A few days passed as the starship Adrian remained seated upon kept traveling through the boundless expanse of the intergalactic void.
For the entirety of the journey, Adrian sat cross-legged on the cold exterior of the hull. To the ship, and to the endless void around it, he simply was not there.
Eventually, the endless dark expanse gave way to a faint, ambient luminescence.
Adrian opened his eyes. Emerging from the cosmic shadows was a sprawling space station drifting majestically in the dark expanse of space.
Its size alone was staggering, easily as large as multiple star systems woven together into a single, cohesive structure. It was an artificial monstrosity of layered metallic continents that orbited and interlocked with one another in a mesmerizing display of spatial manipulation.
At the very heart of this staggering construct stood a colossal central spire, piercing the surrounding void like a radiant golden spear.
"This should be their base," Adrian thought, his eyes narrowing as he took in the magnitude of the architecture.
The Crimson Vital Sect's headquarters, or even the grand infrastructure of the Origin Capital he had built back in the Milky Way, paled in comparison to the dominating scale of this station.
The amount of void alloy, graviton steel, and premium materials required to forge a structure of this size was something only an immensely wealthy and ancient power could afford.
He finally got up from the hull of the starship and started to fly forward. He couldn't simply hide like this within the starship and expect to enter such a heavily fortified base unnoticed.
The station was exponentially larger and undoubtedly more secure than the headquarters of the Ashen Vortex Sect or the Thousand Veils Sect. This scale alone confirmed that the power level of the sect that owned this territory was that of a Major Sect.
A base of this magnitude would undoubtedly be equipped with the most advanced formations in the universe. They would have arrays specifically designed to suppress and detect arcane concepts like Shadow or Concealment, ensuring that no hidden entities could slip through their borders. Going in while clinging to the exterior of the starship would obviously reveal him the moment the vessel crossed the primary threshold.
Furthermore, Adrian knew he couldn't just allow himself to get caught and go with them, as he had done back in the Virelith Galaxy.
Back then, the situation had been entirely different. He had confirmed beforehand that only Rule Core cultivators were present on that ship and within that immediate hierarchy, so he hadn't needed to worry about the consequences. But this was a Major Sect. A faction of this caliber would obviously have multiple Astral Stage beings within its ranks.
And it's not easy to handle Astral Stage beings. Adrian had been able to handle the elders from the Major Sects back in the intergalactic void near Andromeda, but that fight had not been a true, life-or-death struggle, and more importantly, those three had only been elders.
Here, deep within their own stronghold, there could be much more powerful Astral Stage beings. The central golden spire likely housed the Sect Leader of this Major Sect, a being who might possess higher mastery of consciousness.
Up until now, Adrian still didn't even know much about the true mastery of consciousness. His own willforce was vast, but it was raw and unrefined compared to ancient monsters who had studied the mind for millions of years. Without knowing anything about their true depths, and without fully grasping the upper limits of his own power, dealing with such an existence in their own home territory was not something Adrian could do carelessly.
Moreover, his goal was to find inspiration, gather knowledge, and forge his unique divine concept for the Origin Sect. Arrogance here would only lead to unnecessary complications.
Adrian flew slowly, maintaining a safe distance as he approached the perimeter of the space station. As he got closer, his enhanced perception picked up the finer details of the activity surrounding the structure.
He saw more and more starships coming in and going out, navigating through massive, glowing spatial lanes that directed traffic. And the most important thing Adrian noticed was that every starship bore different banners and insignias. There were emblems of crossed weapons, swirling nebulae, and abstract runic designs, clearly showing that they all belonged to different sects and factions from across the universe.
"This is not just a headquarters of a sect," Adrian thought, the realization settling in as he hovered in the void, watching the endless stream of vessels.
As he observed more, the true nature of the structure became apparent. This entire station was a bustling cosmopolitan hub, an intergalactic intersection open to wanderers, sects, and independent merchants. It functioned much like a UNI-Hub in Andromeda, but on a scale that was more grandiose, built and governed directly by the Major Sect rather than the central UNI-Sect authority.
As he observed this, the dark violet starship he had hitched a ride on adjusted its trajectory and entered casually into the station's massive intake ports, seamlessly merging with the flow of incoming traffic.
Adrian dispelled his concealment entirely. If this was an open hub, the best way to remain undetected was not to hide in the shadows, but to hide in plain sight. He adjusted his internal aura, suppressing the overwhelming presence of his hundred-percent authority. To the outside world, he projected the stable, unremarkable aura of an ordinary High Rule Stage cultivator, strong enough to command basic respect, but not powerful enough to warrant special scrutiny from the elites of a Major Sect.
With his altered face and perfectly calibrated aura, Adrian flew forward, joining the stream of independent cultivators and smaller merchant vessels heading toward one of the primary entrance gates located on the outer metallic continent.
The entrance was a towering archway forged from a gleaming, silver-white alloy, inscribed with millions of interlocking runes that formed a continuous, scanning barrier of pale golden light. As Adrian approached the landing platform, he felt the sweeping sensation of the scanning array wash over him. It probed his divine concept, checked for concealed weapons, and scanned for volatile energy signatures, but Adrian's suppression was flawless. The array found nothing anomalous.
He touched down lightly on the metallic floor of the intake bay. The area was swarming with activity. Cultivators of various races and builds moved about, guided by automated floating spheres and heavily armored guards.
