Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Chapter 159 Breaking Through the Bottleneck

This was a completely new and unknown field for him, who majored in life, death, and space and emphasized the control of physical entities and energy.

But this may be the key for him to break through his current bottleneck and push his Samsara Heart to a higher level!

Life and death are the two poles of the material world, space is the framework that carries everything, while "dreams" or "spirit" may touch on a deeper level, the boundary between consciousness and reality, and even the mysteries of the soul.

If the laws of "dreams" could be integrated into the cycle of reincarnation, forming a larger cycle of "life-death-space-dreams," his path would surely become broader and more powerful!

At this thought, a burning light flashed in Kate's eyes.

He knew this would be an extremely difficult and dangerous attempt, and he might even get lost in the endless fragments of his subconscious.

But he had no other choice.

In order to find the "Seed of Nightmare" as soon as possible, and in order to break through his own path, he must face the difficulties head-on.

He closed his eyes again, and the Heart of Reincarnation slowly adjusted its frequency. The power of life and death temporarily subsided, and the power of space maintained basic stability.

He immersed most of his mind in the mysterious and faint resonance with the fragments of the "Dream Core," and began to try to guide and sort out those broken fragments of laws, like an apprentice learning this ancient and mysterious "language."

The journey to decipher "dreams" has officially begun.

Outside the meditation room, the entire Light Elf tribe had already sprung into action.

The Thorn Guardians formed several reconnaissance teams and silently blended into the depths of the forest, while the protective array of the Eternal Song Tree was quietly upgraded to its highest level.

All the elves, regardless of their faction, watched the tightly closed ancient wooden door with tension and anticipation.

The High Priest of the Deadwood arrived at the wooden house of Elder Greenwood and gently knocked on the door.

"What? Kumu, do you still not trust this young man and still want to rely on traditional forces to fight this disaster?" Elder Aoki sat in a rattan chair and looked at Kumu as he spoke slowly.

The high priest of the withered tree rubbed his cane anxiously. "But are we just going to listen to their side of the story? Are we really going to place all the hopes of our settlement on Amber and this outsider based solely on their words?"

"No, Drywood, it's not just a few words from them. I used the divination spell again before they returned... cough cough... and the improvement in the forest's condition and the return of the Dream Core both verify the results of this divination."

After Elder Aoki finished speaking, he picked up the wooden cup beside him, took a sip, and quietly looked at the withered wood priest in front of him.

"This... I know you've already expended a lot of your lifespan on prophecy regarding these bleak matters, and I respect your decision. However, I still hope to prepare for the worst. Outsiders are not to be trusted; they are greedy and cunning, Elder..."

Aoki closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Go ahead. It's never a bad thing to be well-prepared. I believe everything you do is for the sake of us elves."

But, Kumu, I also hope you won't go astray because of the past, okay?

Kate sat cross-legged in the center of the quiet room, while Ash shrank to a size resembling an exquisite star tattoo on the back of his hand, ready to provide spatial support and protection at any time.

Amber stayed outside, responsible for relaying information and providing necessary assistance.

Kate took a deep breath, adjusted herself to her best state, and then carefully opened the crystal box containing the remains of the "Dream Core".

The moment the box was opened, even though it was just a fragment, an indescribable, strange fluctuation, seemingly capable of penetrating the barriers of the soul, still emanated from it.

That's not energy; it's more like a "ripple of information," a manifestation of rules about "possibility," "subconsciousness," and "the boundary between illusion and reality."

Kate held her breath and focused all her attention into her spiritual sea. The Heart of Reincarnation slowly rotated, and the Seed of Origin began to operate with unprecedented power.

[Command: Highest priority analysis. Target: Dream Core Fragment. Analyze its rule structure, trace its essence, and simulate its core characteristics.]

[Warning: The target structure is extremely unstable, and the rules are higher than the average of the existing database. Forcing an analysis carries a high risk (mental assimilation/rule contamination/cognitive collapse).]

[Risk confirmed. Execute.]

Kate's will was as firm as iron and unwavering.

His spiritual power transformed into the finest tentacles, cautiously reaching towards the cracked, amber-colored fragments.

The moment of contact—

boom!!!

It's not an energy surge, but an information tsunami! A frenzy of rules!

