Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

Lin Yi's voice carried a persuasive quality, and the crystal heart in his hand shimmered alluringly in the dim light.

He deliberately swayed his heart slowly in front of the grieving woman, the light almost reflecting into the depths of her eyes, which had just been given a sparkle.

Just as the sorrowful woman's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the crystal, and she could even sense the aura emanating from it, Lin Yi pulled his wrist back, instantly pulling away the hope that was so close, stopping at a distance that seemed within reach but was actually separated by an invisible chasm.

On the sorrowful woman's delicate yet lifeless face, a very subtle ripple seemed to pass through, like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating an imperceptible ripple.

But she remained standing there, her hands neatly folded in front of her lower abdomen, showing no intention of trying to snatch it.

Was it out of fear that Lin Yi might destroy this precious heart, or was she herself subject to a restriction that prevented her from taking the initiative to attack the holder? Lin Yi couldn't tell for the time being.

She tilted her head slightly and asked in a soft, hollow voice, "What are the Old Gods...?"

She answered one question with another.

Lin Yi's eyes flickered slightly. He couldn't tell for the moment whether the puppet in front of him truly knew nothing about the "Old Gods" or was merely avoiding the core issue.

However, she was clearly unwilling to delve deeper into this topic.

Just then, Su Xiao, who had been silently observing, made a move.

He didn't speak, but silently took something out of his personal space—a soul crystal about the size of a fist.

It is the crystallization of the soul (large).

Then, under the increasingly wide gaze of the Sorrowful Woman, Su Xiao expressionlessly brought the incomparably precious soul crystal to his lips, opened his mouth, and without hesitation, "crunch" off a large piece!

"Click-"

The crisp cracking sound was particularly jarring in the quiet room.

A huge gap appeared instantly on the soul crystal, with jagged edges.

More noticeably, a pure and rich soul energy, like liquid from a broken container, seeped out from the opening, forming a pale blue halo visible to the naked eye in the air.

This scene, which was completely beyond common sense, and the act of directly "devouring" the soul crystal, finally shattered the calm facade that the Sorrowful Woman had been trying to maintain.

For the first time, a look of horror appeared on her face, which had previously only shown a hint of sadness and longing.

She staggered back a few steps instinctively, her slender body even trembling slightly, her glassy eyes filled with disbelief and an almost instinctive fear.

She raised a hand, half-covering her mouth, her face displaying a pitiful expression mixed with panic and pleading, her gaze fixed on Su Xiao... or rather, on the soul crystal being gnawed on in his hand.

"Please...please don't..." Her voice trembled noticeably, the previous emptiness replaced by intense emotion. "Please don't devour me...my soul...is not delicious, and...is full of sorrow...it will only taint your palate..."

Upon seeing Su Xiao's simple, direct, yet extremely effective method, a look of understanding flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.

He immediately stepped aside to give way, relinquishing control.

Clearly, when dealing with such a seemingly weak but potentially deeply hidden entity, Su Xiao's direct approach to "communication" is far more effective than his probing and manipulation.

Su Xiao stepped forward, still holding the soul crystal with a bite taken out of it in her hand. The dissipated soul energy seemed like an invisible pressure, enveloping the sorrowful woman.

He didn't waste any words and went straight to asking questions.

"What are the Old Gods?"

"..."

The sorrowful woman's lips parted slightly a few times, and the two could tell that she was indeed trying to make a sound, but some kind of rule-based force blocked the transmission of her voice.

As for recognizing someone by lip reading? Absolutely impossible.

Su Xiao only temporarily gained the ability to understand the language of this world. The essence of this ability is to act on the auditory and language generation systems, and is unrelated to visual recognition.

The pronunciation system of this world's language is completely different from any language he knows, resulting in vastly different lip movements.

Furthermore, the language of his native world is extremely unique and complex, with its own grammatical structure and pronunciation, making it impossible to judge what the other person is trying to express simply by visually observing their lip shape.

Some powerful force, or perhaps a deeper contract, strictly forbids her from revealing any direct information about the "Old Gods."

Where would the wizard be?

"In the southwest of Heru City, the Wizard's Guild is the tallest building in Heru City. When you get to the central street, turn right from the entrance of Ataha Clothing Store and walk straight along the path marked with irises. You will see it soon."

The sorrowful woman turned around and began to scribble on a wooden cabinet beside her with her finger. By wiping away the dust, she drew a neat map and even drew a circle with her fingernail at the wizarding council.

"Who created your product?" Su Xiao's questions came one after another, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

“It’s Lord Dawn,” the sorrowful woman blurted out.

“Dawn?” Su Xiao repeated the name, her tone questioning.

“Lord Dawn is an immortal wizard, and he is located within the Wizarding Guild,” she added, her tone carrying a natural reverence when referring to a creator, though beneath that reverence seemed to lie more complex emotions.

Su Xiao's questions began to jump around, testing her reactions and the boundaries of her understanding.

