Shock!

  Bewilderment!

  Mental blank.

  Upon witnessing the Death Omen Pocket Watch instantly freeze and then crumble into dust, the thoughts of Obra and Bactan immediately descended into utter chaos.

  "...Bishop?"

  Obra looked up toward the silent, crimson giant bat looming before him, and hesitantly inquired: "Did you see... a pocket watch completely freezing and then shattering like that... what magnitude of danger does that signify?"

  "I... Hmm..."

  Bactan opened his mouth wide, stammering: "A long, long time ago, within a certain Ash Zone sector... I once encountered a wandering black hole."

  "A wandering black hole?!"

  Obra narrowed his eyes and hissed, "That kind of entity is an 'invisible' assassin! If an interstellar fleet stumbles upon one, they are all utterly doomed!"

  "That is correct." Bactan nodded in affirmation, "That black hole was exceptionally massive, yet the surrounding matter it had absorbed was minimal; I estimate most of its sustenance was consumed during its prolonged wandering. If one is not acutely attentive, detecting it is virtually impossible."

  "Ah, was that... when the Death Omen Pocket Watch gave its alert?" Obra frowned, speculating.

  Bactan trembled a bloody bat wing and admitted: "Indeed, the pocket watch displayed a danger warning... and it registered as Death Omen."

  "So..."

  Obra, contemplating the frozen and pulverized pocket watch from moments ago, couldn't help but stammer, "A black hole-level threat registers as 'Death Omen' level. Then, the situation just now... Could there possibly be something even more perilous than a black hole existing in this universe? But how is this conceivable?! I cannot fathom it."

  Bactan paused for a few seconds, then stated: "Idle conjecture is unproductive. I propose we attempt a divination spell."

  Obra was stunned: "Divination spell? How would we even divine that?"

  The blood-plasma giant bat offered no verbal reply, merely fixing him with a look from strangely calm eyes.

  Then, Bactan’s form abruptly expanded, instantly transforming into a colossal crimson current, stretching thousands upon thousands of meters. Like a living entity, it swirled up and down over the vast surrounding territory, moving with incredible speed.

  Within this red river, which strongly resembled a swiftly moving Blood Purgatory Demonic Python, one could vaguely perceive densely packed faces of intelligent beings—perhaps tens of millions, or countless—of all genders, ages, and forms, suddenly letting out wails with their eyes shut tight.

  "Ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

  "Oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

  "Roar roar roar roar roar roar!"

  The deafening, mournful cries and wails even caused the entire ruined capital city to visibly sway up and down.

  "Blood Soul Undying, Soul Master Immortal!"

  Obra gazed up at the Blood River and exclaimed in astonishment: "This is the Blood River Immortal Body! According to the secret scriptures, only a select few cultists possessing 'Demon Lord' potential can cultivate this divine art!"

  As if hearing her own name being discussed, the Blood River, flowing between the sky and the ground, instantly congealed. The countless faces crying ceaselessly within the river abruptly quieted, opening hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions, of vacant eye sockets to focus on Obra. Simultaneously, they opened their mouths and spoke in a single, strange voice—a composite sound of countless individual vocal lines:

  "Not badly done, it seems you have studied the cult's secret scriptures quite thoroughly. I shall test you now. Can you accurately discern the exact number of Blood Souls drifting within this Blood River of mine?"

  "That is a simple calculation."

  Obra laughed heartily, "I served as an interstellar Far-Seer for this cursed planet for hundreds of years; thus, after my conversion to the Great Eyes, my awakened innate divine art also belongs to the observational type of divine arts."

  The moment he finished speaking, dense insect chirping sounds erupted from beneath his feet.

  Screech screech screech screech screech!!!

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The hard ground rapidly bulged in large sections, cracking open into jagged, grotesque fissures.

  Immediately following, various spider-humanoids—featuring sturdy green legs and fully formed human heads—inexplicably emerged from the fissures, grinning, hissing, and rapidly scuttling outward.

  Wave after wave of crawling ensued.

  Each wave contained tens of thousands of these creatures.

  These spider-humanoids, possessing complete facial features but with human heads scaled down to the size of ping-pong balls, as soon as they crawled free from the ground openings, rapidly scurried across the surface using their green legs.

  After leaving mottled scratches, they quickly climbed onto Obra's body, simultaneously squealing and burrowing beneath his skin, merging seamlessly with his flesh and blood, fusing into a single mass.

  In just a few seconds, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of spider-humanoids continuously crawling from underground had literally filled and distended Obra, transforming him into a colossal human head studded with countless miniature human faces.

  Eyes formed of checks, noses formed of checks, mouths and teeth similarly formed of checks.

  This gigantic head spanned dozens of meters wide, and its rear trailed over a hundred meters outward along the ground, resembling a grotesque alien cranium.

  On both sides of the long, pointed skull resting on the ground, dozens of pairs of abnormal, slender insect limbs, covered in squealing orifices, sprouted outward.

  At first glance, the resulting form bore a striking resemblance to a deeply mutated, grotesque giant grasshopper.

  Next, the multitude of human faces on the body of this colossal head-grasshopper, now formed by Obra, simultaneously opened their eyes.

  Suddenly, he projected over a million opaque, dark 'gazes' from his innumerable aspects toward the Blood River suspended in the sky.

  Afterward, in just the blink of an eye, he precisely counted the total number of Blood Souls contained 'within' Bishop Bactan's body.

  "8,056,324,500 souls!"

  "Hiss!"

  Obra exclaimed in shock, "Bishop! So many life essences—that means for you to truly perish... you would have to die over eight billion times!"

  "Hahahahaha!"

  Bactan, suspended high in the air, laughed triumphantly, "This is the manifestation of my god's power! It shatters logic and defies common sense! This is the true strength of the Great Eyes!"

  With that declaration, he rotated in the air, forming a colossal crimson altar structure.

  And Bactan's crimson soul-phantom materialized precisely upon the altar at the very moment of its formation.

