Chapter 228 | Transmigrated with a Sanity Gauge

But looking at it from another perspective...

If Lu Yuan could domesticate a Knowledge Worm, it would be an incomparable tool.

Devouring knowledge, purifying it, and feeding it back.

This cycle itself was a complete system for transcendent advancement, more efficient than any pathway he currently knew.

The Knowledge Worm could even be used against enemies.

The problem was how to get one.

Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

The remnants of the visions from Laurina's laboratory were still swirling in his mind.

In one of them, the image was blurry, but the core information was clear.

The Knowledge Worm was not an alchemical product, nor was it man-made.

It was a native species of the Sea of Knowledge.

In Laurina's research notes, the word used was "capture," not "breed."

To obtain a Knowledge Worm, one had to pull it out of the Sea of Knowledge.

At least, that was the only way he knew of.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes.

The image of that vast sea surfaced in his mind.

Infinite colors churned, words swam in the depths, and the sense of pressure was like a mountain collapsing.

And then there was that voice.

“Not enough. You are not yet qualified to look upon these things.”

“Go back.”

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

How could he get in?

The only thing he had that could connect to the Sea of Knowledge was the Knowledge Oyster.

The damaged shell he had obtained from the Viscount's mansion had pulled him directly to the edge of the Sea of Knowledge the last time it was activated.

But that time had been nearly a disaster.

The moment the shell was activated in the Viscount's mansion's collection room, the Bronze City's sealing system had been triggered.

The inscriptions on the city walls suppressed the leaking aura, barely managing to contain the anomaly within the collection room so it wouldn't spread.

Even so, Morris had still noticed.

His exact words were, “The sealing patterns of the entire city trembled.”

He had also added, “I am not the only one who can feel such a fluctuation.”

That was in the Viscount's mansion.

In the inner city.

The location closest to the copper pillar core area.

Back when the sealing system was still intact.

But what about now?

Lu Yuan glanced out the window.

The faint glow of the runes on the city walls was indeed brighter than a few days ago, but it was merely "recovering."

The runes on the bottom third of the copper pillar in the pipe network layer were still dark. Kraus said he would go down to check personally, but repairs would take time.

The entire sealing system of Bronze City was like a person just recovering from a serious illness; it could stand up, but it was far from normal.

If he activated the Knowledge Oyster directly in the Alchemy Workshop...

Once the aura of the Sea of Knowledge leaked, everyone in the North Ward would feel it.

The Nightwatchers would find out.

The Polymath Tower would find out.

He had just returned from the Polymath Tower tonight, and the "Him" in the main tower had already noticed him.

Causing such a commotion at this critical juncture was equivalent to laying his connection to the Sea of Knowledge bare before everyone.

That would be seeking death.

And there was another reason.

The last time he was dragged into the Sea of Knowledge, that voice had saved him.

It had fished him out of the abyss like a kitten.

Lu Yuan did not want to involve himself any further with that existence.

It wasn't a lack of gratitude.

It was fear.

Something that could casually fish someone out of the Sea of Knowledge was completely beyond his comprehension.

Every contact increased the possibility of being watched.

And being watched by an existence of that level was a completely different concept from being watched by the "Him" in the main tower.

Therefore, activating it directly was out of the question.

Entering the Sea of Knowledge was out of the question.

But Lu Yuan truly needed a Knowledge Worm.

He sat in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

The lamplight flickered on the desk.

The faint glow of the runes outside the window was reflected on the glass, appearing blurry.

The Knowledge Worm was a creature of the Sea of Knowledge.

He couldn't enter.

So, was it possible to lure it out without going in?

Lu Yuan's fingers stopped.

Once this thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.

A native species of the Sea of Knowledge.

Judging from Laurina's experimental visions, those worms weren't large, or at least the larvae weren't.

They attached themselves to knowledge fragments, moving with the flow of knowledge, and were attracted to systematic knowledge structures.

They were a bit like fish.

The Sea of Knowledge was the water.

The Knowledge Worm was the fish.

And systematic knowledge was the bait.

He had the key; he just couldn't push the door open and walk in.

Lu Yuan remembered what happened when he was first dragged into the Sea of Knowledge by the shell.

After falling into that sea, his Forbidden Lore had directly broken through its bottleneck, advancing from Seeker to Knowledge Seeker.

But the price of advancement was not small; a large chunk of his Sanity had been devoured by the sea.

At the same time, the system had given him a prompt.

One line said: “You have provided new knowledge, filling a drop of solidified text into the Sea of Knowledge.”

As an incidental reward, he had obtained the key to the Sea of Knowledge... the ability to project himself toward known auras.

The sea took something from him and gave him something in return.

There was a sort of exchange relationship involved.

What about this time?

If he dropped a fishing line through a crack in the door... using systematic knowledge as bait... and a worm in the Sea of Knowledge caught the scent and swam over...

It would be no different from the first exchange.

