Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi and Su Xiao were able to hear Xiao Ling's conversation, but neither of them intended to interrupt.

The real world is generally peaceful. Although the contractors experience life-and-death battles in the derivative world, most of them follow an unwritten tacit understanding after returning to reality: I will not offend others unless they offend me.

Of course, this is just the choice of most people.

There will always be a few newly acquired power-wielding contractors who become arrogant and act recklessly.

For these kinds of people, "cleaners" will come knocking on their door to "collect electricity fees."

Lin Yi and Su Xiao had long since passed the naive and ignorant newbie stage, and they maintained a good relationship with the Cleaners, so naturally they wouldn't touch or break this unspoken rule that maintained the fragile balance of the real world.

After a few leisurely days of fishing at sea and enjoying the salty sea breeze, Lin Yi and Su Xiao returned to Guangming City.

Before long, that familiar, cold notification echoed in their minds:

[A new world is about to begin. Hunters, prepare yourselves.]

Upon returning to his private room, Lin Yi retrieved the [Book of Awakening - Second Edition] from his storage space. He needed this item to awaken his talent for the second time.

Lin Yi had found this thing in a treasure chest in the War World, but after opening it, it had been casually left to gather dust in a corner of his storage space until now, when it finally came in handy.

[Use the Book of Awakening twice.]

[Warning: Secondary Awakening Talents are extremely dangerous; 86% of Contractors have already given up their Secondary Awakening Talent abilities.]

[Note: The difficulty of the second awakening talent will increase with the hunter's rank and level.]

The Hunter has selected the talent: Redeemer.

The Redeemer

[Category: Developmental Talent]

[Rank: S (Awakened once).]

[The Redeemer has been detected to have reached the maximum level for first awakening, which will increase the difficulty of second awakening by 30%.]

[Talent nature analysis in progress... Analysis complete.]

[World selection in progress...]

[No match found in the derivative world.]

[No matchmaking available in the trial world.]

Number of original world matches: 2.

[Number of matches within the Void: 2.]

Hunters must choose one of the following worlds to awaken their talents.

[A supernatural world (a void world).]

[Warning: This world is extremely dangerous. Hunters entering must abide by the rules.]

【The Elf King's Gaze (The Original World)】

[Note: Hunters are advised to enter this world as soon as possible.]

[The continent of Faerûn (the Void World).]

[Warning: The combat power in this area is extremely high. Hunters, please proceed with caution.]

[The Kingdom of Gods (Original World)]

[Warning: This world is inhabited by deities; it is extremely dangerous.]

……

Lin Yi's gaze swept quickly across the four world names that shimmered with different lights. It could be said from the introduction of the Paradise of Reincarnation that these worlds represented immeasurable dangers.

Lin Yi had some knowledge of supernatural tales and other supernatural worlds. These worlds were usually the result of a collision between two worlds, causing a conflict in the rules of those different worlds.

The fatal flaw is that the "priority" of which side's rules takes place in different regions is chaotic and unpredictable, which is why it is essential to follow the rules.

This world has too many restrictions; the slightest mistake could trigger an instant death rule, making it completely unsuitable for Lin Yi.

However, these world-perception and soul-type contractors love to go there. For them, the soul nourishment and special artifacts they can obtain by interpreting the rules and fighting against the strange origin are worth several times more than those in the ordinary world.

However, for most contractors, entering such a world would not bring much benefit, so Lin Yi ruled out this world first.

The second world, under the gaze of the Elf King, needs no further explanation; this must be the world where the Mad King resides.

Even if there are no living beings in that world, as long as the Mad King is there, the danger level of that world will not be low.

As for the third world, the continent of Faerûn, it is also quite famous in the Paradise of Reincarnation.

After reaching the fifth tier, many contractors are forced to leave the derivative world and begin their adventures in the original world.

The continent of Faerûn is somewhat similar to a super-large open world in a derivative world, because the area that Faerûn occupies is so vast, and the difference in combat power between different areas is also terrifying.

There lie endless treasures, powerful professional lineages, and even the possibility of igniting divine fire.

The risks are also clearly visible—legends are as common as dogs, demigods are everywhere, not to mention the incarnations of gods walking on the earth and the terrifying beings hidden deep underground.

If you're lucky, you might spend the entire mission in a peaceful border town; if you're unlucky, you might be caught up in a war between gods or an ancient lich's world-destroying experiment in the next second.

Choosing Faerûn means dancing a tightrope between chaos and opportunity, where every step could lead to a misstep.

But at least the rules there were relatively "normal," he had some understanding of the power system, and intelligence was easier to obtain.

Many contractors choose to specialize in this world. According to Lin Yi's understanding, there is a god-type contractor in the Paradise of Reincarnation who successfully ignited the divine fire on the continent of Faerûn.

That contractor had been entering the Forgotten Realms since the sixth rank, using the World Key in all cases except for special circumstances like the World War.

This shows just how abundant the resources are in the Forgotten Realms. However, Lin Yi can go to the Forgotten Realms later, but he doesn't need to go there for the time being.

The prompt for "[Kingdom of Gods]... Paradise of Reincarnation" is only two lines long, but any world that is related to gods is never a simple world.

