Following Viola, the three flew over warzones still sporadically crackling with gunfire.

They finally arrived at a vast prairie that appeared utterly ordinary—green grass swaying gently under a clear sky.

The moment they drew near, Jie Ming keenly sensed an extremely subtle psychic fluctuation permeating the air.

This faint psychic wave acted like an invisible barrier, silently guiding the perception of any outsider, making every creature that unwittingly approached the prairie subconsciously want to steer clear.

“A crude psychic suggestion field. Same old trick.”

Viola snorted. Without needing Anya’s guidance, she descended confidently onto a certain spot on the grassland, extended her fair palm, and gently pressed against what looked like empty air.

Hum…

A faint tremor rang out. The air before them rippled like water, and a doorframe edged with flowing silver runes materialized out of nowhere.

Beyond the door was no longer the prairie but a bright passage leading straight into the interior of an isolated tower.

Anya stared in astonishment. “There’s actually a passage here?! I had no idea!”

“Kid, there’s a lot you don’t know. Come on. This woman’s laboratory defenses are a pain—stay close to me later and don’t wander off,” Viola said.

Jie Ming nodded and stepped into the passage together with Anya.

The group swiftly entered. Viola casually flicked her wrist behind her, and the air-door silently closed. The prairie outside returned to its original tranquil appearance, as though nothing had happened.

The tower’s interior was anything but conventional. It brimmed with all manner of precise and intricate witchcraft instruments and energy conduits.

Jie Ming could clearly feel that along the path they walked, multiple overt and covert checks—scanning energy signatures, soul fluctuations, and even active thought patterns—were rigorously performed.

Fortunately, with Viola present, they encountered no obstructions and soon arrived at a core area.

It was a vast chamber paved entirely in pure silver-white metal—sleek, cold, and austere. Only at its center hovered several enormous three-dimensional projection screens.

Cascading across them like waterfalls were complex data streams and dynamic models depicting the real-time progress of the “rebellion” outside, along with the energy and spirituality parameters of countless organisms.

Standing before the screens was a lone figure.

To put it bluntly, this figure perfectly matched the “classic high-ring wizard” archetype.

She looked as though she hadn’t properly groomed herself in ages. Her hair was fluffy and disheveled, a few strands rebelliously sticking out.

Her eyes were bloodshot from excessive focus. Though her wizard robe was made of extraordinary material, it was worn crookedly, the cuffs stained with what appeared to be traces of energy fluid.

“Grandmother,” Anya stepped forward and called softly. “Wizard Viola and the Wizard Jie Ming she invited have arrived.”

Only then did the wizard immersed in her ocean of data snap back to reality. Her bloodshot eyes turned toward Viola and she gave a slow, stiff nod as greeting.

Immediately afterward, her gaze swept past Viola and locked precisely onto Jie Ming.

In that instant, those originally weary eyes blazed with searchlight-like fervor!

Jie Ming’s vision blurred. A powerful surge of energy flashed past him, and the disheveled wizard appeared in front of him as though by instantaneous teleportation, her hands reaching out with barely contained eagerness.

Jie Ming’s scalp prickled; he instinctively assumed a defensive posture.

“Stop!”

Fortunately, Viola was experienced. The moment the other woman moved, she had already anticipated it. With practiced ease, she reached out and accurately seized the back of the wizard’s robe collar, halting her mid-lunge and lifting her like a kitten.

“Starfall, calm down!” Viola said helplessly. “You’ll scare the kid. Take it one step at a time.”

She then turned to the somewhat stunned Jie Ming and introduced, “Jie Ming, this is my friend, sixth-ring wizard ‘Starfall.’”

She gave the still-struggling wizard in her grip a little shake. “Starfall, this is Jie Ming—the one you wanted to meet.”

“Starfall?” Hearing the name, Jie Ming raised a brow in surprise and glanced at Anya Starfall beside him.

He had heard Anya call her “Grandmother” and assumed it was a simple blood relationship. He hadn’t expected that this sixth-ring wizard herself was the origin of the name “Starfall.”

In the wizard world, only nobility possessed surnames, and those surnames usually derived from the name or title of the founder.

To found a wizard family using one’s own title and pass it down as a surname signified both immense power and long, illustrious heritage.

Interrupted by Viola, the wizard named Starfall seemed to regain a measure of clarity from her frenzied research state.

She wriggled free from Viola’s grasp and landed on the floor. Somewhat embarrassed, she smoothed down her explosively frizzy hair and frantically tried to straighten the wrinkles in her robe.

After taking a deep breath, she performed a formal and solemn wizard salute to Jie Ming, her voice slightly hoarse from long disuse. “My apologies for the discourtesy, Wizard Jie Ming. I am Starfall. I am truly delighted you could come.”

