NOVPUB"If I'm not mistaken, the range covered by this purple Heavenly Curtain is the world manifested by my sea of consciousness. If that's the case, wouldn't breaking through the barrier mean I've left my sea of consciousness?"
He thought, somewhat puzzled.
For a powerful soul body, even if it left the sea of consciousness, there wouldn't be any issues in the short term. At his level, he could exist with just his soul body alone.
However, Sterl realized that as one advanced to higher levels, the integrity of the body became increasingly important. The soul and body were inseparable; focusing on the development of only one aspect would never allow one to reach the highest level.
So, Sterl hesitated slightly. After all, he didn't know what lay beyond this barrier.
Without any references or legacy, he was uncertain whether breaking through the barrier would cause irreversible damage to his soul body. These were all things he needed to consider.
But Sterl was now facing another problem: he was certain that the soul energy within the Soul Devourer Sphere had been almost completely absorbed.
The enhancement of his soul level had been completed, but he still couldn't find a way to leave the sea of consciousness!
Yes, he couldn't escape the sea of consciousness!
Normally, entering the sea of consciousness was like introspecting within one's own body. It only took a thought to leave. But this time, it was different.
He had tried several methods earlier, but none of them allowed his consciousness to break free. It seemed as though he was stuck in a crucial stage of transformation, and until it was completed, he couldn't leave.
Sterl extended his hand, pressing his massive, planet-like palm against the invisible barrier, then applied a slight force.
He expected the barrier to show some change, considering his soul body had grown to an extraordinarily terrifying size.
However, his palm felt an unyielding sense of solidity, and there wasn't a ripple to be seen.
Seeing this, Sterl furrowed his brows. His intuition told him that this impenetrable barrier was not only his bottleneck but also a protective measure. Breaking it might lead him to a new soul level, but it could also bring about unknown risks.
"I still know too little about the soul. While I did gain a large amount of records and knowledge from the royal library of Orichalcum's kingdom, most of it was about the [Transcendence] System, and there was very little concerning the soul,"
Sterl said with some helplessness.
In reality, he was never someone who relied solely on his cheat without paying attention to theory.
On the contrary, the knowledge he possessed made him a polymath, capable of outperforming most so-called scholars and Grandmasters.
Each time he entered a new place or encountered a different force, he would find ways to acquire different kinds of knowledge and then use his powerful soul and cognitive abilities to absorb and digest it.
It was just that his strength had grown so rapidly that, despite all this, the theoretical knowledge couldn't keep up, especially when it came to areas like the soul and ultimate passive systems—systems that he had forcibly developed and enhanced on his own.
"This won't do. Although there is no concept of time or space within the sea of consciousness, it doesn't mean that time in the real world won't continue to pass. If I delay too long..."
A slight unease settled in his heart.
The threat of the Dream Spirit Empire had not been eliminated, and at any moment, billions of troops could surround and annihilate him. Now, on top of that, there was the unknown and terrifying threat of the Lord of Souls. He couldn't afford to waste too much time thinking.
After a moment of deep thought and forcing himself to activate Dimension Perception several times, Sterl decided to follow his instincts.
With his mind made up, he lifted his head and looked toward the invisible barrier in the Heavenly Curtain above. A vast amount of soul energy and the resentment of countless beings began to surge within him.
Massive arms extended from his back. In mere moments, at least a hundred arms erupted from him, each covered in black scales. On each scale, a tortured face seemed to emerge, and the entire scene looked like a multi-armed demon god—hideous and grotesque, yet with a unique sense of holiness.
"Come on... No matter what lies ahead, nothing can stop my power."
A voice, reminiscent of a demonic whisper, echoed across the sea of consciousness. The hundreds of arms accumulated power and then smashed upward with incredible force!
Boom!!!
In an instant, countless immense soul powers crashed into the invisible barrier, sending a terrifying shockwave in all directions.
The entire sea of consciousness began to tremble, and even the hazy purple Heavenly Curtain seemed to shake as if it were on the verge of collapsing.
However, Sterl paid no attention to any of this. The fluctuations in the sea of consciousness didn't affect his awareness or thoughts.
Around him, the void enveloped in soul energy revealed countless eyes, all fixated on the invisible barrier above him.
