Chapter 438

Chapter 439: Caught Up

A harsh “noise” scraped across Yu Sheng’s mind. Under the noise, he seemed to hear the faraway land shaking with battle. He heard people calling at the edge of a dream. Something was ramming the Border of the cognitive screen.

He closed his eyes and strengthened his link with the Youth Form. In the dark he saw layers of Illusion Arts. He saw the entire planet covered in pale light that looked both real and false. Inside that light there was a single Rift, like a black hole that had been peeled away from the whole of Sentinel Silence, and many restless points of light were gathering around that “black hole,” trying again and again to enter it.

“Ink City is fighting,” Yu Sheng said as he opened his eyes and looked at Foxy and Luna, “and many people under the Youth Form’s pull are heading there.”

“Immortal Yuan Hao can really fight,” Foxy said after thinking a bit, “he should have arrived with Xuan Che by now.”

Yu Sheng said nothing and only nodded. He looked ahead.

They had already passed the huge Underground Palace. After crossing the Hermitage Order’s walls and a string of facilities that looked like labs, they reached a maze of caves. This was clearly no longer part of the pioneers’ old outpost. These giant underground cracks and caverns looked more like the planet’s natural geology.

It seemed the ancient frontier team had used the original cave system as the base for their outpost. As the years passed, it had become a nest for the Youth Form.

“This is as far as you go,” Yu Sheng said after sensing what lay ahead, turning to them, “I will keep going alone. You three go back to Ink City and help.”

Sitting on his shoulder, Irene widened her eyes: “Huh? But we still have not found the Youth Form’s ‘core’…”

“You can only come with me to here,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head, “its core is hidden inside a very thick ‘shell.’ The shell likely covers the whole planet. You cannot reach it with normal means. Foxy, stop wagging your tail. You cannot dig it open. It is a geologic-level thing, thicker than you think.”

Foxy’s ears drooped at once: “Oh.”

Irene ruffled Yu Sheng’s hair and said: “Again? So you are going to use ‘nonstandard means’ again, right?”

“It was always part of the plan,” Yu Sheng said with an eye roll, “do not tell me you did not expect it.”

The little Doll giggled, hopped from Yu Sheng’s shoulder into Foxy’s arms, and asked: “Any last words?”

“When you go help, be careful,” Yu Sheng said, waving a hand, “fight if you can win, run if you cannot. If it is really bad, go back to Immortal Conclave Isle. There is The Door there that leads to No. 66 Wutong Road. The Youth Form cannot reach you through The Door.”

Irene froze, her eyes slowly going wide: “Wait, so you are not sure either?”

By then Yu Sheng had already opened a Portal to Ink City. He smiled and said: “No. Why does everyone assume I have a sure win against an Angel? I get it when others say that, but you too? When we dealt with Anka Aila, you were with me. You know how strong I am, right?”

Irene went blank, mouth half open.

Right. She did believe it. She had no idea why, but she just felt Yu Sheng would win, even that he could do anything. She also knew the Youth Form’s end had come. The Dark Angels seemed strong now, but… she just knew.

[Dire Omen will descend upon the Soulless Sower.]

But the little Doll could not explain this judgment at all.

Like always, whenever she tried to think about problems this big, something jammed her thoughts. She felt like a piece was missing from her reasoning, missing… what was it again?

Her small head wavered for a moment. She forgot the doubt in a flash, then looked at Yu Sheng and smiled bright.

[Whatever. My human will win.]

Irene went through The Door with Foxy, happy as could be.

Before stepping through, Luna turned back and bowed to Yu Sheng three times, each one careful and deep.

The Door closed. Yu Sheng stood there for several seconds before he realized it and said: “Wait, hold on… Luna learned bad habits!”

Then he thought again and figured Luna might have always been like this. She even used her accent as a cover and still called the little Doll “Ailin” in public. This Saintess was soft on the outside and dark inside. Her slow and gentle style was just very misleading.

Smiling helplessly, he sighed about how his shining status in the crew was in danger, then turned and headed deeper into the caverns.

He walked and walked. After a while, he felt like he had forgotten time, forgotten space, and even forgotten his first goal. At last he stopped in a cave.

