Chapter 354: The Fulfilling Life of the Great Nephew

It seemed impossible to deduce their origins from the cultivation techniques used by those black-robed cultivators—Yu Sheng had never known that the art of cultivation could even be offered via "correspondence course."

However, True Immortal Yuan Ling had not gained nothing from those black-robed men.

"Those who attacked you all possessed solid foundations in Body Cultivation, and most bore traces of bone-marrow cleansing and bloodline alteration. Such characteristics are very common on some border planets with low development levels—these immigrant worlds often have environments not yet fully terraformed, with extreme cold, extreme heat, acid, poison, and radiation outside the domes. Although the pioneering cultivators settling on the borders possess corresponding protective treasures, they still perform additional 'modifications' on their own bodies to ensure safety."

Yu Sheng quickly reacted: "Are you saying these people are not locals of the Profound Heaven Spirit Core? They came from the border of the Feiyu Star Domain?"

True Immortal Yuan Ling nodded slightly: "There is a high probability."

Yu Sheng frowned, then brought up the intelligence he had gathered: "Speaking of which, I used some of my own 'methods' to extract some clues from one of the black-robed men. They seemed to be searching for something called the 'Emperor's Legacy,' and that thing is closely related to the alien realm that appeared on Taiyou..."

He laid out all the intelligence he knew, and as he spoke, the expression on True Immortal Yuan Ling's face visibly grew grave.

"I indeed have never heard of this 'Emperor's Legacy,' but a group of lawless men, very likely from border planets, coming to the satellite of the Capital Star to search for the so-called 'Emperor's' legacy... this is likely not a trivial matter," True Immortal Yuan Ling frowned tightly, his voice slightly lower, then turned to Xuan Che, "Xuan Che, when you fought those black-robed men, did you notice any symptoms of madness or delirium in them? Or sudden changes in their limbs, or their techniques changing in strange ways?"

"This... actually no," Xuan Che hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "Those people were very clear-minded during the fight, they even understood battle formation coordination. When they were later captured after failing, they showed great backbone, not looking like they had lost their minds."

Yu Sheng sensed something from True Immortal Yuan Ling's question and spoke up: "Why do you suddenly ask about this?"

"... Cultivators far from the Profound Heaven Star are often easily seduced by evil spirits, especially those whose minds were not tempered sufficiently during their Foundation Establishment, with unstable foundations," True Immortal Yuan Ling explained with a grave expression, "This is one of the risks one must face on the path of cultivation."

"The path of cultivation seeks transcendence, but humans are originally flesh and blood; this process of transcendence is not so easy. Once one's heart and nature cannot keep up with the technique, falling into the Demonic Path can happen in the blink of an eye. The further one is from the Capital Star and the closer one is to the star domain's border, the more the environment differs from humanity's 'Ancestral Land of Life.' In such environments, the human mind becomes very fragile. Moreover, beyond the star river lies a vast void; between the stars lies darkness and immensity, hiding countless strange mysteries. If one looks into that darkness for too long... who knows what one might hear or see."

"Furthermore... managing the border regions is not easy. Even if the Profound Heaven Spirit Core tries its utmost, it is inevitable that some evil spirits and demons from outside will find cracks to infiltrate. They seduce border guards and deceive border civilians occasionally. The Holy Hidden Cult previously infiltrated in just such a manner."

Speaking to this point, True Immortal Yuan Ling paused, and his gloomy, grave expression relaxed slightly: "But it is not that bad. You have wiped out this wave of evil path cultivators, which has given me a direction for investigation. I will now notify the border disciples and the other four sects to investigate along this direction—and also investigate the true origin of this so-called 'Emperor'."

"Do you need our help?" Yu Sheng said casually.

"Ah, this absolutely cannot trouble you," True Immortal Yuan Ling immediately smiled and waved his hand, "You are guests from afar. You haven't even had time to rest at my Thousand Peaks Lingshan before being attacked by evil path cultivators and fighting a battle. Speaking of this is already enough to make me ashamed. You should go rest first—tomorrow I will arrange for you to properly enjoy the sea of clouds among these mountains; there are also some good places down the mountain."

"Alright then, we'll go back and rest for now," Yu Sheng didn't continue the polite formalities with the old man, "Just call if you need anything."

True Immortal Yuan Ling bowed, and then saw Yu Sheng casually pull open a door beside him, step through, and go from the front of the Queyun Palace to the Cloud-Watching Platform...

Watching that illusory great door gradually vanish from sight, True Immortal Yuan Ling let out a soft sigh, then couldn't help but remark: "I think I'm starting to understand what Director Bai Li meant when he told me that before."

Xuan Che: "Huh? What did Director Bai Li tell you?"

"She told me to get used to Mr. Yu's habit of opening doors to enter and pushing doors to leave anytime, anywhere."

"... Indeed so."

On the Cloud-Watching Platform, the sunset was gradually sinking.

As soon as Yu Sheng arrived, he saw a familiar figure standing next to a package collection point—Zheng Zhi.

