Reborn with infinite panels

Chapter 272 Cultivation World 61
After school, Si Lingyue went to the place where Meng Ling had arranged to meet her.

Mengling stood by the fountain in the magic academy, water droplets dancing on her fingertips, refracting the delicate blue of the morning light.

Eighteen-year-old Mengling has long, silver-blue hair that reaches her waist. The ends of her hair are always slightly curled, like silk soaked in moisture, shimmering with a pearly luster in the sunlight.

Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, and you could vaguely see pale blue veins, like a stream flowing beneath the ice.

What is most striking are her eyes—the irises display a strange gradient, transitioning from the deep sea blue at the depths of the pupil to the light lake color at the edges, as if containing a lake illuminated by moonlight.

When Mengling saw Si Lingle approaching, she quickly used magic to transmit her voice, saying, "Don't get too close, lest people think we know each other."

Si Lingle sat down on the other side of the fountain and asked telepathically, "What is it?"

"When you're doing your mission, you're supposed to ambush the female lead, but you absolutely mustn't seriously injure her. If you accidentally kill her, my mission will be over."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"By the way, we must make our move just as the male lead gets close, otherwise it won't help foster their relationship."

"it is good."

"Unless there's something else, let's see each other less often to avoid causing unnecessary trouble."

“No problem.” Si Lingle nodded.

After Mengling left, Si Lingle went to the school library.

Upon entering the library, Si Lingle unleashed her divine sense to examine the books.

Si Lingle saw the book on magic circles.

This magic circle is very different from the formations used in the cultivation world.

The difference between magic circles and cultivation formations:
1. Energy source
Magic Circle: Relies on external magic or elemental power, and guides the flow of energy through spells, runes, or mediums (such as magic crystals or monster cores).

Cultivation formations: Using one's own spiritual power as a guide, combined with the power of heaven and earth (such as mountains, rivers, earth veins, and stars), they emphasize "harmony between heaven and man". The higher the cultivation level of the person setting up the formation, the stronger the formation's power.

2. Construction Method
Magic Circle: Emphasizing precision, runes and geometric shapes must strictly conform to the rules, otherwise they may fail or even backfire.

Common fixed structures such as hexagrams and pentagrams have energy flow that follows the "magic circuit" theory.

Cultivation formations emphasize "form follows intention and movement," and the formation patterns can be adjusted according to the intention of the person setting up the formation. They can even be formed by taking advantage of the natural terrain (such as using mountains as a base or rivers as a vein).

The key to the formation is a spirit stone, a sword, or even a wisp of thought.

3. Operating Mechanism
Magic Circle: Like "program code", input magic power → activate runes → produce fixed effects (such as teleportation, defense, attack).

Energy is consumed quickly and needs to be replenished or redrawn regularly.

Cultivation formations are like "ecosystems," capable of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth to maintain their operation, and even becoming stronger over time (such as the mountain-protecting formation, which has become more stable after thousands of years).

Some high-level formations can "come alive" and develop their own consciousness (such as some formations that can automatically identify friend from foe).

4. Failure Manifestations
Magic Circle: Runes dimmed, elements disordered, may explode or distort space.

Cultivation Formation: Reversed formation patterns (cinnabar seeps blood, peach wood blossoms), earth energy reverses, formation eye self-destructs.

5. Cultural differences
Magic Circles: The academic approach emphasizes standardization; magicians even write "Magic Circle Drawing Standards".

Cultivation formations: a metaphysical school that values ​​comprehension, and its secret manuals often state that "it can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words."

Si Lingle spent more than two hours in the library and had already memorized everything she needed.

Then I went back to my dorm.

The dormitory door closed gently behind Si Lingle without making a sound.

Inside, three girls sat around the fireplace, the warm yellow firelight illuminating their smiling faces. Eileen was using magic to make a teapot tap dance in mid-air, Qian Lili covered her mouth and giggled, while Anna exaggeratedly imitated the Transfiguration professor's movements.

