Within an unknown Static Local-Inflation 3D parallel universe, deep inside the desolate Dark Ocean, Seraphine sat cross-legged like a cosmic giant.
The surrounding void in all directions was a boundless, lightless abyss. Whether the nearest Matter Sea was a septillion, undecillion, or quindecillion light-years away remained unknown, but everything was possible.
Seraphine, however, was entirely indifferent to these details.
To this strange universe, she was merely a passing traveler, and this place was nothing more than a temporary foothold. She had no interest in the external affairs of this world.
Her primary focus was conducting repeated analytical reviews of the Sacred God Territory's multiple components and the Probability Integration Array.
She had to ensure there was not a single oversight before proceeding with her next dimension-ascending plan.
Simultaneously, Seraphine was researching how to convert the Multi-dimensional Macro-Micro Resonance Interference technology from those two puppets into "nutrients," perfectly integrating them into her own Boundless Domain.
This was the same Boundless Domain she had possessed since first becoming a 4D lifeform.
That "ever-present" relational field, born from the most fundamental aspects of multi-dimensional space-time, had emerged as her companion skill at the start of her 4D existence.
After her ascension to a 5D being, its coverage expanded from a few dozen light-years to hundreds of thousands.
Furthermore, once Seraphine used the Authority of Change to modify her own unit cell parameters, the range of the Boundless Domain increased from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of light-years.
Of course, compared to the Light of Infinity or the much larger Hegemony Domain, the scale of the Boundless Domain was still far inferior.
However, the Boundless Domain and that Multi-dimensional Macro-Micro Resonance Interference Field were essentially similar in their existential and operational foundations; one could even say they shared the exact same source.
Both of them achieved FTL perception, touch, and manipulation of all cosmic matter through complex resonance between macro-unfolding multidimensionality and micro-collapsing multidimensionality.
Even Seraphine's repeated dimensional ascensions, expanding her overall scale and volume, were phenomena achieved by the Boundless Domain's aggressive "consumption" of external space on a topological level.
The only difference was that the Multi-dimensional Macro-Micro Resonance technology possessed by the two puppets was vastly, vastly more advanced than her Boundless Domain.
To give an example, while both involve throwing things to hit someone, the Boundless Domain is like a primitive blowgun from an Amazonian tribe, whereas the Multi-dimensional Macro-Micro Resonance technology is like the simultaneous firing of a star-destroying fleet's cannons.
They are simply incomparable.
Just as Seraphine was patiently conducting her research, her Transcendental Perception suddenly leaped within her mind.
As it leaped, a message manifested:
[A massive danger will descend in one second.]
Seeing this vague message, Seraphine couldn't help but chuckle. "Impressive. It only took them five minutes to find me."
Having said that, she restarted the Real Number Channel without delay.
BUZZ
In an instant, a massive gray vortex, hundreds of billions of light-years in diameter, flashed into existence. It swallowed Seraphine along with the colossal Sacred God Territory floating before her, vanishing completely from the cosmic void.
Barely a second later, a vast and terrifying Interference Force descended upon the location, instantly blanketing a septillion-light-year radius. At that same instant, it pulverized and vaporized all macro-phenomena within this massive region.
Immediately after, Coo and Genarkrail arrived together.
Upon reaching this realm, Coo once again activated his All-Spectrum Eye to scan the entire 3D Great Boundary, and as expected, found nothing.
"Dammit! They're fast!"
He muttered angrily, then began using Genarkrail as the core to perform a causal tracking technique.
The aim of this technique is to use a specific object or person as a causal node. By performing a process of deducing effects from causes within the infinite causal network, one searches for another object or person at a different node that has had multiple causal entanglements with the target.
The so-called causal network represents the overall landscape of various relationships and influences, both simple and complex, that a living being or inanimate object has experienced with many others throughout the vastness of time.
For example, one day, A has nothing better to do and decides to buy rat poison to poison their classmate, B. However, the shop owner mistakenly sells them a bag of rock sugar instead.
Unaware, A finds B and demands they eat the whole bag, otherwise, A will stab them. B looks at the rock sugar and helplessly explains they have diabetes and can't eat that much. A responds, "Do you think I'm a delivery person? Eat it or I'll kill you."
As the two are struggling, C arrives and arrests A, turns out the shop owner called the police.
In this chaotic sequence, A, B, the shop owner, and C are all part of a relatively small causal network. They are each causal nodes within this web. In this specific network, A and B are the closest nodes, followed by the shop owner, with C being the furthest. Each of the four has influenced the other three, and each has received influence from the others.
