Chapter 377

The weather today was excellent, the sky bright and clear.

Thus, on the way to bury the remains of Zhang Jia's siblings' parents, one could see many Xiang Jianzong cultivators gathering auroras to refine Qi.

Compared to the Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect, whose members constantly endured extreme environments and muttered "friendly greetings" through gritted teeth, the Xiang Jianzong's aesthetic was undeniably more ethereal and graceful.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Xing might have paused to admire them.

After all, he had once promised his younger sister that after she finished her college entrance exam, he would take her traveling across the lands…

Of course, that was no longer necessary.

Not long ago, Zhang Yunlu was specially admitted to the most prestigious academy in Jianzhou, enrolling in the Sword Path department as one of those exceptionally free students permitted to design their own training plans.

After all, they were cultivators; even in this age, academies did not interfere with the individuality of true geniuses.

Just like Chi Jiuyu in her day.

It was said the Xiang Jianzong's cafeteria was also large, though still slightly inferior to the Spirit Chefs of the Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect…

Little Yunlu's senior sister had recently found another phoenix—its flavor was quite excellent…

For some reason, Xu Xing's mind was chaotic, though he had come here to pay respects to his parents; the closer they drew to the cemetery, the more tangled his thoughts became, filled with random, disjointed ideas.

Thus, in a strangely silent atmosphere, the group finally arrived at the cemetery where the remains of Zhang Jia's siblings' parents were buried.

"Uh… Little Yunlu, we won't come in with you."

Chi Jiuyu stopped outside the cemetery.

Death and life—she had seen them too often; during missions, she had killed tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, of alien beings.

But this was the first time someone close to her had faced such a thing.

She disliked the atmosphere, didn't know what she could do here, so she simply chose not to intrude.

"Mm." Zhang Yunlu nodded, her expression revealing little sorrow.

Xu Xing, who had been lost in idle thoughts until reaching the cemetery's edge, suddenly felt his heart grow calm.

Jiang Hong was equally composed; his long life had granted him countless experiences, and before this, he had spent decades haunted by the shadow of death.

The three entered the cemetery.

Because the remains of cultivators held considerable value, many public cemeteries did not bury actual corpses.

But the Xiang Jianzong was different.

This cemetery was built by the Xiang Jianzong's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, fortified with several isolation arrays.

Thus, despite housing the remains of numerous mid- to high-level cultivators, it had caused no ecological disruption.

Indeed, the remains within the Xiang Jianzong cemetery were valuable—extremely valuable!

Yet not a single person dared entertain thoughts of desecration.

After all, the Sword Enforcement Hall would make anyone who entertained such thoughts understand what it meant to say "even death is a luxury."

This was why Xu Xing had not arranged for his parents' remains to be buried in Xuanjian City, where they had once lived.

The paperwork would have been cumbersome, and the security insufficient.

Although the Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect also had such cemeteries, after this period of observation, Xu Xing still felt his parents would rest more peacefully here.

Watching the three depart.

Chi Jiuyu found a bench outside the cemetery.

After casually casting a cleansing spell to remove any dust, she pulled out her phone and sat down.

Bie Xuening had transferred her a contribution point sum, urging her to take Little Yunlu out for a trip to clear her mind.

She already had a destination in mind.

The phone screen displayed a uniquely elegant interface—simple yet grand.

"Yuling Interstellar Hotel…"

The very interstellar hotel she had once wanted to take Little Yunlu to during their trial missions.

The invitation had been extorted from the Mingfeng Team…

Cough!

Negotiated with the Mingfeng Team.

Unfortunately, too many accidents occurred that time, and the invitation was wasted.

The Yuling Interstellar Hotel was wildly popular and still difficult to book—but…

"Good thing I have my master's access permissions."

That made it simple; they could even visit some nearby unique planets!

Then they could test out Little Yunlu's new starship!

…

…

Within the cemetery, blanketed in greenery, rows of gravestones stretched endlessly into the distance.

The cemetery was spacious, with gravestones spaced apart, yet their sheer number still gave a suffocating impression.

Following Zhang Yunlu, Xu Xing and Jiang Hong saw the unremarkable gravestone.

