Desperate Night

‘So big??!’ Yu Hong's temples throbbed slightly upon hearing this explanation.

His previous worlds were mostly the size of a single planet, with a small number having multiple planets.

But this place had suddenly jumped to such a massive scale.

“So, this place is…”

“...a mining planet in the Sixth Star System of Qinghe Mountain,” Bai Sheng added. “My junior sister, my master, and I have been here for hundreds of years. Master was assigned by Qinghe Mountain to manage the mining planet, but to be honest, the higher-ups haven't actively contacted us in centuries. I'm afraid they've long forgotten about this place.”

As he spoke, a bitter smile appeared on his face.

“So, you are from Qinghe Mountain, a branch sent here to guard the planet?” Yu Hong understood.

“Actually, we can't really be considered a branch anymore. We've long established our own footing here. In recent years, the situation everywhere has become increasingly strange. Communication devices are intermittent, and spaceships often can't find people when they return. I'm starting to suspect that we might be the only administrators left in the entire Sixth Star System,” Bai Sheng said helplessly. “That's why we were so surprised when we saw you jump over and rushed over to investigate immediately.”

“Senior brother, don't say so much. We haven't tested his safety yet,” Hei Ying said with some dissatisfaction.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Brother Yu Hu, if you want treatment for a serious illness, you should go to Qinghe Mountain's main star system, not a mining planet that manages resources,” Bai Sheng explained.

“Actually, my spaceship also has problems and can't go to the main star system. It's already a great fortune to be able to get here,” Yu Hong said helplessly. He knew that the scale of distances in the universe was extremely exaggerated, often calculated in light-hours or light-days.

To say nothing else, just a light-hour distance would be enough for him to run in the Hei Hei Ling for who knows how long.

So, most of the time, he moved along with the windstorms. There, the distance wasn't so exaggerated.

“In that case, brother, why don't you come out first, and I'll take you to see my master. Let's see what your condition is,” Bai Sheng said sincerely.

This somewhat naive behavior made Yu Hong feel a little wary.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Bai Sheng continued.

“Of course, if it's inconvenient for Brother Yu Hu, then forget it. You can wait until the spaceship is repaired and then go directly to the main star system for medical treatment.”

Yu Hong roughly sensed the surrounding situation and confirmed that there were only these two living beings in front of him.

So, he stopped hesitating, straightened his clothes, opened the door, and walked out.

His height was similar to Bai Sheng and Hei Ying. The people here seemed to be much taller.

As soon as he came out, Yu Hong took a deep breath, sensing the faint red radiation permeating the air, and his expression changed slightly.

“Greetings, both of you. I am Yu Hu, and I didn't intentionally hide. It's just that…” He pointed to the faint white halo behind him, revealing a helpless expression.

As soon as he came out, Bai Sheng and Hei Ying saw the faint halo behind him, and their expressions changed drastically.

“It is indeed the aura of Star Calamity, and it's very strong.”

Bai Sheng's half of his head made a slight cracking sound. After a few seconds, he said solemnly.

“It's already very serious. In no more than three months, the Star Calamity will erupt from your body as the source! We must find Master to help suppress it as soon as possible.”

At this time, Hei Ying also recognized that Yu Hong really needed treatment and knew that she had misunderstood him. Immediately, a red light flashed in her eyes, and she said.

“This is the aura of Light Calamity. At this level, it has been invaded for at least hundreds of years. Why are you only thinking about treatment now?!”

“Not hundreds of years,” Yu Hong said with a wry smile. “I practiced a cultivation technique, and my strength advanced by leaps and bounds. I thought I had found a divine skill, but I didn't expect…”

“Quick, get on the ship first!” Bai Sheng said solemnly. At the same time, he whispered something to Hei Ying.

Hei Ying immediately raised her hand and made a few hand seals.

“I need to temporarily sever your connection with the Light Calamity. It might be a little painful, please bear with it!”

“Okay!” Yu Hong nodded. At the same time, he was a little surprised. Could a mere disciple temporarily sever the problem on his body?

In fact, he was somewhat skeptical.

But the next moment… Hei Ying pointed at him with one hand.

A layer of purple-black halo enveloped his whole body out of thin air.

In the halo, countless black numbers formed chains, intertwined and entangled, even making people dizzy at a glance.

The power of this halo was not very strong, but it was extremely precise in operation and extremely dense. Faced with the inner strength of the Light Calamity's Tai Ling Technique, it was actually like a knife cutting through tofu, easily separating it.

Before long, a large number of black chains actually penetrated into Yu Hong's dantian and began to slowly seal the large number of light wells in his body!

Yu Hong sensed the self-deity inside the Hei Hei Ling and confirmed that there were no problems, and then followed Bai Sheng and Hei Ying towards the spaceship.

After walking a few steps, a silver flying sword lit up under their feet, and they flew up with a whoosh.

Yu Hong was stunned for a moment, jumped up with all his might, leaped more than thirty meters high, and happened to get on the flying sailboat with the two of them.

“Uh, Brother Yu Hu, could it be that you can't fly?” Bai Sheng asked in surprise after landing.

“Should I know how?” Yu Hong shook his head.

“Sorry, I'm just a little surprised.” Bai Sheng waved his hand. “Judging by your power, brother, you're at least a cultivator approaching the Nascent Soul stage, yet you can't fly. That's quite rare.”

