Chapter 1: Milky Way Frontier Pass: Travelers, Halt!

Blue Star, 2324.

At this moment, all media platforms on the entire planet are broadcasting the same picture.

In the vast, boundless universe, a spaceship bearing a red flag is slowly advancing toward the edge of the Milky Way.

All of humanity, at this moment, is breathing rapidly, nerves tense.

Because this is destined to be a historic day, after hundreds of years of development, human modern civilization has traveled over twenty-six thousand light-years and is finally about to leave the Milky Way, heading for a vaster cosmic expanse.

Countless barrage comments fill the official livestream room of Great Xia.

"It's so shocking! Although I've seen countless star maps, watching space travel live like this is still my first time!"

"A few hundred years ago, we couldn't even imagine leaving the Solar System; now we can send our spacecraft to over twenty-six million light-years beyond the edge of the Milky Way—Great Xia is awesome!"

Below the video, the number of comments is rapidly increasing at a rate of hundreds per second.

"Do you think there really is any life besides humanity outside the Milky Way?"

"I don't know. After all, for hundreds of years humanity has found no sign of life on any planet within the Milky Way; it's very possible that in this vast universe, we are alone."

"I firmly believe there is definitely life outside the Milky Way. Don't you remember the photos sent back over a hundred years ago by the Great Xia Space Station?"

"There seems to be something special at the edge of the Milky Way, but with our original capabilities it's basically impossible to observe it clearly."

"But now we can finally see clearly what exactly is at the edge of the Milky Way!"

"Not only that, countries like Yingjiang and Huixiong have also captured unidentified objects in space, all pointing here!"

Many people's blood boiled; over the past few centuries, astronomers from various countries have continually made discoveries at the edge of the Milky Way.

Some say that Great Xia, using an astronomical telescope, once discovered a dragon corpse at the edge of the Milky Way.

Others say that outside the Milky Way there seem to be many unknown beings wandering in the void.

Legends about what lies beyond the Milky Way have never been broken for hundreds of years.

Everyone wants to know what the most unfathomable and unpredictable edge of the Milky Way observed over the past few centuries actually looks like.

"Heavenly Palace No. 81 has already approached the edge of the Milky Way; it is expected to reach the Milky Way Planetary Belt in ten seconds."

"Begin the countdown."

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

……

The countdown sound came from the live broadcast picture, and a scattered star cluster drifting in the desolate universe appeared before everyone.

"Damn, my palms are sweating from watching this!"

"Is this the fragmented star cluster that all astronomers have observed? It's so gorgeous, emitting a faint glow, like scattered stars!"

"Don't let the size of these fragments fool you; they are actually very far apart, and any single so‑called fragment is a continent larger than Blue Star!"

"Is there really life outside the Milky Way?"

"Hard to say; we should prepare for the worst, after all the entire Milky Way seems to have spawned life only on our Blue Star."

"We're about to fly through the fragment cluster; we'll soon witness history!" "Exploring the universe is humanity's hymn!"

At this moment, countless netizens in the livestreams stared fixedly at the screen, texts from all over the world flooded in, and then, as the Great Xia spaceship passed through the fragment cluster, the display briefly cleared to zero.

It seemed as if everyone fell silent at that moment, emotions reaching a peak, everything plunging into silence! But before anyone could burst into cheers, the image that appeared as the spaceship crossed the fragment cluster drove all of humanity on Blue Star into madness!

That was a shattered continent, lying across the universe, exuding an ancient, desolate aura.

With the silent advance of the Great Xia spaceship, the scene showed utter devastation, ruins everywhere.

All of humanity worldwide saw a solitary back view.

Lonely and desolate, standing upon the ruins, gazing up at the heavens with hands behind the back, as if having stood there for ten thousand years!

"Holy shit!!!!"

"What the hell did I see? What the hell did I see?!"

"Holy shit, holy shit, outside Blue Star, at the edge of the Milky Way, there are actually humans, humans!"

"Brothers, no joke, my brain just crashed, my scalp went numb, my scalp went numb!"

"My hairs all stood on end—what in the world is going on?!"

Countless barrage comments instantly covered the entire screen; all of humanity worldwide went utterly crazy at this moment—having found traces of humanity twenty‑six thousand light‑years away, what could be more shocking than this?

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Milky Way, upon the ruined continent,

Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep, gazing at the universe beyond the Milky Way, his whole appearance bleak and lonely.

He has been here for a full hundred thousand years.

Put simply, he has also traversed for a hundred thousand years.

During these hundred thousand years, he once stood shoulder‑to‑shoulder with many deities, lectured the Buddha on sutras, and discussed the Dao with the Dao Ancestor.

This is the Milky Way Frontier Pass, the abode of all gods, a battlefield beyond the heavens! During these hundred thousand years he, together with the myriad gods and Buddhas, resisted countless demons, guarding the ancestral land of Blue Star.

But after a hundred thousand years, countless deities have fallen, leaving only him to hold this post.

Over the past hundred thousand years, he has lost count of how many times he has repelled invasions by extraterritorial demons.

Over the past hundred thousand years, he has lost count of how many times he has seen immortals ascend from the ancestral Blue Star, only to die in battle.

Over the course of a hundred thousand years, too many close friends have died resisting the demons, their bodies buried in the void, their souls returning to their homeland.

And Lu Chen has held his post for a hundred thousand years just to wait for the deities slumbering in the native soil to awaken in this lifetime! "Soon… soon…"

Lu Chen whispered softly, having guarded the homeland for a hundred thousand years; even though he has become an immortal, he is utterly exhausted.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly, as if something were approaching the edge of the Milky Way.

He has spent a hundred thousand years here, tasked with guarding the Milky Way Vital Pass; even if the Buddha wished to pass, he would have to ask for his opinion.

Now, although his divine power has been exhausted, not just anyone can come here to break through the pass! Upon the ruins, he abruptly turned, transforming into a divine apparition several hundred zhang tall, rising like a mountain, as if to completely block the road behind him!

A solemn voice rang across the entire galaxy! "Galaxy frontier pass, halt, all who approach!"

At this moment, all of humanity fell into madness!

(End of chapter)