"Today's temperature."

"I'm sorry, Lord Kukulin, I...I don't know." The Sorrowful Woman bowed slightly, her posture humble, expressing her apology. This question seemed to be beyond her comprehension.

"How long can you stay active after each wind-up?" Su Xiao asked a crucial question, trying to find out about her energy core and operating mechanism.

"?" For the first time, genuine confusion appeared on the face of the sorrowful woman. She blinked, clearly unaware of the meaning of the mechanical-sounding word "wind-up" from another world.

Su Xiao immediately switched to a more direct way of expressing it: "After you are awakened, how long does each performance activity last before you need to fall asleep again or replenish your energy?"

"Seven days." This time she understood and answered immediately.

"A complete awakening can keep you active for seven natural days. After that, you need to return to a specific place of rest and wait for the next awakening."

"So energy efficient, can you even fight?"

Baha sized up the sorrowful woman. Clearly, influenced by Su Xiao, she first assessed the combat capabilities of her own people upon encountering them.

The Sorrowful Woman turned to Bahamut, still maintaining her humble demeanor: "I'm sorry, Lord Bird, I cannot fight. My core commands forbid me from harming any living being. Any form of attack will trigger my self-destruct mechanism."

"Lord Bird..." Baha was taken aback by the title, his wings flapped unconsciously twice, and he was somewhat speechless.

Judging from the current Q&A, this grieving woman is surprisingly open and honest, and her cooperation is remarkable.

"So what exactly are you for?" Baha pressed, a hint of impatience in his voice. "Besides telling us some information, what practical function do you have? You can't just be a talking map, can you?"

“I can help you remove the ‘darkness’,” the sorrowful woman replied immediately. This was the first time she had proactively mentioned her “function,” and her tone even carried a hint of eagerness to prove her worth. “Please, my lord, don’t eat me. I have nothing left but this little bit of use. Please don’t eat me…” she pleaded again, her gaze filled with sorrow as she looked at the soul crystal in Su Xiao’s hand, as if it were some kind of murderous weapon.

Under Su Xiao's highly "persuasive" gaze, the sorrowful woman became much more cooperative.

She answers almost every question, provided, of course, that she actually knows the answer.

When Su Xiao tried to ask questions that were too far back in time or involved the core secrets of the world, such as "What happened here a thousand years ago?", "Why did the ancient gods fall into silence?", and "Why did Heru City become like this?", she could only shake her head blankly, her eyes empty, indicating that she had no way of knowing and that there were large gaps and fog in her memory.

Her memories and cognition seem to be set with very clear boundaries, like a carefully manicured garden that only retains information from specific areas.

From her intermittent yet unvarnished answers, Su Xiao and Lin Yi corroborated each other's statements, gradually piecing together some key information.

The origins of the Sorrowful Woman herself are thought-provoking. She claims to have been created by an "immortal wizard."

Based on the background of this world and information gleaned from other sources, the Immortal Wizard is undoubtedly the pinnacle of power in this world, representing the very peak of the entire wizarding class.

As far as she knew, there were only three immortal wizards in the entire vast wizarding society. And her creator was the only woman among them—the immortal wizard Dawn.

This information made both Lin Yi and Su Xiao wary.

They simply couldn't believe that an immortal wizard standing at the pinnacle of world power would expend such enormous resources and unimaginable energy to create such an exquisite doll as the Sorrowful Daughter, whose function seemed so singular, merely out of boredom, hobby, or so-called "artistic pursuit."

According to Lin Yi's estimate, the materials consumed in creating the Daughter of Sorrow are worth enough to build up resources equivalent to half an Immortal Wizard.

In the relatively resource-scarce wizarding world, this is an investment that can only be described as extravagant and even abnormal.

According to the Sorrowful Woman herself, she was created with the intention of being "unable to harm any living thing".

Her primary function was to "remove darkness" for the awakener.

She explained that in this world, killing other lives will taint you with an invisible "dark" power that will constantly erode your mind and body.

Her purpose is to help the awakener purify this darkness.

Hearing about this feature, Lin Yi was speechless.

With his "purification" ability, the main function of the Sorrowful Woman is practically useless.

If even his "purification" cannot dispel the negative status, then relying on a seemingly supportive doll like the Maiden of Sorrow is probably futile.

However, the Sorrowful Woman ultimately provided a piece of extremely valuable information.

She mentioned that the three supreme immortal wizards of the Wizarding Guild might know where the "Dominator" is.

Furthermore, she describes the “Dominator” as an entity equal to the “Source of Evil.”

"Dominator," "Source of Evil," and the ancient god known as "White Goat" whom Su Xiao had previously encountered... these three titles finally clearly point to the three ancient gods who reside in this world.

Three ancient gods of unknown nature and purpose "coexist" in this place in a way that is beyond comprehension. The truth behind this is probably far more complicated than they initially thought.

