Chapter 26: The Gate to the World
Night.
The rooftop of Observatory Building No. 3.
Xia Feng stood at the edge of the rooftop, facing a gentle breeze, and checked the time.
7:01 PM.
He had arrived more than two hours early. Not only had Mu Qingtong not set any traps, but she was also late!
“What is this guy doing?” Xia Feng looked up and cautiously scanned the dark surroundings. He felt speechless. Why would they choose a rooftop for trading a Boundless Stone?
Didn’t he know this was the place where people were most likely to die?
7:03 PM.
[You escaped the pursuit of three Holy Department agents and gained a deeper understanding of the Stealth Spirit Robe.]
[After subconsciously contemplating, you modified the Stealth Spirit Robe.]
[Standing behind Xia Feng and conducting experiments, you completely learned how to be completely invisible in the dark.]
“???”
Xia Feng’s neck stiffened. He casually tilted his head as if nothing had happened.
In his peripheral vision, the area behind him was shrouded in darkness, with no sign of anyone.
[Xia Feng vaguely perceived something unusual, so he hid behind a wall and contemplated for a moment. You then further refined the loopholes in the Stealth Spirit Robe.]
Xia Feng: “…”
“Swish—”
At this moment, a tearing sound echoed through the night sky. Xia Feng looked up warily, only to see three men in abyssal black uniforms.
The black-gold insignia on the left chest of their uniforms identified them: Holy Department agents.
The Holy Department was the official law enforcement agency established by the Empire specifically to handle supernatural events within its borders.
The three Holy Department agents hovered in the air, scanning their surroundings. They quickly spotted Xia Feng on the rooftop.
With a flash, they appeared before him.
The middle-aged man leading them spoke kindly, “Student, have you seen anyone acting suspiciously?”
Xia Feng: “Acting suspiciously?”
“A person wearing a red robe and a black Red Spade Mask?”
Red Spade Mask? Xia Feng guessed it was Mu Qingtong. He blinked and shook his head blankly, “Didn’t see anyone~”
The middle-aged man nodded, not suspecting anything further. But as he turned to leave, his footsteps suddenly halted. He looked back sharply, his gaze piercing, “What are you doing alone on the rooftop?”
Xia Feng pointed to the old observation telescope nearby, blinked, and said seriously, “I’m researching the ‘Theory of Interdependence between the Astral Realm, Nightmare Realm, and Real World.’ This is the only observatory where one can freely observe the Astral Realm.”
“Agent, I’m not breaking any laws, am I?”
The middle-aged man’s gaze instantly softened. He coughed, “Hmm, you’re not breaking the law. Please continue.”
However, Xia Feng then asked, “Agent, are you pursuing Nightmare Beasts? Have Nightmare Beasts entered the academy?”
The middle-aged man waved his hand, signaling his two subordinates to continue searching to the south. He then took out a detector and waved it around the sky, explaining, “It’s not a Nightmare Beast, but a spirit science criminal.”
“A spirit science criminal?”
“Do you know Blood Calamity Street?
The space in that area is unstable, often with Nightmare Beasts intruding into the Real World and Calamity Eaters running rampant. It’s extremely chaotic. This scoundrel codenamed Red Spade is often seen in Blood Calamity Street, killing indiscriminately. Whether it’s a member of the Nightmare Clan, a Calamity Eater, a Spirit Master, or even some common people, they have all fallen victim to this person. Their targets have no discernible pattern.”
“However, one thing is certain: everyone who died at their hands had their souls extracted, obviously for some inhumane experiment.”
As he spoke, the middle-aged man’s tone grew slightly heavier, his teeth gritted, clearly filled with hatred for this spirit science criminal.
“It’s been half a year since this scoundrel’s last crime. I thought they had given up on their experiments, but I didn’t expect this guy to resurface today! And committing a crime in broad daylight! How arrogant!”
Xia Feng: “…”
“You agree, right?” the talkative middle-aged uncle asked, seemingly seeking confirmation.
“Ah? Yes!”
Xia Feng nodded seriously, indignant, “Arrogant! Too arrogant! If I ever catch such a heartless and evil person, I will— I will make her cry until she calls me ‘Dad’!”
