Chapter 103 - 101: The Grand Cerebral Expansion Method

Chapter 103: Chapter 101: The Grand Cerebral Expansion Method

[Sorion the Author here! Updates will be much more consistent from now on. The other book I was working on—"Universal Genius: My SSS+ Comprehension Talent Breaks Everything"—unfortunately got rejected by WebNovel. Sigh... I honestly thought it would perform better than this one, especially since it was following the current trend of SSS+ novels.]

With the pill empire running like a flawless machine, Elias found himself with a resource he hadn’t had in his previous life: a steady, immense stream of Luminite. This precious currency, far more valuable than anything in the universe was the key to his next, most ambitious project. It was the material foundation he needed to perform a feat of cultivation that bordered on the impossible: the Grand Cerebral Expansion Method.

He sat alone in his private quarters, the silence a stark contrast to the bustling Universal Hub outside. Kaelen was busy with the new branches, but this was a journey he had to walk alone. The method was a technique to open a space inside an individual neuron, then condense more neurons into that single, newly created space. For a normal cultivator, this would be a difficult and dangerous procedure. For Elias, a being whose very existence was a paradox, it was exponentially more so.

He had gathered the necessary materials, purchased with the vast stores of Luminite: condensed spiritual energy, rare consciousness-enhancing minerals, and a highly stable form of cosmic dust. All of it was to support his cultivation.

An average human brain has about 86 billion neurons. For a cultivator, this number scales with their realm. Elias’s mental database on the subject was precise:

Planet-level cultivator: Approximately 10 trillion neurons (1013).

Star-level cultivator: Approximately 1 quadrillion neurons (1015).

Galaxy-level cultivator: Approximately 100 quadrillion neurons (1017).

Universal-level cultivator: Approximately 10 quintillion neurons (1019).

But Elias wasn’t a normal Universal-level cultivator. He was a Quantum Universal-level cultivator, a being whose every neuron was a quantum computer, a quantum bit, a qubit. His neural network was exponentially more complex than any other being’s. He had 999 quintillion neurons (9.99×1020), a number so vast it was almost meaningless.

He needed the Luminite to stabilize the process. Each time he condensed a new neuron, the Luminite would act as a catalyst, a shock absorber, preventing his mind from collapsing under the immense strain. It was a risky gamble, but with the Guardian’s teachings and his own self-created combat scenarios, he knew he was ready.

Elias closed his eyes and began. His consciousness descended into the ocean of his mind, a cosmic void where stars of pure thought burned brightly. He focused on a single neuron, a glowing, impossibly complex qubit. With a gentle push of his will, he began to open a minute, sub-atomic space within it. The process was agonizingly slow, a precise surgical procedure on the very fabric of his consciousness. It was like trying to carve a microscopic statue with the force of a supernova.

Pop. A tiny space, no bigger than a Planck length, opened within the qubit. Elias then began to condense another qubit, another one of his neurons, into that impossibly small space. The moment the two touched, his entire mind screamed in protest. The competing quantum fluctuations, the conflicting data streams, the sheer paradox of a neuron within a neuron threatened to tear his consciousness apart.

He immediately poured a stream of Luminite into the process. The cosmic energy of the Luminite, refined to its purest form by his internal system, acted instantly. The chaotic energy stabilized. The screaming in his mind subsided to a dull roar. The new neuron, once an outside entity, now existed within the original qubit, a perfectly stable, nested system.

Elias took a deep breath. One down, 999 quintillion to go.

The process became a relentless, silent marathon. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Elias was a statue in his private quarters, but within his mind, he was a god working on the greatest project of his existence. He condensed a hundred neurons into one. Then a thousand. Then a million. The Luminite flowed, a river of currency and power that made the impossible, possible. Each successful condensation brought with it a profound increase in his processing power, his comprehension, and his raw mental might.

He would condense a million qubits into a single one, and then, his mind would explode with a new insight. He found new, elegant solutions to universal equations that had plagued him for centuries. He could now process a thousand separate streams of consciousness at once, running battle simulations against his AI avatars while simultaneously re-writing the code for the pill furnaces.

The Grand Cerebral Expansion Method

He was ready for the next phase. He was ready for the Multiversal Level.