Theoretically, the total number of causal networks any person or object possesses or occupies is immense. Because the essence of a person is the sum total of their social relationships.
At the scene, who was currently at the closest distance to Seraphine on the same causal network?
The answer was obvious: Genarkrail himself.
It could even be said that the vast majority of civilizations and races within the Verdant Ancient Matter Sea shared deep causal links. Genarkrail had completely participated in and led the creation of the overall landscape of the Matter Sea's 36 Primeval Rivers.
The birth of the God of Hunger race, the extinction of ancient civilizations, the emergence of numerous cosmic beasts, the rise of the Houiste Civilization, the birth of various Sentience Realm life forms, the creation of the Sage and Sage-like systems, the birth of Gluttony King Tu, the emergence of the Gravitational Dragon race, the list goes on. Even the birth of the Witch system within the corresponding Realm of Phantasm of the Verdant Ancient Matter Sea shared deep connections with him. (Starlight Entity Legion model = Sentience Realm life forms; Phantom Dream Deity = Witch system.)
"The causal ties between you and this 5D weed are exceptionally deep. Her life and the results of your influence, along with the regenerated and repeated results of those influences, are heavily intertwined."
Coo continued his chatter at Genarkrail while performing the causal search. "That's actually the main reason I'm still keeping you around. Otherwise, you'd have been kicked to the curb a long time ago."
"Fine," Genarkrail shrugged. "Doesn't matter, as long as we catch that person."
After five minutes of work, Coo finally located Seraphine's position within Genarkrail's dense, multi-layered causal network. Using that as the source, he once again locked onto a certain unknown 3D space-time.
BUZZ
With a cosmic vibration, the two rapidly left that universe and instantly descended into that unknown space-time.
Regrettably, Seraphine had once again left that universe a second before they arrived; her tracks were a mystery once more.
Coo refused to give up. He again used Genarkrail as the core, performing the complex causal tracking to search for Seraphine's trail.
But this time, they were still a second behind Seraphine, unable to halt her.
"Goddammit!"
Coo cursed and started the causal tracking once more.
And so it went, five minutes after five minutes, again and again.
They continuously leaped between parallel universes, searching over 200 times. After spending more than 20 hours, they still had nothing.
"This is weird," Coo said, scratching his head in frustration within the vast void. "How the hell are they doing it? How do they beat me by a step every single time?"
Unable to help, Genarkrail could only stand aside, boredly using his powerful multi-dimensional interference field to slowly tear apart and knead a strange Matter Sea quadrillions of light-years away.
To him, this was just a casual, mindless whim.
But the numerous civilizations and elite experts dwelling there were doomed. Regardless of how many eons they had developed or how glorious their history, they were senselessly annihilated in a series of horrific cosmic destructions.
After a moment of frustration, Coo had no choice but to continue the causal tracking, persisting in his pursuit of Seraphine.
Across countless space-times, Seraphine had finally grasped the entirety of the Probability Theory - Reality Strong Selection Technology, as well as the various technologies contained within the Sacred God Territory and the Probability Integration Array.
However, over the course of her twenty-hour study, she discovered that the current Primordial Integration Array at the core of the Sacred God Territory was simply incapable of supporting her dimensional ascension.
Or rather, that array was far too small, and its "power output" was too low; it couldn't even budge.
This, however, was quite normal.
After all, no matter how powerful the motor and batteries of a toy car are, they can't serve as the warp drive for a neutron star-level warship.
Not to mention the "fuel" required to activate the Probability Integration Array, a single Gravitational Primeval River was nowhere near enough.
Furthermore, during her strategic retreats, Seraphine discovered that using the Authority of Change to create objects out of nothing as "fuel" was completely unfeasible.
The fuel required by the Probability Integration Array wasn't just simple matter and energy. What it truly needed were things that had left actual, lasting "traces" within the River of Time.
So even if Seraphine created a mountain of infinitely multiplying observable universes and erased a trillion years of their time, they still couldn't serve as fuel.
Therefore, she currently needed a far more massive probability array and a much larger amount of external "fuel." The scale required for both would be astronomical.
Of course, achieving this was difficult given the Hegemony Domain's mere five-trillion-light-year range.
Fortunately, after more than twenty hours of research, the prerequisite for all of this was finally met. Seraphine had successfully created a brand-new interference field by integrating Multi-dimensional technology, the Five-Dimensional True Form Boundless Domain, and the Domain of Spatial Hegemony.
This field she named the [Multi-dimensional Boundless Hegemony Domain].
The technical details of this new interference field were incredibly complex, with a massive volume of information. If converted into a precise data stream and funneled into a mortal's brain in a second, it would likely form a terrifying black hole within their skull, leading to the destruction of Earth.
