230: Chapter 231 Dimensional Core

Lin Muyang looked at Elena and Alice, who were holding hands like two small animals waiting to be adopted, nervously requesting to live in the main building with him. He was stunned for a moment, then found himself between laughter and tears.

He reached out, ruffled Alice's smooth, long blue hair, and lightly flicked Elena's forehead, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and doting: "You two little sillies, have you misunderstood something?"

"Huh?" Elena and Alice looked up at the same time, their beautiful large eyes filled with confusion. Elena's pale gold eyes were currently veiled in a layer of mist, while Alice's were a clear azure, like pure seawater. They didn't understand what Lin Muyang meant.

Lin Muyang explained patiently, "Whether you have your own separate houses and whether you can come to the main building to live with me are two completely different things; they don't conflict. Do you understand?"

He bent down to look the young ladies in the eye, his voice gentle: "Even if I build beautiful little houses for each of you, those will belong entirely to you. They are your private spaces, little nests you can decorate according to your own preferences. But—"

He paused and looked at the two of them: "As long as you want, you can come to the main building to find me whenever you like, and stay as long as you want. The main building is so large and has so many rooms; could it possibly lack space for the two of you? Having your own house is for when you want a place to be quiet alone, but when you want to come to my place, you are always welcome. Isn't this better than everyone being squeezed into one spot?"

"Eh?" Alice blinked her sea-blue eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering. She carefully mulled over Lin Muyang's words, and a look of realization slowly appeared on her small face, followed by a bashful "I'm so stupid" expression as her cheeks flushed slightly. It seemed that was true... How had she completely failed to think of that? She had been too preoccupied with not wanting to be separated from her Master.

Elena also realized, and an embarrassed blush immediately surfaced on her delicate, fair face. She lowered her head somewhat sheepishly, looking at her hand tightly holding Alice's, her toes unconsciously scuffing the ground. Right... she seemed to have been fixated on the wrong thing. She had simply... subconsciously felt that living closer to her Master would be better, and hadn't considered the option of "being able to visit anytime" at all.

"But..." Elena was still a bit hesitant. She looked up, her pale gold eyes carrying a hint of bewilderment and dependence. "But, Master, I... I don't know what kind of house to build. I... I'm not very good at thinking about these things." Her voice grew smaller as she spoke, sounding somewhat lacking in confidence. As a pure Angel Maid, what she was best at was taking care of her Master's daily life and organizing internal affairs; she really had no concept or particular preference for architectural design or style selection.

Alice also chimed in softly, "I... I don't have any ideas either."

Seeing the two of them looking so dependent and at a loss, Lin Muyang's heart softened. Indeed, for Elena, her world was originally very simple—serving and following. And for Alice, who had never left her home in her original world, it was even more foreign.

"That's not hard at all." Lin Muyang smiled and took their hands. "Come, I'll take you to find the experts. We'll pick out what you like together and let the masters help you design it."

He took the two of them to find Old Mr. Liang, who had just finished guiding Seraphina, along with another female Constructor with a gentle temperament who specialized in various exquisite designs—Master Yun. After hearing Elena and Alice's vague wishes of "no specific requirements," and "just looking good, being comfortable, and having a bit of character," the two masters looked at each other and smiled; such requests actually allowed them the most room for their imagination.

After a brief discussion and conceptualization, combined with the characteristics of the two girls' identities, the two Constructors quickly proposed preliminary plans.

Designed for Elena was a Sky Pavilion. It wasn't truly floating in the air, but was built on a slightly elevated slope. Utilizing visual perspective and ingenious pillar designs, it created a sense of lightness as if suspended above the trees. The main body of the pavilion used pure white stone and lightweight magical wood, with elegant and fluid lines accented by a few pale gold decorations. The roof was designed with a sweeping curve, like outspread wings.

Vine plants with small white flowers would be transplanted around it to climb the pillars and railings, appearing holy and ethereal, subtly matching Elena's temperament as an Angel Maid. The interior was planned with a comfortable living area, a small quiet room for prayer—as Elena occasionally prayed out of habit—and a spacious, sun-drenched terrace overlooking part of the garden scenery.

