I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

The woodland ground was damp and soft. Li Lin struggled to get up from the ground, and the mud on his palms quickly peeled off.

With his dark eyes slightly narrowed, Li Lin subconsciously opened the system. The dark green desktop silently appeared before his eyes, and the dim starlight gathered again, like a computer monitor with night mode on. Although it could not completely illuminate the woodland, it was at least not completely dark.

flapping.

The moment the dim starlight appeared, the woodland seemed to tremble, and then a great deal of flapping wings rose from the shadows at the tree roots.

More and more questions occupied Li Lin's thoughts. A continuous buzzing sound rang out in the darkness, and a series of rustling sounds entered Li Lin's ears, whispering in his mind. Each murmur seemed to trigger a restlessness in his heart.

A new influence suddenly appeared on the dark green desktop.

[Impact: A buzzing sound in the head.]

[First-order moth phase influence.]

【In gi rum imus noc te et con sumi. 】

[Click-clack-click-clack. It's obvious to a discerning apprentice; it can be immediately identified. It can be used to summon minions in certain rituals and will be left behind when some minions are destroyed.]

Of course, this feeling was not uncomfortable. It was as if an invisible hand was massaging Li Lin's brain. He simply sat down and lay down by the tree roots in the woods, enjoying the vibration deep in his brain.

The winged creatures gradually disappeared into the distance, and the darkness of the woods enveloped everything once more. Li Lin tried to open the desktop again, and dim starlight surrounded him, but this time it did not cause any further disturbance.

"I laugh at the moth's lack of wisdom, the silkworm's shortsightedness, and the cypress's lack of strategy. What if a group of named individuals were lying in ambush here?"

Li Lin has a habitually sharp tongue.

He simply forgot that he was in the woods, where the revered names of the woodland deities were magnified infinitely.

Under the cobalt blue light, the black forest began to shake violently. Tall white trees jostled one after another in the darkness. The shadow of mottled wings drifted past Li Lin. The sharp mouthparts of winged creatures pierced the tree roots, and pitch-black liquid meandered down the undulating roots.

The surrounding mottled forest suddenly began to swell, its branches growing wildly to unimaginable width, and then bursting open one after another, spraying blackish-green rotting liquid onto the pale tree trunks. The trunks were quickly stained with asphalt-like patches and streaks, the sticky streaks flowing down the bark, while the things hidden behind the trees remained unharmed.

As the trees fell, what had been hiding behind them was revealed.

Its body is mottled grayish-white, and its transparent and thin skin is half hardened like scales and half soft like silk, with bulging flesh and jagged bones clearly visible.

In contrast to its soft, drooping abdomen, its head was unusually small, with four tiny, star-like eyes. Dozens of limp tentacles extended from its raised chest, and two rough, cracked wings hung down behind it, covering its path with a strangely glossy gray powder.

Upon seeing the other person's appearance, the buzzing in Li Lin's mind suddenly became sharp.

He saw the thing open its mouthparts, and three rings of tiny, sharp teeth spiraled out from within them. Then, a chilling sound echoed through the forest.

The sound was like the friction of a moth flapping its wings, yet the system faithfully translated it, and Li Lin even heard a genuine joy in it.

"I found him."

The thing made a rustling sound.

Li Lin glanced at it sideways: "Who are you sending this to?"

While backing away, Master Li, who was putting on airs and trying to intimidate others, pulled out a crowbar from his crotch—Jing Shen had become part of Li Lin's body, so he could naturally be brought into Mansu.

The dim starlight surrounded Li Lin like dust, which prevented the forest creatures in front of him from rushing up immediately. Li Lin took the opportunity to glance at the system.

You have come face to face with a woodland monster.

The alien species in the woodland pledged allegiance to the woodland gods, and your blasphemy against them caused the woodland itself to react.

[Forestry species: Nymph.]

Sexual characteristics: Moth

[Rank: Fifth Mark]

Although this nymph is not yet a true immortal being, it is a different species from the woodland, and it is strong and robust. More importantly, this is Mansu, the world of the esoteric sect.

This is its home ground.

While brandishing the crowbar with feigned bravado, Li Lin quietly retreated, preparing to make a quick getaway. After all, he was currently in a dream state, and once he woke up, everything would be over—

Suddenly, the scene before his eyes spun around, and Li Lin tripped over a tree root once again.

The nymph hissed, its thorax tentacles and wings wriggled together, and it lunged at Li Lin with great speed, its sharp mouthparts aimed straight at his exposed nape.

When the nymph was less than half a meter away from Li Lin, Master Li, who was lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and smeared a clump of mud in his hand all over the nymph's face!

"The power of my daytime forge!"

A celestial being is watching you.

In the darkness, the mud ball that Li Lin threw suddenly turned into hard steel, smashing the nymph's body backward.

Unaware of the insignificant report in the data field of view, and seeing the nymph being knocked to the ground, Li Lin quickly lay down and scrambled away.

After climbing for a while, Li Lin was surprised to find that he was lost. It was impossible to draw a map of Mansu, only its reflection. However, Mansu itself was constantly changing, so there was no Sichen Navigation service available.

Li Lin got up from the ground, his fingers filled with black mud from the forest floor. The darkness seemed to flow over him like a living thing, so Li Lin had no choice but to squat down by the tree stump.

The dark green tabletop silently rose before Li Lin, and dim starlight surrounded him. Several cards on the table were trembling.

Li Lin glanced over and saw that it was Nian.

After a brief hesitation, Li Lin reached out and touched the card representing the year.

