The Stars Beyond

Chapter 244: Happy Ending

Chapter 244: Happy Ending

The Sun family was filled with anticipation, foreseeing the imminent downfall of the transcendents. Believing that not all of them had gathered yet, as inferred from Wang Xuan and Chen Yongjie's secret conversation, they knew the Zhilan Assembly would take place in the evening.

"Expert hunters know the value of patience, calm, and restraint. We have all the time we need. Let's give them the entire night. The transcendents will soon heed the call of hell," they mused, content in their expectation of imminent success.

Soon, they made a new discovery. An elderly figure appeared, seemingly frail but climbing the mountain with the agility of a monkey, scaling sheer cliffs instead of following the paths. Sun Rongsheng was surprised. Evidently, some transcendents had remained hidden, as this individual was previously unseen. "Is he an indigenous resident with his partly pale purple hair?" wondered the Sun family, recalling legends about the indigenous ancestors being celestial immortals and their feared hereditary affliction—'the five decays of heaven and man'.

It seemed these rumors were likely true, and some powerful individuals among them still possessed transcendent abilities in this era. "Fortunately, we've drawn them all out this time. They've sealed their fate by gathering together," they thought.

At this moment, the Sun family, Clarice and Han Solo, and Wang Xuan were all immensely satisfied. Under the same crescent moon, in different locations, each group wore smiles of contentment, reveling in their own perceived victories.

......

The elderly man arrived at the mountaintop with a fierce look in his eyes, tinged with a faint purple hue. His body emitted a decaying odor, and something about him seemed off. Striding into the fog at the summit, his figure gradually blurred into obscurity.

Clarice and Hans Solo reached the lake's edge, where the concentration of supermaterial was dense. Amidst the fog, they encountered ruins and dilapidated structures along the shores of the Yuanchi Lake. A faint light shimmered over these relics, blocked by a thin layer of light. When they attempted to touch it, they were repelled, but using their invitation, they could pass through.

Inside, they found an environment of dense trees and thick foliage, concealing the ruins and making them invisible even to satellite surveillance under normal circumstances. They tread over broken tiles and past crumbled walls, eventually reaching a collapsed temple with a headless deity statue, its head and arms shattered over time.

"Is this deity a celestial immortal, a bodhisattva, a mountain god, or an earth deity?" Clarice wondered softly, somewhat familiar with the Eastern system. On the ground were several meditation cushions, spaced apart, hinting at the Eastern custom of sitting in wait.

Confident there were no traps, they quietly sat down to wait for others, aware they had arrived early, with the sun just beginning to set.

The sight of the transcendent light barrier alone made their trip worthwhile, mysterious in its nature, inaccessible without the aid of divine gifts. Suddenly, they turned to see an elderly man appear silently, startling in his abruptness. He simply sat on a cushion without a word.

The two looked on with interest. The elder's sparse hair was partially purple, partially snow-white. What troubled Clarice and Hans Solo was the man's odor, reminiscent of decay, and the clear signs of purulent discharge on his head and wet patches under his arms, dampening his clothes. This was indicative of the advanced stages of the 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man', a condition that should have left his internal organs rotten, yet he managed to maintain a semblance of life.

"Hello..." Clarice greeted, attempting to strike up a conversation with the elderly man. However, after a cold glance, he ignored her completely. The atmosphere turned awkward and tense, and she didn't speak further, instead discreetly holding her crystal mirror for protection.

As night fell, the stars emerged and the crescent moon hung high. The mountain's pine and cypress trees, along with the gurgling springs and misty lake, created an almost celestial ambiance under the moonlight.

Another figure arrived, clad in rusty armor like an ancient general, seemingly risen from underground. Pale and slightly rigid, he carried an invitation and entered the ruins. Clarice was taken aback, noting the man's resemblance to vampires from Western legends in both demeanor and appearance.

She pondered if he could be an Eastern 'jiangshi', noticing a commonality between him and the decaying elder: both had identical flame patterns on their foreheads.

Hans Solo gripped his spear tightly, alert and surrounded by a golden aura, with explosive power coursing through him. Contrary to tales of celestial immortals and deities being ethereal or benevolent, these two were eerily abnormal. Could they be minions of some malevolent Eastern deity?

As the moon reached its zenith, two more individuals arrived, dressed ordinarily. Upon entering the ruins, they shed their outer garments, revealing one to be a Taoist nun and the other an elderly monk. They nodded amiably at the group, both bearing the same flame pattern on their foreheads.

Clarice and Hans Solo realized this gathering was more than just a supernatural congregation; it seemed to be an organized assembly.

No one else arrived after a significant wait. The Sun family, monitoring the situation, frowned upon seeing several transcendent beings ascend the mountain, suspecting there might be more they hadn't detected.

Clarice and Hans Solo's ascent had gone unnoticed by the Sun family due to the special devices they carried, shielding them from detection.

"Almost time, I suppose. If they disperse after the meeting, it will be challenging to eliminate them all at once," someone from the Sun family remarked.

"Let's wait a bit longer; I think we have time until midnight," Sun Rongsheng suggested.

