Chapter 34: Successful Replication, Controllable Passage!
As the Door slammed shut, the dim starlight from the distant cosmos faded from Yu Sheng’s sight. It took him a full half-minute to recover from the shock of that fleeting moment. He drew in a deep breath, realizing only then that cold sweat had broken out on his forehead.
After opening the Door, it was not guaranteed to reach a specific Otherworld or a particular ‘location’ on a planet. There was even a chance of directly entering outer space?
The randomness and range of the Door far exceeded Yu Sheng’s expectations!
At that moment, a sense of relief washed over him—he felt grateful that the first time he accidentally opened the Door, he had stepped into an Otherworld rather than the cold void of space. If he had been that unlucky back then, he could scarcely imagine what would have happened.
In the worst-case scenario, he might have faced a rapid, unending cycle of death and resurrection in the harsh environment of outer space, without even the chance to maintain coherent thought, let alone grasp the ability to control the Door amid that relentless dying process. Even if he somehow miraculously endured or inadvertently opened a Door back to solid ground, it would have been a terrifying experience.
When his wildly pounding heart finally calmed, Yu Sheng immediately began analyzing the new information he had obtained from the recent Door activation.
When the great Door opened, he did not feel the terrifying suction of a vacuum from the other side, nor did he sense the freezing coldness of space. Previously, when the Door opened, he could hear sounds from the other side and even feel environmental influences—like the scorching air currents on a desolate planet.
Why was that? Did the Door itself possess some sort of filtering mechanism, isolating environmental effects when the disparity between the two sides was too great? Or was there something unique about outer space itself, making it a coordinate that could be seen but never truly reached? Or… was that not really outer space, but another kind of ‘Otherworld’ that resembled a starry sky?
Pondering this, Yu Sheng glanced back at the painting of Irene.
Irene hesitated, her eyes filled with concern. “Do you want to keep going? You seemed pretty shaken just now…”
Yu Sheng closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they held nothing but determination.
“Continue.”
Gripping the Door handle once more, he moved more cautiously than before, carefully sensing the subtle ‘spiritual guidance’ while recalling the sensations from previous successful openings. He tried to replicate one of those pathways.
Slowly, he pushed the Door open again. This time, the other side revealed a barren beach—nothing extraordinary, nothing like any Door he had opened before.
He tried again and again, repeatedly opening the great Door, seeking the path that would lead him to Foxy—or any other reproducible passage. All he needed was to grasp the rules of opening the Door.
Amid these endless attempts, a fleeting thought arose in his mind—could there be a Door that led back to his familiar ‘home’? He still remembered that morning when he pushed the Door to leave home and arrived at Boundary City. Though there was no clear evidence, he was increasingly convinced that was the true moment when he first opened the great Door—he had just been completely unaware at the time.
Would he, one day, push open the great Door and see the home he remembered?
Yu Sheng forcibly suppressed that sudden longing. He knew he had more pressing matters to attend to. Going home… he would bury that hope in his heart for now.
The Door opened time and again—strange and surreal, mundane and odd, sometimes even bustling and lively.
Countless distant worlds rushed past with every brief opening and closing, and amidst this repetitive cycle, a peculiar realization dawned upon Yu Sheng.
This world… it truly was not just Boundary City.
Beyond this massive, seemingly unique ‘Borderland City,’ there lay a vast, boundless expanse—so many sights, so many secrets, so many bizarre and diverse distant lands—right there, within reach every time he opened the Door.
He was not trapped in this city.
Irene seemed to gradually grow more excited as well. Although it was unclear why the Doll Lady from the painting was getting so thrilled, she joined Yu Sheng in watching the scenery beyond the Door, her interest visibly rising.
Since she couldn’t move, she began to comment on the scenes outside the Door:
“That mountain is so high! There’s something glowing on top—do you think we’ll have a chance to check it out one day?”
“The ocean! Look at that massive fish!”
“Wow! It’s all snow, but… why is it pale blue? It doesn’t look alive at all…”
“… It’s a restroom. Let’s just move on, quickly.”
“… Oh! That scared me—a ghost!”
The Doll Lady wouldn’t stay quiet, chirping away at every new sight that appeared beyond the Door. At first, Yu Sheng found it somewhat noisy, but gradually, Irene’s constant exclamations became a small pleasure amid the monotonous “testing” process.