The moment the sorrowful woman finished speaking, a notification from the Paradise of Reincarnation appeared simultaneously in Su Xiao and Lin Yi's minds:
[Main Quest: The Dominator (Second Ring) is now active.]

[Mission Information: Locate and defeat the Dominator (Based on current intelligence, there is a greater than 50% chance the Dominator is located somewhere in the Wizard City of Hru).]

[Task deadline: 10 calendar days.]

[Mission Reward: Epic Weapon Chest (Weapon type can be specified; this chest always yields an epic weapon with a perfect rating and 1-2 gems of the same tier).]

[Mission penalty: forced execution.]

……

The arrival of the mission notification was like the tolling of the countdown clock to the final battle, and it also clarified that the role of the Sorrowful Daughter as an "intelligence trigger point" had been completed.

Judging from the difficulty of the mission at level 55, this "Dominator" is definitely a boss-level enemy that we need to face at this stage.

And this is only the second stage of the mission, and we already have to deal with enemies of this level. Who knows how dangerous the next two stages of the mission will be?

The target has been clearly locked onto the Wizarding Guild, and may even be directly related to those three immortal wizards. There is no point in staying here and getting entangled with this limited and mysterious puppet.

Without further delay, Su Xiao gestured for the grieving woman to remain in the relatively safe house, warning her not to leave or reveal their whereabouts.

Immediately, Su Xiao and Lin Yi turned around and pushed open the creaking wooden door, revealing the deep night of Heru City outside.

There was no moonlight, only a faint light of unknown origin outlining the street.

The streets were deserted, lined with rows of pointed stone buildings with mottled, blackened exteriors, giving them a uniform sense of decay.

The corners and alleys were piled with miscellaneous items and household garbage, indicating that this was not an uninhabited ghost town, but the silence that permeated the air was oppressive.

It can be seen that although the city of Heru is strange, there are still ordinary people struggling to survive there.

They might be engaged in the most basic farming or primitive barter trade, maintaining the city's basic functioning.

However, as far as the eye could see, most people were pale and thin, with sunken eyes and tattered clothes, clearly suffering from chronic hunger.

In this distorted world, simply being alive is perhaps a luxury.

Extreme hunger is often accompanied by intense anxiety, which breeds chaos, and chaos is directly equivalent to crime and violence.

The chaotic security situation beneath the seemingly calm surface of Heru City is unimaginable.

The two followed the route provided by the sorrowful woman, navigating through the maze-like streets.

After passing through seven streets, they gained a more intuitive understanding of the size of Heru—the city's permanent population was probably in the hundreds of thousands.

Another puzzling phenomenon is that these ordinary people, who seem to struggle to even meet their most basic needs for food and clothing, mostly live in two- or three-story detached stone houses.

Although these buildings have a uniform and dilapidated appearance, with many windows boarded up, their basic stone structures are exceptionally sturdy, clearly not something that the frail residents of today could have built.

These buildings have a uniform and dilapidated appearance, clearly not built by the current residents, but rather seem to be relics from a distant era, now occupied and used by later generations.

Before long, following instructions, they arrived near the headquarters of the Wizarding Guild.

It was a vast complex of buildings, with a towering structure nearly a hundred meters tall at its core. In the dim night, it stood like a silent giant, overlooking the entire city and exuding a chilling aura of majesty and mystery.

As soon as Su Xiao entered the main gate of the building complex, a thin man wearing a gray-black robe brushed past him.

The other person had thinning hair and eyes that gleamed with an eerie green light in the shadows; he was a gray wizard.

He merely glanced at Su Xiao indifferently, without exchanging any words, before silently and gloomily disappearing into the shadows of another passage.

Su Xiao continued deeper, walking along a wide but dimly lit corridor.

At the end of the corridor, a short figure stood quietly, blocking the way.

Judging from his physique, the other person was only about one meter tall. His whole body was covered by a wide hooded robe, and the skin of his exposed hands had an unnatural light green color.

"Mr. Kukulin, your presence is an honor! I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner, hehehe~"

A dry, deliberately affected laugh came from under the hood.

Su Xiao's hand almost instinctively went to the hilt of his knife. The last guy who laughed like that in front of him had long been chopped in two and fed to the fish in the river.

"Wang?"

Bubuwang, hiding behind Su Xiao, sniffed in confusion. The scent emanating from Su Xiao gave it a strange sense of familiarity.

"You're not going to chop me up, are you? You haven't changed at all, still as dangerous as ever, my dear friend."

The short figure seemed to sense Su Xiao's murderous aura and quickly pulled off his hood, revealing a light green face with a fawning smile and a signature lewd grin.

"You are... Caesar?" Su Xiao recognized the person and slightly loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword, but the scrutiny in his eyes did not lessen.

"Hehehe, of course it's me." Caesar, in his goblin form, rubbed his hands together, his smile still as distinctive as ever. "Looks like we'll be doing some 'small business' together in this interesting place again, my friend?" (End of Chapter)