Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

Though the Great World Tree claimed the deciphering would take three days, the actual process took him a full half month.

The internal structure of this cross-border communication device mainly uses the technology from the Predecessor Civilization Alliance, but the modified part happens to relate to the information storage of the device.

If it weren't for the Great World Tree's continuous truth exploration and knowledge enhancement over the years, this machine would have likely required the powerful Dominators from the Wizard Alliance to handle.

...

The Great World Tree extracted a tiny nodule from the cross-border communication device that had been dismantled into parts.

His hand produced sprouts as delicate white fibers connected to the nodule, continuously inputting energy into it.

Soon, a layer of fluorescence appeared on the surface of the nodule, and the internal information stored started flowing into the Great World Tree through the fibers.

"It's done."

The Great World Tree breathed a sigh of relief, speaking with liberation.

"Although this creature changed the storage medium, the new technology it used is still that of a former extinct civilization."

Richard nodded slightly and then quickly asked, "What are the coordinates of this communicator?"

"Don't rush, let me carefully translate them."

The Great World Tree closed his eyes in deep thought, as the information from the nodule continuously collided in his mind, transforming into streams of coordinate data.

"a4561, b4587, c7584... How could this world be here!"

Suddenly, the Great World Tree exclaimed in surprise during the translation of coordinates. Richard immediately asked, "Which world is this?"

The Great World Tree opened his eyes, overrun with disbelief.

"This coordinate belongs to the mother world of the Ghost Horror Clan, the real mother world! This place is constantly watched by the Netherworld and Phantoms, how could it be infected?"

While the Great World Tree had suspected the Ghost Horror Clan might be traitors, when the facts were right in front of him, he still felt a wave of incredulity.

The Netherworld Dominator, an entity prouder and even arrogant, hadn't shown the slightest weakness even against the mental enslavement of the Curse Demon Emperor of the Curse Demon Empire before breaking limits.

How could such a being collaborate with the Civilization Devourer!?

But just as the Great World Tree was shocked, he suddenly heard a burst of laughter.

A burst of Richard's laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

Richard suddenly laughed, and within that laughter, the Great World Tree detected a hint of mockery.

"As expected, in the end, it was traced back to the Ghost Horror Clan."

Upon hearing this, the Great World Tree was momentarily stunned.

"You anticipated this early on?"

Richard stopped laughing, and his gaze towards the Great World Tree was filled with wisdom.

"I indeed had some suspicions, but actually confirming this news was somewhat unexpected. The Ghost Horror Clan, barring any major mishap, should not have any issues. But if we investigate, we'll definitely find problems."

The Great World Tree was puzzled by Richard's words.

"What do you mean by saying the Ghost Horror Clan probably has no issues, but if we investigate, we'll certainly find problems?"

Richard organized his thoughts and slowly explained: "What I mean is, the Ghost Horror Clan most likely hid something in their mother world, and this thing is related to that creature, the Civilization Devourer.

However, this thing did not affect the Ghost Horror Clan; the Ghost Horror Clan is normal."

The Great World Tree was stuck in confusion again, unable to understand how Richard came to such a conclusion.

Logically, from the intelligence he currently has and the Ghost Horror Clan's behavior, they seem to have already been marked as traitors.

Richard smiled slightly and shared Ulysses's observations.

Upon hearing this, the Great World Tree involuntarily trembled with shock.

"If you hadn't secretly sent someone to investigate, wouldn't we have been completely trapped by that traitor?"

The traitor had precisely calculated that the Mechanical Dominator would invite Richard to inspect the pollution and anticipated that Richard would discover the Tide Spirit Chamber of Commerce. He further predicted that Richard would recognize the cross-border communication device and decipher the information within it.

As long as Richard could decipher the information within, the coordinates concerning the mother world of the Ghost Horror Clan would certainly be discovered.

And if the Ghost Horror Clan indeed hid the Civilization Devourer's object in the mother world, regardless of whether they agreed to the investigation, they would draw suspicion onto themselves.

By then, all it would take is a created opportunity for Richard to sneak into the mother world of the Ghost Horror Clan and "accidentally" discover that thing.

The Ghost Horror Clan would then be burdened with the accusation of betrayal.

"Isn't that the plan?" Richard said quietly, "If no actions outside the plan are taken, then we are completely at the mercy of others' calculations.

But alas, what plans dread the most are variables."

The Great World Tree looked at Richard: "What do you intend to do?"

Richard smiled slightly: "Since they set the stage for us, why not go along with it? Their calculations surely don't end with just targeting the Ghost Horror Clan.

Dirty water is dirty water, as long as the Ghost Horror Clan is indeed clean, clearing them of suspicion later won't be problematic.

I suspect their real target isn't the Ghost Horror Clan; the Ghost Horror Clan is merely a disguise, and their true intentions lie elsewhere."

The Great World Tree scratched his head and snapped off the branches that had grown in astonishment.

