Chapter 518: Poking Holes in Oneself

Chapter 518: Poking Holes in Oneself

Hmm… The Undying Witch’s power . Zheng Yichen narrowed his eyes, examining the wisp of gray mana in his hand. This mana didn’t project some ‘death’ effect just because of its color or the Undying Witch’s known abilities.

This power had an unusual, lively feel to it. The Undying Witch’s ability was related to the Soul, so her mana naturally leaned that way too. Therefore, the characteristic this mana projected was ‘liveness’. If an ordinary person could master this mana, even without the Undying Witch’s abilities, their Soul Strength would easily be over ten times higher than others.

Simultaneously, any Soul-related Magic could be greatly enhanced? Speaking of which, surely no one still thinks the Undying Witch is just an Undead Magic master because of her title, right now?

She… well, had some connection, but more accurately, she was Soul-based. As for why Annie saw them as opposites instead of, say, the Death Witch or something similar? That’s because there actually was a Death Witch once. Unfortunately, she got eliminated by the Undying Witch. Even her Soul ended up in the Undying Witch’s grasp. Basing herself on that, the Undying Witch managed to grasp some ability traits of the Death Witch.

Or rather… inherited them!

This method was incredibly difficult and essentially relied on luck. A slight misstep could have meant her own death. Yet, the Undying Witch tried it anyway and succeeded. Though her primary power remained her original Soul abilities, she now also possessed the Death Witch’s characteristics.

Because they were secondary, they weren’t as ‘pure’ as the original Death Witch’s. However, the Undying Witch’s Soul ability was also intrinsically linked to Death itself. This allowed her to wield Death-related power at an even higher level than the original Death Witch could have.

These were some of the Undying Witch’s secrets, known to very few. Even Loris and Irene were unaware. Annie knew, but she wasn’t a loudmouth and wouldn’t go spreading it around for no reason. Besides that… Dan Marina just knew so damn much!

Correct. This was precisely the information Dan Marina had passed on to Zheng Yichen.

What she found a bit regretful was that because the Undying Witch had ‘inherited’ the Death Witch’s ability later, it hadn’t permeated her mana to bestow a unique characteristic upon it… her mana’s trait was still firmly rooted with her origin.

This left Zheng Yichen rather helpless. But he could use it now, so that was acceptable. After temporarily storing the captured mana, Zheng Yichen looked around and started pulling materials from his Personal Space. He began inscribing a complex Magic Rune Array on the ground.

This Magic Rune Array took Zheng Yichen a full hour and a half to complete. He even made one small mistake midway, forcing him to recheck everything. Once done, Zheng Yichen clapped his hands. He drew another type of mana, originating from Dan Marina, from his Power Core and channeled it into the rune array.

This complex Magic Rune Array was a Prophecy Art – a tracking Prophecy Art. Hmm… Dan Marina had warned him separately about Prophecy Art. Even if he could eventually use it to break certain limitations via the Seed of Power, he shouldn’t employ it carelessly. Prophecy Art was like fortune-telling; the more you use it, the more you’d likely ‘overdraw’ something.

She herself, as a Witch, could ignore such debts. But for non-Witches, that could lead to trouble. The debt concerned fate itself. Whether Fate’s Threads overly fixated on you or ignored you completely, neither was good.

The former could have the threads entangle and choke you outright. Zheng Yichen likened it to Earth concepts like… being entangled in karma? The latter meant being utterly neglected by Fate’s Threads. Such a person might just ‘vanish’ one day – yes, vanish for real!

Could that be seen as… free of karmic ties? Hmm, perhaps. But having such a fate without the means to live with it would be like a kite without strings. It disappearing wouldn’t be surprising.

Zheng Yichen was another exception… so it was best not to use Prophecy Art unless absolutely necessary.

“Yeah, best not to use it’ is different from ‘can’t use it’. Using it occasionally should be fine.” Zheng Yichen muttered to himself as he activated the rune array before him. The clump of sealed mana from the Undying Witch at the center began to dissipate. Though this mana was under his control, it still originated from the Undying Witch.

Using it as the cornerstone for his tracking Prophecy Art should still allow him to find his target, provided other conditions were met.

Wispy ‘threads’ appeared in Zheng Yichen’s vision. Each thread felt ethereal and elusive. Remembering Dan Marina’s warnings, Zheng Yichen resisted the urge to gaze deeply into these kaleidoscope-like threads. Staring directly at the Threads of Fate was mentally taxing. Zheng Yichen’s strength was insufficient. Relying on Dan Marina’s mana to power such a potent Prophecy Art granted him a glimpse, but it didn’t mean he could sustain direct contact with the Threads of Fate.

Staring too long could make his head explode.

