"What's wrong?"

Seeing Taurus's sudden halt in movement and the somewhat uncertain look on their face, Leon's eyes narrowed slightly as he cautiously asked,

"Could it be that there's a problem with the star portal?"

"Not entirely..."

After calling upon the Compass belonging to the Taurus Star Palace and fiddling with countless brilliant star points, Taurus responded with a rather troubled expression,

"Within the [Crossings] of Old Soil, several crossings that were originally very stable have now all gone awry..."

Crossings have gone awry?

After listening to Taurus's answer, Leon's brow furrowed in response.

The vastness of the star realm was immensely broad, so naturally, the speed of the star portals that could traverse it was correspondingly fast. Often, within the span of a mere thought, one could cross multiple dimensional distances. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At such speeds, which were countless times faster than light, the users of the star portal were incapable of locking onto their intended targets. Thus, they had to rely on the [Crossings] that accompanied each dimension to determine their current location and desired destination.

If one were to compare the star portal to a ship that could sail across the star sea, then the various [Crossings] within the vast star realm would be the docks where this ship could stop and adjust its course. If the crossing corresponding to a certain dimension went awry, it often signified an issue with that world itself.

"Mr. Taurus,"

A vague sense of foreboding arose as Leon quickly inquired,

"Which crossings have gone awry?"

"Too many..."

Taurus rubbed a chaotic compass, trying hard to observe the scattered star points, and identified them with visible difficulty,

"Grave Soil, Insufficient Land, Embryonic Sea, Hanging Horn Star Gorge, Ancestral Land of Ten Thousand Spirits, Shepherd's Plain, Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils... These crossings that were originally linked together have now all experienced significant displacements, as if..."

After a moment of hesitation, Taurus uncertainly continued,

"As if something unimaginably colossal started 'running' across the entire star realm, squeezing away all the dimensions along the path to the target.

Moreover, the dimensions at the end of this 'path' that bore the brunt of the impact, especially Insufficient Land, Shepherd's Plain, and Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils, their crossings have almost been completely shattered. Although they should function normally after stabilizing, a very clear shrinkage has already appeared..."

"Like the Sea Abyss Realm?"

"Yes..."

Nodding in confirmation of Leon's inquiry, looking at the Star Dome Compass with its faint and almost impossible to connect star points, Taurus bit their lip and looked up at Leon, asking with concern,

"Leon, do you think it could be... could it be No. 1?"

"It's still unclear, but the possibility is indeed high."

Gazing at the three 'gaping' lines on the Star Dome Compass, and at the end of the lines, the three stars dim enough to be on the verge of extinction, Leon couldn't help but clench his fists slightly, then replied in a deliberately steady voice,

"Mr. Taurus, in order to find potential allies, I've been reviewing the record stone tablets in the bureau, noting down all the journals about Old Soil left by our predecessors, and have initially pinpointed some dimensions where there might be root heritage remnants.

Among them is the sky-only Insufficient Land, Shepherd's Plain, where all indigenous inhabitants are beast-like, and Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils, regarded as the origin of demons, all precisely included.

Especially the latter, Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils, it aggregates the strongest and most numerous demons among all dimensions. Coupled with Evangelin's memories, it's almost certain that it's the dimension where No. 6's root heritage was born, but now..."

But now it might very well be gone! Directly shattered by something!

"Huff..."

Feeling an inexplicable difficulty in breathing and a light dizziness, Taurus supported themselves on the Compass, gritting their teeth to speak,

"Leon, then... then you..."

"Then I really need to go there soon. If I'm lucky enough, maybe I'll manage to salvage something."

Sharing a somewhat hellish joke with Taurus to soothe her agitated Heart Lake, Leon looked at the chaotic star map on the Star Dome Compass, frowning as he inquired,

"Mr. Taurus, with the crossings on the compass in such disarray, can I still use the star portal to reach Old Soil?"

"Well... I can't say for sure..."

Giving Leon a wry smile, Taurus answered with a look of helplessness,

"Old Soil itself is too chaotic, requiring relatively stable crossings to position correctly, but now over a third of the crossings have been disturbed. Before they stabilize again, whether we can send you to the correct location largely depends on luck."

Again, it comes down to chance...

Compared to simply betting on luck with the Dream Butterfly, it seemingly feels more reliable to use the star portal. After pondering for a moment, Leon further inquired,

"Mr. Taurus, if among the least affected crossings, I find the closest position and first use the star portal to get there, then find other means to reach the destination..."

"There's no time."

Shaking their head, Taurus replied,

"The crossings may seem not far apart because the compass enlarges them for observation, but in reality, the distances are astronomical. Without traversing via the star portal or dimensional folds, it might take hundreds of years to reach the end."