He continued to dig until he reached below the ground, and there appeared before him a hole about three feet deep, finally finding the most valuable treasure in this maze.

As he held the harvest in his hands, he confirmed his previous speculation, discovering that the seemingly still hatchable golden egg was what kept this small world in order.

"Taking it to market to sell would be too wasteful. I'll wait for the day you hatch and see what kind of surprise you bring," he said softly.

After dusting off the eggshell, Wang Xiaole cradled the egg in his hands and kissed its surface gently.

Crack, crack, crack, crack!

Just then, the egg began to tremble from the inside out, further proof that a living small life resided within.

To ensure the egg's safety, he utilized the magic pocket given to him by Lucia.

This item functioned like a storage ring, capable of holding many things inside.

After placing the egg inside, he manually adjusted the temperature within the pocket, setting it to a "constant temperature" environment.

Setting this temperature required some contemplation.

From the fact that it was buried underground but still had not lost its life, Wang Xiaole deduced that the egg possessed an incredibly strong vitality.

On a deeper level:

The lower temperature beneath the ground could not hatch this egg.

He hadn't heard of any animal that required a temperature lower than that to hatch, so he chose to raise the temperature.

A constant temperature environment would be best, neither too high nor too low, presumably most conducive to the golden egg's growth.

After resolving the issue of the harvest, Wang Xiaole noticed the details he had doubted before:

Was the interior of the maze really an illusionary world?

Obviously not, because the Great Demon possessed self-awareness, and the egg was not an illusion created.

Based on these two points, Wang Xiaole already believed that the illusory nature inside the maze was only part of it, interwoven with a significant amount of reality.

This led to another question:

If Le Song, at his level, couldn't create a small world with reality, then how to explain this maze?

After considering several possibilities, Wang Xiaole finally came up with a more reasonable speculation:

If we understand "illusion" as the maze and "reality" as the small world, we can draw the following conclusion:

The "illusion" created by Le Song has been unconsciously linked to "reality" since the beginning.

The maze is like a shoddy building on the surface of the "ground" (reality);

While the small world is an ancient building that has long existed, located on the underground level of the "ground" (reality).

Le Song, like a slick salesman, lures guests (trapped individuals) into the above-ground layer and tries to make sure they cannot escape.

Among the many trapped individuals, some couldn't find the exit, some were about to find it but took the wrong path;

And included in them were a few who, in their search, entered the "underground level."

However, until now, no one had realized the fundamental difference between the small world and the maze.

In fact, including the maze, the areas connected in the first three levels were all illusions.

But starting from the fourth level, the trapped individuals arrived at a truly existing world.

The reason for their connection is not complicated, merely because their locations are very close.

After the two are connected, the interior of the maze undergoes certain changes.

First, the "local creatures" led by the Great Demon gradually accepted their new identities over time, becoming the "inhabitants" of the maze.

Secondly, the number of levels in the maze increased.

In fact, the maze initially had only three levels;

Otherwise, it could not explain why the detested treasure chest did not appear right after the fourth level;

Le Song's original intention was to construct only three levels for the maze. Still, even he did not notice:

Since the integration with the small world, two more levels were added to the maze, namely the "chess level" where the Great Demon acted as an opponent, and the void level.

The reason the Great Demon, not a creation of Le Song, is willing to play the role of trapping others in the palace is mostly just because "it's fun";

For this demonic race that loves chess, if the maze didn't occasionally send unlucky fellows, it would have turned into a fossil out of boredom.

From a different perspective:

Although the Great Demon in some ways acts as an obstacle in front of the trapped, it does not strictly adhere to the maze's function, or it would not have provided a warning earlier.

As a being that has lived here for some time and can move freely, the Great Demon is acutely aware:

Due to the more thorough integration, the default conditions for escaping the maze have also changed.

Originally, after the third level, the trapped individuals had the opportunity to find the archway and easily leave when they found the exit.

Because of this unpredictable variable, the difficulty of returning to the original world drastically increased;

Had it not been for the warning Wang Xiaole received, he would have almost fallen into the trap.

Of course, there were some benefits.

Wang Xiaole could ascertain:

Le Song was unaware of the truth about the small world; otherwise, he would never have let this golden egg fall into his hands, and Wang Xiaole would not have obtained this crucial harvest.

