The necromancer just wants to plant trees.

Chapter 518: The Laugh of Fate
……

Compared to the projection of the god of death automatically summoned by the previous Undead Scourge.

This phantom of the god of death sitting on the colorful light bridge is undoubtedly much smaller in size.

But there has been a qualitative improvement in facial expressions and clarity of facial features!
Matthew flapped his wings and flew slowly closer.

In this process.

He could clearly see the face of the God of Death, Jaeger—

He was a melancholy and handsome young man.

He stood on one side of the light bridge, staring into the distance, his furrowed brows seemed to indicate that he was thinking about some difficult problem.

The Grim Reaper was much more handsome than Matthew had expected.

"This look, this charm..."

“It feels like it’s not beneath me.”

Matthew silently assessed Jaeger's physical attributes in human form in his mind.

He couldn't wait to fly towards the shadow, wanting to explore more.

But very quickly.

Matthew realized that he might never be able to touch the projection of the God of Death Jaeger——

Because no matter how he flies.

The distance between the two sides always remains at a similar level.

Clearly, when flying forward, Matthew could feel that he and Jaeger's projection were getting closer to each other, but after flying for a long time, when he looked back suddenly, it seemed that they were staying in the same place.

Matthew was awed by the feeling.

He felt as if there was a glass window between him and Jaeger's projection.

He could only take a peek outside the window.

But there is no way to go further.

This conclusion made Matthew a little depressed, but he quickly adjusted his mentality.

When looking back.

He found some fine sand-like substances suspended in the air between Jaeger's projection and the colorful light bridge.

Matthew stared at the particles.

Some information automatically flooded into his mind.

……

“Tip: You can use the “sand on the bottom” of the Rootless River to leave your own projection.

Your projection cannot leave the secret realm of the Rootless River.

But at some point in the future.

It might come in handy.”

……

and so.

Is this a projection made by Jaeger using river sand?
Matthew suddenly had a creepy feeling, and when he looked up, Jaeger's projection was slowly disappearing.

Until the projection completely disappeared.

Matthew had the illusion that the projection of the Grim Reaper might come back to life at any time!

"It seems that Jaeger has entered the Rootless River before..."

With this thought in mind.

Matthew continued along the bridge of light.

Soon.

He then discovered the projections left by other powerful people who had set foot in the secret realm of the Rootless River one after another.

A man wearing a classical wizard robe, looking very high-spirited.

That is the divine mage Linde.

A blond, blue-eyed, muscular hunk.

All signs indicate that this is most likely the Sun God Gerrard!
There is also a mysterious monster that resembles a mixture of mud and tentacles.

Besides.

The projections of other people seem very empty.

Matthew could only barely realize that someone was trying to leave traces again, but it was difficult to see the specific person, let alone the face and details.

"So, the one who can leave a shadow on the Rootless River must be a top-notch expert?"

To verify this.

Matthew tried to use his mental power to capture some riverbed sand, and then made a basic projection based on himself.

The process of projection production is actually not difficult.

Even though Matthew wasn't very skilled.

But after some effort, he succeeded in making it.

But just when he had finished his work.

A powerful suction force surged from the light bridge.

Matthew was barely able to keep himself steady.

But the projection was instantly swept to the bottom of the river by the invisible waves and then disappeared completely!

"Completely absorbed by the Rootless River..."

"Sure enough, maintaining the independence of the projection requires a considerable amount of power!"

Matthew assessed.

It seemed that he could stabilize the projection with all his strength.

But over time, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems.

And the price of doing so would most likely be to consume all of your mental energy at once, and eventually be forced to exit the Rootless River Secret Realm.

That would be totally unprofitable.

So he gave up the idea of ​​leaving Matthew's projection near the light bridge.

In the subsequent exploration process.

He didn't find anything more than the light bridge itself.

So Matthew opened Paradise Lost beside the bridge of light——

Just as he expected.

Paradise Lost and Rootless River immediately resonated strongly!

For an instant.

A milky white stream appeared above the light bridge.

The water flowed straight into Paradise Lost.

The interior of Paradise Lost automatically formed a porcelain bottle about the height of a person.

Matthew noticed.

The milky white water automatically flowed into the porcelain bottle, as if endless.

This scene lasted for a long time.

finally.

