"Do you know what kind of existence your world is?" Yukari Yakumo gave her a lingering look. This girl understood certain things better than anyone, yet she knew absolutely nothing about some of the things right beside her, things that were plainly there for her to see. Yukari needed to establish exactly what Chu Lian knew and what she didn't before she could continue the conversation.
"My world? Hmm, it should be a world with an extremely high energy level, since it clearly produces more powerful individuals than other worlds. And then... Hmm, there's also the fact that we're connected to quite a few worlds, probably because..." Because of what, exactly? She wasn't entirely sure herself. So she still hadn't found the answer to that question?
"Looks like you don't know anything, or rather, you've never taken the initiative to investigate this world. Although I haven't been here very long, one thing has left a particularly deep impression on me. This place of yours is exceptionally suitable for living in, especially for powerful individuals. It makes the strong stronger without leaving the weak any weaker. To tell you the truth, it's even better than Gensokyo." Yukari gently opened the folding fan in her hand and waved it back and forth. She had already given her previous fan, the Fan of Silence, to Chu Lian. The one she was holding now was newly made.
"Then tell me what's going on." Chu Lian didn't argue. After all, if she was being fair, she really did know next to nothing. It was only natural for Yukari to say that about her.
"Do you know which worlds your world is connected to?" Rather than answering directly, Yukari steered the conversation in another direction.
Although somewhat puzzled, Chu Lian considered the question before answering. "As far as I know, there's the Cultivation World, the Otherside, Hell, the Abyss, Heaven Beyond Heaven, the Shadow Plane, the Purgatory Plane, and the Underworld. I'm not too sure about the rest, since those are the only ones I've encountered."
Yukari's question was rather pointed, but Chu Lian had experienced quite a lot by now. She had long since developed some understanding of which other worlds her own was connected to.
Among those around her, the black demonic shadow that had previously possessed Kurosaki Satsuki came from the Abyss. The army of Hell summoned by the Heavenly Demons also proved that Hell was connected to this world. Where souls wandered after death, an Underworld must naturally exist.
Tina could slip into the Shadow Plane, and Chu Lian had also learned of the Purgatory Plane some time ago. Then there was the Otherside, which had opposed her ever since she first appeared in this world, followed by the true Cultivation World, whose existence she had only recently discovered.
Finally, there was the utterly mysterious Heaven Beyond Heaven. The woman she had met on Mount Li, along with Qin Shi Huang and the others, should have come from there.
Counting them up, she already knew of eight worlds connected to her own. There might well be many more she knew nothing about.
"Not bad. You actually know about that many Major Worlds. Major Worlds are different from Minor Worlds. A Minor World is something like that gloomy world where you summoned me to attack your enemies before. It might be a small world separated from another space, or it might simply have an energy level too low to support strong world barriers or a large territory. Most importantly, a Minor World is connected to one other world, and only one."
Yukari had fully entered lecture mode, transforming from Yukari the schemer into the considerate Big Sister Yukari, ready to clear up Chu Lian's confusion.
"Major Worlds include the Cultivation World, the Otherside, the Underworld, and the Purgatory Plane that you mentioned. A Major World is one connected to a relatively large number of other worlds, with immeasurable boundaries and exceptionally high energy density, yet it can establish its closest and most direct relationship with only one other world."
"Beyond those are Boundless Worlds, such as Hell, the Abyss, Heaven Beyond Heaven, and the Shadow Plane. A Boundless World is one connected to more than fifty percent of all worlds in the dimensional universe, allowing direct passage to those places. Such worlds might merely serve as transit hubs, and their energy levels might not be particularly high compared to others, but they are extraordinarily important."
"As for your world, I can clearly sense more than ten thousand Minor Worlds connected to it, around ten Major Worlds, and no fewer than eight Boundless Worlds. Of course, these are merely figures anyone at my level of strength can detect, so the information isn't particularly valuable. In fact, almost any world that has produced a powerful individual capable of mastering Laws can be considered a Major World. And if a world has produced powerful individuals who have touched the power of Rules, those beings commonly called gods, then once enough of them have accumulated, it will automatically become a Boundless World."
Everything Yukari said was fascinating. At the very least, Chu Lian was completely absorbed in her explanation. Yet despite everything Yukari had said, she still hadn't gotten around to explaining Chu Lian's own world, which only made her more curious.
"Then what about my world?" After waiting for Yukari to finish, Chu Lian finally asked.
"This world should be considered one of the highest categories of worlds, a Myriad Worlds Nexus." Yukari didn't answer immediately. Instead, she accepted the tea Yuyuko handed her, took a sip, and only then spoke.
Doing her best not to focus on Yuyuko, who had already devoured half the food, or on the subtle interaction between Reimu and Sakuya Izayoi, Chu Lian fixed her gaze firmly on Yukari. She needed to know what this meant.
"A Myriad Worlds Nexus? Does that mean it's connected to countless worlds?" Yukari's words reminded Chu Lian of something she had told Li Xiu'er and the others at King's Cross Station in England. Hadn't that been roughly what she meant back then?
