bookpower Chapter 563 Talking Nonsense
Chapter 563 Talking Nonsense
The astral plane is a mysterious realm.
This is the void between worlds, filled with countless stars and the star gods they represent, united by an organization called the Star God Council, which governs this vast and boundless world.
Most people believe that the astral plane has no boundaries. Even the greatest navigators never reached the end of the astral plane in their entire lives, and could only sigh as they gazed at the endless starry sky in the distance.
Besides travelers and navigators, countless native creatures roam the stars, including gentle and friendly groups such as the Stargazer Elves, as well as fierce and brutal beings, making astral travel a highly dangerous extreme sport.
But in the towns of stargazers, in the safe zones protected by the Council of the Star Gods, "tourism" is not a rare thing. As long as one knows how to travel to the Astral Plane, everyone can freely travel between the Astral Plane and the mortal world without any hindrance.
"Hmm... I didn't know there were places like this in the Star Realm. I thought this place was as empty as outer space..." Su Tianqing murmured to herself.
"Is this your first time in the Astral Plane?" Inari asked with a smile.
"Of course, I've never been to a place like this before." Su Tianqing nodded, not intending to pretend that she had been there before.
Su Tianqing—or rather, Xin Yuehu—was looking up at the colossal building floating in the sea of stars in the distance, and together with Daoli, they were looking at the several towers piercing into the sea of stars at the top of the building.
Ten minutes ago, I received an invitation to meet Inari during my conversation with her.
And the meeting place she chose was indeed unusual: the Astral Library.
"Where am I?" This thought popped into Su Tianqing's mind.
[How do I get there?] The second thought immediately came to mind.
With the help of Yue Tianxin's knowledge sharing, a brainstorming session ensued.
Yue Tianxin! Dandelion! Lend me your Fox Brain Network computing power! Su Tianqing really wanted to shout out such a cool line.
There are only two known ways to reach the Astral Plane: either by taking an Astral Ship directly across the sky, or by using powerful magic to send oneself to the Astral Plane.
First of all, this fox can't buy a ticket; even with divine stones, those things are hard to get—you have to book them several days in advance. And "powerful magic"... well, this fox shouldn't have learned any of those amazing, mysterious magics that allow direct travel to the astral plane.
Su Tianqing chose to seek help from Doraemon Inari. Miss Inari is so reliable!
.
"The Astral Library is the largest knowledge storage institution in the entire Astral Plane, containing the original or replica versions of almost all the books in the Astral Plane. As long as you have a library card, you can borrow any book for free."
"There are so many different kinds of books that even with the help of the Time Freeze Reading Room and advanced reading magic, it would be almost impossible to read them all."
Strolling through the streets of Star City, Inari smiled as she pointed out the towering, colossal building in the distance.
"Wow... if that's the case, can it really hold that many books?" Su Tianqing asked curiously, tilting her head.
The colossal structure looked truly astonishing, but if it were to contain the entire Book of the Astral Plane... wouldn't that be a bit too small?
"It uses a very high-level spatial magic, which is said to have been cast by a star god himself."
"That's amazing!"
Su Tianqing was like a country fox visiting the city for the first time, her tail wagging so hard it almost turned into a propeller.
It's a pity that Xiaoyu couldn't come with me to play. Inari's magic can't carry other passengers. Otherwise, given Xiaoyu's curiosity and personality, she probably would have already excitedly dragged me to the library when she heard "the Star God personally cast the spell."
Next time I have the chance, I must bring my little fish to play here.
As I walked along the road, many colorful little animal-shaped stargazer sprites flew around me.
Some of them were carrying handbags, while others were making phone calls, reminiscent of the bustling central business district of Chengdu, where pedestrians also seemed to be in a hurry... Everyone had their own things to do.
It seems that no matter which world you're in, office workers all dress the same way. Su Tianqing thought to herself.
.
The town is quite large.
The area boasts a complete range of residential, commercial, and entertainment districts, crisscrossed by roads, where elven residents come and go, living a peaceful and tranquil life.
With the help of flying magic and the high-speed airway specially planned above the town, Su Tianqing followed closely beside Inari and arrived at the library in just over ten minutes to begin today's real business.
"Click."
After sitting down in the private reading room, Inari gently pressed a button on the table, and the doors and windows were instantly covered by a dense magical barrier.
"Wow, isn't this many layers of soundproofing a bit excessive?"
[Analysis of Inari] activated. Su Tianqing stared at the soundproofing magic that was stacked with more than a dozen layers and exclaimed in surprise.
"Just to be on the safe side. To fight Garuda, we must be 200% cautious and absolutely cannot afford to make any more mistakes."
