Chapter 1056: Chapter 137: The Pioneer Who Opened the Path (7800, Big Chapter!)_4
But this process can be reversed. The Earth condenses into Earth Pulse Source Crystals, much like a living being storing excess Spirit Energy Power within its body, only to extract this energy when needed to repair itself and regulate its ecosystem.
Adalbert precisely reversed the operational logic of the Earth Pulse Source Crystal, shifting it from a mode of energy extraction from the Earth into its current stateâreleasing energy to nourish Ianâs body.
Of course, this process poses significant dangers for ordinary people: hastily linking with an Earth Pulse Source Crystal can cause an individualâs consciousness to be overwhelmed by the vast natural will within the crystal, leaving them vegetative.
But Adalbert had no concerns about Ianâs unyielding willpower.
Indeed, that proved to be the case. Adalbert perceived that even after ingesting the Ningsoul Potion, Ian still had enough focus to fine-tune the positioning of the Earth Pulse Source Crystal and the Essence Furnace Core, expanding an internal chamber to accommodate the molten metal of high temperatures in the future.
The Deceased Monarch Researcher let out a long sigh of relief. The most dangerous moment had now passed. The Essence Furnace Core had already replaced the heart, driving Ianâs bodily fluid circulation with pure Origin Quality.
However, many subsequent surgeries were still necessaryâfor example, using âMoren Steelâ as the base material to fill and solidify Ianâs chest cavity, and configuring the Flash Silver Skeleton, which would take more time.
The Mithril Circuitry construction for the crystallized left hand would also require time.
But compared to connecting the Essence Furnace Core and embedding the Earth Pulse Source Crystal, these were minor tasks, something Ian could even do himself. However, since Adalbert had already intervened, it might as well all be completed in one go.
For the next six hours, Adalbert remained fully engrossed in configuring the skeleton framework.
Meanwhile, Ianâs sensations were quite peculiar.
After removing his heart, Ian felt a profound voidâa pure emptiness. The human bodyâs instinct could not adapt to a torso without a heart. Much like how amputees often experience âphantom painâ in their lost limbs, he felt an extreme hollowness where his heart had been, an emptiness that went beyond the brain and seemed to originate from the soul itself.
This void felt like someone trying desperately to recall something highly significant but continually failing to rememberâa restlessness that neither tossing and turning nor frantic thinking could alleviate. As a metaphor, it resembled the crushing despair of a shattered dream, a task labored over for decades being declared a failure on the very last dayâa thorough sensation of nihility and emptiness.
In that instant, even Ianâs formidable will could not wholly resist the emptiness.
ââWhy am I fighting so hard for this?
The young man questioned himself introspectively.
Although heâd claimed aloud, âthe heart is useless; its absence doesnât matter,â how could that be true? Replacing the heart with an Essence Furnace Core was an exceedingly perilous path. This transformation of the self could distort human thought. On Earth, there were numerous similar cases in historyâmany who underwent extensive body augmentation succumbed to âCyber Psychosis,â turning into cold, heartless maniacs who despised humanity.
But Ian had made this decision in merely a dozen minutes and devised the relevant plans and procedures within two hours.
Everything was for the sake of gaining strength... to reach Above the Sky.
But... does it even matter?
Ian knew all too well. Situated five lightyears away, the Star Prison Tianyu was, in essence, an incomprehensible barrier.
Prisons measured in lightyearsâthe Creators of such a place could erase the entire Terra Starfield as effortlessly as flicking a finger. The very existence of this barrier was orders of magnitude greater than everything within the Terra Starfield combined.
If not for the presence of the Skyfall Spaceship, whose crash had possibly fractured the Star Prison Tianyu, the Terra People would have had no chance of escaping their cell.
But setting aside whether the fissure could allow escape from the Star Prison Tianyuâ
Even if one escapes the prison, then what?
Beyond the prison lies the prison guardsâbeings so powerful that with the push of a button, they could force the Terra People back into incarceration.
Even if there are no guards... would the universe that permits a Star Prison Tianyu to exist truly be any better?
The external universe might be in a worse state than the prison, possibly ravaged by horrifying cosmic wars, perhaps even entirely obliterated.
And even if he led the Terra People out of their prison, they wouldnât be grateful. They merely wanted peace, to hold on to the happiness they already possessed, nothing more.
Having never glimpsed the stars, they simply couldnât grasp the distance, couldnât comprehend the meaning of exploration.
Even if successful, humanity would not thank Ian.
It was too void, too meaningless. Everything seemed utterly futile.
Bathed in this abyssal nihilism, Ian momentarily wavered, overcome by hesitation and doubt.
ââHalf a second.
Within half a second, he cast the nihilism aside.
"I donât care if the Terra People are grateful to me or not."
Feeling the slow, steady pulse of the Origin Quality Furnace Heart, with the nurturing Spirit Substance of the Earth Pulse Source Crystal flowing through and empowering his body and soul, Ian slowly opened his eyes. "Whether they hate me or thank me, whether they are happy or despairing, it has nothing to do with me."
Expressionless, his silver-blue eyes glimmered faintly with ethereal light. "I donât care if they want to leave the prison, or whether they wish to stay."
"I do it solely for myself. For my own dream. For the rightness I believe in."