The next second, the sensation of weightlessness abruptly vanished.
The feeling of solid ground beneath his feet returned—a very familiar, hard, and cold concrete.
Cheng Mo slowly opened his eyes.
His vision, momentarily blurry, quickly sharpened.
He was standing in the center of his suburban villa's basement.
Absolute silence.
No insect chirps, no wind, no distant traffic noise.
This complete, familiar tranquility gently soothed his constantly tense spirit, as if by an invisible hand.
An indescribable sense of peace permeated from the depths of his heart.
He was back.
Cheng Mo sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes again, and his consciousness sank deep into his mind.
The ancient and mysterious myriad realms compass hung silently, its surface glowing with an indescribable radiance.
At this moment, the compass trembled slightly, and a series of prompts echoed directly in the depths of his consciousness:
Settlement complete, based on the host's series of actions in the demon slayer world:
Significantly altered Nezuko Kamado's fate: +300
Guided and significantly enhanced Tanjirou Kamado's strength and potential: +1050
Successfully subjugated Upper Moon Four, Hantengu: +120
Greatly enhanced the overall basic combat strength of the Demon Slayer Corps (provided Qi Refining Technique, medicine): +250
Successfully liberated former Upper Moon Two, Kamiya Kawayuki: +130
Achieved deep cooperation and research breakthroughs with key plot character Tamayo: +400
World expansion additional reward: +500
Total reward: space-time coins +2750
Personal space expanded to: 30m³
Current total space-time coins: 3155
Expansion progress for the demon slayer world increased to 72.47%!
The massive numbers and information made Cheng Mo's mind tremble slightly.
The benefits of saving the Child of the World indeed far exceeded expectations.
And breaking through the 70% mark in expansion progress was an even greater qualitative leap.
Just then, a flash of light appeared in the center of the compass, and a deeper prompt, seemingly originating from the very essence of rules, came through.
Ding! Detected that the host's expansion progress in the demon slayer world exceeds 50%, reaching the "Deep Intervention" level, unlocking core function: "World Corridor."
The moment the prompt ended, Cheng Mo's consciousness seemed to be drawn into a grander, more ethereal plane.
Before his eyes, or rather, in the depths of his consciousness space, appeared a giant tree phantom, its majesty and antiquity indescribable.
It was rooted in endless void, its branches and leaves seemingly extending across myriad space-time.
Every leaf, every branch seemed to carry the birth and death of a world.
However, most of this World Tree was enveloped in a hazy gray mist.
Only one relatively slender branch was now emitting a stable and soft glow.
At the end of this branch, a "fruit" like a fully illuminated star had condensed.
That fruit was solid and brilliant, with miniature, constantly flowing light and shadows faintly visible on it.
Images of wisteria-covered mountain paths, the secluded Butterfly Mansion courtyard, the Ubuyashiki Estate, and even the constantly thundering Peach Mountain waterfall.
A clear label appeared next to it.
demon slayer (Expansion Progress: 72.47%).
This fruit, like a permanently fixed coordinate, was firmly connected to the World Tree's branch, no longer illusory.
Cheng Mo's "gaze" swept across the World Tree's countless other extending branches, on which hung innumerable dim, almost ethereal "fruit" light points.
Like undiscovered stars in the universe, they represented countless other unknown worlds that could be connected.
This illuminated demon slayer World Fruit had become a permanent coordinate.
At the same time, a large stream of information flowed into Cheng Mo's mind, giving him instant clarity.
World Corridor: Illuminated worlds will become permanent coordinates, no longer requiring additional energy to maintain channel stability.
The host can plan the next Crossing at any time through the World Tree phantom (still requires space-time coins to pay for travel energy).
For every 10% increase in expansion progress for an illuminated world, an additional reward will be received. The higher the expansion progress, the higher the host's authority to mobilize resources and investigate information in that world.
Immediately after, another more important piece of information appeared:
The host can sign a "Cross-World Contract" with natives of worlds with over 50% expansion progress.
Upon signing the contract, the unit becomes the host's "Pledger."
Cross-World Contract details: The Pledger will maintain independent will and personality but cannot violate the core terms of the contract formulated by the compass rules.
Core terms: Shall not, in any form, actively or passively harm the core interests and existence of "Contractor Cheng Mo" and the "myriad realms compass."
Pledgers will gain a certain degree of ability to resist the rejection of rules from other worlds. The contract requires mutual voluntary agreement and cannot be forcibly signed.
Function note: This function aims to establish a relatively equal and mutually beneficial cross-world alliance relationship, preserving a certain degree of independence for Pledgers. The "Familiar Function" targets the absolute loyalty binding of non-human creatures, elemental life, or special constructs; the two apply to different types of subjects.
So that's how it is!
A long-standing confusion in Cheng Mo's mind suddenly cleared.
It turned out that subduing beings like Kamiya Kawayuki, and even potentially convincing Lady Tamayo in the future, who possess high self-awareness and complex pasts, required the "Cross-World Contract" function, not the "Familiar Function" meant for absolute control.
He recalled the situation where Kamiya Kawayuki's sincere loyalty could not trigger the Familiar Contract.
The "Cross-World Contract" emphasizes core terms and mutual benefit based on voluntary agreement, preserving their independence, which indeed better suits their circumstances.
And the "Familiar Function" is more like a tool for absolute control… no wonder the compass didn't react.
This subtle yet crucial distinction gave Cheng Mo a deeper understanding of the myriad realms compass's operating rules.
It didn't solely emphasize enslavement but provided different "binding" methods based on different situations.
The "Cross-World Contract" function opened a new door for him.
The door to assembling a "Pledger" team, composed of elites from various worlds, spanning across realms.
The scroll of the world was slowly unfolding a broader corner before his eyes.