Chapter 320: Resurgence

After hearing the response from the person before her, Bai Liqing could not help but scrutinize Yu Sheng closely once more with a searching gaze for a long time.

The expression on the latter's face was very serious, but obviously he had no long-term plan; as always—he simply had an idea and wanted to try it.

Yet despite having no basis in her heart, Bai Liqing suddenly had a premonition that something was bound to happen: The Holy Hidden Cult would be in trouble.

So she pondered carefully for a long time before continuing to speak: "You should know that the Special Bureau's duty is only to protect the safety of the Borderland. Although we have been cracking down on cult groups like the Holy Hidden Cult, these actions are all based on the premise that the interests of the Borderland are threatened."

"I understand," Yu Sheng nodded. "I didn't expect you to directly dispatch a fleet to help me attack the Holy Hidden Cult's main nest—besides, whether we can even find it is another matter."

"As you say, with the Special Bureau's authority alone, it is indeed unlikely to directly dispatch a fleet to do this," Bai Liqing continued, "but then again... they have already threatened the safety of the Borderland this time, haven't they?"

Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows.

"The appearance of the City in the Mist is not accidental; there must be a conspiracy by those cultists behind this foreign realm. Since they have the ability to hide a crack warship under the Council's very nose, it shows they have the motive and capability to cause further destruction, which is enough to make the Council sit up and take notice," Bai Liqing said unhurriedly. "On the other hand, for many years, the greatest difficulty we faced when cracking down on the Holy Hidden Cult was that we could not find their hidden nests, or if we found them, we could not catch them. You are the first person in history to successfully infiltrate their main warship and capture one of their warships intact—so, if you truly discover any 'clues' in the future, as long as the coordinates are clear and conditions permit, I can dispatch maximum support to you in the name of 'protecting the safety of the Borderland and eliminating potential threats'."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and tentatively spoke: "... higher-level clearance rights?"

Bai Liqing was stunned by this phrasing, but soon a smile seemed to appear on her face: "An interesting phrasing. Yes, higher-level clearance rights—as for what level of support this 'clearance right' can actually apply for in the 'outside' world in the future, I will quickly formulate a detailed plan and rules that both sides can accept and send them to you."

"That's good, your word is enough," Yu Sheng smiled, then adjusted his posture in the chair. "But ultimately, this isn't something that can be done in a moment; let's talk about the immediate matter first."

Bai Liqing couldn't quite keep up with this pace and was momentarily puzzled: "The immediate matter?"

The smile on Yu Sheng's face gradually became hard to maintain; with a worried expression, he pointed to the pile of books on the table (taller than Erin): "This? Do I have to read it all? I'm not questioning the professionalism of this matter... does a rookie captain really have to learn so much?!"

"That is a starship, not an electric scooter," whether it was an illusion or not, Bai Liqing's eye seemed to twitch. "You at least don't need to learn basic driving skills anymore. Under normal circumstances, a space crew member needs at least twenty years of growth and experience to become the 'captain' of such a large warship, and also needs to assemble a complete crew—it's not just about learning these few manuals."

Speaking of this, she paused, then added: "I will try to issue a navigation license endorsed by the Borderland for your warship, as well as a complete set of personal documents for you. This can ensure you can sail that ship smoothly on eighty percent of the legal routes in the known universe. Don't forget that you are piloting a 'Heretic Warship' built by the Holy Hidden Cult; without identification codes of sufficiently high priority, the moment you enter another civilization's sphere, you will probably be 'warmly welcomed' by the local garrison forces... or even be unable to approach most legal star gates."

"Speaking of which, I also have to remind you: it is best to make some modifications to the appearance of that warship too. Don't just change the interior; at least scrape the Holy Hidden Cult's insignia clean from all parts of the hull, otherwise you will definitely have big trouble docking at a legal port with it."

Yu Sheng could tell the other party was sincerely helping him, and the matters she mentioned were indeed "real-world problems" he had never thought of before, so he immediately put away his worried expression and nodded very seriously: "No problem, no problem..."

At the same time, somewhere in Border City, inside a hotel exclusively open to "Outlanders," Xuan Che was sitting cross-legged on the bed, seemingly in a meditative state.

An ancient-looking Spirit Mirror floated beside him; faint light rippled on the mirror's surface, and the mirror reflected an image of a burning incense stick.

After an unknown amount of time, the incense in the mirror burned out, and a crisp sound like a golden bell ringing came from the mirror. Only then did Xuan Che open his eyes, regulate his breath, and slowly finish his work and stand up.

He put away the mirror, looked up at the smoke alarm on the ceiling, and his expression showed a slight regret.

And almost at the same time, a hum suddenly came from the mirror in his hand.

Xuan Che looked down, quickly adjusted his expression and clothes, then placed the mirror carefully on the table, swept his hand over the mirror surface, and bowed respectfully: "Master."

Spiritual light rippled in the mirror, and Yuan Ling Zhenren, with crane-white hair, a child-like face, and an immortal demeanor, appeared before Xuan Che. The old man showed a slight smile on his face: "Good, good. Xuan Che, how is the matter I entrusted to you going? Have you met the High Person?"

"I have already met him," Xuan Che immediately lowered his head and answered. "Everything was done according to Master's instructions; I presented gifts and delivered the message. Considering the High Person dislikes formalities, I was not overly rigid or stiff. I believe I left a good impression."

"Hmm, good," Yuan Ling Zhenren nodded in satisfaction, but immediately noticed that Xuan Che's expression seemed strange, as if he wanted to say something, so he asked, "Did you encounter any problems?"

There were many problems.