  He looked down at Obra, who was rapidly dissipating the thousands of spider-humanoids emerging from his body, reverting to his original appearance. Bactan then stated, "Truthfully, although I managed to cultivate the divine art 【Akashic Eye】, I must admit I am not highly proficient in its application.

  So, since your 'observation' talent far surpasses mine, how about you serve as the primary catalyst for the divine art?"

  "The main subject of the divine art?"

  Obra pinched off a spider-humanoid head—its face slightly shrunken, resembling Teddy's Governor—and as he crunched it in his mouth, silver ichor streamed from the corner of his lips, yet he spoke unflinchingly, "Will that pose any peril?"

  "I guarantee you, there will absolutely be no danger whatsoever?"

  Bactan asserted with absolute certainty, "This divine art is fundamentally an advanced evolution of the 【Gaze of Gaia】 series of divine arts.

  Its core operating principle is to simulate and establish a temporary consciousness for this Fidd Popenif Interstellar Civilization Zone, and subsequently, through this consciousness, transcend the light cone to acquire all informational data regarding events that have occurred or are currently occurring within this vast and deep expanse of space.

  Therefore, even if there is risk, it will be borne entirely by this temporary consciousness of Fidd Popenif. As long as it remains intact, you will be completely fine."

  Speaking of this, he couldn't help but laugh aloud: "Hahaha, do you realize? To truly collapse the consciousness of this entire Civilization Zone? One would need nearly 99.9% of the intelligent life forms across these three hundred and seventy-six interstellar civilizations to perish, or more than half of the several hundred thousand civilized planets in this region to be annihilated."

  "Ah, I grasp the concept."

  Obra, having crunched and swallowed the remaining half of the spider-humanoid head, couldn't help but laugh in return: "Haha, indeed! I can barely conceive the scale of power required to achieve what you just described, Bishop. Excellent! Then let us commence!"

  "Excellent." Bactan smiled with satisfaction, and with a wave of his hand, a gush of blood several meters wide erupted, supporting Obra's feet. It suddenly condensed into a long, crimson staircase, and he immediately commanded: "Ascend."

  "Good." The latter's figure flashed, and in a single second, he crossed the hundred-meter-long Blood Ladder, gracefully stepping onto the Crimson Altar.

  Thereafter, Bactan's expression turned stern, and he began to chant bizarre, ear-splitting, ancient incantations:

  "...Controlling corruption to interface with the Great Eyes..."

  "...Connecting with the immensely vast chains..."

  "...A hundred stars serving as rivers..."

  "...Ten thousand stars forming seas..."

  "...Commanding divine might to color myriad stars..."

  "...Awaken..."

  "...Fidd Popenif..."

  "...Observe all, sense all..."

  The incantation concluded.

  Hum ——

  In an instant, all the sky and earth visible to the two figures began to vibrate violently.

  Once this surreal vibration emerged, it surged like turbulent waves, rapidly sweeping outwards in all directions, engulfing the entire planet.

  Crack crack crack!

  Ground spanning thousands upon thousands of miles continuously trembled.

  As the Earth's crust cracked and shattered, large torrents of viscous, turbid, pitch-black fluid inexplicably gushed forth.

  Moreover, this fluid seemed to self-replicate.

  Every single drop that appeared would spontaneously expand and erupt into thousands of new droplets.

  Those thousands of droplets, in turn, would continue to explode, generating millions and countless more.

  In just a dozen seconds.

  This silent city ruin was utterly replaced by a gloomy, vast ocean.

  Not only that.

  If one's gaze could encompass the entire world.

  One would find that all the landmass on Teddy had been completely submerged beneath an endless black sea.

  But in a matter of mere seconds, the visibly pitch-black ocean rapidly receded.

  Revealing a boundless, desolate gray terrain.

  This ground was not flat; rather, it was deeply indented with hundreds of thousands of pale, viscous fissures, resembling colossal canyons.

  These fissures subtly vibrated, mimicking breath, continuously erupting from the soft, undulating walls of the chasms, generating intense streaks of azure lightning.

  These lightning bolts, tens of meters wide and thick, densely resembled tens of thousands of wandering thunder serpents. Twisting and turning, they formed a massive spider's web, and with dull thuds, they suddenly overlaid Obra and Bactan's entire field of vision with vast, dense light grids, resembling towering mountain ranges.

  Sky and earth alike exploded in blinding blue.

  "Now, Teddy, from the inside out, has transformed into a living brain—a celestial-level consciousness."

  Bactan, manipulating the Crimson Altar, slowly descended onto this land that resembled gray neural tissue. He patted Obra's shoulder and stated:

  "I shall now perform the ritual, utilizing your 'stimulated and simulated' Fidd Popenif spatial consciousness, to allow it to reside within this celestial brain."

  "Wait." Obra frowned, "What about those 'feast' brethren in the cult? The entire planet has undergone such massive changes; will they..."

  "No need for concern."

  Bactan offered a faint smile, "Those capable of participating in the Sabbath are seasoned Demon Eye cultists. These fellows are as astute as macro-scale quantum particles. If anything unusual manifests near them, they flee faster than anyone else."

  "Remember, the strongest aptitude of a qualified Demon Eye cultist has always been self-preservation."

  Upon hearing these words, Obra took a deep breath and nodded: "Good, let us proceed."

  "Ah, still such an innocent child with pointless compassion."

  Bactan chuckled inexplicably, then extended his hand and placed it against the other's head, rapidly channeling the profound, malevolent energy originating from the Great Eyes.

  Hum!!

  Suddenly, Obra felt the entire world before his eyes vibrate violently, then begin to blur with a pale hue.

  At the same time, he felt his own physical body... as if it had simply vanished.

  As if freed from material constraints, his soul, incredibly light, was drawn by some mysterious force, flying beyond the atmosphere, soaring at superluminal speed into the boundless, dark cosmos.

  In just a few short seconds, Obra perceived himself simultaneously existing across countless different planets.

  Hovering in the sky, concealed beneath the earth, roaming the deep seas.

  During this transit, he vaguely sensed the myriad natural disasters and calamities these planets had previously endured.

