Chapter 362: Background Story of the Arching Star, a Romance Drama?

Chapter 362: The Backstory of Archstar, a Romantic Drama?

The dozen or so cultivators present, each with their own thoughts, all fixed their gazes beyond the gate.

As for the Divine Infants of the Heaven-Overturning Plan Alliance, their hearts churned with turbulent waves.

After all, with so many of them unable to open it, this gate had actually been breached.

"What are you all standing here for? Let's enter together!"

One Divine Infant cultivator proposed.

The other Divine Infants wore wary expressions.

After all, such ruins were fraught with danger; even Divine Infant cultivators might fall.

They dared not act rashly.

"Come on, let's go in and take a look."

Qi Yuan had no such concern; his left eyebrow twitched wildly, signaling that great wealth awaited inside.

He wondered if the benefits and riches within could buy Archstar itself.

The Fat Cultivator glanced over, hesitated not at all, and followed.

Xie Tang gritted her teeth and quickly entered as well.

Seeing this, the other cultivators streamed in after them.

Upon passing through the gate, the world transformed in an instant.

The once cramped cave now opened into a vast expanse.

Starlight, abundant as ever, spilled over the crowd.

"Starfield?"

"This is actually a starfield!"

All the cultivators looked up at the sky, astonishment on their faces.

Above them stretched a boundless starry sky.

Its breadth knew no bounds; a single glance could not take in all the stars.

A galaxy of brilliant stars, a river of light.

Everyone’s eyes gleamed with wonder, as if they had stepped into a new world.

"So many stars—they’re making me hungry." Qi Yuan’s mouth watered, like "quenching thirst by thinking of plums."

"Is this another world?"

"Why do these stars feel so strange?"

Those born in the cultivation world knew that the stars in the sky were reflections of the gods across the cosmos.

Each star represented a deity.

When they arrived on Archstar, they noticed something odd, but with few stars in the sky, they paid it no mind.

Here… the sky was filled with stars.

"This must be the map of this spaceship," Qi Yuan said softly. "Quite realistic."

The starfield before them was not real—it was merely a map.

"A map?" Some Divine Infants were startled, extending their divine sense, then revealing horrified expressions. "This map can mislead our judgment!"

A single map could deceive their senses, making them mistake it for a true starry sky.

Did that mean other mechanisms or traps would also elude their detection?

"Fellow cultivators, since we’ve entered, let us part ways here!" At that moment, a lone-wolf Divine Infant spoke.

With those words, he flew off into the depths of the ruins.

The other Divine Infants, saying nothing, also dispersed.

Once inside the ruins, naturally one must seek treasures.

If they chanced upon a Sky Eye, they’d strike it rich.

"Daoist, which way are you headed?" the Fat Cultivator asked.

Xie Tang also looked at Qi Yuan, as if seeking his opinion.

"This ruin isn’t that vast. No rush—I’d like to take a good look around," Qi Yuan said.

With his Yang God-level strength, the moment he stepped into the spaceship, everything had already entered his sight.

Though the ship appeared advanced, it was actually battered and broken, destroyed and devoid of energy.

All useful items aboard had long been exhausted.

Only some scrap metal and a few "Sky Eyes" remained.

As for the planet-destroying cannons and other weapons Qi Yuan had imagined—none existed.

"This ruin has quite a reputation, but inside it’s just a pile of junk," Qi Yuan remarked casually.

Xie Tang blinked in surprise. "Daoist, have you been here before?"

"No, but one glance tells me there’s nothing good besides some trash.

If anything’s valuable, it might be this spaceship itself."

"The gate was so hard to open, yet there’s only junk?" the Fat Cultivator found it odd.

"Well, there are a few thousand Sky Eyes—is that junk or not?" Qi Yuan said offhandedly.

The Sky Eyes here, to the ship’s original occupants, were likely just standard-issue weapons.

Like rifles in a modern army.

As for more powerful weapons… none.

"A few thousand Sky Eyes?" The Fat Cultivator swallowed hard.

Xie Tang’s breath quickened; she doubted the truth of Qi Yuan’s words.

Yet she did not leave.

When the gate opened, she had sensed a dangerous aura aimed at her.

"The most valuable thing here is probably this wall."

Qi Yuan said, walking toward a corner.

In the corner stood a wall of unknown material, smooth as marble.

Carved into the stone wall were many murals.

The others’ gazes turned curiously to these paintings.

The first mural was simple: in a sci-fi villa, a young man in flowing white robes gazed at the starry sky, his eyes filled with longing and love.

"Based on my perfect score in Chinese reading comprehension, this first mural shows the protagonist’s yearning for a woman beyond the stars; his clenched fist represents his resolve."

