Chapter 453 - 437: Exclusive! The Hidden Clearing Strategy for the Star Grottoes
"Eye of Destiny, acquire intelligence!"
[BEEP... BEEP...]
[Compiling intelligence...]
[Searching. Confirming detailed coordinates... Search successful. Summarizing intelligence... Intelligence report generated:]
[The Cave of the Stars]
[Like lost pearls scattered across the vast cosmos, 3.13 million Star Caves have formed within a 3,000-light-year expanse of the Star Sea—this is the Cave of the Stars. From the Star Domain where the Cave of the Stars resides, a prosperous, advanced civilization has emerged, known as the Star Cave Civilization, with Treasure Star at its core.]
[Within the Cave of the Stars, every Star Cave is connected to a Secret Realm.]
[These Secret Realms hold either treasures or dangers.]
[The sheer number of Secret Realms has shattered the stability of space in this region. Within this 3,000-light-year Star Domain, it is impossible to use any Spatial Ability, travel through the Dark Cosmos or deep space, or use Space Secret Treasures.]
[Unless three necessary conditions are met.]
[1. Possess a status that rivals, or at least approaches, that of a divine being, in order to resist the suppression from the 3 million Star Caves.]
[2. Have Spiritual Power potent enough to forcibly stabilize space.]
[3. Have a physical body resilient enough to directly withstand the damage from spatial tearing.]
[The number of beings in the Vast Star Sea who can satisfy all three conditions simultaneously can be counted on one hand. However, if one is willing to pay the price—ignoring the immense damage from spiritual and physical tearing—the requirements for conditions 2 and 3 can be somewhat relaxed.]
[But remember: always hold the universe in reverence.]
[Even a deeply experienced Pillar Stone faces the risk of perishing in the depths of the Star Caves.]
Shi Ming read the intelligence report three times. At his will, the words slowly faded away.
The Cave of the Stars.
’Even a pseudo-god would be suppressed here!’
’But as long as I meet those three conditions, I can ignore the suppression!’
’Status! Spiritual Power! Physical resilience!’
’The requirements for the latter two can be lowered if I’m willing to pay the price, but having a status comparable to a divine being is the absolute priority. I have the Eye of the Divine from the Divine Remains... does that satisfy the status requirement?’
’If it does, then with my formidable Spiritual Power, I’d only need to meet the physical resilience requirement. Wouldn’t I be able to move through the Cave of the Stars like a fish in water?’
’Doesn’t that mean I could easily reach the very core of the Star Cave region and explore that untouched, virgin territory without spending hundreds or even thousands of years?’
’Brilliant!’
For now, it was just a hypothesis that needed to be tested—but not yet.
The Dayun was cruising through the Star Sea at a conventional speed of 800 km/h. It had not yet left the surveillance range of Treasure Star, and Shi Ming certainly wasn’t about to run an experiment under these conditions.
But once he traveled a little deeper, he could put some of his ideas into practice.
"Three-Eyes, pick up the pace."
The Three-Eyed Golden Crow was currently piloting the drifter. For the first time, Shi Ming felt that the speed of a Star-Cluster-class drifter was unbelievably slow—a true snail’s pace. He had to admire the extraordinary perseverance of those beings who endured centuries or even millennia of solitude just to explore the deepest reaches of the Cave of the Stars.
Compared to them, Shi Ming knew he couldn’t do the same.
Upon reaching the Nirvana rank, even a human—not naturally a long-lived species—could gain a lifespan rivaling that of a Great Black Heaven Dragon. But to travel in solitude through the Star Sea for a thousand years? That was tantamount to a millennium in prison. The endless loneliness alone was enough to drive someone mad.
Shi Ming wasn’t one to endure hardship for its own sake.
After all, his true age was only just over twenty.
...
The Dayun traveled through the Star Cave region for three days and three nights.
Along the way, Shi Ming passed two Star Caves. Being so close to the normal Star Domain, their treasures and all other value had already been fully exploited, leaving them as empty husks. There was no reason to enter.
Still, Shi Ming took the opportunity to get a feel for these strange celestial bodies from up close.
He also used the Eye of Destiny to acquire more intelligence on them.
Unlike Wormholes and Black Holes, a "Star Cave’s" exterior is a colorful nebula condensed into a solid, while its interior is a semi-liquid substance that is just barely traversable. The overall appearance is a bit like a sliced, soft-yolk century egg.
Their sizes varied.
The largest Star Caves were nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter, while the smallest were only three or four meters across.
However, the size of the space within a Star Cave had no relation to its external diameter. A Star Cave only three or four meters wide might connect to a space hundreds of kilometers across. Conversely, a Star Cave with a diameter of nearly a hundred kilometers might only contain an interior the size of a single mountain.
’After we travel a little farther, I’ll try using the method provided by the Eye of Destiny to force our way into the Dark Cosmos.’
’I’ll use it to test if my status is sufficient, and see how far my Spiritual Power and physical strength are from the threshold for travel.’
Another half-day of travel passed.
The Dayun entered an uninhabited Star Domain.
Shi Ming sent his Spiritual Power radiating outward. Within its range, he detected no living beings, nor any form of surveillance.
"Ah Jian, Three-Eyes, come closer to me."
He recalled his Spiritual Power, enveloping the entire Dayun. Then, he focused it on himself and activated the source of his Nirvana skill, [Borer], attempting to counteract the spatial suppression and force an entry into the Dark Cosmos.
’Status... no problem.’
’Spiritual Power... no problem.’
’Physical strength...’
HISS...
Shi Ming bore the full brunt of the pressure. In the process, a gash tore open on his left arm. The power of the Life Sanctuary inside him rapidly set to work, healing the wound in an instant.
’It’s far from enough... but there might be a way...’
"Black Tortoise Shield!"
"Immortal Sanctuary!"
Power surged within him. He layered the Black Tortoise Shield with the Immortal Sanctuary, simultaneously invoking the healing abilities of the Supreme Sanctuary. Shi Ming then enveloped the Dayun with his Spiritual Power, shifting the focal point of the spatial tearing onto himself. Using his two-meter frame as a fulcrum to leverage Spatial Power, he forcibly dragged the Dayun—now shrunken to less than a hundred meters—through the breach in space and into the Dark Cosmos.
"Success!"
"But..."
Shi Ming felt the power of his Black Tortoise Shield and Immortal Sanctuary depleting at a shocking rate. The energy stored in his body was like a candle burning down to its wick...
WHOOSH—
Less than three seconds later, the Dayun shot out of the Dark Cosmos again.
’Drained in just three seconds,’
The exhausted Shi Ming leaned on his weapon, Fen Yuan, panting heavily on the Dayun’s deck. His body, save for his right arm, was now a canvas of deep lacerations. Flesh was peeled back, and in some spots, the stark white of his bones was visible. In contrast, the Three-Eyed Golden Crow and Ah Jian were completely unharmed, having been deliberately shielded by Shi Ming.
His power was almost completely depleted.
The healing power of his Life Sanctuary activated passively, slowly beginning to mend his wounds.
Shi Ming looked up.
They were in a completely different Star Domain.
Three seconds of travel in the Dark Cosmos had taken them farther than the previous three days of flight.
"Excellent!"
"It seems I’ve found the hidden shortcut for the Cave of the Stars."
’It’s just a little rough on the body!’