  Raging hurricanes covering everything with their roars, thundering lightning erupting with fury, surging and fluctuating floods, boiling and seething magma.

  There were also the tragic tremors that tore apart the rocky crust, and the terrifying meteorites that annihilated species and collapsed continents, even super-cannons that vaporized oceans and melted planetary crusts, destroying worlds.

  He passively comprehended and felt that faint, seemingly non-existent, yet omnipresent, indifferent Will drifting through the vast space-time continuum.

  For countless millennia, this Will seemed to possess no emotion other than indifference.

  It simply existed in silence, saying nothing, doing nothing.

  When life first emerged, it was present.

  When life flourished, it was present.

  When life became extinct, it remained.

  After experiencing this cascade of sensations, Obra suddenly awoke to a terrifying realization, whispering in horror:

  "This Will... is fundamentally the combined consciousness of the hundreds of thousands of planets in this Fidd Popenif space!"

  "So immense! So... absolute!"

  In an instant, he fell into a state of utmost grandeur yet indescribable cognitive overload, unable to extricate himself, unable to return for a significant duration.

  In Obra's short span of a few hundred years, he had never viewed the grand affairs of the world from such a vast and boundless perspective.

  If one had to capture the profound sensation this viewpoint imparted, it could only be described as...

  Boundless, immense, ruthless, and devoid of individual thought.

  Individual existence, when confronting this magnificent Will of the cosmos, discovered that... language was utterly powerless.

  This was a mysterious experience that nearly destroyed the soul while simultaneously purifying it.

  Even with Obra's power, which neared the Transcendent Stage Seven, he could only barely maintain the stability of his own thoughts.

  Yet even so, facing this spatial Will, spanning an area of six thousand light-years, encompassing hundreds of thousands of civilized planets, three hundred and seventy-six interstellar civilizations, and a trillion intelligent life forms, his consciousness flickered like an unsteady candle flame, seemingly capable of being extinguished at any moment.

  In the real world.

  "What did you find? Any breakthroughs?" Bactan stood to the side, questioning softly.

  "No." Obra opened his eyes, which were filled with an endless, illusory light, and stated blankly: "The will of space has not fully awakened..."

  Suddenly, within the illusory scene conjured by the 【Akashic Eye】 divine art, he perceived the entire dome of space... opening its eyes directly toward him.

  "Fidd Popenif!"

  Obra looked upon the pair of indifferent eyes suspended in the vast void, mumbling with joyous fervor, "You... You have finally awakened..."

  Before she could finish speaking.

  Before him, the eyes of the spatial will instantly went dormant.

  At the same moment, this illusory 'space' created by the divine art instantly crawled with countless hideous cracks, bursting into thousands upon thousands of empty voids with a sharp shattering sound.

  Within those voids, which had pushed the divine art's 'space' to the brink of collapse, Obra, stiff and bewildered, saw...

  Behind this silent spatial will, a majestic, towering figure, seemingly condensed from endless nebular light, vast as a galaxy, filled with boundless grandeur, immense scale, holiness, and majesty, slightly leaned over, looking down with a sky-like indifference, yet carrying a discernible hint of surprise in its gaze.

  "Hmm? Evil Eye Cult? And they even possess this kind of prying method—interesting..."

  Obra could not hear the next sentence.

  Because that colossal, that immense being...

  It had already obliterated his soul, thoughts, perception, mind... everything.

  In the instant before oblivion, Obra poured out his entire remaining strength... and could only barely form a small, vague realization:

  "...Powerful! Powerful! Powerful..."

  In the real world.

  Whoosh ——

  Right before Bactan's eyes, Obra instantly disintegrated into ash and vanished.

  Completely annihilated, body and soul erased.

  "What just happened? This newcomer just died like that?!"

  The crimson giant bat was extremely astonished, and hurriedly retrieved a piece of old, pale gray oil paper.

  He snapped it open.

  Rows of twisted and hideous script rapidly began to manifest on the paper.

  If these glyphs were translated, they shockingly detailed every scene Obra had just 'witnessed.'

  This included the description of that unknown existence standing behind the now-dead spatial will.

  Upon reading the textual description related to that terrifying entity, Bactan was so overwhelmed with terror that his entire body trembled, and he murmured with a shaking voice:

  "Great Eyes above! Caution was indeed warranted! Damn it, even the spatial will collapsed! Was the entire Civilization Zone annihilated by that existence transcending the Death Omen level?!"

  In his fright, the crimson giant bat quickly pulled out a puppet whose entire body was densely covered with crooked mouths.

  He yanked open one of the puppet's mouths with great force, then rolled the parchment into a scroll and stuffed the whole thing inside.

  Immediately after, Bactan swiftly flew upwards, accelerating at extreme velocity towards the colossal eyes in the sky, which had already begun to blur.

  "Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!!!"

  Muttering his urgency the entire way, and almost reaching the edge of the eye for instantaneous transmission to escape... everything suddenly froze.

  Ten trillion kilometers away.

  An infinitely large hand materialized, completely enveloping this entire star system, then instantly crushed it.

  Boom ——

  Bactan, his face contorted with worry, along with the planet beneath him, and this planet's surrounding scorching star, as well as many other distant planets, and the even more distant asteroid belt and nebula boundary layer.

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  All—everything—transformed into endless light and heat.

  Completely devoured by a stellar giant, standing amidst the cosmos.

  At the same moment, that peculiar oil paper, through some mechanism defying all scientific logic, transmitted itself towards hundreds of thousands of regions across all major Civilization Zones of Orion.

  ...

  The boundless Milky Way.

  Vast star clusters, brilliantly luminous.

  Galactic core, galactic disk, spiral arms, galactic halo.

  Billions of years have passed leisurely.

  Countless species have been born, and countless civilizations have emerged.

  Similarly, although the Orion Spiral Arm is not the primary arm of the Milky Way, it remains unimaginably immense.

  Five major interstellar Civilization Zones, Broken Sectors separating these Zones, and interspersed non-Ether Ash Zones within those gaps.

