Chapter 339
Chapter 339: Meeting an Online Friend
Early the next morning, Xuan Che arrived.
At a glance, Yu Sheng could see the faint anticipation on his face—and the unease he tried to hide.
“Hey, relax. It’s just opening a door home,” Irene said, sitting on Yu Sheng’s shoulder. She spoke to Xuan Che like this was all perfectly normal. “Blink once, and you’re there.”
“Even though I’ve seen it once, I still feel the expert’s methods are mysterious and unbelievable,” Xuan Che said, visibly trying to loosen his shoulders. “Crossing the stars, arriving the instant the door opens, near or far… even the star gate built by the alglade people still requires travel in ‘hyperspace.’”
He hesitated, then admitted, “Honestly, I’m truly curious what principle Mr. Yu’s ‘door’ follows…”
“Yeah,” Yu Sheng said dryly, “if I could explain it, that would be great.”
He adjusted his coat. “The Special Operations Bureau has recorded so much sample data and still hasn’t figured it out.”
He looked at the group. “Everyone ready?”
“All right, all right~” Irene sang.
“Benefactor, ready,” Foxy said.
“Mm, ready,” Luna confirmed.
Yu Sheng took a light breath and calmed his mind. This was truly the first time he would be going to a civilization circle outside the borderland.
What kind of place would the Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain be?
The thought flashed through his mind as a door with a semi-translucent sheen along its edges formed in the air. He turned the handle.
With a soft click, the door opened.
On the other side: misty immortal peaks, towering palaces, and a majestic grand hall.
“You go first,” Yu Sheng said with a grin, glancing at Xuan Che’s wide eyes. “I have to go last.”
Xuan Che cupped his hands, straightened his clothes, and stepped through.
The moment he crossed the threshold, his borderland-style casual outfit shifted into a plain, elegant robe of fine material.
Yu Sheng was briefly impressed by the convenience of an immortal, then waved Irene, Foxy, and Luna through, and followed after.
The scenery snapped into place in an instant.
They stepped onto foreign ground—yet before Yu Sheng could properly take in his surroundings, a familiar voice rang through the hall.
“Master! Master! Senior Brother’s pill refining furnace refined Senior Brother out of it!”
A gray-robed daoist acolyte who looked twelve or thirteen ran past at full speed. He didn’t make it far before Xuan Che grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
“Always tattling!” Xuan Che snapped. “Always tattling! I already reported to Master about my return this time!”
An old, authoritative voice rang out from the far end of the grand hall, amusement tucked into it. “Xuan Che, enough. Put Xuan Yun down. This child knew you were returning today and is so happy he doesn’t know what to do with himself.”
Yu Sheng looked in the direction of the voice.
At the far end of the spacious hall stood an elderly man in a plain Dao robe. His hair and beard were white, his posture straight, and he carried an unmistakable immortal air. More than a dozen cultivators—men and women—stood behind him. Beyond the last line of pillars, the hall opened directly to a breathtaking view of misty peaks. There was no wall, just vast sky and distant mountains.
Xuan Che set the boy down, strode forward, and bowed. “Master, I’m back.”
“Mm. Good,” the elder said with a smile. “You handled the task well.”
Then his gaze fell on Yu Sheng and the others.
He simply stood there, motionless, staring without blinking—as if he’d entered meditation on the spot.
Yu Sheng wasn’t surprised. Xuan Che had reacted the same way when they first met. This kind of thing happened often, especially with people who had strong spiritual talent.
So Yu Sheng walked up and greeted him with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Nie… uh, Immortal Yuan Ling.”
He’d almost blurted out “Four Thousand Wayward Disciples,” but managed to stop himself at the last moment.
Immortal Yuan Ling snapped back instantly. He composed his expression and returned the greeting with a level of solemnity that made even Yu Sheng feel awkward.
“A pleasure,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. “With mister visiting, our mountain gate is honored.”
Xuan Che looked stunned. He knew his teacher and Yu Sheng were “friends” online. He expected politeness, sure—but this reaction was beyond what he’d imagined. He opened his mouth, then caught the sidelong glance Immortal Yuan Ling shot him and swallowed the question.
Yu Sheng introduced Irene and the others, exchanged greetings, and then waved at Immortal Yuan Ling, looking uncomfortable.
“Um… you can just call me Yu Sheng, like when we chat on border comms,” he said. “Being this formal in person makes me nervous.”
He added, “And if we’re being strict about it, you’re the elder. I’m just a young man…”
Immortal Yuan Ling’s expression turned even stranger for a heartbeat.
“Yu… mister is too modest,” he said carefully. “But since mister says so, I will call you Yu Sheng.”
He waved toward the disciples behind him. “Enough. All of you disperse and return to your tasks. Inform the immortal dining hall and prepare a banquet.”
Then he turned back to Yu Sheng. “These are all my disciples. Hearing that a distinguished guest had arrived today, they insisted on coming to watch the excitement. Forgive us.”
