He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

There were too many unexpected situations in that instant, so Ai chose to grab the one she knew best and start complaining.

"Little White, you finally decided to come back?"

She silently grumbled about the door in her heart; it had been out of contact for half a month—without its help, Ai's research had stalled for a while, but now it was finally back.

However, before we can catch up, there's a problem to solve: a long string of white text with black characters has appeared on the think tank's panel, resembling a registration screen for a large game.

Temporary Identity: Elaine

++ Encoding: 160764

Affiliation: Trinity Foundation, Hallownest, Lolanda

"Entering identity verification process, yes/no"

The registration process was temporarily stalled, but the think tank is now faintly glowing, silently urging things on—

"Not a buddy? Who do you think you are to dare put yourself above me!"

At this moment, the door had reached its limit. As a light screen in front of Ai Yi, being covered by this so-called think tank seemed to have triggered its strange competitive spirit.

The next instant, a sudden burst of light flooded Ai's vision, completely enveloping the think tank's text box and swallowing it whole.

A familiar pure white screen appeared before his eyes: "Alright, now it's my turn to register an account for you—name?"

"Aiyi..." Aiyi answered subconsciously, then immediately shook her head, her expression strange, "Wait, what's going on here?"

-Are you sure you're okay with just abandoning think tanks like this?

"Of course, no problem. AI varies in quality. The foundation's think tank is basically just a large matrix. At best, it's an automated response program, which might be considered slightly more powerful. I can out-intelligence it. Now, enough talk—name?"

"Eileen." Completely unaware that she'd been led astray by the door, Ai suppressed her urge to complain and forced a serious tone, "What did you just say about the think tank... the Big Matrix?"

"Large Group Matrix · Macro-Intelligence Terminal Database - This is the full name of the think tank, the Foundation's second singularity technology. Didn't you always complain that the think tank is pure black technology and you can't even find a physical object? Well, this is the reason."

"Eh..." Ai's gaze was blank.

When he first arrived in Chaodu, the think tank that he had seamlessly accessed had greatly impressed him—now it seems that there were indeed secrets inside.

The door explained leisurely: "Like the Hume Tree, it is a creation that exists simultaneously in the Great Sacred Pool and the present world. Moreover, it has no physical structure in the conventional sense; it is a giant matrix erected within the Great Sacred Pool—I told you, the Red Pool is a complete, invisible world, not only a lost history, but it also reflects the 'present world.'"

"The soul of every intelligent life living in reality is projected into the boundless red liquid. This intermingled red liquid can be seen as the collective will of human intelligence: we call it the 'Large,' and within the boundaries of Hallownest in Lolanda, the singularity creation responsible for managing this 'Large' is the Intellectual Treasury."

-Wow……

"No wonder I could see it even in the Grand Prize Pool..." Ai sighed, marveling at the Foundation's murmurs, then tilted her head and asked, "So what is this place?"

"That little girl will explain it to you soon enough. Now, open your eyes wide and look at me—cheese!"

Ai's bewildered expression was captured on the screen. The next moment, Veltin, who had been standing beside him, patted him on the shoulder, put his hands behind his back, and asked softly, "Are you done? Account registration is just a matter of following the think tank's newcomer guide..."

The girl twitched her black and white cat ears, blinked, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes: "Why do I feel like you're spacing out?"

"No, no!"

Ai shuddered, hurriedly trying to remove her embarrassing photo from behind the door, only to find the light screen refreshing on its own:

"The vessel has been recorded, and the characteristics of the red liquid have been entered into the database."

"Ellen, the path to ascent begins at your feet; may your ascent soar high—"

Your mystery panel is generated as follows:

Name: Elaine

++Mysterious Energy Level: Stage Zero - Qualified Individual

++Secret Quality: 10/10

++Budding Nutrients: Grief (2/3)

++ Tendency: Jhin 2

++Method: None

——Skills Section——

++Academic Categories: General Outline of Mysticism - Alchemy (Introduction), Ritual Studies (Introduction), Mystic Item Identification (Introduction), Ritual Implements Studies (Introduction)

++Skill Category: Silence

.