  Within these spatial regions, whether vast and boundless or narrow and profound, exist countless civilizations and countless species.

  These civilizations and species, within the endless river of time, continuously perform scenes of 'when your turn to perform is done, mine begins, and after I step back, another takes the stage.'

  And the Orion Spiral Arm, built from 30 billion stars, stretching like a magnificent, brilliant avenue toward the mysterious and boundless Milky Way Frontier, serves as the stage for these grand 'performances.'

  At this very moment, at the terminus of this 'stage,' within the Milky Way Frontier, filled with endless dark matter and sparse star clusters and nebulae, a brilliant giant, hundreds of meters tall, seemingly condensed from countless illusory stellar diamonds, sitting cross-legged at the center of the back of a colossal purple-black whale-like star, slowly opened the six vertically aligned, parallel, illusory eyes on its forehead.

  His expression was cold. He slowly extended a colossal hand, wearing a bracelet fashioned from peculiar beast-like bones, and from the vaguely shimmering folded space beside him, he drew forth a hundred-meter-tall, continuously hyper-vibrating Hundred-Mouth Puppet.

  The giant's fingers closed and gripped one of the puppet's mouths located on its chest and abdomen. After pulling it open, the puppet instantly fell silent.

  And from the crude mouth of this opened puppet, a crimson leather scroll suddenly emerged.

  Even stranger was that this leather scroll, each time it was drawn out by the giant, would spontaneously combust. Afterward, it transformed into a burnt red face resembling a cube of aged, rotten wood, covered with wrinkles and deep crevices.

  As soon as this cube-shaped visage appeared, it opened its empty eye sockets and smiled at the giant, saying:

  "Ah ha, my old companion Ogulafata, long time no see. Are your hundreds of descendants still plotting to usurp your dominion?"

  The giant, who was Didrogutin and also the Dark Archbishop of the Cult of the Evil Eye—Ogulafata—looked at this burnt red face before him and indifferently remarked:

  "Lodharam, I heard your maternal lineage, the Pelodi, have been actively hunting you within the galactic core region recently. How do you find yourself with ample leisure to converse with me?"

  "Ah!"

  Upon hearing the name 'Pelodi,' Lodharam's face instantly turned cold, met with a sneer. "Those antiquated fools! Sooner or later, I shall cast every last one of them into a black hole's accretion disk to burn into fine ash!"

  Speaking of which, he laughed again: "Heh heh heh, well, to be fair, prior to this, I genuinely wouldn't have had time to chat with you. But recently... a significant incident occurred in the galactic core, which has preoccupied them to the extent that they cannot deal with me now."

  "A major incident?"

  Ogulafata's tone remained unconcerned. "The galactic core region is secured like an iron fortress by those six primary species. What kind of massive event could possibly occur?"

  "An iron fortress? Hahahahaha! For tens of thousands of years, they have been undermining each other behind closed doors; what kind of fortress is that! And let me inform you, this time they..."

  Lodharam smiled sinisterly, "A civil war has erupted."

  "What?!"

  Ogulafata's tone shifted for the first time. He inquired in a deep voice, "Who is fighting whom? How could a civil war erupt?!"

  "Hmm, calling it a civil war is one thing, but I believe 'purge' is a more fitting term."

  Lodharam looked at the other's icy, expressionless face and stated blandly, "Alright, alright, no more games. The so-called civil war is the Yonruk species being systematically eradicated by the other established galactic core species."

  "The Yonruk people are being purged? How is that possible? That cohort of Nuclear Molecule life forms is indeed cruel and brutal, but not to the degree that would provoke the other core species into launching a full-scale purge against them."

  Ogulafata asked with a hint of confusion, "I recall the Ponret species and the Yonruk people maintaining quite amicable relations. Are they also involved?"

  "Of course they are involved, because..."

  Lodharam floated lightly in the air, stating with an extremely gloating tone: "Because the Yonruk people have been discovered... they are actually the Light Species' internal operatives within the Milky Way."

  Upon hearing the term 'Light Species,' Ogulafata's colossal form trembled, and he stated in a deep voice: "Light Species?! That ancient, residual race actually penetrated the Milky Way!"

  "Penetrated the Milky Way? Haha."

  Lodharam retorted with a sharp laugh: "Haven't they always been present?"

  "Are you referring to the cosmic energy-absorbing bacteria?"

  Ogulafata shook his head and said, "No, I mean... has a 【God of Hunger】 arrived in the Milky Way?"

  "Not yet, but you should grasp the implication."

  Lodharam asserted profoundly, "As long as the cosmic energy-absorbing bacteria exist, the eventual appearance of the God of Hunger... is merely a matter of timing, whether sooner or later."

  "I am aware of that, naturally."

  Ogulafata said gently, "But it hasn't materialized yet, has it? And it is fortunate that it has not. Frankly, I have no desire to confront that troublesome 'nemesis of all creation'."

  "Are you apprehensive?"

  Lodharam regarded him with a peculiar tone, "Everyone is aware that the entry 'paths' to the entire Milky Way's Realm of Phantasm exist not only within the galactic core region but also in the outer boundaries of several other spiral arms, including your current location. So, with such an excellent egress route, you possess the capability to advance offensively or retreat defensively. What is there for you to fear?"

  "You are mistaken."

  Ogulafata extended a finger and shook it slowly, "The galactic core region, due to the existence of the ultimate mega-structure project 【Sanchegues】, has an extraordinary concentration and consolidation of the Realm of Phantasm 'paths,' far surpassing that of the Milky Way Frontier, especially in my vicinity..."

  His expression grew slightly grave: "You may not be aware, but over a millennium ago, a major tributary of the 【Creeping Sea】 flowed directly through my domain. Since that occurrence, the consolidation of the Realm of Phantasm 'paths' in this sector of the Milky Way Frontier has been reduced by more than half, becoming utterly intermittent..."

  "The Creeping Sea?!"

