Book 3: Chapter 279: Lunar Phase Crystals

With all the preparations in place, Sylutia began arranging her dream-entry ritual.

First, she placed a ring of laurel-leaf woven flower crowns around the bedside. As the signature plant of the Luminous Moon Aspect, they could effectively block potential Nightmare erosion. Then she drew a circle on the floor beside the bed and placed three specially made candles inside it. This was a secret technique passed down from the Silver Radiance Church. The three "Silver Candle Lamps" could purify erosion, preventing dream monsters from invading during the dream-entry process, while also helping to maintain wakefulness.

Finally, she lit the incense burner by the bedside. Through the suggestive power of the fragrance, her body naturally relaxed, allowing her consciousness to slip free from its physical confines in a gentle, comfortable manner and descend into the deeper layers of dreams.

A few minutes later, Sylutia lay in bed, slowly drifting off to sleep. Her hands rested folded together, and a specially crafted silver amulet between her fingers emitted a soft, hazy glow.

Dreams. Deeper dreams.

As if passing through a long, hazy distance, Sylutia visualized the scenery of the "Silver Wax Tree Hill" as recorded in the secret arts, and her consciousness gradually drew closer to that distant place.

The "Land of the Moon" no longer existed within the dream world. It had long since sunk into that hazy, indistinct zone between reality and dreams, deep within the Twilight Sea.

Every time her consciousness approached that place, it meant venturing deeper into the Twilight Sea, which also invited deeper Distortion erosion. Under normal circumstances, Transcendents with weak Mental Power would gradually have their consciousness collapse and twist during this process, suffering tremendous harm.

Fortunately, even as Sylutia sank into that sea polluted by "Distortion," she was not eroded or twisted. Instead, she maintained a fragile clarity, descending like a single firefly, steadily flowing downward, drawing closer and closer.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sylutia gradually sensed a stretch of silver forest ahead. As she approached, the corrosive sensation of Distortion slowly weakened.

At last, that firefly arrived at the hillside surrounded by silver trees, waking up beneath a massive tree, transforming back into the form of a young woman. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"This is..."

Sylutia slowly opened her eyes, supporting herself with both hands on the grass as she sat up gradually. Her head still ached faintly, carrying a dull, sour sensation.

After a while, she recovered some clarity and slowly rose to her feet.

Looking up at the dense canopy of drooping leaves overhead, Sylutia plucked a single leaf and held it in her palm, examining it closely.

The leaf was feather-shaped, its veins forming exquisite patterns. It seemed naturally perfected, like a work of fine art.

Running her fingers gently over it, feeling the slightly rough, undulating veins and the delicate texture of the leaf surface, Sylutia felt as though she had crossed into another life, as if she had always belonged to this place, and the so-called real world was merely a dream she had been having for a very long time.

Walking through this forest, the leaves rustled softly against one another like gentle whispers. Leaves drifted and slid down, landing among the soft blades of grass.

Here, she could see more clearly than in reality, think more lucidly, perceive more keenly, and there was also an indescribable sense of freedom, as if her mortal body was merely a cage, nowhere near as comfortable and unrestrained as being in this dream world.

This feeling was something the books had never described.

Sylutia walked through the forest of swaying silver leaves, sometimes closing her eyes to listen to the gentle wind, sometimes stroking the grass and trees beneath her feet. Everything within nearly ten kilometers flowed into her mind through various means.

If this were reality, she would probably feel overwhelmed and burdened by so much information, but here, it was as simple as breathing. Not only could she perceive everything around her from her own perspective, but she could also view her surroundings from a high-altitude vantage point, as if appreciating a painting, with herself merely a small part of it, not the whole.

Dreams are a purely conscious world, unbound by the rules of reality. The so-called "body" is merely a product of habitual thinking.

Walking across the grassland, Sylutia suddenly scattered at a certain moment, dissolving into countless specks of light that merged into the world. Minutes later, she transformed into a butterfly appearing behind a certain flower.

Then the butterfly vanished, and several adorable little birds flew out from the forest. They chirped and called to one another, pecking at food among the trees, playing about in every direction, until finally, at some point, they dispersed and gathered back into a single figure.

Sylutia stood by the large pond in the forest, gazing at her reflection in the water. Her silver hair cascaded down smoothly, occasionally swaying gently in the breeze, the tips brushing across her cheek and bringing a faint, delicate sensation.

Staring at her reflection in the water for a long time, Sylutia bent down and lightly touched the water's surface with her finger. The reflection in the water mirrored the same motion. At the moment of contact, Sylutia felt a strange sensation. This was not the water surface of this world; it was as if another identical young woman on the opposite side was truly touching her finger with her own.

At this moment, Sylutia said nothing. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a few steps back.

Hmph, this was a bit strange. She couldn't keep exploring like this.

She didn't know what that gesture had meant, but she felt this wasn't something she could understand or sort out right now.

She would have to come back another time to explore that peculiar feeling. Sylutia glanced at herself in the water, blinked, then turned and walked away.

Afterward, she wandered through the Land of the Moon, sometimes transforming into a bird soaring through the sky, sometimes into a goldfish gliding through the water, searching for any traces of ancient moonlight remnants that might remain in this hilly forest.

It had already been thousands of years since the Silver Moon Dragon passed away, and the Land of the Moon had sunk into the Twilight Sea who knows how long ago. Though countless silver wax trees stood tall here, the place was exceptionally silent, with no other living creatures.

Thinking about it carefully, that made sense. The only things capable of lingering in the Twilight Sea for extended periods were probably the monsters born from those Aberrant Mother Nests, but these creatures instinctively disliked the Luminous Moon and would not easily approach this place, leaving it an empty, tranquil stretch of land.

A few days later, Sylutia's figure appeared beneath a massive tree. She looked up, taking in the tree's extraordinarily thick canopy, roughly a hundred meters wide, woven from countless silver leaves. Deep within that canopy of silver foliage, the faintest traces of ancient moonlight remnants lingered.

Having found the ancient moonlight remnants, Sylutia let out a relieved breath. The purpose of this trip was already more than half accomplished. The next step was carefully collecting them.

Her form dispersed, transforming into countless small, delicate mountain sparrows that burrowed into the dense foliage, beginning to gather the faint traces of moonlight within.

Time trickled by. Half a day later, those tiny silver sparrows flew back out of the canopy and converged together, and a single silver crystal, barely larger than a grain of rice, slowly materialized in the air.

[Lunar Phase Crystal] (Luminous Moon): Ancient moonlight remnants, refined into crystal through secret arts. Extremely rare in the present age.

At this tiny size, it would take about three of these to condense into a single "lunar phase crystal," and to craft her Moon Clock, she would need twelve "lunar phase crystals." That meant a total of thirty-six silver crystals of this size.

It seemed she still had a long way to go. Sylutia carefully stored the crystal away, then dispersed her form, transforming into a flock of birds that flew back into the forest.