He started, “I will first take you to a place to rest. You have traveled from afar and—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Immortal Yuan Ling turned his head slightly and looked at Xuan Che, who had arrived by door, then at Yu Sheng, who had arrived by door, then at Irene, Foxy, and Luna, who had all arrived by door.
He stood very still and thought.
“…Actually, it wasn’t that far,” Xuan Che said carefully. “We only walked a few steps.”
Immortal Yuan Ling stroked his beard and continued thinking.
Yu Sheng couldn’t help laughing. “Hey, don’t make it so complicated. No need to arrange lodging for us.”
He shrugged. “With my ability, you could throw me to the end of the universe, and getting back home to sleep would still only take one door. But I do have something else I want to discuss.”
Immortal Yuan Ling straightened at once. “Speak.”
“We don’t need lodging,” Yu Sheng said, “but do you have any open ground to give my house a place to settle?”
Immortal Yuan Ling blinked. His fingers stayed on his beard. He kept thinking.
Yu Sheng cleared his throat and hurried to explain. “It’s like this. My house is a bit special…”
He explained the unusual properties of Wu Tong Road 66 as simply as he could, translating the abstract into terms a cultivator might understand. Even so, Immortal Yuan Ling listened with a dazed expression.
Only several seconds after Yu Sheng finished did Immortal Yuan Ling finally straighten out the logic. His eyes widened.
“Your cave dwelling can undergo ‘universe transposition’ at your will?” he asked.
“That’s roughly how I’d explain it,” Yu Sheng said. “In my own understanding, it’s like resetting the building’s coordinates. But I don’t know how you’d describe the process here.”
Immortal Yuan Ling seemed not to hear the last part at all. He just stroked his beard, lost in thought. “…What kind of principle is this…”
Yu Sheng coughed lightly to pull him back. “Ahem. I can’t explain the principle either.”
He spread his hands. “Anyway, about the settling thing—can you arrange it? If it’s too abrupt or inappropriate, forget it. It’s not hard for me to open a door back home.”
“Not abrupt at all, not abrupt at all,” Immortal Yuan Ling said quickly, waving both hands. “I simply don’t know how large a space your cave dwelling needs. I have plenty of open ground on Spirit Infusion Peak…”
“Anywhere is fine,” Yu Sheng said. “My house doesn’t need much open ground. When it ‘lands,’ it expands a patch of ground for itself. I just need somewhere quiet where it won’t get in the way.”
“A quiet place?” Immortal Yuan Ling brightened. “That is easy. Behind my peak, there is a cloud viewing terrace. The scenery is excellent, and ordinary disciples and servants won’t go near it. There is also a path that leads directly to this grand hall. Would that be acceptable?”
Yu Sheng nodded at once. “That works.”
“Good,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. “I will have a young disciple guide you there. I will first go to the immortal dining hall and see how the food preparations are going.”
He smiled faintly. “After your house has settled, we can talk again.”
The gray-robed acolyte—only eleven or twelve, and apparently named Xuan Yun—walked over at once. He bowed to Yu Sheng and the others with impressive seriousness.
“Immortal Elders, please follow me,” he said.
Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, he sneaked a curious look at Yu Sheng. When Yu Sheng caught him, the boy grinned and giggled.
Yu Sheng and the others followed Xuan Yun away.
Xuan Che watched them disappear behind the pillars. Only then did he hear Immortal Yuan Ling let out a soft breath beside him.
“Master,” Xuan Che said, finally daring to ask, “just now, you were…”
“Xuan Che,” Immortal Yuan Ling interrupted, expression turning serious. “When you interact with the expert, you haven’t been carelessly looking around too much, have you?”
Xuan Che froze, then lowered his head. “No. Only the first time we met, I accidentally saw some things. I told Director Bai Li about it.”
“Good,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, seeming to relax. “Good that you haven’t been looking. A fortunate thing. Yes, fortunate.”
“Master,” Xuan Che pressed carefully, instincts warning him that what his teacher saw was far beyond what he did. “What you saw just now…”
“Xuan Che,” Immortal Yuan Ling said, voice softening, “have you ever seen the starlight of taigu-hui jiao?”
“Taigu? Hui jiao?” Xuan Che blinked, caught off guard. Still, he answered quickly. “This disciple has heard of them. It is said they are the two oldest stars in this universe. Their radiance reaches the end of the cosmos and can be traced back to the day heaven and earth first opened, when the new world was created.”
He continued, respectful and earnest. “Cultivators may gaze upon the light of taigu and hui jiao to comprehend the Dao. But this disciple’s cultivation is shallow. I have never seen their radiance.”
“…I have seen it,” Immortal Yuan Ling said. “Taigu, hui jiao—their starlight is so distant it cannot be measured. When you behold it, that ancient and majestic aura is unforgettable. There is reason to say they were born when heaven and earth first opened.”
Xuan Che swallowed. “So…?”
Immortal Yuan Ling’s voice lowered to a near whisper.
“They are still younger than Mr. Yu.”
Xuan Che stared at him, stunned. “…What?!”