  Lodharam interrupted him, utterly astonished, "I thought that was merely a phenomenon relegated to the legendary Realm of Phantasm. I never expected you to encounter it in the tangible world?"

  Dwelling on the subject, he inquired with intense curiosity: "A long time ago, when I was younger, I overheard the elders of my tribe mentioning that this Creeping Sea usually only flows deep within the Realm of Phantasm.

  Those old figures never once witnessed it, even during their rare excursions into the Realm of Phantasm, yet you encountered it in the actual physical world. That is truly remarkable.

  Heh heh, it must have cost you some losses, tell me about it; let me revel in your misfortune a little."

  "The damage wasn't excessive," Ogulafata stated calmly. "It merely swept away a few dozen star systems within the empire's domain, and I managed to acquire something in return.

  At that time, that tributary of the Creeping Sea appeared and vanished quickly. Before it could fully escape, I rushed near and casually struck it, unexpectedly connecting with an alien entity—a Void Whale—clinging to the edge of the Creeping Sea."

  "Alien species?"

  Lodharam scrutinized the bone bracelet on the other's wrist, then glanced at the purple-black giant whale sitting cross-legged beneath him, noting the dozen or so silent indentations on the whale's back. He remarked with slight surprise:

  "I see now. You didn't mention it, but I hadn't noticed. I just realized this alien species is also a rare 'Rift-Bearing Boundary Type.' This creature is exceptionally suited as a mount for the Realm of Phantasm.

  Extracting its life essence to gain control over its primordial soul—an excellent methodology, ensuring virtually flawless loyalty."

  Ogulafata's expression returned to indifference as he stated, "Alright, you've shared enough information. Is there anything else you wish to exchange intel on?"

  Lodharam: "No, not really..."

  "Then terminate this transmission."

  Ogulafata cut him off, waving his hand and disintegrating the hovering, burnt-red visage into dust.

  Next, he retrieved the Hundred-Mouth Puppet. It was vibrating at a high frequency, clearly indicating an incoming message.

  He casually selected and opened one of the mouths, from which an ancient oil paper scroll emerged.

  Ogulafata then focused slightly, murmuring:

  "It's Bactan's soul fluctuation, saturated with dread and panic. Hmm, has a major incident occurred in the Fidd Popenif region?"

  His demeanor remained somewhat detached. He casually unfolded the oil paper.

  Then his gaze swept across it, meticulously reviewing the content written on the parchment.

  Following that, Ogulafata fell into a deathly silence.

  After a moment, he spoke in an incredibly low, disbelieving tone:

  "The Fidd Popenif Civilization Zone was actually annihilated by some unknown entity... How is that even possible?!"

  In his comprehension, a Civilization Zone was never confined to a single star system, nor a minuscule planet.

  It was vast and expansive, encompassing numerous interstellar civilizations and a considerable number of star systems, moreover, a significant spatial separation existed between these components.

  To eradicate such a colossal expanse of space, or perhaps, to neutralize every entity within that space, was fundamentally beyond what could be accomplished merely by being 'powerful.'

  Furthermore, even if every single interstellar civilization offered no resistance or attempt to flee, passively awaiting annihilation, the time consumed in destroying them sequentially would not be brief.

  But based on the textual report, and the high-frequency intelligence updates regarding the Fidd Popenif Civilization Zone received from all Cult members via superluminal transmission objects and divine arts, the giant concluded that the unknown entity's actions of completely destroying the Civilization Zone transpired over an extremely short duration.

  "Regarding intelligence about this spatial destroyer, aside from knowing he is immensely strong, everything else remains essentially blank," Ogulafata mused. "This kind of rapid, large-scale destructive capability seems comparable only to the God of Hunger.

  But didn't Lodharam state the God of Hunger had not descended upon the Milky Way? Hmm, I must investigate the truth of this 'Destroyer.' If it truly is the God of Hunger, then I will first retreat to the Realm of Phantasm to evade it. If it is not..."

  A cold light flared in his eyes: "Then I will find the precise opportunity and utilize 【Epoch of World Erasure】 to eliminate it!"

  Having settled his plan, Ogulafata took out a pale blue parchment, unfurled it, and similarly inscribed long paragraphs of bizarre, ugly text upon it, before stuffing it into the puppet's chest mouth.

  Hum ——

  The Hundred-Mouth Puppet trembled slightly, then immediately stabilized.

  "Ah ~"

  Having concluded these tasks, Ogulafata suddenly smiled:

  "Truly fascinating. Who would have guessed that a civil war would erupt in the galactic core Civilization, and that the Yonruk people were actually a light species? This Milky Way... is genuinely becoming increasingly chaotic."

  At this point, his smiling countenance slowly darkened: "It's always better when things are chaotic."

  Simultaneously, whether 1,000 light-years distant or 10,000 light-years away, all Bishops and Vice-Bishops of the Cult of the Evil Eye across the entire Orion Spiral Arm, each carrying a Hundred-Mouth Puppet, trembled slightly.

  These scattered members, spread throughout the vastness of space, all retrieved their puppets and extracted the scrolls, beginning to review this directive from Ogulafata at the spiral arm's edge.

  It meticulously detailed the overall intelligence concerning the destruction of the Fidd Popenif Interstellar Civilization Zone, alongside various related suspicions and theories.

  In the final section of the scroll, Ogulafata commanded that all hidden Cult members occupying high-ranking positions within each interstellar civilization must use every available means to manipulate the senior officials of those civilizations, directing their collective animosity and resources entirely toward that single, unknown entity.

  "The stage is set, and the supporting players have taken their positions."

  Ogulafata gazed out at the sparse nebulae situated at the far edge of the gloomy expanse, murmuring: "What kind of spectacle will you present?"

  ...

  The star system that once contained the original Teddy was now utterly barren.

  Only Seraphine remained, standing silently like a cosmic giant.

  【Host: Seraphine】

  【Physical Strength: 12 billion Star】

  【Soul: 12 billion Star】

  After another day, Seraphine's attributes had doubled once more.

