Within the deepest level of the Time Stasis Castle, Lin Luo remained for a full twenty-four days without venturing out once, nor replenishing any food or water. For an ordinary person, those twenty-four days would have been enough to die several times over. Yet, given Lin Luo’s current physique, a month without sustenance might cause some discomfort, but it would not result in any adverse effects.

The Book of Origin truly lived up to its name as the core tether to this world. By understanding it, Lin Luo found parsing the world's rules significantly easier. Previously, when attempting to analyze these rules, he had to seek them out himself; for instance, in the Moon World, it consumed a great deal of time and required him to traverse the entire globe.

But possessing the Book of Origin was akin to holding the essence of this world in his hand. There was no need to search; all the "truth" resided within. The only task was to peel away the skin that encased that truth, much like Pandora’s Box—once the key is found, the box can be opened.

Of course, what emerged from Pandora’s Box were world-destroying horrors, whereas what flowed from the Book of Origin was raw rule power.

Through twenty-four days of ceaseless effort and total immersion, Lin Luo finally achieved some progress. A few days prior, he had deciphered ten percent of the rule power. He had intended to continue parsing, but a new idea struck him: to re-integrate this rule power with Ancient Magic.

The previous fusion involved only one percent. This time, the target was ten percent. Though a significant increase, the prior experience ensured the process would not involve retracing steps, thus it wouldn't be excessively slow. It still took seven days to complete the integration.

Rule Power and Ancient Magic, while both drawing upon the Source, were fundamentally different forces—similar in appearance, but divergent in essence. The power resulting from this fusion, Lin Luo dubbed the Law of Illusion. Ten percent of the Law of Illusion, coupled with ten percent of Reverse Rules, represented unchangeable forces, unbound by the world’s conventional laws.

To Lin Luo’s delight, the enhancement of the Law of Illusion also accelerated his parsing of world rules. In the subsequent seven days alone, he managed to decipher a staggering fifty percent, matching his progress in the Moon World. To unlock half the rule power in such a short span was nothing short of miraculous, considering that in real-time, this equated to only seven hours. At his current state, even wielding only the rule power, he could contend with the shimmering loli who possessed no mer.

Having tasted such sweet fruit, Lin Luo naturally would not stop there. He immediately planned to fuse the fifty percent rule power with Ancient Magic. However, this attempt did not go smoothly. Not only did the fusion fail, but it nearly cost him half his life force.

This forced him to halt. After long consideration, he finally grasped the root of the problem: imbalance! The rule power was too dominant, while the Ancient Magic remained relatively insufficient. Lacking a balance point, fusion was impossible.

It was like two hostile nations: peace is maintained only when they are evenly matched. Should one side far surpass the other, only invasion remains.

With further fusion impossible, Lin Luo felt a touch of regret but did not linger on disappointment for long. He still had the rule power to utilize. At the current rate, another ten days or half a month would suffice to decipher it all. But then, the unexpected happened once more… the rule power could no longer be parsed!

It wasn't that he was incapable of parsing; it was that there was no "truth" left for him to analyze. Even refining salt from seawater requires the sea to exist; if there is no sea, how can there be salt?

Why was this the case? The answer was simple.

The Book of Origin contained only Ancient Magic, whereas the reality of this world encompassed both the Ancient and the Contemporary. Therefore, deciphering fifty percent was the absolute limit; the remaining half could not be unlocked here. He had to go to… the Magic World!

With both major tasks stalled, the only available activity was cultivating Ancient Magic. However, learning Ancient Magic was not a matter of a day or two. It couldn't be achieved merely through enlightenment; a solid magical foundation was crucial. Even in secluded cultivation, significant improvement wouldn't be seen quickly.

Thus, realizing he had reached an impasse, Lin Luo decisively emerged from his seclusion.

Returning to the castle, Lin Luo first enjoyed a long, comfortable bath. After inquiring with a passing maid, he learned that Evangeline was playing games in her room, so he nodded and headed toward that chamber.

Reaching the doorway, he found it unlocked. Pushing it open, Lin Luo indeed saw Evangeline inside, though her posture was rather scandalous. She was sprawled on the sofa, one foot dangling over the glass table in front of her, the other foot tapping rhythmically on the sofa cushion. Both hands were busy: one held the controller, the other conveyed snacks into her mouth.

It was evident that this ageless loli had spent the last few days quite fully and busily.

“Say, are you truly a True Progenitor Vampire?” Lin Luo couldn’t help but jest. He felt Evangeline resembled more of a shut-in otaku than a progenitor. If she went to Gensokyo, she and Hime-hime would surely become fast friends.