Ignoring the main tangle of fate threads, Zheng Yichen focused solely on the ones activated by meeting the Prophecy Art’s conditions. As his attention centered on these, the surrounding surplus threads gradually faded. Once the filtering finished, only about five threads remained in Zheng Yichen’s sight – mere drops compared to the previous uncountable ocean.

Then came the problem. Zheng Yichen awkwardly realized he couldn’t bloody grasp these Threads of Fate!

Logically speaking, when Tracking Spells reached the level of Prophecy Art, why couldn’t the located targets escape? Because it was tracking them through fate itself. Running was meaningless. The only escape involved another Prophet of similar, or perhaps slightly lesser, power interfering to prevent the fate thread from achieving its intended effect.

After all, Fate’s Threads were ridiculously complex. The slightest disturbance could make them veer who knows where.

Zheng Yichen watched the Threads of Fate, perpetually out of reach. He pursed his lips slightly. “This is really embarrassing…”

Hadn’t Dan Marina mentioned that these things were quite ‘magnetic’? If you saw them but ignored them, nothing would happen. But if you actively tried to touch one, the thread was bound to react.

Then it wouldn’t be a question of whether you touched it or not. The problem would be how many other fate threads it would attract. Remember, each Thread of Fate was linked to countless changes – one thread could lead to dozens or even hundreds more. No wonder Dan Marina called this stuff mind-burning!

Failing to grasp the threads meant his tracking Prophecy Art had failed… In no time, as the spell’s effect faded, these threads would vanish again. But Zheng Yichen had a contingency. He quickly pulled out five Compasses. Tossing them forward, he infused each with magic.

The enchanted Compasses easily bonded with the drifting fate threads. With that, the spell ended completely. The Compasses clattered to the ground. Their red needles spun chaotically before finally pointing in five different directions.

Zheng Yichen picked up the Compasses. The preserved magic within them would last about a week. Five Compasses should be enough. Why make these things? Simple. It was still about Loris. Her departure this time was baffling to begin with.

Added to the information Qin provided and his own earlier thoughts, Zheng Yichen couldn’t shake a suspicion: Was Loris going after the Derivative Witches?

Very few beings would truly provoke her to action. Ordinary trouble might just leave behind a pile of fine sand, not vast new deserts scarring the landscape. Such devastation implied the enemy she faced wasn’t easily dealt with. The sheer scale pointed to something serious.

The chance it was an enemy Witch was low; Zheng Yichen understood the basics. Therefore, if not a Witch, it could only be a Derivative Witch.

It was highly probable that she had left precisely to find and deal with those Derivative Witches! Zheng Yichan crafted this tracking Prophecy Art for the same purpose – using the Undying Witch’s mana as bait to locate them. Since the Derivative Witches all inherited power from the Undying Witch, this approach should work.

The functioning Compasses in his hand were the best proof. Why not focus the search directly on Loris?

Joking aside, finding a true Witch was far harder than locating a Derivative Witch. Loris certainly had countermeasures to tracking magic. If she misinterpreted the probe as a threat and launched a long-distance counterattack… hitting himself? That would sting badly enough.

Crucially, Derivative Witches were mostly brainless!

Seeking them out was undoubtedly the better option.

“Hmm… a proper rest tonight. Tomorrow, the real work begins!” Satisfied, he examined the Compasses in his hand. Enchanted, they had become unique tracking artifacts. All of them worked perfectly. He couldn’t help but feel a little smug. He was just so resourceful! Despite it being his first attempt at such potent tracking Magic – notoriously difficult too – he had succeeded in one go!

Though he had to admit… Dan Marina’s potent mana probably deserved most of the credit. That power was excellent, but since it was already backed up in his Power Core… no matter which Witch it belonged to originally, it was his now.

The next day, Zheng Yichen briefly informed Dan Marina, near the Containment Zone, about his recent plans. He told her to keep sparring verbally with the Chief Supervisor while he got to work. Progress on her front would be slow anyway. Since she was mostly idle, sparring with someone she could match wits against seemed enjoyable to her.

Besides, the Chief Supervisor held some inexplicable prejudice against Zheng Yichen. Dan Marina remarked this “lady” had managed to pique her curiosity. She felt using this free time to unearth the Chief Supervisor’s secrets would be a nice little side project.

Even lacking the full capabilities of her main body made it a bit challenging, but that was fine. An occasional high-difficulty challenge added a unique flavor to things.

“Hmm… The first location… What the hell?!” Zheng Yichen stared dumbfounded at the distant multi-colored Isolation Zone, then down at the Compass in his hand. Silently, he put this Compass away. He planned to re-infuse it with fresh magic later to prevent its enchantment from fading due to depleted mana. Seriously, was his luck that good? Finding the Isolation Zone right off the bat!

Inside the Containment Zone was one of the Derivative Witches. Normally, that Witch lurked unseen, secretly watching him, which felt deeply unsettling. The idea that it could unleash hordes of grotesque Human Forms at will, coupled with its prior two appearance, each showcasing terrifying expressions that felt like assaults on his eyes…

While it might struggle to actually kill him directly using its power alone, what if it possessed some other bizarre ability he hadn’t accounted for?

