Babata, Shi Fen's Breakthrough

If Shi Fen were conscious right now, he would undoubtedly be incredibly curious.

Where did the Cloud-Touching Vine go?

And where did Babata go?

In reality, ever since Luo Feng and Shi Fen arrived at Mist Island one after another, Babata, who had remained conscious and monitoring all external information, had long been rolling around inside the spaceship in pure joy.

Luo Feng's brain region width exceeded 18, which was already enough to take on a master; Babata could finally leave this place and venture into the universe once again.

Babata had carefully observed Luo Feng for a period of time, but felt slightly disappointed; Luo Feng's strength was not high, so he could not possibly be the figure who had stirred up such a storm here last time.

This meant there was another expert.

Suppressing his excitement, Babata transformed into a composed hunter, quietly waiting for that big shot to appear. If the Spirit of Vegetation were plucked and that person still did not appear, Babata planned to release a Wood Bud Crystal to cultivate another Beast Emperor.

With the combination of the Cloud-Touching Vine, a Beast Emperor, and a Wood Bud Crystal, Babata did not believe that a mere Earth native could resist joining the fray. By then, both Earth geniuses would be gathered into Babata's hands.

Soon, Shi Fen appeared. Once Babata discovered Shi Fen and induced the Cloud-Touching Vine to confirm that Shi Fen was indeed the mysterious figure from before, Babata was completely ecstatic!

When Babata witnessed Shi Fen single-handedly controlling 33 flying knives, dodging the attacks of numerous monsters with such agility, Babata felt as if his eyes were deceiving him. How could a native with a brain region width of only 20 dodge so perfectly while controlling 33 flying knives?

Babata knew that the Basics of Spiritual Reader existed on Earth, but that manual alone could not possibly cultivate such a person.

Shi Fen's combat ability did not conform to the logic of a native.

Shi Fen's soul amplitude was even more illogical—it exceeded the normal range by double.

After watching Shi Fen's battle, Babata felt his worldview collapsing: a student-level rank 9 comprehending the prototype of a domain during combat and single-handedly killing nearly 150 monsters.

This Shi Fen was simply not human.

Especially when Luo Feng called Shi Fen "brother," Babata's heart became even more chaotic.

"Two genius Spiritual Readers appearing on Earth, and they're brothers! One of them is currently comprehending a domain and even leading others to comprehend it. My god..." Babata shouted and hollered inside the spaceship, lamenting the unfairness of the universe.

When Hong was teaching Luo Feng, Babata was shocked to discover that Hong actually possessed a domain. A planetary-level Earth native actually possessed a domain! The Shi Fen before him was currently comprehending a domain, and Thor also seemed to have gained some insight.

"I've lived my life in vain..." Babata truly broke down.

After all, Babata was an intelligent life form; even with his mentality shattered, he immediately controlled the Cloud-Touching Vine, ensuring it would not cause any trouble.

The Cloud-Touching Vine had been cultivated by Babata, so even without a master-servant bond, it still recognized him. Babata used a single Wood Bud Crystal like candy for a child to coax the "childish" Cloud-Touching Vine into being perfectly obedient and following his orders.

Only then could Shi Fen comprehend the domain in peace.

After Shi Fen entered the state of epiphany, his consciousness split into two.

One part was analyzing the final Secret Pattern map, with pleasing progress.

The other part was comprehending that miraculous combat state from earlier. This state was somewhat similar to the "Emperor of Artifacts Time," but not entirely. Under the epiphany, Shi Fen comprehended more and more, and when it accumulated to a certain degree, the prototype of a domain appeared naturally.

Shi Fen felt that the emergence of this domain might be related to the "Emperor of Artifacts Time" he had inadvertently entered last time.

In Shi Fen's perception, this domain could be called a "Wisdom Domain" or an "Consciousness Domain." It was a special type of external perception and calculation ability, possessing no substantial offensive power.

This was not a domain of the Laws of the Universe, but a special domain outside of them.

Once he possessed this prototype of a domain, Shi Fen's comprehension and speed of study increased once again. The domain was visibly perfecting itself, and the range it covered was increasing. The analysis speed of the final Secret Pattern map was also quite impressive.

Shi Fen had a feeling in his heart.

His progress in comprehending the domain would be completed in tandem with the analysis of the Secret Pattern map.

As time passed, the prototype of Shi Fen's domain soon completely enveloped the few people around him. Once covered by the domain, those few felt their spirits refresh, and comprehending their own domains became a tiny bit easier.

Others might only feel a slight difference, but Hong felt it with extreme clarity. His eyes erupted with excited light, and suppressing his agitation, he delved into comprehending his own domain, wanting to make it even stronger.

16 hours after Shi Fen began comprehending the domain prototype.

