Chapter 461: Reunion on the Path of Death

Actually, Yu Sheng knew that the "Star Guardian" title the two old men had arranged for him was essentially just that—a title. He was self-aware enough to know that even managing his own household was chaotic enough; if he actually became a planetary defense officer, he probably couldn't even figure out the job manual. He knew that, and he figured Yuan Ling and Yuan Hao also knew it.

But even just this "title" was beneficial to everyone.

For Xu Ji, it could stabilize public sentiment; for the Taixu Spiritual Pivot, it saved the trouble of assigning a new Star Guardian to a planet heavily contaminated by angels; and for Yu Sheng... his "occupation" of Xu Ji thus gained a certain "legitimacy."

After that, Yu Sheng had a lengthy conversation with Yuan Ling and Yuan Hao about the "Star Guardian" role, mainly because he wanted to know what a Star Guardian actually did under "normal circumstances."

Yuan Hao's main opinion on this was that the situation was abnormal to begin with, so "normal circumstances" were completely irrelevant...

But he and Yuan Ling still told Yu Sheng a lot about the common knowledge of "Star Guardians" to satisfy the latter's curiosity.

Yu Sheng roughly summarized: from the perspective of a "planetary body," the main things he needed to do were eat well, sleep well, stay healthy, maintain a good physical and mental state, try not to turn over (it caused earthquakes), and if he really had to turn over, let the people on the planet know...

Plus, remember to block any meteorites heading for the planet.

On the way back from Queyun Palace to Guanyun Terrace, Eileen clung to Yu Sheng's shoulder, clicking her tongue in amazement: "So you basically swiped someone's planet, and they made you an official?"

"What an ugly way to put it. 'Swiped'? Essentially, I just 'settled down' on Xu Ji, but a little deeper than usual," Yu Sheng waved his hand. "Considering I couldn't move out, they gave me a long-term residence permit."

"Then shouldn't they pay you?" Eileen blinked. "Doesn't a 'Star Guardian' get a salary?"

Sweat beaded on Yu Sheng's forehead: "I honestly never thought about that... but from what Yuan Ling said, the main benefit of being a Star Guardian is taking a small cut of the planet's output as 'cultivation resources'—but I have no use for those. Besides... my situation is unprecedented in the entire Feiyu Star Domain. I figure the Taixu Spiritual Pivot will need some time to figure out how to proceed."

Eileen thought for a moment and nodded: "Oh, that's true."

Yu Sheng liked the little puppet's attitude of not seeking deep understanding of life—it revealed a quality of having water in her head just to make noise when walking, very carefree.

Just as he was sighing inwardly, Luna, who was walking beside him, suddenly froze and then stopped.

A clicking sound even seemed to come from inside the Saintess.

Yu Sheng immediately stopped as well and turned to ask, "What's wrong?"

Eileen also turned her head: "Type-C latch, did you crash again? Your brain isn't very good, let me tell you..."

This time, Luna ignored Eileen's provocation. She just stood there, tilting her head in confusion, then fixed her gaze on Yu Sheng: "The Protector of the Flame Cathedral has a visitor."

For the first few seconds, Yu Sheng didn't even register what the Saintess was saying.

After a moment, he realized the meaning of Luna's words: "...What?!"

Through the "Wugui" Path, the final sanctuary for lost souls.

Deep in the wilderness that seemed to have lost all color, with a dim, dark texture, the magnificent grand cathedral stood silently between heaven and earth.

Silent as a tomb, solemn as death, black high walls extended to both sides of the view, evenly spaced ridges like sharp blades pointing to the sky. Unknown tall grasses swayed in the wind on the wilderness outside the cathedral, making rustling sounds that seemed to lull souls to sleep. Lofty towers within the high walls overlooked the wasteland, like a forest of majestic tombstones under the gray light—and nestled among those towers were the cathedral's main building and bell tower.

A low, gentle melody came from the main building, but upon closer listening, it wasn't music played by humans; it was more like the resonance of the wailing wind blowing through the orderly arrangement of towers, between spires and cloisters.

An old man who had just experienced a long journey arrived before this magnificent and strange building, holding a sleeping crystal seed in his arms, looking up at the pitch-black door before him.

The door bore a simple triangular emblem, with no other decoration.

"An unfamiliar building... seems a bit like the style of Algerad? But not quite..."

The old man muttered. He found no other traces of human habitation around the grand cathedral—he couldn't help but wonder how a building of this scale could have been built out of nowhere on this wasteland.

"This afterlife world... is really interesting. No soul-capturing officials, but instead a foreign temple standing between heaven and earth."

