Chapter 322: Wizard Noren and the Purification Protocol

As the last spoil tainted with the Triangular Plane Cluster’s aura was discarded, a brief silence fell over the battlefield.

The wizard army and the two level-7 wizards stood in place, staring at the mountain-like pile of former gains, their expressions dazed and stunned.

What once represented victory had become an ominous trash heap. This rapid shift from ecstasy to horror required even seasoned wizards time to digest the incomprehensible turn.

Only Dixon, confirming in fate perception that the doom clouds plummeting the entire army had dissipated—fate lines returning to stable, slightly rising positives—truly exhaled.

He immediately shared his discoveries and deductions with Oboros and Melist in the distant ship-plane via soul link.

Though the crisis source was spoils, specifics and the mind-influencing force remained shrouded in mystery.

Facing the unknown, waiting was safest.

Fortunately, high-tier wizard support arrived swiftly.

Mere minutes later, Melist—nerves taut, monitoring everything—heard a mild, calm inquiry beside her:

“What happened here to trigger the highest emergency signal?”

Melist’s heart jolted; her level-7 perception detected no arrival!

She whipped around: a middle-aged wizard in plain gray robes, elegant and gentle-faced, stood silently in the control room, gazing inquisitively.

Recognizing him, Melist’s eyes exploded with disbelief, then absolute reverence.

She bowed deeply, rapidly and clearly reporting everything—from Mycelord awakening, ship-plane cannon strike, Dixon’s fate warning, to the army-wide discard order.

The elegant wizard listened quietly, face unruffled, nodding slightly in understanding.

Then his figure melted into light, vanishing silently.

Ship-plane instruments detecting spatial jumps or energy disturbances registered nothing—as if he never appeared.

Next moment, above shattered Giant Spirit Realm, space rippled; the elegant wizard appeared beside Dixon and Oboros.

“Lord Wizard Noren!” Dixon and Oboros startled, immediately reining auras, bowing respectfully.

Their tone’s reverence far exceeded peer interactions.

Wizard Noren smiled mildly, waving: “No formalities. I grasp the situation.”

His gaze fell to the ravaged battlefield below, especially scattered Mycelord remnants.

He descended to the ground, squatting, extending slender fingers to gently touch a faintly wriggling Mycelord tissue fragment.

His actions gentle and focused, as if listening to dead matter’s untold secrets.

In the wizard army below, Jie Ming’s heart leaped upon hearing Dixon’s address.

“Wizard Noren… Lord?” A shocking thought flashed.

Eliciting such respect from two level-7s—undoubtedly level-8!

And “Noren”…

Could this be Noren Academy’s founder, the legendary level-8 great wizard, Noren himself?!

Not just Jie Ming—surrounding wizards gasped lowly, eyes filled with excitement and awe.

Most expedition wizards hailed from the Junction recruitment; the Junction created by Noren Workshop, Tower of Annihilation, and Chaos Secret Cult.

Thus, Wizard Noren’s name thundered in Junction’s three powers—absolute legend, especially for Noren Academy wizards!

Wizard Noren examined briefly, nodding thoughtfully, slowly rising.

“So that’s it.” He murmured, then to eager Dixon, tone calm: “Cause clarified. Good you reacted swiftly, not bringing these ‘spoils’ to our civilization domain—consequences unimaginable; you’d truly perish.”

Dixon pressed: “Lord Noren, what exactly? Wasn’t Mycelord annihilated by Melist’s cannon?”

Wizard Noren swept gazes over attentive wizards below and linked Melist, revealing truth clearly and concisely:

“You destroyed only its material aggregation. Its ‘true body’ or ‘essence’ remains fundamentally unaffected.”

“True body?” Dixon frowned.

“Yes.” Noren nodded. “This Mycelord is peculiar—no complex intelligence, but thus embarked on a rare, almost accidental evolutionary path.”

“It deeply fused its lifeform with a comprehended natural law, embedding this fused ‘true body’ into these three planes’ foundational law network.”

“Losing further potential, it achieved alternate immortality near-‘conceptualized’.”

“As long as law-related ‘phenomena’ exist in these planes, it regenerates via laws. Even spreads ‘existence’ via ‘information contamination’ to any contacting the law or materials—expanding itself.”

Noren pointed to Mycelord remnants and distant Giant Spirit/Mind Realm ruins: “From your intel and traces, it fused likely ‘survival of the fittest’ or broader ‘natural cycle/evolution’ base rules.”

“Bringing spoils containing its ‘existence concept’ home introduces ‘concept pollution’ to our homeland.”

“Though high-tiers would detect and purge quickly, as introducers, you’d violate the foundational Civilization Safety Covenant—judged ‘hostile actors’ by defenses… collectively erased.”

Dixon, Oboros, and linked Melist broke cold sweats!

Wizard civilization pampered members but zero-tolerated threats to overall safety—punishments brutally severe!

Unknowingly introducing pollution would flip them from heroes to enemies—no escape!

“No wonder… all our fates plummeted to negative abyss…” Dixon murmured, chilled.

He resolved another puzzle: “Understood! No wonder Giant Spirit Realm’s overall fate line was low upon arrival, no ‘protagonist’ gathering luck… most bound to conceptualized Mycelord! It was the Triangular Plane Cluster’s true, sole ‘child of destiny’!”

Huddled in the army, Jie Ming enlightened.