Countless bizarre and fragmented images, sounds, emotions, and concepts flooded into Kate's consciousness like a burst dam!

He seemed to have been instantly thrown into the fragments of countless dreams:

A child's dream of unbridled flight, a soldier's dream of a bloody and tragic battlefield, a lover's dream of tender and poignant longing...

The nightmare of the dying—joy, sorrow, fear, longing—the purest emotions, the most absurd logic, the most real illusion, intertwined, collided, annihilated, and reborn without any logic.

This was far more violent and chaotic than when we received the messages left behind by the "Dream Core," because it was the raw, unprocessed presentation of the rules themselves.

"Ugh!" Kate groaned, her face turning pale instantly, her body swaying violently, as if she were about to be completely swept away and assimilated in the torrent of information.

"Kate!" Ash's anxious thoughts came, and a cool, stabilizing force of space was injected into his mental sea, trying to help him anchor himself.

"Stay calm—we must stay calm—"

Kate gritted her teeth, the Heart of Reincarnation spun wildly, the Seed of Life provided unwavering willpower, the Core of Death forcefully suppressed her chaotic thoughts, and the Garden of Space tried its best to sort out the complex flow of information.

This is an extremely dangerous process, like navigating a small boat in a raging storm; the slightest mistake could result in the boat being destroyed and everyone on board perishing.

But he held on.

The inclusive and transformative nature of the Samsara Mind plays a crucial role at this moment.

It did not forcibly reject these external rules and information, but instead tried to understand, summarize, and find the "structure" within them.

Time loses its meaning in the quiet room.

It could be just a moment, or it could be ten thousand years.

Kate immersed herself completely in that ocean of rules, painfully and persistently trying to capture the mysteries contained in those fragments.

He saw that the essence of "dreams" is not nothingness, but a special "interface layer" generated by the interaction between the subconscious and external information and energy. It is a reflection, refraction and recompilation of the rules of reality.

He understood the role of the "core of dreams"—it is a huge "harmonizer" and "server" that stabilizes, organizes, and gently guides the collective unconscious of the forest, making it resonate harmoniously with the natural rules of reality, and can even use the power of dreams to fine-tune reality and nourish all things.

He also touched upon the power stolen and distorted by the "Seed of Darkness"—how to implant fear and despair into dreams, how to transform illusory nightmares into a spiritual toxin that erodes reality, and how to use the connecting nature of dreams to conceal and spread them—

[Analysis Progress: 1% - 3% - 5% - Initial establishment of rule model - Information flow begins to become ordered -]

The progress was so slow it was despairing; every bit of progress was accompanied by enormous mental strain and risk.

Kate's mental energy was being depleted at an unprecedented rate. If it weren't for the near-limitless life energy replenishment in the quiet room, he would have already been exhausted.

Outside, the sentries dispatched by Elder Chenlu kept sending back messages.

The dark erosion across the forest had indeed stopped spreading, and some areas even showed signs of natural purification, which brought some comfort to the elves.

But at the same time, some sporadic and strange reports began to appear:

Several small animal groups in the border region became agitated and irritable overnight, attacking and killing each other;

A group of sentries on patrol collectively experienced hallucinations of seeing "moving shadows";

Even within the Eversong Tree settlement, elves have begun reporting vivid dreams at night and restlessness upon waking.

These reports all point to the hidden seed of nightmares that is quietly recovering and beginning tentative activities.

The pressure is mounting.

Each time Amber brought new news, Kate remained outwardly calm, but her inner sense of urgency intensified.

On the twenty-seventh day of the analysis, when Kate's mental strength was almost exhausted and her will was on the verge of its limit, a turning point finally appeared.

Under the overload of the Seed of Origin, he completed the initial deciphering and simulation of the "Mind Weaving" rune array, the most core and stable rule structure in the fragments.

[Rules Module: Mind Weaving (Beginner) Analysis Completed. Preliminary simulation and application are now possible.]

[Effect: Can perceive, guide, and subtly interfere with the shallow thoughts and dream fragments of itself and nearby intelligent beings.]

One can sense the "ripples" left behind by dream rules that are of the same or opposing origins.

Kate suddenly opened her eyes, and deep within them seemed to be countless fragments of a dream, shimmering with light, rising and falling.