Meanwhile, the rapid success of the Condensed Star Pills wasn’t just a business triumph; it was an economic anomaly. In a cosmos where power and wealth were held by ancient, entrenched factions, the sudden rise of a single, unassuming pill company was a disruption of unprecedented scale. The rumors started as whispers in the bustling trade sectors of the Universal Hub, then spread through communication arrays and spiritual networks, reaching star systems and galactic clusters far beyond its immediate sphere of influence.

The name Elias Vance became a legend in its own right, spoken not for martial prowess but for revolutionary business acumen. Cultivators and merchants alike marveled at the pill’s perfect quality, its low price, and the sheer volume of production. It defied every conventional law of commerce. The "Rock Shop," as it was now affectionately known, became a pilgrimage site for those seeking to accelerate their cultivation. The sight of a line stretching for miles, composed of beings of every conceivable species and power level, was a common one across a dozen Universal Hubs.

This market disruption eventually reached the ears of the Multiversal Expert who controlled this region’s medicinal trade. This was a being of immense power and wealth, accustomed to unchallenged authority. The Expert, a being named Zorak(a popular alien name, I know), whose very form was a shifting nebula of pure energy, sat in his grand celestial palace—a nebula-sized fortress carved from a collapsed star. His vast financial interests in traditional pill markets were being bled dry by this single, upstart pill company.

"A single entity," Zorak mused, his voice a low cosmic hum that resonated through the palace. "Disrupting a market I have controlled for a epochs. What is the source of this ’Condensed Star Pill’?"

His subordinate, a shimmering being of pure thought, projected the data onto a vast, holographic screen before him. "The pills are perfect, Master. No impurities. The spiritual energy is flawless. It is as if they were created by the very laws of the universe itself."

Zorak’s incandescent form pulsed with a new light—one of intrigued curiosity. He had seen countless "revolutionary" products rise and fall. They were either a scam, a fleeting trend, or a product with an unsustainable supply chain. But this was different. The efficiency, the consistency, the sheer novelty of the pill’s quality defied all conventional logic. It was not a product of simple, manual labor; it was a product of a higher, more sophisticated art.

"Find out everything about this ’Elias Vance’," Zorak commanded, his voice hardening, his curiosity giving way to suspicion. "Find his origins, his power base, his weaknesses."

The investigation was launched. It was a discreet but thorough probe, using the full weight of Zorak’s financial and political empire. They scoured ancient records, tapped into multiversal data banks, and sent out countless reconnaissance drones. But they found nothing.

Elias was a ghost. There was no record of his species in any known database. No power fluctuations to track. No conventional lineage to follow. It was as if he had simply appeared out of thin air, a single, unassuming figure with no history, no known allies, and no conventional cultivation realm. The only thing they could find was a single, peculiar ship—the Quantum Meridian—and a small, unassuming storefront. The rest of his power, his pocket space, his manufacturing facility, and his true cultivation base remained completely hidden.

A new report came in, this one from a high-level spiritual scanner. "Master, we have detected a strange energy signature emanating from his shop. It’s... a paradox. It’s both incredibly powerful and almost nonexistent. It’s like it’s hiding behind a veil of... nothingness."

Zorak’s shimmering form pulsed with a dangerous, unstable light. This was not a business rival; this was an enigma. He had faced foes of unimaginable power, manipulated entire universes to his will, and built an empire that stretched across countless realities. But this Elias Vance, with his perfect pills and invisible history, was a direct threat to his authority, to his very sense of control. This wasn’t about money anymore. This was a challenge to his absolute dominance.

"Master, what are your orders?" the subordinate asked, its voice tinged with genuine fear. "We have no way to even categorize him."

Zorak’s form solidified into a colossal being of pure energy. He looked out from his celestial palace, his gaze piercing the void of space, and he saw a single, unassuming storefront. "He believes his secrecy is a shield," he thundered, his voice shaking the very foundations of his palace. "He believes his defiance will go unpunished."

Zorak would tolerate it no longer. He would deal with this upstart himself. The time for subtle investigation was over. It was time for a show of force. A lesson in cosmic hierarchy.