The Stars Beyond

Chapter 315: Returning To The Old World

In front of the familiar gate, Wang Xuan posed with the little girl for photos, taken by the automatons. Lele, either sitting on his shoulders or lifted high in the air, had a pure and happy smile on her face. In the first few photos, her smile was tinged with tears, unable to control her emotions.

"Mom... died of illness while I was unconscious. She left, and I'll never see her again," Lele shared about her past. The incurable five-decay divine disease had affected her family, all original inhabitants, destined to face this helpless and sad fate sooner or later.

Lele was taken in by an orphanage not far from here. Having lost her parents at such a young age, she was left alone. During her unconscious state, her little white cat also disappeared, likely becoming a stray.

In this era, orphans were rare due to advanced technology and high medical standards. Few families would abandon a young child. The orphanage was small, housing only a few children, with even fewer caregivers. Lele attended a nearby school.

Each time she missed her parents, Lele would wander around this area, looking at the familiar gate but never entering.

"Wang Xuan, do you want to change environments, leave this place, and go to a strange city?" Wang Xuan asked her. He thought about taking her to his parents in the Old Earth, as they were currently quite idle and could look after her.

Lele hesitated, her eyes reddening, "I don't want to leave here. My parents are buried in the public cemetery near Zhou River outside the city. I want to visit them often."

Suddenly, one of the automatons spoke, "She is seriously ill. Without special treatment, she won't live much longer."

Wang Xuan looked up sharply at the five ancient, time-worn automatons. It was surprising that they were familiar with the Celestial disease and even claimed to have a cure.

"Do you really have a way?" he asked, intrigued.

Though Wang Xuan possessed medicines that could temporarily alleviate the Tianren Wu Shuai disease and even the Earth Immortal Spring which could prolong life, a complete cure was beyond his reach.

One of the automatons with a missing arm nodded, "We can offer conservative treatment, but it's a lengthy process. It should be curable by her adulthood."

Wang Xuan was moved. In a world where every medical solution had failed, these ancient machines from an unknown era might hold the key to cure this disease.

"We can treat her and take her in," another mechanical being with a hole in its chest spoke. This one resembled a mechanical Daoist, complete with metal hair and a wooden hairpin.

Wang Xuan was hesitant. If they could cure Lele on the spot, he would agree, but the unknown origins and intentions of these beings from the depths of space, offering to adopt Lele, made him cautious.

The broken-armed mechanical being explained, "Though we have metal bodies, our hearts are not cold. We were awakened by a faint call and set out to return, seeking to recapture the past."

Another added, "We were reminded of someone who had the same illness and passed away long ago when we saw this child."

"And who was that person?" Wang Xuan asked, still uncertain whether to trust their words.

"Our captain, who died many years ago," another being responded, its chest lighting up to project an image of a young woman. She appeared to be in her twenties, with beautiful purple hair and a pallid, sickly beauty.

"After several hundred years of her death, we found a way to cure the disease." The subsequent images and videos, however, showed the brutal reality of the Tianren Wu Shuai disease, a far cry from her initial grace and beauty.

"Wanderers of space!" Wang Xuan realized as he saw the photos. The astronaut's attire and the pet mythological creatures she kept were strikingly similar to the 'Class Sheng Ling' he had encountered. Puzzled, he wondered, how did an astronaut succumb to the Celestial disease?

"What era do you belong to, and what's your origin?" Wang Xuan inquired.

The automatons remained silent, not responding immediately. Finally, one spoke, "All you need to know is that we pose no threat or malice towards you. Our people are long gone, vanished beyond return. We few are but stragglers, left behind as our mothership was damaged and forced into hibernation mid-journey. Our return is merely a pursuit of familiar traces, to relive an old memory."

Wang Xuan furrowed his brows. These mechanical life forms were no ordinary beings. As far as he knew, they had once hunted primordial gods and demons. The 'Number 5 Mechanical Being' had even classified the Celestials as primordial gods and demons. Moreover, it recognized the third owner of the Soul-Locking Bell, an artifact from an ancient era, not crafted by a living immortal.