Suddenly, with a crisp snap, Sterl's heart jolted, and an inexplicable tremor surged from deep within him.
The sensation was like being shocked, or like a sudden whim—a sense of panic and unease in the face of the unknown.
He saw it—the hard, invisible barrier, cracking open a small gap under his power. Then, countless beams of light poured out from the crack, violently cascading over Sterl's soul body.
These lights felt as if they had weight, relentlessly crushing his soul body. The Eyes of the Soul that had gathered around him were instantly engulfed by the endless light, and then they exploded in a violent burst.
Next, he felt as though he were a fish caught in a turbulent current, his body being uncontrollably swept away, pushed forward, and his consciousness slowly sinking into stillness. The only image remaining was the endless light!
"Just a bit more... Just one step away from a true breakthrough..."
Whoosh!
Outside, above Barbatos' head.
Sterl, sitting on the throne as if in a deep, meditative sleep, suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of light, invisible to the naked eye and undetectable even by the soul, flickered briefly before disappearing without a trace.
His expression shifted from confusion to calm almost immediately.
"Have I really left the sea of consciousness?"
With a thought, he could now sense the figures of all the Nightmare warriors. Sterl was fully certain—he had indeed left the sea of consciousness.
"What exactly lies beyond that barrier?"
Reflecting on the only image his soul body had seen—the barrier had only cracked open slightly, yet countless beams of light had poured out and overwhelmed his soul body.
Fortunately, that unknown light hadn't erased his soul or the sea of consciousness. Instead, it had driven him out of the sea of consciousness, as though he wasn't yet qualified to touch that layer.
Of course, the qualification was not far from him; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sense the barrier or open that small crack.
Moreover, after being bathed in the vast light, Sterl felt that his soul had undergone some peculiar change.
This change felt familiar, somewhat like the special resistance that increased under the impact of high-level soul energy.
But this was entirely different from any resistance he had experienced before.
His intuition told him that this special resistance was the core of this transformation. It would play an incredibly important role in his future ability to cross that barrier and enter the mysterious, unknown world.
Shaking his head, Sterl decided not to think any further about the state of his sea of consciousness. Instead, he turned his focus to reviewing the results of his recent enhancement.
With a thought, his attribute panel appeared. On the soul section, it clearly displayed that his soul level had reached an astounding 99!
Additionally, he felt that the immense increase in his soul power and mental strength had also affected his Spiritual Transcendence, bringing about subtle changes.
[Spiritual Transcendence]
[Type: Permanent Passive]
[Description: Find potential, unlock potential. This is an arcane skill for self-transcendence, and it has been developed to its utmost limit under the influence of some unknown force. It belongs only to theory, not to the limits of existence! This limit should never have appeared, but now it has erupted with unimaginable power!]
[Effect: Transmute the spirit into the sea of consciousness, greatly enhancing both the intensity and volume of the spirit. Meanwhile, the mental sea will automatically rotate. Each rotation will increase the intensity and volume of the mental strength. (In a meditative state, the rotation speed will be further enhanced depending on the depth of the meditation.)
(Due to the influence of his own soul, the rotation speed of the mental sea is doubled.)
Current stage increase:
Total spiritual power increased by 1100%!
Spiritual rank +5!
Spiritual strength +210!
Spiritual power now has an inexhaustible characteristic, regenerating 0.15% of its total amount per second!
(PS: Miracle power! Transcendence power! Unknown power! Hidden characteristics remain to be developed and discovered.)
Compared to before, the rotation speed of the mental sea had increased by a full 2 times!
Don't underestimate this doubling. Sterl hadn't been using Spiritual Transcendence for long, but with the constant rotation of his mental power, it had already increased by another 100%, and his mental strength had grown by 10 points.
Now, with this added feature, it meant that his mental power would increase much faster than before!
Moreover!
His soul level skyrocketing by 9 levels meant that both his mental and soul power had expanded several times over compared to before.
This led to Spiritual Transcendence's effects surging by several times!
The increase was still 1100%, but the difference between a total of 50 and a total of 200 was a significant one, a difference in the base value.
This was also why, even though the high-level soul energy had only improved his physical attributes by a few times, it directly caused an imbalance in his power!