A storm suddenly rose from the tabletop, the dim starlight suddenly became bright and vast, and a cobalt blue wind rose from beneath Li Lin's feet, pulling him rapidly upwards. Several cards detached from the dark green tabletop and flew upwards with him.

They broke through the darkness of the woodland, leaving the sudden buzzing sound behind, and disappeared into the cobalt blue light high above.

The next second, Master Li opened his eyes again.

"Damn, it's you guys?"

Author's Note on Launch + Unlimited Bounty

There were no walls to sleep on.

I feel so happy to see you all again.

Old friends and new friends, thank you so much for reading my story. I want to thank everyone who was willing to stop and listen.

As the second book, it has finally gotten on the right track, thanks to the support and encouragement of my good brothers and your kindness.

The only thing I can guarantee is that I will finish writing this book completely. Abandoning something is a morally reprehensible act, and I also want to continue my relationship with my good brother for a long time. I have my previous book of 1.6 million words as proof.

Tomorrow is the release date, and compared to the same period of the Secret Cult Crown, Master Li's salary data looks much better, so I presumptuously had some special ideas.

As is customary, a bounty must be offered when the book is released. I thought about it for myself, and although it may not meet the requirement of adding more chapters, the bounty must be put up first to maintain momentum, haha.

1000 recommendation votes plus one more update.

5000 rewards will add one more chapter.

50 monthly tickets plus one update.

100 blades plus one more.

Silver 10, Gold 25, not yet online.

For every 500 new favorites added to the collection, I will add one more chapter. The reward period is one month.

Also, please subscribe to my account tomorrow. I should be able to update three chapters tomorrow. I don't expect you to subscribe for a long time, but you've come this far and you've earned some free tokens. Subscribing to my account is a small consolation for this humble author.

As for the bounty, brothers, just take it as entertainment. On the one hand, I know that most of the readers are students, and your participation is the biggest encouragement for me. On the other hand, bounties are more of a form of self-motivation. Although I may not be able to reach the goal, I have to move in that direction.

Of course, if you really smash it, then I'll have no choice but to risk my life to return it all.

That's all. If I have any further thoughts, I'll write them at the end of the book. I hope we can still see each other's familiar faces at the end.

May you all be safe and joyful, treat the world with kindness, and be treated kindly in return.

52 From a universally rational perspective... (First update, please subscribe)

One hour ago, in the world of Arknights, on the Terra continent.

Nearly a month has passed since the Chernobog explosion, and the nature of the Chernobog incident has finally been determined: the Ursus Empire regards the Reunion Movement as thugs and has therefore issued arrest warrants to mobile cities and countries across the continent, demanding that they arrest and transfer Reunion Movement members to the Ursus Empire as soon as they are discovered.

Of course, many responded to this arrest warrant, but few actually took action.

After all, not everyone wants to be an honorary Ursus citizen. One of the earls of Victoria even made a blunt critique of Ursus's actions at a private banquet.

“What should a typical Ursus senator look like? The organizational skills of Syracuse, the flexibility of Kazdel, the humility of Gaul, plus the imagination of Lateran, the generosity of Iberia, and oh yes, the intellectual level of the Sargon tribe.”

"And this Speaker who issued the arrest warrant is really willing to do anything to show off. He often speaks without thinking, or forgets about what he said as soon as he finishes speaking. He just puts on a show and does nothing in reality, just like they have done before."

The classic novel criticizes all the nations on the continent, but there is no doubt that Victoria was quite gloating over the Ursus Empire.

In fact, during this period, four groups of messengers from different mobile cities in Victoria had already made contact with Talulah, and they all subtly expressed their willingness to provide assistance.

Things are different now. After Black Serpent died, Chernobog truly broke free from Ursus's control. In that explosion, Nian even helped the Reunion Movement unlock the key. Ursus had no way to deal with Chernobog, which was far in the heart of the continent. Even if they wanted to fight, they would have to borrow a route through Kazimierz and Letania first.

Every day Chernobog exists, Ursus loses face. Paying off some extra resources can make the Ursus Empire unhappy, which is very worthwhile for Kazimir, Letania, and Victoria. It also gives them more leverage in negotiations.

Victoria was convinced that Ursus was no longer capable of waging a major war like the Four Emperors' War. According to reports from agents planted within the council, the pro-war and pro-peace factions within the Ursus council were already locked in a bitter struggle, and the Ursus council speaker himself was a staunch advocate of peace.

With the sudden death of the former Ursus emperor, the ever-expanding territory of Ursus came to a standstill. Decades later, the benefits brought by the war have long been exhausted, and all nations can see clearly that the contradictions and unease within the Ursus Empire are intensifying.

Chernobog is now like a flag: on the one hand, Chernobog raises its own flag, announcing the Integration Movement as an independent force on the political stage; but on the other hand, they no longer promote the radical ideas of their infected, and moderates such as diplomat Bob, special envoy Hedley, propaganda chief Alina, and exclusive messenger Ines have begun to emerge, which is undoubtedly announcing their position to the three Victoria countries.

All of Terra knows that the Reunion Movement is actually a group of infected people, but due to various bizarre political factors and interests, the three countries of Victoria, Qazimir, and Letania have not spoken out about it, and in terms of political attitude, they have tacitly supported it.

More importantly, the Reunion Movement received technical support from some party, and within just one week, all the infected individuals were given a black inhibitor. This effectively suppressed the uncontrolled Originium Arts caused by the infection, and the accompanying inhibitors were able to powerfully control the spread of Oripathy.

Without engaging in intense combat, infected individuals are completely indistinguishable from normal people: their symptoms are suppressed to a near-inactive state, neither spreading nor infecting others.