Except the first time was passive, and this time would be active.

He just didn't know if he would be discovered by the things inside the Sea of Knowledge.

Lu Yuan stared at the dancing shadow of the lamplight on the table.

The idea was insane, but it made sense logically.

The prerequisite was... he needed a crack in the door.

And only the Knowledge Oyster could give him that crack.

Lu Yuan stood up and walked to the bed.

The deep grey Nightwatcher coat he had changed out of was folded next to the pillow. He reached into a hidden pocket in the lining and felt the object.

Since taking it from the Viscount's mansion, he had kept it on his person, moving it whenever he changed clothes.

His fingertips touched the smooth exterior, and Lu Yuan pulled it out.

A damaged shell lay in his palm.

There were obvious cracks along the edges, and several parts of the surface were missing, making it look unremarkable.

But now... it was different from last time.

Lu Yuan could feel it.

Within the cracks of the shell, something was flowing.

It wasn't the faint trace that required intense concentration to capture like before.

It was visible to the naked eye.

The crack was slightly open, about a finger's width.

A certain luster flowed within the gap.

Calling it a luster wasn't quite accurate.

It was color.

Dark gold, deep blue, and a very pale white—the three colors churned together, slowly swirling deep within the crack, as if a tiny ocean were compressed between the two valves of the shell.

Lu Yuan stared at it for a few seconds.

Ever since it was activated at the Viscount's mansion, the shell had been in a "dormant" state... at least on the surface.

But as his Forbidden Lore continued to improve, it was no longer silent when he sensed it again.

This thing could already take him back to that place.

But he didn't intend to go in.

What he wanted to do was utilize that crack without entering.

The shell connected to the Sea of Knowledge... there was no doubt about that.

But connecting was not the same as opening.

His previous experience told him that the activation process of the shell had stages.

First stage: Resonance. Forbidden Lore establishes a connection with the shell, and the crack widens.

Second stage: Opening the Door. The shell opens completely, and the Sea of Knowledge is presented before one's eyes.

Third stage: Falling In. The consciousness is dragged inside.

Last time, the three stages were completed almost instantaneously; he had no control over it at all.

But back then, he was only at the Seeker rank.

Now he was a Knowledge Seeker.

A whole rank higher than before.

If he could control it precisely and stop the process between the first and second stages...

Establish only the connection.

Open only a sliver.

But do not cross over.

The question was... once the crack opened, would the aura of the Sea of Knowledge leak out?

Lu Yuan recalled the last time.

The moment the shell opened, the sealing patterns of Bronze City had trembled. That leak occurred because he had crossed over directly, his body and consciousness passing through that barrier simultaneously, forcibly tearing a hole in the isolation between the two worlds.

But what if it was just a connection?

What if he just let the channel between the shell and the Sea of Knowledge "come alive" without breaking through that barrier?

Lu Yuan wasn't sure.

He placed the shell on the table and stared at the churning colors in the crack.

His fingertips hovered above the shell, not touching it yet.

If that isolation was opened and the aura of the Sea of Knowledge surged out... even just a tiny bit... the current conditions of the Alchemy Workshop wouldn't be able to block it.

At that point, it wouldn't just be a matter of being discovered.

The entire North Ward might be impacted.

To ordinary people, the aura of the Sea of Knowledge was pure pollution.

But if he didn't try...

The Knowledge Worm would forever remain just a concept.

Lu Yuan sat in his chair for a long time.

The candle had burned halfway down, and wax slowly dripped down the copper candlestick.

The sky outside the window grew a shade darker than when he had first returned.

In the distance, the faint glow of the city wall runes flowed quietly, just as it had before.

‘What is there to fear?’

Lu Yuan stood up.

He would try.

He would only open a hole the size of a pinprick.

If there was any sign of a leak... even a trace... he would shut it down immediately.

If he couldn't shut it, he would smash it.

Lu Yuan pulled the curtains tight and confirmed the door was locked from the inside.

He returned to the table.

He took a deep breath.

He reached out and picked up the shell.

The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the shell, an extremely faint chill seeped into his skin.

It was the same as last time.

But this time, Lu Yuan did not resist.

He closed his eyes and released his Forbidden Lore perception.

The change happened almost instantly.

Lu Yuan could feel the field of perception belonging to a Knowledge Seeker deep in his mind suddenly become active, like a sleeping hound catching the scent of prey.

A connection was established almost immediately.

It was so fast that Lu Yuan barely had time to react.

The resonance between his Forbidden Lore and the shell even felt a bit impatient.

Because last time he was a Seeker, barely reaching the threshold.

Once the resonance stabilized, Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

The shell before him had changed.

Through the perspective of Forbidden Lore, the damaged shell in his palm was not a shell at all.

It was a rift.

A rift that sliced between two worlds.

On this side of the rift was the Alchemy Workshop.

On the other side of the rift...

Lu Yuan's breath hitched.