Si Lingle's footsteps were absorbed by the carpet. After glancing around, she said, "Have you seen the 'Analysis of Advanced Spells' that I put on the public bookshelf?"

Si Lingyue's voice was like a pebble thrown into a deep pool.

The laughter by the fireplace continued, when Anna's teacup suddenly floated into the air, blocking her view of Si Lingle. Qian Lili's braids suddenly came undone, and Eileen enthusiastically helped her braid them again—the three of them moving in perfect unison, forming a flowing screen.

The moonflower on the windowsill trembled slightly; this plant can sense emotions.

At this moment, it is desperately trying to grow its leaves in the opposite direction, attempting to escape this room where even the air seems to freeze in indifference.

The copper door of the dormitory locked itself behind Si Lingle, the lock making an ancient clicking sound—this was the "silent barrier" that Si Lingle had learned in the forbidden book area that day.

The three roommates froze on the spot. Ice crystals suddenly formed on the teacup in Eileen's hand. Qian Lili's skirt, which she was adjusting, was pinned to the floor by an invisible force. Anna's lips remained open, but she couldn't utter a sound.

The book "Analysis of Advanced Spells" floated in Si Lingle's palm. As the pages turned, the notes that they had scribbled over with inferior ink were repairing themselves.

Pale golden runes appeared on the parchment, coiling around the three men's wrists like awakened serpents. "You seem to have forgotten," Si Lingle's fingertips brushed over the disciplinary rules on page 394, "that every owner of this book leaves a curse on the title page."

The dormitory was suddenly plunged into an eerie dark red light, and the three were horrified to discover that their shadows were betraying their bodies.

Qian Lili's shadow choked her own neck, Eileen's shadow broke her wand in two, and Anna's shadow opened her diary and read aloud her most shameful secrets.

The college rules on the wall suddenly came to life, and the writing on the parchment turned into physical chains, binding the three of them to their respective bedposts.

Moonflowers grew wildly on the windowsill, their vines piercing through flowerpots and embedding themselves in the floor. The tainted potions they had once poured into the flowerpots were now condensing into a vengeful poison on the leaves.

“Now,” Si Lingle smoothed the pages, her voice as gentle as if she were reading a bedtime story, “let’s review the seven punitive spells for ‘stealing magical tomes’.”

……

……

In the early morning magic history class, sunlight streamed through stained glass windows, casting dappled patterns of color onto the stone floor.

Si Lingle sat in the last row as usual, her quill pen scratching on the parchment, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Suddenly, three gasps came from the back of the classroom—Eileen, Qian Lili, and Anna, who were late, stood at the door. All three had conspicuous scarlet badges pinned to the collars of their school robes, with the words "Book Thief" branded on them in ancient magical script.

This is the automatic punishment mechanism of "High-Level Spell Analysis," which will last for at least a week. Worse still, the quills in their hands are constantly writing confessions on their own, the parchment already dragging three meters on the ground.

"Quiet." The professor waved his wand without looking up, and the three of them suddenly moved to the far corner of the classroom.

When Qian Lili tried to open her textbook, miniature lightning bolts suddenly shot out from the pages, leaving scorch marks on her fingertips; Eileen's ink automatically formed the words "I altered someone else's notes"; and Anna's chair emitted a loud alarm every five minutes—a common anti-theft spell used in the library's restricted book section.

It wasn't until the bell rang that the professor gave the three of them a meaningful look: "Today's lesson happened to cover the punishment of knowledge thieves in the Middle Ages. It seems some of you have prepared quite well."

After class, the other students kept their distance from Anna and her two companions, who were gossiping about them.

The three of them now wished they could disappear into a crack in the ground.

After enduring two classes, the three couldn't take it anymore and asked for leave to return to their dormitory.

As the setting sun dyed the corridor blood red, Si Lingle was blocked in front of the stone window.

Ice crystals formed at the tip of Eileen's wand—marks of her best ice spell going out of control.