He’d found Giant Spirit/Mind Realms producing Mortal Dust odd—normal societies clashing with Mycelord’s natural ecology.

Now clear: Korg/Sylas civilizations parasitic “bugs” within vast conceptual Mycelord.

They developed societies but never escaped Mycelord’s law framework.

Lacking intelligence, Mycelord was mere “environment”—not “farming” or “enslavement.”

Noren gazed at scarred planes, rare sentiment: “Mycelord-like forms rare even in endless void.”

“Pity—no intelligence to harness power, step beyond laws—broad yet dead-end path. Conversely, without ignorant instinct-law fusion, couldn’t achieve plane-law symbiosis.”

Dixon calmed, asked: “Lord Noren, next? Discard spoils, cleanse residues?”

Noren nodded: “Your residues weak—cleansable.”

He casually swept sleeves over the entire army.

Jie Ming blinked.

Instantly, a gentle vast force like breeze passed body and soul—indescribable “purity.”

Yet faint, as if nothing.

But lingering oppression and unease vanished like morning mist in sun—utterly lightened.

Confirming all free of concept pollution, Noren’s mildness receded, replaced by high-tier wizard’s calm near-cruel decisiveness.

To Dixon, final order:

“This Triangular Plane Cluster-bred ‘Mycelord’ concept’s potential danger far exceeds initial assessment. Its form and potential threaten wizard civilization to a degree.”

“Order: Abandon all material/non-material gains from this war. Activate ‘Purification Protocol’—indiscriminate, total physical destruction of Giant Spirit Realm, Mind Realm remnants, and all colonial/semi-planes recorded, conquered, or possibly law-contaminated by Triangular Plane Cluster!”

“Ensure ‘survival of the fittest’ concept and any regeneration basis permanently erased from these coordinates!”

Dixon, Oboros, and linked Melist hearts jolted.

“Purification Protocol”—no resource recovery, no samples; sole task: utter annihilation from matter to energy, reality to information!

No hesitation—solemn: “Compliance! Lord Noren!”

…

…

Fifty years passed swiftly.

For inter-plane expedition, not overly long.

Yet stepping from Elosia plane teleport array, Jie Ming’s face bore near-exhaustion fatigue.

These fifty years drowned not in exploration/conquest passion—but cold, repetitive, endless “cleanup.”

Post-Noren’s “Purification Protocol,” war nature transformed.

Triangular remnants swiftly erased under ship-plane cannon roars and level-7 might.

Giant Spirit, Mind, and Mycelord’s Proliferation Realms—with all internals—physically erased to nothingness.

Colonial planes under Giant Spirit/Star Mind cleared similarly—locate coordinates, jump, cannon-blast to ash.

True trouble: the captured golden apes’ civilization.

Per Noren: deep Korg/Sylas contact (contract fulfillment) meant possible Mycelord contamination across their civilization and radiated worlds.

This intangible pollution terrified more than physical foes.

Expedition tasks added scalp-numbing items: total cleanse of golden ape civilization core and outward radiation—all possibly contaminated worlds.

Process “simple.”

Noren personally acted— incomprehensible level-8 might locking core plane.

Plucking high-tiers like chicks, soul-searching for all colonial coordinates, diplomatic ties, trade routes, secret explorations.

Then: destruction.

Planes blasted by mighty witchcraft or ship-plane cannon—structural collapse to void dust.

Yet “decapitation + home-wrecking” had gaps.

No guarantee some lucky colonist in unrecorded fringe plane, or vassal secretly developing unreported world.

Thus, mid/low-tier wizards like Jie Ming tasked.

Cosmic-scale “data mining” and “trace-kill.”

Two steps.

First: information collection.

Swarm-like sweeping destroyed civilizations’ databases—physical books, energy crystals, mental networks, genetic memories.

Copy all history, tech, exchanges, explorations—minutiae included.

Second: sift astronomical data for useful intel, provide to three level-7s.

Then: kill kill kill!

Per updating coordinate lists—every plane, colony, even suspected deep-linked independent civilizations—physically erased.

No resource/knowledge value; sole criterion: “existence.”

Fifty years taught Jie Ming “civilization chain destruction.”

High-civilization networks like infinite grapevines—one tug yields bunches.

Clear one, more below.

Each destroyed civilization had vassals, allies, trade partners, even newly discovered undeveloped primal planes.

Any indirect contamination possibility—purification list.

“Guilty by nine generations” too merciful, limited for wizard actions.

Expedition purged exponentially along civilization webs.

He finally grasped Star Ring Federation’s decisive extermination of Triangular Cluster.

Mycelord’s intangible, law-reliant contagion—terrifying.

Without Noren’s timely insight and extreme measures.

Given time, concept pollution could spread unknowably—perhaps shaking wizard civilization foundations.

Now, this long bloody “purification” ended.

Last coordinate list lit, then silenced in witchcraft glow.

Jie Ming instinctively returned to Elosia lab.

Long-absent faint alchemy potion scent brought indescribable safety.

He ignored internal space’s scant “gains”—miscellaneous knowledge backups from destroyed civilizations; no mind for depleted cannon fodder or rune seals.

Straight through instrument/material-filled lab, pushing bedroom door—like string-cut puppet, collapsing forward onto soft spell-mattress.

No boots off, no robe change.

Head hitting pillow—instantly, mountain-heavy fatigue drowned consciousness.