Chapter 1053 Yggdrasil's Condition

Just as Hao Ren had predicted, when Mimir's voice was transmitted through the relay system, the changes in Yggdrasil suddenly stopped. Those spatial cracks that had been flickering as if about to disappear became stable again, but a pale purple light still jumped between the cracks, carrying hesitation in it – as if the powerful ancient creature was confused about the source of the sound and was uncertain.

The data terminal floated in the center of the phase hall, emitting a constant blue beam of light. Its light stretched out in all directions, illuminating the several mithril golems around the hall. The lower halves of these golems were deeply buried in the rocky ground of the hall, forming sharp cones that connected to a metal ring surrounding the Hephaestus Crystal directly below the hall. A stable signal transmission path was established in this way. Mimir's mental pulse, sent from the Petrified Turtle, transformed into the magical energy of the Hephaestus Crystal, continuously released towards Yggdrasil.

After the initial greeting, the communication between Mimir and Yggdrasil went beyond the scope of language. They began to converse in a way that was extrasensory, akin to mental direct connection and soul synchronicity. Hao Ren didn't know what they were communicating, only that he could see massive data streams constantly oscillating in the data terminal's monitoring channel: the amount of information conveyed by this data stream exceeded any language in the world.

The communication between the two "people" didn't last long. In fact, in less than ten seconds, Mimir actively switched channels, while Yggdrasil quietly floated in space, neither running away nor opening its gates.

"Mimir, what's the situation?" Hao Ren eagerly inquired about the progress of the negotiation.

A new image appeared above the data terminal. Mimir's head appeared in a holographic projection. The old giant looked somewhat uneasy: "Yggdrasil's condition is a bit strange. He can still recognize my voice and has responded to a certain extent, but now he seems even more... chaotic than before. I feel like this old fellow is in a state of delirium."

"Delirium?" Anthony asked curiously, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," the old giant frowned. "I thought he was suddenly waking up, so he kept running away, but now it seems he's been in an increasingly chaotic state throughout the whole process. I tried to ask him about his recent memories, and found that he doesn't even know how far he's run. And this increasingly chaotic state of his seems to have suddenly worsened recently."

Hao Ren's curiosity was piqued by Yggdrasil's strange state. He didn't know what was wrong with the eldest son, but it was clear that only a very powerful force could affect the spirit of this demigod creature – and this influence had probably changed recently. He thought of the wounds left on the World Tree when the demon hunters attacked Odin's realm two thousand years ago, and then he thought of a battle he had fought in Corpus not long ago. From a temporal point of view, Yggdrasil's change in state was vaguely related to these events.

What was the biggest thing he did in Corpus?

Hao Ren felt that it wasn't the battle itself, but the moment at the end of the battle when he took the Godslayer Sword from the Spirit World Clock Tower.

It felt like a switch, and it seemed that after that, many things began to operate uncontrollably.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to the current situation: "Then how can we open Yggdrasil's gate – without disturbing him?"

"I did my best to send friendly and safe messages to Yggdrasil. Now he has calmed down and is willing to accept some less severe stimulation. Later, I will try to take over the entrance to Asgard, where a stable rift will open. You can enter, but during the process of entering this rift, no matter what you see, do not take any action. Believe me, the only thing you will see there are illusions – and if you react too strongly to these illusions, Yggdrasil will immediately wake up and run away."

Vivian asked curiously: "What will we see?"

Mimir's tone was low: "It's hard to say, but it will definitely be an illusion that will surprise you. The Halls of Valhalla in Asgard once gathered countless brave souls. When the demon hunters destroyed the barrier of Asgard with light cannons, these souls tried to fill the gap in the 'God Realm' with their own bodies. So a large part of the souls turned into part of the spatial barrier. You will be disturbed by these dead when you cross the rift. You won't see any real scenery until you reach Asgard."

Nangong Sanba, who hadn't said a word, suddenly spoke at this moment: "Then how can we be sure that we have arrived in Asgard and are not still immersed in the illusions of the dead?"

"You will see Odin's Golden Palace – if the Golden Palace has collapsed, then you will at least see the ruins of other parts of Asgard. The dead are servants of the Aesir gods. They revere the majesty of their former masters, so they will certainly not dare to block the glory of those palaces. When you see the Golden Palace or other ruins of Asgard, it means that you have passed through the illusions of the dead."

Vivian nodded: "I know what the Golden Palace looks like. I used to visit often."

"Then we can set off," Hao Ren nodded, checking his equipment while casually asking Mimir, "By the way, will we be able to communicate with Yggdrasil after we go in? Will this disturb him?"

"If you are careful enough, it won't," Mimir winked. "After you go in, I will always maintain a mental connection with Yggdrasil. I will keep him as stable as possible. As long as you don't harm the branches of the World Tree, he won't react excessively."

Because he was worried that the spatial distortions caused by the Petrified Turtle's warp would stimulate Yggdrasil, Hao Ren didn't plan to take the spaceship this time. Instead, everyone would complete this not-too-distant space journey with Anthony's help.

Dragon Queen Galazriel would also accompany them.

This was the first time in Hao Ren's life that he had acted with two fellow inspectors. To be honest, he was quite excited – he was quite looking forward to the methods of the two old seniors. After all, they had thousands of years more work experience than him. These two shouldn't have only increased their appetite and imagination...

Anthony chanted a spell, and a slight vibration came from under everyone's feet. After a moment, Hao Ren saw a strange small aircraft emerge from the edge of the phase hall. This aircraft looked like a large sphere with a radius of several meters. The lower half of the sphere was a hemispherical metal platform, its surface engraved with countless complex magic patterns and secret symbols, while the upper half of the sphere was a bowl-shaped transparent shield, with an inspection sticker on the shield...

Even in the space age, traffic laws must be observed.

Hao Ren and his party curiously followed Anthony onto this strange small spacecraft, and then watched the old mage inject magic power into the hemispherical platform under his feet, skillfully activating the magic circle, putting it in second gear, starting, stalling, activating the magic circle, putting it in second gear, starting, stalling, activating the magic circle, putting it in second gear, starting, stalling... After tossing back and forth three times, he finally switched to automatic mode.

"Just bought it a few days ago," the old mage stroked his beard with a slightly embarrassed look. "Not very used to it, not very used to it."

Hao Ren chuckled twice: "Um... magic technology aircraft are also quite interesting, haha, hahahaha..."

Although the spherical aircraft wasn't imperial equipment, it was a good thing that Anthony had obtained from those highly skilled magical civilizations. Just like Hao Ren's plasma spear, its performance was excellent. It smoothly left the phase hall and flew towards Yggdrasil in distant space. The people in the aircraft didn't feel any shaking or discomfort from the acceleration.

Soon, those huge rifts spanning space came into view.

"In your front left," Mimir's voice sounded in Hao Ren's mind, "The entrance to Asgard has been opened, remember what I said!"

Hao Ren looked up and sure enough, he found that among the shadowy light rifts, one rift emitting a faint glow had become unusually solid, and the scenery within the rift was in a completely stable state.

"Already saw it," he patted the old mage's arm. "Fly towards there."

The spherical aircraft turned towards Asgard, and when it approached the rift, it slowly decelerated and smoothly sank into this other space domain that had been closed for more than two thousand years.