Elias Vance, now a living embodiment of universal laws with a planetary-sized dantian, felt the boundless energy surging within him. His Qi Matter-Antimatter Annihilation Cores were humming, generating power at an incomprehensible rate. Yet, even with this colossal output, a fundamental axiom nagged at his quantum mind: "Matter can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed."
His cores, while incredibly efficient, didn't create energy from nothing. They transmuted matter and antimatter into pure energy. And that matter and antimatter, while generated from refined spiritual Qi, required a constant input. The ambient spiritual Qi of this world, though denser than Earth's, was simply not enough to sustain it indefinitely at the scale required for cosmic law manipulation. He could run for a while, even days, but eventually, his internal reserves would dwindle.
"A rather inconvenient truth," Elias mused, his vast intellect quickly processing the implications. "My power generation relies on a constant supply of mass. If I don't acquire external fuel, I will literally go hungry and die. A rather ironic end for a nascent god of science."
The best source of mass and energy, readily available on a galactic scale, were solar systems. Planets, asteroids, comets, and most importantly, stars—colossal fusion reactors themselves. These were the ultimate fuel for his new existence.
Before embarking on his galactic grocery run, he needed storage. His current spatially expanded dantians were filled with the annihilation cores. He needed an external, high-capacity, dedicated storage solution.
He extended his Quantum Divine Sense (QDS) outward, feeling the subtle spacetime distortions of his planetary-sized primary dantian. He used his profound mastery of the Law of Space (Dimensional Storage, Spatial Folds) to create a separate, external storage ring. This wasn't a physical ring on his finger, but a stable, hyper-compressed pocket dimension orbiting his core being, invisible and intangible to external perception, accessible only by his will. He painstakingly expanded its internal volume until it reached the staggering size of a planet. This would be his cosmic pantry.
"Right," he declared to the silent barren wastes, "time for some intergalactic foraging."
He re-engaged his Void Skimmer: Electromagnetic Warp Glide, pushing its output to an unprecedented degree. He layered it with the Law of Time – Time Dilation, bending the local chronal flow around himself to further accelerate his perceived speed. He then invoked elements of the Law of Space – Spatial Folds, subtly bending the spacetime ahead of him, allowing him to traverse distances not just quickly, but by effectively shortening the path itself. This wasn't merely faster-than-light travel; it was multi-law-accelerated, reality-bending propulsion, a blur of existence through the void.
His internal Refined Battle Codex Overlay projected a real-time star map of the galaxy, derived from his initial scans and his Multiverse Echo Perception. He filtered for star systems not yet teeming with advanced civilizations, preferring uninhabited fuel sources. He aimed for efficiency and minimal interaction.
He burst through the atmosphere, the sky deepening from azure to the infinite black of space in a fraction of a second. The familiar stars of this galaxy, now impossibly close, beckoned. He oriented himself, then surged forward, a silent, imperceptible ghost streaking across the cosmic canvas.
Solar system after solar system flashed past his perception. Each one, a vibrant dance of stars and orbiting celestial bodies, represented a colossal energy reserve. He targeted relatively small, unpopulated systems first, practicing his new acquisition technique.
Upon reaching a chosen solar system, he wouldn't simply take its energy. He would compress it.
He deployed a focused application of the Law of Gravity – Mass, Attraction, Orbital Force, generating immense, localized gravitational fields around the entire solar system—planets, asteroids, even the star itself. Then, using the Law of Space – Spatial Folds, he began to compress the entire cosmic structure. The colossal gravitational force acted like an invisible hand, squeezing the vast emptiness of space, crushing the celestial bodies closer and closer. Planets were reduced to marbles, then specks, their matter condensed to unimaginable densities. The star, a miniature sun, was imploded into a white-hot, super-dense core, its fusion raging under immense pressure but now contained within a fraction of its original volume.
This process was delicate. Too much force, and he'd risk an uncontrolled supernova. Too little, and it would take too long. His Quantum Divine Sense ran billions of calculations per nanosecond, monitoring every atomic bond, every gravitational strain, ensuring a perfectly controlled implosion.
Once compressed, the entire solar system, now no larger than a ball, was then carefully shunted into his newly created planetary-sized storage ring. The process was seamless, effortless, a silent, cosmic act of plunder.
"Next," Elias thought, a grim determination in his eyes. He repeated the process.
He moved from one star system to the next, a cosmic forager harvesting the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Ten systems. Twenty. Fifty. He passed through nebulae, navigated asteroid belts, and dodged the gravitational wells of massive black holes. He even briefly skimmed the edge of a rogue galaxy, considering a larger haul, but decided against it for now. He was here for sustenance, not intergalactic conquest, at least not yet.
Each compressed solar system, a miniature, super-dense power source, nestled safely within his storage ring. He could feel the slight increase in his overall internal Qi reserves with each successful harvest, a tangible confirmation of his fuel supply.
After collecting what his QDS calculated to be 100 star systems – a truly incomprehensible amount of raw energy and matter – Elias decided he had enough. His internal energy meters were overflowing, the new cores purring with satisfaction.
He then calculated the precise coordinates of the Barren Wastes. With a thought, he leveraged his Spacetime Domain Law, creating a personal, stable wormhole through the fabric of reality. He stepped through, an imperceptible ripple in space.
The familiar scent of dry, still air and faint dust greeted him. He was back in his desolate sanctuary, the silence of the region punctuated only by the faint hum of his new internal systems. His planetary-sized storage ring orbited silently within his being, filled with a hundred compressed stars and their planetary retinues.
He scanned his internal energy reserves once more. The vast, combined energy was now undoubtedly enough for him to be combat effective against any conceivable threat in this world. He could unleash the full fury of his most powerful combinatorial laws, sustaining them for extended periods.
However, the analysis remained consistent: it was still not enough for the truly advanced and cosmic laws on a sustained basis. Those would require not just planets and stars, but perhaps entire galaxies compressed, or a complete overhaul of reality itself. His vessel, while immensely powerful, still had its limits.
"The upgrade process continues," Elias declared to the empty desert, a profound, calculating glint in his eyes. "The next step: new cultivation realms."
He had brought back enough fuel to power a small civilization for millennia. Now, he needed to build a body capable of truly wielding such power, a vessel worthy of a god. The journey to ultimate enlightenment, to true cosmic mastery, was far from over.