Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The atmosphere inside the church was completely different from the previous deathly and despairing oppressive feeling. Although it was still dilapidated, it had gained a strange "life".

Gus, who had been hanging upside down with chains piercing his ankles, had been lowered and was now pouring water for Lin Yi and Su Xiao with a fawning smile and even a touch of obsequiousness.

He forced a smile onto his mummy-like face, wrinkles upon wrinkles upon wrinkles, which looked somewhat comical.

Beside him, Dawn, the immortal wizard who had just been freed from the stone chair's confinement and regained some of his youth, was carefully grinding a dark green plant resembling tea leaves with a stone mortar.

Because the wizarding world's resources are now too scarce and mostly polluted, these plants must be carefully processed before brewing. Grinding can better bring out their beneficial components while removing some of the harmful or bitter substances they contain.

As for Laurent, who had originally been twisted into a mixture of charred tentacles and lava, he had now begun to regain his human form.

Although the body surface was still covered with a layer of dark red tentacles that were constantly wriggling slightly, and the facial features were still somewhat blurry, at least the outlines of the limbs and torso were clear.

The vast majority of the "renewable resources" that Lin Yi just obtained are thanks to Laurent's "selfless dedication".

The difficulty of restoring Laurent from that completely alienated state to human form far exceeds that of ordinary treatments.

This is not a simple regeneration of flesh and blood, but involves the reshaping and purification of the very essence of life.

What Lin Yi did was equivalent to forcibly peeling away the distorted parts of Laurent's life essence, which was severely polluted by the power of the ancient gods, and then guiding it to grow back to its original healthy form.

The subtlety and complexity of this process are no less than that of building a quantum computer by hand using the most primitive tools.

It was also thanks to Lin Yi's extraordinary sensitivity and understanding of the "Ancient God Erosion Disease" and the structure of the origin of life that he was able to peel away the ancient god power that was like a leech from Laurent's life origin.

If it were anyone else, even someone skilled in healing, it would be impossible to complete such a massive and dangerous project without four or five days of arduous work at full capacity. A slight mistake could have caused Laurent's life essence to completely collapse.

At this moment, although Laurent's appearance was still somewhat frightening, with tentacles wriggling on his body, he was clearly very happy.

Even in the blurry face, one could discern a hint of a relieved smile.

He even offered to help, using his newly reconstructed and still somewhat clumsy arms to pick up the severed tendrils and limbs from his body one by one and throw them into the ancient furnace in the center of the church used to extract holy silver.

The fire blazed fiercely as "fuel" was continuously added, emitting a burnt smell.

After Lin Yi successfully replenished her life essence, which had been nearly depleted due to years of confinement and power struggles, Shuguang's appearance had been restored from an old and withered woman to a charming young woman.

However, upon closer inspection, one can still find some fine wrinkles around her eyes and lips that cannot be completely smoothed out. These are marks left by the long years and excessive depletion of the body's essence, and cannot be completely eliminated with a single treatment.

When treating the three, Lin Yi adjusted the treatment according to their individual physical conditions and tolerance levels, proceeding gradually rather than resorting to drastic measures.

He knew very well that if he recklessly used the most powerful healing spells for violent repair, given the three immortal wizards' riddled bodies and souls, only Gus, whose body was relatively "intact," would likely be able to withstand it, while Dawn and Laurent would probably collapse under the impact.

Shuguang, who was standing nearby, finally finished grinding the plants. Gus quickly took the pot and poured the steaming hot water from the stone pot into the rough stone cups next to the stone mortar.

The dark green powder tumbled and unfurled in the hot water, emitting a peculiar aroma that was slightly bitter yet subtly fragrant.

Lin Yi and Su Xiao looked at the "tea" in the stone cup in front of them, which still had unknown plant residue floating in it. They exchanged a glance and saw a hint of hesitation in each other's eyes.

Who knows what the effects of drinking this concoction, brewed by a former immortal wizard who is now a god, will be?

In the end, it was Lin Yi who, out of confidence in his own abilities and consideration for the current cooperative relationship, took the lead in picking up the stone cup, bringing it to his lips, and carefully taking a sip.

The liquid tasted slightly astringent upon entry, but a gentle warmth quickly flowed down his throat, spreading throughout his body. At that very moment, Lin Yi heard the notification sound from the Paradise of Reincarnation:
[Hint: The hunter drank an infusion of 'Scarbelia Tree' leaves.]

[Note: Your maximum mana has been permanently increased by 10%.]

[Note: Your physical defense has been permanently increased by 50 points.]

Lin Yi paused slightly in his cup, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.

These seemingly insignificant leaves have such amazing effects.

A direct and permanent increase to maximum mana and defense is a rare treasure that is hard to come by in any world.

Su Xiao had been watching Lin Yi's reaction closely. Seeing the look of surprise in his eyes, she didn't hesitate and picked up the stone cup in front of her, drinking the liquid inside in one gulp.

The next moment, Su Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly, clearly indicating that he had also received the notification.

It can only be said that the Immortal Wizard truly deserves to be the most powerful being in this world. Even in his current state of decline, the things he casually takes out are still invaluable treasures.