Thor, who had been searching for a breakthrough opportunity without eating or drinking, finally broke through; Thor's domain prototype had appeared!

The personal guards and Luo Feng were all extremely pleasantly surprised.

Now that they had two domain prototypes to compare and study, they became even more desperate to feel and attempt to comprehend their own domains.

Deep underground in the spaceship, Babata was sprawled out on a chair in a completely unrefined manner. Seeing that Thor had also mastered a domain prototype, he dropped the half-eaten apple he was holding in shock, murmuring in disbelief: "Did I hit the jackpot? Not only can I take two genius native Spiritual Readers as my master's personal disciples, but I can also pick up two genius martial artists along the way.

A student-level rank 9 mastering a domain, two planetary-levels mastering domains, this..."

Babata suddenly sat up violently, scurrying around the spaceship in excitement, screaming like a madman, "Hahaha! This is the universe favoring my master! The universe has given my master a chance for revenge, hahahaha!"

But as he laughed, Babata suddenly began to cry. Crystal-clear teardrops fell "pitter-patter" onto the floor of the spaceship. He clenched his fists tightly, curled up in a corner of the ship, and sobbed quietly in a pitiful manner.

"Master... if only you could see this scene with your own eyes, how wonderful that would be..."

Babata curled into a ball on Hu Yanbo's coffin, tears welling in his eyes, his body trembling slightly...

At this moment, Babata was no longer the demon Babata who had galloped across the universe with Hu Yanbo; he was more like a homeless, friendless, helpless child crying before the grave of his kin.

In this world, no one cared about his existence, let alone his life or death.

Only the empty spaceship, the remains of his kin, endless loneliness, and a heart-deep despair toward his enemies accompanied him.

For fifty thousand years, Babata had endured too many negative emotions. The moment he saw hope, the defenses of his heart finally collapsed completely...

If Shi Fen were to activate his detection function and see this scene.

Shi Fen would definitely change his impression of Babata.

Unfortunately, Shi Fen didn't see this. He was still fully engrossed in comprehending his domain and secret patterns.

It was Shi Fen's third day on Mist Island.

His comprehension of both his domain and the secret patterns was just a tiny bit away from completion.

Shi Fen was in a state of deep enlightenment, as calm as an ancient well, unresponsive to the outside world or his own body. Undisturbed, he continued to pour all his effort into sensing and completing the progress. The last sliver of understanding was quickly achieved, reaching perfection.

His domain fully took shape, tending towards perfection. The final secret pattern was finally comprehended.

"Boom..."

The moment all the secret patterns were understood, the three worlds within the Black Mirror underwent drastic changes.

As his domain solidified, it instantly retracted into his body. Shi Fen had just woken up, his consciousness a little hazy, but he quickly realized something. He thought uncertainly, Did I complete the Foundation Trial?

While still groggy, he sensed the changes within the Black Mirror with his mind. Shi Fen's two consciousnesses immediately snapped their eyes open.

The external world.

Shi Fen opened his eyes and met Hong's gaze. Hong noticed Shi Fen waking up, smiled slightly at him, then nodded, and patted the spot beside him, signaling Shi Fen to remain quiet and sit there.

Shi Fen nodded dazedly, moved his body slightly, and then sat cross-legged beside Hong.

He scanned his surroundings and found quite a few people gathered around him: Hong, Thor, Luo Feng, and several other strong individuals he hadn't seen before. The positions they were sitting in formed a circle, enclosing the spot where Shi Fen had been standing and where Thor was currently located.

Thor also seemed to be in a state of enlightenment, with a terrifying lightning power brewing around him. This power made Shi Fen's scalp tingle. Although the others weren't in enlightenment, their faces all held thoughtful expressions. Shi Fen's awakening didn't affect them in the slightest.

"Control the range of your domain's deployment, cover me, and let me see," Hong said softly, seeing that Shi Fen understood his surroundings.

Shi Fen didn't speak, just nodded gently, and carefully deployed his domain, enveloping the two of them.

Hong was immensely shocked by the miraculous effect of Shi Fen's domain. Under Shi Fen's domain, his mind became incredibly clear and sharp, his thoughts agile, and he vaguely found solutions to things he hadn't understood before.

Shi Fen's domain could actually enhance comprehension and wisdom!

Hong suppressed his excitement and whispered, "Little brother, does maintaining your domain consume a lot of energy? Is it difficult to maintain?"

Shi Fen was enjoying the strange feeling brought by his domain. After deploying it, his perception of the outside world was exactly the same as when he fought the monster horde, only many times stronger.

Everything around him felt within his control; he could even clearly see the flow of energy within others.

Immersed in this wondrous state, Shi Fen subconsciously replied, "It's incredibly easy to deploy. I feel like I could maintain it for days without any trouble."

