Chapter 439

Chapter 439: Got Stuck With It

Yu Sheng felt an out-of-place “noise” surface inside his mind. Within it, he heard distant land shaking with battle. He heard someone crying out at the edge of dreams. He sensed something battering the border of the cognitive screen.

He narrowed his eyes and deliberately strengthened his link to Yanxing Entity.

In the darkness, illusions unfolded one after another. He saw the entire planet covered by a pale glow that was both real and unreal. Inside that glow was only a single rift—like a black hole peeled away from the “whole” of Shu Ji. Restless points of light gathered around it, repeatedly trying to enter.

“…They’ve started fighting over in Ink City,” Yu Sheng said as he opened his eyes. He looked at Foxy and Luna. “And a lot of people under Yanxing Entity’s influence are moving toward Ink City.”

“Immortal Yuan Hao is strong,” Foxy said after a moment. “He should’ve arrived with Xuan Che by now.”

Yu Sheng only nodded, gaze fixed ahead.

They had passed the underground palace. Beyond the Hermitage Order’s barricades and a series of lab-like facilities, the path opened into a sprawling natural cave system. It was no longer part of the ancient outpost. These underground cracks and caverns were the planet’s original bones.

The frontier team had built their outpost atop this cave system. And with time, it became Yanxing Entity’s nest.

“We stop here.” Yu Sheng sensed something ahead and turned back. “I’ll go on alone. You go back to Ink City and help.”

Irene, perched on his shoulder, widened her eyes. “Huh? But we still haven’t found Yanxing Entity’s core…”

“You can only go with me this far.” Yu Sheng shook his head. “Its core is hidden inside an extremely thick shell. That shell probably covers the whole planet. You can’t reach it by normal means.” He shot Foxy a look as her tails started to twitch. “And no, stop wagging. You can’t dig through it either. That’s geological-structure level. It’s thicker than you think.”

Foxy’s ears drooped at once. “Oh…”

Irene casually tugged at Yu Sheng’s hair. “Again? So you’re going to use ‘unconventional means’ again, aren’t you?”

“It’s part of the plan,” Yu Sheng said flatly. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming.”

The Little Doll giggled, then obediently hopped off Yu Sheng’s shoulder into Foxy’s arms. “Any last words?”

“Be careful when you go help,” Yu Sheng said, already pulling open a door leading to Ink City. “If you can win, fight. If you can’t, run. If it really comes to it, head back to Immortal Conclave Isle. There’s a door there that can take you back to Wu Tong Road 66. Yanxing Entity can’t reach you through a door anyway.”

Irene froze, eyes widening. “…Huh? So even you aren’t sure?!”

Yu Sheng laughed, but the sound carried a weary edge. “No. Why does everyone assume I’ve got fighting an angel in the bag? It’s one thing when others say it, but you believe it too?” He sighed. “You were with me when we dealt with Anka Aila. Don’t you know what I’m capable of?”

Irene stared, mouth slightly open.

Yeah. She believed it.

Even though she couldn’t explain why, she just… felt Yu Sheng would win. That he was unstoppable. That Yanxing Entity’s end had already arrived. Even if that dark angel looked terrifying right now, she still knew it.

A line surfaced in her mind—cold, certain, and utterly unshakable:

An ill omen would descend on the soulless sower.

The Little Doll struggled for a moment to explain her certainty, but the thought slipped through her fingers. Like always, whenever she tried to think too hard about questions like this, something blocked her. A piece was missing, as if her mind had a hole shaped like—

What?

Her head wobbled. The doubt vanished.

She looked up at Yu Sheng and smiled brightly.

It didn’t matter. Her human would win.

Irene went through the door with Foxy.

Before stepping through, Luna turned back and bowed to Yu Sheng three times, solemn and serious.

The door closed.

Yu Sheng stood there for a few seconds before he finally reacted.

“Wait—no… Luna learned bad habits!”

Then he thought about it and decided Luna might have always been like this. You could tell from the way she used her accent as camouflage while calling Irene “Shorty Irene” all day. That saintess looked mild on the outside, but she was pitch-black inside. It was just that her slow, gentle way of moving fooled people.

With a wry tug at his mouth, Yu Sheng sighed about his shining status in the crew slipping away, then turned and continued deeper into the cavern.

He walked for who knew how long. It felt like time had been stretched, then forgotten. Space blurred. The goal he’d started with seemed like something he’d imagined.

Only then did he finally stop.