But whether they are ordinary gods or ancient gods, most gods are not weak in combat.

After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Yi decided to prioritize solving the Mad King's problem.

This world has dragged on for quite a while now, and Lin Yi plans to resolve it as soon as possible.

For safety's sake, Lin Yi sent Su Xiao a message directly through the Samsara Paradise's email system: "Urgent, Apollo, three pills."

After hearing Lin Yi's request, Su Xiao didn't ask any further questions and directly sent the three Apollos via email.

Su Xiao knew Lin Yi's personality well; a world that Lin Yi treated with such seriousness must be extremely dangerous.

Finally, Lin Yi went to the trading market and bought a large number of daily supplies. Although these basic supplies were relatively cheap per unit, the sheer quantity Lin Yi purchased, and the fact that they were all top-quality items, made up for it.

In a short period of time, Lin Yi spent more than 100,000 Paradise Coins to fill a corner of his storage space to the brim.

[Hint: The hunter is about to enter the world of 'The Elf King's Gaze'.]

[Since the hunter's authority level has reached Lv.50 or above, they can learn the basic language of this world for free.]

[Teleportation initiated. Due to the considerable spatial distance, this teleportation requires a 0.384 minute adjustment.]

A chilling countdown echoed in the private room, the space began to distort, and a familiar sense of impact washed over them.

boom!
Lin Yi's vision went completely black, and he lost consciousness.

Tick ​​~

A cold, damp smell, along with a musty and old wood odor, filled Lin Yi's nostrils.

Lin Yi opened his eyes, slowly rubbed the back of his head, and then noticed that he seemed to be sitting in a black carriage. The carriage looked to be very old, but the interior walls were carved with intricate and ancient patterns. Although it was covered in dust and dim, one could still glimpse the exquisite craftsmanship and luxury of its time.

But the fact that this carriage is still in use after so long suggests that its owner must have fallen on hard times.

Lin Yi glanced out the carriage window and saw that it was pouring rain outside. The sound of rain that Lin Yi had just heard was the sound of rainwater dripping through the gaps in the carriage roof.

Looking around at the outside world, Lin Yi realized that the harshness of this world was even worse than he had imagined.

On both sides of the road are extremely tall, twisted ancient trees. The branches of these trees are gnarled and twisted, with an unnatural dark brown color, and the leaves are not emerald green, but have a rusty dark red color, which looks like a ghostly figure with bared fangs in the rainstorm.

The air was thick with moisture, the smell of earth, and a faint, almost imperceptible odor of decay.

Beneath the surface of life in this world lurks a profound decay and madness, suggesting the existence of unknown ancient gods.

However, this ancient god seems to have encountered some problems; the degree of corruption it has caused in the world is not as deep as Lin Yi had imagined.

He pushed open the car door, and a gust of wind, heavy with moisture and carrying raindrops, rushed towards him.

Lin Yi noticed a knight wearing silver-white armor sitting at the front of the carriage, driving it. Rainwater fell on the armor but did not leave stains. Instead, it seemed to be slid off by an invisible force, forming tiny streams of water that flowed down.

The knight sat upright, like a sculpture rooted to the carriage shaft, his hands firmly gripping the reins.

A huge two-handed sword leaned against his side, its scabbard also silver-white, and a dull, dark green gemstone was inlaid at the end of the hilt.

The knight clearly heard Lin Yi's voice, but did not turn around.

"You're awake, sir? There's still some distance to the castle. Why don't you go back and rest for a while?" The knight's voice didn't sound very young; he was probably around thirty years old.

"how long will it take?"

"It will take about another 15 minutes. This road has been abandoned for too long, so it will take some time to get there."

After hearing the knight's words, Lin Yi lowered the curtain on the carriage and returned inside.

Near his seat, Lin Yi saw a black envelope.

Because of the dim lighting inside the carriage, Lin Yi hadn't noticed the envelope's presence.

Lin Yi picked up the envelope and found that the material was unusually smooth and cold to the touch, like some kind of treated leather rather than ordinary paper.

The seal still bears dark red wax marks from being violently torn open, and the pattern is broken and difficult to discern.

Clearly, the original owner of this letter had already read it.

Lin Yi immediately picked up the envelope and took out the letter inside.

The letter paper was also black, but the writing on it was done with ink that shimmered with a faint silver light, making it clearly visible in the dimly lit carriage.

The handwriting is elegant and ancient, carrying a deep-seated weariness and heaviness, as if the writer had exhausted his last bit of strength.

"To my descendants who flow with dark blood."

When this letter reaches your hands, you must have felt a stirring deep within your blood. Our proud surname was once a symbol of order on this land, a steadfast shield against the shadows of antiquity.

However, the glory has long since faded, like the stone dust peeling off the outer walls of a castle.

We have declined.

This is not ordinary decay, nor is it the inevitable result of the passage of time. This is pollution, a curse. It pumps into every part of our body with every heartbeat; it distorts our form, defiles our soul, and transforms our noble bloodline into a breeding ground for distortion.

I, as your last blood relative and one of the deepest victims of this curse, am powerless to maintain that crumbling barrier. The castle, our former home, has now become a den of nightmares.

