Dimensional Hotel
Chapter 425: All Return to Dust

Chapter 425: Chapter 425: All Return to Dust

Many clues have finally come together, and many things finally have explanations.

Although there are still unsolved mysteries, Yu Sheng can now piece together more than eighty percent of the truth—

A thousand years ago, an unknown Dark Angel appeared in the Feiyu Star Domain in the form of a "Crystal Meteorite," fell on Guard-3 at the border, and tried to parasitize Guard-3. This was detected by Yun Qingzi, who was in the border area at that time. He stepped in to stop it, but did not expect his enemy to be an "Angel" that could not be defeated by "common sense," which led to his death and the disappearance of his path;

Upon falling, Yun Qingzi refined his last shred of spirit, forcibly merged with part of the Dark Angel, and attempted to suppress it underground in Guard-3, thus initiating subsequent centuries-long "iteration process"—the world believed Yun Qingzi had fallen a thousand years ago, not realizing that this ancient power’s last lingering spirit had been entangled with the Dark Angel deep underground, iterating again and again, resurrecting repeatedly, locked in a stalemate;

Later, the seal left by Yun Qingzi was broken, and the Dark Angel successfully iterated into a version of "Yun Qingzi" under its control, and thus broke free from the shackles of Guard-3, leaving only an "empty shell" and a large number of chaotic "Yun Qingzi" on this planet;

The "Yun Qingzi" taken away was influenced by the Angel, essentially becoming a "follower" of the Dark Angel. Whether he can realize it or not, his actions have started to shift in favor of the Dark Angel—and his current move is to search for something known as the "Emperor’s Legacy..."

Considering the various traits this unknown Angel has exhibited thus far, its goal is likely to search for new valuable planets to parasitize, and thus it’s easy to deduce—the Emperor’s Legacy that "Yun Qingzi" is looking for is probably not an "artifact" but a planet!

Taixu Spirit Hub is the biggest possibility!

"Damn it, Xuan Che and the others have gotten themselves into huge trouble!" Erin exclaimed once she figured out this string of logic, "If that’s the case, that ’Dark Yun Qingzi’ has already sent people to the vicinity of Taixu Spirit Hub... So actually they’ve already completed ’location’ there! Wouldn’t that mean they’re about to take action?!"

Yu Sheng quickly said, while taking out his phone, "I’ll tell Xuan Che and Yuanling about this so they can prepare defenses on the Taixu Spirit Hub side."

"But even if they do prepare defenses, they should only be able to delay a bit; this Dark Angel thing is normally impossible to kill—back then, the Algredians used military forces but couldn’t take down the ’Beauty God,’" Xu Jiali, although not familiar with the Feiyu Star Domain situation, understood enough, "We must find a way to intercept ahead of time, or like we dealt with Anka Aela back then... At least get that thing out first, right?"

Yu Sheng at this point had already turned toward the "Yun Qingzi" fused with the Crystal Heart: "Do you know where that ’thing’ and the ’Yun Qingzi’ it took are hidden now?"

The elderly man fused in the Crystal was once again lost in confused self-talk, and after Yu Sheng asked twice, he sluggishly came to and lifted his head, staring directly into Yu Sheng’s eyes.

"Friend, that’s a strange question..." Yun Qingzi suddenly grinned, "Haven’t you already seen? The ’empty shell’ that I possess... Its remaining instincts force it to keep looking towards Shuji."

"Of course, I also guessed it’s in Shuji, but we went to that planet and couldn’t find ’Yun Qingzi,’ nor did we discover any signs of parasitism," Yu Sheng confessed, "They seem to use some method to hide themselves, we accidentally broke their ’barrier,’ and found a seemingly fissure-like place on the edge of Mo City, but later went back and never found the fissure again."

Yun Qingzi furrowed his brow.

"I really don’t know what this is about... the evil thing’s eerie nature is beyond count, especially after it iterated into a controlled ’Yun Qingzi,’ it’s practically gained ’wisdom’ help, many things originally done on instinct are now likely to be consciously performed as ’Divine Skills’... You said you found no traces of ’parasite’ in Shuji at all?"

"Yes, none at all," Yu Sheng confidently nodded, "Of course, our time in Shuji was short and we didn’t search the entire planet, but the current Shuji is an extensively developed Colonized Star, even sparsely populated areas have at least someone to watch, monitor, and special ’Star Guardians’ conduct periodic patrols. If there’s really a parasite on that planet, and it has been parasitizing for years, theoretically there should be some traces... Unless even these ’traces’ have been hidden."

"...Conceal from every pair of eyes on the entire planet?" Erin muttered on his shoulder.

For a moment, no one could answer the Puppet’s mutterings.

Until another cracking sound from the "Crystal Heart" broke the silence.

