The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

The Mental Shock that erupted from the Crimson Heart came too quickly, too suddenly.

The terrifying spiritual contamination had reached a point where it could affect reality. If any creature of flesh and blood were here, it would be instantly mutated into one of Gundas' Dogs.

Whether by design or coincidence, the area surrounding the Crimson Heart was filled with metal Wizard Instruments and the metal flooring of the workbench. There was absolutely no flesh-and-blood material present.

Only Wang Ya himself bore the greatest risk, his pupils reflecting the subtle, ripple-like fluctuations.

The various Wizard Instruments failed in an instant. The energy transmission in the circuits was restricted, and the lights in the sealed laboratory began to flicker.

"Warning, unknown powerful Spiritual Power impact detected. Warning, unknown powerful Spiritual Power impact detected. This Spiritual Power poses an extreme hidden danger and will cause an incalculable amount of spiritual contamination. The Wizard inside the laboratory is advised to evacuate immediately..."

The voice of the Tower Spirit echoed, repeating itself continuously. The lights fittingly switched to a piercing crimson color.

A strange smile appeared on Wang Ya's lips, as if he had anticipated this situation. A slender, pale hand slowly emerged from under his sleeve and made a gentle grasping motion toward the Evil God's Heart.

The hidden Illusory Dream Seed activated at this moment. The Dream Gap descended. Warped, colorful lines filled and replaced the laboratory. The ground beneath his feet transformed into soil from which all sorts of plants, branches, and leaves grew and pressed inward upside down.

If a Dream Wizard were to observe from outside the Ancient Castle, they would discover that a corner of the Dream Realm had descended, enveloping Wang Ya's laboratory and the surrounding buildings.

POP! POP! POP!

Large amounts of rainbow-colored foam formed around Wang Ya, gradually filling every corner of the laboratory.

The force of the impact from the Evil God's Heart shattered the bubbles of foam one by one, causing them to burst into seven-colored ripples, with white being the most predominant color among them.

Actually, that wasn't quite accurate. Within the seven-colored ripples, there were even more complex and countless other colors. Just looking at their complexity was enough to make one's heart feel heavy and agitated.

Within the ripples were scenes—some beautiful, others cruel and cold... These were all Dream Realms woven by Wang Ya. This was also where his chosen Wizard Path as a Dream Wizard differed from that of an Illusory Dream Wizard.

The spiritual contamination was completely absorbed by the Dream Foam; it didn't even touch the hem of Wang Ya's clothes.

Wang Ya knew the danger involved. It took a full sixty percent of his Dream Foam to neutralize the Mental Shock.

However, Wang Ya also achieved his goal: he had captured a fragment of the Gendas Evil God's will.

'The heart is physical, representing reality, while consciousness and will are illusory... The Gendas Evil God's unique nature might be understood by researching it from this angle.'

The laboratory's interior was now completely filled with Dream Foam. A seven-colored radiance emanated from within it, reflecting on Wang Ya's pale cheeks.

The Dream Gap slowly vanished, and the extension of his Dream Territory retracted back into the Dream World.

In his palm, a single, seven-colored, floating bubble had coalesced. Something inside seemed to be jumping up and down, trying to break out.

But this seemingly fragile bubble was incredibly tough. No matter how it was struck, causing its surface to deform, no cracks or breaches appeared.

"Sweet dreams and nightmares are all separated by a single thought. But no matter how powerful a person is, their yearning for beauty never stops."

Wang Ya stared at the Dream Foam in his hand and remarked wistfully, "Be it an Evil God or a Wizard, as long as they have thoughts and desires, they cannot escape the entanglement of the Dream Foam."

This was the High-tier Witchcraft Wang Ya had created—Dream Foam.

It could neutralize attacks on a spiritual level. Each bubble of Dream Foam was a Dream Realm woven by Wang Ya. Their durability varied, depending on how much time and Dream Power Wang Ya had invested in them.

The most powerful Dream Foam could withstand a Spiritual Witchcraft attack on the level of High-tier Witchcraft.

It could also be combined with other Dream Witchcraft created by Wang Ya to achieve various effects and abilities.

After eight years of creation and improvement by Wang Ya, the original Witchcraft Schools, both Dream Witchcraft and Elemental Witchcraft, had undergone significant changes.

From Low-tier Witchcraft to High-tier Witchcraft, he had sorted through and improved them time and again, until they were finally perfected and flawless.

[Dream Witchcraft: Nightmare Witchcraft School]

[High-tier Witchcraft: Dream Foam, Dream Territory, Illusionary Thought Transformation]

[Middle-tier Witchcraft: Dream Bubble, Dream Shadow Replacement, Dream-Shattering Kill]

[Low-tier Witchcraft: Exorcism, Dream Body, Dream Observation...]

...

[Elemental Witchcraft: Flame Demon Witchcraft School]

[High-tier Witchcraft: Sun Flame Steaming Kill, Burning Fire Attachment, Flaming Sun Fire Clothing]

[Middle-tier Witchcraft: Flame Demon Doppelganger, Super High-Temperature Cluster Particle Wave.]

[Low-tier Witchcraft: Fear-Burning Fire...]

As for Combined Witchcraft, Wang Ya had further refined it, making the coordination and linking between spells smoother and faster.

Spells such as Heart Dream Fire and Celestial Fire Illusion Body now had subsequent transformations and variations.

...

That the Evil God's Heart contained a portion of the Evil God's consciousness and will... Wang Ya had discovered this through his Dream Sense right after he advanced to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

The entity had kept it hidden, clearly intending to lull him into a false sense of security before erupting at a specific moment.

So, Wang Ya decided to play along.

The current outcome was the best possible one: he had successfully captured a fragment of the Evil God's consciousness.