Lin Yi put down his teacup, turned his gaze to Gus who was carefully controlling the temperature of the furnace, and asked, "Is the amount of holy silver refined from these limbs enough? If not, I'll give Laurent another 'deep treatment' later and prepare more materials."

He spoke calmly, as if discussing the nice weather rather than severing dozens more tentacles from an ally who had just regained some human form.

Gus and Dawn, who were standing nearby, both shivered slightly when they heard Lin Yi's casual question.

In their past, in order to extract holy silver, they would throw themselves entirely into the furnace and burn, using the bodies of the old gods as fuel, in order to refine even a tiny spark of hope to fight against the ancient gods.

This is why, when Lin Yi and Su Xiao first arrived at the Old God's Church, they saw that the people on the church were either pierced by chains, covered with sparks that flickered like lava, or had simply turned into a lump.

Without Lin Yi's arrival, the three of them would have continued to suffer in this half-dead, painful, and desperate state until the three ancient gods took the initiative to leave this world, and perhaps then their lives would come to an end.

Gus quickly waved his hand, his face showing lingering fear: "That's enough. Absolutely enough. The number of limbs we just threw in is almost equivalent to thirty Laurents in their prime. The amount of holy silver extracted will far exceed any of our previous attempts."

Lin Yi sensed the gleaming silver substance being refined in the furnace and shook his head: "I feel that the purity of this holy silver is still insufficient. Against a true ancient god, this level of purity is probably inadequate. Gus, do you have any way to further purify it? For example, to create something like holy silver essence?"

If this had happened ten minutes ago, Gus would have definitely attacked Lin Yi, even at the cost of his broken body, and punched the greedy guy in the head.

But at this moment, feeling the long-lost ease and vitality within his body, and seeing Dawn's restored face and Laurent's figure standing up again, Gus's face showed only respect and obedience.

“Previously, our abilities were limited and our methods were crude. Now that we have enough materials, we can indeed try to perform deep purification. I’ll give it a try right now.” At this moment, the three immortal wizards’ favorability towards Lin Yi had exceeded the critical point and reached an extremely high level.

His attitude towards Su Xiao and Caesar, who were traveling with him, also became extremely friendly.

This is not simply because of the treatment, but because Lin Yi brought them true hope of escaping their suffering.

After a long period of despair, this gratitude felt incredibly heavy.

They are not inherently ungrateful people; otherwise, they wouldn't have fought for this world until now, only to end up like this.

Seeing that the purification of the holy silver had been arranged, Lin Yi changed the subject and asked the most crucial question: "Now that you three have recovered quite a bit, I wonder if you could lend us a hand in our quest to besiege the Dominator?"

Upon hearing this, Gus's smile froze, replaced by a deep sense of embarrassment and bitterness.

He glanced instinctively at Dawn beside him and Laurent, who was helping to add firewood.

Dawn silently lowered its head, and Laurent paused in his action of throwing the tentacles.

Gus sighed, "It's not that we don't want to help, it's just that... we're powerless to do so, and besides, if we go, we'll probably only be a burden to you."

He fell into reminiscence, his voice tinged with the weariness of time: "Initially, the three of us didn't actually know each other. It was Laurent who brought us together. He was very young then, only nineteen years old, but he had a fire burning in his heart that none of us had. He firmly believed that the world shouldn't be the mess it is now."

"Based on Laurent's years of investigation, we learned of the existence of the 'Old Gods.' The Old Gods have been resisting something, but they all seem to have failed. Until one day, Laurent discovered an ancient secret book in some ancient ruins. It recorded that only 'born wizards' can become new 'Old Gods,' and only new Old Gods can possibly fight against 'them' and restore the world to normal."

"Laurent overcame the selfishness in human nature and shared this secret book, which was enough to drive anyone mad, with me and Dawn, who were equally gifted at the time. The three of us began to grow stronger at an astonishing rate, without having to drink any potions that posed any risks."

"Years later, when our power reached a bottleneck, Laurent revealed a long-held idea—he wanted to gather the wizards scattered around the world and form an organization to fight against the beings among them that we already knew, the 'Dominators'."

"It took Laurent a full twenty years to establish the Wizarding Guild. The ideals of the three of us were recognized by some wizards who still had reason and conscience. Because by then, many things had become too suspicious: Where did the potions originate? What was the true origin of wizards? These things simply couldn't be explained."

"Laurent collected and deciphered almost all known potion recipes. He even developed a special potion, 'Dead Soul,' that could force a mad wizard to calm down for a certain period of time, thanks to his amazing ingenuity."

"In order to strengthen the Wizarding Guild, Laurent gave his descendants the relatively safe potion formulas, allowing them to develop the Wizarding Guild into the master of this continent based on potions and a stable silver coin system."

Upon hearing this, a look of understanding flashed in Su Xiao's eyes.

The Moen family of Heru City actually originated here; they are descendants of Laurent.

Gus continued, “Under Laurent’s leadership, the wizarding world will quickly flourish. But the problem of wizards’ chaotic and crazy nature and their unwillingness to be bound will always exist. Laurent simply stopped forcibly restraining them; he only needed to find those wizards among the many who shared the same aspirations and were willing to fight for this world.”

