CHAPTER 461: CHAPTER 461: REUNION ON A ROAD OF NO RETURN

Actually, Yu Sheng also knew that the "Star Guardian" title the two old men assigned to him was really just a name in essence—he had a clear self-awareness that taking care of those in his family usually resulted in chaos, and becoming a planetary defense officer would probably be too challenging for him to understand the work manual properly. He knew this, and probably Yuanling and Yuan Hao knew it too.

But even such a "name" was beneficial for everyone.

It would calm the people’s hearts in Shuji, and the Taixu Spirit Hub would avoid the problem of appointing a new Star Guardian on a planet severely polluted by Angels. As for Yu Sheng... his "occupation" of Shuji would thus possess a degree of "legitimacy."

After this, Yu Sheng discussed many things about the "Star Guardian" with Yuanling and Yuan Hao, mainly because he wanted to understand under "normal circumstances," what exactly the so-called "Star Guardian" did.

Yuan Hao’s main opinion was that this situation was abnormal, so-called normal circumstances wouldn’t be referenceable at all...

But he and Yuanling still talked a lot about the common knowledge of "Star Guardians" with Yu Sheng to satisfy his curiosity.

Yu Sheng summarized roughly, realizing that by switching the perspective to the "planet’s body," his main responsibilities would be to eat well, sleep well, be in good health, maintaining a healthy physical and mental state, try not to roll over (easy to trigger earthquakes), and if he must roll over, to let the people on the planet know in advance...

Also, remember to block when meteorites hit the head.

On the way back from Queyun Palace to the Cloud Viewing Platform, Erin clung to Yu Sheng’s shoulder, clicking her tongue in wonder, "So you seized their planet, and they made you an official?"

"You say it so harshly, what’s this about seizing—essentially, I just ’settled’ in Shuji, just a bit deeper than most," Yu Sheng waved his hand, "Considering that I can’t move out, they gave me a long-term residence permit."

"Shouldn’t they pay you then?" Erin blinked, "Doesn’t being a ’Star Guardian’ come with a salary?"

Yu Sheng broke into a sweat, "I really haven’t thought about this... but as far as I understood from Yuanling, the main benefit of being a Star Guardian is drawing a small portion of the planet’s output as ’cultivation resources’—though I have no use for it. Besides... my situation is unprecedented in the entire Feiyu Star Domain, and I reckon the Taixu Spirit Hub here will also have to research for a while to figure out how to handle it going forward."

Erin thought for a moment, then nodded, "Oh, that might be true."

Yu Sheng liked how the little puppet had such an uncomplicated understanding of life—exuding an air of having a water-filled brain just to hear it slosh while walking, very carefree.

Just as he was marveling at this, Luna, walking beside him, suddenly startled, then stopped in place.

The Holy Lady seemed to have issued a click from within.

Yu Sheng stopped immediately, turned his head and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Erin also turned around, "Your C-type buckle broke down again? Your brain’s not very reliable, let me tell you..."

This time, Luna ignored Erin’s provocation. She just stood there, seeming very puzzled as she tilted her head, and then her gaze fell on Yu Sheng, "Guardian Fire Cathedral, a visitor."

In the first few seconds, Yu Sheng didn’t even comprehend what the Holy Lady meant.

After a moment, he understood Luna’s words, "....What?!"

...

Passing through the "No Return" path, is the final sanctuary for the wandering souls.

In the depths of the wilderness, exuding a dim texture as if stripped of color, the grand enormous cathedral stood quietly amid the earth and sky.

Silent as a tomb, solemn as death, the black high walls stretched in both directions in the field of vision, with lines as sharp as blades pointing toward the sky evenly distributed on the walls. The nameless tall grass swayed gently with the wind in the wilderness outside the cathedral, producing a rustling sound that seemed capable of lulling souls to sleep. The towering towers overlooked the wilderness from inside the high walls, appearing as towering and mighty tombstones under the dim sky—and nestled among those towers, were the main building and bell tower of the cathedral.

A low, gentle melody came from that main building, yet when listened to closely, it was not a human play musical tune but more like the resonance produced by the wind’s moaning passing through the meticulously arranged towers at the pointed roofs and cloisters.

An old traveler, who had just experienced a journey, arrived before this magnificent yet bizarre architecture, holding a slumbering crystal seed in his arms, looking up at the black and heavy gate ahead.

On that gate was a simple triangular emblem and nothing else.

"A never-seen architecture... somewhat like the style from Algerde? But also not quite..."

The old man murmured, yet he found no signs of human presence around the grand cathedral—he couldn’t help but become curious as to how such a large-scale architecture was built from nothing in this wilderness?