"Is registration complete? Let me see..."

While Ai was still in a daze, Veltin's body shimmered with light, and her gorgeous long dress faded away in the surging mosaic, transforming into a blue-black uniform similar to her usual attire.

Adjusting his top hat, Veltin walked up to Ai: "Just tell the think tank's 'display panel' in your mind. Yes, that's all."

The girl leaned closer to Ai, their faces almost touching the same light screen: "So there are already two Horizontal Ascension Rules... Hey, when did you collect those two portions of nourishment?!"

Amber eyes twitched, a flicker of surprise crossing them. Veltin smiled and turned his head, squinting as he scrutinized Ai: "In that case... perhaps the Sprouting Ceremony can be scheduled soon. My previous assessment of your talent was rather conservative..."

More than just conservative...

In reality, the girl was far less calm than she appeared.

Having awakened my qualifications just three months ago, without any official resources, I've relied on my own efforts to obtain two horizontal guidelines and two portions of nourishment—meeting almost all of my inclinations towards the path to greatness...

Even for Virtue, who awakened at the age of fourteen and received preferential resources from the Foundation's Rising Stars program, it still took him nearly two years to advance from a qualified candidate to an apprentice in the sect.

Her lips trembled almost imperceptibly.

This is a complete freak.

The most outrageous thing is that this guy was a wild qualified practitioner from the lower city. He had not received any training in occultism before, but in just half a month, he had mastered the four basic disciplines of the general outline of occultism—and he was even a studious genius who was willing to learn.

Good heavens, genius plus hard work, how are we supposed to compete?

Young man, you're invincible.

"Actually... it's alright." Ai's expression was strange. He finally understood why the door had forced its way into the think tank—it had helped him tamper with the attribute panel, hiding the true criteria and mysterious techniques.

Brother Men is so reliable!

"Keep it low-key, just keep it to yourself."

Ai could have easily fooled Virtue, but seeing the girl's eyes shift several times and her expression become strangely unsettling, Ai started to back down. She tried to change the subject: "Boss, you've looked at the panel, shouldn't you tell me where this place is?"

"It's obvious that this is the Grand Offering Pool."

After saying that, Virtin observed Ai's increasingly contorted expression and revealed a mischievous smile. "I'm not kidding you anymore... You definitely don't want to hear this."

"Ahem..." She cleared her throat and walked along the glass steps toward the azure lake below the sanctuary. Ai followed silently behind her, listening to the girl's soft explanations.

"This is the White Tower, a base that the Foundation established in the Great Gift Pool by relying on the power of its think tank and the Hume Tree. It shields the Red Pool from the shocks and anomalies and can exist in this invisible world for a long time. Although it is not as large as the magnificent kingdoms in the pool, it is enough as a bridgehead."

"A military outpost...?"

Ai looked around at the scenery—

Above, the sky was dazzling, its light shining brightly.

After stepping over the glass steps and leaving the sanctuary behind, I walked along the soft earthen slope and arrived at the long-lost green meadow that I had never seen in the city.

Before me lay a vast expanse of azure lake, its edge tinged with emerald green by the reflections of the trees along its banks.

Ai stared blankly into the distance.

There seemed to be no wind here, and the calm lake surface was clear and transparent, like a top-grade sapphire—the transition between light and water was seamless, and the view was framed by the sky, which gave the white tower behind it a bluish-green base.

Only after walking this far and looking back did Ai understand why this place was called the White Tower—the sanctuary was only part of the white tower, which stretched all the way to the other side of the sky, to the azure horizon.

So beautiful.

"Why is there no one in a place like this?"

Ai Yi had just muttered something to himself when the panel popped up in front of him:

"Leave local login, yes/no"

"yes?"

The next instant, Ai's vision blurred, and the space he was in seemed unchanged. As Veltin disappeared beside him, many unfamiliar figures suddenly appeared in all directions—

Holy crap, the multiplayer lobby!

No, no, no.