Jiang Hong stopped at a suitable distance, not drawing too near.

This was the boy and his sister's moment—he must give them space.

Xu Xing did not notice this; his attention was entirely fixed on the stone tablet.

His heart, which had just calmed, surged again with bitterness and sorrow.

Thanks to the Soul Transformation cultivator's formidable memory, every memory of his parents returned to him—vivid, crystal clear.

Though his body brimmed with vast, ocean-like torrents of terrifying blood qi, he still felt powerless.

"Brother…" Zhang Yunlu watched her elder brother with concern.

In comparison, she was far calmer—or rather, far more bewildered.

When her parents left, she was far too young to remember much, so rather than sorrow, she felt mostly confusion.

If not for the photographs, she might not even recall what her parents looked like.

Huh…

"Don't worry, I'm fine." As a body cultivator, he could control his expressions well.

He pulled another smile, one that looked painfully forced.

Zhang Yunlu wanted to say something, but didn't know how, so in the end she said nothing, and walked with Zhang Xiu to the tombstone.

Sunlight shone brightly, falling across the cemetery, where small pure white flowers bloomed amid the green grass.

Around them were others, like them, come to pay respects at the cemetery, their faces heavy with grief.

Perhaps influenced by those people, or perhaps because of her brother's recent behavior, Zhang Yunlu seemed to recall some vague, hazy images.

Meanwhile, inside the Xiang Jianzong's inner sect.

Bie Xuening stood outside the Sword Lord's Hall, gazing toward the cemetery, her expression unreadable.

The dead are dead; she had witnessed too many such things.

In that bygone era, "loss" was the main melody of humanity—whether you accepted it or not, it was unavoidable.

In essence, she and her junior brother, along with other Dao companions, had struggled until now precisely to make "loss" no longer so "common."

Calmly withdrawing her gaze, she looked upward.

She was never good at "comforting," even if the person was her own disciple, so she chose to offer help and let Jiu Yu handle it.

She gazed at the bright, clear sky.

I wonder how things are on the other side of the starry sky…

…………

Starfront battlefield, beyond the Star Fortress.

Xu Xianning carried a heavy greatsword on her back; the "scars" on her black heavy armor stood out sharply under the fortress's light.

"I'm leaving. Take care of yourself," Xu Xing said.

"Master, farewell," Xu Xianning replied obediently.

"Mm." He nodded slightly, and his figure vanished without a sound.

"… "

She raised her head, silently gazing upward, and after a long while, lowered it again.

In her hand appeared a black faceplate, which she fastened securely over her face.

In that instant, her dull eyes suddenly sharpened, and her entire aura turned iron-blooded and deadly.

As if she had become an entirely different person, she turned and strode decisively into the depths of the fortress.

As one of humanity's rare "Dao-Realized, on the Verge of Knocking at the Immortal Gate" Dongzhen cultivators, how could she truly be so dull-witted?

She simply refused to think deeply when she was relaxed.

And when her master was beside her, that was when she was most relaxed.

Higher up.

After watching her enter, Xu Xing sighed helplessly and shook his head.

No error! One word! One sentence! One detail! One look!

He casually cast a sword qi as protection; that way, if Xuan made any move, he could arrive instantly.

Then he turned and walked away into the distance.

Since he had come to the Starry Sky this time, he had no intention of returning immediately.

First, he would go see Kui.

……

……

Because he was the first to become an immortal.

Over those years, Xu Xing had traveled far and wide, so his relationships with most of his Dao companions were quite good.

Kui was naturally one of them.

He had begun his cultivation path relatively late among them.

At first, he was merely the son of a chieftain from a remote human tribe in the Tai Xuan Realm.

Due to his extraordinary bravery, he subdued all his brothers and became the tribe's young chieftain.

At first, because his homeland was so remote, even the Cang Clan, which then held the celestial orthodoxy, had barely ventured there—or rather, had been too lazy to care—and the surrounding lands held only ordinary beasts with no supernatural power.

In a sense, one could say it was "isolated from the world."

Back then, all he hoped for was to inherit his father's position and lead his people to continue surviving.