The broken-armed mechanical being continued, "Our encounter with you was purely accidental. Sensing the unique energy on you, and even perceiving something that could threaten us, we silently followed you for a while."

Seeing his hesitation, the Daoist-like mechanical being added, "She was already on the brink of death. Do you think we would have any ulterior motives for her?"

"What do you think, Lele?" Wang Xuan turned to the little girl.

"I feel they are like you, Uncle," Lele said. "They pity me and are kind to me, with no bad intentions."

"Alright," Wang Xuan nodded.

As the sun set, Lele waved goodbye, tears staining her cheeks. She sat on the shoulder of a mechanical being, gazing longingly at Wang Xuan's retreating figure.

Far away, Wang Xuan looked back one last time, smiling warmly at her before departing from Yuan City. In the glow of the setting sun, he felt at peace, believing that his final regret in the city had dissolved, having met her again just before leaving the New Star.

"Hey, Old Chen, how did it go?" Wang Xuan reached out to Chen Yongjie.

"Not bad, got three more real bones. I feel I can still make some gains, got to hurry and accumulate some cultivation resources," replied Chen Yongjie.

Wang Xuan remained silent. Chen Yongjie had grown stronger, wielding the Soul-Locking Bell and the Conch. Had he turned into a fighting monk, addicted to hunting demons and pursuing the true bones of the demon race?

The battle continued throughout the night, finally winding down by the next morning. The demon tribe of Qi Yi, the Demon Ancestor, suffered a catastrophic blow, nearly obliterated.

Deep in a massive mountain range, shrouded by surging blood clouds that sometimes dispersed and sometimes gathered, the Demon Ancestor breathed. Each breath seemed to alter the very fabric of the world.

Outside the mountains, the Demon Ancestor's second son learned of the massacre in the mortal world. His expression darkened, his eyes flashing with terrifying thunder, akin to the tribulations faced by immortals.

"They used the ancestral blood from the demon pool to send those with potential, yet they were defeated so miserably? This is unprecedented humiliation!" he raged.

"Send out some more famous demons!" he commanded.

"Another dispatch? The ancestral blood in the demon pool is meant for crossing realms in desperate times, to be used by the Demon Ancestor and us. How much more can we squander? A bunch of failures!" the second son of the Demon Ancestor thundered, his killing intent reaching the skies.

As time passed, the Old Covenant would gradually loosen, making it easier and less costly to cross realms later on.

......

In the vast expanse of outer space near Newstar, Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie bade farewell to their acquaintances. Zhao Zejun, Wu Chenglin, and others were embarking on a journey into the depths of the universe. This parting marked an uncertain future, with some possibly never returning.

Indeed, this time, almost half of the major organizations decided to leave Newstar. All the factions that had attacked the demons had resolutely ascended to space, departing from Newstar.

"Wish you all the best!"

"Take care!"

Wang Xuan, using his spiritual heavenly eye, had checked the fleet and found no issues. They said their goodbyes in outer space.

Zhao Zejun and others gifted Wang Xuan a large warship, now stationed in outer space.

Gu Lin, Qin Cheng, and some members of Chen Yongjie's secret path organization were picked up by a small spaceship, ready to set sail back to the Old Earth.

"There are still some loose ends to tie up," Wang Xuan mentioned. He and Chen Yongjie boarded the small spaceship and returned to the surface of Newstar.

He planned to take with him the medium-sized warship exchanged with the Earthly Immortal Spring and the large warship gifted by Old Zhong. He also intended to confront certain individuals from the Argon Consortium who owed him.

Three days earlier, when Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie were preparing to use the warships to fight demons, Zhou Yun urgently warned them of a trap. Demons had colluded with humans to ambush Wang Xuan, planning to destroy Old Zhong's warship as soon as it entered space.

