widely broadcast. As Sister Bai said, since the people of the Expansion Realm had placed me on a pedestal, the best way to maintain that relationship was to keep a certain distance.
"Sister Bai~ I heard Ninglan New City has developed the underground district as well. Why don't we go take a look?"
Walking down the street, I spoke up as I spotted a unique building in the distance.
That building was the location of the elevators connecting the upper Ninglan New City to the underground district.
I remembered that the underground district housed a massive, exposed section of the World Ley Line. When the Expansion Realm was being repaired, the breach in this World Ley Line had served as the anchor for the restoration.
"Sure~" Sister Bai fell into a brief moment of reminiscence as she looked at the building. Back when Ninglan New City was first established, she had been one of the outsiders here too.
She had many memories of this underground district, including witnessing different forms of the "ordinary" and the diversity of humanity. Every bit of it seemed closely linked to her own advancement to the Transcendent level.
As we drew closer, we realized the place had become an open tourist attraction with ticket sales.
The underground district used to be the main site for the Beyonder Research Base, but since it was now open to the public, the place for researching cutting-edge Beyonder techniques had likely moved elsewhere long ago.
I wondered what had become of the Beyonder Research Association, that former grassroots interest group. Regardless, anyone who touched upon Beyonder techniques had likely been absorbed into the official ranks of Ninglan Township Castle.
After purchasing tickets, Sister Bai led me into the elevator, blending in inconspicuously.
The place had changed significantly. Take this elevator, for instance—I remembered it used to run on inscribed sigil techniques. Now, it appeared to be driven by a connection to the Power Network and controlled by the Root Network. It was a branch application achieved through a combination of Rune and Sigil techniques.
I had to admit, the Expansion Realm’s use of Beyonder techniques was incredibly syncretic.
Perhaps it was because the influences they received were simply too vast.
But as the saying goes, use whatever is convenient. Are Beyonder techniques meant to be so inflexible?
The Expansion Realm's Beyonder techniques were still in their infancy, so a bit of a mess was normal. Once they reached a certain stage, a genius would eventually emerge to unify them all, forming a cohesive style of inclusive Beyonder techniques unique to the Expansion Realm.
For a moment, I felt like I understood that sensation.
If I were to unify these chaotic techniques, I could certainly do it, but it would consume my precious time, so I wouldn't.
Since a developer would inevitably appear from a developmental perspective, why should I be greedy for these domains?
I used to think that the more powerful a Witch was, the closer she came to being omnipotent. But now I realized that the closer a Witch came to omnipotence, the less likely she was to do everything herself.
One only needed to toss a seed into fertile soil with the right environment, and a towering tree would grow naturally!
Looking back from my current perspective, the basic Runes I had taught without much thought had already been integrated into the Expansion Realm's Sigil system, evolving into specialized Beyonder Sigil techniques.
The Power Network and Root Network went without saying.
The world of plant technology that had once been invaded by the Game World had now planted its Omni-Link Main Network Tree into the Game World's home soil.
Such changes were truly stirring.
Once the elevator descended to a certain depth, the full view of the underground district came into sight.
Amidst the gasps of the people around me, my gaze fell upon that massive Ley Line.
This Ley Line was vastly different from before. The rhythmic pulses of Ley Line energy even released illusions of vibrant vitality.
It was no longer "withered" as it once was; the sheer volume of Ley Line energy blurred its visible boundaries.
This breathtaking scene... I was willing to call it the pulse of the world!
The tourists browsing alongside Sister Bai and me let out exclamations of wonder before immediately snapping photos or whispering prayers.
Supposedly, there was a rumor that making a wish toward this world miracle had a chance of coming true, or might even allow one to glimpse scenes of the future.
Because of this, it had become a popular "check-in" spot for many tourists.
While I didn't like to ruin such beautiful stories, these rumors were indeed far-fetched. Most likely, some tourist had accidentally come into contact with the Ley Line's information radiation, reflecting specific memories stored within the Ley Line to form those images.
Amidst this scenery, Sister Bai gently pressed against my back, her hands resting on my shoulders. She tilted her head and whispered in my ear, "Xiao Han~ do you want to take a photo as a souvenir?"
"Sure~" Once I agreed, I tossed all those rational analyses out of my mind.
At this moment, there was no "high-precision Ley Line energy convergence channel" before me—only a magnificent miracle radiating brilliant light.
As if to allow the sightseers more time to admire the view, the elevator slowed its descent during this stretch.
I held up my hands, forming two "L" shapes to frame a shot centered on Sister Bai and me.
Then, the moment was frozen in time.
"How's this one?"
"Looks pretty good~ Want to try another pose?"
"How about this?" I pulled back one hand and flashed a peace sign.
"Xiao Han, you really lack experience with selfies~" Sister Bai smiled faintly, seemingly accepting the fact that my selfie skills were subpar.
"Then what should I do?"
"You should... do this!" As Sister Bai spoke, she took advantage of the moment the photo was taken to pinch my cheek!
"Wha—?!"
* * *
This continued for three days.
Sister Bai and I visited several places in the Ninglan Territory. Even so, according to the travel guides on the Plant Network connected via the Root Network, there were still many places we hadn't seen.