But fate is unpredictable: when he went alone to challenge a ferocious beast as part of his trial, preparing to assume the chieftainship, an accident occurred.

Two heavenly generals under Gu and Xuan clashed fiercely.

A severely wounded Cang clansman was being chased and happened to flee through Kui's tribe.

Perhaps annoyed by the noise, or perhaps because his wounded spirit had accumulated rage he needed to vent, that Cang clansman casually slaughtered every single person in the tribe.

Like swatting away a few ants.

In short, when Kui defeated the beast and returned to the tribe, his body battered and bleeding, all he saw were corpses scattered everywhere.

His father, siblings, wife, children, and all his tribespeople had died that day.

After that day, he buried all his tribespeople and left the tribe, heading toward the heart of the Tai Xuan Realm.

After enduring countless hardships, Kui finally stepped onto the cultivation path and revealed extraordinary talent.

Perhaps because of that initial experience, he always wanted to protect something.

So as his cultivation advanced, he built a city—the largest city ever built by the human race!

But due to one fatal misstep, that city was ultimately crushed beneath a single palm.

After that, he endured many more events.

He became an Immortal; the Cang Clan was defeated.

Yet he did not remain on the Central Continent to establish a sect; he went straight to the starry void.

Aside from the incident in the Beast God Realm, he had never returned to the Central Continent.

The starry realm was boundless; even Xu Xing took some time before finally finding him on a desolate asteroid in a remote star system.

Because it lay on the edge, the star's light reaching it was already faint.

Kui sat silently on the gray-brown earth, motionless, his great bow beside him; from afar, he looked like a lifeless, cold, hard boulder.

Perhaps sensing something, he lifted his head, his eyes—filled with deathly stillness—gazing ahead.

"Brother Dao."

His voice was flat, still devoid of life.

Xu Xing paid no mind; he came before him and sat down on the gray-brown earth as well.

"Brother," Xu Xing looked at his side.

In his eyes, Kui's side was woven through with countless principles, existing in every inch of empty space, connecting all of humanity.

Whenever a new Foundation Establishment arose among humans, he would glance toward its location and leave a mark, ensuring it could not be possessed by foreign races.

The martial way's meaning was radiant, purging evil and slaying corruption, capable of erasing every foreign race that dared covet a human body and sought to possess and replace it.

Only then did his eyes show any emotion beyond deathly stillness.

It was hope.

Through his years of persistence, this had nearly become one of the rules of the Xuan Realm.

Or rather, a new "rule" was being born.

"This is all I can do," Kui said calmly.

He would continue, until that day arrived.

"Mm."

Xu Xing said nothing in response.

Many things cannot be spoken of unless one has experienced them firsthand.

"May I try?"

"Yes."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xu Xing saw all that the principles swirling and interwoven around Kui—filling every inch of empty space—were connected to.

They were countless scenes.

Strong or weak, solid or fragile, each Foundation Establishment glowed with black-and-white light—from the highest Creation Foundation to the Qi Refining cultivators who had used Breakthrough Elixir to establish their Foundation.

At the instant the Foundation was fully formed, a strange symbol representing the martial way would appear upon the Foundation, flashing and vanishing.

The Xiang Jianzong, and even the Qidaxian Sect plus the Righteous Alliance…

The Central Continent, and even every cultivator currently establishing their Foundation in the starry void!

These were the Foundation Establishments of billions of humans!

Among them, a few bore dark, brooding energies hovering near the Foundation platforms, restless and stirring.

Even knowing humans cannot be possessed, there were always a few fools in the boundless starry void who believed they could evade this rule and become the impossible "lucky ones."

With a thought, Xu Xing erased them, then withdrew his perception.

"These years have been hard on you, brother."

"…."

His master, who first led him onto the path of cultivation, had once said—

Cultivation is to protect all you hold dear.

He had promised, but he had not kept it—not even once…

Seeing his silence, Xu Xing sighed and rose from the gray-brown earth: "Brother, we part here."

"Brother Dao, take care on your way."

Watching Xu Xing depart, Kui lowered his gaze and continued silently staring ahead. (End of Chapter)