The spiritual dimension is infinite but he can't underestimate the great mother by ruling out that she can't find him. It will be false confidence if he thinks he knows all she is capable of from the little knowledge he gained from a soul fragment. Even if she can't find him, the chances of him running into a feeding ground are the same as running into her. If he is unlucky then she might appear before he encounters a feeding ground.
But he can't just sit still and do nothing. That will not improve his chances either. The only thing he can rely on is his strength so he must seek strength no matter where it leads him.
He continued searching even after 7 years. None of the clones were born during that period of time. His situation is bad but he is not envious of Aeternus who is being ravaged by Chaos energy.
He thought to himself, "Maybe my situation is not so bad. And we can rule out the possibility of Nether waters being Chaos energy."
The other clones are doing well apart from Helios who is battling with the law of Order. So all in all, his condition is about average among the clones. Being bored searching for a feeding ground in an empty and bleak world is orders of magnitude better than having Chaos energy trying to kill him.
His decision to pursue strength at all costs finally paid off in the 8th year of searching. He encountered a change in the spiritual dimension that is an indication of the presence of a feeding ground.
"Finally." He said, "It is time to eat."
He had managed to create his own perception technique after a year of effort. It was easy to do since he didn't have to labor at the doorstep of death like the great mother and he had the data of her technique as reference.
His divine sense emanated in rings around him. These rings behave just like the spiritual waves of the spiritual echo method except that they are not destroyed by the nether water and can't be traced back to him even if they are intercepted. This is because the spiritual waves have been coated with soul force for protection.
He called it the divine echo method. It still feels like groping in the dark but the information is more accurate now since the nether water can't destroy the spiritual waves. It also has the stealth ability of the spiritual echo so it is better than it.
The major advantage of this method is the range of perception. Because the waves are not destroyed by the nether waters, they can reach a much farther distance than the spiritual echo method. That range has come in handy now.
He can sense the feeding ground from a very far distance than he should be able to. Its position is a long way apart from the direction he was searching. If he hadn't sensed it as he was passing by, he would have missed it completely.
He approached the feeding ground quickly before it disappeared. Just as its appearance is uncertain, its duration is also uncertain. It can disappear at any moment so he has to take advantage of it immediately.
The feeding ground is a black hole in the spiritual dimension. It descended from the void universe and will return after some time. During its duration in the spiritual dimension, it creates a gravitational pull on souls. Souls are drawn towards it by the gravitational field around it. The souls enter the black hole and are crushed within it.
If anyone wants to eat, all they have to do is intercept the attracted souls while making sure that they themselves are not attracted and pulled into the black hole. It is a tricky and dangerous business. But it is better than hunting.
Hunting has an uncertain chance of danger and also an uncertain chance of catching prey. You might never encounter another soul fragment which means you might never have to fight. But you will certainly die in that case. This is because the nether water will kill you.
The feeding ground on the other hand has a certain chance of both danger and catching prey. That's why soul prowlers want to encounter a feeding ground. With it, encountering another soul fragment is certain.
Of course, most soul prowlers are ignorant and don't know the benefits of the feeding ground. They are not like him who got inside information from a tyrant of the spiritual dimension. But even the most ignorant soul prowler will notice the congregation of souls and the force of attraction if they are close enough to it.
Through the try-and-error method, they will either learn the dangers of the feeding ground and survive or learn the dangers of the feeding ground when it is too late and die.
Knowledge is power in a normal situation. It is more precious in a situation where everything including the world is trying to kill you. You can't even sit still and hide somewhere without the danger of death. Everyone that wants to live must find someone else to eat.
Not everyone can be so lucky and unlucky to encounter the soul fragment of the great mother, defeat it, and acquire important knowledge from it.
"Let's see what this feeding ground is all about." He said as he changed his direction towards the black hole.
He can determine the position of the black hole with a fairly high accuracy. This is mostly due to the gravitational waves that it is producing. These waves are odd in the empty spiritual dimension so they are unmistakable.
He soon found it. He can't see everything in the spiritual dimension but he can sense that the gravitational waves have become stronger. He can also sense that at the edge of his perception, some souls are being dragged towards a point in front of him.
He said in anticipation, "It seems food is served."
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A/N: Anyone knows what the Nether waters is? Personally, I think it is anti-mana. Then again, what is mana?
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