Was it extracting the spirit to conceal something?
That wasn't it. On closer inspection, the 'spirit' of the World-Deriving Instrument had clearly left of its own accord.
And it had left behind a message.
Xu Xing raised his hand and lightly tapped the World-Deriving Instrument, which had stopped functioning and gone dark.
A dazzling flash of light flared.
Thud—!
A muffled sound came from its deepest recesses.
Creak~!
Then came a piercing noise, as if an old, stiff radio had been switched on again after the passage of ages and supplied with power.
The layers of nested ritual mechanisms began turning slowly, starting from the innermost layer.
Deep within the World-Deriving Instrument, a faint light passed through layer upon layer of ritual mechanisms, gradually illuminating the runes inscribed upon them.
Under the light, the ritual mechanisms' original bronze color gradually became translucent pale blue.
Buzz, buzz!
One layer, two layers, three layers...
The layers of runic ritual mechanisms gradually began to turn, projecting dazzling patterns of realm boundaries.
In less than half a minute, the World-Deriving Instrument had fully activated. Eighty-one layers of runic ritual mechanisms turned and interlocked, manifesting an immeasurable amount of information with every passing instant.
Pale blue light flowed and drifted down, finally forming a tall, indistinct figure before Xu Xing.
Blue hair fell all the way to her ankles. Her features were exquisitely delicate, yet utterly cold.
This was the World-Deriving Instrument's former 'spirit'.
"Greetings."
"Master's fellow countryman."
"The World-Deriving Instrument will be yours to use from now on. I have left the Great Profound Realm to pursue my master."
Her voice, too, was ice-cold and utterly flat.
"The coordinates of the worlds my master explored while searching for the path home have all been recorded in Notes on Realm Exploration."
"It is stored in