The atmosphere inside the dilapidated ruins was oppressive, with no one speaking. Clarice and Hans Solo were growing impatient. Were they expected to sit idly until midnight or even dawn?

Suddenly, a woman clad in red metallic armor appeared, flying in, startling both Clarice and Hans Solo. "A ghost!" they realized, observing her spiritual form donned in armor.

The woman bowed before the headless deity statue, lighting a stick of incense that emitted a faint glow with symbols flickering on it. The decaying elder, zombie general, Taoist nun, and old monk all rose and followed suit, as if welcoming someone's arrival.

Behind the deity statue, a hazy scene materialized, resembling a collapsed space or a blurred world. A figure emerged from it and slowly fused with the statue.

The figure in the statue, indistinct and god-like, gazed down upon everyone. "New blood has joined us, but sadly, there are still too few. The decline of the transcendent beings is evident; the former glory is hard to replicate."

"The original attendee was someone else, not these two," the woman in red armor, her face covered by a dark red helmet, stated.

Clarice, sensing the figure's immense power, asked respectfully, "Are you one of the great beings of the Eastern immortals?"

"We come from the Western world, and our deity wishes to communicate with the great Eastern immortals," Clarice said, struggling to breathe in the presence of such might.

The man in the statue, eyes weaving symbols, looked through Clarice and Hans Solo, seemingly piercing their essence. "The self-absorbed Western gods, their divine fire nearly extinguished, have no standing to cooperate with the immortals," he responded dismissively.

Hans Solo, angered and devout in his faith, couldn't tolerate such blasphemy. Despite the figure's apparent strength, he was ready to defend his god's honor.

"I am but a follower of a peerless true immortal, yet dealing with the god behind you shouldn't pose a problem," the man in the statue declared.

The Taoist nun, zombie, and others kept their heads bowed, reverently listening as if to sacred music, showing utmost respect and fear.

......

"You insult a deity; this will alert him, drawing his gaze here..." Hans Solo, deeply devout, gripped his spear, trembling with rage.

The man in the headless statue, dismissive of such threats, didn't bother to respond. He addressed the woman in red armor, saying, "Since these two have come, mark them too. Exceptionally, let these barbarians become my followers. We're short on hands, after all."

The woman in red prepared to brand the duo with the flame symbol on their foreheads.

"Great Eastern immortal, you can't do this. The deity behind us seeks collaboration, not a war of the gods," Clarice interjected softly, hoping to sway him.

"You've chosen the wrong collaborator. The peerless true immortal behind me has slain gods like yours with a single sword strike. Quite weak, I must say," the man in the statue scoffed, looking down on their deity.

He then instructed the woman in dark red armor, "When you have the chance, bring the other transcendent being we chose earlier here and mark him too."

"Yes!" The woman nodded, approaching Clarice and Hans Solo.

...

Far away, Wang Xuan had already left the area around Yuan Chi Mountain but hadn't returned to the city. He was waiting for the situation to conclude before reappearing.

He suddenly felt a malevolence emanating from the direction of Yuan Chi Mountain and frowned.

Since becoming a mortal with an inner view of the world, Wang Xuan possessed traits far beyond other transcendent beings, like an unimaginably sharp spiritual sense.

"Not a benevolent being," he muttered under his breath.

He was also preparing – whether to strike at Yuan Chi Mountain or to attack the Sun family's headquarters after their mishap. Everything depended on how the situation unfolded.

He needed to stay calm and patient.

Boom!

......

Hans Solo's spear glowed brilliantly, activating the ancient weapon which shimmered with dazzling runes. It seemed as if a deity opened its eyes behind him. He and Clarice used their god-given relics to summon divine power against the blasphemer.

"The place mustn't be destroyed. My master, the peerless true immortal, will use this as a gateway to reenter the world. How dare you flaunt a wild god's weapon here?!" bellowed the man in the headless statue. A vague hand emerged from the statue, pushing a thin, misty veil forward with authority.

...

"Now is the time, let the space warships fire!" commanded Sun Rongsheng coldly, his gaze fixated on the night sky and the crescent moon, a cruel smile on his lips. He envisioned a perfect night unfolding, a nightmare for the transcendent beings, the end of those who dared challenge the established order.

Boom! Blinding beams descended from the sky, targeting Yuan Chi Mountain. Each beam, massive and filled with a destructive aura, seemed designed to obliterate all life.

Multiple super energy beams, like pillars connecting heaven and earth, enveloped the region around Yuan Chi Mountain, a divine punishment.

"Ancient humans hunted gods and demons with mechs and motherships. In this new era, humanity will enter this realm. The latest warships will soon be unveiled," someone from the Sun family remarked.

"Who dares disrupt this node, destroy this passage?!" roared a being within Yuan Chi Mountain, sensing the impending doom. The headless statue cracked as if about to explode.

"You mortals dare? The peerless true immortal shall seek vengeance!" The man's vague figure glowed with interwoven runes, radiating fury.

Far from Yuan Chi Mountain, Wang Xuan sat on a rock, holding a cup of wine, calmly watching the terrifying beams connecting sky and earth.

Hearing the roar from Yuan Chi Mountain, he raised his cup and spoke calmly, "To the Sun family, to the transcendent beings!"