Now that this Compass was active, he would keep it. After finding his lost Lori, he’d deal with this one. Tucking the Compass away, he switched to the second one. This one pointed… directly behind him. He couldn’t help but curl his lip. Hmph, back the way he came?

Retracing his steps brought Zheng Yichen back to an all-too-familiar spot. He frowned deeply. This was bloody awkward! He had ended up right back at his own Underground Base! He immediately destroyed the Compass. Zheng Yichen hadn’t anticipated that a Prophecy Art powered by mana bearing his own unique signature could bypass the fate ward (Destiny Miasma) Dan Marina had woven around this place.

Luckily, no major mana leakage had occurred, and no one else knew about this breach. Relieved, Zheng Yichen consoled himself… as long as he contained his mana, it shouldn’t happen again. And just like that, two Compasses were useless.

One even ended up pointing directly at himself!

Pulling out the third compass yielded a more sensible direction.

Following the pointed needle, Zheng Yichen started his journey. Travel wasn’t an issue; flight was effortless. Even inside an Alchemical Puppet, he could equip a portable rocket backpack! Combined with Magic, its flight would be sustained indefinitely as long as the energy held.

So, directional issues or finding the path? Never a problem to begin with. Zheng Yichen could easily locate his target… right? He quickly realized the situation was far messier than expected.

He reached the destination pinpointed by the compass. Once there, the instrument in his hand went haywire. Its needle spun wildly as if subjected to major interference. Amid this distortion, Zheng Yichen couldn’t immediately locate his quarry. Was he supposed to wander the Town, pointlessly sweeping every person with the erratic compass?

“How… how is this even a search? The accuracy is just awful!” Zheng Yichen voiced his frustration quietly. Magic Artifacts linked to Threads of Fate via spells should perform better than this, shouldn’t they? Unlike Earth’s fiction where fate concepts bore heavy restrictions—things “unmentionable” or “taboo”—here, interacting with Threads of Fate wasn’t suppressed in the same way.

Threads of Fate offered glimpses into existences or movements; they weren’t literal visions. So hypothetically, Zheng Yichen could stride up to someone from The Church, wave the compass, and declare: “This holds a tracking Prophecy Art—it leads to the targeted Derivative Witch.”

Such “heavenly secret” disclosure wouldn’t backfire on him directly—aside from earning deadly attention from the Witch once found. The consequences had already been prepaid: those who touched fate threads risked entanglement—a karmic snare. Unseen strings could draw lethal trouble someday. But he’d face nothing additional simply for the spoken words.

“Or perhaps my craftsmanship is shoddy?” Zheng Yichen grumbled. The poor precision and spinning needle offered no solutions beyond a prolonged search. Although erratic, at least the compass confirmed a Derivative Witch resided within the town limits.

Stepping outside instantly stabilized the device—it locked onto the town steadfastly. Rotating his viewpoint didn’t budge its certainty. Hmm… Would screaming: “A Derivative Witch hides among you!” terrify the townsfolk? Mass panic might thin the crowd. If the Witch blended among them, scattering citizens might stabilize the compass? But… what if she didn’t flee? And critically—Zheng Yichen had zero clue about her capability, often intensely sharpened beyond even the original Undying Witch’s specialization…

So… how to flush her out? Maybe try directing the two remaining compasses to other quarries?

“Forget it. Focus on one target tonight.” After consideration, Zheng Yichen shelved thoughts of deploying the backups. Each compass tied to a Thread of Fate; if the thread snapped—signaling target extinction—the compass died. Thus, searching them sequentially sufficed.

Maybe when one vanished, Zheng Yichen could confirm Loris intervened. Derivative Witches would likely dwindle—the Undying Witch’s power couldn’t split infinitely.

After pondering, Zheng Yichen considered reporting anonymously to the Sanctuary Church: tip them to a hidden Derivative Witch here and solicit aid. Or perhaps recast the tracking Prophecy Art aiming for pinpoint precision?

Dan Marina’s warnings flashed in his mind, quashing the risky impulse. Having now experienced its intensity firsthand—seeing his own spell pierce her defenses and even overcome his unique immunity—Zheng Yichen took her cautions very seriously. An attack using magic bearing his signature—even indirectly self-targeting—created vulnerability in his once impenetrable safeguards against prophecy…

Prophecy Art touched cosmic levels. Once, Threads of Fate couldn’t bind him either. But now, by reflexively aiming his spell inwardly, he might have opened a gap… a self-inflicted weakness. Was this a positive result?

“That settles it.” Zheng Yichen put the compass away. He strode into the nearest inn and secured lodging. Whatever questions remained—he’d simply call Dan Marina tomorrow.