Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Link realized he had fallen into a trap.

Or, in this worldly terms, one has created an obstacle of perception.

Who says that just because space is real, timelines have to be parallel?

Regarding the rules of spacetime, let alone comprehending them, even understanding them is extremely difficult.

Where does he get the confidence to believe that what he sees, hears, and touches is necessarily true?

Where does he get the confidence to believe that what he thinks is necessarily true?

Knowing that you are in a rather special test, why would you presuppose a particular stance?

Link pondered this question.

Most of my memories of the Wizarding World have been restored.

This includes the fact that his cognition was altered by the True Spirit Wizard's cognitive magic, leading to his ambush.

Logically, after recalling this incident, he should have carefully examined whether his perception had been altered or misled.

But he didn't.

Why is that?

One question after another surfaced in Link's mind.

Some answers were given, some were not.

But none of that matters now. There's something more important: to get inside the hatch and see what's behind it.

Danger is highly likely to exist.

Just be cautious; don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Coming to his senses, Link heard Hu Suqi's talk about "visitors from outer space" again, and another guess arose in his mind.

But Link didn't dwell on it any longer. He suppressed his guess and slowly walked to the door of the starship.

"Junior brother?"

Senior Brother Shi had been keeping an eye on his junior brother out of the corner of his eye, and upon seeing this, he immediately asked.

"I want to go in and take a look."

Link didn't turn around. He replied to Senior Brother Shi, paused, and emphasized, "I'll go in alone. You guys stay outside and keep watch."

This decision wasn't based on any other motive, such as not wanting Shi Shi and the others to see the facilities and equipment inside the interstellar warship, but simply on a safety perspective.

One person can act independently, coming and going as they please.

Acting together increases the risk.

Senior Brother Shi naturally understood what he meant.

However, he was not annoyed by being slighted, but rather very understanding.

The junior brother is shrouded in more and more mystery, and he knows more and more secret techniques, especially his unpredictable teleportation.

Once inside, even if you don't find anything, you can still retreat in time if you encounter danger.

What do you think?

However, Shi Shi did not readily agree and turned to look at Hu Suqi, Min Ruohua, and Xu Huiyun.

Since everyone came together, it's natural to seek their opinions before making such an important decision.

"I have no objection."

Hu Suqi was the first to express her opinion.

Even if Link wanted to go alone, she wouldn't go in even if she were asked to go with him.

For a sorcerer skilled in ancient witchcraft, venturing into an unfamiliar place is a grave taboo.

A warlock can only unleash their full combat power when they have their own base of operations.

How many years has it been since the Director of the Imperial Observatory left that star-gazing tower?

If it weren't for the dual pressure from the imperial court and her father, Hu Suqi wouldn't have bothered to move and become "cannon fodder" in the Valley of the Dead.

"I will do whatever you say, Brother Shi."

Min Ruohua seemed to be thinking about something, and then stated her position.

The friendship between the Mingxin Sword Sect and the Bajiquan Martial Arts School actually dates back several generations.

The connecting hub is Li Shuwen.

"Li Shuwen, the master of the spear, is not a monkey who sprang from a rock; he also has a master."

The two families are closely related, and their disciples travel outside together, always going in and out together.

"I want to go in...I want to...I...I have no objection."

Under Min Ruohua's tender gaze, Xu Huiyun changed her mind repeatedly.

After spending some time together, Xu Huiyun felt that the other three had good personalities, and some of her true nature began to emerge.

She's a crybaby, a laughbaby, a playful girl, and loves novelty—she has all the typical traits of a little girl.

After passing through a fog in the Valley of the Dead, they arrived at their destination, the Peach Tree of Longevity, which already shocked and amazed Xu Huiyun.

When they discovered a strange door under the tree roots, it caused Link, who had been calm and composed since they first met, as if there was nothing in the world that could stump him, to lose his composure and fall silent.

Xu Huiyun became even more curious about the origin of the door and what lay behind it.

Especially after Hu Suqi told the legend of the "visitor from outer space".

such a pity……

Xu Huiyun pouted, watching Lin Ke walk step by step to the door with displeasure, observing him carefully.

"Snap out of it, be on guard!"

Min Ruohua patted Xu Huiyun on the shoulder to wake her up.

Not going inside doesn't mean there's nothing to do.

The Valley of the Dead is fraught with danger. Their smooth journey so far does not guarantee that it will continue to be smooth.

It's not an exaggeration to be extremely careful.

"oh."

Xu Huiyun was quite sensible and quickly got down to business.

