Looking at the greatly changed Afternoon Town, Derrick hesitated, turning to chief Colin of the Council of Six, who was leading the team, and asked, "Chief, are we still exploring this place?"
Colin was silent for a moment, then looked towards the square in the center of the city and said, "Let's go meet Mr. Tower, whom you mentioned. If we want to explore this place, we must have him lift the illusion covering it."
As he finished speaking, Colin raised his hand in a gesture to remain vigilant, then walked at the front of the team, leading the exploration team members towards the square.
Along the way, they saw many figures, large and small, some of whom were much taller than the tallest people in their City of Silver. As they got closer to the central area of the city, the tall figures walking on the streets became more detailed, even their expressions became richer.
The houses on both sides of the street looked like shops, displaying various goods, some blurry, some clear, many of which they had never seen before.
Even without any sound or smell, every member of the exploration team felt novelty and longing.
"Is this what the outside world looks like?" A member of the exploration team, wearing coarse cloth, with Red Gloves, and about 2.2 meters tall, stood beside Derrick and asked curiously.
"I don't know, maybe…" Derrick shook his head, staring blankly at the scene around him, which had only existed in common knowledge textbooks.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The melodious sound of a bell rang out from the tallest bell Tower in Afternoon Town, accompanied by a flock of grey pigeons flying across the sky, adding some vividness to this illusion.
At the edge of the central square, Leyton gently rubbed his fingers, creating circles of starlight ripples that spread outwards, becoming fainter and fainter, until only the rustling wind passing by his ears remained.
Colin, who had brought the exploration team near the square, happened to see this scene. His eyes flickered slightly, and after Leyton finished his hand movements, he led the exploration team closer.
After a brief silence, Colin voiced his confusion:
"Even if an illusion is True, it is still an illusion. Why are you so fixated on creating a completely new illusion? Wouldn't it be simpler to just replicate a place you've already seen?"
"To construct a vast, almost True world in the future." Leyton explained simply, then turned sideways and gestured towards the center of the square.
The City of Silver exploration team members followed Leyton and walked to the base of the huge grey stone statue in the center of the square, which Leyton had replaced.
He lightly tapped the crystal ball, which shimmered with specks of starlight, with his right index finger, producing a crisp sound.
Specks of starlight scattered around, and suddenly, chairs arranged in a circle appeared on the previously empty square, with a quietly burning bonfire in the very center.
Having done all this, he turned his head to Colin, who had kept a certain distance from him, and said, "Do you mind if I change afternoon to night? I think chatting around a bonfire has more atmosphere."
Colin looked up at the setting sun on the horizon and nodded slightly, "You can."
Snap!
Leyton raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The starlight flickering within the crystal ball in his left hand disturbed, and the previously dim yellow sky was quickly replaced by a night sky dotted with stars.
The entire Afternoon Town instantly darkened, but soon, sporadic flames lit up from various places.
The members of the City of Silver exploration team looked up at the sky curiously. This star-studded night sky was completely different from the Darkness that enveloped the City of Silver and everything around it; it wasn't so terrifying, but rather had a sense of peace and tranquility.
Leyton casually pulled a chair closer to him and sat down, then pointed his chin at the other chairs and said, "Just pick a chair and sit down. I can answer some of your questions, but in return, I need to ask you for some information."
As he spoke, Leyton extended his right palm upwards, and tiny, fingernail-sized glass bead-like eyes, containing starlight, appeared.
"These are my modified Peeping Eyes. They can help you switch between the True Afternoon Town and the illusion here. As long as you carry them, you can explore this place normally, and I can also collect some information."
Leyton's gaze swept over the somewhat restrained and wary people of the City of Silver, then he chuckled lightly and threw all the Peeping Eyes he had conjured into Derrick's hands.
"You take them first. They are similar to Mystical Items. Just infuse a little spirituality, and you'll be able to use them. You'll naturally understand the specific method of use once you hold them."
"Okay, okay." Derrick fumbled to catch the Peeping Eyes thrown at him.
After examining the Peeping Eyes in his hand, Derrick tried picking up one of the eyes that shimmered with Chamblue starlight and infused some spirituality into it.
In an instant, he felt his vision change:
The surrounding exploration team members and the bonfire all disappeared. The peculiar night above was replaced by a thick, all-encompassing Darkness, and occasionally, silver-white lightning streaked across the sky. With the help of the occasional silver-white electric light, he clearly saw the surrounding environment: dilapidated, decaying, with ruins of collapsed buildings everywhere.