The buzzing noise kept echoing in his mind. Real and fake Illusion Arts and whispers on the edge of thought attacked him without pause. In the middle of the confusion, Yu Sheng lifted his head. A giant crystal mirror stood still at the far edge of his view. Around the mirror, simple items had been buried and Assimilated by heaps of crystal.

A stone table, stone stools, a pill furnace, a bookshelf.

“It looks like for a long time after you came to this planet, you still thought you were ‘Yun Qing Zi,’” Yu Sheng said softly, as if to himself.

“I still am,” an old voice answered from all around.

A familiar figure slowly appeared in the crystal mirror. A stately, white-haired elder stood inside it, turned sideways to Yu Sheng. Then he faced front and showed that half his body was fully crystallized by the Youth Form’s Assimilation. He cupped his hands toward Yu Sheng and said: “I hope you have been well, fellow daoist.”

Yu Sheng ignored the greeting and asked, almost casually: “Can I assume I am speaking with the ‘Youth Form’?”

“The Youth Form does not speak. The Youth Form does not think. The Youth Form died a very long time ago,” the elder said calmly, the light in his crystallized half flickering on and off, “now it is only an empty shell that keeps repeating the steps of life and pretends it is alive. It is Yun Qing Zi who speaks with you. I know what you are thinking, but I am no different from the Yun Qing Zi of Garrison-3. There was never a controlled ‘copy.’ I simply chose another path to solve the problem.”

Yu Sheng frowned tight. He had caught the key point in the other’s words: “So then, what exactly is the Youth Form?”

The Yun Qing Zi in the mirror stared at him. After a long time, the old man finally began slowly: “The Youth Form is…”

A sharp tearing sound split the air.

A warning burst in Yu Sheng’s heart. He only had time to tilt his head when several crystal spikes, sharp as swords, shot from the cave walls and stabbed through his body.

Several spikes. Every one a killing strike.

The Yun Qing Zi in the mirror looked a bit surprised, as if he had not expected the sneak attack to work so easily. He quickly smiled and said: “Forgive me, fellow daoist. I did not think it would be this simple. I thought you were very strong. This is better. You will not feel much pain. After I solve the Youth Form, I will build you a fine tomb.”

The spikes slowly withdrew. Yu Sheng stood there covered in blood, his body pierced by fatal wounds.

He looked down at himself and felt he should be dead, but he remembered the hints Yun Qing Zi had let slip, so he chose not to die yet. He lifted his eyes back to the mirror and said: “Tell me what the Youth Form really is. You seem to know more than I do.”

“Yun Qing Zi”: “What?!”

The elder finally showed real shock. Things were not going as he had planned. At once he raised a finger.

In the next second, more than a dozen spikes shot out with rapid thuds and pinned Yu Sheng to the ground. A muffled spell rang out after that, and a bolt of lightning crashed into the helpless Yu Sheng, blasting him into four torn pieces.

Still uneasy, Yun Qing Zi frowned at the “corpse.” With a sweep of his hand, a huge block of crystal fell from the ceiling and smashed the remaining bits into paste.

After a good while, the cave grew quiet. There was no trace of Yu Sheng left, only a few shapeless stains and a great pool of blood.

Yun Qing Zi stared wide-eyed at the blood.

The blood slowly wriggled. It gathered into a line of words in front of him: “So? What is the Youth Form?”

Yun Qing Zi’s face changed. In all these years, he had rarely met a situation so far outside his control. Without hesitation, he swept his hand again.

True flame filled the entire cave in an instant. The blaze roared for several minutes, hot enough to melt gold and stone, burning away every organic thing. When the fire finally faded, there was no trace of Yu Sheng left in the cave. Heat shimmered in the air. Molten rock ran down the walls.

In the crystal mirror, Yun Qing Zi’s brows stayed locked. He watched with grave worry.

It had been many years since he had felt this confused, even afraid.

Only after a long time did he let out a soft breath.

Behind him, Yu Sheng stepped out of the mirror and also let out a breath.

Yun Qing Zi’s face finally showed pure fear, and he snapped around.

Yu Sheng spread his hands and said: “What the Youth Form really is. If you will not say, how about I go ‘down’ and ask it myself?”