Suppressing his astonishment, Jie Ming returned the courtesy with equal gravity. “Lord Starfall, the honor is mine.”

With the simple introductions complete, the atmosphere finally became somewhat normal.

Wizard Starfall invited them to sit on chairs condensed from energy at the side of the room, and the formal conversation officially began.

The moment Viola sat down, she launched the first strike, pointing at the intense battles displayed on the surrounding screens. “What exactly is going on with all this ‘liveliness’ out there? Did your little experiment finally get out of hand again?”

A flash of embarrassment crossed Wizard Starfall’s face, but it was quickly overtaken by irrepressible excitement. “Yes… it was indeed caused by my experiment. But I wouldn’t say it got out of hand. The main reason is that my recent research into the Law of Spirituality achieved several critical breakthroughs, and… well, the scale and effects of the test accidentally exceeded expectations a little…”

“Critical breakthroughs?” Jie Ming latched onto the phrase. Connecting it to the fervor she had shown upon seeing him, a guess formed in his mind. He smoothly asked, “May I ask what aspect of the breakthrough, Lord Starfall? It seems related to my ‘Imaginary Element’?”

“Exactly!” At the mention of research, Wizard Starfall’s eyes lit up again, words tumbling out at high speed. “Wizard Jie Ming, the properties of the Imaginary Element you created are simply astonishing!

Through my research, I discovered that this element is not dead matter at all. It contains an extremely pure and special ‘latent spirituality’—like a blank sheet of paper, yet possessing tremendous adaptability and guiding potential!

It can subtly guide any lifeform that comes into contact with it, optimizing and evolving them toward greater perfection, harmony, and latent potential! More importantly—although it itself lacks formed intelligence, I have found a method to use it as a ‘spark of spirituality’ and ‘cognitive template’ to forcibly ignite the flame of wisdom in lifeforms that originally lacked any foundation of intelligence!”

Jie Ming appropriately displayed expressions of amazement and admiration. “Guiding evolution… igniting wisdom. That is truly unbelievable!”

Yet compared to the mild astonishment on his face, towering waves surged in his heart.

As someone who also walked the path of immortal cultivation, he understood perfectly what this meant.

Bestowal of intelligence!

This was the divine art of bestowal!

Relying solely on several decades of research into the “Imaginary Element” (Spiritual Qi), Wizard Starfall had actually touched upon one of the supreme divine abilities of the immortal cultivation world—bestowing intelligence upon creatures and awakening their spiritual wisdom!

In the cultivation world, only immortals of profound attainment who deeply comprehended the laws of heaven and earth could wield such a technique.

Even Jie Ming himself, with the vast knowledge of the Great Dao Book Pavilion at his disposal, could not guarantee he could stably master a technique that touched the very essence of life and the root of the soul while still at the sixth ring.

He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly once more: The truth-seekers of the wizard world were simply too overpowered when it came to research ability and the speed at which they turned theory into practice!

For her to achieve this in such a short time meant her expansion and deepening of the Law of Spirituality had already reached a terrifying height.

She was probably not far from advancing to the seventh ring!

While Jie Ming reeled inwardly, Viola beside him zeroed in on a crucial point.

She stared at Starfall, her tone laced with disbelief. “So… the moment you discovered this property, you couldn’t wait to test it on the ‘stock’ in your plane? Exactly what races did you bestow intelligence upon?!”

Starfall nodded excitedly, like a child proudly showing off her masterpiece. “To test the universality and limits of this ‘wisdom ignition,’ I selected two extremely different bases!

One was the ‘Ironwire Devouring Demon Vines’ that grow everywhere in my garden—pure plants with only the most basic life reactions! The other was ‘Radiant Aggregates’ formed from escaped laboratory energy—essentially clumps of high-density, unconscious energy!”

She spread her hands, her face glowing with triumphant joy. “And as you can see, both succeeded! They gained basic intelligence, formed rudimentary societies, and even began warring over resources and living space!

The data is perfect! I had actually wanted to try whether ordinary soil or stone could also develop intelligence, but unfortunately that experiment failed, and I ran out of Imaginary Element material anyway…”

Listening to her describe what amounted to an act of “creation” in such a breezy tone, Jie Ming and Viola exchanged a glance and saw the same helpless look in each other’s eyes.

Thank goodness… thank goodness bestowing intelligence upon dirt and rocks had failed.

If even stones could become spirits, then when they teleported in earlier, they wouldn’t have faced just plants and light-beings—there would have been an overwhelming army of rock people shouting “Kill the flesh monsters!” as well!

Wizard Starfall’s research truly danced perpetually on the razor’s edge between creating miracles and unleashing catastrophe.