Chapter 44: Primordial Void Sea

“Young Hero, this is the legendary Primordial Void Sea; the place from which all life was born.”

Li Zhi Ran’s voice sounded again.

Yet no matter how Xu Lin looked up, down, left, or right, he still could not see her.

Only between their hands did he retain that faint, almost ethereal sensation of her palms; even that felt like it might slip away at any moment.

“Young Hero, do not look with your eyes. Feel with your heart. When my figure appears before you once more, the link will be complete.

“The next step can only be accomplished by you alone; I cannot help you. But I believe you will succeed.”

Feel with my heart?

That sounded rather mystical.

Still, right now he had no choice but to try.

Xu Lin closed his eyes.

Darkness returned, though the sensation in his hands remained.

He could feel Li Zhi Ran gently stroking the backs of his hands, as if encouraging him.

How was he supposed to make her appear again?

By imagining her?

So he pictured Li Zhi Ran as she had been before entering the tub.

Yet strangely, no matter how hard he tried, her image simply refused to form in his mind.

It was as if he had completely forgotten what Li Zhi Ran looked like.

How could that be?

His mind instantly fell into chaos.

He racked his brains again, but the part of his memory that held her appearance was a blank void.

It’s over; the moment I got submerged, I lost my memories!

Just as despair gripped him, something popped up before his eyes.

First came the earlier ‘？？？’: ■■■■■■■■

Then the blocked text slowly cleared, revealing the words beneath.

‘Primordial Void Sea (Imitation) · Spirit-Specialized’ (Purple): Specializes in mental power; aids in forming mind links with others

Details: Let our minds become one!

A system description!

He looked around; the same text floated everywhere.

So this was the truth behind the earlier “???”.

‘Primordial Void Sea (Imitation)’… which meant a real one actually existed.

The effect perfectly matched what Li Zhi Ran had described.

And it was purple quality!

This was the first purple-quality item Xu Lin had ever seen.

【Extracted Tag Energy <Chuunibyou> 2000 points】

【Extracted Tag Energy <Chuunibyou> 2000 points】

【Extracted Tag Energy <Chuunibyou> 2000 points】

…

The system kept spamming notifications; 2000-point chunks of tag energy poured in without pause.

Only after the twentieth message did it finally stop.

That was a full 40,000 energy points in one go.

One of the conditions for unlocking blue-quality tag synthesis had just been instantly fulfilled.

Xu Lin suddenly had so much energy that he didn’t even know what to do with it.

He hadn’t actually spent much on Li Zhi Ran’s side so far; she had brought him almost no negative effects, so there was nothing to resist with energy.

Moreover, the two tags he had obtained from her both seemed rather useless; they only increased success rates when synthesizing food-related items.

【Extracting attribute tag information】

【Currently craftable attribute tags: <Cat Tongue>, <Sweet Tooth>, <Intelligence>】

A new tag now?

<Intelligence>? Was that intelligence… or idiocy?

He opened it and found, sure enough, a white-quality tag.

But when he saw the crafting cost, he nearly choked.

150 points?

It was only white quality, yet the cost was almost as high as the blue-quality tags from Lin Shen Xue’s side!

He continued reading the description.

As expected, it was related to intellect and also included some mental-power effects.

Definitely a tag connected to Li Zhi Ran.

The reason it only appeared now was probably because they were soaking together in the potion and had entered this mysterious space together.

…That had to be it.

Mental-power related; it fit the current situation perfectly.

…Could this actually help with the current task?

He opened his eyes again and looked around.

Still no sign of Li Zhi Ran.

So it didn’t help in that way.

Then… am I supposed to synthesize this “Primordial Void Sea” itself?

He remembered what had happened inside Lin Shen Xue’s dream.

But would it really work?

The tag in his hands was only white quality, while the Primordial Void Sea he was inside was purple!

They were an entire tier apart; was synthesis even possible?

Only one way to find out.

He focused his attention on the deep blue surrounding him.

Soon he spotted the familiar words.

“Synthesis Preview.”

They floated above the Primordial Void Sea and never vanished no matter where he looked.

He hurriedly opened the preview.

It really was possible to synthesize this Primordial Void Sea.

But when he saw the requirements, his heart sank.

Tags used for synthesis had to be at least blue quality.

The higher the quality of the tags used, the fewer were needed; the lower the quality, the more.

Seeing recipes that required multiple tags or items was nothing new; he had experienced the same thing in Lin Shen Xue’s dream.

But then he remembered; the energy he currently possessed was more than enough to meet the conditions for unlocking blue-quality tag recipes.

There was still a chance!

Yet when he calculated the number of blue tags required and the energy cost, his hope faded again.

Even with the forty thousand-plus energy he had just now, it wasn’t even half of what was needed to synthesize the Primordial Void Sea.

Well… guess it’s useless now…

Xu Lin couldn’t help but sigh.

He would have to close his eyes and keep meditating for another way.

Li Zhi Ran had said this step could only be completed by him alone.

Besides, if he kept meditating, maybe he’d get another forty thousand points?

There was still a chance!

Xu Lin took a deep breath, calmed himself, and prepared to close his eyes and enter meditation once more.

‘Primordial Void Liquid (Imitation)’: Greatly enhances mental power; aids in completing the mind link

A new notification suddenly popped up, making him freeze.

‘Primordial Void Liquid’? Another new item?

Here’s the problem; he had just been floating in this sea the whole time; he hadn’t gone anywhere else. Where did this new thing come from?

Unless…

An idea quickly struck him.

He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply again.

A large mouthful of the surrounding ocean liquid flowed into his mouth.

The process felt as natural as breathing; only with the added sensation of liquid filling and moistening his throat.

‘Primordial Void Liquid (Imitation)’: Greatly enhances mental power; aids in completing the mind link

Sure enough, the notification appeared once more.

“So that’s how it works!”

Joy surged through Xu Lin.

He checked the quality of the ‘Primordial Void Liquid’; it was blue.

The number of tags required was far lower than for the entire Void Sea.

Moreover, white-quality tags could be used; they simply required greater quantities than blue ones.

From the mouthful he had just taken, it looked like roughly ten white tags would be needed.

Which meant about 1500 energy points.

He had just gained 40,000 points, plus the several thousand he already had; it was more than enough.

Not to mention, if he spent 10,000 energy, he would unlock the chance to extract blue-quality recipes, further reducing costs.

Though even after unlocking, he might not immediately get a blue-quality <Intelligence> recipe.

So for now, he would stick with white-quality tags.

“Wait… giving me so much energy all at once… could that have been the plan from the start?”

But he didn’t dwell on it; there were more pressing matters.

He immediately began crafting tags while simultaneously synthesizing them with the ‘Primordial Void Liquid (Imitation)’ he absorbed.

Primordial Void Liquid.

After synthesis, it still bore the same name.

But the word “Imitation” had vanished.

He checked its effects; they were far, far stronger than before!