For Alice, they designed a Deep Sea Castle. The site was chosen next to a small lake formed by manual excavation and the introduction of running water. Half of the castle rested on land, while the other half extended into the lake. The underwater portion featured transparent crystal walls, allowing for the observation of fish and aquatic plants. The castle's exterior carried some classical Gothic elements, but with softer lines. The color palette was primarily deep sea blue, silver-gray, and pearl white, with the exterior walls inlaid with shells, mother-of-pearl, and glowing deep-sea fluorescent stones as decoration.

The interior would create a moist and quiet atmosphere, and the humidity and water element concentration could even be adjusted in specific areas through formations.

After hearing the two masters' concepts, Elena's and Alice's eyes lit up. The light holiness of the Sky Pavilion and the mysterious tranquility of the Deep Sea Castle both struck their vague inner preferences. The two young ladies nodded in unison, their faces breaking into expectant and happy smiles.

"Thank you, Master Liang, Master Yun!" "We like them very much!"

Seeing the two girls finally smiling, Lin Muyang also felt relieved. He accompanied them to discuss some details with the two Constructors, such as wanting a swing on the Sky Pavilion's terrace and wanting the underwater viewing windows of the Deep Sea Castle to be larger. The two masters naturally agreed to everything with smiles, stating they would begin work as soon as possible.

After handling Elena and Alice's housing issues, Lin Muyang continued to stroll through the already taking-shape garden. He couldn't help but marvel once again; the efficiency and quality of these fourteen national-level Constructors working together were simply terrifying.

He had initially worried that gathering buildings of such varied styles would look cluttered and uncoordinated. However, under the masters' superlative layout and design, Lilia's Natural Treehouse, Elabess's Dark Castle, Ao Qingyan's White Dragon Pavilion, Gui Wanwan's Ghost Gate Pass, Su Daji's Fox Demon Residence, Seraphina's Shadow Tower, the newly decided Sky Pavilion and Deep Sea Castle, as well as Shen Muyao's Star-Gazing Tower... all these buildings of vastly different styles were cleverly connected, transitioned, and set off by winding paths, scattered flowers and trees, meandering waters, and unique pavilions and corridor bridges. Far from having any sense of disharmony, they complemented each other, together forming a harmonious and layered garden landscape.

In the distance, surrounding the edge of the garden, over three hundred guest rooms with a unified style but unique interior decorations had also sprung up. These were prepared for potential visitors or relatives like Shen Muyao's parents, and were equally exquisite and unique.

The originally empty and desolate Waterfall Plain had, in less than a day, been transformed into a grand garden covering thousands of acres, with pavilions and towers scattered about, mountains, waters, flowers, and trees reflecting each other, and filled with vitality and spiritual energy. Furthermore, the edges of the garden were not set with high walls, but cleverly utilized terrain undulations, forest cover, and winding streams and lakes as natural boundaries, making the entire garden blend perfectly with the surrounding waterfalls, mountains, and plains, as if it had naturally grown there.

Just as the main garden buildings were nearing completion, Xu Ruohan personally brought two elderly men with graying hair but bright, piercing eyes and simple mage robes to the garden entrance. These two were the top masters in the field of magical barriers in the Xia Country, considered titans of the craft.

"Mr. Lin Muyang, this is Master Zhuge Ming, and this is Master Gongshu Xuan. They are our country's top barrier grandmasters," Xu Ruohan introduced respectfully.

The look in the two masters' eyes as they watched Lin Muyang was also filled with respect. After the battle of Crocodile Shark Island, Lin Muyang's fame had already spread throughout the world's upper echelons. Facing such a powerhouse, and being tasked with protecting his residence, they naturally did not dare to be negligent.

"I appreciate your hard work, masters," Lin Muyang said, cupping his hands politely.

"Mr. Lin is too kind; it is our honor to set up a barrier for you," Master Zhuge Ming said with a smile, stroking his beard, while Master Gongshu Xuan nodded in agreement.

Without much small talk, the two masters immediately began their work. They first walked slowly around the vast perimeter of the garden, holding compass-like magical artifacts, stopping occasionally to measure the terrain and sense the flow of leyline energy. Subsequently, they flew into the air to overlook the entire garden layout, their hands constantly tracing complex magical runes that merged into the void.