  Simultaneously, the three hundred and seventy-four interstellar civilizations, tens of thousands of planets, and nearly one quadrillion intelligent life forms residing within this Golden Bough Civilization Zone had all been devoured by her, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

  In addition to this, Seraphine had also swept through the numerous Broken Sectors existing both within and outside these established civilizations.

  She captured and consumed a total of over 1,200 civilizations in total.

  However, among that massive haul, only twelve had reached the interstellar civilization tier.

  The cumulative number of intelligent life forms across all these consumed civilizations amounted to less than thirty trillion.

  Compared to the established interstellar powers within the Civilization Zone, the numerical disparity was staggeringly vast.

  "A deficit of over thirty times."

  Seraphine quietly sensed her Root Spirituality, that faint trace residing deep within her Primordial Soul, which had been nourished by over a quadrillion wisdom sparks. It was now incredibly active and shimmering, having fully materialized. She contemplated calmly:

  "I hadn't anticipated Spirituality would undergo such a drastic shift after receiving sufficient 'nourishment' from wisdom sparks."

  In fact, after Seraphine had previously annihilated the Will of the Great Sun and achieved self-realization of the Light of Infinity—a psychokinetic power capable of easily influencing and even distorting external cosmic matter without relying on any traceable energy, matter, or information conduits—her Spirituality had undergone some extremely mysterious evolution.

  Or perhaps, the Light of Infinity was inherently the outward manifestation and projection of Seraphine's Spirituality following her fundamental transformation.

  But after condensing the Delusion of Love, this change, which existed purely at the Root Spirituality level, became even more pronounced.

  Yet, what did this advancement truly signify?

  Seraphine did not fully grasp the implications.

  But in the continuous process of devouring various external civilizations and absorbing boundless streams of wisdom sparks, her spirituality, enlightened by her inherent divinity, sensed that... her Spirituality was inexorably advancing toward full materialization.

  And what would be the ultimate result when this path, governed by unknown principles and leading to an unknown terminus, finally reached its culmination?

  Seraphine still did not know.

  Until this very moment, without even consciously seeking it, her Spirituality... truly materialized.

  And Seraphine instantly understood the power held by materialized Spirituality.

  Hum ——

  Many thousands of kilometers away, a neutron star, just ten kilometers in diameter, instantaneously sprang into existence.

  At the same moment, a bewildered, golden-furred monkey appeared, falling heavily onto the surface of the neutron star.

  "Chirp chirp chirp squeak!"

  The monkey's cries ignored the absence of a sound-transmitting medium, instantly enveloping all spatial areas within a thousand-mile radius.

  At this juncture, the bewildered golden-furred monkey stood up, gazing into the dark universe in all directions. Suddenly overcome with fright, it hurriedly scurried around on all fours.

  Strangely, the terrifying high temperature and formidable gravity on the neutron star's surface—conditions sufficient to vaporize all ordinary matter—caused it absolutely no harm.

  In fact, after scrambling for several thousand meters, driven by hunger and thirst, it extended a claw and, without hesitation, dug out a large chunk of high-temperature, decaying matter from the hot, hard ground beneath its feet, stuffing the entire portion into its mouth, chewing vigorously, and swallowing it whole.

  "Chirp chirp chirp!"

  The golden-furred monkey, still unsatisfied, continued to dig into the ground beneath its feet, devouring the neutron star bite by bite, as if consuming a giant watermelon.

  Indeed, in its perception, this was not a neutron star at all.

  Both the texture and the flavor were undeniably those of a true watermelon.

  And in that moment, Seraphine, observing from a great distance, also fully comprehended the true ability latent within materialized Spirituality.

  That is —

  "Defying logic... twisting reality."

  All beings subscribe to the belief that within the vast universe, all phenomena possess a fundamental operating logic.

  Or perhaps, one could state:

  Whether initiating from science, philosophy, religion, magic, superhuman abilities, or cultivation paths like martial arts—whether using conventional or Transcendent routes, or even simply observing and grasping the world from the most rustic perspective of the general public, such as "the sky intends to rain, so a downpour will occur"—all entities invariably arrive at one conclusion: amidst the myriad of things, there must exist some underlying operational paradigm, something that can be termed the basic framework of principles.

  In essence, a rule model.

  And whether designated as a law or a principle, its true nature lies in the objective development of phenomena, where universally applicable structures invariably and consistently manifest various relationships and connections.

  In ancient Earth times, classical scientists once strived to comprehend and articulate the genuine existence of various natural states—such as velocity, spatial location, and mass—through the sequence of 【Observation – Experiment – Deduction – Verification】. They posited that these properties were absolutely determined; regardless of an observer's presence or absence, the external world and everything within it would adhere to a certain directive and continue to function, unchanging for eternity.

  In philosophical discourse, this concept is termed 【Realism】.

  After absorbing the knowledge base of over a thousand civilizations, Seraphine gradually formulated her own interpretation and understanding of the two concepts: 'intelligent civilization' and 'technology.'

  She theorized that so-called intelligent civilization is fundamentally a colossal, intricate system composed of numerous complex subsystems, capable of constant evolution yet lacking a fixed, absolute form.

  Technology, whether it refers to the commonly understood science and engineering, or the esoteric methods utilized to advance the evolution of oneself or one's species, is essentially the kinetic force that compels nature to transition into the desired state envisioned by intelligent life.

  Intelligent civilization, as an inherent characteristic of technological civilization, possesses the dynamic property of existing in contrast and unity with natural laws.

  And within the rich trove of 'knowledge' information gathered from these civilizations, Seraphine also 'witnessed' something profound.

  Over countless millennia in the past, diverse civilizations and species spanning the vast expanse of space—including ancient philosophers and sages among humanity on Earth—had continuously debated and attempted to define... the specific attributes and true nature of the 'reality' and 'truth' underlying all cosmic phenomena.

  Ultimately, they distilled four relatively complete defining traits for a rule model:

  First, it must be readily inductible and comprehensible.

  Second, the quantity of adjustable variables it incorporates must be minimal.