As he spoke, he smiled and shook his head, then stepped forward and gently knocked on the cathedral's door.

The door, which looked extremely heavy, opened silently and soundlessly.

Before him was a path covered in thin mist, flanked by exquisite flower beds and nursery plots filled with nameless, grayish plants that somehow simultaneously gave off a contradictory sense of "lush vitality" and "lifeless gloom."

Further ahead, through the path, was the main building of the cathedral, and a door slowly opened in the mist.

A silent guidance rose in his heart. The old man showed no hesitation or fear due to the somewhat eerie atmosphere around him, and stepped into the wide hall that resembled a sermon hall—between towering black pillars, pale drapes hung from the dome, cold flames flickered silently on ornate standing candelabras, and at the end of rows of empty seats, stood a golden-haired girl in stillness.

The girl's golden hair cascaded like a waterfall, she wore armor, and at her waist hung a long sword that glowed with holy light.

Seeing the old man enter the hall, the girl's expression was clearly a bit startled, but she immediately suppressed that change in expression.

But that fleeting, subtle expression did not escape the old man's eyes.

"Miss, do you recognize this old man?" The old man stepped forward and cupped his hands toward the girl.

Although she looked very young, he dared not show any contempt, because he clearly remembered that he was dead, so this must be the afterlife—when a person dies, all their deeds vanish, and no matter how glorious their life was, it is probably worthless in this afterlife. And the girl guarding the cathedral, regardless of her origins, had arrived here before him, so he should show some courtesy.

"Wait a moment, I've already notified the master. There are plenty of chairs here, find a seat," the girl rattled off, her lively chatter immediately forming a sharp contrast with her armed and heroic appearance. "Also, how did you get here? The master said you were already... but it seems plausible?

"By the way, have you been wandering the wilderness outside? Earlier, a knight reported that a 'shadow' seemed to pass by the big bonfire—was that you too? You found your way all the way here? That's amazing.

"Hmm? Are you carrying something in your arms? I see something that is both dead and alive..."

The old man hadn't even processed what was happening before the girl had already rattled off a whole bunch of things to him. Then she stepped down from the platform, walked around him, examined him curiously, and nodded while stroking her chin: "Mm-hmm, so that's how it is, I completely understand..."

Wait, what did she understand?

Great confusion rose in his heart, but just as the old man was about to speak, he suddenly sensed a presence appearing out of thin air nearby.

The moment he detected the presence, he immediately turned his head toward the direction of the platform.

A figure abruptly emerged from the air, like a shadow rapidly forming in a dream.

"...Daoist friend, is it you?!"

Yu Sheng stared blankly at the old man in front of him.

The old man also stared blankly back at him.

Both of them were bewildered for a moment, until another shadow appeared in the air beside them, breaking the silence—

An antique oil painting appeared beside Yu Sheng, and Eileen's eyes widened inside the painting: "Ah, you old man Yun Qingzi!"

Yun Qingzi blinked, momentarily unsure whether he was alive or dead. After holding it in for a while, he suddenly blurted out: "Daoist friend, have you also unfortunately passed away?"

When Yu Sheng heard this, he nearly choked. But before he could speak, the oil painting beside him started blabbering: "Ah, you mean Yu Sheng? He just died, but there's nothing unfortunate about that..."

"Shut up!" Yu Sheng slapped the floating picture frame, then stared straight at Yun Qingzi standing not far away. But having experienced many bizarre things, he quickly recovered and vaguely guessed what had happened. "So that's how it is... I was confused when Luna just reported someone entering the cathedral."

Then he paused thoughtfully: "But come to think of it, this is a bit ridiculous—having been swallowed by the Derivation Star and iterated over a hundred times, you can still be sent into the sanctuary as an independent mind... Are all you cultivation practitioners' minds this tough?"

Yun Qingzi listened in a daze, and finally couldn't help but say: "Daoist friend, why don't you explain to me what exactly is going on—haven't I died?"

"Yeah, you're dead," Yu Sheng spread his hands. "But it looks like I've intercepted you now. Let me clarify, I didn't mean to..."

As Yun Qingzi listened, four words instantly popped into his mind: not human speech.

But then he remembered the blood rain on Xu Ji, the unkillable Yu Sheng in the cave, the conversation between life and death above the Taixu Spiritual Pivot, and... the vague memory at the very end of that final bloom.

He suddenly felt that among Yu Sheng's long list of inhuman feats, "not human speech" seemed to be the least serious one.

"Come, sit," Yu Sheng sat down on a nearby bench and beckoned to Yun Qingzi. "Last time we talked in a rush, but this time there's definitely enough time... How about you share with me your posthumous reflections?"