Chapter 2628: Tree and Beehive

How could Zu An not be shocked when that name sounded just like big sis empress? He'd initially thought that Mi Li was Qin Shihuang’s empress, but it later became apparent to him that that wasn’t the case. She had always been enigmatic to him.

Mi Li seemed to know a lot, but getting information from her was tougher than squeezing out toothpaste. She spoke in riddles, which matched the traits of a Deity of Chaos and Enigma.

While others have grandpas as their cheat, my cheat is one of the most powerful entities in the myriad worlds?

The thought shocked Zu An.

“What nonsense are you thinking?” Mi Li’s sneering voice suddenly echoed in his ears. “Do you think I’d babysit you like a nanny if I were truly that Deity of Enigma?”

Zu An thought those words made sense. When he first met her, she'd been sealed in the tomb of Qin Shihuang’s empress and didn’t even have a body. She had to rely on him to find materials to forge a new body for her. It didn’t seem possible for an unparalleled deity to end up in such a plight...

The masked figure was horrified to hear Zu An’s question. He reflexively looked at the sky before replying with a suppressed voice, “Even as a scribe blessed with the great Deity of Memory’s protection, I can’t keep calling the name of that exalted entity. It’ll be terrible if I draw the deity’s attention. But judging from your reaction, have you heard that name before?”

Zu An replied with a strained smile, “No, I must have remembered wrongly.”

The masked figure sternly warned him, “Remember this. You should avoid listening to any universal deities' names unless their envoys personally reveal it to you.”

Zu An was intrigued. “What would happen otherwise?”

“You might draw the deity’s attention and disintegrate on the spot,” the masked figure replied.

“Will it always draw the deity’s attention?” Zu An asked.

“I don’t know. I doubt anyone in the world would dare put their life on the line to test that theory,” the masked figure replied hesitantly.

Zu An thought made sense. It would be better to err on the side of caution.

The masked figure took out a black-gold card and passed it to Zu An. “I promised you a gift. This is an invitation letter to Dreamland. With it, you can access Dreamland, a place countless people across the myriad worlds wish to visit.”

“Dreamland?” Zu An was perplexed.

“As the name suggests, it is a land of dreams. There is no war there; only happiness. It is said that no matter who you are, you can always find the items you need to fulfill your dreams there. Of course, the more precious the item you require, the greater the price you have to pay,” the masked figure explained.

Zu An’s breathing quickened. Whether it was the spacetime divide with the Mermaid Queen and the Goddess of Wu Mountain, the materials needed to reforge Mi Li’s body, or Chuyan, who was trapped under the Oblivion Bridge... He had far too many wishes that couldn’t be fulfilled with this world’s power. If Dreamland was truly that incredible, he would absolutely have to make a trip there.

“Dreamland only opens once every thousand years, and access is based on the invitation letters they distribute. Only those with an invitation letter can enter. There has been bloodshed over the invitation letters all throughout history. Some world emperors even offered to trade a planet for an invitation letter, but there were no takers.”

Sensing Zu An’s astonishment, the masked figure smiled. He was certain that this gift would satisfy Zu An, and his guess was on the mark.

“How can the invitation letters be snatched if Dreamland specifically sent them to certain individuals?” Zu An was perplexed.

“There are no names on the invitation letter. Dreamland only recognizes the invitation letter, not the individual. That’s why I can give this to you,” the masked figure explained.

“It feels as if Dreamland intentionally adopted such a system to stir conflict.” Zu An frowned. He wasn’t fond of such maneuvers.

The masked figure thought nothing of it. “Think of it as a trial. Someone who gets their invitation letter stolen isn’t worthy of entering Dreamland. Dreamland doesn’t want to waste time on the weak either. Experts are capable of offering more valuable things to it.”

Zu An fell silent.

It's the survival of the fittest after all.

He glanced at the masked figure and asked, “Based on what you've said, the invitation letter is incredibly valuable. Why do you want to give it to me?”

The masked figure sighed. “I obtained this invitation letter because of my position as a scribe. There are many major events in the myriad worlds waiting to be recorded, and I have another mission on hand. On top of that, I must rush back to inform my comrades that a Time Scribe infiltrated our ranks. My hands are full. It just so happens you did us a huge favor, so it feels right to thank you with this invitation letter.”

Zu An took the invitation letter. It was unlike any material he had ever seen before, resembling a fusion between gold and jade.

The masked figure addressed his confusion, saying, “The letters are made from Dreamland’s specially produced amber. They cannot be forged by anyone else, which is why the invitation letters are so highly sought after.”

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“Thank you. I just realized that I don’t know your name yet,” Zu An said as he stowed away the invitation letter. The other party looked to be a decent person, and it just so happened that he knew next to nothing about the myriad worlds. It would be good for him to make a friend here.

The masked figure was overjoyed. Scribes like him were obsessed with the notion of making a name for themselves in history. A world's master asking for his name meant that his name could be recorded in the annals, too. He replied, “I am Unblind Zuoqiu.”

“That is a rather scholarly name.” Zu An was perplexed by the name.

Unblind Zuoqiu was overjoyed to hear the remark. “I like this name too. We, Mirror Scribes, usually pick names from people we revere in history as testament to our mission.”

Zu An felt a headache settling in as Unblind Zuoqiu began talking about the elders in his industry. It was a while later before he found a chance to slip in a question. “Brother Zuoqiu, what major powers are there in the myriad worlds? We don’t get much information here.”

Unblind Zuoqiu replied, “The 'myriad worlds' is a term referring to the collection of all universes. Some barriers are nigh impossible to cross between universes and prevent them from interacting with each other. It is tough to travel to other universes unless your universe has reached a certain level of civilization.

“Your universe used to have a fair number of civilizations, but they were all conquered by the Monster World. With the destruction of the Monster World, your world is now the only one left in your universe.”

“There are many theories about the form of the myriad worlds. One of the more mainstream ideas is the Tree Conjecture. It is said that the Creation Tree has countless leaves on it, and each leaf is a universe. Each universe has many galaxies and civilizations, but it is difficult for one leaf to interact with another leaf.

“I am personally more inclined to see the myriad worlds as a beehive. Each honeycomb is a universe, but there are walls between each honeycomb that make it nigh impossible for two universes to interact.”

This greatly clarified Zu An’s thoughts. “The people who destroyed the Monster World—which deity’s worshipers are they?”