  Third, it must align consistently with all extant observational data.

  Fourth, it must possess the capacity to generate precise predictions and forecasts concerning observational facts yet to be discovered in the future.

  For instance, a specific physical theory is a rule model that combines a corresponding mathematical framework with a set of governing rules linking that model to verifiable observational facts.

  The colossal complex system designated as 【Human Civilization】, guided by this seemingly unshakeable rule model, continuously uncovered various natural rule models in the external world, perpetually summarized and calculated diverse laws and theories, and constantly engineered various functional implements, thereby steadily propelling civilization's gradual development, eventually enabling it to step into the universe and traverse the immense cosmos.

  But regrettably, this mirrors a situation where a city on the continent of Eliondra once prohibited keeping goldfish in spherical bowls, reasoning that such enclosures would provide the fish with a distorted perception of the world outside.

  In reality, intelligent life cannot definitively confirm that the external world they currently perceive is any more 'real' than the perception held by the goldfish within the spherical fishbowl.

  This is because intelligent life fundamentally cannot decouple itself from its own inherent method of perceiving the world.

  Perception for intelligent entities is manufactured through sensation, cognition, and inference.

  For example, humanity's perception of the external world is not directly received but is instead constructed through something analogous to a spherical fishbowl—the 【Human Brain Explanatory Structure】.

  Humans have never actually seen electrons, protons, or neutrinos; nor have they seen the interior of a brick—even if the brick is fractured, the most one sees is just another surface of that brick; nor have they ever witnessed the true internal nature of the Earth or the Sun.

  There exists no guarantee that what humans observe constitutes objective reality.

  Especially after quantum mechanics unveiled various uncertainties and the active role of 【Probability】 in the real world, continuing to adhere strictly to 【Realism】 becomes increasingly arduous, even appearing quite unnecessary.

  Of course, although the world observed from within a spherical fishbowl differs from what ordinary people perceive, the fundamental laws of motion can still be summarized:

  That is, all external, straight-line movements are reinterpreted as curved motions, establishing a new coordinate system which is admittedly a bit more intricate than the standard model used by laypeople.

  Put another way, if one adopts the perspective of holographic universe theory, one might similarly posit that the surrounding expanse of spacetime, spanning trillions of light-years, could merely be an illusory projection emanating from the boundary of a colossal, higher-dimensional spacetime.

  Therefore, under this framework, the condition of intelligent life throughout the universe is no better off than goldfish confined within a glass sphere.

  This realization broadly implies a terrifying truth:

  Intelligent life possesses no intrinsic ability to prove or verify the existence or veracity of a false reality.

  Nor can any object, inherent power, or hypothetical construct guarantee that any cosmic rule—one observed, experimented upon, understood, and meticulously codified by countless intelligent minds—is genuinely correct.

  Furthermore, no existing entity can guarantee that any rules actually govern the universe at all.

  Or perhaps, even if rules do exist, there is no assurance regarding the 'shelf life' of those governing principles.

  Just as early humans firmly believed Earth's gravitational acceleration was exactly 9.8 meters per second squared, that figure continuously diminished as rockets departed the planet and ventured further into space.

  Later, during the industrial age, scientifically advanced humans on Earth confidently assumed that every day in this world, from dawn till dusk, would inevitably span twenty-four hours.

  But in reality, billions of years ago on Earth, a single day lasted only one-third of the hours we count today.

  Should time advance billions of years into the distant future, the duration of an Earth day might very well double its current length.

  For instance, in ancient Eliondra, there was an astronomer named Ptolemy who proposed a geocentric model to explain celestial motion.

  Within this model, predictions of planetary movement could be made ‘accurately’ by appending auxiliary epicycles to a planet's circular path, known as deferents.

  However, this 'accuracy' was only relatively precise, remaining quite vague and fundamentally crude.

  As time marched on, in order to align the model with observational facts and common perception, dozens more layers of deferents had to be added.

  It truly became cumbersome and intellectually provincial.

  Consequently, in later generations, this rule model was supplanted by Copernicus's novel heliocentric model, transforming it into an antiquated concept that people would deeply respect and recall, but no longer widely employ.

  When time progressed into the modern era, astronomers studying the motion of celestial bodies within the Milky Way discovered that the heliocentric model proved significantly less effective than a model utilizing the Milky Way's own center as its origin point.

  Thus, heliocentric theory itself was superseded.

  In summary, Seraphine deduced that all rules deemed valid by beings within the universe, including humanity—and all scientific research conducted to uncover these rules—were merely descriptive accounts of phenomena observed within extremely limited, finite spans of time and space.

  "Cosmic rules..."

  Seraphine, having remained in silent contemplation all day, slowly lifted her eyes. Using her Eye of Transcendence, an aperture far more vast than any star system, she quietly observed the distant, twinkling star clusters in the void.

  Vaguely, this monotonous and profound space suddenly transformed into an endless ocean composed entirely of 【The Unknown】.

  Within it, civilizations of intelligent beings, born from myriad origins, resembled scattered small coral rocks periodically erupting from the ocean depths.

  As epochs passed, these coral rocks slowly amassed mass, evolving into coral islands.

  Later still, the islands transformed into vast reef fortresses, spanning immense areas.

  And eventually, they became sprawling continents, tens of thousands of miles across, capable of nurturing countless entities.

  Intelligent beings, thus situated amidst such chaotic internal and external circumstances, continuously braved the currents in this endless ocean called 【The Unknown】, expanding the reach of their territory (perception), constantly creating and manufacturing various objects and technologies that surpassed their own limitations, thereby pulling themselves beyond illusion.

  Countless past unknowns were deciphered, endless past darknesses were illuminated, and countless past perils were neutralized, each becoming a controllable power accessible to intelligent civilizations.

  But the eerie paradox remains: the broader the territory (perception) that intelligent beings expand, the larger their contact surface with the ocean of 【The Unknown】 becomes, leading to an even greater confrontation with the unknown, the darkness, and the danger.

