Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 347 Thoughts on the Distance Between Heaven, A Small Matter

Outside the grotto, the tide gently washes over the rocky area.

A giant with a seagull perched on his shoulder stepped out of the vortex of time and space.

The lights in the mushroom garden were bright, and Kening Dragon gently asked in his ear, "Welcome back, darling. Is everything alright?"

“(In magical language) Thank you for your concern. Indeed, everything is fine,” Lin Bo replied softly.

Although it had stayed in the [Conquest Chessboard] plane for three months, for the Dragon of Kening, its mage lover had only left for a moment.

Lin Bo looked back at the collapsing, deep purple vortex.

The spatiotemporal channels of the comprehensive network are of high value.

It not only achieves spatial displacement, but also anchors the flow of time, teleporting players to the moment the passage opens. Therefore, no matter how long you stay in the dungeon, the real world is paused.

The wormhole that Lin Bo could open with force was merely a shortcut tunnel in the spacetime field, compressing the long journey by hundreds or thousands of times. In reality, there are still distances inside the wormhole, unlike the seamless connection of the network portal, and it is impossible to slide along the timeline.

If he wanted to replicate the portal to the multiverse, he would probably need to discover the true names of time and space.

"Time and the distance between heaven and earth..." Lin Bo pondered silently. These two fundamental things are not easy to perceive. All things exist in space and time, like fish in water, yet they cannot truly perceive the temporality and spatiality of the universe.

He was quite certain that time was not the ticking of a clock, nor was space the distinction between the inside and outside of a cardboard box.

Of the four types of sacred embryos Lin Bo initially envisioned, the Primordial Magnetic Sacred Embryo was the simplest, followed by the Power Sacred Embryo, while the Time and Space Sacred Embryo was the most elusive. Now, the Celestial Distance Sacred Embryo has begun to take shape and is no longer just a mirage.

"Space is both the greatest and the smallest thing. It is so vast that nothing exists beyond it, and there is nothing outside of space. It is so small that there is nothing more microscopic than it, and the interior of space is utterly empty."

Lin Bo's goal is to perceive this contradictory entity that is both infinitely large and infinitely small.

He knew what pure space looked like; it was a state where everything in the world was superimposed on each other, without any concept of "distance," "near or far," "size," or "inside or outside."

The snow of the polar regions overlaps tightly with the sand of the equator, the secret letter in the safe and the bones inside the animal's body are clearly visible, and the stars in the deep space and the delicate pollen in the breeze are indistinguishable.

This is "celestial distance," the framework of the universe, the stage for events. A truly omnipresent force.

The best way to understand celestial distance is to start with gravity. The external manifestation of force is a repulsive field, while the external manifestation of celestial distance is a gravitational field.

Lin Bo is certain that time is the collection of all historical possibilities of the universe.

However, unlike the celestial distance, the appearance of time is vague and does not manifest as a specific force. Without a force, it is difficult for the senses to detect traces, which is why the corresponding sacred embryo is the most difficult to decipher.

The deep purple vortex closed completely.

During Lin Bo's stay in the instance, he was constantly busy in the strategy and discussion channels for other instances, and did not lead a team to explore the map for three whole months.

He browsed through the chat channels for these instances.

In low-level dungeons like [Mechanical Factory], [Sea Spirit Altar], and [Distant Star Botanical Garden], veteran players are rarely seen, and new players are arriving every day. None of them have heard of the enthusiastic veteran player, Brother Mage, who used to lead teams through the map every day.

Lin Bo's gains from these types of dungeons are already minimal, so there's really no need for him to continue grinding. However, he still offers reasonable advice to newcomers in these channels, or gives away some casually crafted enchanted equipment to help them clear the dungeons. Occasionally, newcomers ask experienced players to help them, and he never refuses.

In the [Giant's Field] dungeon, the mage who once single-handedly annihilated the city remains a legend. He rarely appears now, but he still leads teams to explore the map when he has free time.

The [Great Library] channel is always deserted, with no more than fifteen people online, making it difficult to assemble a team to challenge the Purgatory difficulty.

The Archmage's disciple, the Wild Warlock [Frost Stew Pot], always looks forward to meeting his Archmage brother so he can ask him questions offline and cook him a hot halfling meal.

The [Sealed Land of Divine Abominations] is bustling. The White Dragon's infamous calamity has spread far and wide, while the Abominations faction is in dire straits, still the smallest in number. Every newcomer is warned of the risks of staying with the faction. If they offend the mage, they might face another massacre. Under such intimidation, most newcomers choose to defect.

Lin Bo isn't particularly interested in the [Divine Abomination Sealed Land] dungeon right now. After all, there's a level penalty, and besides, the affix mutations in this plane aren't frequent, plus there are no treasure chests to get once you enter.

Considering that staying in one instance will simultaneously affect the timeline in other instances, high-level players should pay attention to the length of time they stay in an instance to avoid affecting their layout in other dimensions.

For example, if Lin Bo stays in the [Sealed Land] plane for ten days, his next entry into the [Conquest Chessboard] plane will be delayed by ten days. This is because the refresh cycle of invitation challenge opportunities depends on real-world time, and the cooldown time will not be shortened within the instance.

Although Lin Bo has returned, it doesn't mean he can't influence the instance dimension.

He silently recited the true name of Iron Guardian, a unique and exclusive name in the multiverse that responded to the mage's command, even though they were separated by an infinitely vast spacetime barrier.

The image of the metal baboon appeared in Lin Bo's mind.

"Beep—External data connection detected, forcibly accessed. Data source confirmed, triggering the highest security level command to terminate the self-destruct program..."

It raised its hand in greeting, "My Lord, thirty-one seconds have passed since you left. I will continue to keep my promise and watch over you."

Lin Bo whispered, "I want to borrow your body."

"Instructions confirmed. I will dedicate myself."

In another dimension, in the Forest of Fungi, the Iron-skinned Baboon's body twisted and transformed into the form of Linbo.

The illusion created by Lv4 True Word Illusion can cover real objects, thus gaining a more solid defense and preventing it from being easily broken. Apart from that, everything else is the same as the real body. His body still does not need food, and the spirit and holy embryo in his body are functioning normally. However, the magical energy reserves in his cells are depleted and need to be replenished.

Maintaining the illusionary body requires Lin Bo's mental energy for every word and action, but it is quite easy for him. He has broken the mold of the mind-controlling technique and can manipulate thousands of illusions at the same time without becoming mentally exhausted.

He will frequently operate in the [Conquest Chessboard] plane in a fake form, providing technical and military support.

Lin Bo currently has no plans to continue exploring the map.

Walking back to the cape lighthouse along the evening sea, the apprentices were preparing for dinner when the Archmage appeared in the dining hall in human form. He came to the table and joined the dinner, during which he talked about a small matter.

From now on, he will open a classroom on the second floor of the lighthouse, and everyone will have classes indoors starting tomorrow.

The apprentices had never set foot on the second floor of the lighthouse, but they could guess that it was a space-constrained area. They weren't worried, after all, in this world, the Archmage's orders were always inviolable and beyond question.

(End of this chapter)