After completely filling the porcelain bottle.

The milky white stream disappeared.

The light bridge itself and Paradise Lost still maintain a certain frequency of resonance.

Matthew tried to control the Rootless River through Paradise Lost, but encountered strong resistance from the latter and finally had to give up.

"Paradise Lost, the Shadow of Higher Dimensions, the Rootless River, and the Original Heaven all split from the original Twin Heavens."

"When I was confronting the God of Truth before, Paradise Lost and the Shadow of Higher Dimension resonated with each other."

"This time something similar happened again."

"So the Lost Paradise and the ruins of the twin paradises in the astral world should also be able to resonate..."

Think so.

Matthew looked at the new porcelain vase in Paradise Lost.

This porcelain vase has no name.

But in the data column.

It was automatically named "Matthew's Bottle".

……

"Matthew's Bottle: A transcendental container filled with high-energy, high-dimensional matter.

Purpose & Usage & More Instructions: ???

……

High-energy, high-dimensional matter.

This is a general term for a type of transcendent matter that does not belong to the multiverse itself.

Paradise Lost is a new heaven composed of high-energy and high-dimensional matter.

Matthew realized quickly.

If this bottle of substance is injected into the core of Paradise Lost.

Then the growth progress of Paradise Lost would be advanced a lot!

But are there any other uses besides this?

While Matthew was thinking.

A huge crow flew over from nowhere.

It stopped in front of Matthew.

Matthew's nerves tensed.

The crow was the first creature he encountered in the Rootless River.

And judging from his aura, he seems to have an extraordinary origin.

The crow said:

"I see you just collected some special material from the river."

"Can you give me a small portion of it?"

"Just a little bit will do."

"I'll trade this bottle of water with you."

talking.

It took out a very small bottle of water from its feathers and handed it to Matthew.

Matthew took the kettle and sensed it briefly.

The corresponding information will appear on the data bar.

……

"The Fountain of Youth: A mortal only needs to take a sip to live for more than a thousand years.

If he drinks all the fountain of youth in this pot in one breath, not only he himself, but also his descendants who inherit his bloodline will gain super long life.

Their descendants will gradually evolve into a race of immortals."

……

Matthew looked at the crow curiously:

"Who is your Excellency?"

"Have you always lived in the rootless river?"

The crow replied impatiently:

"Why do you care who I am?"

"I also came in from the outside, but my outside is not the same as your outside."

"I don't belong to your world. I was just ordered to travel through the gaps at the edge of the world to see if I can do some small business and make some money."

Even though the other party's attitude was not very good.

But Matthew still wanted to get as much information as possible from the crow, so he asked nonchalantly:

"You are from another world?"

"A higher dimension?"

"Or other universes in parallel time and space?"

The crow said vaguely:

"Just think of me as someone from a higher dimension!"

"A world on the verge of collapse is always full of business opportunities. If you have anything else interesting, we can continue to exchange ideas next time we meet."

"But the premise is that we can successfully complete the transaction this time."

"Well, I just need a little bit of the substance you just absorbed, about this amount..."

After saying this, it gestured in the air with its wings.

Strange to say.

The crow's action seemed meaningless.

But somehow Matthew understood how much the other person needed.

Compared with the amount of high-energy and high-dimensional matter just absorbed by Paradise Lost.

What the crow wants is probably just a drop in the ocean.

The other party doesn't look greedy.

So Matthew pondered for a moment, then squeezed out a little bit of high-energy, high-dimensional matter from the bottle and gave it to the other party.

The crow got these materials and flapped its wings happily:

"Now I can report back!"

"very good!"

"I hope I can see you again next time I come to the edge of this world!"

After saying that, the crow flew away very quickly.

Matthew didn't even have time to ask its name or origin.

"It seems to have exited directly from the Rootless River."

"Judging from its reaction, it seems to have taken a big advantage. It seems that even in other worlds, high-energy and high-dimensional matter is extremely rare."

Just as Matthew was thinking.

He suddenly noticed two feathers left where the crow had just hovered.

The two feathers sparkled in the void.

It doesn't look like an ordinary thing.

So he put away the feather and the kettle.

Then continue exploring the mysterious world of the Rootless River.

About half an hour later.

Matthew discovered a milky white lake on the other side of the light bridge.