The muscles on Xuan Che's face twitched, and he finally decided to report the most important matter first—at least one that was quite important to his personal physical and mental health.

"Master, that High Person... you have actually seen him with your own eyes."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?"

"Do you remember the human head that appeared in my alchemy furnace that day?"

Yuan Ling Zhenren: "...?"

Master and disciple stared at each other across the Spirit Mirror, silence spanning the stars.

"It was him," Xuan Che said with a bitter smile.

It was the first time he had seen such a look of shock, confusion, and disbelief on his master's face.

Fully half a minute passed before Yuan Ling Zhenren spoke, and his first words carried obvious tension: "Xuan Che, when you met him, did you commit any offense?"

"No," Xuan Che answered immediately, then added another sentence: "I was naturally surprised, but I always remembered Master's instructions."

Only then did Yuan Ling Zhenren look relieved, then organized his thoughts and continued asking with a subtle expression: "Then... how is the place where the High Person resides? What kind of person is he?"

Mentioning this, Xuan Che opened his mouth but did not continue speaking for a moment; instead, his face became even stranger.

Yuan Ling Zhenren naturally noticed the change in his disciple's expression. He rarely saw his mature and steady favorite disciple behave this way, so he couldn't help but frown: "What's the catch?"

"There isn't really a catch; it's just that the disciple is thinking about how to report the situation to Master." While speaking, Xuan Che quickly adjusted his expression, and then keywords began flashing through his mind like a brush—

A house that creates its own universe, the whole family living in a foreign realm, a house full of noise but not a single normal "human," a fox immortal from another world using a pressure cooker to make pills that greet people in the bowl, the fox immortal also has two guardian spirit birds whose cultivation seems higher than the immortal crane Master has raised for hundreds of years, the fox immortal's tail can be pulled off and fired, there is also an Alice doll by the High Person's side, the body measurements are 66.6cm*4, they all took down a nest of evil demons and heretics together, and the High Person even used a fox tail to launch himself...

After these keywords flashed through his mind twice, Xuan Che felt his Dao Heart was like it had been set to vibration mode—he even suspected that if he directly told his master these things, his master's Dao Heart would tremble for a long time, and then the copper-headed belt would come breaking through the void from Thousand Peaks Lingshan...

But the next second, the voice coming from the Spirit Mirror interrupted his wild thoughts: "No need to worry; it is not strange for the High Person to have some mysteries around him. I am not an ignorant villager; speak freely."

Only then did Xuan Che calm his heart, then took a light breath: "It is like this. First, the place where the High Person resides is a foreign realm, and he additionally has a cave dwelling, which is also a foreign realm..."

Immediately, he recounted in detail what he had seen and heard beside Yu Sheng, but he temporarily did not mention the matter of the Holy Hidden Cult—this matter was extremely serious and must be reported seriously later.

Yuan Ling Zhenren's expression had already become unusually serious halfway through listening, and then he pinched his beard while observing Xuan Che's expression and state very carefully. Only after his favorite disciple finally finished speaking did he frown slightly and break the silence: "Xuan Che, come closer. Yes, open your mouth—ah."

Xuan Che didn't understand but instinctively complied, then immediately heard his master speak again: "What pills did you eat today? When consuming immortal-grade spiritual pills, did you remember to use spiritual power to assist in refining them? What about last night? Did you eat anything you shouldn't have before setting out? There are Ghost Mist Mushrooms on the back mountain; did you stir-fry them thoroughly when eating them?"

Only then did Xuan Che realize, and he couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Master, the disciple has not taken the wrong medicine. What I just said..."

"Is it all true?"

"It is all true."

Yuan Ling Zhenren continued to pinch his beard and fell into deep thought on the other side of the Spirit Mirror.

After a good while, this old man with an immortal demeanor suddenly took a sharp breath under Xuan Che's slightly worried gaze and sighed: "The High Person indeed—able to fight the Dark Angel, truly has extraordinary merits. Xuan Che, your journey this time may bring you a great opportunity!"

Hearing this, Xuan Che immediately bowed: "Speaking of a great opportunity, the disciple and the High Person encountered an incident together. This matter is of great consequence and may even affect Thousand Peaks Lingshan."

Yuan Ling Zhenren's expression became serious in an instant: "Hmm?"

"We ran into the Holy Hidden Cult..."

Deep within the Pillar of Order, inside the Holy Coffin Chamber.

The pitch-black iron coffin still stood at a 45° angle on the platform connected to numerous pipes and cables, emitting a low, humming vibration. The dim red lights on the surface of the platform and the coffin lid slowly flickered on and off, like breathing.

But suddenly, the low, humming vibration from within the Sacred Coffin apparatus ceased.

Even the other equipment in the room fell silent along with it.

For a moment, the entire chamber was engulfed in silence.

This quiet lasted for several seconds; then, accompanied by a faint hiss of pressure valves releasing and the sound of machinery operating, the heavy lid of the Sacred Coffin finally began to open slowly...

A tall, slender figure slowly rose from within the Sacred Coffin.

The "Artificial Saintess" stepped out of the container, descended from the platform, and stood motionless in the empty Sacred Coffin Chamber, like a sculpture.

With no other movement, no change in expression, and not a single word spoken, this steel puppet was made solely for killing; even at this moment of "death and rebirth," no emotion could be discerned from her hollow face.

She simply stood there blankly, standing for a very, very long time, before suddenly seeming to "sense" something and tilting her head slightly to the side.

The next second, her figure was abruptly enveloped by a surging, writhing darkness, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished from the Sacred Coffin Chamber.

(End of Chapter)