But we didn't plan to rush.
After all, we weren't traveling just to check boxes. Visiting multiple places in a short time isn't "traveling"—without the sediment of enjoyment and leisure, how can one truly feel beauty?
Rushing in and rushing out is a "spending trip," not a "relaxation trip."
During this time, Sister Bai also accompanied me to the former Calamity Shelter. Even now, this incredibly developed city hadn't changed its old name.
Here, I returned to the Omni-Link Main Network Tree Laboratory. Although this wasn't the largest Omni-Link Main Network Tree in the Expansion Realm, it was the very first one. The laboratory beneath it held great commemorative significance.
The Witch sisters in the lab rarely set aside their work, but they did so to welcome my arrival.
After all, the establishment of this lab was closely tied to me. Even now, the lab remained dedicated to developing the Omni-Link Main Network Tree, using it as a core to constantly enrich the Root and Power Networks.
The value of the Omni-Link Main Network Tree system was immense. Once the system matured, as long as one had seeds modified with this special technique, the system could rapidly spread across a world.
The families in the Core World used to worry that the Witch Academy would use violent means to restructure their worlds.
However... I had to admit, the Witch Academy indeed hadn't given up on that idea.
In several places outside the Academy, pilot programs for the Omni-Link Main Network Tree were already underway in the Core World.
Three days had passed.
Millian had purchased a plot of land for me on the outskirts of the Ninglan Territory.
Or rather, it was a piece of land gifted by Ninglan New City. Even though it was quite remote, Millian had completed everything according to my requirements.
This included the planning and construction of the factory area. To ensure it met my needs, one of my clones had accompanied Millian.
The reason these requirements were met so quickly was primarily because... the funding was sufficient.
That, and the development of professions on the Power Network.
Since I had stepped back, the Beyonder professions on the Power Network had been developing continuously. They were no longer limited to combat roles.
Professions like "Architect" had emerged, and under Architect, various infrastructure specializations were further divided, even down to specific labor types.
With Architects who mastered the Beyonder techniques of the Power Network, completing the framework of a factory in three days was no difficult feat.
They didn't even need large-scale engineering machinery.
Beyonder power was just that magical.
If ordinary people were to do it, a factory would take at least a dozen, if not dozens, of months from construction to production.
But Beyonder techniques were a matter of sheer power overcoming all obstacles.
Although this was just the factory framework and the equipment for large-scale preparation of Dream State Soul Essence hadn't been hand-crafted yet, a three-day progress rate was still enough to leave me in awe.
"Sister Xiao Han, I wonder what name you'd like to give this place? It will make it easier for us to handle the subsequent filings and paperwork," Millian asked.
"Hmm... a factory that purifies nightmares and prepares Dream State Soul Essence... let's just call it the Nightmare Workshop." Since this factory involved derivative techniques from the Great Spellbook, it was destined not to have a large staff.
"Workshop... Oh! Got it!"
Millian found the name a bit odd, but she agreed immediately.
Though she felt calling such a massive place a "workshop" was somewhat inappropriate, if Sister Xiao Han wanted to call it that, she had absolutely no problem with it!
After all, "workshop" originally referred to a small-scale manual production unit—usually a workplace consisting of one master and a few apprentices.
Millian didn't quite know what this factory was for. If she knew more—if she understood concepts like the Purification Method and Dream State Soul Essence—she would realize that no matter how large the site was, finding even one "apprentice" who knew the Nightmare Purification Method would be impossible. Not even a Transcendent Witch could do it.
Therefore, the only person who could make this factory run... was me.
How could that not be considered a small workshop?
"Right. Next, have those Architects leave my factory. Don't let any unauthorized people stay here. Afterward, go to the Omni-Link Main Network Tree Lab and file a report; I will be taking over the Root Network and Power Network permissions for this area."
"Understood. Is there anything else you need, Sister Xiao Han?"
"Nothing for now. That's all. If there are any issues, I'll contact you directly," I said.
Technically, the Expansion Realm belonged to the Witch Academy now. The Omni-Link Main Network Tree Lab was the core that led the Expansion Realm's Root and Power Networks. Usually, they handled maintenance, updates, and permission allocations.
Since the rules were set, even if I had special privileges, there was no need to make trouble for my fellow Witches. I didn't want to become a nuisance to them.
My reason for taking over the networks in this area was for absolute autonomy.
My subsequent actions—clones hand-crafting equipment and so on—all needed to interface with the Power Network. The Root Network connection was for building the unmanned and automated framework.
After Millian left, Sister Bai returned from a walk around the area, looking like she was on a tour.
"Xiao Han, speaking of which, you haven't told Dean Mei the actual purpose of this factory you're opening, have you?"
"Eh? I haven't?"
"Have you? If I recall correctly, you just used the excuse of making money to brush it off. If this place gets built, what you'll be earning won't just be money." Sister Bai said with a smile.
This factory was going to produce Dream State Soul Essence!
One could say that any Transcendent Witch currently involved in the study of the Primitive Dream Realm would surely spend a massive amount of rare resources just for a single glob of pure Dream State Soul Essence!