The buzzing rumble in his head never ceased. Illusions, whispers, consciousness-level static—everything pressed at him. And yet, through it all, he lifted his head and saw a gigantic crystal mirror standing quietly at the edge of the cave.

Around the mirror lay simple objects, long submerged and assimilated by crystal growth.

A stone table. Stone stools. A pill furnace. A bookshelf.

“It looks like for a long time after coming to this planet,” Yu Sheng murmured, “you still believed you were Yun Qing Zi.”

“I still am.”

The aged voice came from all around the cave. A familiar figure slowly surfaced within the crystal mirror.

An imposing old man with white hair and beard stood inside the mirror, angled sideways to Yu Sheng. Then he turned, revealing the other half of his body—completely crystallized, fused into Yanxing Entity’s flesh. He cupped his hands in greeting.

“Long time no see, Daoist Friend.”

Yu Sheng ignored the greeting. “Can I take it that I’m speaking to Yanxing Entity?”

“Yanxing Entity does not speak. Yanxing Entity does not think.” The old man’s tone was calm, almost conversational. Flickering light ran through his crystallized half. “Yanxing Entity died a very, very long time ago. Now it is only an empty shell repeating life processes, trying to pretend it still lives.”

He looked at Yu Sheng as if he didn’t care whether he was believed.

“The one speaking to you is Yun Qing Zi. I know what you’re thinking, but I am no different from the Yun Qing Zi of Garrison-3. There has never been a controlled copy. I simply chose another path to solve the problem.”

Yu Sheng’s jaw tightened. One phrase in that answer hooked into his mind.

“…So what exactly is Yanxing Entity?” he demanded.

Yun Qing Zi stared at him.

A long moment passed.

Then the old man finally spoke, slowly and precisely. “Yanxing Entity is—”

A tearing sound exploded.

Yu Sheng’s instincts screamed. He only managed to tilt his head a fraction before several sword-like crystal spikes shot from the cave wall and drove straight through his torso. Multiple spikes. Every one of them a fatal wound.

Yun Qing Zi’s expression flickered with surprise, as if he hadn’t expected it to be that easy. Then he smiled anyway.

“Forgive me, Daoist Friend,” he said softly. “I didn’t expect it to be this simple. I thought you were strong.” He lifted his chin, almost satisfied. “But this is good. You won’t suffer much. After I solve Yanxing Entity’s problem, I will build you a fine grave.”

The crystal spikes withdrew.

Yu Sheng stood there, riddled with holes, blood spilling down in thick streams. He looked at himself as if he should already be dead.

Then, remembering the few words Yun Qing Zi had let slip, he decided not to die yet.

He lifted his head, eyes fixed on the old man in the mirror. “Tell me what Yanxing Entity is first,” he said hoarsely. “You seem to know more than I do.”

Yun Qing Zi’s smile broke.

“…Huh?!”

For the first time, genuine shock crossed his face. He raised a finger and pointed.

A rapid series of thuds sounded as more than a dozen crystal spikes shot out in crisscrossing lines, pinning Yu Sheng to the ground without hesitation. A muffled incantation followed. Lightning appeared out of nowhere inside the cave and blasted the pinned Yu Sheng into pieces.

Still uneasy, Yun Qing Zi frowned at the “corpse.” He lifted his hand again, and a massive crystal slab dropped from the ceiling, smashing what remained into pulp.

Silence.

Time passed.

The cave grew quiet. There was no sign of Yu Sheng left—only a pool of blood and a few unrecognizable smears.

Yun Qing Zi stared at the stains.

The blood wriggled.

In front of him, it gathered into a single line of words:

“So, what exactly is Yanxing Entity?”

Yun Qing Zi’s expression twisted. He lifted his hand again without hesitation.

Spiritflame True Fire flooded the cave in an instant.

Flames hot enough to melt metal and stone howled through the chamber for minutes, devouring every scrap of organic matter. When the fire finally died, nothing remained. Heat waves rose from the ground. Molten rock crawled along the cave walls.

In the crystal mirror, Yun Qing Zi’s brow furrowed hard. His gaze grew heavy.

He had not felt this kind of confusion—this kind of unease—in many, many years.

After a long while, he finally released a quiet breath.

Behind him, Yu Sheng stepped out from the mirror.

And released the same quiet breath.

Yun Qing Zi spun, horror flooding his face.

Yu Sheng spread his hands, almost apologetic.

“So,” he said, voice mild, “what is Yanxing Entity?” His eyes sharpened. “Or should I just go down and ask it myself?”