Above the mage!

Chapter 528 Ether Spider
Fragmented keyword phrases such as "expansion, experience, weaving, great transmission, energy" keep emerging.

Although the information sent by the other party was fragmented, it was "extremely kind," answering all the questions and requests raised by Gaode.

Its formal name is Ether Spider, and it is often referred to by other spirit beings as the Web Weaver.

As for the assistance contract issued by Gaode, Ether Spider indicated that it could be considered, while also proposing its own conditions and demonstrating its capabilities.

According to it, there are many kinds of creatures in the spirit world, such as nature spirits, wild spirits, witches, and undead creatures without physical form.

And it is a very special kind of creature among the many spirit world creatures.

As an ethereal spider, it is regarded as a messenger of the spirit world by other spirit beings.

This "messenger's" identity stems from its unique core ability to transmit information over extremely long distances without delay at the spirit realm.

The Ether Spider can actively draw primordial energy from the spirit world and weave a special kind of spiritual vein fiber, which is the huge light web beneath its body.

This fiber is not a physical thread, but a pure information channel.

It can transmit complex and massive amounts of information through fibers from one point on this network to another in the blink of an eye, no matter how far apart they are.

In addition, it can convert information into a special kind of sound wave and broadcast or transmit it in a targeted manner through its woven network.

Any consciousness that connects with it, as long as the frequency is tuned, can receive and understand this "sound wave".

Even more impressively, it also possesses inherent multi-threading capabilities, enabling it to maintain countless connection points and process massive amounts of information without becoming chaotic.

In other words, each node of the giant network can independently send and receive information, and it can simultaneously handle tens of thousands of information streams flowing between different nodes.

It neither confuses the content nor misses the intended recipient, acting like a never-ending "information hub" in the spirit world.

Because of these unique abilities, it often provides messenger services to other creatures, helping them to deliver information.

Of course, it's not unpaid work; it requires payment for helping to transmit information.

The so-called reward is spiritual energy.

Whether it's "weaving" or "transmitting information," both require energy for the Ether Spider.

Although it can draw energy from the spirit world, its efficiency is limited.

In order to expand its spiritual fiber network more quickly, it will help other spiritual beings transmit information while absorbing spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy collected by the Ether Spider definitely exceeds the spiritual energy required to transmit information, and it often collects double the amount.

Simply put, if transmitting a message consumes 1 unit of energy, it will charge 2 units.

The extra unit will be used to weave new spiritual vein fibers, expanding one's own giant spiritual vein fiber network.

For it, spirit energy is not only "food," but also "building material" for expanding its network.

Furthermore, the more important reason why the Ether Spider is willing to undertake this task is that it also hopes to experience more information through it.

The Ether Spider is a very special creature. It dislikes silence and emptiness. Acquiring and experiencing chaotic information is its biological instinct, just like eating and sleeping are to ordinary creatures.

Its existence is driven by an instinctive desire to experience more information and expand its network.

It doesn't care whether the content of the information is righteous or evil, useful or useless; it only cares about the "traffic" and "freshness" of the information.

In other words, as long as the information exchange is frequent and fresh enough, it will gladly accept it even if it is all meaningless nonsense.

A large volume of fresh information, like delicious and healthy food, promotes its vigorous growth and provides indescribable nourishment.

Therefore, the contract involves the transmission of information and the exchange of energy.

Naturally, the conditions proposed by the Ether Spider are also related to these two.

EtherSpider is willing to sign an assistance agreement with Gaode.

What it can offer is to help Gaode quickly transmit various information on its spiritual fiber network, and what it needs is for Gaode to provide it with the corresponding spiritual energy.

This is also how it interacts with other spirit beings in the spirit world.

"Transmitting information. Spiritual energy?"

Upon learning of the conditions proposed by the Ether Spider and the assistance it could provide, Gao De subconsciously frowned.

He felt it was a bit too useless.

On the one hand, he has no need for "transmitting information," especially information in the spirit world.

In the spirit world, Gao De had no acquaintances at all, so what information did he need to pass on?
On the other hand, he couldn't afford the reward required by the Ether Spider.

Only spirit beings possess the ability to draw energy from the spirit realm, but he does not—except for Yugathira.

However, Yogg-Tahira's current rate of energy extraction from the spirit world is limited. It takes two months to gather enough energy for one [spirit whisper/peeping] session. Where would she get the surplus to trade with the Ether Spider?

But since it was the first benevolent spirit being he had encountered, Gao De still wanted to communicate with it more.

