Chen Xu looked at the Fate Typewriter and the peculiar cloak-like Sage relic with a smile, his expression full of kindness.
Under the conscious intervention of Chen Xu's authority over the Land of the Undead, the cloak known as Absolute Domain was suppressed. Its field was compressed to the extreme, revealing its true form.
To these two creations of the Sage, Chen Xu's benevolent expression seemed incredibly dangerous.
However, the current situation was out of their control. Once inside a special world with an Overlord, it was impossible to leave without Unique-tier strength.
The two creations glanced at each other as if accepting their fate. They no longer thought of escaping and instead completely gave up, looking toward Chen Xu.
"Lord Chen Xu, the Fate Typewriter just had a bit of a fit. I suspect it inhaled too much low-quality ink, and it went to its head."
"Yes, yes, Lord Chen Xu. I just lost control for a moment and accidentally triggered a nifty little device inside me. I wasn't thinking of running away, absolutely not."
Chen Xu smiled without saying a word in response to their excuses. With a wave of his hand and a whirl of the world around them, he brought the two Sage relics into his Overlord's Castle.
The Fate Typewriter and Absolute Domain looked at the eerie castle walls and felt the even more intense pressure. They exchanged another glance, feeling that their future was bleak.
Chen Xu snapped his fingers, and a Black Knight appeared behind him. The Black Knight took a bag of leaves, a bag of dried mushroom-like objects, and a teapot from a cabinet.
After tossing the unknown leaves and mushrooms into the pot, he teleported to the Lake of Holy Souls, scooped up a ladle of scalding, holy lake water, and poured it into the pot.
The golden lake water instantly changed color, turning from gold to green, then green to purple, and finally into a shade of grayish-white.
The Black Knight returned to the castle and took out three cups, pouring one for Chen Xu, Absolute Domain, and the Fate Typewriter each.
Chen Xu picked up his cup, took the first sip, and said, "This is a signature concoction of my Land of the Undead. You two should try it."
"Of course, of course. Thank you for your hospitality."
Absolute Domain and the Fate Typewriter looked at each other again. Neither wanted to drink the liquid before them, which looked incredibly suspicious.
But the Lord of the Undead was sitting right across from them. If they didn't drink, wouldn't they be disrespecting him?
Thus, the two gathered their courage, picked up the cups, and drained them in one gulp.
Next, the two Sage relics felt the heat of the Holy Light, followed by the dominance of the Sun, the vitality and chill of the Undead, and finally, a hint of hallucination.
Seeing them drink it all at once, Chen Xu was somewhat surprised. He had expected them to take only a small sip, so he had specifically told the Black Knight to increase the dosage.
Well, if they drank it all, so be it. The mushrooms used in the special blend were a rare treasure of the Land of the Undead that provided a boost to the soul.
However, the side effect was that it caused hallucinations and a temporary loss of soul control.
Chen Xu took the opportunity to ask questions while his mental strength delved into the souls of the two Sage relics to observe their soul fluctuations.
"Lord Fate, just now when I asked if the Great Sage had ever been in contact with the Mother of Hell, why were you so... impulsive?"
The Fate Typewriter spat out white paper, scribbling randomly on it while speaking incoherently.
"L-Lord Chen Xu, because that involves a secret—a long-term experiment of the Truth Library, an experiment once led by the Great Sage himself. I... I was afraid of being forced by you, which would lead to the secret being leaked."
"Oh?"
Hearing that the legendary Great Sage really was connected to the Mother of Hell—and that the connection seemed quite deep—Chen Xu was instantly intrigued. He continued to probe.
"What kind of project was it, Lord Fate?"
"I... I can't say. It's a classified project. Only... only people and creations related to the Sage can know."
"Is that so? But I am someone related to the Sage. Look, I even have the monocle the Sage gave me."
At some point, Chen Xu had taken the Truth Monocle back and was now wearing it on his face.
The Fate Typewriter looked and saw that it really was the Truth Monocle. The hallucinatory effect of the special blend, combined with the constant probing of Chen Xu's mental strength, made its soul unable to judge clearly. It directly concluded that Chen Xu was indeed someone related to the Great Sage.
"It really is the monocle! Heh, Lord Chen Xu, why didn't you say so earlier? If you had, I wouldn't have had to waste a return anchor."
Absolute Domain chimed in from the side. "Exactly! A return anchor is so precious; it takes over a hundred years to forge one."
The Fate Typewriter controlled the little green man to stagger toward Absolute Domain, turned around, and let out a puff of air.
"D-Don't interrupt! This is a conversation between me and Lord Chen Xu. You... you must learn etiquette and not shame the Great Sage!"
After scolding Absolute Domain, the Fate Typewriter looked back at Chen Xu and began to recount the classified project.
"Lord Chen Xu, the Great Sage observed the myriad realms. For those peculiar phenomena or creatures in the realms, he would establish projects for long-term, periodic observation and experimentation. Hell—or rather, the Mother of Hell—was a project the Great Sage once established."
"The project codename is XS-66. It was responsible for observing all behaviors of the special world known as Hell, as well as its growth and changes. We would use special means to investigate the Mother of Hell's daily behavior and collect materials related to her for testing. When necessary, we would even guide her to see if her reactions met expectations."
The Fate Typewriter looked around at the environment and sensed the necrotic aura in the air. It paused for a moment as if remembering something, then continued.
"By the way, besides Hell, several other special worlds were once projects of the Great Sage. Heaven was XS-61, the Land of the Undead was XS-62, the Blank Zone was XS-63, the Sea of Spirit was XS-64, and the Elemental Spirit Realm was XS-65."
"But later, for reasons unknown, the projects from 61 to 65 were terminated by the Great Sage's order, leaving only XS-66. Unfortunately, with the Great Sage's disappearance and the growth of Hell, the project became increasingly difficult to carry out. Every time we go to collect data, we have to face immense risks and consume many precious items."
"Over the years, to execute the project plan for XS-66, more than half of the Truth Library's treasures have been consumed. Sigh, if the treasures ever run out, the project might have to enter a forced termination state."
As an ancient master and scholar, it was understandable and justifiable for the Sage to treat the Mother of Hell as a research subject. Probing and collecting data was also not an issue.
However, every project has a purpose. All the methods mentioned were just means to achieve that purpose.
The Fate Typewriter had yet to state the Sage's goal.
Thus, Chen Xu continued to press, "Lord Fate, what did the Sage want to study by observing the special worlds and the Mother of Hell? Or rather, what did he hope to gain?"
"Oh, the Great Sage was obsessed with Ritual Power at the time. You've read the 《Role-Stealing Method》. The Sage always felt that the source of rituals was a mist, and there must be some unrevealed truth behind it."
"Thus, he wanted to discover the existence behind rituals through the special worlds. The ritual energy released when a special world is born is so massive that it gave the Sage many ideas and allowed him to glimpse certain things."
"Unfortunately, ritual energy comes and goes quickly. He needed another event on the scale of a special world's birth, or even larger, to glimpse the existence behind it. When he observed the flaws in the special worlds, he decided to start with them again."
"Observing them, analyzing them, and guiding them... ultimately to trigger an even larger-scale ritual, thereby studying the unknown existence behind it!"
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