As Adrian walked toward the main processing checkpoint, two guards stepped into his path. They were tall, imposing figures clad in dark violet armor. Both of them emanated the aura of High Rule Stage cultivators. In any minor galaxy, these men would be revered elders; here, they were merely gatekeepers.
"Halt," the guard on the right commanded. He raised a hand, holding a tablet. "State your identity, your cultivation stage, and your sect affiliation for the registry."
Adrian stopped.
"My name is Aeon," Adrian replied, using the alias he had decided upon earlier. "High Rule Stage. I am affiliated with the Origin Sect."
The guard's armored finger tapped rapidly across the tablet. A faint blue light projected from the device, scanning its internal database. For a few seconds, the guard remained silent as the vast archives of the Major Sect's network cross-referenced the name.
"Origin Sect," the guard muttered, his tone shifting to one of mild dismissal. "There is no recognized Major or Upper Minor faction by that name registered in the UNI-OS. A drifter faction, I presume?"
"Something like that," Adrian answered evenly, offering no further explanation.
The guard didn't press the issue. In a cosmopolitan hub of this magnitude, countless wanderers from forgotten galaxies and insignificant, unranked minor sects passed through the gates every single day. As long as the individual could pay the entry fees and didn't trigger the threat-assessment arrays, the guards couldn't care less about their obscure origins.
"Very well," the guard said, losing interest entirely. "Entry requires a processing fee of one thousand UNI-Coins, which grants you a temporary access token valid for thirty UNI-days in the outer commercial continents. Access to the private or inner continents is strictly prohibited without a formal invitation from a seated Elder."
Adrian nodded. A UNI-day in the wider universe was a 25-hour cycle, a universal metric that completely ignored local suns.
He accessed his spatial ring and retrieved a small, condensed mana crystal equivalent to the requested amount. He tossed it lightly to the guard.
The guard caught it, slotted it into a terminal at his waist, and in return, handed Adrian a small, rectangular badge made of dull grey metal. "Keep the token on your person at all times. Welcome to the Providence hub, Aeon."
Adrian gave a brief nod, stored the token within his spatial ring, and walked past them, stepping through the final energy barrier and into the station.
Inside, Adrian could see things much more clearly, and the sheer vibrancy of the place was staggering. The architecture was a stunning fusion of high-end universal technology and runic mastery. Wide avenues paved with self-illuminating stone wound through towering structures made of glass and graviton-steel. Above, the artificial sky simulated a perfect, serene twilight, complete with drifting, localized weather patterns generated by elemental formations.
This was fundamentally similar to the UNI-Hub he had visited in Andromeda, but the aesthetic and operational scale were vastly superior. The entire environment had a higher density of pure ambient mana to keep the billions of inhabitants constantly nourished.
But what truly caught Adrian's attention as he navigated the crowded area was the demographic of the population.
He expanded his perception subtly, sweeping it across the merchants haggling at storefronts, the warriors drinking in open-air pavilions. He couldn't see any mortals here like back in the UNI-Hub in Andromeda. Not even a single one. The lowest baseline of existence within this entire sprawling hub was Rule Core cultivators.
"A society where the bottom tier consists of beings capable of manipulating the fundamental laws of reality," Adrian thought, his eyes observing a group of Early Rule Stage merchants casually using spatial distortion to load cargo. "Is this hub just a lavish sanctuary for wanderers to rest, or is there something deeper going on here?"
As he walked, blending seamlessly into the flow of the crowd, Adrian focused his mind back on his primary objective. He reached inward, lightly touching the golden dot of his consciousness, and allowed the Prime Arcane Concept of Causality to resonate.
Throughout the days-long journey on the hull of the starship, the golden threads of fate and causality had tethered him to that ship.
So he had assumed that rescuing, observing, or interacting with that specific prisoner held the key to the inspiration he sought for his divine concept.
But now, as he stood within the hub, he felt the magnetic pull guiding him abruptly change.
The golden threads of Fate and Causality detached completely from the trajectory of the violet starship, which had already disappeared toward one of the restricted docks. Instead, the threads recalibrated, weaving through the complex architecture of the space station, pointing directly toward the deep, restricted inner layers of the massive central golden spire.
The realization hit Adrian instantly.
The change showed it was something entirely different. The starship, and the winged prisoner inside it, had never been his true destination. They were merely the vectors, the specific chain of cause and effect required to bring him to this exact location in the universe at this exact time. The true prize, the catalyst he needed to forge the Origin Sect's divine concept, was waiting for him somewhere deep within the heart of this Major Sect's stronghold.
Adrian paused near a quiet observation deck. He stared out toward the towering golden spire piercing the artificial sky in the distance. The spire was heavily shielded, surrounded by many starships.
"I can't rush things," Adrian thought, his expression turning cold and calculating.
He tapped his fingers rhythmically against the railing, plotting his next moves. He was currently confined to the outer commercial continents, and the private and inner continents were strictly off-limits to wanderers. He needed access. He needed to understand the political hierarchy of this place, identify the major players, and discover what truly lay within that golden spire before making his move. A single reckless intrusion could bring the attention of an Astral Stage being down upon him before he had even learned why Fate and Causality had brought him here.
"I need to learn about this place first before moving," Adrian concluded. "I will play the role of the wandering cultivator 'Aeon' for now."
With a steady breath, Adrian pushed away from the railing and merged back into the bustling crowd, his presence completely swallowed by the shadows of the hub.