"Yes, and no." Yukari set down her teacup and took a bite of the pastry Yuyuko had been about to put into her own mouth. Ignoring Yuyuko's coquettish protest, she turned back to Chu Lian and continued. "I say that because this world is indeed connected to every other world, but those connections haven't been fully activated. All those passages are currently dormant. Awakening them would require an infinite amount of energy to open them up."
Feeling as though she had just been subjected to an outrageous display of affection, Chu Lian maintained an attentive expression while listening to Yukari, but inwardly she was already complaining. Could these two thousand-year-old women stop showing off their love everywhere they go?! Still, what Yukari was saying really was worth taking seriously, even if Chu Lian didn't think she was capable of resolving the problem herself.
"An infinite amount of energy... I don't know just how much energy would count as infinite by your standards. Do you?" Chu Lian pondered for a moment, still unable to understand what Yukari meant by it. Compared to Yukari, she was still a newcomer to the world of cultivation. If the explanation became too complicated, she simply wouldn't understand.
"Infinite. Without end. Something that can never truly be completed." Yukari shook her head, narrowed her eyes, and looked at the girl. "But you know, young lady, even so, that doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing we can do."
"An infinite amount of energy means that even draining every world of all its energy might not be enough. So what exactly can we do?" Chu Lian wasn't stupid. She could tell that Yukari had come to see her this time because she needed something from her. If Yukari wanted to ask her for a favor, then she would first have to hear what it involved.
"Open the energy passages to different types of worlds one by one, channel their various forms of energy, and then combine them into a self-sustaining, inexhaustible energy source that can be used to open the remaining passages." Yukari sat up straight. This time, she had genuinely come on serious business. Whatever credit she might receive if the plan succeeded was secondary. What mattered most was finding a world that Gensokyo could rely upon. That was her ultimate objective.
Originally, she had entertained no such idea. But after arriving in this world, she had made up her mind to relocate Gensokyo here. It might prove extremely difficult, but if it succeeded, the benefits to both herself and Gensokyo would be tremendous. That was why she wouldn't back down, even if accomplishing it meant asking others for help.
"So that's what this is about. Then what exactly would we need to do?" Chu Lian had already begun making her own calculations. If she wasn't mistaken, this was probably the reason Yukari had sought her out.
"Travel to twelve different worlds. Three Minor Worlds without supernatural abilities, three Spirit-rank Minor Worlds, three Earth-rank Minor Worlds, and three Heaven-rank Major Worlds. Finally, conquer a Boundless World with no restrictions on power. Once we've connected the energy from all these worlds and fused it together, we'll be able to create a self-sustaining energy source. It won't be the kind of overwhelming, infinite energy supply that could force everything open at once, but we have a very, very long time to accomplish this."
Chu Lian's eyes had been shining ever since Yukari began explaining the plan. If this really was possible, what would her world become once they succeeded?
"Although I'd really like to agree, would the powerful people of this world allow us to do something like that? Wouldn't they revolt? And would doing this harm the world itself? Wouldn't the world's consciousness try to stop us?" Chu Lian wanted to accept, but she needed to settle these questions before she could act.
"Don't worry. With me, your father, and a few old friends around, no one will oppose you over this. As for the world's consciousness, as long as you don't harm her, she won't interfere in something like this. In fact, if we're being precise, she'll support you, because once you succeed, she'll become a supreme existence herself. So go ahead and do whatever you need to without fear. We'll always be there to support you."
As Chu Lian was pondering the matter, her mother's gentle voice rang out through the living room. It seemed that although Li Mingxue had left, she had been paying close attention to everything happening here.
"Nothing left to worry about now?" Seeing Chu Lian breathe a sigh of relief, Yukari also let go of the concern in her heart. It seemed that if she asked Chu Lian to undertake this task, there shouldn't be any problem.
"Why choose me?" This was the last thing Chu Lian couldn't understand.
"Because among everyone I know, you're the only one capable of doing it." Yukari smiled faintly. Her eyes seemed capable of seeing right through Chu Lian, yet she didn't explain the specific reason. Chu Lian, however, already had a fairly good idea. It's probably because of the system, right?
"What do I get out of it if I agree?" After all, there ought to be some reward for doing all that work, right?
Hearing this, Yukari stood up and walked over to Chu Lian. She extended a hand, hooked a finger beneath the girl's chin, and lifted it. Her golden eyes gazed into Chu Lian's own, which were as deep as black holes, for a long, long time. Then she leaned close to Chu Lian's ear and whispered a reward that the girl simply couldn't refuse.
Chu Lian's eyes widened, and she became somewhat dazed. Only after Yukari withdrew did she manage to swallow with difficulty and ask in a trembling voice, "What you said... Is it true? You won't go back on your word?"
"What I told you is the truth. Otherwise, why would I have brought them along?" Yukari smiled faintly, finally convincing Chu Lian that she wasn't joking.
"Also, you're welcome to keep summoning me over whenever you like. And if you need anything, you can ask Yuuka and the others for help as well. Of course, you'll first have to persuade them to lend you a hand. Ultimately, though, you'll still have to rely on yourself to accomplish all this..."
Only after Yukari finished speaking did the system's long-overdue notification finally sound.
[Ultimate Quest—The Gathering Place of Myriad Worlds activated...]