Without hesitation, he immediately guided this initial understanding toward the heart of reincarnation!

"Using dreams as a bridge, we connect our hearts! The cycle of reincarnation merges!"

He let out a low shout, and in his spiritual sea, the newly formed understanding of the rules of "dreams" transformed into crystal-clear, ever-changing chains of runes, slowly merging into the slowly rotating structure of the Heart of Reincarnation.

This is not a simple addition, but a deeper level of integration and sublimation!

The rules of dreams, which essentially involve the boundaries between spirit, consciousness, illusion and reality, happen to be an excellent bridge connecting the seed of life and the core of death.

Before this, life and death in the cycle of reincarnation coexisted and transformed, with a persistent barrier and conflict between them that was difficult to completely eliminate.

At this moment, the rules of "dream" are integrated, acting as a universal neutralizer and adhesive, building an invisible, flexible buffer and communication zone between life and death.

The power of life can be filtered through dreams, becoming gentler, more penetrating, and even simulating the characteristics of "nourishing dreams";

The power of death can become more hidden and deceptive through the distortion of "dreams," and can even evolve into the prototype of "silent nightmares."

More importantly, the rules of dreams greatly enhance the power of the Heart of Reincarnation at the spiritual and soul level, giving it an unprecedented ability to perceive and subtly interfere with fluctuations in emotions, thoughts, and the subconscious.

Buzz—! ! !

The Heart of Reincarnation trembled violently, undergoing a radical optimization and reorganization of its structure, becoming more complex, more harmonious, and more profound.

Life, death, space, and dreams—these four rules are no longer clearly distinct, but rather begin to intertwine, resonate, and cycle at a deeper level.

Kate's aura surged at a visible speed! The mental strength bottleneck that had been stuck at 298 points shattered instantly, and she soared like a rocket.

299-305315330350!

Finally, it came to a steady stop at a perfect 377 points!

It is also incredibly concise, carrying a sense of clarity that sees through illusion.

First-level wizard perfected, the pinnacle!

Moreover, his Soul of Reincarnation structure has been optimized, significantly enhancing his understanding and control over the rules, making his actual combat power far exceed that of an ordinary first-ring perfect wizard.

"Success—" Kate exhaled a long breath, which carried a dreamlike, shimmering glow.

He felt an unprecedented power and clarity, as if he could see through the appearances of many things and reach their core meaning.

He didn't stop; instead, he struck while the iron was hot and immediately tried to use his newly acquired abilities.

He closed his eyes, and with a slight thought, activated his "Mind Weaving" ability.

In an instant, his senses became incredibly strange.

The quiet room remained the same, but he could "see" the faint "intention" of the eternal song tree's tranquility and protection contained within the life energy flowing in the air.

It can "hear" the anxious, expectant, and worried "ripples of thought" in Amber's heart outside.

They could even vaguely detect, in the far distance, the discordant, manic, and fearful "fragments of dreams" mentioned in the reports of the elven sentinels—traces left by the activities of the Seed of Nightmares.

Although it is still blurry and cannot be precisely located, the direction is clear.

"Aishie, Amber!"

Kate stood up, looking refreshed, and pushed open the door to the quiet room.

Amber, who was waiting outside, saw the deep, insightful light in his eyes, and the seamless integration of...

A more powerful aura than before filled him with immense joy: "Kate! You—you succeeded?!"

"Yes." Kate nodded, her tone filled with strong confidence. "I have already mastered the basic methods of sensing its tracks."

Immediately notify the elders that, based on the direction I sensed, the general area of ​​activity of the Dream Demon Seed is near the border between the Misty Swamp and Echo Valley in the southeast.

"Have our investigative teams focus their search on that area."

The news sent shockwaves through the entire Light Elf tribe, and then sparked a surge of immense hope.

Kate not only successfully broke through, but also actually found a way to track down that terrible enemy in such a short time.

Elder Qingye immediately gave the order, and the elite Thorn Guards and the most skilled forest scouts, like a large net, were silently cast towards the area Kate had indicated.

Kate herself closed her eyes again, consolidating her newly acquired power while, like the most sophisticated radar, continuously sensing the extremely faint ripples left by the Seed of Nightmare in the vast forest dreamscape.