The water in the lake seemed to have seeped out from the light bridge.

Judging from the shape of the lake.

The lake should be higher at some point.

But now.

Matthew discovered that the only thing left in the lake that was the milky white liquid was a shallow section in the center of the lake.

"Could it be that the high-energy, high-dimensional matter I just absorbed came from this lake?"

Matthew landed safely at the lakeside.

Due to the drop in the lake water level, most of the outer area is soft mudflats, but even so, Matthew can see some flickering milky white spots in the gaps between the mudflats.

Those light spots have a very similar aura to high-energy, high-dimensional matter.

It seems that the energy absorbed by Paradise Lost comes from this lake, not the Rootless River itself.

Matthew walked around the periphery for a while and didn't find anything new.

So he came to the center of the shallow lake.

There is also some milky white liquid here, but compared to those in the porcelain bottles in Paradise Lost, the liquid here seems particularly turbid.

Matthew took a few steps forward and felt a huge repulsive force preventing him from moving forward.

"Are you afraid that I will exhaust all the fish?"

"Or is it that outsiders are not allowed to approach the center of the lake?"

Matthew was thinking.

A faint voice sounded behind him:

"You're late."

"The Lake of Destiny has dried up. I wonder which bastard took advantage of the chaos and sucked up all the water..."

"In short, you can't spy on your own destiny like those who arrived here before you."

Matthew looked back.

He looked for a long time before he found the person who was talking.

It was a frog lying on a clod of mud.

Because of its small size.

Matthew barely saw him.

"who are you?"

Matthew asked curiously.

The frog said calmly:

"I am the caretaker of the Lake of Destiny. I am responsible for explaining the purpose of the Lake of Destiny to the visitors."

"It's a pity that you didn't catch up at the right time."

Matthew looked at the almost dried up lake and didn't know what to say.

But he was not interested in the flow of fate.

It is more realistic to get high-energy and high-dimensional matter.

"Who has been to this Lake of Destiny?"

Matthew asked the frog.

The frog said in a dignified manner:

"Oh, that's a lot."

"You must have seen quite a few powerful figures along the way, right?"

"Most of those who left their shadows on the Rootless River have seen their future in the Lake of Destiny."

Matthew pondered:
"Are you talking about the God of Death Jaeger and the God Mage Lind?"

Frog added:
"And Gerard, the sun god."

"Of course, the earliest one was the ancient dark god Orsin."

The dark ancient god Orsin?

Matthew couldn't help but think of a mysterious creature that looked like a hybrid of a mud monster and a tentacle monster.

"In fact, not looking at the Lake of Destiny may not be a bad thing."

The frog said leisurely:
"As far as I know, except for Linde, the other three strong men who saw their own fate went crazy not long after leaving this place."

Matthew asked:
"go Ape?"

"What exactly is it like?"

The frog said:
"The ancient dark god Orcion cut himself into pieces and sealed him underground in Eindor."

"The Sun God magnified the ambitions of the Second Generation War God, and he fell in the Palace of the Sun God through the latter's hands, and then hid in the ruins above the clouds."

"Jaeger was similar. He created a unique gap space for himself, and then he was naturally beaten by the Scourge Mage and hid himself."

"If you ask me, they must have seen some horrific scenes in the Lake of Destiny."

"In order to avoid those scenes, they racked their brains and almost went crazy, which is why they did those weird things one after another..."

Did the Dark Ancient God seal himself?

Did the Sun God also escape into the ruins above the clouds under the guise of Vasnov?
And the God of Death Jaeger did something similar?
Matthew was shocked.

The amount of information contained in the frog's words is truly astonishing!

He became more curious about the frog's identity:

"How do you know this?"

The frog said calmly:

"As the guardian of the Lake of Destiny, isn't it normal for me to have some special abilities to observe the world?"

Matthew nodded slightly:

"So why is Lind an exception?"

The frog thought about it:
"Maybe he was already crazy before he came here?"

"I'm not sure either. The mental state of those mages is already worrying."

"And Lind arrived much later than the previous ones. Maybe he got the relevant information before he came and was mentally prepared, so nothing particularly outrageous happened after he left."

Matthew nodded thoughtfully:

"So the future that every powerful person sees in the Lake of Destiny is almost always a disaster?"