“Nascent Soul stage?” Yu Hong asked, puzzled.

“Indeed. With true essence that doesn't dissipate, enough to last for hundreds or even thousands of years, that's one of the hallmarks of the Nascent Soul stage. Your power, Brother Yu Hu, is already close to that level. You have some characteristics of imperishability, but the effect isn't strong yet.” Bai Sheng boarded the ship, walked to the bow, and skillfully operated the rudder.

*Clack, clack…*

The airship emitted a faint, light sound, like old gears turning, and slowly began to move, heading towards the distant gray-white mountains.

“You flatter me. This place is remote. The transport airship only comes every ten years to ship goods. Normally, not even a tourist would come. There are only the three of us, my junior sister, my master and me, on this entire planet. The rest is all automated equipment.” Bai Sheng sighed. “That's why your appearance, brother, surprised my junior sister and me so much. We rushed over as soon as we could.”

“This ship, actually, the maintenance isn't too bad, not difficult. What's difficult is the lack of materials and high-precision machinery,” Hei Ying added from the side. “Now, more than half of the original thirty-plus production lines have been shut down. But even if we send messages up, they don't care. Not even a reply.”

“Actually, when we first arrived, Master would contact them very early on. Originally, they said they would send someone over to maintain things five years ago. But something happened on their end, which caused the person coming to be replaced. Then the replacement used connections and didn't want to come to such a remote place to suffer, so he just took the position in name and did nothing. It's been over a hundred years now,” Bai Sheng said helplessly.

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“Nowadays, our lineage has long been far from the core. It's normal for us not to be valued. What's annoying is that if the maintenance isn't done well and the produced goods are insufficient, they won't care what the reason is when they come to investigate. They won't show any mercy,” Hei Ying said irritably.

“Master already has a plan. No need to rush,” Bai Sheng said calmly.

Yu Hong, standing to the side, listened to the two of them discussing the sect and the relationship of their lineage.

Listening, he understood the situation here somewhat.

Leaving aside the Nine Stars Sword Sect, Qinghe Mountain is also extremely vast, overseeing seventy star systems. Each star system has ten to twenty-two planets, mostly resource and mining planets. Adding up all the habitable planets with life, there are only five.

Bai Sheng and Hei Ying's master's lineage prefers tranquility and dislikes conflict. Naturally, they were distanced in the struggles and assigned to the sufficiently remote Sixth Star System to manage the mining stars.

And so far, Bai Sheng and his two disciples have been here for at least a hundred years.

Yu Hong remotely controlled Hei Ling to move with the airship while listening to the two of them chatting.

Occasionally, the two of them would also ask about his situation.

“What!? You're only in your twenties!?” Bai Sheng was drinking a can of milky-white beverage. Upon hearing this, he almost choked to death. He coughed loudly, spraying white liquid from his nostrils.

“What? Doesn't it seem like it?!” Yu Hong looked at himself, not feeling that there was anything wrong.

Bai Sheng was speechless. He exchanged a glance with his junior sister and began to transmit his voice quietly.

‘In his twenties, he can cultivate to the Perfect Golden Core stage? Almost stepping into the Nascent Soul stage? Then wouldn't we, who cultivated for hundreds of years to achieve the Nascent Soul stage, have lived our lives in vain?’

“Perhaps there's a problem with his cultivation method.”

“It's possible. Some demonic and evil arts focus solely on speed, but in the end, they'll be stuck, permanently stopped at one level, and eventually suffer a backlash, beyond redemption. I think his situation is very similar.” Bai Sheng nodded.

“Then should we save him?” Hei Ying hesitated.

“That depends on Master. After discerning his nature, if there's no problem, I feel Master should take action,” Bai Sheng replied.

The airship slowly passed over gray-white snow mountains and quickly landed in a brown crater, like a washbasin.

Inside this crater was a Taoist-style architectural complex built from a mixture of silvery-white metal and rock.

Taoist palaces, quadrangle courtyards, and high towers cast mottled, fragmented shadows in the faint daylight.

Yu Hong noticed that most of these buildings were in a dilapidated and unrepaired state. Some places were even constantly shrouded in darkness, without lighting fixtures, devoid of light.

“We've arrived. This is Wanxue Palace, a retreat that my master, Yu Xuezi, built at his own expense. Brother Yu Hu, when you see my master later, try not to lie. The old man hates juniors lying in front of him the most,” Bai Sheng whispered.

“Understood!” Yu Hong nodded.

He followed the two of them down from the airship. Because he couldn't fly, Bai Sheng pulled him along for a short distance, landing lightly from the airship.

The three of them entered through the gate of Wanxue Palace, passing through a spacious corridor hall over ten meters high. Yu Hong immediately saw a handsome Taoist priest holding a broom and sweeping snow in front of a Taoist palace.

“You're back? Is this the guest you brought back from that airship?”

The Taoist priest had silver hair draped over his shoulders, the strands of hair shimmering silver light behind him.

He had a pair of white wings on his back, the feathers soft and dense, moving slightly in the wind.

He wore a simple and unadorned black Taoist robe, a copper Bagua mirror hanging around his neck. His face looked about thirty years old, his complexion pure and fair.