Speaking of which, given her vampire nature, she’d likely get along well with the older sister. As a puppeteer capable of controlling over three hundred dolls simultaneously, she might have plenty to discuss with Alice. Plus, her immortality meant she could share drinks and feasting with Mokou. With her formidable ice magic, she could even go toe-to-toe with 9… Tsk, she was practically the ultimate universal friend-maker for Gensokyo.

“Whoa!” Startled by the voice, Evangeline jumped up from the sofa in reflex, spilling the snacks resting on her chest onto the floor. The moment she spotted Lin Luo, she recoiled instantly, lightning-fast to grab the nearby clothes and cover herself, as if terrified he might push her down again.

“You brute! Knock when you enter!” Evangeline’s face was flushed scarlet as she shouted loudly. Being seen in such a state was mortifying!

“What’s the big deal? I’ve seen it before. You’re losing your composure, Evan-chan,” Lin Luo smiled, then shamelessly walked over and sat beside her. “And there are snacks here, perfect timing. I haven’t eaten anything in almost a month.”

“Hey, those are mine!”

“Hmm? What did you say?” Lin Luo asked vaguely while munching on Evangeline’s snack.

She was definitely faking it! Evangeline would never believe he hadn’t heard her, he was doing it on purpose. Her luck had truly turned sour today, encountering such a rogue.

“Get out, I need to change!” Evangeline said coldly.

“Change if you must. I haven’t not seen it before. If you’re having trouble, I don't mind helping you change,” Lin Luo said with a smile, gazing at her. “Don’t worry, your current body is that of a ten-year-old child. I would feel guilty laying a hand on you.”

“…You could die once,” Evangeline spat out murderous intent while pulling on her clothes, speaking with deep resentment. “If you ever felt guilt, pigs would be climbing trees.”

“Look at what you’re saying. I often see pigs climbing trees.”

Evangeline ignored him. After dressing and settling back onto her spot, she immediately picked up the remote again, staring fixedly at the massive game screen. “I’m playing a game; please do not disturb me!”

“Contra? I used to play that a lot too. Let’s play together. Wait, where’s the second controller?” Lin Luo looked around, seeing no spare remote; it seemed to be a single-player game.

“Are you that bored? You look like you made quick progress,” though reluctant to engage, Evangeline brought up a topic to dissuade him from bothering her further.

“Yeah, about halfway done,” Lin Luo replied with a smile.

“Halfway?” Evangeline blinked, surprised. Previously, after more than a month, Lin Luo had only deciphered one percent. Reaching fifty percent now seemed wildly exaggerated; even she was taken aback.

Seeing the shock on her face, Lin Luo recounted everything that had happened, including the Law of Illusion and the fact that the other half of the rule power required a trip to the Magic World.

“I see. So, does that mean you can summon your Contractors again?” Evangeline asked, understanding dawning on her.

“Sort of,” Lin Luo nodded. While Contractor summoning wasn't one hundred percent tied to rule power, faster rule parsing undoubtedly led to more Contractee summons. In his current state, he could summon at least two more Contractors.

“Then summon them over and send them to kiss my feet,” Evangeline waved her hand dismissively, unclear what she truly meant.

But Lin Luo shook his head. “That won’t do. I don't plan on summoning any Contractors.”

“Why not?”

“Well, you’ll find out eventually.”

“Huh?” Evangeline looked at him, utterly confused.

However, Lin Luo seemed unwilling to elaborate, merely shrugging and smiling without answering. It wasn’t that he didn't want to summon the Contractors—he missed them after such a long separation—but during his seclusion, Lin Luo had stumbled upon a new discovery. Yet, with too little rule power now, he couldn't verify if this discovery was real.

If it was true, that finding could become his ultimate trump card later on. This required his summoning experience to be rich and not carelessly squandered. Besides, the other girls could be met again once they returned to the Sky City.

Seeing his silence, Evangeline stopped pressing and focused intently on her game.

“Oh, right, what time is it now? The time outside?” Lin Luo suddenly asked after a while.

“Three-thirty in the afternoon. World Tree magic peaks at three forty-five,” Evangeline answered casually, knowing exactly what he was implying.

“Meaning the plan for ‘Chao’ is starting in fifteen minutes. Aren’t you interested in watching?” Lin Luo chuckled, but Evangeline delivered a response that annoyed him greatly.

“…Wait until I finish this match.”

She was already beginning to engage the final boss.