Chapter 509: Silent Void Expanse
Silent Void Expanse:
As they exited the void portal, they were greeted by a gigantic mist-like barrier stretching across infinity.
"Is this the Silent Void Expanse?" Maximus murmured.
Although not a dimension, due to the thick soul barrier, the Silent Void Expanse took the shape of one.
If not for its massive, infinite size, which prevented the formation of the origin of laws, and the soul pollution that corrupted all living beings, it might have become a dimension.
Looking at the thick soul barrier, Maximus couldn't imagine how many corrupted causality points he could gain if he absorbed them.
Unfortunately, it was impossible—he couldn't even get close enough for his system to be within range.
Even if he could, his system wasn't capable of absorbing such dense energy.
It was like a baby that could only handle liquid food.
Though the soul barrier resembled mist, the density of the soul pollution was like a mountain.
If his system tried to absorb it, it would be like eating rock.
"How do we get inside?" Erica asked.
Just looking at the mist-like soul barrier caused their hearts to race.
Though peaceful on the surface, all energy that passed through it was instantly disintegrated and crushed.
"Leave it to me..."
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Maximus had already deduced the approximate location and timing of the soul barrier's opening.
Instructing Voyager, Maximus pointed to the path the Seal of Truth had determined.
A few months later, they arrived at the location.
"There are others here?"
Before them were ships of various sizes, floating just outside the soul barrier, waiting for it to open.
"This is the only opening to the Silent Void Expanse for the next few hundred years, so it's no surprise they're here," Maximus explained.
There were many ways to deduce the entrance to the Silent Void Expanse.
Besides the Seal of Truth, people could use divinity, calculations, or other abilities and treasures.
The location could even be bought at special places if one knew where to look.
With millions of void ships around, Maximus instructed Voyager to proceed carefully, ensuring they didn't alert any of the other ships.
The Shadow, already in stealth mode, slowly approached the entrance as they waited for the barrier to open.
A few months later, fluctuations appeared as a vortex opened.
"Go!"
At full speed, the Shadow raced down the long vortex tunnel to enter.
The millions of ships behind them also hurried, as if their lives depended on it.
According to Maximus' deductions, the vortex would only last a few minutes.
With the soul barrier stretching thousands of light years, Maximus pushed the Shadow beyond its recommended speed.
A few minutes later, the Shadow successfully passed through the soul barrier.
Behind them, besides a few thousand unlucky ones, most of the ship made it through.
"That was dangerous!"
"Just a few more seconds, and we would have died!"
Being greeted by such a thrill just as they arrived, they couldn't help but worry about their following journey.
"Don't worry, I calculated the vortex was long enough for us to pass through," Maximus assured them.
There were other entrances into the expanse, but according to his deductions, most lasted only a few seconds.
Unless Maximus could teleport inside, getting through was impossible.
Their Void Ship, Shadow, ability was also mediocre.
Besides the stealth capabilities that could even hide before the eye of an overlord, its speed, defense, power, and auxiliary functions were only those of a regular tier-12 void ship.
Turning their attention outside, they weren't greeted by the empty void of space, but by an undulating landscape that looked like obsidian.
Despite the thick soul barrier preventing the formation of laws and living beings, matter could still form inside.
"Let's land first; the Shadow is overheating," Maximus ordered Voyager.
Turning the speed of the ship to overload; if he was not careful, it could be scrapped.
As they landed, Maximus and his wives curiously stepped out to feel the atmosphere.
"Huh~ This is brutal," Maximus muttered, hurriedly stabilizing his soul and checking on his wives.
The soul pollution corroded their souls, creating chaotic emotions and illusions in their minds.
If they weren't resolute, if their wills were weak, If they were a little careless, they could be consumed by the illusions until their souls were fully corrupted.
Although the corrosion wasn't as strong as when Maximus directly absorbed it, the pollution targeted their minds, which was more dangerous if they weren't careful.
Fortunately, after closing their eyes and concentrating, the illusions disappeared, and the soul pollution around began to swirl in their body.
