Chapter 398: Uncle Is Going to the Joyful Sect?!

Two more days later, at the Yuling Interstellar Hotel, the starship docking zone.

A staff member led the three to near the starship and handed each of them a box with exquisitely crafted outer packaging, adorned with the hotel's signature feather pattern.

"Welcome back next time."

Chi Jiuyu looked at the boxes in her and Zhang Yunlu's hands, then at the one Xu Xing held.

emm…

Why does Teacher Uncle's souvenir look so much more refined than mine?

Could what's inside be different too?

She couldn't help muttering to herself.

"Let's go." Xu Xing said casually, then tossed his souvenir to Chi Jiuyu.

"Oh oh!"

Though she really wanted to open it right away, she suppressed the urge and stepped inside the starship first.

As the three entered the starship, the hotel staff stepped aside.

Hum~!

A muffled hum resonated through the thick armor; the engraved array patterns on the starship's surface glowed briefly, then faded.

This was the starship's self-check of all modules—a standard preparation before every jump.

Inside the starship.

A white corridor stretched forward, its array slowly rotating, illuminating the entire passage and adding a cold, solemn atmosphere.

Tap tap!

Amid footsteps, three figures walked along the corridor toward the main control room.

Chi Jiuyu held one box in each arm and turned her head to say, "Teacher Uncle, this is your first time riding a starship, right?"

"Mm."

Xu Xing walked behind the two, occasionally glancing around.

Starship…

Before his seclusion, there were no starships; after emerging, he had never ridden one. Precisely because he had never tried it, he had decided to return with the two by starship.

"Teacher Uncle, I've actually had a question I've wanted to ask you." Zhang Yunlu suddenly said.

Oh?

"Go ahead."

Perhaps because she had died too many times in the simulated Illusory Realm back in Xuanjian City, Xiao Yunlu still spoke very little in daily life.

"Are all the people now living in the stars originally from the Central Continent?"

Before Xu Xing could answer, Chi Jiuyu, walking at the front, couldn't help exclaiming, "Still thinking about this?"

"Don't mess around."

"Ouch!" Chi Jiuyu felt pain on her forehead, "Teacher Uncle, you hit my head again!"

After loudly accusing him, she quickly ran ahead a few steps.

Xu Xing ignored her and answered Zhang Yunlu's question: "Some of the people now living in the stars are indeed migrants from the Central Continent."

During the early stages of planetary development, to raise the overall cultivation level, benefits and perks were quite generous.

Though somewhat dangerous, many still flocked to them.

Take Yuyao Star—even after its resources were stolen by the Planetary Warden, the welfare for mid- and low-tier cultivators still surpassed that of ordinary cities on the Central Continent.

After all, aside from certain social benefits, schools on the Central Continent do not provide fixed quotas of cultivation resources.

"Of course, if only migrants from the Central Continent had settled the stars, the scale would never have reached what it is today."

"The reason it has grown to this scale is because some planets have also given birth to human populations."

Humans born on some planets?

"But the environments are different… shouldn't star humans and Central Continent humans be different too?" Zhang Yunlu frowned.

"No, there is no difference whatsoever." Xu Xing shook his head slightly. "As for the reason, wait until your realm advances—you can investigate it yourself then. Now is too early to touch on this."

If she could preserve this curiosity, it might aid her future cultivation.

Of course, the human population now living in the stars includes one more type besides the two mentioned—

The humans once bred by the Cang Clan in the stars.

After the Cang Clan's defeat and retreat, they did not return to the Central Continent but continued living on those planets.

"So what realm do I need to reach before it's appropriate to investigate these things?" Zhang Yunlu asked.

"I know! I know! It's Union with the Dao, right!" Chi Jiuyu, at the front, shouted loudly.

She'd seen this scene countless times before!

"Correct—it's Union with the Dao." Xu Xing gazed ahead. "The world you see now is merely the tip of the iceberg. Only when you reach Union with the Dao do you gain the right to uncover the truth of this world."

He then looked at Chi Jiuyu.

"Only when you reach Union with the Dao do you qualify to run for Sect Master."

"…."

I reached Soul Transformation at twenty-two—pretty awesome, okay!

As they spoke, the three reached the end of the corridor, and Zhang Yunlu stepped forward to input a trace of magic power.

"Identity confirmed! Welcome, Captain."

The metal door opened; the lights of the main control room lit up one by one. At the front, translucent pale-blue holographic screens rolled with endless streams of data.

【All system modules self-checked: no anomalies】

【Yuling tethering protocol connected, jump engine preheated, jump will commence in thirty seconds】

A scene straight out of science fiction; Xu Xing even entertained the thought of acquiring a couple of starships for his collection.

They walked together into the main control room.

"Uncle! How's your first ride on a starship?"

"Not bad."

Hmm…

But the jump hasn't even started yet, has it?

Zhang Yunlu paused, deciding not to dwell on the question.

After stepping forward and sitting down, she pulled out a notebook, flipped to the latest blank page, and prepared to record what Xu Xing had just said—《Little Zhang's Exploration Notes》.