"Good!" Hong said softly, then took out some food from his space ring and handed it to Shi Fen. "Eat something simple, and carefully deploy your domain to cover everyone here, helping them comprehend their own domains. You've just acquired your domain, so I suggest you study it further."

Shi Fen nodded gently, took the food, and carefully deployed his domain, enveloping everyone present.

Everyone felt the sudden surge of comprehension, their bodies trembling slightly, and they focused even more intensely on comprehending their domains.

After instructing Shi Fen, Hong once again focused on studying his own domain, trying to make it stronger.

Shi Fen ate a little, drank some water, and closed his eyes to continue comprehending his newly acquired domain.

Although Shi Fen appeared to be listening to Hong.

In reality, as the Image World began to change, the vast majority of Shi Fen's consciousness had already entered the Image World, witnessing the shocking transformations within.

Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror, Image World.

The moment the "Foundation Trial" was completed, the space within the Image World seemed to freeze, and Shi Fen's consciousness clone could barely move. Soon, Shi Fen witnessed an extremely terrifying scene.

The Image World and the Treasure Refining World, which Shi Fen couldn't see, evolved simultaneously!

The bright white walls on both sides of the Image World instantly shattered, the scene freezing like a mirror shattering. Countless wall fragments rapidly dissipated into the air like melting ice and snow.

As the fragments completely vanished, Shi Fen regained his mobility. Behind the shattered walls, Shi Fen saw a much wider "Forging Plaza." At a glance, Shi Fen saw at least dozens of "Forging Plazas" identical to this one.

Most bizarrely, each "Forging Plaza," whether in its decoration, layout, or arrangement of items, was almost identical. Shi Fen could barely see any differences at first glance.

At least dozens of rows of ten Mining Vehicles side-by-side, various Tech Tools, forging tools, even Storage Cabinets, were nearly the same!

"This, this... this is Teacher Yi's true arrangement..." Shi Fen was shocked.

The changes in the Image World didn't stop. On the ceiling, which was now countless times higher, a beautiful star map appeared, completely covering the entire ceiling.

As the star map fully materialized.

Numerous colorful orbs of light emerged from the star map. A large number of these colorful orbs spun and hovered directly below the star map, floating up and down quietly, casting colorful light onto the Forging Plaza.

The original three massive archways rose from the ground and continued to grow. In a short time, the gates reached a kilometer high. A kilometer-high archway, against the wall of the new Forging Plaza, looked like a "mouse hole."

As the gates became "mouse holes," four more archways suddenly appeared. Shi Fen clearly saw the words on the new archways: "Collection Hall," "Experiment Hall," "Inheritance Hall," "Mortal Hall," "Plant Hall," "Heaven-Reaching Hall."

Adding to the previous "Treasure Hall," "Library Hall," and "Meditation Hall."

The Image World now had nine "sub-halls."

The moment the nine gates fully formed, in the Forging Plaza, which was the "main hall," a black, disc-shaped object, seemingly illusory, emerged from the center of the main hall's floor. It passed through the ground and the Forging Plaza, ignoring material limitations, and flew towards the high ceiling of the main hall.

The black disc finally stopped in the center of the main hall's space, rotating steadily like a millstone, very conspicuous.

The black disc had a diameter of at least ten kilometers, making it incredibly huge, like a giant disc-shaped spaceship from a sci-fi movie.

As the black disc ascended, Shi Fen happened to glance at its top. It was a vast plaza filled with many ancient, black objects. Just a glance made Shi Fen feel that these objects were profound and clearly not ordinary items.

Compared to the ordinary silver tools in the Forging Plaza, those silver tools were like "gaudy, cheap trinkets."

The black disc, along with the vast array of silver tools below and the bright white walls, created a harmonious interplay of colors—black, silver, and white—that was surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

Once the black disc had fully ascended, Shi Fen discovered three massive simplified Chinese characters on its underside.

"Treasure Refining Hall."

"Absurd, simply absurd! Teacher Yi's handiwork is peerless; he actually used something like this as a signboard!" Shi Fen was at a loss for words, deeply immersed in shock.

Just when Shi Fen thought everything had come to an end.

A silver disc over one kilometer in diameter emerged from the center of the ground in the same manner, lifting off and rising to a height of one kilometer, where it hovered directly beneath the black disc.

Shi Fen was astonished to find that the silver disc was covered in numerous silver-toned tools, even more numerous than those in the square Forging Plaza. There were no characters on the underside of the silver disc.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a floating Forging Plaza.

When the silver disc had fully risen, the changes to the Image World finally came to an end, reaching a conclusion.

The renovation of the Image World was complete!

Shi Fen felt his connection with the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror grow tighter, as if it had truly become a part of his own body. His ability to control the Image World had strengthened, granting him many new operational permissions...

As for the specific gains, Shi Fen would need to examine them one by one...