Chapter 3004: Material Plane Landscape, Galaxy-like Model

From this perspective, the Ether Boundary route is indeed an effective method for Plane Exploration.

In the absence of situations similar to a "Heavenly Chasm," it is almost possible to explore the planes of an entire Domain bit by bit using this method.

Of course, if a Domain's planes have already been discovered, and one wishes to continue exploring further outward, this method might be far less useful than the Ether Interlayer route.

Additionally, "Heavenly Chasms" are highly likely to exist within the same Domain as well.

A so-called "Heavenly Chasm" is when the distance between planes exceeds the observation range of the Ether Boundary; no matter how one changes the observation point or increases the Critical State, no new planes can be discovered.

Of course, if the Spell data provided by Pulitatisi is correct, theoretically, infinitely increasing the Critical State of the Ether Boundary would allow one to see the scope of countless Domains.

But in reality, Xia Duo can guess without verifying that this is highly unlikely to be achievable under actual conditions; at the very least, the Holy Golden Dragon Empire cannot do it, and on the Main Plane side, it will be impossible for quite some time.

Perhaps the so-called "Heavenly Chasm" is the space-time interval between Domains.

"No wonder that guy said back then that Cross-Domain Teleportation Links might have a unique solution!" Xia Duo sighed suddenly.

I fear this unique solution is similar to the rogue planets between galaxies in the Earth Universe; scarcity is one aspect, but the difficulty of discovery might be another major hurdle!

However, for traditional Teleportation Spells on the Main Plane, distance is not the problem; it is merely that the upper limit of the Portal's duration shortens and the recovery time increases.

Xia Duo is not certain if the distance between two adjacent Domains in the Magic world is greater than the Domains themselves, but one can infer—

This meeting only has two agenda items: one is to re-sign the Mythallar Confidentiality Agreement, and the other is the discussion regarding the ownership of new planes; it is impossible to continue using the past "first come, first served" principle.

Under extreme conditions, as long as a Portal can be opened for one second, it is enough for people to pass through.

In the Earth Universe, the distance between galaxies is often much greater than the galaxies themselves; taking the Milky Way, which Xia Duo is familiar with, as an example, the nearest large galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, is a full few million light-years away, while the diameter of the Milky Way is only about one hundred thousand light-years.

A stable system with a large plane as its core, and the boundary of a 【Domain】, should be the gravitational range of the central large plane; when the gravitational pull on the central plane is insufficient to resist other large planes, one can consider it to have reached the boundary.

Under such circumstances, there is actually no gravitational attraction between planes; it is just that when the distance is too close, the repulsive force will take the lead.

Before having enough samples for reference, Xia Duo cannot make a definitive judgment, but at the very least, one can infer that the distance between Domains is likely not particularly far.

In Xia Duo's view, exploring the Ether Interlayer is still more capable of touching the essence of the planes; at least, until Pulitatisi is willing to disclose more information regarding the Ether Boundary, that is indeed the case.

……

The next day, the various councilors reunited in Seventon.

This is also a direction that the Tower of Time's Plane Exploration Center needs to research; if the Main Plane fails, before finding a suitable Habitable Plane, it might be necessary to drift in the Ether Interlayer, drifting in the void.

When Xia Duo was attempting to artificially create Plane Crystals previously, he had conducted experiments on Semi-planes; there is a repulsive force between a Semi-plane and the Main Plane, making it impossible for them to approach, and forcing them to approach would instead cause the collapse of the smaller-mass plane.

But at the same time, planes exert an attractive force on existing objects; the so-called existing objects are relative to the void, and are actually all elements and matter.

Consistent with his speculation, the planes discovered in the latter two experiments were exactly the same as the first one, and Xia Duo even found the previously lost Beacon Artifact in the second plane.

As for the issue of ownership of newly discovered planes, wanting the majority of councilors to accept it immediately is not very easy.

……

The Ether Interlayer is pure "nothingness"; whether it is matter or elements, nothing can exist in the Ether Interlayer. Xia Duo currently only knows that Plane Barriers and a very small number of substances can reach the void (such as Plane Crystals).

If nearby galaxies are like this, one can imagine those far-away galaxies.

Re-signing the Confidentiality Agreement, the vast majority of councilors have no objections; after all, this is also protecting their own interests, and after Xia Duo clarified the significance of the Mythallar to the new exploration method, others also have the intention to be wary of Pulitatisi.

The distribution state of Material Planes in the Ether Interlayer is similar to the galaxies of the Earth Universe, but it is only a state; there is no spatial distance in the usual sense in the Ether Plane.

At the same time, one must also consider the balance of attraction and repulsion between large planes.

They will not be too far away because of excessive repulsion, because once they are far away, the repulsion is nearly zero, and gravity regains the upper hand.

Crossing Domains directly may not be impossible.

This kind of plane group with a large plane as its core is called a 【Domain】, which is actually a bit similar to the galaxies of the Earth Universe (like the Milky Way; the Solar System is a single-star system).

Viewed purely from the perspective of Material Planes, this Universe is very similar to the starry Universe on Earth; planes exist one by one in the Ether Interlayer, with large planes as the center, and a large number of medium and small planes distributed around them.

Then, crossing a Domain is equivalent to intergalactic travel on Earth.

……

Instead, it is necessary to find a new principle and new order suitable for the current situation.

Now, the research on the Ether Boundary has, to a considerable extent, verified Xia Duo's previous speculations; furthermore, the views of the various Domains obtained from Pulitatisi are also like this.

The distance between Material Planes is more reflected in the differences in space-time states, rather than truly walking a certain distance from one plane to arrive at another.

As for how far a limit-one-second Portal can connect to a plane, Xia Duo cannot say for now, but it should not lose to a Teleportation Link.

After deploying five Beacon Artifacts again, Xia Duo stopped maintaining the Ether Boundary, and then he and Saville returned to the Floating City together, using the Plane Exploration Truth within the Tower of Time to lock onto the beacons, thereby verifying his previous guess.

……

It is necessary to change the space-time state in order to arrive directly at another plane from the Ether Interlayer.

Eventually forming a relatively stable system.

But one can also make inferences based on this: a large plane system should be relatively stable; the surrounding medium and small planes will neither be too close due to excessive gravity, because the closer the distance, the more the repulsive force takes the upper hand.

After these three experiments, Xia Duo had a deeper understanding of the data provided by Pulitatisi, and at this moment, a rough Universe model had already been initially established in his mind.

Thus, the research regarding the Ether Boundary at the Tower of Time has come to a temporary end; if there are no surprises, a long-term observation point will likely be established later, but more energy will not be put into this.