You must come back.

This is not a request; it is a responsibility flowing in your blood, a mark etched into your soul. The "core" that maintains the last fragile balance between the castle and this cursed land requires the power of direct blood to touch it, to...make a choice. To end this suffering that has lasted for generations, or to embrace the corrupting root and become its new shell?
I cannot tell you whether the journey home is safe. Inside the castle, you can only rely on yourself, on the part of your blood that has not yet been completely corrupted, and... that faint glimmer of redemption that may exist.

Time is running out. When the blood moon once again hangs high above the castle spires, everything will be beyond repair. Return, confront the darkness in your blood, and make your choice. Whatever the outcome, let this endless torment end in our generation…

May the glimmer of your ancestors guide you, your last blood relative.

Earl Edwin.

[The hunter has been detected to have access to critical information; world introduction now available.]

[Enter the World: The Elf King's Gaze]

Location: Whispering Forest (formerly the core area of ​​'Emerald Breath')
World difficulty: Lv.17～Lv.52 (native world)
Origin of the World: 0% (Obtaining the Origin of the World within this world is extremely difficult, more than 16 times more difficult than a derivative world of the same level).

World Introduction: [On this continent, four races initially coexisted: elves, orcs, dwarves, and humans. However, as time passed, war broke out.]

The four major races are constantly at odds. Compared to the struggle for resources, hatred is the real trigger for war. Countless years of friction have led to deep-seated conflicts between each race.

As time went by, the orcs were the first to be wiped out, followed by the humans and dwarves joining forces to invade the elves' "Emerald Breath."

On the day the capital of "Emerald's Breath" was captured, no one knew what happened on the battlefield; everyone who participated in the war died there.

A thousand years after the elves vanished, intermarriage between dwarves and humans gradually assimilated, and the name "dwarves" disappeared into the annals of time. Only humans remained on the continent.

At this time, war reignited, but this time humanity's aim was not for the sake of its race, but for its own self-interest.

Ten years later, a new empire emerged on this continent. Edwin rendered outstanding service to the empire, and the emperor granted him the Whispering Forest as his territory.

A century later, you have come to this land.

……

The main questline has been changed and replaced by the Awakening quest.

[Awakening Quest: Arrive at the Territory (First Stage)]

Difficulty level: Lv.42
Mission Information: As the last heir of the family, please arrive at the territory as soon as possible.

Task period: 2 days

Task reward: 2 real attribute points.

Mission punishment: forced execution

……

[Note: Initial mission risks have been assessed as within the hunter's acceptable range; a hunting mission has been issued.]

[Hunter Mission: Eliminate violator number 6231.]

Task Summary: Eliminate violator number 6231 by any means necessary.

Mission Information: This violator is extremely dangerous and has already killed three Battle Angels and two Death Rangers.

Note: Hunters can refuse this mission.

Mission deadline: Before leaving this original world.

Mission penalty: None.

Mission Reward: 2 Diamond Honor Medals

……

Through the world introduction, Lin Yi roughly understood the situation of this world in the past.

To put it bluntly, this world used to be a chaotic world of war, but then something went wrong during the siege of the elven capital, and everyone was wiped out.

What really caught Lin Yi's attention was the man who wrote the letter to him, a man who called himself Earl Edwin. From the man's words, the old man seemed to have discovered something, which was why he specifically asked Lin Yi to come back.

"Renaard." Lin Yi's voice broke the silence inside the carriage. He raised his voice slightly to ensure it could be clearly heard by the driver outside.

"My lord, what are your orders?" came the knight's muffled reply from outside, his voice devoid of emotion, only showing a numbness born from long-term exposure to his surroundings.

"How long has this forest... or rather, this 'state' been like this?" Lin Yi carefully chose his words, his gaze passing through the car window as he looked at the giant trees emanating an ominous aura and the layer of moss covering the ground.

A few seconds of silence fell outside the carriage, broken only by the creaking of wheels over the soft mud and the occasional snorts of the horses. The rider seemed to be organizing his thoughts, or perhaps he found the question somewhat odd.

The knight's voice finally rang out again, with a matter-of-fact tone, "My lord, the Whispering Forest... or rather, most of the forests and wilderness on the continent now, are like this. It has been like this since I can remember, since my grandfather could remember. Greenery... exists only in ancient songs and the carefully tended greenhouse gardens in castles."

His words contained no surprise at the “abnormality” but only a statement of the “normality”.

"Has it always been like this? How long exactly? Hundreds of years? Or even longer?"

"Well... I really can't say for sure." The knight's voice carried a hint of confusion, as if Lin Yi's question had touched on some kind of cognitive boundary.

"The Empire's historical records only go back a thousand years, to what's known as the 'Legendary Age.' Records before that... are mostly vague, or considered mythology. However, the Empire's scholars all say that this... 'forest form' has existed for at least a thousand years. When exactly it began? Perhaps only those truly ancient monsters who have lived for a thousand years would know, or... perhaps no one knows at all." The knight's tone even carried a hint of bewilderment at Lin Yi's questioning of "common sense." (End of Chapter)