The red fox girl spoke calmly, even adding an extra layer of soundproofing magic and protective barrier herself, as if she had maxed out all her defensive spells because she was afraid of pain.
To ensure everything was perfect, she sat back down in her reading room seat and stared intently at the golden-haired fox girl across the table.
"May I ask for more details about Garuda?"
"Ask away," Su Tianqing replied immediately.
Inari pressed for details about the specifics of several dreams. Apart from the dream of the dandelion town that remained unscathed, Su Tianqing recounted the entire story of the subsequent Fox Gate and Foxkov in great detail.
"I suspect that Garuda is hiding in the gap between the mortal world and the astral realm, temporarily isolated from my mental world, and it is trying to break through my mental imagery."
Su Tianqing expressed her thoughts.
The red fox girl neither agreed nor objected. Instead, she picked up the special ink pen provided by the library from the pen holder and gently made three ink dots on the manuscript paper beside her.
Three soft sounds echoed in the quiet reading room, making the already quiet atmosphere even more still.
"...A very interesting hypothesis. I think your statement might be the correct answer." After a long period of contemplation, Chi Xue nodded gently and said.
Su Tianqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if she had finally passed her thesis defense.
"However," Inari changed the subject, and Su Tianqing suddenly became nervous, "if we want to verify this hypothesis, we need an 'experiment'."
"This is what we've come here to discuss."
Inari leaned forward slightly, her face full of anticipation, as if waiting for the golden-haired fox girl in front of her to give her the answer she wanted.
But she clearly didn't say what the question was. How can I, a fox, answer a question that wasn't even asked?
"All the illusions Garuda has created so far are based on the mental world you previously created," Inari said.
"Think about it carefully, Miss Heartmoon Fox. Let's assume that the dimensional rift you just mentioned really exists. If Garuda is indeed separated by the mental image, how could it invade the mortal world?"
"Of course, we have to invade the mental world first, completely occupy it, and then further invade the real world, just like how she devoured my mental world."
Without hesitation, Su Tianqing replied that this was the theory that best reflected the current situation.
Inari nodded and continued:
"All of Garuda's current states are attempts to break through your mental world, whether it's the Gate of Fox Virtue or Fox Kov. Its control and encroachment on your mental world are gradually deepening."
"At the Gate of Fox, it could only summon the Shadow Legion to launch a siege, and only cast its gaze upon you at the last moment. But at Foxkov, it was already able to distort the historical context of the mind to summon even stronger Shadow Servants."
"If this continues, the next thing that could potentially drag the victims into it is..."
Going back in time, the two fox girls exchanged a glance, and Su Tianqing suddenly felt a sense of lingering fear.
——【Rule-Based Weird Zoo】.
Absolutely not! I can accept any of the other rules, but this strange rule is absolutely unacceptable.
Even if Garuda were to drastically alter the "Fox Mom" limited-time program on the Hyacinth Education Channel into a "Nightingale Education" program, I could accept it. But if it were to actually intrude into the zoo and launch a dangerous exploration that even I, the fox, don't understand the rules of...
The danger in that situation would be off the charts. Even if I were incredibly powerful, I couldn't withstand the strange and unfamiliar rules and supernatural tales, not to mention that I don't even know who the next batch of victims targeted by Garuda will be.
"Aside from the dandelion incident, which was an exception, Garuda's pattern of choosing victims in both instances was quite similar," Inari continued.
"Based on the information gathered so far, it's one veteran magical girl and one newcomer or candidate for Guardian Star."
"All of Garuda's properties are different from other astral behemoths. Chi Xue only managed to repel one of its projections with the Shadow of Stars. No one has ever witnessed its true form."
"From this perspective, it can only be hiding in a dimensional rift or someone's 'dream.' We can use this to conduct an experiment to verify these speculations."
Su Tianqing listened carefully, but only vaguely understood.
Although Inari's words contain some long and complex sentences, after my refinement and distillation, they can be simply summarized into the following two points:
First, there are currently only two possibilities regarding Garuda's location.
Second, the Inari experiment can pinpoint the exact location of Garuda, allowing for further action.
"So what are the specific details of the experiment?"
"Well..."
Inari gave a mysterious smile, leaned forward, and gently beckoned Su Tianqing to come closer.
The fox ears leaned forward to listen intently. After a series of incoherent words, Su Tianqing successfully revealed an expression of astonishment on her face, no less than when she first met Garuda's eyes.
"Is this...is this really reliable?" Su Tianqing asked, her question piercing the soul.
The rice plant gives a thumbs-up, and the fox's tail wags vigorously.
"Don't worry, it's guaranteed to be safe."