Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System

Chapter 561: Chapter 19: The Fifth Fundamental Force

"...Return... to the furnace..."

"...Dumasong... accept us..."

"...Impurities... burned away... purity..."

These whispers were filled with devotion, just like the fanatical displays of the gray-skinned people before their deaths.

Perhaps there were some differences—some were laced with confusion, fear, or even resentment. But those negative emotions transformed into even finer motes of light, peeling away from the points of soul-light to dissipate into the lava, where they were utterly incinerated and purified by the furnace.

An unknown amount of time passed. Perhaps it was only a moment, or perhaps ages had gone by.

At the end of the torrent ahead, a massive, slowly rotating, blazing white vortex appeared.

Its center was pitch-black, as if it connected to the void.

Countless golden torrents of souls converged upon the vortex’s edge from all directions. They were drawn in by its spin, stretched into fine threads of light, and absorbed into the swirling mass.

As the points of soul-light neared the vortex, they grew brighter. Their pulses synchronized, and their individuality faded, as if they were about to complete a final ritual.

Murphy came to a sudden halt at the edge of the torrent, not moving any further.

He could feel a powerful pull trying to draw him toward the vortex, but he held himself steady. Like a reef in a river, he let the torrent of souls surge past, remaining suspended above the scorching lava as he quietly gazed at the blazing white vortex that devoured countless souls.

’Is this the so-called core of the dream? Or what the system called the Ancient Heart Demon Embryo?’

’So how am I supposed to get my hands on it?’

...

「Deep within the sewers of the New Realm.」

Murphy opened his eyes.

Deep within his pitch-black eyes, a golden ember seemed to flash for an instant before they returned to their unfathomable calm.

At the same time, all the spreading golden flames halted abruptly, as if they had received a silent command.

Then, they transformed into countless tiny streams of golden light that surged backward, like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea, and vanished completely into Murphy’s body.

Even the lingering, searing heat in the sewer faded rapidly, leaving only a chill in the air.

Uncle Scar and Ron were frozen in place, still in the posture of instinctively leaning back to avoid the flames.

They watched Murphy, watched as his unsettlingly calm eyes swept over their terrified faces.

"L-Lord?" Ron was the first to react, his voice trembling with the relief of a survivor.

Uncle Scar’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently. "You... You’re awake?"

"I am," Murphy replied, his voice flat, betraying no emotion.

Yet that single, simple word caused the nerves of Uncle Scar and Ron, stretched to their breaking point, to suddenly go slack.

Ron’s legs gave out. No longer able to stand, he slid down the pipe wall to the floor, gasping for air as cold sweat instantly drenched his tattered clothes.

Uncle Scar also limply released his grip on the edge of the platform. His body swayed, and he leaned against the wall, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away, leaving only his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

"A moment ago... a moment ago, those flames..." Ron, having caught his breath, couldn’t help but look up at Murphy again, his eyes still filled with deep fear and lingering dread. "And that Black Light... Lord, are... are you all right?"

Uncle Scar also stared intently at Murphy, his cloudy eyes filled with profound awe.

Murphy didn’t answer Ron’s question immediately.

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if sensing something, before opening them again. His gaze once more fell upon the two men.

"I’m fine," he said succinctly, then asked, "How long was I in that state?"

"I-I’m not sure, Lord." Uncle Scar tried to recall, saying uncertainly, "It didn’t feel... very long? Maybe about five minutes..."

Ron quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, it didn’t feel long. About five or six minutes..."

Hearing this, Murphy nodded thoughtfully and didn’t press the matter.

’A split self.’

To him, both parts belonged to him, and both parts were him.

This was the ability granted to him by the Withered Heart and the Mind Furnace.

Yes, even in this current body, Murphy possessed a Mind Furnace and a Withered Heart.

It was no different from the avatar that had entered the Nightmare World.

Thus, one of Murphy’s avatars had gone to see Cheris and used that opportunity to enter the Nightmare World.

His other body and consciousness had remained in the New Realm, traveling with Uncle Scar and Ron through these filthy sewers.

Both were him, but the two versions of himself could not communicate in real time.

He did this, firstly, to avoid any potential tracking or surveillance methods that might have been in place when he met Cheris.

While its effectiveness was questionable, it was at least an attempt.

Secondly, it was a matter of necessity; Murphy currently lacked any effective means of instantaneous mental communication across different worlds.

On Earth, even the simplest mobile phone communication relied on a vast network of satellites and base stations.

And where was any such network to be found here in the New Realm?

Therefore, while one version of him was in the Nightmare World, this version of him, remaining in the sewers, was completely unaware of what the other was experiencing.

They were like two temporarily parallel lines, extending independently, and by all rights, they should never have intersected.

But there was one exception.

The system.

It operated simultaneously deep within the consciousness of both Murphys.

Therefore, the Murphy in the sewers knew clearly that his other self had gone to the Celestial Demon Realm, and he was also aware of the current quest issued by the system.

However, what he never would have expected was that, aside from the quest information transmitted by the system, something from the Celestial Demon Realm could actually cross the barrier between worlds and directly affect him here in the sewers of the New Realm.

’The Celestial Demon Realm?’

’Perhaps it should be called the Nightmare World.’

The Murphy in the sewers surmised.

After all, what was a celestial demon if not a nightmare?

But regardless, Murphy now realized he might have stumbled into far greater trouble than he had anticipated.

He had originally relied on his ability to split himself, seeing it as a crucial life-saving measure. He believed that even if one avatar met with disaster, the other would survive.

But now it seemed this separation wasn’t an absolute fail-safe.

If he hadn’t awakened in time and reined in that leaking power with his own will, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Of course, whether he himself was truly unharmed remained to be seen.

But at the very least, Uncle Scar and Ron would not have survived.

He turned his gaze back to the two men, his voice calm and devoid of emotion.

"A moment ago, were you calling out to me?"

A look of terror instantly appeared on Ron’s face. "L-Lord! We didn’t mean to disturb you! We just... we just saw that something was wrong. That Black Light was so frightening, and we were afraid... afraid something would happen to you, and afraid for ourselves... that’s why we..."

Uncle Scar quickly added, his voice filled with humble earnestness, "My lord, please calm your anger! We meant no harm! We just... just wanted to see if we could wake you! If we have offended you, we will accept any punishment!"

Seeing Murphy’s expressionless face, they feared their shouts had angered this mysterious and unfathomable man.

After all, they were the ones who had been about to die, not him.

’What if what was happening was actually a good thing for the Lord?’

’What if they had mistaken a good thing for a bad one simply because it threatened their lives, and by interfering, they had truly made it a bad thing? What if the Lord was angry now?’

Before this being, their lives were truly like candles in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Thus, they dared not take any credit, their every word and action placing them in a subservient position.

Murphy watched their terrified expressions and remained silent for a moment.

Then, he said faintly,

"You did well."

Uncle Scar lowered his head and replied, "You are too kind, my lord. We only... only did what we ought to do. We dare not accept such praise. To be of some small help to you is our good fortune."

Ron emulated Uncle Scar, also lowering his head. "Yes, yes, Uncle Scar is right. We just... we just yelled a few times, we didn’t think it would actually work... It was your own power, my lord. We... we didn’t do anything..."

Seeing this, Murphy continued,

"You two get by in this Lower District. Do you know of any Extraordinary matters here?"

"The illegal kind."

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