Lin Muyang provided a massive amount of magic crystals as energy reserves. Seeing this, the two masters couldn't help but be secretly amazed; this Mr. Lin's wealth was indeed unfathomable. With sufficient energy, they completely let loose and gave their all.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

The final magical defensive barrier was a combination of luxury and power.

The barrier was intangible and formless, remaining in a silent, low-energy state during normal times, only maintaining basic magical detection and visual distortion effects; from the outside, this area still appeared to be an ordinary landscape of mountains, forests, and waterfalls, but anyone attempting to intrude would immediately lose their way.

Once an alarm was triggered or the full defensive mode was manually activated, the barrier would instantly enter its highest state of alert.

At that moment, a hemispherical, multi-layered compound barrier flowing with seven-colored magical light would envelop the entire garden.

Its defensive strength, according to the two masters, was sufficient to withstand the relentless bombardment of several Nation-Guarding Level Experts for half an hour without wavering.

The barrier came with multiple countermeasures, including energy reflection, mental interference, spatial imprisonment, and elemental chaos.

What was most commendable was its early warning and detection system.

The effective range of the barrier did not merely cover the garden itself, but radiated outwards for a full one hundred kilometers!

Within this one-hundred-kilometer radius, any unauthorized unit that entered with hostile intent or while concealing their tracks would immediately trigger the barrier's warning.

Even top-tier assassins or stalkers who had mastered advanced stealth skills could not approach within one hundred kilometers of the garden without being discovered.

The barrier could precisely pinpoint the location and number of intruders, and roughly judge their strength.

It could be said that after this garden was built and reinforced with the barrier, its security level was several times higher than the core area of the Xia Kingdom's capital!

It had truly become an Impenetrable Fortress and was also the safest home for Lin Muyang in this world.

As the sun set and the horizon was painted with magnificent evening glow, the construction of the entire garden and the layout of the basic barrier were finally declared basically complete.

Although some internal delicate decorations and personalized arrangements still required time, the main buildings, paths, landscapes, and most importantly, the defensive system, were all in place.

As the lights began to twinkle, soft yet bright magical lights gradually illuminated various parts of the garden—be it lanterns hanging from the eaves, fluorescent stones embedded along the walkways, or lotus lamps floating on the lake—adorning the garden at night with a dreamlike quality that shimmered in harmony with the stars in the sky.

Lin Muyang strolled to the front of a building named "Fire Phoenix Pavilion."

This was the residence built for Feng Ling, constructed entirely from a crimson stone known as "Warm Sun Jade," which emitted a gentle, warm glow in the night; the pavilion had a lively design, with eaves that resembled rising flames.

On the open-air balcony of the third floor of the pavilion, a stunning figure dressed in a fire-red robe stood leaning against the railing, gazing lost in thought toward the direction of the distant waterfall.

The evening breeze blew past, stirring her waterfall-like dark hair and the hem of her robe; her figure was graceful, and her temperament was ethereal and otherworldly, like a celestial being ready to ride the wind and return to the heavens at any moment.

Lin Muyang walked onto the balcony softly and came to her side.

Hearing the footsteps, Feng Ling turned around.

After her rebirth through Nirvana, her appearance seemed even more exquisite and perfect; her skin was whiter than snow, her brows and eyes were like a painting, and her already stunningly beautiful face now possessed an indescribable nobility and divine radiance that made one dare not look directly at her.

Only when looking at Lin Muyang did the icy nobility in those eyes instantly melt, transforming into a pool of spring water rippling with tenderness and reliance.

"Master." Feng Ling called out softly, her voice ethereal and pleasant, carrying a unique charm after having experienced Nirvana.

"How do you feel?" Lin Muyang walked to her side, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her, gazing at the waterfall that looked like a silver ribbon under the night sky in the distance.

"Very good, better than ever before." Feng Ling leaned gently against Lin Muyang's side, feeling the comforting aura emanating from him; "During this Nirvana, I broke through many shackles, and my level cap has increased to level 80. And..."

She paused, seemingly finding it difficult to say, but still said softly, "And, my body seems to have fully matured."

As she said this, two faint, barely noticeable blushes appeared on her beautiful cheeks.

What Nirvana brought was not only a leap in power but also the complete maturation of her life form.