“?” The middle-aged uncle looked at Xia Feng strangely. Was this a new interrogation technique for the younger generation? Quite perverted.
He shook his head and put down the detector. “Alright, this spirit science criminal has escaped into the academy. I will inform your academy’s higher-ups about this matter. Be careful yourself.”
With that, the middle-aged man stomped his foot and leaped directly onto the roof of the opposite building. With another jump, he disappeared after a few bounds.
Phew~~~ Xia Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at his watch.
7:08 PM.
Seeing this, he muttered softly, “Really, I’ll wait two more minutes for her. If she’s still not here, I’m leaving.”
One minute and fifty seconds later.
Distinct footsteps sounded from behind him. Xia Feng didn’t turn around but stared at the moonlit sky with his hands behind his back, “You’re here.”
“?” Mu Qingtong’s footsteps stopped. “Sorry, I was a bit late due to some matters. Here’s two grams of Boundless Stone, take it.”
!
As she spoke, she casually tossed it.
“!” Xia Feng was so startled that he abandoned his pose and quickly turned to catch the box.
Really, this woman always liked to do things unexpectedly. Xia Feng gently flipped open the lid to reveal a small gap. Two small stones, emitting a dazzling black-gold light, lay quietly in the box. One of them was faintly emanating a weak red glow.
“This box cannot prevent quantification. The one emitting red light has a lifespan of three hours, and the other has a month. It’s recommended to use them as soon as possible, otherwise, they might quantify into an unobservable quantum body and disappear.”
The black-dressed woman dropped this sentence, waved her hand, and turned to leave.
“I have other things to attend to, I’m leaving now.”
Xia Feng watched the woman’s decisive retreating figure, stunned for a moment, then reacted, “Only three hours left? Hey! This is too much of a rip-off!”
The black-dressed woman’s figure vanished. Xia Feng could only grumble, cursed, and quickly closed the box after the appraisal.
Boundless Stone was a very mysterious substance. Without special storage measures, it would gradually self-quantify and enter the legendary quantum dimension, which was what Mu Qingtong had referred to as quantification.
Quantified Boundless Stones could not be observed by the Real World, making them equivalent to disappearing.
This was why Mu Qingtong had urged him to use them quickly.
“No time to waste!”
After some thought, Xia Feng waited a few more minutes, ensuring Mu Qingtong wasn’t secretly watching from the shadows. He then quickly went downstairs, found an empty laboratory, locked the door, and pushed aside the tables and chairs.
The summoning materials were laid out on the tiled floor.
Xia Feng dripped faded ink and zebra fish blood into a beaker. Once the liquid boiled, he poured in powder from the World Tree branches and the Dragon God’s Spirit Particle, stirred, let it cool for a minute until it turned into a fiery red magma-like fluid, then bit his thumb, and pressed the pad of his thumb onto the fluid.
Instantly, the fluid adhered to and enveloped his thumb, and white mist continuously rose into the air.
Xia Feng frowned, enduring the stinging pain, and quickly etched a formation on the ground, up and down, left and right, baba.
Finally, a flame-red pattern suddenly unfolded on the ground. Xia Feng took out the Boundless Stone emitting a faint red glow and placed it on the hollow circle in the center of the formation.
Simultaneously, his dark eyes sharpened, and he formed a hand seal: “Gate of the Real World, Boundless Void!”
As he uttered the solemn low cry, the entire snowflake-shaped formation instantly erupted with blinding golden light. The Boundless Stone in the center melted in an instant, and a two-meter-high golden vertical slit appeared in the space directly above it.
Xia Feng looked up nervously. The vertical slit blinked and spread horizontally, transforming into a dazzling, golden tall gate.
“Wow, this must be the ‘Gate to the World’,” Xia Feng exclaimed in surprise as he walked around the tall gate. White light filled the area both in front of and behind the gate.
Seeing nothing else remarkable, he no longer hesitated and took a step forward.
His body passed through the light gate, not into any alternate dimension, but directly walked out, arriving on the other side of the gate.
However, the formation lines on the ground rose into the air and entered the light gate. Whoosh— the tall gate closed.
The dark classroom returned to its silence. Xia Feng stood in place, his gaze vacant.