I couldn't help but glance at the door out of the corner of my eye, wanting to see how well Link was breaking it down.

When I looked at it, I was completely stunned.

Senior Brother Link simply pressed a button on the door, heard a strange, unfamiliar language, and replied with the same language. The door then opened automatically!

Xu Huiyun was certain that she had never heard of or understood that unfamiliar language before.

Could it be that Senior Brother Link is really an "extraterrestrial visitor"?

"Don't overthink it!"

Min Ruohua wasn't blind; she also saw the scene and noticed Xu Huiyun's eyes darting around, as if she were thinking about something. She quickly flicked her forehead with her hand.

"oh."

Xu Huiyun gripped the sword in her left hand, touched the top of her head with her right, and responded blankly.

As she walked to the designated warning point set up by her senior sister, she wondered to herself whether her senior brother Link was actually an extraterrestrial.

Brother Shi's feelings were quite complicated at this moment.

There's a conflicting feeling: I hope my junior brother isn't an alien, yet I also hope he is.

If the junior brother is an extraterrestrial visitor, then the possibility that he was parasitized or reincarnated from some old monster is ruled out.

Ugh!

Senior Brother Shi sighed heavily. What am I thinking about?

He gently shook his head, banishing unrealistic thoughts from his mind, and focused on standing guard for his junior brother.

After discovering that door, Hu Suqi's attention never left it.

Naturally, he witnessed how Link entered the room.

Unlike Shi Shixiong, Min Ruohua, and Xu Huiyun, she didn't dwell on whether Link was an "extraterrestrial visitor."

Hu Suqi was focused on the language that Link had just used.

Among the incomplete inheritance of ancient witchcraft that she obtained, there was an anecdote mentioned.

Legend has it that the language used by shamans in ancient times to worship heaven and earth had no connection with the language used in this world today.

"Could it be that what he just said was the sacrificial language used by ancient shamans?"

Hu Suqi began to speculate.

If this guess comes true, that would be quite something!

If we could learn this language from Link, many ancient witchcraft and magic arts that have been lost could be completely restored.

Ignoring the wild thoughts of the four people outside the door, Link entered the room and completely suppressed his own thoughts, entering a state of high alert and focused exploration.

Behind the hatch is a passageway several meters long.

The lights on both sides of the bulkhead were still working normally.

Sensing Link's presence, it automatically adjusted the brightness.

In addition to the lighting, there are two spare manually operated valves and several screens.

Link didn't move anything; his feet didn't even touch the floor. Instead, he hovered a few centimeters off the ground.

Moving forward, you reach the end of the corridor, where another door appears.

This time, there was no need to give verbal instructions; the door opened automatically.

"Well……"

Seeing this, Link had a vague idea.

After hesitating for a while in front of the door, Link stepped through the second door and truly entered the interstellar warship buried under the Longevity Peach Tree.

"Welcome back, Captain Link Grand, 'Skysock'."

A humanoid holographic projection suddenly appeared in front of Link and bowed to him.

Perhaps due to years of disrepair, or perhaps due to insufficient energy, the holographic projection was not clear, with ripple-like interference from top to bottom.

After delivering the welcome message, it disappeared and switched to voice mode.

"The Skysock?"

Link muttered to himself, recalling his first interstellar warship.

He named it "Sky Shuttle," a Hummingbird-class interstellar warship that disintegrated and was scrapped in the spacetime turbulence.

It wasn't scrapped?

How did it get here?

And the arrival time was so long?

Is this the effect of spacetime turbulence?

Speculating is useless; I should just investigate it myself.

Link's memories of the "Sky Shuttle" surged, and he quickly recalled the ship's layout.

Following his memory, Link went straight to the cockpit.

Looking at the nearly intact facilities and equipment, Link hesitated for a moment before deciding not to sit down in the captain's seat.

He clearly remembered that the "Skysock" was already damaged before it encountered that claw.

At that time, all his energy was focused on the defense system.

After ejecting from the "Skysock" in the escape pod, even if they no longer followed the fate of the "Skysock," it is unlikely that it could have been preserved so well.

Unless the spacetime turbulence not only sends the "Sky Shuttle" to the ancient times of this world, but also reverses time and space, turning the "Sky Shuttle's" state back to before it entered the spacetime turbulence.

This is possible.

However, to be on the safe side, Link decided it was best not to come into contact with anything inside the warship.

"Tower Spirit, bring up the navigation log and play it from the time you entered the spacetime turbulence."

After some thought, Link smoothly "accepted" that he was the captain of the warship and issued orders.

