Chapter 165: Something Was Definitely Very Wrong
The Art of Blending All could also combine and piece together various things to create something new. For example, it could fuse a peach tree and a pear tree to create a peach-pear tree. After some time, this new tree could bear pears that tasted like peaches or peaches that tasted like pears.
It could even fuse animals within the pocket dimension to create new species. However, the results were highly random; the creation could be an extraordinary creature or an abomination.
Moreover, the first generation of these hybrids could not leave the pocket dimension. Otherwise, they would instantly split apart. Only the second-generation hybrids could safely be brought outside.
For instance, the original peach-pear tree itself could not leave the pocket dimension. But after it bore fruit, a new peach-pear tree grown from its seeds could be brought out. The same applied to other fused creations.
Just as Yu Xian was about to move on to the six divine abilities he had yet to explore, his phone rang. He took it out and answered. On the other end, Yu Lie informed him that they could begin the next phase of the plan.
Yu Xian ended the call, created a potworld bubble, and passed through it, instantly returning to his original size. Then he took out the red jade tablet and inserted it into his wristband. An unimaginably vast torrent of chaotic thoughts flooded into his consciousness, as though countless people were chanting inside his head.
First was the voice of a middle-aged woman.
—May our country be blessed with favorable weather, and may everyone remain safe and sound!
A young man's voice cut in.
—Muttering about in circles in the middle of the day? How tiresome.
A dispirited marmot murmured to itself.
—The authorities aren't planning to refine us into pills, are they?
A little girl prayed.
—I hope Mommy comes back. I hope Daddy gets better soon.
Even with Super Brain, Yu Xian got a splitting headache from the jumble of voices. He wanted to complain. This is supposed to be conviction? These are clearly just random thoughts!
However, the red jade tablet glowed, which meant these chaotic thoughts really were what everyone was thinking at that moment. Calling them convictions was, at least technically, not entirely wrong.
Yu Xian could now also perceive countless golden lines stretching across the sky, each terminating at a stone stele. These stone steles were foundations, only on an enormous scale.
Under the original National Pocket Dimension Project, the country had planned to draw upon geothermal energy to activate the stone steles, extract a vast amount of spatial energy from the world, and transfer all of Huaxia into a pocket dimension.
However, since no one knew just how powerful a Star-rank expert was, Li Zhangzong had modified the design by adding the collective thoughts of the entire population to the original plan. This would allow the pocket dimension to evolve into a pseudo-small world. Any creature that did not belong to this small world would find it extremely difficult to pinpoint its location.
Even if an intruder managed to find it and tried to force their way inside, they would be assaulted by the collective thoughts of the people, their mind overwhelmed by a billion different thoughts. Of course, if even that failed, then there was truly nothing more they could do.
Yu Xian appeared beneath one of the cities. When he pressed the hand wearing the wristband against the stone stele, countless thoughts surged toward it. Tiny tadpole-like characters rapidly filled the golden patterns covering the stele.
The endless torrent of chaotic thoughts flowed through his body like a raging river before pouring into the stele. After he had transferred a batch of the chaotic thoughts, he immediately felt a fresh wave surge into his mind. This new batch was entirely different from the previous one.
Naturally, Yu Xian and the other two spatial users could not bear the chaotic thoughts of billions of people all on their own. Across countless military bases, large numbers of soldiers wore wristbands fitted with lower-grade blue jade tablets, silently enduring the collective thoughts of the populace.
They effectively served as relay stations, temporarily taking on a portion of a city's thoughts. Whenever the supply of thoughts within the three spatial users ran dry, the soldiers would transmit more to them.
Thanks to Super Brain, Yu Xian possessed an exceptionally high tolerance. After filling one stele, he teleported to the next and continued channeling the collective thoughts of the populace into it. But Mystic Light and Scarlet Kite were both in poor condition.
Mystic Light's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts. To maintain his self-awareness, he repeatedly carved into the flesh of his thigh with a knife, then seared the wounds with fire to prevent himself from bleeding out. Enduring the excruciating pain, he gritted his teeth and continued channeling the collective thoughts into the stone steles.
Scarlet Kite was in bigger trouble. Although she could teleport, each teleportation had a limited range, so traveling from one city to another took her roughly ten minutes. Her mind was already overwhelmed by chaotic thoughts, yet she still had to calculate spatial coordinates. Due to the strain, blood seeped out of her eyes and nose. After channeling the collective thoughts into five stone steles, she collapsed on the way to the next city.
Once she fell, the rate of transfer of thoughts slowed considerably. For a large number of soldiers, there was nowhere for the mental burden they carried to go, and they began collapsing as well.
Across city after city throughout the country, countless people waited inside formations prepared in advance. None of them knew what was happening, and that was precisely the kind of conviction Li Zhangzong needed: thoughts without a clear direction or purpose. If the thoughts consisted of only anger or other negative emotions, their lack of variety would actually make them less destructive.
They did not need to be especially aggressive. What mattered was diversity. The more chaotic and varied the thoughts were, the greater their power became.
Thanks to the efforts of Yu Xian and Mystic Light, the stone steles in more and more cities were activated. Golden lines of light spread across the sky, weaving an enormous network.
The stone steles already infused with the collective thoughts of the populace radiated golden light as they rapidly absorbed spatial energy. An invisible barrier slowly descended from the sky, enveloping the land below.
At River City, a vampire stood wrapped from head to toe in lightproof clothing. A mask covered his face, with dark lenses concealing his eyes. He looked up at the sky, vaguely sensing that something was wrong. Although the barrier itself was colorless and odorless, anyone with even the slightest sensitivity to space could detect the abnormality overhead.
After some consideration, he cautiously used a device to contact one of the dukes serving the progenitor of the Blood Race. A moment later, Duke Doss's voice came from an earring.
—What is it?
The vampire hurriedly said, "Your Grace, Huaxia appears to be preparing something. Something seems to be wrong with the sky."
—Ignore them. Once the progenitor successfully advances, this world will ultimately belong to the Blood Race. Hmph! Dragons, elves, dwarves, titans, all of them will submit to us.
Duke Doss paid no attention whatsoever to the report. His mind was filled with fantasies of the Blood Race ruling the Blue Planet. When that day came, he would drink one cup of elven blood and pour another away. He would drink one cup of titan blood and waste two more. Synthetic blood? Is that even fit for a member of the Blood Race?
The vampire was about to say more, but the duke had already severed the connection. He looked back up at the sky, his lips twitching. He desperately wanted to say that something was definitely very wrong.