Even if a contract cannot be signed, it is still good to learn more about the spirit world.

Fortunately, the other party, due to their biological instincts, was very enthusiastic about communicating with him and instinctively wanted to "talk" a little longer.

Because the information generated through communication is the most up-to-date.

However, at that moment, Gao De felt a violent jolt in his consciousness.

The scene of the spirit world began to blur, and the giant net formed by the spiritual vein fibers gradually faded away like smoke blown away by the wind.

The eight rhomboid crystals of the Ether Spider emitted a reluctant light, and its thoughts began to become intermittent.

"Enjoyed. See you next time!"

Meanwhile, in the mage plane...

The soulfire patterns on the trunk of the Yogg-Sarah tree are rapidly dimming.

The pale blue and silvery light flickered and gradually faded, like a candle flame about to go out.

This time, the energy of the [Whispers of the Spirit World] has been exhausted, and it is forced to end.

The next instant, the scene of the spirit world in Gao De's eyes collapsed like a shattered mirror, and the giant web and spiders disappeared instantly.

When he came to his senses, he found himself still standing in front of the trunk of Yogathira.

The soul fire patterns on the tree trunk had completely extinguished, leaving only faint traces of spirit energy.
The surrounding air regained its unique freshness characteristic of the North, and the melodious sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and the forest filled the ears.

Although the [Whispers of the Spirit Realm] ended empty-handed this time, it was still a very unique experience, so there's nothing to be disappointed about.

After patting Yugathira on the shoulder and saying "You've worked hard," Gao De prepared to return to Phoenix.

This time, he brought back the Azus Feather Whistle sapling, as well as a third-tier Thorn Ironwood Demon Tree seed and more than twenty low-tier Demon Tree seeds.

The former goes without saying, as it concerns the progress of the entire Phoenix Iceborn Mage's cultivation of the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture," and is directly related to the future of the Phoenix Mage system.

The latter two were also key to expanding Flora Forest and giving birth to Yugathira.

However, this time Gaode did not choose to directly summon Flora to plant trees.

Although Flora is his summoned creature, and the spell grants him the right to summon her at any time, in God's mind, the term "summoned creature" was merely a formality from the very beginning.

He never treated Flora as a "pet" dependent on him, but rather as a "little person" with independent thoughts and responsibilities.

The words he said when he "tricked" Flora into becoming his familiar were never lies; they always stood the test of time.

It's just that Flora was rather "idle" before, and since they were so close, it was nothing unusual for him to summon the little girl over when there was something important.

But now, as the Minister of Agriculture, Flora's responsibilities are becoming increasingly heavy as Phoenix's population grows and the farms expand, and her workload is endless.

In this situation, directly summoning her and interrupting her work rhythm, or perhaps pulling her away from a public place, is actually not a very appropriate behavior.

Flora herself certainly wouldn't care about these things, but God believed he should take them to heart, uphold Minister Flora's authority, and respect her work.

Phoenix.

Under Elder Gain's escort, Gao De safely entered the city.

The first thing they did after entering the city was not to return to their "palace," but to head straight for the city hall.

It's not that he's concerned with government affairs; he's not that diligent.

Meanwhile, Phoenix's development path is now on track, and it only needs to accelerate along that track. There's nothing that Gaode needs to handle.

His role now is more about using his own insights and experiences to accelerate Phoenix's progress.

The basic framework has already been established, and it is managed by local elites such as Sunefa and Elsa.

Without him, Phoenix's development would at most be slower, but it wouldn't have gone off track.

The reason he rushed to the city hall immediately was simple: he had gained a lot from his trip to the Blue Flame Islands and wanted to "digest" it as soon as possible.

Sunafa had already received Gaode's message before Gaode even arrived in Phoenix.

So when he entered the city hall and pushed open the door to his office, what came into view was that tall, slender figure standing quietly by the window: Sunefa, who had been waiting there all along.

"You're back?" Sunafa nodded slightly, as if to greet Gaode.

Gao De didn't speak immediately, but instead, unusually, carefully examined Sunafa for several moments.

His gaze swept upwards, from Sunafa's long, fair legs to her waist and chest encased in her battle armor, finally settling on her fair and exquisitely beautiful face, which was as if sculpted from ice and snow, meeting Sunafa's deep blue eyes.

Gao De's gaze made Sunafa feel a little strange.

Just as she was about to say something, Gao De inexplicably uttered something she didn't understand at all: "Silver-haired beauties are definitely prettier."