Speculation only led to the solution of some enigmas.

Initially, Wang Xiaole thought the culprit who destroyed the teleportation array was Le Song;

However, based on the information he now possessed, it was evident that the destroyer was someone else.

Furthermore:

Where did the small world come from?

Since this region truly existed, who were the ones who built it as a habitable place?

Or, were those guys truly human?

This was not a derogatory remark; Wang Xiaole considered the existence of multiple races on the continent and reasonably doubted:

It was possible that beings other than humans had previously lived in this place.

For example, the Dragon clan, the Merfolk, and perhaps even...

Boom!

Just as he delved into his thoughts, the debris of the surrounding land suddenly shattered without warning.

He reflexively turned around and discovered that beyond the archway, the area was unaffected, with only the void on the brink of collapse.

"Is it because I took this egg?" Wang Xiaole wondered.

Indeed, the golden egg was the key to the existence of this area.

Once it left its original position, the void lost its only condition to sustain, and total collapse was only a matter of time.

If someone didn't want to be buried with this place, action needed to be taken now.

Setting aside numerous distractions, Wang Xiaole focused on the present moment, leaping back to the mainland with the teleportation array.

From his mind, he quickly compared the standard settings of the teleportation array and, based on the size and position of the cornerstone, placed it in the array's specific direction.

Immediately, a divine light radiated from him;

Compared to other magical and holy powers, this force was best suited for creation.

Repair equated creation, as he used materials and shaping magic to restore the teleportation array's damaged part to complete functionality.

After any remaining damage disappeared, he carefully checked multiple times in his consciousness.

After making slight adjustments where necessary and finding no other anomalies, he proceeded to restart the repaired teleportation array.

With the push of divine power, the array started operating again.

A special force distorted the surrounding space, converging it into a conspicuous orb in the sky.

As the orb expanded and reached its maximum size, Wang Xiaole stepped into it;

At the same moment, the land he stood on just a second ago split and crumbled into pieces...

At this moment, outside the royal capital in the city, Song, who was temporarily reeling from the blow, began to regain his composure.

The current Song was not idle; in his mind, he repeatedly expressed apologies to the girl he cared about.

"Swearing by the honor of an Inran gentleman, I had no intention of trapping a lady forever, but due to my position, I had to do some excessive things," he said fervently.

Formerly, Song didn't care much about those whom he sent into the maze.

While he held goodwill towards the common folks, it didn't mean he would unconditionally forgive all his enemies.

One could understand it as:

He's a good person, but not a pushover.

This middle-aged man who knew his limits had an unusual lapse this time.

The questions posed by the treasure chest in the maze largely reflected his inner turmoil.

If Song had intended to be difficult, he wouldn't ask about topics that only matchmakers would dare touch but rather offer some genuinely frustrating questions.

The last time he sent someone into the maze, the person was asked to answer the following question:

Which came first in this world, the chicken, or the egg?

It was irritating just to think about it, right?

Compared to that, the questions Wang Xiaole faced were hardly different from easy scoring questions.

The decision not to engage in meaningless difficulties was primarily due to Song's attitude.

This marshal's plan hoped that in the face of difficulties, Wang Xiaole would just give up, content with today's achievements, and not create further trouble for himself;

Even if that lady didn't give up, it would be best if she stayed a little longer in the maze.

Once his subordinates captured the royal capital of Muyulan Kingdom, Song would release Wang Xiaole and offer a sincere apology.

These conflicting actions resembling a split personality and the extra tenderness towards that person revealed an easily discernible fact:

Song was in love!

After enchanting the hearts of young girls, she inadvertently captivated men, too.

"How can I make the lady accept my apology?" Song pondered.

As the lovestruck older man fell into unnecessary troubles, a burst of bright light suddenly erupted from the void.

In that split second of narrowed eyes, the quick-thinking Song almost guessed what he was about to face next.

"Never have I loathed my identity this much, but... alas, there's no other way!" Song stood up from where he sat, arched his right palm, gripped the weapon he carried, and swiftly formed a sharp posture.

Snap!

As if the void were being cut, a figure emerged from the bright light, accompanied by a fragrant breeze, delivering a gift called "Blade Edge."