Chapter 462: Spatial Interlayer
With this hypothesis in mind, Zi Di immediately cast a spell to detect hidden chambers.
The result revealed nothing.
“If it's not a hidden chamber, could it be an alternate dimension?”
Shortly after, Zi Di successfully cast a spell to detect alternate dimensions.
The first casting detected nothing.
“My bloodline isn't spatial type, so this spell's detection range is limited.”
“Logically, if there were an alternate space lab, where would I have placed it?”
Zi Di mentally treated herself as Jia Bing, a gold level magician, and considered the situation from that perspective.
Her gaze gradually shifted upward, fixating on the second floor.
Jia Bing's residence was a two-story building, yet when Zi Di had cast her detection spells earlier, she hadn't sensed any magic glow on the upper level.
The second floor lacked even the most basic mechanisms or magic traps.
Zi Di had assumed the second floor was merely a simple bedroom, but now it seemed riddled with suspicious elements.
She first dispatched reconnaissance alchemy puppets and ghosts to probe the area.
Finding no triggered traps, Zi Di ascended the wooden staircase to the second floor.
Of course, Zong Ge always led the way ahead of Zi Di.
Compared to the first floor, the second floor felt considerably smaller. This, however, made it easier for Zi Di to cast her spell to detect anomalies in space.
After casting it this time, an unusual spatial fluctuation instantly appeared above the bed in the bedroom.
Though subtle, the disturbance was unmistakable, even Zong Ge sensed it instantly.
“This is a spatial interlayer!”
"Who'd have thought Jia Bing's ambitions ran this deep? This interlayer is clearly man-made. Setting up something like this must have cost a fortune."
Zi Di's eyes sparkled with excitement.
She speculated, “This must be Jia Bing's primary alchemy laboratory.”
"The one on the first floor is too rudimentary, primarily used for processing herbs and brewing potions. Jia Bing's true expertise lies in crafting alchemy puppets."
“If he's willing to incur such high costs to establish this spatial interlayer, the lab inside must be exceptionally well-equipped!”
Zong Ge cut straight to the point, “So how do we get in?”
“Um...” Zi Di froze, a look of difficulty crossing her face.
She realized the spell scrolls she carried were ill-suited for this situation.
“I don't know any spatial magic myself. Even if I had a scroll to breach space, I couldn't control the force involved.”
"The slightest excess force would destroy everything inside. It could even trigger the collapse of the spatial interlayer, causing all items within to vanish along with the shattered dimensions!"
This was precisely why many magicians created such spatial interlayers - they were nearly impossible to breach. The slightest misstep could cause the space to shatter, obliterating everything within.
“We lack a powerful thief,” Zi Di sighed.
Zong Ge shook his head slightly: "Even an ordinary thief would struggle to breach a spatial interlayer. At minimum, one needs a spatial bloodline. Such thieves are exceedingly rare."
Zi Di analyzed: "This two-story cottage's defenses aren't formidable. The traps are few and hardly lethal. The ice was likely used to conceal the spatial interlayer. The layer itself is probably enough to make him confident."
"So, are we leaving empty-handed? Or should we stay a few more days and try to crack the spatial interlayer?" Zong Ge asked.
He knew little about magic and could only consult the experts.
Truthfully, Zi Di wasn't a specialist either.
Though she was a magician, her expertise lay in commerce. The realm of magic was vast and boundless, and she only excelled in potion brewing. Even so, constrained by her former bloodline, her research hadn't been particularly deep.
Now, when it came to space, it was almost entirely her blind spot.
Zi Di pursed her lips slightly.
This feeling of finding a treasure trove yet being unable to enter it was utterly miserable.
However, lingering here any longer was absolutely inadvisable.
For the survivors, the true priority remained the redemption plan.
Time was pressing.
Beyond that, they had to account for the mysterious hostile faction to which the Axe Gang leader and his crew belonged.
Even after sacrificing three gold level experts, they might still send reinforcements.