There was a hint of laughter in the frog's voice:
"It's obvious."

"The Lake of Destiny will only remind you of the disasters you will encounter in the future."

"But he can't tell you exactly when these disasters will occur in the future -

Maybe a hundred years from now.

Or maybe tens of millions of years later.

Neither life nor the universe can ever be smooth sailing.

So you will definitely see yourself torn into pieces in the lake——

There could be other ways of dying.

After all, in the long river of time.

The so-called extraordinary power of an individual is too small.

But for those beings who are accustomed to controlling everything in their own dimension and time.

Seeing yourself die from various disasters is simply unacceptable.

In order to avoid future disasters.

They usually do some ridiculous things.

For example, the sun god and the god of death.

In order to avoid their own death in the future, the two of them chose to advance that scene to the present moment when they could control it.

Isn’t this a ridiculous thing?

Use death to avoid death.

Ha ha.

Of course, I know they're not really dead.

I know they are hiding and surviving in a special form.

They are constantly spying on the changes in the world and trying to return to the human world at some point.

But I really think this behavior is ridiculous.

A transcendent being standing at the top of the food chain in the multiverse.

In order not to die in the future, I choose to die in the present.

That sounds really stupid!

Ha ha ha ha……"

The frog couldn't help laughing.

Although Matthew felt that the frog's logic was not entirely correct, he couldn't help but be infected by his laughter and felt that the behavior of the sun god Gerard and the god of death Jaeger seemed a bit funny.

So he smiled along.

But soon the frog glared at him seriously:
"why are you laughing?"

Matthew was silent for a while:
"The atmosphere is here, let me cooperate with you."

The frog said seriously:

"I laugh because I am outside the situation and can enjoy the show to my heart's content."

“But you’re still in the game.”

"Although I can't see your fate clearly, but aren't you carrying too much?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you have the aura of the Sun God, the God of Death, the Twin Ancient Gods, and fragments of information left over from the Antu Empire and the Ether Star Alliance."

"These things shouldn't be on a person's body!"

Upon hearing this, Matthew immediately humbly asked for advice.

Unexpectedly, the frog shook his head and said:

"I'm just a small frog guarding the Lake of Destiny. I can't help you much."

"The only thing I can remind you is to distance yourself from irrelevant things as much as possible.

The heavier the fate you carry, the further you are from the path of transcendence. This is an eternal truth. "

Matthew pondered:

“But what I’m pursuing is not so-called transcendence.”

The frog said lazily:
"So what are you pursuing?"

Matthew thought for a while:
"I'm not that greedy. Transcendence is too illusory. As long as I can live better now and in the future that is similar to the present, that's enough."

The frog's eyes lit up slightly:
"Oh, you are a boy who knows how to be satisfied."

"Forget it. Anyway, there is not enough lake water for you to see your future destiny. Why don't I give you three pieces of advice?"

“First, if you want to completely get rid of the power left in you by the God of Death and the God of the Sun, you can visit the Underdark.

That is the realm of the dark ancient god Orsin.

He saw the catastrophe earlier than Gerard and Jaeger.

He holds the power to dissolve everything and can definitely help you.

But working with Him requires equal caution.

That is a terrifying creature that even the Scourge Mage is afraid of."

"Second, from what I have observed, the opportunity to resolve the odd-numbered celestial changes lies in the East."

"Finally, since you just smiled so flatteringly, I will give you this ability."

The words fell.

A green energy emerged from the frog and quickly sank into Matthew's body.

on the data column.

……

"Hint: You have obtained the gift of the Guardian of Destiny, the "Laughter of Destiny"!
Destiny's Laughter: After activating this ability, all beings that hear your laughter will involuntarily laugh along with you.

The duration depends on the target unit's toughness, mental strength, resistance and other attributes.

Standard duration 3 minutes.

And in the process of the other party laughing wildly.

You can manually steal or modify the other party's destiny in the future.

Can be used twice daily.

……

What an amazing ability!

This is definitely an upper legendary level ability, right?
Matthew was just about to thank the guardian of destiny.

But when I looked up again.

The frog has disappeared.

at the same time.

The water level in the center of the lake rose slightly.

A greater repulsive force pushed Matthew out of the Lake of Destiny.

