The exhilaration of the previous night, the lingering warmth of Kaelen's touch, had indeed unlocked a new level of clarity for Elias. He returned to his research chamber in the Nexus Spire, not with his usual calculated determination, but with a vibrant, almost eager energy. The problem of sustaining his Perpetual Ascension Technique was no longer a logistical hurdle; it was a fascinating design challenge, one for which the solution had become brilliantly clear: the Stellar Devourer Furnace.
He immediately summoned the holographic schematics, his fingers flying across the ethereal interfaces, conjuring complex mathematical models and energy flow diagrams. Kaelen, having settled Lumie into a cozy corner of her room and fed him a synthesized, nutrient-rich nectar, soon joined him, drawn by the intense, yet distinctly joyful, aura radiating from him.
"Elias, you're practically glowing," she observed, a soft smile on her face. "Did our date inspire a breakthrough?"
He looked up, a genuine smile forming on his lips. "It did, Kaelen. Your presence… it seems to streamline my cognitive processes in ways I hadn't anticipated. The data loops are gone. My focus is absolute. And with that clarity, a new design has emerged for the Stellar Devourer Furnace."
Kaelen's eyes lit up. "A furnace! Tell me everything!" She pulled up a chair beside him, eager to hear.
Elias, no longer speaking in purely technical terms, allowed a rare enthusiasm to color his explanation, though the underlying logic remained perfectly sound. "Imagine," he began, waving a hand to bring a shimmering, intricate diagram of the device into full, three-dimensional view, "a machine that doesn't just process energy, but eats stars and spits out condensed fuel for my cultivation. A continuous supply, wherever I am, without me having to personally traverse vast distances to consume worlds directly."
He began to detail the core concepts, explaining it clearly for Kaelen, adapting his language to her growing but still developing understanding of cosmic engineering.
"Its heart," Elias explained, pointing to a swirling vortex at the center of the holographic construct, "is the Dimensional Feed Aperture. Instead of manually seeking out resources, this aperture can literally tear through the fabric of pocket dimensions and even bridge vast interstellar distances. It pulls in raw cosmic matter – not just basic elements, but energy-rich materials like solar plasma from suns, dark matter, dust from spirit-rich nebulae, void ice from interstellar space, or even fragments of comets and asteroids. It's like a colossal vacuum cleaner for the universe's most potent raw materials."
Kaelen gasped, utterly enthralled. "So, it just… sucks in a sun?"
Elias chuckled. "More precisely, it carefully extracts the necessary components from a sun, or a nebula, without necessarily consuming the entire celestial body. Efficiency, remember? We only take what we need. This prevents unnecessary cosmic instability."
He then moved to the next phase of the process. "Once inside, the raw cosmic matter is funneled into the Qi Singularity Core. Think of it like a colossal blender, but instead of crushing, it compresses. This core is a rotating chamber, a fusion/antimatter reactor of immense power, using controlled vortexes of superheated Qi plasma fueled by miniature star cores. It compresses the matter, forcing it into incredibly hyper-refined Qi states. This is where the core Dao Laws come into play."
Eion pointed to specific crystalline structures glowing within the core's holographic model. "These are conduits, attuned to specific universal principles. The Law of Entropy is used to break down the complex raw materials to their most fundamental chaotic states, stripping away inefficiencies. Then, the Law of Order rebuilds them, guiding the particles into perfectly structured, incredibly dense Qi formations. We also harness the Law of Fire for the immense heat required, the Law of Space for internal compression, and the Law of Gravity for precise pressure. It ensures every atom, every wisp of Qi, is converted into the purest, most concentrated form possible."
"So it's not just energy, it's law-infused energy?" Kaelen asked, her eyes gleaming with comprehension.
"Precisely!" Elias affirmed, a rare excitement in his voice. "And that leads us to the Law Infusion Chambers." He gestured to a series of smaller, interconnected chambers branching off the core. "Here, we channel nearby natural laws into the forming pill matrix. For instance, if the Furnace is operating near a lightning-rich realm or a storm nebula, the pills can gain an electrical affinity. We can even adjust theoretical dials to brew pills with specific desired properties: Flame Qi Boosters, Void Core Stabilizers, Time Compression Orbs, or even Spatial Resonance Pills for enhanced teleportation. It depends entirely on the ambient laws we are drawing from the environment and my precise programming."
"That's incredible!" Kaelen exclaimed. "It's like a cosmic kitchen, but for power!"
Elias smiled. "An apt analogy. And finally, the Quantum Pill Condenser Array. The 'pills' aren't solid in the conventional sense. They are ultra-compressed fields of energy and matter, stabilized using an external shell of highly durable spiritual material, like spirit diamond. Once formed, these pills are then instantaneously teleported back to me through quantum entanglement teleportation. This is the key to solving my logistical issue. No matter how far the generator is – whether it's operating in distant pocket spaces, unstable realms, near black holes, within accretion disks, or even on planets in other dimensions – the pills will always reach me instantly. It creates a seamless, uninterrupted supply line for the Perpetual Ascension Technique."
"So you won't have to keep stopping your cultivation to go harvest planets?" Kaelen asked, her eyes wide with understanding.
"Exactly," Elias confirmed. "This transforms the Perpetual Ascension Technique from a periodically interrupted process into a truly continuous one. My refinement will be constant, my progress accelerating exponentially."
Elias then detailed the optional Autonomous Star-Skimmer Satellites. "These are mini harvester drones," he explained, projecting images of sleek, nimble spacecraft. "They can be sent ahead of the main Furnace to scout, destabilize, or even hollow out moons, suns, or even the accretion disks of black holes. They then feed the raw energy and matter directly back to the Stellar Devourer Furnace through their own localized quantum teleportation arrays. This effectively broadens the collection radius of the main unit, increasing its efficiency even further."
For the next several hours, Elias worked, running simulations of the Stellar Devourer Furnace. He invited Kaelen to actively participate, guiding her through the intricate data flows and allowing her to suggest refinements. Her intuitive grasp of energy and matter proved invaluable. She helped him identify potential resonance fluctuations in the Qi Singularity Core and suggested a subtle modification to the Law Infusion Chambers that would allow for even finer control over the pill properties.
He simulated its operation in various extreme cosmic environments: within a supergiant star's core, near a quasar, even within the chaotic vacuum of inter-galactic space. Each simulation confirmed its theoretical viability. The sheer power required to tear dimensional rifts, to compress stellar matter, to infuse laws, was immense, but the output was equally staggering. The Stellar Devourer Furnace would be a self-sustaining powerhouse, an engine of infinite growth.
"The calculations are complete," Elias announced, finally leaning back, a rare look of satisfaction on his face. "The design is flawless. It is ready for construction." He looked at Kaelen, his cosmic eyes reflecting a deep appreciation. "Your insights, Kaelen, were instrumental in optimizing this design. Thank you."
Kaelen smiled, a blush rising to her cheeks. "I just asked a few questions, Elias. You're the one who built it."
"But your questions led me to refine my own thoughts," he countered, a rare softness in his gaze. "True understanding often comes from different perspectives. And yours… is truly unique." He reached out, taking her hand. "Are you ready to see this magnificent construct come to life?"
Kaelen's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "More than ready, Elias. Let's build a star-eating pill factory!"