The spatial rift slowly rippled at the edge of the continent in the Infernal Sulfur Plane.
The black rift spanning the void gradually contracted, and the dark purple arcs surging deep within the rift faded with it, until only a few strands of fragmented electric light scattered silently into the deep void.
A group of black giants had already swarmed forward, carrying various materials to stabilize the rift.
Jie Ming and Viola floated side by side in the outer void of this new plane. Beneath them was a continent wrapped in a pale blue planar barrier. Looking from afar through the void, the barrier was not thick; it even seemed somewhat thin.
It appeared translucent sky-blue, with sparse light patterns flowing across its surface. If one had to compare, the barrier's strength was roughly equivalent to a slightly thicker energy film.
"This plane is even smaller than I expected."
Viola said softly, but her tone carried little surprise.
She flew forward a distance, and a gray-white Law of Agony Crystallization Domain spread out beneath her feet.
As the circular halo appeared, the surrounding void seemed to quieten slightly.
Law runes extended from the edge of the halo, transforming into dozens of fine tentacles that slowly unfurled in the air, like some dangerous deep-sea creature gradually extending its arms.
Viola raised her right hand, fingers spread.
The next instant, those law tentacles simultaneously reached toward the planar barrier's surface.
The gray-white runes began to vibrate at high speed the moment they touched the barrier, emitting a low-frequency resonance that human hearing could not capture.
At the points where the tentacles touched, ripples spread across the barrier's surface. The once calm sky-blue light patterns diffused outward from the contact points, only to be pressed back bit by bit by the subsequent wave of law tentacles.
This was Viola tuning the frequency of the Law of Agony, synchronizing her law fluctuations completely with the energy structure of the planar barrier, and then gradually 'embedding' herself into it.
Causing the barrier to mistake this power as part of itself, eventually voluntarily opening a passage for her.
This method was more efficient and quieter than brute force, and would not immediately alert the creatures inside the plane.
Jie Ming, arms crossed, floated not far behind her, the vertical eye on his forehead already quietly opened.
The All-Purpose Eye recorded the barrier's energy structure while continuously comparing the data with the previously conquered Tentacle Tree Plane. Soon, he reached a conclusion.
This plane was even younger than he had initially estimated.
The aura of the plane origin was very fresh, like a newborn plane that had only taken shape a few hundred million years ago.
Such places usually did not nurture anything too ancient, but occasionally, they might hide unexpected surprises.
Just as he was thinking this, Viola's law tentacles suddenly stopped.
Jie Ming, observing from behind, saw clearly that it was not encountering any obstacle, but that she had voluntarily withdrawn.
At this, Jie Ming looked at Senior Viola with confusion.
She still maintained the posture with fingers spread, her head slightly tilted, those light green eyes quietly staring at a certain direction deep within the planar barrier.
The faint smile of casual indifference at the corner of her mouth was slowly fading.
In its place was an expression rarely seen on her face: caution.
And also a hint of subtle excitement.
"Looks like there's an unexpected surprise."
She said in a low voice, her tone slower than usual.
Jie Ming's brow twitched slightly, and he followed her gaze into the depths of the barrier.
Unfortunately, blocked by the planar barrier, he could only see the general terrain below at most, and nothing else. But he did not doubt Viola's judgment.
The Law of Agony's perception range over living beings was naturally broader than his, especially when it came to 'where pain exists'—she had an almost instinctive sharpness.
For her to stop during the infiltration meant that something happening below the barrier had already triggered her law perception. Sensing Jie Ming's confusion, Viola beckoned him over.
Obediently coming to Viola's side, Jie Ming felt Viola's hand press onto his shoulder.
"There's a bit of a small accident. You'll probably have to put in the work later."
Then, through the mental fluctuation Viola shared, Jie Ming felt his vision pass through the planar barrier, landing on the world slowly unfolding below.
It was within the atmosphere, a hilly region covered with dense vegetation.
The sky of this plane was light purple.
When the starlight passed through the atmosphere, it was refracted by some unknown high-altitude gas into a soft violet hue, spilling over the undulating hills and depressions like a tranquil veil.
Large depressions held shallow light-blue water, and as a breeze passed, fine ripples spread across the surface.
The air was filled with a faint sweet and fishy smell, like the scent left after a large amount of plant sap had evaporated, making the entire area exceptionally humid.
At the edges of the ridges, a group of humanoid creatures made of leaves and branches were busy working.