Then, just before opening a Door, a strange sensation struck Yu Sheng, as if his spirit had suddenly tuned into a narrow frequency on an old radio, finally hitting the right channel. He sensed a passage he had once opened before—not the Valley filled with Hunger, but definitely a Door he had activated in the past.
Clinging to that feeling, Yu Sheng tried to actively control his “Spiritual Intuition” for the first time, relying solely on instinct as he moved toward that familiar passage.
Cautiously, he pushed the Door open and looked through.
Flames burned around the edges of the Doorframe. In the distance stood a majestic, ancient temple, where radiant spiritual light danced between the flying eaves and pillars. A handsome young man dressed in regal robes was hanging from a beam, while an old man with an immortal air and youthful face was beating him mercilessly.
The old master’s voice rang out loud and clear, even from where Yu Sheng stood:
“How dare you, after following me for so many years! Secretly practicing demonic arts! Tell me—what’s with refining living beings in the alchemy furnace? And human heads? You… You’ve truly harmed the innocent!”
The handsome youth wriggled on the beam, shouting, “Master, I’m innocent! It was just a simple Spirit Infusion Pill! How was I supposed to know Junior Brother would see a human head coming out of the furnace fire… Ah! Stop hitting me, Master! I’m being wronged!”
The old immortal almost leaped up in fury. “Stop making excuses! I checked the furnace myself and sensed a living soul within! There was definitely a living being in that furnace!”
Yu Sheng stood there dumbfounded. Then, a small figure appeared at the Doorframe—none other than the bratty Daoist child with the fan from before. The little rascal glanced at the Door with wide eyes and then bolted toward the temple.
“Master! Master! Eldest Senior Brother’s furnace has a human head coming out again! It’s the same one from before!”
The immortal elder immediately pulled out his Copper Headed Belt—or at least it looked like one from that distance. Judging by the youth’s sudden scream, whatever it was had the same intimidation factor.
With a loud bang, Yu Sheng shut the Door, his heart a chaotic mix of shock, excitement, and joy. After a while, he turned around, practically shouting at Irene in elation:
“Irene! I did it! I did it!”
Startled, Irene asked, “Calm down! What did you do?”
“That passage just now—I’ve opened it before! I just controlled it and reopened it by myself! The process is controllable! Reproducible!”
Thrilled by his realization that he could control his Spiritual Intuition, it meant he could also control and reproduce any Door he had opened before—including the Valley where Foxy was located!
Now all he had to do was recall the “frequency” he felt when he first entered the Valley, even just finding a similar one would work, and he could try them one by one until he succeeded!
Seeing Yu Sheng so exhilarated, Irene couldn’t help but catch his enthusiasm, but she soon regained her composure and reminded him, “Wait… shouldn’t you go back and explain to those people from the previous Door? That guy hanging on the beam was nearly beaten to death…”
Yu Sheng froze. Only then did he realize he had completely forgotten about that part. Opening the Door had always been so random before, and he wasn’t used to this newfound control.
After some hesitation, he grasped the Door handle again, though his mind raced with concerns. Would the people on the other side be reasonable? Was that old immortal the same kind of being Foxy mentioned—the kind who might run a travel agency? Somehow, he doubted it. Maybe it was just a different type of immortal. What if his explanation wasn’t clear, and they attacked him? He definitely wouldn’t stand a chance… Maybe just talking through the Door would be safer. After all, once the Door was shut, that old man didn’t seem able to pursue him.
Finally, he gathered his courage, carefully locked onto the frequency again, and cautiously opened the Door.
Success! He had managed to recreate the passage once more.
The old immortal was now dragging the thoroughly beaten youth through the sky on a glowing cloud.
Not daring to approach, Yu Sheng shouted from a distance, “It’s all a misunderstanding!”
The handsome youth immediately fell off the cloud, nearly in tears. “Please don’t do this! I don’t know which esteemed immortal elder is on the other side, but if Junior has offended you, please forgive me!”
“I don’t know either! I was just passing by!” Yu Sheng called back honestly. “I had no idea it was your alchemy furnace—a complete misunderstanding.”
Then he shut the Door again.
He looked back at Irene, the two of them staring blankly at each other.
“… Do you think I explained it clearly?” Yu Sheng asked.
Irene nodded. “I think so.”
“… I still feel kind of bad.”
“… It’s a big world out there. We probably won’t run into them again.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”