A second later, the figures vanished abruptly, and Ai reappeared in front of Veltin with a blank expression. He was greeted by the girl's mischievous grin with her hands behind her back: "See? The Foundation's foundation is more solid than you imagined."

"That's really true..."

Ai was sweating a little. Compared to the cult next door, the Foundation was like aliens beating up a primitive tribe—excluding the freak "Mirror of Radiance," most cults were still in the primitive stage, relying on human sacrifices and madness to barely explore the Great Gift Pool, while the Foundation was practically an open-world game...

If it weren't for the exceptionally powerful Ash, no amount of esoteric sects would have been enough for the Foundation to manipulate.

The journey to catch up will be long and arduous...

.

.

Gradually, when the conversation ran dry, in this world with only the two of them, Ai didn't rush to leave. Having grown accustomed to the madness of the city, the scenery before him was refreshing enough, so he began to accompany Virtin for a walk by the lake.

When no one spoke, a sense of peace lingered in her heart, making Ai a little sleepy, and her eyes unconsciously squinted.

The girl in front also thoughtfully slowed down and stopped on a flat patch of grass, while Ai Yi also tacitly lay down on the spot and took a nap with her head on the earthen slope.

Virtue tried to coax the deer by the lake, but the girl didn't seem to appeal to the animals. She simply stretched out her hand from a distance, and the deer scattered far away, eliciting a few soft laughs from Ai.

The fox, whose charm was at its peak, personally took action and whistled towards the distant herd of deer.

"come over……"

Soon, the animals living in the Great Pond crowded the small meadow to the point of being impassable.

As she stroked their antlers, Ai Yi silently pondered: Are the animals in the Red Pool... edible?

Neither the deer nor Veltin noticed his wicked thoughts. At that moment, the girl carefully placed her hand on the head of a fawn. The fawn initially tried to break free, but stopped under Ai's dangerous gaze and reluctantly approached Veltin.

- Feel free to pet them; there are no bad people who like small animals.

The early morning drowsiness washed over her, and since there wasn't much to do anyway, Ai closed her eyes to rest while asking, "Wei sir, are you getting a promotion soon?"

"Perhaps..."

The girl seemed a little absent-minded, completely unaware that the distance between them had unconsciously closed considerably. She spoke softly, "At least the old guys on the committee think highly of me, and maybe they'll make an exception and promote me to the decision-making level..."

Ai looked up at the sky, her voice muffled: "So, does that mean I should start calling you Minister Wei from now on?"

"Whatever you want..."

Veltin responded vaguely as well, then Ai whispered incessantly, "Veltin, is your sexual characteristic cat-like?"

The girl said irritably, "Didn't you see it...?"

"So cute, why cover it up with a hat?"

Ai Yi was completely baffled and privately believed that "intentionally covering animal ears" should be included in the Nest Capital's criminal code.

"It's because...it's cute! Executives don't need to be cute; they have to maintain a facade of authority, and at the very least, they can't show their ears."

Wilting was also somewhat troubled, as cat ears, being one of the most common sexual characteristics in the hive, obviously did not have any additional deterrent effect.

Hey, cats are nocturnal hunters, why can't they be majestic? That's gender bias...

As drowsiness grew stronger, Ai Yi, while quietly reflecting, asked, "Wai sir, why were we in such a hurry just now... Does this place have operating hours?"

"Of course not..."

Veltin glared at him. "There are rules to follow within the Grand Prize Pool. New account registration and panel updates can only be done during 'dawn' and 'dusk'."

"The light of day is brilliant, and the darkness of night is dense. Only during the time of dawn and dusk is the glow clearest and coldest. Its power can penetrate the vessel and reveal the essence of the red liquid... Even the most turbid medium can travel through the light path in the cold glow and become transparent and visible—this is the natural law of the mysterious world."

"I see..." Ai had completely closed her eyes, and her breathing gradually became steady.

Wilting also stopped speaking for a long time.

The White Pagoda fell silent.

.

.

A rare breeze swept across the grass, creating waves of emerald green. In the stillness, Ai slowly got up from the ground, looked at Wilting who was already asleep not far away, his chest rising and falling gently, and yawned silently.

