"That is the territory of our Sand Sea School," Hayek said with some pride:
"Although its scale can’t compare with the first two, our light is the most stable and pure."
The pattern revealed within the blue-purple light primarily consists of various element symbols and magic arrays. The symbols for the four basic elements of water, fire, earth, and wind are interwoven and transformed within, occasionally presenting more complex compound element patterns.
"The Sand Sea School specializes in elemental manipulation, so our element projection is the most organized," Yuni explained:
"Unlike other forces that pursue intimidation or a sense of mystery, we focus more on demonstrating academic rigor and the power of knowledge."
Ron carefully observed the projection of light from the Sand Sea School, discovering that it contained extremely rich information.
Those seemingly simple geometric shapes are actually visual representations of profound magical theory. Every change in symbol corresponds to a demonstration of some form of elemental control technique.
Outside the light areas of the three major forces, countless smaller points of light were scattered throughout the night sky.
These light points vary in color and come in all kinds of shapes. Some are gentle white glows, some are deep purple-black, and others show rainbow-like, vibrant hues.
"Those small points of light represent the settlements of various indigenous peoples," Hayek continued to introduce:
"The white light usually indicates the settlements of the Crystal Scale People, who worship light, so their element projection is the purest; the purple-black ones belong to the Nightwalkers, who operate in the dark and have an innate affinity with shadow elements; the colorful lights could be territories of the Multi-faced Race or other hybrid races."
Yuni pointed to a colorful light point that was flashing and changing:
"Look at that, the light keeps changing colors; it should be a large settlement of the Multi-faced Race. Their elemental affinity changes with the environment and emotions, so their projection is dynamic."
As the night deepened, these lights became brighter and clearer.
Ron noticed subtle interactions between the different forces’ lights.
The green light of the Life Tree School occasionally extends some tentacle-like light bands outwards, attempting to reach other areas; the fire light of the Burning Scale Clan roars outwards from time to time; while the blue-purple light of the Sand Sea School always maintains a stable boundary, neither actively engaging with others nor allowing infringements.
"These interactions of light..." Ron observed thoughtfully:
"Do they reflect the actual relations between the forces?"
"Your observation is very keen," Hayek affirmed:
"In the Quicksand Lands, element projection is not only a beautiful landscape but also a direct manifestation of the forces’ strength and intentions. Powerful forces can extend their light further, and adversarial relationships will appear in the collisions of light."
At that moment, a surprising phenomenon suddenly appeared in the night sky.
From the green light of the Life Tree School, a giant flower pattern burst forth.
This flower has dozens of petals, each shining with different life brilliance. As the flower bloomed, the entire night sky was dyed a vibrant green.
"This is..." Ron felt a strong wave of life energy.
"The Life Tree School is conducting a large-scale ritual," Hayek’s expression turned solemn:
"Judging by this scale, they might be attempting some high-tier life transformation experiment."
The flower pattern persisted for a few minutes before slowly dissipating, yet the rich breath of life lingered.
Even those sitting by the observatory window felt their blood flow become more active, and their fatigue somewhat diminished.
"The strength of the Life Tree School..." Ron assessed the energy fluctuation he had just sensed:
"It’s indeed formidable. Even though it has declined, its foundation remains profound."
......
As the night grew deeper, the topic gradually shifted to more specific content.
Hayek took out an ancient parchment from his storage bag, on which complex patterns and runes were drawn.
"This is an ’Elemental Intersection Map.’ " He spread the parchment on the table:
"It records the correspondence between the distribution of dragon bones underground and the elemental nodes in the Quicksand Lands."
Ron leaned in to examine, finding the map’s drafting extremely detailed.
The entire map is based on the topography of the Quicksand Lands, but it particularly marks the subterranean situation.
Lines densely spread underground like veins; these lines vary in thickness and color.
"What do these lines represent?" he asked.
"The dragon bone network," Magnus put down his glass, coming closer:
"The formation of the Quicksand Lands has a special historical background. In the mid-Second Era, this area was the core region of the ’Elemental Fusion’ event."
The elder alchemist’s eyes showed the deep gaze of a historian:
"At that time, powerful elemental turbulence swept through the entire region, causing countless creatures to perish in this disaster. But the most grievous loss was those ancient dragon species."
He pointed to the thickest lines on the diagram:
"Ancient dragons of fire, water, earth, wind... almost every major dragon race bloodline had a representative strong one that fell here. Their bones buried underground, over a millennium, became integrated with this land."
Yuni supplemented: "Dragon Species are naturally elementally affine races, in whose skeletons contain pure elemental essence. When these bones formed a network underground, they created countless elemental convergence points."