A Night of Desperation-Chapter 534: Notification 2

After wandering around the satellite for a while, Yu Hong discovered that the place had long been abandoned. Many of the automated conveyors had stopped working, and several areas marked with “Do Not Enter” signs had their doors half-open, with robots inside that had lost their power, lying on the ground. The surveillance monitors were also out of power, covered in dust.

Having found nothing, he teleported again and visited the remaining few satellites, only to see the same scene.

The satellite’s automated purification and refining systems had long been out of operation.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Thump.

Landing gently from mid-air, Yu Hong stood on the top of the highest metallic tower of the fourth satellite, gazing at the burning star in the sky.

All around him was a grayish yellow fog, lifeless and motionless.

It seemed as if he was the only moving thing on this entire planet.

The sound of the howling wind swirled, stirring the yellow fog as it drifted continuously.

“This place… seems worse than I imagined Yu Hong sighed.

“What were you originally thinking?”

The voice of the mysterious merchant suddenly came from behind him.

Yu Hong shivered, quickly turning his head, and saw the figure appearing at the entrance of the tower top, one foot on the step, standing lightly.

“Oh, it’s you, senior.” Yu Hong exhaled, quickly adjusting his tone.

Although the other did not seem to care about such things, showing respect never hurt anyone.

“Actually, I had a strange feeling since my first few days on the Mining Star.” He said frankly, “Here, bizarre things appear and disappear constantly. Strange sword cultivators occasionally attack at night. My master, senior brothers, and senior sisters mysteriously disappear in the evenings and are untraceable.”

“You’re not wrong.” The mysterious merchant cackled, “But compared to here, with the impending cataclysm, other places are even more hopeless…. Here, at least, maintains some sense of normalcy.”

“Senior, may I ask, besides Qinghe Mountain, are there other forces deeper into the Source Disaster?” Yu Hong suddenly changed the topic.

“Who knows. Qinghe Mountain is not the only place with Heavenly Venerates;this universe is vast with many Heavenly Venerates, perhaps other places like this still exist.” The mysterious merchant murmured. “Besides…..”

He let out a high-pitched, piercing laugh.

“Have you…. fixed it??”

.Are you referring to the Purple Extreme Crown, senior?” Yu Hong squinted. “Yes, fortunately, the damage wasn’t too severe;it took more than ten days to fix, and it was highly challenging, with a touch of luck. Otherwise, with my current skills, I wouldn’t have been able to fully repair it.”

He added several preconditions to indicate his skills weren’t that great.

Like the damage not being significant, it took more than ten days, and required luck.

However….

“Hehehehe….. Yes, not severely damaged….” The mysterious merchant laughed sharply.

A Purple Extreme Crown, damaged by nearly half, and that’s called not significant damage!?!

More than ten days!?

If everything outside were normal, a Magic Treasure like the Purple Extreme Crown, damaged about half, would typically require years for repair.

More than ten days wouldn’t even be enough to finish assessing the damage!

“Very good…. very good.” The mysterious merchant lowered his head, and the massive tumor on his back quivered along with his laughter.

“Yu Hong…. what do you think of Qinghe Mountain? Do you want to….”

Bang!!

Before he finished speaking, a sudden sharp noise came from the metallic tower they stood on, as if something had snapped.

The mysterious merchant immediately fell silent, yet the smile on his face couldn’t be hidden.

“Good child….” He extended his hand again, revealing a small, exquisite apple-like pink fruit in his palm.

“Check this out…. can this be repaired?” he asked softly.

Yu Hong stepped forward, reaching out to take the pink fruit.

His heart stirred, as the Black Mark flowed from the back of his hand, seeping into the fruit.

‘Enhanced Apple, Direction: Slightly increase the hardness of the apple’s skin.’ He casually named it.

The countdown swiftly emerged: ‘February 11, 5:19 AM.’

Over two months!?

That long?

Yu Hong was shocked, and his expression was noted by the mysterious merchant.

“Is it doable?” the mysterious merchant asked again.

“It’s extremely challenging Yu Hong said in a deep voice.

If over two months were entirely spent on enhancing this, it meant he couldn’t use the Black Mark to enhance other things or integrate them for two months.

The sacrifice was substantial.

“Challenging… Is that so!?” The mysterious merchant’s voice trembled slightly.

He didn’t have high hopes when taking this thing out, merely trying his luck, jokingly.

But unexpectedly… Yu Hong actually replied that it was challenging to repair???

Is it a matter of challenge?

It’s that it can be repaired!!

The mysterious merchant felt his emotions, unstirred for tens of thousands of years, underwent unprecedented fluctuations.

“If you can truly repair it, then…. what do you need?”

“I have the materials, but I’ll need to dedicate lots of time and energy to it, and I also need to cultivate.” Yu Hongdao said.

“If you can fix it, this place, perhaps…. will become a real place of hope the mysterious merchant said. “Whatever else you want, I can give you!”

“Could you tell me the truth about the Mining Star? What happened to Wanxue Palace?” Yu Hong frowned and asked directly.