Whether you're looking at appearance alone, or temperament and type, at least on Gaode Maps, Sunafa is far superior to Sarah.

Not to mention, Sunefa has an overwhelming advantage.

She is still young, not yet twenty.

However, after saying that, Gaode returned to normal, naturally smiling as he walked to his desk and sat down, getting back to the main topic.

"Elder Lanwen will not be returning to the Northern Territory for the time being. I plan to establish a Northern Territory office in Black Sails City, and he is willing to stay there as the head of the office."

Under Sunefa's slightly surprised gaze, God recounted his experiences on the Blue Flame Islands and the agreement he reached with Sarah in detail, almost without reservation.

During his narration, although there was no obvious emotional fluctuation on Sunafa's extremely beautiful face, her deep blue eyes changed constantly as Gaode spoke.

From initial calm, to slight anger, to surprise, and finally to a faint glow.

Every subtle change was conveyed through her icy eyes, adding a touch of liveliness to her aloof demeanor.

"The Gold Coin Hunters are our first attempt to connect the North with the outside world. From what I see so far, everything seems to be going quite smoothly. It will greatly promote the development of Phoenix, and the risks are relatively small," Gao De concluded.

“That’s true,” Sunefa agreed, revealing a newfound trust in Gaode.

"Therefore, I need your help to select suitable personnel to go to the Blue Flame Islands and establish the Northern Office. At the same time, you should expedite the establishment of the shipping route between the Northern Region and the Blue Flame Islands. You will also need to handle the specific transaction details."

This matter may seem trivial, but it actually involves a wide range of issues, and the behind-the-scenes procedures and details are extremely complicated:

Selecting candidates requires consideration of their abilities and personalities; establishing shipping routes necessitates coordinating port scheduling and vessel allocation; and the details of the transactions are even more complex.
Ordinary people would get a headache just hearing that, but that's certainly the case with Gaode Maps.

But Sunaifa, who already had a lot of government affairs to handle, simply nodded calmly.

Not to mention considering it a difficult task, they didn't even take it seriously.

This is not arrogance, but rather stems from her innate leadership qualities and exceptional interpersonal skills.

From the moment she pledged allegiance to King Gord and began building Phoenix, she handled every matter with ease, no matter how complicated or tedious, whether it was planning city expansion, selecting and promoting city officials, or negotiating with other tribes.

Among them were many concepts and fields that she had never been exposed to before, but none of them were difficult for her; she could quickly understand and grasp their core essence.

This made Gao De sigh to himself more than once: the so-called born leader is probably just like Sunefa.

"Oh, right, this is a gift for you."

After finishing his briefing at the Northern Office, Gao De seemed to have thought of something, and a smile flashed in his eyes.

He took out a small, transparent bottle that he kept close to his body from his pocket.

The small bottle contained a blue liquid that shimmered with an eerie light.

It was at the Anguish auction that he bought the five-ring enhancement potion, the Siren's Saltwater Elixir, for Sunafa.

"What is this?" Sunafa's gaze fell on the small bottle, a hint of curiosity appearing in her deep blue eyes as she asked softly.

For Sunefa, potions were a relatively unfamiliar area, and ring-ascending potions were even more so—iceborn mages did not need potions to ascend, relying solely on their bloodline power.

"A potion to enhance your rings." God handed the small bottle to Sunefa and then explained in detail the origin and effects of the Siren's Salt Marsh Elixir.

"Your 'Secret Transmission of Perfect Ice' has reached its limit, and now your main focus has shifted to the 'Scripture of Longevity of Green Wood'."

Because you have the fourth-ring level of the "True Ice Secret Manual" as a foundation, you won't encounter any bottlenecks in your cultivation of the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" up to the fourth ring.

"But once your 'Green Wood Longevity Scripture' reaches the fourth ring, if you want to advance to the fifth ring, you have to follow the conventional breakthrough route like an ordinary mage."

"And the Ring-Up Elixir is an indispensable item for advancement; it's prepared specifically for you at that time."

Sunafa listened to Gao De's eloquent speech while holding the crystal bottle.

The cool touch of the liquid through the bottle on her fingertips stirred a subtle ripple in her heart.

She was well aware of the value of the potion; the Five Rings Upgrade Potion was practically priceless on the market.

But more than the money, what Sunafa cared about was the thoughtfulness that the gift showed.

"My king, thank you for your concern," Sunafa said softly.

The voice remained as cold and clear as ever, like an icicle gently tapping on jade, without much variation.

However, there was a subtle softening in her gaze.

(End of this chapter)