"Yes, he was going to tell his mother that he would set sail tonight to find his beloved."

In the era of Blue Star, Qi Yuan's strongest skill was reading comprehension in Chinese.

This mural was far too simple for him.

He turned his gaze to the second mural.

In the mural, a man and a woman stood amid the starry sky, gazing into each other's eyes, with infinite stars as their backdrop.

"Mmm, they've met; lovers finally become a couple."

The third mural showed a enchanting night, with only a woman's silhouette visible under the moonlight.

"The baby has a misunderstanding, the baby's heart is bitter, the baby says nothing, the baby goes home," Qi Yuan interpreted again. "Combined with the previous mural, the man's parents secretly approached the woman, gave her a bank card, and told her to leave.

I think the man's mother still retains some charm."

Ning Tao chuckled softly upon hearing this: "This plot is too familiar—any car crashes or cancer?"

"Clearly... there is. Please watch the VCR!"

Qi Yuan looked at the fourth mural.

"The woman, carrying her grievances, returned to her own planet.

Oh, this planet seems to be Gong Star.

Then one day, a great enemy descended, and to protect her homeland, she fought in the starry sky, shedding blood and dying on the battlefield."

Ning Tao's expression shifted slightly: "Though my husband tells it a bit comically, it's actually quite touching."

Setting aside Qi Yuan's storytelling skills, the core of the story was indeed moving.

After all, dying to defend one's realm was worthy of praise and tears.

Everyone continued to look at the fifth mural.

"The theme of this mural is searching.

The man, learning that his beloved had gone missing, piloted his spaceship, traversing the stars, wandering through the vast expanse of the cosmos for ten thousand years in search.

But the starry sky was too immense; finding his beloved was harder than searching for a needle in the ocean.

Yet, as everyone knows, they would brush past each other several times, unable to see each other even when right across.

In the end, love moved heaven and earth, and the man finally found the woman."

Hearing this, Ning Tao's eyes were a mix of laughter and tears: "A romantic drama turned into a comedy."

She looked at the sixth mural.

In the sixth mural, the man saw the woman, but she was already dying.

"The heroine, surrounded by an army, was on the verge of death.

At this critical moment, the hero stepped forward and finally held her in his arms.

But her life force was severed; she gave him one last look, shed a tear, and died, utterly and completely.

The joy of reunion turned to sorrow in that instant. The hero's small universe erupted, and he drove back the enemy."

Seeing this, Xie Tang's expression grew wistful: "A pitiful pair of perfect lovers."

The fat cultivator also sighed: "There are always regrets in the world that cannot be erased.

I remember before I started cultivating, I confessed to my childhood sweetheart next door, but she said I was too fat. If I could lose weight from 180 jin to 150 jin in a month, she would be willing to be with me.

But a month passed, and I weighed 151 jin. In the end, fate didn't bring us together, and I carry that regret forever."

Qi Yuan nodded: "Your example is indeed similar; the core is the same.

People always have regrets. Doesn't a death after a reunion stir the audience's heart even more?"

As the saying goes, failure just shy of success is the most regrettable.

Everyone's gaze turned to the final mural.

"The last mural's theme is the Watcher.

The man stayed in this world, watching as his beloved's world gradually shattered and fell silent.

He couldn't bear to see such a scene unfold.

So, alone, he remained in this world, guarding her world, like a watcher.

He wanted to touch every trace of her, to walk every step she had taken.

He wanted to prevent this world from destruction, to resurrect her, to restart this world!"

As Qi Yuan spoke, his voice grew impassioned, like a speech.

The socially anxious him had only ever given speeches in text on the Divine Flower Society's forums.

In reality, he had never done so before.

Now, with few people around, he took the chance to speak.

Qi Yuan felt his speech was quite effective; even he was moved.

If he were a bit more sentimental, he might have shed a little tear.

Still, he felt a bit emo, moved by himself.

He decided to have braised pork rice without chili flakes tonight.

"Truly a praiseworthy and tearful... story," Xie Tang said, glancing inexplicably at Qi Yuan.

Without Qi Yuan's commentary, they would have felt much deeper emotions looking at the murals themselves.

Qi Yuan's presence had somehow made the murals seem strange.

Ning Tao also shot Qi Yuan a glare: "Husband, you've turned the style of this tragic romance into a comedy."

"Who says it's a tragic romance? What if it's a political drama, or a crime drama?" Qi Yuan couldn't help but retort. "Don't define it!"

"I understand, my husband has artistic flair, just like those short videos that explain horror films in a comedic way," Ning Tao said.

