Of course, all of the above was nonsense. However, after a series of serious bluffs and jokes, adding a statement that was at least logically sound significantly increased its credibility. Even the experienced old mechanic Mr. Karl and the clever Miss Ina seemed to have a sudden realization.
“…So that’s why you’re so sure there won’t be any more enemies pursuing us?” Ina asked.
“At least not for a while. Alright, everyone should rest. We’ll continue our journey at dawn. If we truly manage to open the Enlightener’s ruins, then it’s truly the universe spirit’s blessing. If not, then we’ll just consider it good luck to have entered a mountain pass.” Yu Lian put away the “homemade bomb” he had finished assembling, clapped his hands, and ended the conversation.
His final words were essentially a pre-emptive measure for everyone, so that when he actually opened the ruins, perhaps no one would be too shocked.
Well, that should be it.
Yu Lian woke up by himself after two hours of rest, feeling that his strength had recovered by more than half. After a little more rest, the last trace of drowsiness disappeared. This was one of the benefits of being a spiritual energy user. At least in terms of energy and physical strength, he had a significant advantage.
Seeing that everyone was still resting, Yu Lian picked up a lamp and, relying on his Past memory, walked to a stone wall. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rock wall. Under the lamplight, the rock’s texture had no aesthetic appeal and showed no discernible pattern. Yu Lian could only touch the wall, rubbing it little by little, trying to feel the rhythm that should exist behind the stone wall.
The last time he—no, in his previous life—he had deciphered these ruins, it should have been thirty years later. In the realm of history, that was already considered an era, but in the vastness of nature, it was but an instant. Therefore, the condition of the ruins should not have changed much, right? Probably…
“Is this how all Enlightener ruins are Explored?” Ina’s voice sounded from behind Yu Lian.
“I’m not an archaeologist, and I don’t have any professional tools. So I can only rely on my feelings,” Yu Lian said without turning his head. “At least that’s how Dr. Jones unlocked it.”
“Who?” Ina asked curiously.
“Dr. Maluda Jones! From the Alliance’s ‘Treasure Raiders Alliance’! In the Season 8 finale, Professor Jones, the sixth generation, used this method to unlock the treasure of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Dawn Empire and obtain the Dagger of the Time Dragon.”
“It’s already out to Season 8? Professor Jones is already the sixth generation?” Ina gasped in surprise, then turned angry: “You spoiled it!”
That’s not the point, okay…
“How far have you watched?” Although it wasn’t the point, Yu Lian still couldn’t help but ask.
“Uh, Professor Al Jones, Season 2…”
“Isn’t that still during the Alliance’s homeworld era?” Yu Lian also gasped in surprise. Although he knew that the Outer Rim colonies were too remote, he never thought they would be this remote.
“I, I didn’t want to! But we’re just a rural place here! Tulon is already very rural, not to mention a military outpost. We can’t even connect to the Nebula Network here!”
Yu Lian immediately showed a sympathetic expression, but then he wished he could slap himself twice.
Hey, hey, hey, is this being influenced by the original owner? Yu Lian, a 21-year-old military academy student, can be a fan of “Treasure Raiders Alliance,” but how can Captain Yu Lian, who has roamed the stars for thirty years, be one? Wouldn’t I be laughed to death by people in the underworld if I said that?
“Uh, in any case, this is just a desperate attempt. Maybe it’s all just my illusion.”
“No, if it’s Professor Jones, then it must make sense!”
Yu Lian’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. He looked back at the sergeant major, who had suddenly become incredibly serious for some reason, and after hesitating for a long time, he slowly said, “Well, that’s a TV show.”
“Didn’t they say it’s all based on true stories?” Miss Ina replied decisively and as a matter of course.
“…Yes, at least many details are real.” Yu Lian decided not to dwell on this issue anymore and pressed his entire body against the stone wall. The last time he obtained the map and activated these ruins, he was already a Four-Ring master, and his perception ability was naturally much stronger than his Present one. To perceive the subtle vibrations that even satellites and probe drones couldn’t detect, he had to fully concentrate his entire spirit.
Ina knew Yu Lian had reached a critical moment and stopped speaking, but she did not leave. Instead, she silently adopted a vigilant stance.
Yu Lian closed his eyes, feeling the invisible, brilliant white nebulae in his soul boiling. The dazzling light converged into a long river, flowing through his body into the stone wall, finding a subtle resonance. Within that ordinary, unremarkable stone wall, Yu Lian felt as if he had found another universe.
The nebula in the sea of souls grew even brighter. To put it more directly, the ring-shaped nebula seemed to have expanded by another circle, bravely advancing towards the still silent Outer Rim, just as if Yu Lian was playing a certain game before his transmigration, where his science ship attacked from all sides and spent decades finally occupying a large area.
Yu Lian actually liked this direct sensation, being able to clearly feel the improvement in his strength.