At this moment, her figure was exquisite and well-proportioned, with stunning curves that were in no way inferior to any of the young ladies under Lin Muyang's command, and even added more charm due to the unique aura of the Phoenix Heavenly Maiden.

Lin Muyang naturally noticed her changes and smiled as he wrapped his arm around her slender waist: "Mm, our little phoenix has finally grown up completely."

Feng Ling gently rested her cheek on Lin Muyang's shoulder, feeling this tranquility and intimacy.

After a moment, she suddenly spoke softly, her tone carrying a hint of reminiscence and solemnity: "Master, while I was sleeping during this Nirvana, I awakened some memory fragments from the depths of my bloodline."

"Oh? Is it about your home world?" Lin Muyang asked.

"Yes." Feng Ling nodded, casting her gaze toward the distant starry sky, as if piercing through endless time and space; "My home was once a very beautiful, very vast world, rich in spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with all things full of vitality."

"Our Phoenix clan, along with other divine beast races like the True Dragons and Qilin, were regarded as the guardians of the world, living as long as heaven and earth, and coexisting with all things."

Her voice gradually lowered, carrying a hint of imperceptible sadness: "However, a sudden catastrophe descended thousands of years ago; the core of the world—the plane core—was forcibly stolen by thieves from unknown origins."

"The plane core?" Lin Muyang's eyes narrowed; this was the first time he had heard this term.

"Yes, the plane core." Feng Ling withdrew her gaze and looked at Lin Muyang, her eyes becoming incredibly serious; "According to the inherited information in my bloodline memories, it is the most core, most pure crystallization of source energy in every complete world."

"It maintains the stability of the world, nourishes all living beings, is the embodiment of the world's laws, and is the source of all spiritual energy in a realm."

She snuggled against Lin Muyang and continued to recount those sealed memories: "Having lost the plane core, my home was like having its heart ripped out; the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to wither and dissipate at an alarming rate."

"Rivers dried up, vegetation withered, the earth cracked, and the sky turned gray; all things that relied on spiritual energy for survival began to head toward extinction."

"Our Phoenix clan, although powerful, also derived our strength from heaven and earth; as spiritual energy dried up, our Nirvana Fire gradually extinguished, and our clansmen turned into cold stones in despair one by one, until finally, I was the only one left in the entire clan."

"And I, at the last moment, was sealed by the elders of the clan with their final strength and banished into the turbulence of time and space, only then managing to survive by luck, until I met you, Master."

Lin Muyang was silent; he could feel the heavy sadness in Feng Ling's words; the demise of a world, the extinction of a race—this weight far exceeded personal grievances.

"Then what exactly is the use of this plane core? To be coveted so much, even to the point of destroying a world to seize it?" Lin Muyang asked the crucial question.

Feng Ling collected her thoughts and answered: "According to my memories, the plane core contains the most pure and original power of rules; for any living being in any world, it is a supreme treasure."

"In those ancient, powerful worlds with mature cultivation systems, the essence condensed by a world's plane core every few hundred years is said to be able to directly shape a deity who controls part of that world's authority!"

She looked at Lin Muyang and said word for word: "If understood according to the current job-changing era of Blue Star... the power of the plane core might be able to directly elevate a person's talent to the God-level!"

"God-level talent?!" Lin Muyang's heart was shaken; he possessed a God-level talent and knew how terrifying it was.

And the limit of the tears of the angel was only Demigod Level; he had always been pondering how to make the talents of the young ladies around him advance further, reaching a level comparable to his own.

He hadn't expected that the answer was actually within Feng Ling's bloodline memories!

"Yes, God-level." Feng Ling nodded affirmatively; "That is a power that transcends the mundane and touches the source of the world's rules; my ancestors only mentioned it in legends and had never truly seen it."

"But the information in my memories shows that the beings who stole our plane core likely did so to create their own deities, or for other purposes we cannot imagine."

She paused and added: "Master, the current Blue Star should also have a plane core; and, looking at how vibrant Blue Star is today, with class-holders emerging constantly, the energy of this plane core likely has never been extracted or used on a large scale and is in a relatively complete or active state; this might... be an opportunity."

Lin Muyang's eyes became deep; the opportunity for the plane core to elevate talent to the God-level... this information was truly too important.