Accompanying this cracking sound, Yu Sheng noticed that even "Yun Qingzi’s" body suddenly showed cracks, and the vitality in this crystalline old man’s eyes visibly began to fade.

Erin got nervous immediately: "Hey hey, old man, how come you’re fading fast..."

"Not fast, not fast, it’s been longer than I envisioned," Yun Qingzi smiled slowly and after another round of cracking, his decline accelerated, his expressions turning more stiff and closer to a lifeless mineral every second, "You, young girl, yin presence fills you, yet you care for people."

Normally, when Erin heard a quip about herself she’d immediately retort with a list about the other person’s lineage, but now it’s as if she didn’t hear Yun Qingzi’s words, and instead she quickly turned and shook Yu Sheng’s head: "Hey hey, you better think of a solution! Aren’t you supposed to be highly skilled in Divine Skills..."

Yu Sheng didn’t speak; he just reached out and pressed Erin’s arm, then moved in front of Yun Qingzi.

"Friend, is there anything else you’d like to ask?" Yun Qingzi slowly lifted his head. Now, all the vitality in the Crystal Cave had gathered onto that "heart." However, even so, the crystallized elder could only move the part above his chest, and his voice had become increasingly stiff and slow. "My mind can stay clear for a while longer, so I can say a few words."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and slowly shook his head.

"I’ve asked all I wanted to ask," he said. "But as for you, if there’s anything you’d like me to do, you can tell me—though I may not be able to accomplish everything, I will try my best."

"You’ve thrown a difficult problem at me," Yun Qingzi pondered for a moment and then laughed. "The real Yun Qingzi died a thousand years ago. What remains here are merely empty shells transformed by the cycle of obsession. The shell before you is no different—having wishes? Even if there were any true wishes, after a thousand years, they would have long lost their significance... enough, enough, I am not such a sentimental person.

"But, if you truly have the chance to turn the tide, truly have the chance to meet that ’Yun Qingzi’ who has fallen into the claws of evil things..."

His voice grew ever lower and slower. The cracking sound from the Crystal Heart was gradually spreading to the outside, and the faint light within the crystal began flickering chaotically like a candle about to extinguish. When the first piece of crystal shard fell from the "heart," Yu Sheng heard the entrustment from this elder who might no longer be considered "Yun Qingzi":

"... Don’t hold back."

The last sliver of life-representing light faded from the crystalline body’s eyes, and the gray of death spread from the Crystal Heart, quickly covering his surface. Along with it came an inexorable spread of countless cracks, large and small.

In the very end, "Yun Qingzi" turned to look at Hu Li—with a smile on his face.

"It’s wonderful that at my last moment, I can still have this brief humanity..."

The next second, this smile shattered into pieces on the ground.

The Crystal Heart collapsed.

The faint light within the crystal completely faded, and the power maintaining its crystalline integrity vanished with the complete cessation of the "cycle." Accompanied by a series of crisp cracking sounds, this massive crystal turned into countless scattered debris, collapsing from between the pillars and crystal branches. Then, an intense collapse sound echoed throughout the cavern and the entire underground cave structure.

This whole underground space relied on the omnipresent "crystal branches" for support. Now, with all vitality gone, the cave system could no longer sustain itself.

"Boss! This place is going to collapse, meow!"

Lingdang instantly exclaimed and immediately ran behind Xu Jiali. The Mechanical Ball in her hand quickly lit up, and in the blink of an eye, a layer of Spiritual Barrier was erected. Yet, aside from a bit of tension, her vertical pupils held more inexplicable excitement—

"Next is an intense cave escape? Just like last time when we blew up the Katosh Worm Nest? Should we start running now? Run, run?"

But this "Jipulo Girl" had just begun her excitement when she saw Yu Sheng on the opposite side casually open a phantom-like door, revealing the surface scenery behind it.

Hu Li and Luna immediately ran through the door to call Sun, who was still digging on the surface, telling him to quickly lead his team to safety. Yu Sheng then turned back to look at Xu Jiali and Lingdang: "What are you two dawdling about—hurry up and evacuate, go up and call Sun and his men, I’ll open another door straight to the Special Service Bureau, you send the collected samples back first."

Only then did Xu Jiali react, and quickly made her way toward the door, while Lingdang widened her eyes behind her: "... Ah, no, now I should... Hey! Boss! Wait for me, meow!"

Everyone else passed through the door and returned to the surface, leaving only Yu Sheng and Erin standing in the continuously collapsing cave. Before walking through the door, Yu Sheng turned back one last time to look behind him.

Yun Qingzi—over the thousand years, hundreds of Yun Qingzis, finally returned to dust.

"Let’s go," he gently exhaled, turned, and stepped through the door, "There are many things still waiting to be done."