He walked around the lake a few more times, and when he couldn't find the frog anymore, he left quietly.

As a secret world.

The Rootless River is truly boundless.

Matthew flew along the colorful light bridge for a very long time, until he was physically and mentally exhausted, and there was no sign of reaching the end of the area.

Fortunately, it is relatively safe here.

Except for crows and frogs.

Matthew also encountered three or four other classes of creatures.

They were also active during this period in animal form.

It’s a pity that Matthew didn’t get more useful information from them.

"The Rootless River looks a bit like a natural dream of a twin paradise."

"It's just that this natural dream has developed into a part of the cosmic cycle of Eindor."

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is the natural dream of the universe.”

During the time flying along the bridge of light.

Matthew saw too many creatures floating up and down on the light bridge.

at some point.

Endless hot streams will spray out from the bridge.

The heat flow carried the light spot towards the unknown darkness.

Matthew didn't dare to approach the darkness.

Then he could sense that behind the darkness there should be passages leading to every corner of the multiverse.

That may be the channel through which life is born!

finally.

Before his mental strength was exhausted.

Matthew finally found the token he wanted to obtain in the Rootless River.

Aurora Tree.

It was a huge, complex and magnificent tree made up of auroras.

Countless spirits and imprints flow through the tree.

Same as the heat flow excited on the light bridge.

The ends of the giant tree's branches also penetrated into those dark areas.

Matthew speculated that those heat flows only served as a small part of the channel for the birth of life.

And this Aurora Tree is the core location where the Rootless River realizes its reincarnation function.

But even though we found the Aurora Tree.

But Matthew couldn't take it away.

This thing looks very important. Once it is taken away, the operation of the Rootless River may become ineffective.

Of course Matthew wouldn't be so reckless.

He thought about it for a long time.

It didn't take long to find another way -

He recorded the appearance details of the Aurora Tree bit by bit with his naked eyes.

It was then restored in Paradise Lost using the Founder's Authority.

After a simple try.

Matthew confirmed that this approach is feasible.

The only flaw in this method is that the Aurora Tree is so magnificent that if one were to slowly reproduce every detail, it would not only take a lot of time, but would also consume a lot of the founder's energy.

Fortunately, after the resonance between The Rootless River and Paradise Lost.

Matthew discovered that a unique bridge had been built between the two.

This means that one can enter the Rootless River through Paradise Lost at any time.

This creates sufficient conditions for the slow reappearance of the Aurora Tree in Paradise Lost.

After confirming this.

Matthew, exhausted both physically and mentally, finally relaxed.

After leaving the Rootless River.

He then truly fell into a sweet dream.

……

at the same time.

North East Coast.

In a quiet and deserted village.

The old man's cold laughter came from all directions:

"You don't really think you can escape our pursuit, do you?"

"No matter how cunning a mouse is, it will eventually show up."

"We know every one of your lairs very well."

"Not to mention that the great being in the shadows is always watching your back."

"Where are you trying to escape to, my old friend..."

The outskirts of the village have been surrounded by a large number of undead.

A strong stench of decay also wafted from the few remaining streets.

A group of black warriors and abominations blocked several checkpoints.

A vampire lord led a team to block the sky.

Add to that the hordes of banshees and ghosts that shuttle between houses, buildings and cellars.

The whole village was covered with terrible negative energy!

Outside the cabin.

A gorgeously dressed necromancer was staring intently at an abandoned shack not far away.

there.

A dark shadow who had just escaped the attack of the vampires was getting up slowly and awkwardly.

not far away.

Another agile shadow immediately entangled with him.

The frequency of the attacks between the two sides was frighteningly high, and ordinary people would feel dazzled when watching.

"Rez, it's you!"

Sener's voice was filled with uncontrollable hatred:
"And little Damon."

"You have really become puppets of that bastard couple, Gai Lan and Gasliwen!"

The necromancer named Rez sneered:

"Don't say such harsh words."

"We have to find a way out ourselves, don't we?"

"Isabelle is about to run away. Do you still want me to cling to the Seven Saints Alliance, an organization that looks strong on the outside but is weak on the inside?"

"Besides, haven't you been flirting with that kid from the Stone Kingdom?"

"Come to think of it, why didn't he come to rescue you?"

"Did the two of you break up?"

……

(End of this chapter)