"Oh, did your special physique advanced?" Iris asked in shock.
Though she sensed that Maximus had become a master of the River of Law, the thought of his physique advancing still surprised her.
She knew how difficult it was to promote one's physique from Rank 11 to Rank 12.
For the primordial candidate of the Immortal Palace realm, it took them hundreds of trillion strands of causality and a few quintillion origin coins of resources to cultivate her special physique to Rank 12.
Even in her imagination, she didn't think Maximus would have that amount of resources.
Iris even saved money to help Maximus with his special physique.
"It's my adventure," Maximus carelessly reasoned.
"Adventure?"
Without answering, Maximus stretched his hands and began infusing pure origin energy to Iris.
"Huh~"
Feeling the pure origin energy flowing through her, Iris felt warmth, as though she was bathing in a hot spring.
As the minutes passed, a hint of impatience appeared on his face, feeling dissatisfied with the energy transmission speed.
Pulling Maximus, Iris greedily suck his energy on her own accord.
However, doing so didn't increase the flow of origin energy.
"It's too weak..." Iris broke from the flow.
Given the rate of energy Maximus could provide, it would take billions of epochs before she could even have a chance to advance to the Tier 12 realm.
Though it was already miraculous that she could even advance, she knew she couldn't monopolize Maximus for that long.
Furthermore, the impending dark disaster still loomed over the Aeon Plane.
"Uh—I'm sorry, I'm only at the Tier 10 realm," Maximus muttered, embarrassed at her calling him weak.
"It's understandable. If you were at Tier 11, the energy you could release might increase a million-fold," Iris comforted.
"No need to wait that long—I've already thought of a solution."
The origin crystal ether forge could not only condense an origin fragment but also open another channel for pure origin energy to flow through him.
As long as there is enough Ether Forge, he can keep Iris filled with energy.
Explaining his idea, Iris's eyes lit up.
"That's ingenious! Creating a magical device that could mobilize your special physique? As expected of the Master of the River of Knowledge!"
"The only problem is the cost." Maximus sighed, telling her the cost.
"Isn't it only 25 billion for a device? The Immortal Palace sect is willing to invest in this endeavor!"
Maximus's business venture was a guaranteed profit.
This was effectively printing money—an origin fragment that would never depreciate.
The more of it they had, the better.
Even the Overlords needed Origin Fragments; what more for them tier 11 weaklings?
"Oh, how much are you willing to invest, Sister?" Maximus asked excitedly.
This is one of his purpose, to secure a first wave of investment.
Though he still had hundreds of trillions of origin coins left, it was simply not enough for his plan.
Maximus didn't have time to slowly earn money.
Using the number one platform of the Aeon Plane to leverage his river of law was a plan he had long thought of.
"I see. Many Masters of Law tread this path as well. Even some of the supreme masters of the sects have connected their Ocean of Law to the Virtual Realm."
Using the Virtual Realm, not only could a river of law have more exposure, but it could also stimulate its power facing an absolute of law.
After discussing his plan in more detail, Maximus quickly proceeded to work. At the same time, Iris mobilized the Immortal Palace sect to gather materials to create the Ether Forge and the Ether Refiner.
When Iris heard that the Ether Refiner could automatically refine strands of causality, she was even more excited about it than the Ether Forge.
She was getting weary of refining strands of causality manually.
If there was a device that could simplify the process, she couldn't be more thrilled.
---
In the Etherium Domain, Virtual Realm, Maximus contacted Zero.
"What do you need, Mr. Shadowcrest?" Zero asked respectfully.
"I plan to merge the River of Knowledge with the Absolute of Virtuality."
"Are you familiar with the terms?"
Merging with the River of Knowledge wasn't simple.
It would be like creating an independent server using the power of Virtuality.
Not only would it cost the Virtual Realm more energy, but their control over the independent virtual domain would also weaken.
To benefit from this, various rules and agreements were necessary.
"I understand. I'm willing to bear the price," Maximus replied confidently.
All the rules and agreements essentially boiled down to one thing: profit.
Whether in money or other value, those who wanted to connect to the Absolute of Virtuality must pay.
In the case of the River of Knowledge, Maximus estimated he'd need to pay a few billion origin coins per year as a service fee.
"Then, let's begin."
Using the power of the Virtual Realm, Zero brought Maximus to the core of Virtuality.
"The Absolute of Virtuality..." Maximus widened his eyes in amazement.
From river to ocean, to the absolute of law.
The Absolute of Law was the highest state a law could achieve in a plane.
In the past, Maximus had thought the Ocean of Law was the pinnacle one could reach in the Tier 11 realm.
However, after becoming a master of the River of Knowledge, his understanding of the world's strength deepened.
Reaching the Absolute of Law was one of the prerequisites to surpassing the rules of the Aeon Plane and reaching the Tier 12 Overlord realm.
According to the river of knowledge, fewer than thirty individuals had reached this state.
One from each sect, a few from the overlord forces, the members of the ruling parliament of the Dimensional Alliance, and some among the scattered forces of the Devourers.
Given the right opportunities, these few could ascend to the Overlord realm, becoming pillars dominating parts of the Aeon Plane.
Understanding the strength at which he now stood, Maximus felt invigorated rather than solemn, eager to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
Arriving at the core of Virtuality, Zero imparted to him the sequential method to connect to the Absolute of Virtuality.
"Are you ready, Mr. Shadowcrest?"
"Hmm, let's do this!"