Their torsos were woven from flexible vines, their limbs were sturdy branches, and their ends were tentacle-like vines that could be manipulated at will.
Each had a cluster of small flowers of various colors on top of their heads, gently swaying with their movements like floral crowns in the wind.
Their vine tails hung down from behind, with the tips deeply buried in the soil, as if absorbing some nutrients from the ground.
And what they were doing was quite peculiar.
Between the hands of each plant person, a pale green light orb was condensed.
The orb was carefully extracted from the air, then placed into rows of neatly arranged clay pots along the ridges.
As soon as the orb fell into the pot, it quickly condensed into a few drops of thick emerald liquid, emitting an extremely faint yet pure life aura. Clearly, it was a refined product of some form of life energy.
On higher ground above the ridges, several armored humanoid creatures were watching over them from a vantage point.
Those creatures were roughly the same size as humans, but their faces clearly bore characteristics of tentacled beings.
Dozens of slender, fleshy tentacles hung around their mouths, the tips gently writhing in the air as if constantly 'tasting' the surrounding scents.
Their eyes were pure black, with no whites or pupils—only an expanse of deep darkness, reflecting a dim and cold luster under the pale purple light.
The surface of their armor was covered with a dark energy coating, and the weapons hanging at their waists had a shape between a gun and a staff, with a faint glow of stored energy flickering at the muzzle.
Two octopus-faced guards stood on a flat rock.
One of them took off his helmet and hung it casually at his waist, revealing a full octopus face.
The tentacles on that face lazily drifted with the breeze from the void, looking more like he was slacking off and sunbathing than standing guard. The other still wore his helmet, arms crossed, black eyes casually scanning the plant people working below. Suddenly, he waved his hand sharply, and a light whip shot out from his armor, striking a plant person. 'Hurry up! Don't slack off!' The scorching light whip burned the contact area on the plant person bright red. Even though the plant person's nervous system was not developed, it still felt pain.
Imperceptible ripples spread through the surrounding air—that was the unique language of the plant people.
Seeing this, the other plant people shook their leaves and branches and quickened their movements a little.
"This batch's collection efficiency is even worse than the last batch."
The octopus-faced guard who had taken off his helmet complained.
When it spoke, the low gurgling sound from beneath its tentacles was like bubbles in water, but translated into standard Planar Common Tongue.
"At this rate, the finished products we can deliver this cycle will be more than twenty percent less than last cycle."
"Let it be less, it's not our fault."
The one wearing the helmet shrugged, his armor's shoulder joints making a slight friction sound.
"The higher-ups also know what this damn place is like. Those branch-heads have such low intelligence they can't even learn to speak; it's good enough that they can work. If anyone's to blame, it's the exploration team for not finding a better plane in the first place."
"When has that exploration team ever been reliable?"
The octopus-faced guard without a helmet flicked a tentacle in disdain.
"Last time they swore, 'It has been confirmed that this plane has no intelligent civilization and is suitable for direct development.' Then as soon as we landed, we saw branch-heads all over the continent. If not for the fact that these natives happen to have a talent for collecting life energy, the higher-ups would have already cleaned this place up. Why would they have us bother here!"
"Bother?"
The helmeted octopus face snorted.
"You're not satisfied sunbathing under ultraviolet light and watching a bunch of plant people farm? Come on, stop complaining. At least this mission has no life-threatening danger, way better than being cannon fodder on the front lines. Just think of it as a paid vacation."
"True."
The octopus-faced guard without a helmet slowly stretched, all his tentacles spreading outward, then lazily drooping back in front of his face. 'Anyway, a few more years and I'll rotate out. When I get back to the homeworld, my first order of business will be to apply for a transfer to a clerical position in the rear colonial department. I never want to see even a single leaf again...'
Before he could finish, he was abruptly cut off by a frantic shout: 'Something big has happened!!'
Another octopus-faced guard was flying over from the direction of the outpost below the hills.
His helmet was tilted to one side, revealing half his face, and the tentacles on that half were all bristled, standing on end as if electrocuted, even the tips turning slightly white from extreme tension.
When he rushed in front of the two, he almost overshot, and it was the bare-headed octopus man who caught him and pulled him back.
When this rushing octopus man looked up, his pure black eyes held only terror.
"Th-the sky!"
He raised a hand, trembling violently, pointing toward the sky, his voice distorted.
"There are two unknown creatures in the sky, breaking through the planar barrier!"