  The geocentric theory arose, only to be swiftly replaced by the heliocentric theory. Later generations of humans discovered that even the Solar System was merely situated at the fringe of the Milky Way. Still later, they realized the Milky Way constituted only a minor component of the Virgo Supercluster, and subsequently, the Virgo Supercluster was found to be merely a fragment of the Laniakea Supercluster.

  As civilization advanced, intelligent beings grew more powerful, yet 【The Unknown】 simultaneously expanded without apparent limit.

  "Bacteria within a small culture dish, even if they proliferate across a hundred generations, across countless eons, and perfectly codify all manner of cosmic laws, they still cannot truly grasp the fundamental nature of their enclosing world.

  Perhaps, as their creator, a medical student, in a fit of pique due to a more pressing thesis deadline, casually tosses the entire dish into the waste bin.

  Civilization collapses, the species is annihilated."

  Hum ——

  Seraphine slowly raised her palm. In an instant, a scorching star, ten million kilometers in diameter, materialized out of nowhere.

  On its surface, countless ordinary carp flickered into existence, completely ignoring the terrifying high temperature surrounding them, swimming and leaping as if in a normal pond.

  She looked down at this tiny star, at these fragile small lives, and slowly mused:

  "The myriad beings inhabiting this so-called 'vast universe,' why are they not all the same?

  Is the collective belief of all beings today simply dictated by their own insignificance?

  Are the so-called laws, the so-called principles, truly so unbreakable?"

  Having spoken, the star and the countless carp vanished instantly, without a trace, as if they had never been conceived.

  In fact, Seraphine’s creation of this did not consume a single unit of energy, nor did it require the use of Celestial Arcana.

  Purely based on thought, stemming from the gentle vibration of the Light of Infinity, this star—capable of spreading endless brilliance but utterly incapable of harming ordinary carbon-based life—naturally came into being in an instant.

  So unscientific, so illogical, so utterly... beyond rules.

  Just like how she used the Light of Infinity to conjure that neutron star which somehow tasted like watermelon.

  It demonstrably possessed immense gravity, temperature, and magnetism, and was genuinely composed of neutrons, yet it could be safely consumed and even digested. Even the weakest ant could crawl across it without suffering the slightest harm.

  Can science explain how to create something that science itself cannot explain?

  If it can, then this neutron star is inexplicable by science.

  If it cannot, then the method used to create this neutron star is inexplicable by science.

  Yet, the most ordinary human can explain how to create something they themselves cannot fundamentally comprehend.

  For example, an adult male can easily describe to anyone how to conceive a child, yet remain entirely ignorant of the baby's precise neural structure and biological mechanics.

  'Why does he think?'

  'Probably because he possesses a soul.'

  This further proves that science, unable to transcend strict logic, cannot truly account for everything.

  Concurrently, this also proves, conversely, that science operating within an isolated system is highly likely incapable of breaking beyond that system's constraints.

  But the Light of Infinity, or perhaps the materialized Spirituality deep within Seraphine's soul, implicitly contains a mysterious power that transcends this universe—this isolated system.

  Or perhaps, behind the multitude of phenomena, behind the four fundamental forces, there likely exists some 'Noumenon' that stands above all rules.

  And once Spirituality materializes, it can lightly touch, or even utilize, the power of this unknown 'Noumenon.'

  Every system possesses its own first-principle.

  It is a foundational axiom or hypothesis that cannot be questioned and cannot be violated.

  "Therefore, my Root Spirituality has touched the first-principle hidden behind all universal constructs and all governing rules."

  Seraphine's divine eyes shifted, sweeping across the vast space around her, and she softly murmured:

  "My... mind moves, and the stars... move as well."

  Whoosh ——

  In an instant, every star within a radius exceeding a thousand light-years, centered upon her, those emitting dazzling, twinkling light, were as if bound by invisible climbing ropes secured with tens of thousands of knots. Following the movement of her gaze, they suddenly ignored relativistic time dilation, length contraction, and mass increase, instantaneously darting and dancing at speeds countless times that of light.

  This spectacle, spanning a radius of over a thousand light-years, was immensely grand—so grand it was capable of shattering the minds of any mortal being.

  Even the boundless starlight emitted by these stars as they traveled at superluminal speeds completely disregarded the light-speed barrier, suddenly traversing over a thousand light-years and stacking layer upon layer before Seraphine, causing her immediate surroundings to become dazzling and brilliantly illuminated, resembling an infinite sea of light formed by countless stellar points.

  In the profound depths of this universe, countless millions of brilliant starlight danced and scattered; the starlight was beautiful as a symphony, as if playing a silent, cosmic melody.

  A melody only a great existence transcending mortal comprehension like Seraphine could truly appreciate.

  And the thousands of stars, along with the numerous civilizations and species orbiting them, engaged in simultaneous superluminal flight, plunged into endless shock and abject terror.

  The changes occurring in the external world were too bizarre and fantastical; they couldn't even articulate them, nor could they begin to comprehend them.

  They could only passively experience dread, wailing, and desperate prayer.

  In the very next instant, these brilliant star clusters disregarded all restrictions of cosmic law, crossing distances of tens, hundreds, thousands of light-years, arriving before Seraphine, and were ruthlessly devoured by her, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

  The tens or hundreds of intelligent species contained within were also swallowed by her at the same moment, vanishing without a trace.

  At this precise instant, the 【Infinite Attributes】 system activated exactly on schedule.

  Hum!

  Seraphine's colossal form immediately surged forth with a ripple of space-time, rumbling and encompassing the vast, utterly empty starry void surrounding her.

  【Host: Seraphine】

  【Physical Strength: 24 billion Star】

  【Soul: 24 billion Star】

  And now, she had fully comprehended the true essence of the power possessed by that materialized Spirituality deep within her Body-Soul:

  Without the involvement of energy, matter, information, or any fundamental cosmic forces.

  Purely through her subjective consciousness, shattering the objective nature of reality, defying the cosmic rule model, thereby achieving effects without antecedent cause.

  It is, simply put, the ability to transform her thoughts directly into reality.