Chapter 616 - 568: "Shameless Human, You Still Want to Cooperate With Me?

"Eye of Destiny, acquire intelligence!"

As he neared his destination, Shi Ming used the Eye of Destiny in this unfamiliar region.

[BEEP!]

[Confirming coordinates. Searching for information. Information generated.]

[Chaos Edge]

[Congratulations, you have arrived at an extending region of the cosmos...]

[The cosmos is infinite. The Star Seas that harbor life are spaces that have stabilized, interwoven with the laws of reality. In these spaces, celestial bodies are stable, space is complete, time flows in an orderly fashion, and fate can occasionally be glimpsed. The regions beyond, which are chaotic and not yet fully stable, are known as the Sea of Chaos. The boundary where the Sea of Chaos meets a normal Star Sea is called the Chaos Edge.]

[The Chaos Edge is constantly expanding.]

[Beings below Nirvana-rank cannot linger at the Chaos Edge or in the Sea of Chaos. Nirvana-rank beings can travel through it normally, but they cannot replenish their energy from this chaotic region and must rely on their own reserves.]

[As for whether the Sea of Chaos is finite, or if other stable Star Seas exist within the endless chaos, not even the gods of old could find a definitive answer. However, the aberrations born from within the Sea of Chaos are a constant threat.]

[...]

’We’re here?’

The Great Fortune detached from the Dark Cosmos, entered normal space, and continued its voyage.

In the distance, the starry sky before Shi Ming lost its vastness and depth. Instead, its color was a turbulent chaos, more like an indescribable void.

The Chaos Edge.

This was not the edge of the universe, but the edge of this Star Sea.

In the region known as the "Chaos Edge," there were no celestial bodies, no stars, no radiation... The fundamental elements that constitute a starry sky were nowhere to be seen. Shi Ming could only see faint flashes of light produced by quantum fluctuations. The feeling was incredibly strange, just like when he had first piloted the Great Fortune out of the Endless Ocean and into space.

The difference was, in space, he was in his element.

Here at the Chaos Edge, however, his entire body felt uncomfortable. He was completely out of his element!

A creature born in the Star Sea instinctively rejected this feeling of being "far from home." It was like a fish pulled from the sea onto dry land—every fiber of its being was in distress.

He let out a long breath. "Staying in a place like this for too long... it really gets oppressive."

"I should hurry up and find String #18 to evolve the Eye of the Divine."

If the Sun-Shooter hadn’t evolved, Shi Ming’s original plan was to drift about in the Great Fortune. After all, the String was already sentient; if he didn’t go looking for it, there was a chance it would come to him. But now, the Sun-Shooter’s limitless upgrades gave it the ability to traverse the Chaos Edge. Wherever the canoe went, it could travel freely, without any restrictions!

Shi Ming would personally conduct the first phase of reconnaissance.

Ah Jian and Three-Eyes wouldn’t be idle either. Shi Ming had given them their own tasks.

WHOOSH—

Riding his canoe, Shi Ming left the Star Sea and entered the Chaos Edge. The Sun-Shooter’s streamlined hull cut through it like a pioneer’s plow, giving Shi Ming the sensation of surfing on the Endless Ocean. Except this time, there was no thrill, only a suffocating frustration.

Star Trait: Myriad Stars Like the Sea, activate!

Star Trait: Star Dream Without a Trace, activate!

With the Sun-Shooter, Shi Ming no longer had to worry about travel, and his plan changed from passive waiting to taking the initiative. He would find the String’s location within this Star Sea, gather intelligence in advance, and only make his move after thorough preparation. He aimed to succeed in a single strike and conquer the now-sentient String. If it had some kind of backing and had become a thrall to the aberrations, then he would eliminate them all!

Shi Ming turned his attention to the Colorful Insect suppressed within his Sea of Spirit.

"Colorful Insect, does this feeling seem familiar?"

"Does it feel like you’ve returned home? Look at this murky, chaotic expanse. How about we make another deal?"

The Colorful Insect was born in the ancestral home of the Star Spirit Race, the Radiant Dream Realm.

So naturally, this was not its home.

But just as Shi Ming had said, the Colorful Insect truly felt at home here, as if every particle of pollution in its body was being empowered. Even its source energy, which Shi Ming had drained dry, was recovering several times faster than before.

If it stayed here, it would soon reach the Calamity-rank once again!

As it felt a surge of joy, its wariness also spiked.

"Cooperation?"

"Hmph! Cooperation! You shameless human!"

"The last time we ’cooperated,’ I saw your true, cunning nature. I helped you corrupt that woman, and you promised me a new life. And the result? You reaped all the benefits while I was demoted from Calamity-rank to Disaster-rank! I will never trust you again. You are more vile than the foulest dream of the Star Spirit Race!"

Shi Ming was left speechless.

"Of course I was willing to give you a new life."

"But you should also try to see it from my perspective."

"The Star Sea is my home. If I had released you there, it would have brought utter devastation to my people. How could someone who would abandon their home for a little benefit be a good partner? If you were in my position back then, you would have made the exact same choice."

"We’re the same kind of creature."

"Besides, haven’t I brought you to the Sea of Chaos now?"

"You can surely feel it—this is your true home. Here, you will find solace for your soul and, of course, the freedom you crave. I’m not playing word games this time! I swear on my Nirvana Source: if our cooperation is successful, I will truly release you from the Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower."

"Look, isn’t the sky of your homeland beautiful?"

"Don’t you really want to experience it for yourself?"

The Colorful Insect fell into a long silence.

’That’s right... if I were him, I wouldn’t have kept my promise either... No, that’s different! That cunning bastard almost twisted my thinking! But he seems to have sworn an oath, and I can feel the fluctuation... As long as I can get out of this Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower, the boundless Sea of Chaos will become my true paradise. By then, I’ll have no more conflicts of interest with this man. It really would be a win-win. He’d have no reason to break the contract again.’

’I’ll hear his conditions first.’

The Colorful Insect did not agree immediately.

It had already mastered some simple negotiation tactics. It understood that in a situation like this, the more desperate it appeared, the more easily it could be controlled. Acting calm and composed, on the other hand, would make it seem indifferent to the offer.

Little did it know, the fluctuations in its aura were constantly under Shi Ming’s watch.

Even its most subtle fluctuations gave it away.

...

「Three hours later.」

"Human."

"I will trust you one last time. Speak. How do you want to cooperate?"

Shi Ming blinked.

"I want to borrow your source, to let me temporarily possess the characteristics of an aberration."