At this moment, her right hand was covered in frostbite from the backlash, but she still stubbornly stood in front of Si Lingle, only her trembling eyelashes betrayed her fear.

Lisa stood three steps away, her meticulously maintained long hair entwined with thorny magical vines. With each step she took, new thorns sprouted from the tips of her hair—this was the tracking curse from "High-Level Spell Analysis."

Anna was in the worst condition. Her left eye had turned an eerie silver-white, with ancient runes floating in its pupil—marks of a book-protecting charm. When she tried to speak, all she could taste was the acrid smell of burning parchment.

Eileen said, "Cuckoo, we were wrong, please let us go."

"The curse will be lifted when the moon is full," Si Lingle gently smoothed the creases in the book's pages. "But there's a condition—"

“We’ll agree to any conditions,” Eileen said quickly.

Si Lingle lightly traced a line on the page of "Analysis of Advanced Spells" with her fingertip, and the vines of Moonlight Grass suddenly burst forth, weaving a complex magic circle on the stone brick ground.

As the silver light shimmered, three clear terms appeared in the air: The Return Ceremony: The three women must go to the forbidden book area at midnight and personally restore the twelve altered books to their original state—using their own blood as ink.

Knowledge Shackles: For the next three months, every time they cast a spell, they will first recite the creator and history of that spell.

Moonlight bears witness: When the full moon rises to the top of the clock tower, they swear before the title page of "Higher Level Spell Analysis"—never again to trample on the path of others' pursuit of knowledge.

Suddenly, the vines wrapped around the three people's wrists, drawing tiny beads of blood. The blood beads didn't fall to the ground; instead, they floated and formed a fragmented moon pattern—the sign that the contract was established.

"The choice is yours." Si Lingle closed the book, and the moonflower instantly withered and turned to ash. "But let me remind you—"

As Si Lingle turned around, the hem of her robe swept across the ground, and the ashes bloomed anew into thorny roses. "If you refuse, the vines in your hair will bloom, the runes in Anna's eyes will forever replace her sight, and Eileen's hands will turn to stone."

“We agree,” the three said in unison.

Si Lingle smiled slightly, "Then let's just let this matter rest."

After saying that, Si Lingle turned and left.

Si Lingle left school and went to town to buy some things to make magic circles, magic scrolls, and magic potions.

When Si Lingle returned to the dormitory, Anna and the other two were not there; they were probably somewhere on campus, waiting for midnight to arrive.

That's perfect, as Si Lingle can make it quietly.

Si Lingle has an amazing comprehension ability; she easily created magic teleportation scrolls, magic potions, and other items.

Anna and her two companions went to the forbidden book section to restore the twelve books that had been altered to their original state.

After they restored the scriptures, the three of them did not return to their dormitory, but went to the school's cultivation room instead.

They dared not return to their dormitories, lest they encounter the Cuckoo Demon.

The three of them are also planning to apply for a change of dormitories, otherwise they will not have a good future.

Two days later, the three of them changed dormitories, and now Si Lingle is the only one left in the dormitory.

Si Lingle was quite happy. She was enjoying her freedom and didn't have to hide anything from others anymore.

Before they knew it, the Magic Grand Examination was here, and the location was in the Wangtian Mountains.

Students from Saint Glory Magic Academy, Tivel Magic Academy, Oberon Magic Academy, Stellar Magic Academy, and Four Seas Magic Academy have all arrived at the outer perimeter of the Wangtian Mountains.

This mission can be completed in a team or solo.

A single player can complete the game and receive a higher rating.

However, most people choose to complete the test in teams, as some magic levels or special magic types may not be able to complete the test alone.

Cooperation can lead to a win-win situation.

The Wangtian Mountains were shrouded in a five-colored magical barrier, with the spires of the five academies suspended in their corresponding elemental positions. The moment Si Lingle's boots touched the Time Basalt, flowing magical runes appeared on the ground as test questions:

First test: Elemental tracing. Candidates need to go to the eye of the storm to separate the mixed chaotic elements.