"Oh, after being idle for so many years, my brain really has turned into wooden thinking."

Richard laughed heartily: "These twists and turns are mere trifles; this place isn't your battleground."

"Then you clean these things up, prepare, and I'll hold the second meeting."

"How many coordinates are there?"

"...A considerable number, twenty-three, but I feel this number is certainly not the limit."

Richard sighed and stood up.

"Ah, what a bother."

...

Boom!

The golden Miracle Fire blazed fiercely under the sea, instantly incinerating an entire undersea city. The Furnace Men and Titans within were all consumed as part of the Miracle Fire.

Richard silently watched all of this, his gaze exceptionally calm.

Even though he could hear the wails of the Furnace Men and Titans clearly, his mind remained unmoved.

They were just Puppets and phantoms of the past.

The traces of the Civilization Devourers must be eradicated.

Soon, the city turned to nothingness. Richard recalled the map, a hint of relief appearing on his face.

"Finally done."

It took Richard almost half a year to clear away these worlds. During this time, he constantly discovered cross-border communication devices, continually extracting new coordinates from them.

And as Richard expected, all of these communication devices contained the coordinates of the Ghost Horror Clan's mother world.

Even a fool could see that something was surely wrong with the mother world of the Ghost Horror Clan.

Meanwhile, Ulysses' investigation was also deepening.

Ulysses traced back through the Tide Spirit Trade Consortium and found that its management structure was extremely complex, with one manager above another, and one boss above another.

Following the chain of command upward, he uncovered a trade consortium alliance whose sphere of influence just happened to cover these worlds being cleansed.

Moreover, even as their subordinate worlds were being cleared by Richard, the operation of this consortium showed no issues, as if their supplies were growing directly out of warehouses.

This anomaly almost branded the Civilization Devourers' minions label right on their faces.

Both Richard and Ulysses felt that they were only one step away from the truth.

With the clearance complete, Richard pulled a palm-sized sapling bonsai from his pocket.

This was an avatar of the Great World Tree, holding a fraction of its soul-splitting within.

Richard spoke to the bonsai: "145, the clearance is complete. Prepare to convene the Federal Meeting."

"So soon? Alright, I'll notify them to convene the Federal Meeting."

"Have you contacted him?"

"I have, and he's agreed to cooperate."

The communication ended, Richard placed the bonsai back into his pocket, and turned to leave this world, entering the Miracle Dimension.

In the dimension, a duplicate of Richard was engaged in personality editing on a Titan's soul, with books on personality and soul towering above him.

These books came from the Wizard Alliance, and as technical exchange agreements were reached, the internal wariness towards technological exchange within the Alliance gradually loosened.

Wizards opened the Predecessor Civilization Library to other civilizations within the Alliance, and other civilizations offered up their most guarded technologies in return.

The more they interacted with the Civilization Devourers, the more cautious the Wizard Alliance became towards them.

Under the pressure of the Civilization Devourers, the Wizard Alliance's possessive mindset was vanishing, replaced by collective advancement.

Survival is the primary motivator.

Richard approached the Titan and took over the duplicate's work.

This Dominator-level Puppet body was much more useful than his own duplicate, with the aid of the thought module, Richard's efficiency in personality editing increased severalfold.

The meeting wasn't scheduled to be convened for some time, just enough time for him to rush some work.

The duplicate being relieved wasn't idle either, and, while Puppet Richard was editing personalities, he began his research in Soul Study.

Altering soul structure and enhancing soul computation was also on Richard's agenda.

Seven days later, Richard received word from the Great World Tree that the Federal Meeting was reconvening.

And this time, the meeting's theme was…the contamination of the Civilization Devourers.

...

In front of the Council Hall, the dominators who had gathered not long ago for another meeting were reunited once more.

But compared to their earlier amicable gathering, this time, every Dominator could feel an undercurrent flowing among them.

Suddenly, a Dimension Gate opened, and Youming stepped out with an unruffled expression.

"Ha, looks like I'm last this time," Youming laughed.

The Great World Tree glanced at him and replied, "Let's start the meeting, we're all familiar faces here, no need to waste time like last time."

As they entered the hall, the Dominators took their seats, with the arrangement no different from the last meeting.

Youming sat in his seat, his blood-red eyes suddenly narrowing.

His intuition told him that something was off in the Council Hall.

The Great World Tree sat at the head seat, as direct and straightforward as before: "The theme of this meeting is the contamination of the Civilization Devourers. Recently, this Alchemy Wizard has found multiple places within our Natural Federation where contamination has spread.

And in these contaminated zones, he's found a particular set of coordinates.

This set of coordinates appeared multiple times, and I personally decrypted it, so its authenticity is beyond doubt."

As he spoke, the Great World Tree's eyes were fixed firmly on the Netherworld Dominator across from him.

"Youming, why do the coordinates of your Ghost Horror Clan's mother world frequently appear in the cross-border communication devices of the Civilization Devourers' minions?"