Reborn as an Extra Chapter 572: The Grand Seal Of The Final Gamble. Part-2.

"So, she chose to head in the exact path King Allen followed to reach the sea of miasma?..."

"But what reason could she have for choosing that route? Wouldn’t it be completely counterproductive?... The miasma grows thicker the nearer you approach the sea of miasma..."

"Why on earth would she deliberately move toward the sea of miasma? I’m clearly lacking key details here..."

Rio pondered deeply, sifting through those fractured and shaky recollections, and deduced that the shadow dragon king most probably sensed something 'unique' along that route.

He had brought it up with Ellie during some moment in the past, yet his recollections had become tainted, preventing him from sharing specifics on Ellie's objective with Rio right before the end.

Only his thoughts about his daughter stayed fully preserved; nearly all the trivial ones beyond that had been largely erased by the miasma.

’Sure, there might be additional explanations, but this strikes me as the strongest possibility right now...’

Rio rose to his feet and gazed toward his intended path, a scowl etching across his expression.

’Does that mean I’m actually proceeding toward the sea of miasma at this very instant?’

That sea of miasma undoubtedly sprawls at an immense distance from here, and without activating warp drive or tapping into some other formidable technique for breakneck travel, Rio could take over a century just to get there.

’Yet why enter through the spirit realm to approach the sea of miasma?... No way...’

Rio's gaze sharpened in shock as the ancient tale surfaced in his mind—Astra had once cleansed massive swaths of the sea of miasma, and alongside King Allen, they had carved out those cleansed zones as sanctuaries for everyday spirits.

’It’s totally feasible that minor spirit realm enclaves linger within the sea of miasma, serving as ways to slip past its external protective layer?’

When storming any adversary's stronghold, no matter the type, attackers must shatter the barriers and safeguards erected by the foe to clash with them directly.

The principle applies equally to the sea of miasma; the bulk of its demons, puppets, and beasts cluster near the outer boundaries, since that's the region with the sparsest miasma concentration across the whole expanse.

Push further inward, and the density ramps up, making any assault on the sea of miasma a grueling test of stamina—the deeper the penetration, the fiercer the opposition.

’It’s eerily similar to an abyss... the farther you tumble in, the dimmer your hopes of climbing out...’

Not even King Allen Von Reinhart, the unchallenged mightiest entity of his age, ever clawed his way back from that infinite chasm.

’I truly wonder what lies at the root of the sea of miasma...’

Rio felt a burning intrigue toward its very being, fully aware that in time, he'd inevitably plunge into it himself, echoing King Allen's fateful journey.

Peering along his course, Rio spotted the miasma streams rushing in the contrary direction.

Much like battling upstream to trace a river to its headwaters against the relentless current, the dynamics here proved identical.

’Advancing will turn increasingly arduous with every stride ahead, I reckon...’

While Rio stood impervious to miasmic corruption and could even harness it to his gain, that resistance didn't shield him from the widespread ruin it inflicted on the surroundings and all creation.

’Tears in space laced with miasma, fissures leaking miasma, warped spatial disturbances, and chaotic turbulent waves of miasmic currents... all sorts of perils could arise...’

Beyond mere malevolent spirits and formidable beasts, the perils blocking Rio's path included the spirit realm's own terrain, which brimmed with lethal dangers to every form of life!

’I’ve already covered so much ground; retreating now without any rewards would achieve nothing...’

Rio shook his head firmly, drew in a profound breath, and then surged forward along the route marked by the cube of possibilities, utterly undaunted.

"Phew~ at last, it’s done...."

A subtle grin lit Rio's face as he examined the fresh miasma crystal he'd forged; among all he'd crafted before, this one boasted the highest purity and largest size yet.

Having advanced to the mid-phase of S-rank, Rio's prowess had surged in every facet, with his command over miasma leaping forward in leaps and bounds.

In the past, he’d managed only minuscule, subpar miasma crystals featuring scant density and highly volatile structures.

Yet now, he’d grown adept at producing mid-tier miasma crystals, propelling his miasma mastery to yet another pinnacle!

’A full month and a half... it demanded a solid chunk of time, but I’m content with how swiftly things progressed...’

Rio had no intention of squandering his journey purely on motion; as such, upon setting off after Ellie’s trail, he reignited his trials in crafting miasma crystals.

During the ensuing month and fifteen days, Rio pressed on without pause, journeying relentlessly.

He entrusted his flight to the guidance of his sword intent, replicating a kind of 'autopilot' function akin to those in aircraft from his former life.

He programmed his sword intent with clear guidelines: ’Steer clear of all impacts, and notify me of any looming threats...’

By configuring it to operate like 'autopilot' in a fixed pattern, he could devote his full attention to honing and practicing his skill in generating miasma crystals.

Through this method, he sustained nonstop flight even as he dramatically bolstered his array of miasma techniques and capabilities.

To be sure, he did insert a handful of swift ten-minute meditation pauses sporadically to ease his mental fatigue, though Rio soon tired of the mounting strain from his miasma crystal efforts.

In response, he simply shredded the souls of whatever monsters crossed his path, drawing out their souls and seas of consciousness to refine into untainted mental and soul energy that fueled his own reserves.

Though miasma often sought to shatter the monsters explosively, Rio's enhanced grip on it let him stall the blasts for mere moments, allowing him to reap soul remnants as convenient power sources for his use.

His flute now brimmed with hundreds of those compact energy stores, so whenever his soul and mental energies waned, Rio simply replenished them from the stock, rendering rest obsolete!

Such mental and soul exhaustion rank among the toughest hurdles even for SS-rank powerhouses, but Rio dispatched them effortlessly by outright devouring rivals' souls to lighten his mental load and ease his soul's strain.

What's more, as he consumed those souls and seas of consciousness, Rio realized his soul-handling expertise had soared to the extent that he could wield them to directly upgrade his own!

All it took was drawing in the foreign souls, purifying them into raw soul essence, and fusing it to amplify his; this exact ritual extended to bolstering his sea of consciousness too.

Despite most spirit realm monsters lacking any trace of reason, their inner souls still harbored shattered seas of consciousness.

Rio tore them open, distilled them into refined consciousness shards, and integrated those into his own sea of consciousness, thereby widening it and rendering it far sturdier.