Back when I first got my hands on the "Sky Shuttle," I was short of money and couldn't even afford a high-level intelligent tower spirit.

As a result, the tower spirit of the "Skysock" was provided by the manufacturer and could not be operated independently of the captain's command.

"Yes, ma'am."

The tower spirit replied in a very formal and methodical manner.

The huge screen at the front of the cockpit flickered for a moment, then stubbornly managed to light up.

The navigation log file appears, the video opens, and it plays at double speed.

The video begins with a crackling sound and pixelated visuals.

Link estimates that this was recorded during a period of spacetime turbulence by the Space Shuttle and was therefore subject to interference.

Soon, the noise and pixelation disappeared.

A planet appeared on the screen, and the warship, having lost its power, was unable to escape gravity and was captured by the planet.

After failing to reach the captain through repeated calls, the Taling initiated survival mode according to established procedures.

The warship concentrated its last bit of reserve energy and activated its defense system just before impacting the planet's surface, achieving an extremely hard landing.

The impact created a huge crater in the ground, and the warship became stuck in it, unable to move.

If that were all, the "Skysock" in survival mode could not have allowed itself to remain buried indefinitely.

After replenishing its energy by basking in the sun, the warship will automatically return to find the wizarding world.

However, one meteor after another fell from the sky and crashed next to the warship.

Some were intact escape pods, while others were building ruins.

That's how the Valley of the Dead was created by smashing things up.

Not long after, a dozen or so wizard apprentices dressed in the uniforms of Rivosos Academy emerged from several warships.

After a period of adjustment, they overcame their panic and began to seek ways to survive and escape.

Gathering supplies is the first step.

The dozen or so wizard apprentices looted all the supplies that could be collected from the intact escape pods and the building ruins.

Upon discovering the Skysock, the dozen or so wizard apprentices were overjoyed, shouting and yelling.

However, even with the wizard apprentice's abilities, they were unable to crack the Skysock's security system or force their way into the Skysock.

Their hopes of escaping this unknown planet and returning to the wizarding world were dashed.

The dozen or so wizard apprentices were utterly dejected, and then a fierce argument broke out.

Unable to resolve their differences, the dozen or so wizard apprentices split into several groups.

Most people left, except for one wizard apprentice who looked somewhat familiar to Link.

After careful consideration, Link remembered the man's identity.

This person was quite famous in the rear base of the Paro Sage Legion, and was skilled in rune arrays, which is a great pity.

If he hadn't been distracted, he could have definitely become a full-fledged wizard within four years.

This wizard apprentice probably wanted to use his knowledge of rune arrays to crack the warship's access control.

Unfortunately, the knowledge and technology used in warships far exceeded his level of understanding.

Even after being assigned to the rear base of the Paro Sage Legion, he received some training due to his special skills and was able to access knowledge of first-tier rune arrays.

The playback speed has been increased significantly.

Link noticed that this wizard apprentice had spent over thirty years trying to break through the warship's security gates.

The price is white hair, hunchback, and a short lifespan.

It seemed to sense that it was about to die on this unknown planet, with no hope of ever escaping.

The wizard apprentice came to terms with it, but didn't give up.

He began planting trees, cultivating creatures, digging traps, and setting up rune arrays.

The first tree planted was the longevity peach tree that is now in use, and a place close to the "Tissot" was specially chosen.

Since you won't let me in, then I'll bury you even deeper.

I can't leave, and neither can you.

And so, ten years passed, and a massive rune array was successfully set up.

As Link watched the entire process of the rune array being set up, captured by the "Sky Shuttle" on the screen, his eyes gleamed.

The escape pods and building ruins that other wizard apprentices couldn't take were all put to good use.

It could serve as a node in an array, an energy distribution hub, or an intelligent management center...

This person is truly a genius of rune arrays. He actually managed to set up a third-tier rune array with growth potential by combining runes at the level of a wizard apprentice.

If this happened in the wizarding world, it would definitely cause a sensation that would affect the entire wizarding world.

The wizard apprentice has set up a third-tier rune array; his talent is overflowing!

After so many years of growth, and with the joint deduction and adaptation of more than a dozen tower spirits connected to the rune array intelligent management center, the rune array covering the entire Valley of the Dead has reached the strength of a nearly fifth-order rune array, based on the general direction left by this wizard apprentice.

No wonder so many Void Realm warriors died in the formation.

As the voyage log footage played further, there wasn't much left to watch.

It was all footage of people dying after the Valley of the Dead was discovered.

Link closed the navigation log and fell into deep thought.

Time and space are truly wondrous.

Unpredictable. (End of Chapter)