Chapter 655 - 413: Second Visit to the Secret Sea (2)

Chapter 655: Chapter 413: Second Visit to the Secret Sea (2)

Living the same life over and over was a tedious affair.

For Lu Cang, these twenty-odd days were leveraged fourfold.

Each day, through Future Preview, he generated four additional days of experiences.

In the preview, if he stepped past the boundary of May 18th, he would be automatically ejected from it, returning to an even earlier day.

In other words, even crossing that time boundary within a preview would trigger the curse in reality.

The only way to circumvent it was through Reincarnation.

What was supposed to be a little over twenty days, Lu Cang had stretched into more than one hundred and sixty. This was mainly because he had accidentally triggered the curse during a preview, sending him all the way back to April 25th.

Everything had to start over from the beginning.

Finally... Lu Cang once again stood before the entrance to the Time Relic, reaching out to touch the gate.

’Divine Level Extraction.’

A shimmering Enchantment Stone appeared in Lu Cang’s hand.

"Enchantment: Time Seal—A substance marked with this Enchantment can seal time within a specific area."

Sealing time... This was different from stopping time.

It prevented the time within a specific area from being altered by special Laws of Time.

To make a comparison with a magical seal, it basically meant you couldn’t use Time Magic there.

During these one hundred-plus days, Lu Cang had started studying Chronology again. Thanks to his Second Forbidden Magic—Time—comprehending *Chronology* was now much easier than before.

He now had a much more unique understanding of Time.

In about five more minutes, it would reset again...

TICK—

The familiar sound of a clock winding backward echoed.

Time reset again.

April 24.

April 23.

April 22.

...

April 10.

April 2.

April 1.

Lu Cang gazed up once more at the chaotic sky.

April 1st. The day Moon’s influence was at its strongest, and the day the Secret Sea was destroyed.

And to reset to this day...

He had already spent far too long in this looping spacetime.

Each reset actually required him to live through over a hundred days. Now, with the addition of Future Preview, a single reset cycle took the better part of a year.

What seemed like just a little over half a month, in terms of subjective time, had already become a dozen years.

His understanding of Magic was far more profound than it had been during the first reset.

His understanding of Time, in particular, was exceptionally profound.

"Lu Cang, what are you spacing out about?" Rhine asked with a cheerful smile, bringing him back to the present.

Lu Cang offered a faint smile. "It’s nothing. I was just thinking about a few things."

’Finally, I’m back here again.’

’If nothing goes wrong... ’

’I’ll be seeing Aigemisa again very soon.’

An Su, who had been in his mind, had disappeared.

At this point in time, Lu Cang hadn’t met An Su yet.

The absence of An Su was slightly unsettling for Lu Cang...

Although An Su posed a significant security risk, he had also provided an immense amount of help.

Without An Su, there were some obstacles he might never have overcome.

’I’m just a little worried. Aigemisa represents chaos. Now that I’m meeting him again, will things still unfold as they did before?’

He stepped into the Relic.

Lu Cang perfectly mimicked his past self, conversing with Rhine and exploring with Yelieya and the others.

Even when they passed by a corpse on the path, Lu Cang turned the body over and took the tag hanging from its waist.

"Romoxi."

’I remember saying I’d help this guy’s soul find its way home.’

They walked for a while longer.

Then, he heard a familiar voice.

"Looks like something’s going on up ahead," Rhine said suddenly.

Four Teleportation Gates materialized out of thin air before them.

’Such familiar gates.’

...

Lu Cang moved as if he were an actor in a play. Relying on his flawless memory, he perfectly replicated his every past word and deed.

With a Memory Palace in his Sea of Consciousness, recreating these actions was simple.

Finally, he saw off the Puppet Master with the Divine Talent, sending it off to seek "eternal life." Who knew if it would ever reach the end of that Eternal Life Ladder?

’The chances are slim,’ he thought.

Only he, Yelieya, and Rhine remained.

Finally, after a discussion that felt like a performance, a decision was made.

He entered the passage he was always fated to choose.

...

Once everyone was present, a blurry, dark figure emerged before them.

"Welcome, everyone."

"Welcome to Aigemisa’s carnival."

Rhine was given 200 million points...

The first stage was to hunt Tier Six Demons and compete on points.

None of these stages posed a problem.

During this stage, Lu Cang still went ahead with the advancement Ritual. In truth, it was impossible for him to actually advance.

Because at this point, Lu Cang was already a Level 5 Death Priest.

He had originally attracted An Su when advancing from Level 4 to Level 5.

But that didn’t mean a Level 5 Death Priest couldn’t perform an advancement Ritual. In fact, an advancement could be canceled or it could fail. All Lu Cang needed was the process of making a Sacrifice to the very Source of Death.

He had to Sacrifice enough souls.

He would use it as bait to lure An Su.

’Sorry, old coot.’

’To strictly control the variables, your presence is still necessary...’

When An Su was drawn in by Lu Cang, he was completely stunned.

He never imagined that this seemingly weak child would have actually laid a trap specifically to kill him!

By the time he was forced to sign the Slave Contract with Lu Cang,

An Su finally realized it had all been a scheme. The boy never intended to advance; it was all just a ploy to trap him!

After that, the first stage concluded.

Lu Cang even controlled the scores with such precision that they were perfect down to the last digit.

Not a single point was off.

Subsequently, he also received the unique Creator’s Secret Scroll bestowed by Aigemisa.

Although his Professional Level didn’t reset with time, his Storage Bag and all other external items and props did.

The only physical thing that didn’t reset was his own body.

His physical strength, however, continued to increase.

It was as if his entire being had traveled back to the past, rather than just his Spirit and soul returning to his former body.

There was no suspense in the second stage, either—thrashing the Golden Dragon and saving Yukelyn was a foregone conclusion.

Now, he could thrash the Golden Dragon without even needing to stack his Heaven-Ascending Realm of Perfection for long; he could simply overpower it from the start.

However, to control the variables,

to ensure he would reach the Secret Sea in the final stage, Lu Cang replicated everything exactly as before.

Finally...

After one group of people had left and another had been eliminated,

he arrived at the third stage. The scene before him suddenly sharpened into focus... A calm sea reappeared before his eyes.

The Secret Sea...

’Here again, at last.’

Lu Cang’s gaze swept over the Secret Sea before turning toward the heavens.

’Divine Level - Deepest Truth.’

WHOOSH!

He felt an immense, oppressive pressure descend!

High above the distant clouds, pairs of eyes invisible to the naked eye peered down through the heavens, gazing upon the world below.

The entire Secret Sea, meanwhile, was a dazzling kaleidoscope of colors.

Brilliant, multicolored light radiated outwards as threads of Perception spread like a dense spiderweb, weaving a chaotic tapestry across the entire sea.

Even higher, in the heavens above, Lu Cang could now see two distinct figures.

One of them was extremely familiar.

It was Roya.

The Level 8 Chaos Deceiver... So he had been in position in the heavens since the very start of the third Trial.

And the other being standing with him high above.

...was an Angel, its eyes flashing with golden light, four incandescent gold wings spread behind it.

He looked down at the sea.

He saw that deep within the ocean, countless whirlpools were churning, and from their centers seeped a corrupting black miasma from the Abyss.

He glanced at the people beside him.

He had the distinct feeling that every person who had reached the Secret Sea with him was anything but ordinary.

He hadn’t noticed before, but there was almost no confusion in their eyes.

Instead, each possessed their own unique determination and fortitude.

Reaching the Secret Sea again, things were not as they seemed.

It felt like playing the same dungeon in a video game, but on two completely different difficulty settings.

’The difference between Normal and Hell Mode, perhaps?’