It contained questions she had once been curious about but never gotten answers to.

Chi Jiuyu, meanwhile, was busy unwrapping her gift box. From it, she pulled out a feather, as if carved from crystal, translucent and gleaming.

From the gift box Xu Xing had given her, she extracted a feather of identical size, yet within it, as if a river of stars flowed.

It looked exactly like the "Feather Star River" recorded in the Feather Spirit Interstellar Hotel, which documented the Feather Spirit Star Refining Art.

Even the material was a high-quality spiritual crystal.

Holy shit!

Is this what top-tier treatment looks like? Even the souvenirs are this extravagant!

Soon.

"Activation of teleportation array... connecting to the Xiang Jianzong's Star Jump Array..."

"Alert! Jump will commence in ten seconds!"

The jump was about to begin; Xu Xing glanced ahead.

…

…

Not a single character, not a single stroke, not a single detail was out of place!

Several hours later, beyond the Central Continent.

A starship hung motionless, its extended spiritual-energy wings dispersing fine grains of spiritual energy like sand.

It was waiting for the Xiang Jianzong's Star Pull Array to be approved.

Meanwhile, inside the main control room of the starship.

Amid gurgling sounds of boiling broth, Chi Jiuyu held a disposable bowl and chopsticks, before her a hotpot with red oil churning continuously.

How could you come to the stars without eating hotpot?

That was her exact words; though Zhang Yunlu didn't understand the connection, she remembered how her senior sister always did this whenever they came to the stars, so she helped set it up.

"Uncle, you really won't eat? It's so delicious!"

"No." Xu Xing said calmly.

"By the way, by the way! Back in the stars, we used to use flying boats, right? Uncle, do you have any flying boats usable in the stars?"

Eating couldn't shut her up at all.

"I do have some." Xu Xing paused, "Actually, I mentioned earlier that if you handled this matter well, I'd give you a reward…"

"No no no! The starship is fine for us."

She had barely convinced her master to gift her a medium-sized starship.

If she asked Uncle for a flying boat too, what if her master thought it was enough and changed his mind?

Sure, the flying boats Uncle collects are certainly high-grade, but for her now, the starship was more than enough.

Even if she had a flying boat, it'd be useless except for showing off.

"Then what do you want?" Xu Xing looked at the two.

"Hmm…" Chi Jiuyu thought, fished out a piece of cooked meat from the pot, "We haven't decided yet."

"Same here," Zhang Yunlu said.

Fine.

"Then tell me when you've decided." Xu Xing rose from his seat, "Alright, remember to turn in your mission report. Don't use that token to hassle the Sect Master."

Though they had stayed two more days, all mission-related data had already been uploaded to the Xiang Jianzong's War Network.

Silutang had already prepared everything; now they just needed to return and complete the handover and formalities.

"Got it, got it!"

Uncle, really? Do you have to remind us again?!

"Are you leaving, Uncle?"

"Mm. You two head back on your own now."

She had experienced the starship; he naturally had to leave too. Getting to the Joyful Sect sooner meant returning sooner.

【Return request approved. Xiang Jianzong's Pulling Program loading…】

【Alert: Return jump scheduled to begin in thirty minutes】

Two lines of text appeared on the pale blue translucent screen ahead; Chi Jiuyu read them while asking.

"By the way, Uncle, where are you going?"

"The Joyful Sect."

"Huh?!"

She spun around—only to find Xu Xing, who had just been beside the seat, had vanished.

Uncle… is going to the Joyful Sect?!

"Little Yunlu, did you hear that? What did Uncle say he was going to?!" Chi Jiuyu doubted she'd heard wrong.

Back when I was on Yu Yao Star, the back of my head kept hurting!

"... Huanhuan Sect."

"..."

Oh no!

I really didn't hear wrong!

"You say, why did Uncle suddenly go to Huanhuan Sect?"

"I remember Uncle said before that this time he was planning to meet an old friend."

An old friend of Huanhuan Sect...

Could it be the Old Huanhuan...

No, not long ago, Huanhuan Sect issued an announcement: their founding ancestor officially changed his name to Master Mei Zu.

Could it be that he's going to meet Master Mei Zu?

She put down the disposable chopsticks and bowl, wiped her mouth, and pulled out her phone.

This kind of major matter must be reported to Master!

She opened the group "The Light of Jian Sect's Righteous Path" and typed furiously.

Future Sect Master of Jian Sect: "Something huge has happened, Master!"

Huh?

Zhang Yunlu glanced strangely at her senior sister—wasn't this the time to just state the matter directly?

My Most Revered Master: "/Flowers Bloom in Prosperity"

It was precisely the image of Chi Jiuyu spitting light out of all seven orifices.

My Most Revered Master: "Did they break your legs?"

Chi Jiuyu flew into a rage—how could Master still be joking at a time like this!

As for her own image, because Bie Xuening used it so often, as a fish that evolves, she had now become completely immune to it. (End of Chapter)