The Owner woke up to see the Elder attentively examining the dozen or so blades of grass they had collectively willed into existence. It was far from the luscious foliage he had imagined, but it was there, proof that the Mystery was capable of altering reality.

  However, before he could celebrate, he noticed something about them felt off. Focusing, he sent a series of continuous vibrations through the earth, trying to get a clearer image of what he saw, but he only ended up more confused.

  He knew what vibrations that were bounced back by grass felt like, but the ones he was receiving now were unusually muted, as if only half of them had collided with the material. It was hard to describe, but it felt as if the grass simultaneously was and wasn't there.

  The Elder had apparently noticed the same thing as him, as he called on another member of his group to come over and try to touch the grass. He did not know what to expect, but he was definitely surprised to see it's limbs pass right through them as if they weren't there. Even stranger, he could still sense both the grass and the tentacle. Somehow, his tremor sense was telling them that both objects were occupying the exact same space at the same time.

  The Owners tentacles twitched, one of them snaking towards the Mystery while he raised the others, assuming a defensive posture. He had learned long ago that when something didn't make sense, it usually meant that danger was about to strike.

  "Thank you number 26. You have been most helpful, but you can go now. We will wait for number 3 to wake up before continuing our test."

  Then, without waiting for a response, the Elder dragged himself toward the Owner, until they were close enough that they could talk without anyone else overhearing.

  "Do you understand what we are trying to do?"

  Instead of answering, the Owner forced the Elder to continue backing away, until he felt safe that he would be able to react to anything the magical grass could do. It was only when he was asked a second time that he truly took the time to think about what all this meant, and that he stared at the Elder in awe.

  "You are trying to see if we can hide our tracks! You want to use the Mystery to perfect our camouflage so that prey never stops coming to our traps. But... that would mean there would be no more need for us to migrate every few weeks, where so many are dying of thirst and exhaustion."

  "Good, good. It seems that although your imagination is slightly underwhelming, you still have vision. Yes, almost all of our brethren die during our perilous migrations. Imagine how much our race would grow if they were no longer needed. Of course, we are still far from that point, but I have faith that by working together, you and number 3 will find a way to make my dream a reality."

  "Me and number 3? Aren't you going to help? You are the Elder, surely you would be better at this than us. Besides, isn't it your dream? What's going on?"

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  "I will always be here, ready to give you advice and help you in whatever way you need, but ultimately this will be your project. The opportunity for two of our talents to work together and learn is far more valuable to our species than the time we would gain if I took over this project."

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  Avery didn't pay much attention to their conversations, too preoccupied by the shocking changes occurring in the virtual world.

  The instant the three Sil'piceus had used the new rune to make an illusion, it had shocked the world, ushering in a mysterious transformation. He wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but he could see the entire virtual world lighting up, shaking and growing wildly.

  It wasn't affecting anything inside the world itself, rather it was the very foundation of the world that was being refined and expanded upon. The laws were getting clearer, and their interactions were getting more intricate. The virtual Tao was getting more closely aligned with the true Tao, and the visualization was becoming more "real".

  The world was advancing, whatever that meant.

  As far as Avery could tell, the reason for this advancement was that through the Mystery, the creatures had started harnessing the power of the Tao. This was the beginning of a new age, where spiritual powers would flood the mundane world. What confused him was why all of the times the Owner had used the Mystery in the last decade did not qualify as an advancement opportunity.

  However, all those questions soon disappeared from his mind as he understood what a great opportunity this was.

  The world was sublimating, and to its creator, it felt like all of its most profound truths were laid bare, and all of the complex mysteries had become ridiculously simple.

  Just a look was enough for countless insights to rise up in his mind, and he could feel his understanding skyrocketing, each second equal in enlightenment equal to months of normal cultivation.

  It was a pity it was ultimately a fake Tao, unworthy of being compared to the real thing, but for Avery, who was technically still a mortal, it was still one of the greatest opportunities he might ever get.

  However, if Avery had learned something about heavenly opportunities that sounded too good to be true, it was that they always had crippling drawbacks that made you wish you had been able to restrain yourself.

  This was why he did not look to the most obtuse laws, like the laws of Life and Death, or indeed any of the 3000 Daos. Instead, he studied mysteries of the Sil'piceus race, and more specifically the new Rune they had created. He knew it had no equivalent in the real world, and as such would probably not help his cultivation, but this was precisely why he chose to focus on it.

  If it ended up being harmful, he could just abandon it and he would not be losing anything. However, if he tainted his understanding of real laws with false truths coming from a Tao simulacrum, he feared that he would end up cultivating this false Truth, and forever lose the opportunity to reach the Tao.

  If what he learned here turned out to be incompatible with the true Tao, he could end up losing all of his progress, as well as his connection to the Tao.

  He considered the chances of that happening to be extremely slim, but the Tao was just too important to him, and he was not prepared to take this risk. Even if the Sil'piceus rune would not help his cultivation directly, it would still expand his knowledge, and he would be able to use it as a reference, greatly improving his speed of cultivation.

  Besides that, he also hoped to use this new understanding to drive the world in his visualization and be able to engrave runes again.