Chapter 1397: Chapter 1238: Untitled (2)
Adding in the four incomplete roots I’ve grasped—Dream, Ocean, Evil, Life—patching them together into a cobbled‑together "full root" version of myself, this time I really do have the right to shout that Number 1 is nothing to be afraid of.
And what’s even more delightful is that, after years of insane expansion, the Cleaners’ footsteps have already spread across the present world and the surrounding subsidiary planes. With the pure essence of the Pure White Holy Mother’s root added in, the day when the present world is stitched back into one whole is already just around the corner.
Opening the badge panel and glancing at the string of parsing‑rate numbers under [Materialism], all over 95%, a thick surge of anticipation inevitably surfaced in Leon’s eyes.
Once the present world is re‑fused, not only will the damaged root of [Life] be strengthened, regaining power on par with Numbers 1, 2, and 4, this brand‑new present world will even get "extra options" added on, bringing along fragments of the Abyssal Sea Realm and the Hundred Thousand Evil Abyss, as well as the complete Graveyard and Pure White Holy Land.
Count in the Dream Realm that’s gradually becoming the new "Slumbering Dream Chasm," and the moment the new present world is fused, it’ll undergo an unprecedented expansion, merging the essence and roots of a full six colossal material planes in one go, leaping to become the largest of all material planes. By then... huh?
Looking at the little old man in a black robe who’d re‑condensed in front of him, Leon’s expression froze for a moment, then he asked with some confusion:
"Your Excellency Graveyard Dominator? You are..."
"That dumb donkey is gone!"
Before Leon could finish, the Graveyard Dominator, whose face was as black as iron, spoke first, his expression tense as he reported:
"And it’s not just it! Also Number 11, Number 12, plus the Hanging Horn Star Gorge, the Sublimation Extreme, the Ancestral Land of Ten Thousand Spirits... those three and the three planes under their control have all disappeared!"
"?!!!"
...
Well I’ll be damned... Number 11 really went and pulled it off!
Sitting on a star fragment barely ten meters across, watching the stars in front of him turn into countless streaks of flowing light dragging comet tails, tilting down like ten thousand rivers returning to the sea, falling from reality toward the Spirit domain, the Hanging Star Dominator’s donkey face showed a genuine, intoxicated look of fascination.
Dream, Spirit, Will... the roots of the three Spirit domains are fused into one, and on top of that, while I was out in the present world watching the fun, she stole part of the Astral root from the Hanging Horn Star Gorge. Number 11’s scheme is now practically a complete success.
Within the three‑in‑one Spirit domain, distance is almost meaningless. Wherever the Spirit can reach, the body can follow—and the Astral root just happens to let her Spirit expand without limit, her Will reaching any point in the Spirit domain in an instant.
From now on, she no longer has to tiptoe around Number 1 like avoiding the plague. As long as she’s in the Spirit domain opposite to reality, she can stand undefeated. Even if Number 1 kills everyone else, she still won’t be able to affect Number 11, who now perfectly controls the Spirit domain.
For Number 11 right now, the only thing that still counts as a "weak point" is the seventy percent of Dream root in Number 3’s hands. As the passage between real and false, Dream is the only gateway to the Spirit domain that can’t be fully closed, so then...
"What are you planning to do next?"
Raising his head to look at the enormous eyes above, the Hanging Star Dominator asked in eager anticipation:
"Number 11, are you planning to make a move on Number 3 next and seize the remaining Dream root from him?"
"..."
Looking down at the Hanging Star Dominator, who had been dragged into the Spirit domain along with the Astral root, the gigantic eyes that existed only on the spiritual level were silent for a moment. Then she took the initiative to reveal her form, answering with a question that completely dodged his:
"After seeing what I’ve done... why aren’t you surprised at all?"
"What’s there to be surprised about? You and Number 1 working together?"
The Hanging Star Dominator waved a donkey hoof and replied cheerfully:
"I knew ages ago. Number 1 might be the strongest among us, but to destroy the Hundred Thousand Evil Abyss, the Not‑Village, and Shepherd’s Plain in one breath and kill Numbers 5, 8, and 14, that’s a bit too much even for her—so she definitely found a helper.