However, the core concept of this new interference field was quite simple.
Structurally, it used Seraphine's Five-Dimensional True Form as the core, her Four-Dimensional Exterior as the secondary core, and her Three-Dimensional Exterior as the tertiary core. It was formed by utilizing the complex resonance phenomena between macro-multidimensionality and micro-multidimensionality, along with the various complex effects triggered by these phenomena, to create a powerful, resultant field that bypassed typical quantum effects.
During this research and calculation process, Seraphine discovered that continuously upgrading her Boundless Domain through various technologies to expand its range was the true path to increasing the scale of a high-dimensional being's external interference field.
Using the Light of Infinity directly for such influence was simply far too wasteful.
In this, Seraphine discovered something interesting.
Within the vast amount of technology contained in the two puppets, there was clearly a complete technical system for the phase-upgrading and reconstruction of the Boundless Domain.
Even a Boundless Domain that hadn't been modified or optimized, which would naturally have a limited range, would experience an explosive increase in scope and scale once optimized through this upgrade system.
However, this system was clearly a top-down creative product of the 6D civilizations. For a 4D or 5D lifeform, it was essentially impossible to pioneer such a system from the bottom up.
This demonstrated that the 6D civilizations possessed a truly dominant influence over the infinite lower-dimensional space-time. Under normal circumstances, it would indeed be very difficult for a 4D or 5D being to mount any effective resistance against them.
After these fleeting thoughts, Seraphine began creating her new interference field.
First, she upgraded her original Boundless Domain.
With the aid of the new system, her original Boundless Domain, which had a diameter of only ten million light-years, suddenly underwent a violent expansion, similar to the inflation of a Singularity-like point.
BUZZ
Space-time trembled, and the cosmos surged.
In a mere second, the Boundless Domain surrounding Seraphine underwent a colossal, explosive expansion. It roared outward, blanketing a full thirty trillion light-years in every direction, completely swallowing and assimilating the original Hegemony Domain.
Immediately following this, Seraphine dismantled the various structures of the Hegemony Domain. Using the newly birthed Boundless Domain at her exterior as the core, she began constructing the brand-new interference field, the Boundless Hegemony Domain.
BOOM!!!
In a flash, the Boundless Domain, spanning thirty trillion light-years in diameter, surged violently. It underwent a series of complex transformations as it began to form a new realm.
While expanding and constructing the new interference field, Seraphine also took a moment to open the [6D String Race] information package and began browsing.
Within the massive volume of data, the general conditions of 6D space were vaguely described.
It was a terrifying realm where even the cosmic background temperature was a trillion times higher than the Planck temperature, and its physical volume was seemingly of [Actual Infinite] scale.
As for the 6D lifeforms birthed there, the String race, they were a bizarre people with no concept of gender, no parents or children, and no families or kin.
Consequently, the number of members in their race could also tend toward the Infinitely Large.
Seraphine also discovered that from bottom to top, the String Race possessed a total of thirteen distinct levels. The power of individuals at each stage was worlds apart.
And Genarkrail, as it turned out, was merely at the third level. Above him, ten entire stages still loomed.
BUZZ
At this exact moment, the [Infinite Attributes] system once again roared to life.
"Ah, what a coincidence."
Seraphine, long since skilled in modifying the attribute system, immediately and without hesitation invoked the Authority of Change to deeply influence its operation.
In an instant, under the power of the Authority of Change, the Physical Strength and Soul attribute values on the interface blurred and trembled violently and uncontrollably.
While interfering with the system's operation, Seraphine blinked her Eye of Transcendence, whispering softly as she sensed something:
"Strange... I can precisely feel that this time, the attributes... will increase by 1000 times.
Is this the Authority of Change's power growing stronger? Or is the Root Divinity playing its part?"
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
As Seraphine puzzled and speculated, the [Infinite Attributes] system officially concluded its attribute doubling.
Composing herself, she looked at the interface.
As she had predicted, following the deep intervention of the Authority of Change and a period of violent fluctuations, the data displayed on the interface had become:
[Host: Seraphine]
[Physical Strength: 18 Matter Seas]
[Soul: 18 Matter Seas]
This time, compared to the previous attribute values, it had indeed increased exactly 1,000 times.
Furthermore, after this dramatic surge, the unit for the attribute values had shifted from [Galaxy] to [Matter Sea].
Yes, this unit named [Matter Sea] referred specifically to the Verdant Ancient Matter Sea.
And the total mass of the Verdant Ancient Matter Sea is equivalent to 100 quintillion Milky Ways.