The primary reason, however, was Zi Di. She had no confidence whatsoever in cracking the spatial interlayer, nor could she even estimate how long it would take.
“Spatial-type spell scrolls are also relatively scarce on the market.”
“Perhaps contacting the Li Jian Clan could allow us to purchase spatial-type spell scrolls from them.”
The Li Jian Clan's bloodline is that of the Inner World.
It was a rather classic spatial lineage.
Consequently, the Li Jian Clan produces many spatial magicians.
"But even with these spatial spell scrolls, success isn't guaranteed. To be precise, the success rate remains quite low."
"The truly reliable approach is to have a spatial magician handle it personally. Only then can they control the force involved and perform precise operations."
"Wait a moment! Jia Bing isn't a spatial magician either. How did he create this spatial interlayer? What method does he use each time he enters it?"
This thought stirred something within Zi Di, prompting her to retrieve the identity ring once more.
She aimed the ring's surface toward the source of the spatial fluctuations.
The spatial ring flashed faintly, responding immediately. A notably intense spatial disturbance rippled out.
Zong Ge stood alert before Zi Di.
A flicker of joy crossed Zi Di's face before vanishing.
The spatial interlayer had only opened a crack. To fully unlock it, a password was required.
“A password?” Zi Di had no clue what code Jia Bing had set.
She found a new approach.
Zi Di attempted to summon a snake shadow ghost.
The snake shadow ghost distorted its form, compressing itself flat like a long, narrow sheet of paper.
Like a paper shadow slipping through a door crack, it directly entered the spatial interlayer.
The next moment, it smoothly slipped inside.
“Success!” Zi Di rejoiced.
This was the advantage of the new undead faction. Any other living being, even thinner than the compressed snake shadow ghost, would have been intercepted.
Through the snake shadow ghost's shared vision, Zi Di witnessed the scene within the spatial interlayer.
“So many puppets!” Zi Di's heart skipped a beat.
The spatial interlayer wasn't large, yet it held numerous alchemy puppets.
All these alchemy puppets were ice gargoyles.
None were iron or bronze level; the lowest rank was Silver.
The silver level ice gargoyles varied in form. They, shoulder to shoulder, lined the walls of the spatial interlayer, twelve in total. Each possessed distinct configurations. Some bore broad bat-like wings on their backs, others carried electric drills on their tails, while some sported more ferocious, razor-sharp claws. Some others were covered in fish-scale armor.
At the innermost part of the spatial interlayer stood the largest ice gargoyle.
A bitter chill swirled around this ice gargoyle. A faint aura of gold level power emanated from it.
Indeed, it was a gold level ice gargoyle.
But it was incomplete.
Approximately one-third of its body was not crafted yet.
Dozens of chisels floated around this ice gargoyle. On the ground lay cold-dispersing vessels resembling wine barrels.
Five such vessels encircled the gold level ice gargoyle.
They continuously emitted frigid cold.
This chill permeated the gold level ice gargoyle's form, stabilizing its state.
Before being fully refined, alchemy puppets often remained unstable. Many of their magic runes and formation inscriptions remained incomplete, preventing them from achieving equilibrium.
This gold level ice gargoyle was no exception.
The ice gargoyle was the most eye-catching presence. Zi Di finally managed to shift her attention elsewhere.
In the corner of the spatial interlayer, four tombstone-like ice cabinets stood.
Their fronts bore inscriptions in elven script specifying their model: Ice Water Restoration Chamber.
At the center of the spatial interlayer sat a hybrid energy reactor.
The outer unit was the massive Icebreaker Fang energy reactor. Inside the Icebreaker Fang energy reactor sat a smaller unit called the Ice Crusher energy reactor.
Both furnaces consumed frost-elemental crystals to generate stable energy.
The power produced here primarily fueled the spatial interlayer. Simultaneously, a hidden conduit channeled energy outward.
“This energy line must be what powers that final trap on the first floor!” Zi Di thought to herself.