"Five years later, with the three of us at the head, we gathered more than 76,000 wizards and formed a mighty army, vowing to punish the Dominator."

Gus's tone became unusually heavy here, tinged with an indelible fear. "That battle, on which so much hope was placed, ended in two days. Or rather, our army marched for two days and finally saw the Dominator... and then, before the battle even officially began, we were defeated."

“A complete and utter defeat.” Dawn raised her head and took over the conversation, her voice filled with suppressed pain. “We discovered with despair that anyone who becomes a wizard by drinking potions doesn’t even have the right to stand before the Dominator. It’s not a difference in the level of power, it’s… an absolute crushing defeat in terms of status.”

"More than 76,000 wizards were almost instantly twisted and disintegrated by an invisible force... all of them perished."

"Laurent was pierced by a tentacle that appeared out of nowhere during the battle. His body was completely twisted and mutated into the form you saw before."

"Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, after Laurent transformed into that inhuman form, his combat power surged uncontrollably. It was the chaotic power he unleashed that barely covered Dawn and me, allowing us to escape by chance."

"After that, Dawn became the nominal leader of the Wizarding Guild. The three of us were forced to 'submit' to the Dominator. We used the surviving civilians as laborers and built the city of Hru, and the headquarters of the Wizarding Guild, based on the knowledge and plans left by Laurent in his early years. From then on, the Wizarding Guild became a looser organization, and what kept it together was only the potions provided by the Moen family. After all, they were of Laurent's blood and knew more secrets."

"Dawn ordered the complete closure of the tenth floor and above of the Wizarding Guild. This old church became the prison where the three of us imprisoned ourselves, and also our last refuge."

"Since our battle with the Dominator, the three of us have been deeply eroded and affected by its power, both physically and mentally. We clearly feel that our 'natural death' has been delayed, or rather, 'frozen.' This is a warning from the Dominator, telling us in this way what the consequences of resistance will be, that even the relief of death is a luxury."

"The Dominator later even came to the city of Hru in person and fell into a deep sleep in the city. It is right beside us, constantly reminding us of its existence and the fate we cannot escape."

"For a long time, Dawn and I were immersed in boundless despair. Especially Laurent, our pillar of strength, had become like that, which was devastating to us."

“It was during this darkest period that Dawn became paranoid. She firmly believed that numbers were meaningless in the face of absolute power, and that only by cultivating sufficiently powerful individuals could one possibly stand against the Dominator.”

"She kept searching and finally found a little girl. The child was not only born a wizard, but also contained a trace of the divinity that belonged to 'them'. This gave Dawn a glimmer of hope."

"And I chose to put aside my last bit of selfishness and decided to believe in the dawn one more time. I found the method the old gods used to deal with the 'darkness' a long time ago, and that is 'holy silver'. But to obtain holy silver, one needs to burn the bodies of the old gods, extract the most primal 'iron' from their bodies, and then combine it with pure silver."

"And the most basic prerequisite for facing 'them' is that one has not been corrupted by darkness. So I burned myself and obtained the first bit of holy silver... but that was far from enough."

"Therefore, Dawn and Laurent... also voluntarily lay down in the furnace." Gus's voice lowered. "We have already failed once, losing the courage and qualification to face the Dominator again. Therefore, we place all our hopes on the girl found by Dawn—Nia."

“Nia…she did not disappoint the pitiful expectations of us three losers.” Dawn’s voice was choked with sobs and immense guilt. “She was a light that grew up in darkness. To avoid the gaze of the ruler, at the tender age of twelve, we placed her in the deepest dungeon beneath the Wizarding Guild.”

"To prevent her from feeling lonely, I did everything I could to create the 'Sorrowful Daughter' and commissioned the most outstanding blacksmith of the time, Hughes Archid, to forge a headdress from the holy silver refined by Gus, wrap it in ordinary silver, and place it on the head of the Sorrowful Daughter."

“Nia… never speaks to anyone except the Sorrowful Woman. Every time I visit her, I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame. I’ve even… been prepared to die at her hands as compensation for her dark and hopeless childhood.”

“By the time Nia turned eighteen, her power had surpassed that of any known wizard, reaching a limit beyond our comprehension. That's when she left the dungeon.”

“‘Come back, I’ll be waiting for you here.’” Dawn murmured, repeating those words, her eyes brimming with tears. “That was the last thing I said to her. Nia… she just smiled at me, a smile so pure that I wanted to cut off my own head and kneel before her… all she had was a doll, a steadfast heart, and a sword mixed with a trace of holy silver, Crescent Moonlight… nothing else.”

“Nia…she still lost.” Gus solemnly announced the outcome. “She fought the Dominator on a level we cannot imagine, and it is said that she cut off half of the Dominator’s head…but in the end, she still failed. This result plunged the Dominator into unprecedented rage, which deprived the world of almost all sunlight, making this place even more damp and cold, like an eternal tomb.”

The story was over, and silence fell over the Old Church.

The only sound was the crackling of the burning stove. (End of Chapter)