Before, I suspected her helper was Number 3. After all, Number 3 ate up Number 7 bite by bite and split Number 7’s Dream root with Number 1. No matter how you look at it, he was super suspicious.
But later, when you used the ’Deer Spirit’ to disguise yourself as the real you and tried to join my Dead Donkey Alliance, I realized I’d been wrong. Compared to Number 3, who likes to ’talk,’ you are way more like Number 1’s ally."
"Impossible."
After listening seriously to the Hanging Star Dominator’s answer, the huge eyes cast from the Spirit domain narrowed, her voice firm as she refuted:
"You’re lying! Before infiltrating your Hanging Horn Star Gorge, I was working with Number 12 to resist Number 1 the whole time. I never did anything suspicious. But Number 3, he ate his way along the whole time, he..."
"You said it yourself, Number 3 has a bit of a weird little kink."
Cutting off the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits, the Hanging Star Dominator, still falling along with the stars, chuckled:
"If Number 3 were Number 1’s ally, then when the two of them took out Numbers 5, 8, and 14 together, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to resist taking a bite. He’d surely be carrying some of the corresponding roots on him.
Mm... although I now realize I probably misunderstood him, that actually was how I thought back then, so I crossed him off my suspect list.
And you, as the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits, are best at spiritual‑level sealing and suppression—perfectly suited to cooperate with Number 1, to block Numbers 5 and the others from sensing danger.
On top of that, that naive Deer Spirit avatar of yours, who’s scared shitless of Number 3 yet still insisted on forcing herself to join my Dead Donkey Alliance—that just made you even more suspicious, so..."
So?
Never would she have thought that this fun‑seeking donkey, who looked stupid as hell, actually had this kind of little scheming side. The Master of Ten Thousand Spirits couldn’t help drawing in a deep breath and followed up on his words:
"So you used those clues to pin it directly on me?"
"Nope."
The Hanging Star Dominator shook his head, grinning:
"I went and had a little chat with Number 1, asked her if you were her ally, and she didn’t deny it."
"..."
So you just asked and found out, then what the hell were you monologuing all that crap for!
Blindsided for a second by the fun‑donkey’s abstract answer, the Master of Ten Thousand Spirits’ enormous eyelids twitched violently, then her voice came out edged with annoyance:
"You’re talking nonsense! If you already knew I was Number 1’s ally, why did you accept me into that stupid alliance of yours, and then go off to the present world with Number 4, giving me the chance to seize the Astral root?"
"Listen to yourself..."
The Hanging Star Dominator blinked his donkey eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and shot back:
"Obviously because it was entertaining. What else would it be for?"
"?????"
"Sigh... each of you has your people, more or less a fixed place to live, your own goals and ideals. You really have no idea how boring it is to be an Astral lifeform."
Letting out a long, gloomy sigh, the Hanging Star Dominator, sitting on the star fragment, pulled out two dew‑beaded carrots, stuffed them into his mouth, and complained:
"We Astral beings don’t have any fixed home. Aside from occasionally passing through the Hanging Horn Star Gorge, we just drift around the entire Astral scope. Those bastards really can wander—I’ve barely met a handful of my own kind in my whole life.
From the very first second I was born, I got tossed into the Astral over Old Soil and floated there, getting whipped around by all kinds of spatial turbulence. I was nearly two hundred before I finally fell into a half‑destroyed material plane and met the first living being who could talk... no, the first living donkey."
Pointing at his current appearance, the Hanging Star Dominator sighed heavily:
"Thinking back, as my first acquaintance, that donkey actually wasn’t very good at talking. The only things he could chat about were eating and sleeping, and how to go find little she‑donkeys...
Forget him. Anyway, how mind‑numbingly boring my life really is, you wouldn’t even dare imagine. If I didn’t know how to find a bit of fun for myself, I’d probably have lost the will to live a long time ago."