This was the True Afternoon Town; the one in the illusion was the Afternoon Town before the Great Cataclysm, restored by Mr. Tower.
After a sigh, Derrick cut off the spiritual infusion and lightly squeezed the Eyes of Mystery Prying in his right hand.
Without a light source, one cannot linger in the Darkness!
The faint sound of breaking glass emerged, and the Afternoon Town in the illusion covered the dilapidated and decaying Afternoon Town like an invisible curtain.
"Derrick, what just happened? Your body suddenly became blurry, just like those figures walking on the street earlier."
As soon as Derrick came back to his senses, the exploration team member beside him, wearing Red Gloves, leaned over and asked.
"I'm fine, Joshua, I just returned to the True Afternoon Town." Derrick said, handing over the glass bead-like eyes he was holding in his left hand.
The exploration team member called Joshua hesitated for a moment before taking one. Then, he mimicked Derrick's previous action and infused spirituality into it.
Under Derrick's gaze, Joshua's figure suddenly became ethereal and blurry. He tried to reach out and touch him, but his fingers went straight through.
"This is just an illusion, to help you discern each other's states." Leyton leaned back in his chair and explained simply.
In less than ten seconds, the illusion left by Joshua quickly became clear and solid. He calmly nodded towards the exploration team members around him who were infusing spirituality.
Colin rested one hand on the silver-white straight sword plunged into the ground and the other on his left knee, gently tapping his index finger. He did not stop the exploration team members from trying the Eyes of Mystery Prying, but simply watched them quietly from the side.
It wasn't until Derrick handed him the last remaining glass bead-like Eyes of Mystery Prying that he took it, examined it for a while, and then spoke in a deep voice:
"What dangers are hidden in the Giant Kings Court?"
Leyton's gaze crossed the bonfire, looking at the calm Colin, and said in a deep voice, "The evil spirit of the Dark Angel sleeps there, and there is extremely terrifying pollution. If your Sequence is too high, you will be polluted; if your Sequence is too low, you won't be able to defeat the evil spirit of the Dark Angel."
"Dark Angel evil spirit?" Colin's expression was complex as he lowered his eyes and pondered.
Derrick pursed his lips and interjected, "Is there any other way?"
Leyton raised an eyebrow, looking thoughtfully at the huge grey stone statue in the center of the square. His intuition had been touched for a moment, a very slight touch.
"Wait… Not too far in the future, Mr. Fool will send His Blessed over, and He will help you."
He twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. As he answered Derrick's question, he raised his hand and grasped at the lantern in the hand of the huge grey stone statue in the center of the square.
A transparent face floated out from within: black curly hair, black eyes, a broad forehead, and a thin face.
The familiar face instantly froze Leyton's already sparse expression. His right hand unconsciously tightened, and specks of starlight appeared around the transparent face, then instantly retracted, attempting to obliterate that face.
The transparent face, surrounded by starlight, distorted for a moment, and the next moment, it appeared by the bonfire. He floated in mid-air like a Wraith or a specter, his lower body completely transparent.
As he leisurely pulled out a tangible monocle from his pocket, he spoke with a smile, "Heh, how did you find me?"
"Intuition, a casual grab." Leyton replied expressionlessly.
He had originally thought that some Monster from the Darkness had invaded his illusion. The invader he sensed wasn't very powerful, which was why he so casually wanted to grab the other party out.
As he spoke, the crystal ball that Leyton had been holding in his left hand suddenly burst forth with an incredibly brilliant starlight. An invisible gravitational force erupted, illuminating the entire illusion in dazzling white.
When the light dissipated, all the City of Silver people who had been gathered around the bonfire disappeared, leaving only Amon, whose figure was now completely solid, and Leyton.
Amon reached up to adjust the monocle on his face, a smile of unknown meaning playing on his lips as he said, "You sent them all away?"
"Actually, even if they stayed, I didn't plan to parasitize them. I've already been to that City of Silver. Those who can survive in this place will always have some unusual trump cards. Do you want to know what the secret of the City of Silver is?"
"You know?" Leyton looked at Amon with a suspicious gaze, considering whether to deal with this clone while his aura hadn't reached the demigod level.
Amon looked at Leyton with interest and said, "You can take a gamble. Perhaps, my true body is very far from here?"