Qi Yuan nodded in agreement.

But Xie Tang suddenly thought of something, her expression turning complex, with deep worry in her eyes: "If the murals are true, doesn't that mean... this world is going to be destroyed?"

Although the paintings had no text or explanation of power systems,

it was clear that the hero and heroine were at least at the Yin Shen level, or even higher.

After all, traversing the stars for ten thousand years was not something a Zifu cultivator could achieve.

Moreover, the final scene—restarting the world and resurrecting the heroine—was likely beyond even Yin Shen, only possible for Yang Shen.

"At this moment, the hero should be in some unknown corner, fighting against great enemies while preparing to restart the world and resurrect the heroine.

We are not cultivators of Gong Star; if we get restarted, won't we become... fertilized eggs?" The fat cultivator looked worried, being trendy enough to use Gong Star's vocabulary.

"This world has already been restarted once. Wait..." Xie Tang thought of something.

Could it be that before her senior sister disappeared, she had come to this world and was restarted into... a fertilized egg?

If so, that would be hard to accept.

"Although their love story is touching, moving heaven and earth, it didn't move me. So I think we should leave this realm quickly."

"It's far too dangerous here for us Spirit Infant cultivators," the fat monk said, his face full of worry.

Not to mention the great enemies the male and female leads face—just look at the male lead, clearly a madman.

The kind who would say, "For you, I would destroy the Three Realms."

As they say, when immortals fall in love, the Three Realms know no peace—there's some truth to that.

Qi Yuan, however, remained calm: "What's there to fear? It's just a game's backstory.

And have you forgotten, fellow Daoist? Even if you die, I will remember you and let you be reborn within my Purple Mansion."

The fat monk paused, stunned, then said, "You have a point."

At that moment, Qi Yuan gazed at the last mural, his expression unreadable: "According to this plot, hasn't this game already been restarted many times?"

The male lead resets the world to save the female lead.

This setup made Qi Yuan think of Dongjun.

It seemed Dongjun had restarted the world many times, but always failed, unable to revive his Dao companion.

Ning Tao squinted: "Possibly."

"So then... this world might have a lot of Purple Qi?" Qi Yuan blinked, his eyes growing excited.

Purple Qi is born at the dawn of heaven and earth.

If this world keeps restarting, always following the same trajectory, wouldn't that mean there's an abundance of Purple Qi?

But soon, he shook his head.

If Purple Qi could be exploited like a bug, wouldn't that mean those powerful Yang Gods never lack Purple Qi?

And Purple Qi wouldn't be called the foremost Qi of the Immortal Path.

Still, it was certain that this world had Purple Qi.

"Alright, the drama's over—time for us to loot."

As Qi Yuan spoke, his divine sense swept lightly.

Instantly, endless data flooded into his mind.

"Let's go, to the main control room."

Qi Yuan had already located the main control room.

Xie Tang, hearing this, quickly followed.

In truth, she was a bit anxious, since the Eye of the Sky might really be here.

If other Spirit Infant cultivators got the Eye of the Sky and they didn't, the Heavenly Mystery Sect's status would plummet.

Moreover, the sect was currently in a transitional phase, and she needed to gather some resources.

Soon, the four of them arrived outside the main control room of the ruins.

At that moment, the other eight cultivators were also outside the main control room.

Their faces bore expressions of barely concealed excitement and elation.

Clearly, everyone had gained a lot from looting the ruins.

The already small spaceship was unobstructed, and they had pocketed the Eyes of the Sky as well.

Now, they gathered outside the main control room, their eyes greedy, with a hint of bewilderment mixed in.

Because the eight of them had struck simultaneously just now, yet couldn't open the door to the main control room.

"How strange—this door is the same as the entrance gate to the ruins, so why can't it be opened?" muttered the old man in the pure red mask, puzzled.

Though four were missing, that Purple Mansion cultivator was still here, and he was the key to opening the door.

The others were also confused.

The Spirit Infant cultivators of the Heaven-Overturning Plan Alliance had no intention of killing yet, since there were so many good things outside—wouldn't the main control room hold even more?

"Don't you understand such a simple truth?

It's because the big boss hasn't made his entrance yet."

Qi Yuan said softly, appearing with his arm around Ning Tao, a smile in his eyes.

"I told you before, the last door opened because of me, and you didn't believe me."

Hearing Qi Yuan's words, the old man in the pure red mask flashed a suspicious look.

Could it really be him?

He stared at Qi Yuan, as if trying to see through his trump card, but... there was nothing remarkable.

Could it be that he had some other fortuitous encounter that just happened to open the door?

(The chapter ends)