He finally felt the same rhythm as that year, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even if there was a butterfly effect, it seemed the power of the wings wasn’t that great.
Yu Lian stretched out his hand, following the vibrations, and stopped at a spot. He wiped away all the dust and injected the spiritual energy from within him. The winter stars sprinkled down from a line at the zenith, seemingly merging with the lantern in his hand, transforming into silver light that reflected into the mottled stone wall. Silver traces slowly emerged, like veins, as if giving life to the stone wall.
At first, the surging light patterns were as subtle and imperceptible as a spider web, but they quickly expanded and became clearer. Subsequently, elegant silver light arcs formed magnificent double wings and a suspended star emblem. Graceful runes formed a banner on the emblem, and the vast solemnity beneath the sky rushed forth.
Ina gazed at this magnificent scene, almost breathless.
“This, is this really the Enlightener’s ruins?!”
“It should be. Enlighteners are actually divided into many types, but the emblem at the hidden entrance of their ruins all have brilliant star patterns, like the morning star. This is also the origin of their honorific title,” Yu Lian said.
“It’s too beautiful, I really can’t imagine, this is really…”
This was indeed a beauty that ordinary people could not imagine. On the gray mountain wall, there were only silver-white light patterns and not overly complex emblems, yet they were so magnificent that they resembled a perfect universe. Yu Lian knew that those simply drawn emblems were constructed with proportions that perfectly matched the aesthetics of carbon-based Wisdom life. And even if they were magnified ten thousand times, a hundred million times, a trillion times, they would still maintain those proportions, without a single flaw. And those silver-white halos, brilliant but not dazzling, elegant but not vulgar, gorgeous but not frivolous, flowed warmly, like the blood of the soul, the river of life.
No known civilization in the All-Galaxy could recreate this scene, not even “Treasure Raiders Alliance,” the popular drama series that Yu Lian and Ina loved. In fact, that incredibly well-funded production team had already tried their best to restore the grand scene of the Enlightener legacy activation on screen, and thus earned the fervent adoration of fans. However, upon being Present at the actual site, one would realize that the clumsy imitations of successors could not even reproduce a fraction of what these great ancient people achieved.
Therefore, this is one of the reasons why mysticism, class society, and bloodline theories are so prevalent in the world! Yu Lian remarked with revolutionary sentiment.
“How is such a beautiful scene created?” Ina asked. She was genuinely curious.
“Well, if you have time, you can review your studies and get into a good university. Study archaeology or high-energy materials science, and after graduation, find a job at an Enlightener Civilization Research Institute.”
“Will that make me understand?”
“No, that will make you understand that more than half of the great scholars who receive state subsidies are good-for-nothings.”
Ina pondered for a second, then let out a “heh” and laughed: “Alright, although I still think that the ‘elites’ of the bureaucracy are a bunch of golden-furred marmots eating wrapped in feather blankets; but since there’s an interesting example like you, I’ll tentatively believe that Moon People are an exception.”
“That’s natural. When you get to Tulon, if you meet Eleanor, uh, Officer Bonaiba, you’ll be convinced.”
There were actually quite a few good-for-nothings among the Moon People, but “a child cannot despise his mother’s ugliness,” right? Fortunately, the only two Moon People on this small colonial planet were not too embarrassing.
The two exchanged smiles. Ina felt a subtle touch, or perhaps a flutter, at meeting a trustworthy, even dependable, comrade; while Yu Lian wondered, this girl actually looks quite dominant when she smiles. If she met Eleanor, who would be the active one?
And just then, the emblem on the door emitted a flash as bright as day, but it quickly dimmed again, so fast that one might have thought the white light was an illusion. Subsequently, on this rock wall where no seams were visible, the outline of a massive doorway suddenly appeared, large enough to allow a medium-sized tank to drive through normally.
Immediately after, the two large doors emitted a dull “humming sound” and began to separate along the central seam of the light traces, revealing a wide passage leading to an unknown destination.
The Enlightener’s ruins door thus opened, exactly as Yu Lian had encountered “back then.” He inhaled the air from inside the cave with satisfaction, feeling the familiar metallic scent. Just as he was about to say something to Ina, he heard an exaggerated gasp from behind him: “Heavens, the Enlightener, the apostle of the universe spirit!”
Due to the commotion just now, everyone naturally woke up, and they were even more startled by this miraculous sight, losing all their sleepiness. They all got up, and the first thing they clearly saw was Yu Lian standing in the center of the light door, enveloped by the solemn, profound silver veil, like the light of the sky.
“Thud!” Sergeant Baka, the strongest combatant in the team apart from the spiritual energy user, knelt down just like that, kowtowing repeatedly with loud exclamations.
Well, while Bearmen are physically stronger than Earthlings, they are also much more superstitious than Earthlings.