Now, Wang Xuan knew who was behind the assassination attempt. Grant from the Argon Consortium had colluded with the demons, preparing several medium-sized warships in outer space.

"Did Grant hold a grudge against me for his granddaughter, Christine's, demise at Yuanquan Mountain, which was annihilated by the Sun family?" Wang Xuan pondered. Christine and Hans Solo had used his invitation to attend the meeting at Yuanquan Mountain, where all attendees were killed.

Grant, still in Zhongzhou, had his small warships in outer space destroyed by Zhao Zejun and Wu Chenglin. Being one of the top members of the Argon Consortium, Grant couldn't frequently mobilize all crucial resources and needed to negotiate. Now, most of the forces directly under him were obliterated.

"Time to settle scores!" Wang Xuan declared, snapping his fingers. A burst of fire shot out, instantly incinerating the target, who screamed in agony before turning to ash.

"Sun family's involvement, too? They bombed Christine but compensated Grant, inciting him against me?" Wang Xuan unraveled the truth, his mighty spiritual domain capturing Grant's final thoughts.

Chen Yongjie suggested, "Perfect timing for payback. Let's settle our old and new grievances with the Sun family before we leave Newstar."

The Sun family had been a thorn in their sides for a while. Chen had been targeted by their warships and collided with their spacecraft. He had even battled them outside Mucheng. For Wang Xuan, the confrontations with the Sun family were even more direct and frequent.

"Devious indeed, they didn't act but nudged Grant to target me. Well, they asked for it, and they shall have it," Wang Xuan expressed determinedly.

Silently infiltrating the Sun family's stronghold, Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie caught them by surprise. The Sun family tried to summon their Number Five Mechanical Being, but to no avail.

The aftermath of the battle at Jindingshan, where Huang Kun's faction attempted to cross realms and set up a summoning array, had left many in dire straits. The Number Five Mechanical Being, caught in the crossfire, suffered severe damage, losing most of its body and dimming its spiritual flame. It had since retreated and remained silent.

The Sun family's attempt to activate their mother ship was futile against the impending onslaught.

Wang Xuan, wielding the Pre-Qin Jade Dragon Saber, executed decisive strikes, annihilating Sun Rongsheng, Sun Chengqian, and others, obliterating both their physical and spiritual forms. Chen Yongjie, brandishing his black sword, was even more direct and merciless, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

The Sun family's stronghold was wiped clean of its remaining leaders by Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie, but they didn't pursue the family members scattered elsewhere.

Wang Xuan, wielding the Golden Tree, forcefully breached the secret vault's protective barriers. Regardless of who had their eyes on these treasures or who the original owners were, he was no longer concerned.

Together with Chen Yongjie, they selected the most valuable artifacts, divine items, and scriptures, enriching their collection beyond any ancient top sect. Their collection's worth was unparalleled, a compilation of eras, with celestial caves from different periods that had fallen into their time from the void.

After completing their task, they left, instructing Chen Yongjie's organization to activate the remaining two warships and head into outer space. Wang Xuan, on his dark gold flying boat, remained vigilant against any potential last stand from the Sun family's remnants.

However, their journey was smooth and uneventful. Activating the warp engines, the three warships disappeared into the vast universe, beginning their journey back.

"In the old land, turmoil reigns even more fiercely; there's no peace left in this world," Chen Yongjie remarked aboard the warship.

Wang Xuan expressed his desire to guide the Sword Immortal out of the great veil. But he frowned, contemplating whether the Sword Immortal in that brutal world and the fragmented spirit left in the human realm shared the same disposition. After battling for centuries as a Sword Immortal, even the most tender-hearted could become fierce and formidable.

His concern was apparent. "What we truly need is to become stronger ourselves," he said. To find the real land beyond the 'Meteorite Pit' death zone in the Void, he needed to be powerful. If he could rise strongly on his own, what would there be to fear?