- Ms. Wei looks so tired, let her rest here.

Ai walked along the lakeside, heading further away. The white tower behind him receded into the distance in his view, appearing as illusory as a dream.

They had almost reached the other side of the lake when Ai stopped. "Is this enough?"

"That's about right, let's stop here. At worst, we can have Mo Ya keep an eye on things; that little girl shouldn't find out. Let's move into adult time... Are you ready?"

"I can't wait..."

The fruits of the grand ceremony should be harvested.

Chanyeol's light screen came into his view:

"I recreate the splitting of the blazing sun in the pool... The answer is the sun divided into four parts. I imitate the posture of the sun's skeleton, splitting this body into four..."

"Great undertaking - When divided, divide your vessel into four, and you may try to walk on four paths at the same time."

"..."

Ai's eyes gradually brightened, and then she gasped.

Holy crap, it's open!

He understood the terrifying quality that the grand ceremony brought him, and upon reflection, he found a kind of intense beauty.

Now the fox can be divided into four equal parts.

"It's not over yet, continue—"

The light screen remains bright:

"The radiance has seeped into my vessel, turning into its crimson liquid: His ill-fated destiny is sealed, His bones will serve as my offerings, dissolving into my new life...until the arrival of the second dawn."

"My great achievements form the foundation, and my grand vision paves the way."

"Reshaping: The Path of Light".

-The magnificent path of rebirth has already begun to unfold beneath my feet.

"Perhaps it's not just a grand road."

The door murmured, "The fallen standard still leads to the bottom of the pool... The end of the light is no longer just grandeur, but points to the true pinnacle, that supreme position—the Celestial Emperor."

"Once you climb to the summit and relight the 'light,' that position will belong solely to you... no one else can claim it."

"So, what do I need to do?"

Ai Yi vaguely understood the meaning of the door: the current path of heavenly light is a path that only he can walk. As long as he can reach the end and raise the criterion, no one can compete with him for the position of the celestial keeper.

Although he hasn't even started yet, he has already secured the position of "Lamp Master" in advance, and all that's left is to raise his level.

"But without the guiding principles of the lamp, how can I climb this path?"

"The old way, a loan."

Ai: "?"

The Door: "First, define the principles of the 'Lamp' yourself, then use this fictional 'Lamp' to ascend. Once you reach the grandeur, truly raise the principles of the lamp, achieving a mystical closure and completion."

- Is this even possible?

The door opened in silence, then continued, "To establish a principle, even a fictional one, requires an immense amount of secret essence and influence. Secret essence can be collected slowly, but influence is much harder to obtain... If you want to leave a lasting mark on this world, you'll need to use some unconventional methods."

-for example?

"For example...you personally wrote the original text."

Before the words were finished, a thin book emerged from nothingness, its pristine white pages resembling the bark of ash wood, covered in fragmented yet dazzling light—

A dazzling halo of light appeared before Ai Yi, and faintly, it solidified into a page of pure white paper that gathered coldness and flowed with brilliance.

"Write here... your own code of conduct."

Ai felt his red liquid flowing outwards in the form of a glow, like pure white ink marks. Controlling the white ink, he gently splashed it onto the glossy paper.

The Original Text: Pure White Tantra

The white ink dissolves into meaning, engraved upon the original text:

"The radiance is a question, and we, the Lightbringers who fuel us, answer with an affirmative. Now it is the light in the pure white palm, more radiant than ever before, and we are the eggshells, waiting to hatch on a secret pilgrimage."

That's exactly it.

Ai suddenly understood, and smiled as she made the promise, as if recording a declaration of promise in the original text:

"I will eventually reach the summit."

And so, the path he had anticipated appeared beneath his feet:

-Path: Daylight

-Demand preference: Lights?, Fire 2

- Required: None (You have already provided the answer to the destination).

- Ritual: None (You have already received the promises flowing down from above).

-Phase 1: Cold Candle

"I guide the way, I illuminate the darkness, I have no mercy... The merciless and cold light illuminates my skull, and in the candlelight, everyone should feel a chill."