Second trial: Go to the East Stone Forest and decipher a floating obelisk.

The third trial: Head to the Dream Swamp and navigate the illusionary maze.

Fourth challenge: Kill three intermediate-level magical beasts.

Final Trial: The central altar seals a gluttonous abyssal monster, requiring you to suppress it using the weakest basic spells.

The other students were all traveling in twos and threes; very few were going out alone.

Those who can act independently are people who are very confident in their own abilities.

Si Lingle released her divine sense and found the female lead, Yu Ning. After locking onto the female lead, Si Lingle did not follow her, but instead prepared to complete some tasks first.

The female lead and the male lead are currently in opposite directions. They will wait until they are close enough before launching a sneak attack on the female lead.

Si Lingle hadn't gone far when someone suddenly called out, "Du Juan, haven't you found a team yet? How about we team up?"

It was Tang Wen, a classmate, whose persona was very different from hers. Du Juan's persona was that of an ordinary person with average looks, while Tang Wen was the center of attention in the class and a popular figure in the school, with one of the best looks.

"No need." Being with someone like that is just trouble.

After Si Lingle finished speaking, she used her flight magic to quickly leave.

Tang Wen stared at Si Lingle's retreating figure, the smile on his lips gradually fading, replaced by a hint of amusement. He took a step forward and followed, staying neither too close nor too far behind Si Lingle.

Si Lingle stopped and said without turning her head, "Following me won't do you any good."

Tang Wen, hands in his pockets, chuckled lazily: "The exam hall is so big, how can you be sure I'm following you, and not just happen to be going the same way?"

Si Lingle ignored him, took out the magic scroll, and disappeared from the spot.

Tang Wen watched Si Lingle's figure disappear and muttered to himself, "Trying to shake me off won't be that easy."

Si Lingle teleported directly to the East Stone Forest and quickly deciphered an obelisk.

After deciphering the code, Si Lingle was teleported to the Dream Swamp to explore the Illusionary Maze. The Illusionary Maze had no effect on Si Lingle at all.

However, in order to keep a low profile, Si Lingle only made it through a day later.

After navigating the illusionary maze, Si Lingle also completed the test of killing three intermediate-level magical beasts.

Afterwards, I went to the eye of the storm to complete the exam.

After completing the four exams, Si Lingle went to find the female lead, Yu Ning.

Besides Meng Ling, Yu Ning was accompanied by a man and a woman.

According to the message sent by Mengling, the man's name is Grayson, and he is a mid-level mage specializing in both fire and earth magic.

The woman's name is Tira, and she is a healing magician.

The group is currently undertaking a quest to kill monsters.

As it got dark, Yu Ning and the others found a place to rest.

Si Lingle rested two kilometers away from them.

Just as the fire was lit, Tang Wen appeared.

"Du Juan, you're quite a runner. I've been looking for you for days."

Si Lingle remained indifferent, showing no reaction, but thought to herself: This person is quite capable; he actually managed to find her in such a vast mountain range as the Wangtian Mountains.

I don't know what method they used.
Tang Wen ignored Si Lingle's reaction and sat down opposite her quite naturally.

"I didn't expect Du Juan to be so amazing, passing four tests in just a few days."

"You were hiding your true abilities in class before, weren't you?" Tang Wen said. "You're already a high-level mage?"

Si Lingle looked at Tang Wen and said, "Tang Wen, curiosity killed the cat. It's best not to know too much when you're alone."

"Du Juan, are you trying to silence me?" The next second, Tang Wen was unable to speak.

Because Si Lingle cast a "silencing spell" on him, preventing him from speaking for four hours.

"Silence magic" can make a person stop speaking for a short period of time.

The "Silence Spell" can keep a person from speaking for one to two hours, while the "Silence Curse" lasts the longest.

Tang Wen wanted to lift the "silence curse" himself, but found that he couldn't.

He's a high-level mage, yet he couldn't dispel it. That means this cuckoo's magic level is even higher than his.