As for whether it had a soul, Wang Ya couldn't be certain. After all, an Evil God was different from a human, and different from any ordinary life form.

It would require further research from Wang Ya.

The laboratory returned to its original state. After its inherent Evil God consciousness was extracted, the activity of the Crimson Heart inside the glass case significantly decreased. Its tentacles no longer thrashed wildly; instead, they were exceptionally still.

Only when Wang Ya placed his palm on the glass did it elicit an instinctive reaction, one akin to a desire to devour.

[Target: Evil God's Heart]

[Estimated Analysis Time: 10 years]

Wang Ya focused both analysis targets on the Evil God's Heart, and the analysis time indeed changed.

[Dual Analysis in Progress. Estimated Analysis Time: 6 years]

Compared to the analysis time of hundreds of years required when he first obtained the Evil God's Heart, six years was not that long.

The Eye of Truth was also growing along with Wang Ya's knowledge and Power.

His gaze fell upon the Dream Foam in his hand. With its consciousness now stripped away, the Evil God's Heart had perhaps lost all control.

Like a body that had lost its soul, it was now like a walking corpse.

However, the inherent activity and status of the Evil God's Heart prevented its physical form from gradually dying just because it had lost its soul.

The difficulty of the analysis had been greatly reduced.

Wang Ya had another way to deal with the Evil God's spiritual consciousness. He could even use this method to obtain the Gendas Evil God's memories and peer into its secrets.

According to the records, Evil Gods like Gendas all existed in the Outer Space, which corresponded to the Wizard World's Inner World.

Beyond the Wizard World was the vast, Endless Void Sea, which was home to many Void Sea Monsters.

'Illusion and reality...' A thoughtful look flashed in Wang Ya's eyes. 'If my guess is correct, the Outer Space has an illusory nature, just like the Wizard World's Inner World.'

Wang Ya wasn't entirely clear on the specifics. These were matters that only beings at the level of Official Wizards would consider and research.

"Oh well. Let me see what secrets you're hiding, Gendas."

Wang Ya's Pupil shone with a white luster, gradually reflecting a white light. His figure flickered in and out of existence, fluctuating between illusion and reality.

The bubble of Dream Foam in his hand suddenly expanded, enveloping Wang Ya's entire body.

From having to flee pathetically when he first faced the Gendas Evil God, to now confronting it directly, studying its consciousness fragments and Evil God Origin... Wang Ya's feelings were complicated, but also tinged with a certain excitement.

This was a moment that countless Wizards could never even imagine.

An Evil God, a true Evil God, was on his, Wang Ya's, dissection table, for him to personally analyze and unearth its secrets.

If it were one of those old fossils obsessed with researching all things unknown, they would probably be howling with excitement, eager to devour the Evil God's Heart on the spot.

...

「On an Altar in an unknown underground location」

The remaining one-fifth of Gendas's origin was stored inside a giant, metallic canine statue.

The entire body was forged from a special metal, but its head was living flesh and blood, with a mass of writhing, fleshy tendrils.

A full-scale Blood Pool had been created.

A great number of grim skeletons tumbled about with fresh flesh and blood in the Blood Pool. The fleshy tendrils on the head plunged directly into the Blood Pool, beginning to absorb Biological Energy and any souls present.

To survive the Wizards' pursuit, Gendas had been forced to take a desperate measure, consuming most of its origin to mislead them.

It saved this last portion of its origin to stage a comeback.

'As long as I take it slow, consuming bit by bit, I will eventually be able to replenish my lost origin.'

To avoid attracting the Wizards' attention, it hid in this Futu Kingdom, and even performed some so-called miracles.

It didn't dare to cultivate any more Gundas' Dogs. A massacre had occurred once before, and Gendas felt a lingering fear from it.

"It's been twenty years. I've continuously devoured so much life, yet I still haven't recovered much of my origin. I'm afraid it will take thousands of years to replenish what I lost."

At this thought, an indescribable rage surged within Gendas. Malice filled the entire underground palace, and the flames burning on the Altar went out one by one.

'It was all caused by that damned thief! Otherwise, so many Wizards wouldn't have come after me.'

'All Wizards must die!!'

But then he thought of the thief's current fate and became happy again.

Thinking of the best part, he couldn't help but let out a laugh that sounded like "WOOF WOOF WOOF."

'Every part of my Evil God Origin is a fusion of my flesh, consciousness, and even my soul.'

'It's as if a complete version of me had a part of it taken away.'

As the Gendas of this individual part, he could naturally sense and influence the other part of Gendas to some extent.

"Thief, your greed will cost you."

Gendas didn't believe the thief was capable of resisting his spiritual contamination. He had already lost his connection to that individual part of Gendas.

'The Conscious Soul Power I expended was everything, carrying all my fury and hatred... That thief has probably already been contaminated and transformed into a part of Gendas.'

'Even if he hasn't been transformed, the contamination is absolute. It will alter the thief's very essence at the genetic and cellular level.'

'This is an irreversible, dual contamination of both body and spirit.'

'His Wizard Path has been severed by me. His only options are to serve Gendas wholeheartedly and throw himself into the Blood and Flesh Divine Kingdom of the God of Gendas.'

Suddenly, the statue on the Altar trembled slightly. Cracks even began to appear on its metal surface.

An indescribable pain emanated from the depths of Gendas's soul, as if someone were digging into his brain with a knife.

But this pain was even more severe, as if his soul was being stretched inch by inch, torn apart, and observed under a magnifying glass... Terror, unease, and anger—a myriad of emotions arose in Gendas's heart.

"Damn it, what the hell is happening?! Could something have happened to my main body? Was it attacked by another Evil God?"

"The soul of Gendas is being devoured! Why is this happening? My senses can't be wrong. What on earth has gone wrong?"