To be honest, before returning, he had thought about his Great Nephew, wondering if it was inappropriate to leave such a young man unfamiliar with the place and people all alone guarding the gate on a foreign star, especially since his whole group had gone out to see the world and even experienced a space tour (although the final stage of the tour was a bit thrilling). But at this very moment, the instant he saw Zheng Zhi, that little bit of guilt in Yu Sheng's heart vanished into thin air.

Because he saw Zheng Zhi had somehow moved a recliner onto the Cloud-Watching Platform, with a small table obviously obtained from someone placed beside it. The table was piled with all sorts of snacks, fruits, and wine jars, almost spilling onto the ground. He was just swaying in that recliner, holding a special bureau-issued tablet computer, scrolling through short videos, laughing as he scrolled, occasionally taking a bite of a fairy fruit, sipping a mouthful of jade nectar—it was truly a life of enjoyment!

Seeing this scene, before Yu Sheng could even speak, the small puppet on his shoulder had already jumped up and shouted from far away: "Great Nephew!!"

Zheng Zhi instantly jolted, nearly dropping the tablet in his hand, then shot up in a flash, turning his head to look at Yu Sheng and the others with surprise and joy: "Hey, Brother Yu, you're back?"

Erin stood on Yu Sheng's shoulder with her hands on her hips, full of momentum: "So you know how to enjoy yourself—we were fighting a bunch of dog-brains who wouldn't hesitate to kill in the alien realm, do you know that?"

As soon as the small puppet finished speaking, Hu Li beside her poked her head and carefully reminded: "Um, judging by the results, they didn't really show characteristics of not hesitating to kill. Besides, Luna really didn't blink from start to finish..."

"Rhetoric, that was a rhetorical device," Erin turned and glared at Hu Li, "You have to judge by the aura. That group in black clothes looked at a glance like people lacking parents, nothing like us who look so upright and open in style."

Hu Li scratched his cheek, looking at the other party with suspicion: "I feel like something is wrong with what you said."

Luna beside them nodded: "Mm, right."

No one knew which of the previous sentences her "right" was responding to.

Zheng Zhi had already stood up and walked over. Hearing Erin's words, he immediately became at a loss: "Uh, I..."

"Don't mind her, her mouth is always like that," Yu Sheng directly interrupted the other party, then his gaze fell on the tablet computer in the other's hand, "... You're scrolling through short videos while doing interstellar roaming?!"

"Ah, no," Zheng Zhi didn't expect Yu Sheng's focus to be on this, paused for a moment, then quickly waved his hand, "I'm using the Thousand Peaks Lingshan's Wi-Fi."

Yu Sheng: "... There's Wi-Fi on Thousand Peaks Lingshan?!"

"Yes, although the format is different from the 'civilian signals' in Border City, it is compatible with the broadcast signals of Star Communication. The equipment issued by the bureau can connect directly," Zheng Zhi explained with a smile, "I asked a fairy who passed by while I was wandering around nearby."

"Uh, alright," Yu Sheng said casually, "Did anything happen while we were away?"

"Nothing much has happened on the Cloud-Watching Platform side; it's been quite peaceful," Zheng Zhi recalled briefly and began to report, "However, I did encounter quite a few interesting things while walking nearby..."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow: "Interesting things?"

Zheng Zhi nodded: "Mm, this afternoon on the road leading to the mid-mountain pavilion, I saw two groups of Thousand Peaks Lingshan disciples fighting."

Yu Sheng: "Fighting?!"

"Yes, they said the Beast Taming Peak disciple's final assignment ate the Spirit Nurturing Peak disciple's final assignment..."

Yu Sheng's face twitched: "... Uh, what else?"

Zheng Zhi recalled for a moment again and started chattering: "Also, on another high platform nearby, I saw a Miss crying. I asked and she said she was from the Divine Weapon Peak, majoring in weapon refinement. She spent ten years nurturing a flying sword, and finally it formed a weapon spirit, but it was an idiot who fell in love with the hammer she used for blacksmithing;"

"Also, in a small forest on the mountainside, I saw a talking rabbit. He seemed very surprised that I could see him. His first sentence upon meeting was 'How the f*** did you see me?'—I asked a few questions casually. He said he was an inner sect disciple of the Beast Taming Peak, and because he had cultivated a mosquito that could withstand the cold winter and had a lifespan of ten years, he was being hunted down by his senior brothers and sisters. He was forced to transform and hide in the forest. But I had just promised to keep his secret when his senior brothers and sisters arrived... That unlucky kid was crying miserably."

"Oh right, I also found a steep slope behind the cliff. Below the steep slope was a small river. There was an old man fishing by the river. I thought I had encountered some kind of special opportunity, the kind hidden under cliffs specifically to hand down inherited secret manuals. But after asking a few questions, I found out he was the dormitory keeper from the Enlightenment Hall. He didn't want to go home after work and secretly came over to fish—he seemed quite surprised to see me too. His words were similar to the 'rabbit' who raised mosquitoes. His first sentence upon meeting was 'How the f*** did you find this place'..."

Zheng Zhi spoke with increasing enthusiasm; this whole day staying on Thousand Peaks Lingshan turned out to be quite fulfilling for him. Yu Sheng, on the other hand, went from surprise to dazed, and finally his facial expression became numb.

How to put it...

Truly worthy of him.

(End of Chapter)