"This world’s realm of the dead... is really quite interesting, no Soul Detaining Officers, yet there’s a foreign temple standing between heaven and earth."

He spoke with a smile, shook his head slightly, and then stepped forward to gently knock on the cathedral’s door.

The extraordinarily heavy door silently and seamlessly opened.

A thin fog-covered path lay ahead, flanked by luxurious flower beds and nurseries, filled with nameless, grayish plants that simultaneously conveyed a sense of both "lush" and "morbid" contradiction.

Further forward, through the path, was the chapel’s main building, where another large door slowly opened within the mist.

A silent guidance emerged from within, and the elderly man, unfazed by the strange atmosphere surrounding him, stepped into the wide hall, resembling a preaching hall—between towering black pillars, pale curtains hung from the ceiling, silent cool flames flickered on opulent standing candelabras, and at the end of rows of empty chairs stood a golden-haired girl.

The girl’s golden hair cascaded like a waterfall, adorned in armor, a holy light-emitting sword hung at her waist.

Seeing the elderly man enter the hall, the girl looked momentarily surprised but quickly suppressed the change in expression.

But this brief and subtle expression was captured by the elder.

"Young lady, do you recognize this old man?" The old man stepped forward and bowed to the girl.

Despite her youthful appearance, he dared not show any disrespect, as he clearly remembered that he had already passed away, so this must be the world of the deceased—the glories of past life amount to nothing here, and the girl guarding the chapel, no matter her origin, had presumably been here longer than he had, deserving some level of courtesy.

"Wait a moment, I’ve already notified the master, there are plenty of chairs here, just find a place to sit," the girl began speaking energetically, her lively tone sharply contrasting with her valiant appearance, "Also, how did you get here? The master said you’re already...but I suppose it makes sense?"

"Speaking of which, have you been wandering the wilderness outside all along? Earlier, the knight reported seeing ’shadows’ by the large bonfire – was that you? You made it here all by yourself? Impressive."

"Hm? Are you carrying something in your arms? I see something that’s dead yet alive..."

Before the old man could react, the girl had already rattled off a string of words, then descended from the platform, circling him curiously, touching her chin, thinking and nodding: "Mhm, now I understand completely..."

What did she understand?

A huge doubt arose in his heart, but just as the old man intended to speak, he suddenly felt a presence manifest nearby out of thin air.

Upon sensing the appearance of the presence, he quickly turned his head to look toward the direction of the high platform.

A figure abruptly emerged from the air like a swiftly forming shadow in a dream realm.

"...Fellow traveler, it’s you?!"

Yu Sheng gawked at the elderly man.

The old man also stared at him in bewilderment.

Both were momentarily stunned until another shadow appeared in the air nearby, breaking the silence—

An ancient oil painting appeared beside Yu Sheng, Erin’s eyes wide in the painting: "Ah, Old Yun Qingzi!"

Yun Qingzi blinked, unsure whether he was alive or dead, and after a moment, he suddenly blurted out: "Fellow traveler, did you also unfortunately pass away?"

Yu Sheng nearly lost his breath at these words, but before he could speak, the painting next to him started chattering: "Ah, you mean Yu Sheng? He just died recently, but that’s hardly unfortunate..."

"Shut up!" Yu Sheng slapped the air above the painting frame, his eyes fixed intently on Yun Qingzi not far away, though after experiencing many strange occurrences, he quickly grasped the situation, "Oh, so that’s what happened... Luna just reported someone entering the cathedral, and I was perplexed."

He paused again, pondering: "But speaking of which, this is rather odd—you were swallowed by the Inference Star Body, iterated over a hundred times, and yet managed to be sent here as an independent consciousness... is the intensity of your cultivation mind always so wild?"

Yun Qingzi listened, feeling it necessary to interrupt: "Fellow traveler, can you first explain to me what’s going on—I thought I was dead?"

"You are dead," Yu Sheng shrugged, "But now it appears I inadvertently intercepted. Let me clarify, I didn’t do it on purpose..."

Listening, Yun Qingzi suddenly recalled four words: beyond human speech.

But then he remembered the bloody rain at Shuji, the cave incident where Yu Sheng couldn’t be killed, the conversation on Taixu Spirit Hub’s sky between life and death, and... faintly at the end of memory, the blossoming end.

He suddenly felt, among Yu Sheng’s astonishing feats, "beyond human speech" seemed already the lightest of traits.

"Come, sit," Yu Sheng seated himself on a nearby long chair and waved Yun Qingzi over, "Last time was brief, this time we’ve got enough time... How about you share some afterlife insights first?"