"Hmm? The soul pollution was being purified and absorbed?"
Unlike void pollution, which was formed by chaotic causality of power, the soul pollution seemed purer and could be absorbed.
Once they passed the initial discomfort and chaotic illusions, it flowed into their bodies, strengthening their souls.
"Are you alright?" Maximus asked, just to be sure.
"Hmm, I feel my mind was clearer and more relaxed."
"Me too, my worries seem to have disappeared, and my soul feels stronger!"
As they recounted their experiences, Maximus nodded in relief.
"It seems this is truly an ultimate treasure ground!"
Eager to see how much soul pollution he could absorb, he activated his system.
[+9.8... 10+... 9.9... 9.6+]
"So much?"
The concentration of corrupted causality of power was tenth of what the void tide in the Endless Void Nullrift could produce.
It was like a mini-Void Tide was happening in this place.
However, upon further examination, the concentration of the soul pollution was only a little higher than Endless Void Nullrift.
"Is it because of the singleness of the causality of power?"
Though corrupted, the soul pollution was made up only by the pure causality of soul.
Without needing heavy purification, the system could retain more energy after processing it.
As his wives began training and forging their souls, Maximus sat down and tried directly absorbing the soul pollution.
"It's effective!"
Because Maximus was used to absorbing the corrupted causality of power, absorbing soul pollution didn't cause him too much damage.
With direct absorption, his forging speed was rapid as the soul pollution began to swirl around him.
Feeling his mind grew clearer as the insights of the river of knowledge flowed more smoothly, he couldn't help but be excited.
However, a few hours later, as they trained vigorously, the soul pollution around them began to dissipate.
Even the system's prompts slowed down: [0.3+… 0.4+… 0.3+…]
"No more? It seems we need to find a soul pool."
If they had to travel every time the concentration of the soul pollution dissipates, they wouldn't be able to concentrate on their training.
Using the void ship to travel while training wasn't an option either.
The ship blocked external energy; if they needed to train, they needed to open the ship to outside energy, which would render its stealth useless.
"Soul pool?" they asked, hearing him mutter.
"It's a concentrated source of soul pollution that has turned into liquid. Because of its immense supply, it's also known as an oasis of the Silent Void Expanse."
While others couldn't absorb soul pollution as quickly as Maximus, each time they tempered their souls, the pollution would also dissipate.
Finding a soul pool for long-term cultivation was the goal of everyone who came here.
After the ship had cooled down, they set off in search of a soul pool.
Using the Seal of Truth, Maximus began to deduce the nearest unoccupied pool.
After some time, Maximus pointed Voyager in the right direction.
Time passed in a flash, and a few years went by. However, despite the time, Maximus still hadn't found a soul pool.
The vastness of the Silent Void Expanse and the inaccurate deductions of the Seal of Truth contributed to their failure.
Like in the Endless Void Null Rift, the Seal of Truth couldn't function properly here.
The atmosphere, filled with causality of power, acted as a thick barrier that prevented the seal of truth from answering accurately.
"It seems like I have to use causality of power..."
Traveling aimlessly in this place for who knows how long was frustrating.
Although Maximus could absorb soul pollution, they couldn't temper their souls as intended.
Using causality power, the interference caused by the dense, high-tier energy in the atmosphere no longer affected the seal of truth's accuracy.
Within moments, Maximus managed to deduce the location of the nearest unoccupied soul pool.
"It's 25 years away… It's a bit far," Maximus sighed, not only because of the distance but also because of the causality points he had spent.
The Seal of Truth could only answer yes or no.
Depending on the atmospheric barrier and the preciousness of the information, more causality points were needed for each deduction.
To pinpoint the exact coordinates of the soul pool, Maximus had to ask thousands of questions.
In a single instance, millions of causality points were gone.
Although it barely made a dent in his 125 billion causality points, it was still too much just for a piece of information.
They would be here for thousands of years, the more he could save, the better.
Sighing, he instructed Voyager to steer the ship at full speed.