“To be frank… The true Wanxue Palace was destroyed years ago during a Star Disaster’s siege. Yu Xuezi and the other two did not die, they were merely polluted into Chaos Bodies.”

The mysterious merchant withheld no more, slowly recounting the events of those years.

“Yu Xuezi is the junior brother of Feng Xuezi and the last relative of the Wanxue Palace lineage. The whole Wanxue Palace fought against the Star Disaster, leaving only the two brothers.

Feng Xuezi is highly cultivated;he advanced to Golden Immortal early on, with formidable strength. Yu Xuezi, knowing his inadequacy, remained barely at Critical Human Immortal for a long time. But

“One accident, Yu Xuezi was unfortunately infected into a Chaos Body during the Star Disaster’s siege. Once Feng Xuezi found out, he rushed back swiftly, timely preventing a report to the main line, blocking the disaster of Yu Xuezi becoming a Chaos Body. He completely sealed off the Mining Star, severing all contact with the outside world to ensure his junior brother’s condition wouldn’t leak out, avoiding the main line’s preemptive eradication.”

The mysterious merchant said softly.

“Chaos Bodies carry a strong virus, so they must be eradicated immediately upon discovery.”

“Originally, Yu Xuezi was doomed, for he had no opportunity to slowly fade away as other Chaos Bodies, eventually disappearing. He would have been instantly killed by the main line. But Feng Xuezi’s complete seal of the Mining Star prevented the main line from ever learning of Yu Xuezi’s existence, and his destruction was interrupted.”

“Time flew by, and the Mining Star was sealed off for hundreds of years, during which the outside world underwent massive changes.”

“Heavenly Venerates vanished, Star Disasters swept through, and Qinghe Mountain and other major forces were mysteriously tainted almost overnight. Numerous forces were besieged, engulfed by star-destroying monsters. Only the Mining Star’s Wanxue Palace survived, due to its complete isolation without any sign of it, and because Yu Xuezi being already a Chaos Body attracted little external monster attention, they survived. ”

“In a blink of several tens of thousands of years, the Mining Star remains, while everything outside has long perished. The entire Qinghe Mountain Wanxue Palace became the sole surviving remnant.”

“Meanwhile, Feng Xuezi, in maintaining the Mining Star’s seal, was also corrupted into a Chaos Body. As Chao Bodies, they weren’t assaulted, but as Chaos Bodies, they could only die slowly in such isolation, waiting to be obliterated.”

The mysterious merchant spoke, having walked ahead of Yu Hong, standing on the tower top platform, gazing at the endless sea of yellow mist outside.

“This is the history of the Mining Star. Do you have any questions?”

“Senior…. I want to ask, have we also been infected by the Chaos Body?” Yu Hong couldn’t help but ask softly.

“No. The infection period of a Chaos Body is mainly the first three thousand years or so, which has long passed.” The mysterious merchant answered.

“Then, the junior has no more questions.” Yu Hong thought for a moment and replied.

“Knowing all this, are you still willing to stay on the Mining Star?” The mysterious merchant asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be willing? My master, senior brothers, and senior sisters treat me well. Even if they are Chaos Bodies, since they don’t infect me or harm me, why should I not want to stay?” Yu Hong countered.

His words instead inquired back the mysterious merchant.

“Then about those strange sword cultivators at night? Are you afraid?” He thought for a bit, changing the topic.

“Where do they come from?” Yu Hong asked.

“They were once disciples of Wanxue Palace. Before Wanxue Palace was destroyed, leaving only Feng Xuezi and Yu Xuezi, it was a prosperous branch. Later, with the siege of Star Disaster, the branch was decimated, leaving only the two of them. This is also why Yu Xuezi strived for disciples with superior aptitude, determined to restore Wanxue Palace lineage.” The mysterious merchant explained.

“No wonder, but as long as I don’t go out at night, they pose no danger to me, right?” Yu Hong didn’t mind.

.” The mysterious merchant glanced deeply at him, recognizing his genuine indifference.

‘You… have great courage…. great courage. From your heart, I’ve never felt the slightest despair… fear… anxiety….’ he murmured.

“Hope will certainly come, senior.” Yu Hong said earnestly.

“Is that so? Then, I will look forward to you bringing new hope The mysterious merchant took a step back, his figure rippling like water and disappeared on the spot.

Yu Hong gazed at where he left, mind repeatedly recalling the story he just heard of Wanxue Palace.

A Senior Brother willing to protect his junior at all costs inadvertently preserved the last breath of life of his sect.

Though slowly dying, he achieved what he wanted, waiting for that glimmer of hope he wished for.

Of course, he wouldn’t entirely believe everything the mysterious merchant said. Many details still needed confirmation and proof.

But the entire logical chain seemed intact.

Moreover….

Yu Hong lowered his head, looking at the apple-like seed in his palm.

“Leaving something that seems quite important like this with me?”

The Black Mark would take more than two months to repair it, indicating a foundation far surpassing what he had repaired with the Purple Extreme Crown before.