’The Star Sea is infinite, but my time is not.’
’The three missions planned for me by the Eye of the Divine, including "Slaying the False God," all have time limits. The shortest is only three years. To reach that level of strength within three years, I still have a lot to do.’
’I can stay in the Cave of the Stars for three more months at most.’
There were many opportunities in the Star Caves, and Shi Ming could still use his Golden Finger.
He really liked it here.
But there was a lack of evenly matched opponents. Unless he found a new Star Cave, he would spend most of his time in solitude.
Without rivals, he could only reinvent the wheel in isolation.
He couldn’t hone his true skills, making the "Slaying the False God" mission a distant dream. As for completing the "Discovering My True Self" mission to "learn the value of my Spiritual Power," and the "Ascension Ladder" mission to "obtain Nirvana Skill No. 18," those were just armchair theorizing. Completing them required not only opportunities but also a broader perspective.
Three months.
If he was lucky, he could explore three more Star Caves.
If he was unlucky, he’d only find one or two.
Shi Ming wasn’t a greedy person.
It was enough.
While the Dayun roamed, he had also been trying to harmonize and fuse his seven Holy Hall Origins to lay the foundation for fusing with "Zero." After a period of adjustment, the once-opposing origins of Life, Death, Destruction, and Eternity had begun to resolve their fundamental conflicts. Under the coordination of Fate and Space-Time, they could now barely permeate one another.
The contamination from the Abyss Lord, however, required an eighth Holy Hall Origin—Purification—to be harmonized.
The Purification Origin was still inside the Creation Star Core.
’While exploring some advanced civilizations, I should also look for other ways to solve problems like the Unceasing Water. I need to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible and obtain the Purification Origin from the Creation Star Core.’
’With one more numbered Nirvana Skill, "Zero," I’ll have a better chance against the false god.’
The Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country didn’t even have a false god.
Its strongest Sovereign was merely a Pillar Stone. This was not his final stage.
...
...
...
The Dayun, on its lonely voyage, passed through a patch of empty space.
"Hm?"
Shi Ming sensed something unusual and opened his eyes, breaking his meditation. His Spiritual Power instantly spread out, probing the region of space the Dayun had just passed.
"Ah Jian, take the drifter back ten seconds."
"Understood, Master."
WHOOSH. As if time were reversing, the Dayun traced its path backward along its previous route. Ten seconds later, it came to a stop in an empty region of space, devoid of any celestial bodies.
’Strange.’
’There’s no Star Cave here.’
For nearly a hundred light-seconds around, there wasn’t a single ordinary asteroid, not even a fragment of a meteor. It was as desolate as a dead zone. Yet, in this very spot, Shi Ming could feel a strange spatial fluctuation, as if something, like a bamboo shoot underground, was about to break through the surface!
’This place is definitely not what it seems.’
"Eye of Destiny, acquire intelligence!"
He used the Eye of Destiny without hesitation.
’This is exactly the kind of situation for using an intelligence-gathering opportunity!’
[BEEP. BEEP.]
[...]
[A prison in the process of forming.]
[Estimated time until the birth of a new Star Cave: 3 days.]
The information was unexpectedly brief.
’A prison?’
The two Star Caves Shi Ming had explored before connected to the Colorless Realm and the "Slaughter Chamber," respectively. The Eye of Destiny had referred to both as jails or prisons. This led Shi Ming to suspect that the so-called Star Caves might all be exiled prisons, holding "criminals" from the Endless Star Sea.
This new piece of intelligence once again verified his theory.
Within the three-thousand-light-year expanse of the Cave of the Stars, old Star Caves died out and new ones were born every year. Even the Core Area was no exception.
But three thousand light-years was an immense distance to traverse. The probability of stumbling upon a newly-born Star Cave was unimaginably low. This piqued Shi Ming’s interest. A new Star Cave might not offer the same kind of opportunities as an ancient one, but such a rare encounter could very well hide even stranger, lesser-known information.
’This meeting must be the arrangement of fate.’
The Dayun hovered in place as Shi Ming’s eyes observed the birth process of the new Star Cave. He actually detected a hint of the clever application of Space-Time Power. The Cave of the Stars was already a special region where using spatial abilities was thousands, even tens of thousands of times harder than in a normal Star Domain. If he could glimpse a sliver of the essence of space here, even a small step forward would be a giant leap in his understanding of it.
Three days was not a long time.
Shi Ming pondered the Star Cave’s gestation, waiting patiently for three days.
The unstable Star Domain Space ruptured, and a palm-sized "Star Cave" was born in the void. Like a newborn infant, it continuously drew energy from the rift, slowly growing over three minutes until it finally stabilized.
After stabilizing, its diameter was only about nine meters.
The passable area was about four meters wide. The interior was mostly a deep, semi-fluid state; entering it allowed one to traverse through.
Shi Ming fixed his gaze on the newly born Star Cave and used his ability. As usual, shimmering text appeared before his eyes, providing an introduction to this new Star Cave.
[BEEP. BEEP.]
[...]
[Star Cave - Food, Sex, Wealth, and Pride]
[The "Desire Demon Race" can clearly perceive the weaknesses of living beings, luring them into the abyss of desire for their own amusement. They then devour the empty shells left behind after desire has hollowed them out, thereby strengthening themselves. Judgment may be delayed, but it is never absent. Now, they too have entered a prison of desire, where they face a near-eternal judgment in the depths of this Star Cave.]
[The opportunity for evolution is hidden here.]
[Of course, it can also easily cause all living things to fall into depravity.]
[Danger Level: Four Stars]
[1. See through hollow desires and clarify your mind to perceive your true nature, and you will discover the true meaning of evolution.]
[2. A swift and decisive battle is the best strategy.]
’The name of this Star Cave...’
’Are they using this to test an old cadre?’
’Food, sex, wealth, and pride... these are the goals many people strive for.’
Shi Ming genuinely believed there was nothing wrong with pursuing such things. But for these Desire Demons to use them to tempt others, reversing cause and effect, luring beings into the abyss, and then devouring their hollowed-out shells... that was not right.
’They truly deserve to be judged!’
’Judged harshly!’
A danger level of four stars.
The previous "Slaughter Chamber" contained more than one alien whose combat power was barely approaching the "Nirvana" level but possessed no Origin, and its danger level was only three stars. Yet this "Food, Sex, Wealth, and Pride," which sounded so harmless, was actually rated four stars.
Perhaps slaughter dismantled a person’s body from the outside.
But desire conquered a person’s mind from within.
It was indeed much harder to defend against.
"A pity..."
"Food, sex, wealth, and pride... they don’t amount to much."
Shi Ming was not some transcendent being.
Nor was he being arrogant.
All living creatures have desires; no one is an exception, including Shi Ming. And there are countless kinds of desires. Different people have different weaknesses. Some might see money as filth but can’t resist the smile of a beautiful woman. Others might see beautiful women as nothing but skeletons, yet they can’t resist the temptation to become stronger.
However, the moment Shi Ming read the general description of this Star Cave, he had already come up with a way to clear it.
A clever trick.