Nexus Ascension: My Comprehension Defies the Heaven

Chapter 629: A Chaos Mine?

In the end, Grey became a 10th star alchemist.

Elder Zhen personally handed him the certification badge, his expression still carrying traces of disbelief. The gatekeeper who had tried to stop Grey earlier now looked at him with a mixture of respect and embarrassment.

”With this badge, you have access to our intermediate archives.” Elder Zhen said. ”Feel free to return whenever you wish to study further.”

Grey nodded politely and stored the badge away.

”Thank you for the opportunity, Elder.” He said.

They left the Celestial Cauldron Pavilion shortly after, stepping back onto the glowing pathways of the Central Hub.

He naturally wasn’t going to spend the entire time in the alchemy pavilion. There was somewhere else he wanted to visit, somewhere far more important for his long-term goals.

”Let’s head to the Evolutionary Path Repository.” Grey said.

Alan nodded and led the way.

They traveled through several districts before arriving at a massive structure that dwarfed even the Celestial Cauldron Pavilion. The building resembled an ancient library crossed with a futuristic data center, its walls covered in flowing scripts that constantly shifted and changed.

This was where the 12th plane of existence recorded all known evolutionary paths.

Grey stepped inside with Alissa and Alan following close behind.

The interior was vast beyond measure, with holographic displays floating throughout the space. Each display showed information about different evolutionary paths, their rankings, their notable practitioners, and their theoretical limits.

Grey’s eyes scanned the leaderboards with interest.

The rankings were organized by path type rather than individual cultivation methods.

At the very top sat the Immortal Path, dominating first place with countless followers across the 12th plane.

Second place belonged to the Martial Path.

The Magic Path claimed the third position.

Fourth place went to the Esper Path and the Bloodline Path held the fifth position.

Grey’s gaze lingered on the fourth position.

”Looks like the Esper Path is falling behind.” Grey commented with a thoughtful expression.

”But it makes sense.” He continued. ”The paths you’re competing with were created and researched by countless millions. Even in the 12th plane of existence, there are many followers contributing to their development.”

He glanced at Alan.

”But you started off from an 11th dimensional plane and worked on your own to reach the Information Layer. That’s already an incredible achievement.”

Grey’s attention shifted to another entry on the leaderboard.

The Genesis Evolutionary Path sat at sixth place overall. This was Joestar’s creation, and its position spoke volumes about its quality.

”Not bad at all.” Grey murmured.

Sixth place in the entire 12th plane of existence was already exceptional. Joestar clearly had talent for path creation, and the Genesis Path showed significant potential.

But Grey noticed something interesting as he studied the path’s details.

The version recorded here wasn’t complete.

He couldn’t see any mention of Genesis Qi anywhere in the documentation. Instead, the path utilized Spiritual Energy or Chaos Energy as its primary cultivation resource.

That was odd.

According to Joestar, Genesis Qi was a unique energy type that served as the foundation of his complete path. Its absence here suggested that the full version hadn’t been uploaded.

He was sure the ranking would be higher if Genesis Qi was present here.

According to Joestar, Genesis Qi was related to Ouroboros somehow.

He mentioned it reminded him of ”Ouroboros”

The energy had certain qualities that seemed connected to the concepts of infinity and endless existence. Perhaps when he returned home, he should ask Ouroboros for more details.

She might know where Genesis Qi truly originated from.

After all, Genesis Qi was more potent than Spiritual Energy. There had to be a reason for that superiority.

Grey turned his attention to the path upload terminal.

He had come here with a specific purpose in mind, and it was time to execute it.

Grey approached the terminal and initiated the upload process. His Aether Evolutionary Path, complete with all nine ranks he had perfected, began transferring into the repository’s database.

The upload completed in seconds.

Then the leaderboards shifted.

Grey watched with quiet satisfaction as his path climbed through the rankings. It bypassed hundreds of established paths, then thousands, rising higher and higher without stopping.

Within the 9th rank category, his path reached the very top.

No other path could match its completeness, its lack of bottlenecks, or its connection to the Summit of Nexus. The Aether Evolutionary Path now dominated the leaderboard for all paths that ended at the 9th rank.

Nobody else in the repository seemed to notice the change.

The other visitors continued browsing their own interests, oblivious to the seismic shift that had just occurred in the rankings.

After that, Grey went around looking for good Arrays and scammed the seller into letting him ”browse” through it.

He comprehended most of them and left satisfied.

Grey turned to Alissa and Alan with a faint smile.

”Let’s head back to our universe now.” He said.

They left the repository and returned to the Reality Ship.

Alan took his place at the controls and set course for the Unnamed Universe. The ship hummed to life and accelerated into the Chaos.

The journey proceeded smoothly at first.

Then Grey sensed something unusual.

A power fluctuation rippled through the chaos ahead of them, strong enough to distort the very fabric of the Chaos.

”Stop the ship.” Grey commanded.

Alan complied immediately, bringing the Reality Ship to a halt.

They looked out the viewing window and saw something extraordinary.

A Chaos Mine was forming directly in front of their universe.

The void itself seemed to crack open, revealing a vast chasm filled with thick fragmented regions of solidified chaos. Shining lights dotted the interior, each one representing a deposit of Chaos Stones waiting to be extracted.

Grey’s eyes widened slightly at the sight.

Chaos Mines were incredibly rare, natural phenomena that occurred when chaos energy condensed to critical levels over extended periods. The stones they produced were the foundation of the 12th plane’s economy.

”To think a Chaos Mine would form in front of our universe.” Alan said with visible surprise.

They entered the forming mine carefully, observing the space stretching out around them. The interior was like a massive cavern made of crystallized void, with veins of Chaos Stones running through every surface.

The potential wealth here was staggering.

But Alan’s expression turned grim as he assessed the situation.

”This could be extremely dangerous.” He said with a slightly pale look.

Grey understood the problem immediately.

The mine hadn’t formed inside their universe’s territory. It sat in the vicinity, close enough to be relevant but far enough that they couldn’t claim automatic ownership.

That meant other powerhouses could come and take it.

Word of a new Chaos Mine would spread quickly through the 12th plane. Factions far stronger than the Eternal Dominion would come to stake their claims, and a newly ascended universe had no standing to contest them.

But Grey wasn’t going to let that happen.

”Well, we don’t necessarily have to give it to anyone.” He said calmly.

Alan looked at him with concern.

”But we are no match for them, Master Grey.” He said. ”Even with my current strength, I cannot hold off multiple peak 12th rank experts simultaneously.”

Grey smiled at his words.

”Why fear when we have the power of Arrays with us?”

With his formation knowledge and the resources available, he could create defensive arrays powerful enough to deter even the strongest factions.

The Chaos Mine would belong to the Unnamed Universe.

But just then, both Grey and Alan frowned simultaneously.

They sensed a fluctuation in the Chaos.

Someone else had already detected the mine’s formation and they were approaching them.