In other words, at this moment, Seraphine's Physical Strength and Soul each possessed the physical force of 1.8 sextillion Milky Ways.
However, after truly witnessing the various grand powers of the 6D lifeforms, Seraphine no longer placed much importance on such petty strength. Once you have seen the vast, deep ocean, why would you look back at a babbling brook?
She still had a very, very long road to travel in her future.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
The construction of the Boundless Hegemony Domain continued, and the infinite cosmos shook relentlessly under her constantly surging influence and coverage.
After just a momentary pause for reflection, Seraphine returned to "viewing" the [6D String Race] memory package within her boundless mind.
Earlier, within this data, she had seen the basic, overall hierarchy of the String Race.
It was divided into thirteen levels.
According to the records, the gap between each of these levels was massive. Furthermore, as the levels increased, the magnitude of the difference between them grew exponentially.
Yet, contrary to normal understanding, the String Race, with its many evolutionary tiers, possessed no clear cultivation system, nor even a common culture or understanding of cultivation.
The reason for this was quite simple.
According to the memory package, the entire String Race possessed a miraculous innate talent known as the [Jormungandr's Loop].
They simply didn't need to cultivate.
Under the powerful influence of this talent, whose principles and specifics were not clearly described in the information package, the already immortal String Race would continuously grow in strength simply with the passage of time.
Those with poor talent grew a bit slower, while those with great talent grew a bit faster.
Those individuals with immense talent would start firmly established at a relatively high level and maintain an incredibly fast growth rate throughout their lives.
In essence, any String Race individual, as long as they survived, could continuously grow in strength. This meant that the longer a member of the String Race lived, the more powerful they would become.
After careful analysis and deliberation, Seraphine determined that the concept of "Strength" mentioned in the information package specifically referred to the breadth, intensity, and precision values of a String Race individual's external interference field.
As for energy reserves, the String Race themselves didn't seem to place much importance on them.
Seraphine had her own thoughts on this:
"Correct. Once one stands in a higher dimension, perhaps the most irrelevant thing is energy. As long as one's influence and control over space-time are profound enough, obtaining and manipulating massive amounts of energy is simple.
The belief of 'seeking internally and not relying on external objects', which is somewhat similar to 'Energy Hoarding Disorder' or 'Energy Stockpiling Obsession', is actually quite narrow-minded when you think about it.
When a life form's energy extraction and manipulation power is great enough, and its control and influence over the vast cosmos are also great enough, the distinction between 'internal' and 'external' truly ceases to exist. Everything within the range of its interference field, space-time, matter, energy, becomes an extension of its own limbs and an inexhaustible, eternal source of power."
Indeed, Seraphine herself could now completely forgo the infinite energy supplied by the system. Relying solely on the external, infinite Vacuum Zero-Point Energy was more than enough for her to easily perform god-level acts of creation or destruction.
A vacuum the size of a single proton possesses the energy equivalent of the total mass-energy of an entire observable universe. Under normal circumstances, that energy density is more than sufficient. And even if it weren't, Seraphine could use the Authority of Change to manifest a hyper-powerful, infinite energy source from nothing.
Concluding these thoughts, Seraphine continued reading the memory package and reached the description of the first and weakest level of the String Race hierarchy, the Zero String Stage.
This stage is for the newly birthed members of the String Race, or perhaps their infantile, unawakened stage.
Almost every single moment, massive clusters of Zero String individuals are born throughout 6D space; they are everywhere.
Although Zero String beings seem common and numerous, their power is far beyond what a Three-Dimensional Ungrateful Son could ever touch or even comprehend.
Each seemingly young and fragile Zero String individual contains 6D pure energy equivalent to the total mass-energy value of an octillion observable universes.
Their infantile-level interference field, if converted into its 3D spatial equivalent and manifested as a 3D sphere, would reach a massive diameter of 10^20 light-years.
Theoretically, even a newly born String Race infant possesses the power to completely annihilate the largest Matter Sea in 3D space with a single strike.
Above the first level is the second level: the Jade String Stage.
String Race individuals at this level are over a million times more powerful than Zero Strings, corresponding to the toddler-to-adolescent stage of their race.
At this level, they possess a childhood-level interference field. If its measurement parameters were converted to 3D space, its diameter would reach 10^22 light-years.
The number of String Race members at this level is also immense. The vast majority of them attend String Race schools to undergo a long period of compulsory education lasting 90 quadrillion years.
According to the records, the disparity and gap in life paths between the majority of String Race individuals begin to rapidly widen during this stage.
Individuals with exceptional talent will skip multiple grades during this phase, standing firmly at a high evolutionary level even before graduation. They are presented with numerous superior platforms for further growth, ensuring a better life.
Those with slightly better-than-average talent will similarly complete multiple transformations, ascending to relatively high evolutionary levels. Before graduation, depending on their growth tendencies, they can choose a superior platform to continue their development and secure a relatively beautiful life.
However, individuals with relatively average talent might only advance two levels or so by the time they graduate. They might barely get into an art school, vocational school, or technical college, and that would be the extent of it.
As for those with poor or even worse talent, they might only struggle to climb half a level or one full level during the entire lengthy period of compulsory education. After barely graduating, they become the cogs at the bottom of String Race society or simply ordinary, idle citizens.
The third level is the True String Stage, referring to a truly adult String Race individual.
Those at this level are a trillion times more powerful than those at the second level. If their interference field diameter were converted to 3D space-time, it would reach 10^26 light-years.
Based on Seraphine's analysis and deduction, that 6D being named Genarkrail was likely at this level.
"The gap between dimensions is truly that massive," Seraphine lamented leisurely. "Even a street thug from 6D space can hold the power of life and death over the infinite civilizations of the 3D universe, influencing and leading the entirety of its long history."
After this reflection, she continued reading.
According to the information, the fourth level of the String Race is called the Mystic String Stage.
String Race individuals at this level are a septillion times more powerful than those at the third level, roughly equivalent to the level of art school or vocational school students.
At this stage, the diameter of their interference field reaches 10^34 light-years.
Judging from the memory fragments within the puppet of Genarkrail's strange associate, Seraphine deduced and determined that he was likely at this level.
The fifth level is named the Sky String Stage.
String Race individuals standing at this level are over an undecillion times more powerful than those at the fourth level. The diameter of their interference field reaches 10^46 light-years.
The sixth level is named the Ancient String Stage.
Those established at this level of the String Race are a quindecillion times more powerful than those at the fifth level.
Their interference field diameter reaches 10^62 light-years.
The seventh level is named the Ultimate String Stage.
String Race individuals at this level are a novemdecillion times more powerful than those at the sixth level.
The diameter of their interference field reaches 10^82 light-years.
The eighth level is named the Prime String Stage.
Those established at this level of the String Race are a tresvigintillion times more powerful than those at the seventh level.
The diameter of their interference field is 10^106 light-years.
At this level, their interference field diameter has abruptly surpassed a Googol light-years.
The ninth level is named the King String Stage.
String Race individuals established at this level are a septemvigintillion times more powerful than those at the eighth level. The diameter of their interference field reaches a shocking... 10^134 light-years.
It's not just the breadth of the interference field; the precision and intensity of their power have also reached terrifying levels.
The diameter of the Static Local-Inflation 3D Great Boundary is 10^132 light-years.
Theoretically, a King String needs to employ only one-millionth of their total power to easily and completely annihilate an entire Static 3D Great Boundary, a realm containing 10^252 massive Matter Seas.
Furthermore, according to the records, when a King String destroys a 3D Great Boundary, they reduce everything, space-time, matter, energy, information, to the state of absolute nothingness.
Reading up to this point, even Seraphine felt the pressure.
"The strength of this String Race... is a bit much. The combat power explodes with each level."
Of course, this was just a fleeting observation. As someone who had cut down countless enemies and witnessed infinite landscapes to reach her current heights, Seraphine would never feel panic or fear because of an enemy's strength.
On the contrary, she felt excited.
"The world should be this vast, and enemies this powerful for things to be interesting," Seraphine laughed, the brilliant light flashing within her Eye of Transcendence.
She continued reading.
However... the four stages above the ninth level, String Emperor, String Sovereign, String God, and String Ancestor, were largely blank. While their titles existed in the data, the specific power metrics for each were empty, without a single word.
"Could it be..."
Seraphine mused, tilting her head. "Is it because Genarkrail and his associate are both at the bottom of the String Race's social ladder that they are completely ignorant of the information regarding levels above the ninth?"
On reflection, that was highly likely.
Just as a common mortal on Earth might know the name of their country's wealthiest person, but aside from that and a few obvious facts, they wouldn't know the deeper details of that individual's life.
Seraphine was also intensely curious about the familiar terms and concepts like "compulsory education" and "vocational schools" within the String Race civilization. Why would a high-dimensional race that seemingly had no connection to Earth's civilization know and use such terms and concepts?
Their behavior, was far too Earth-like. Out of the infinite lower-dimensional races and civilizations across space-time, why was Earth favored in such a way? It seemed completely unnecessary.
After a moment's thought, she turned her attention to the other information package: [Non-Static Global-Inflation 3D Great Boundary].