Erin didn’t really understand what Yu Sheng meant, but she was already used to it.

Hu Li’s curiosity, however, was evidently stronger than that of the little puppet. She shifted from a giant fox as big as two cars to a little fox over a meter long, following alongside Yu Sheng and looking up: "Savior, do you mean we can directly affect the body of the Gate of Eden within this ’Time Barrier’?"

"Yes, Luo gave me an idea." Yu Sheng glanced down at the little demon fox prancing at his feet. "She said the World Bridge originally needed to root in a precise time-space structure. The failure of the Descent three thousand seven hundred years ago was due to this loophole. Now the cultists of the Hidden Monastery have found a way to plug this gap—regardless of how they did it, it’s clear that the obstacles we’re encountering here are related to this ’Time Anchor Point’. "

He raised his head, looking toward the expansive area at the foot of the mountain.

"The Gate of Eden sent us here, which means its power has already extended to this time and place—do not simply think of it as a door, but rather as a tree. The ’soil’ in which this tree roots is the dual structure of time and space. Spatially, it roots on the planet of the Saint Realm; temporally, its roots extend to the Holy Calendar year 11XX... We are standing right on its ’root’."

Hu Li tilted her head thoughtfully and muttered, "So that’s why they say the defense mechanism of the Gate of Eden is also part of it..."

Yu Sheng suddenly halted his steps.

"It should be around here." He squinted slightly, perceiving for a moment before speaking softly.

Erin craned her neck to look around, seeing only a wilderness scattered with rocks stretching from the mountain’s foot to the horizon, with muddy, heavy clouds pressing down low overhead. Other than that, there was nothing.

But she roughly understood that what Yu Sheng was looking for was invisible to the naked eye—at least at this point in time, it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.

"The ’Angel Catalyst’ is located somewhere around here," Yu Sheng raised his hand, pointing to a general area, "It’s still sealed within a Force Field Box, isolated outside the Gate of Eden. Those cultists are very cautious; they might use a full set of rigorous testing protocols and rituals to ensure the catalyst’s safety.

"This will take a long time, and during this process, the Gate of Eden will continue to grow. Its ’roots’ will dig deeper until it becomes a kind of ’permanent structure’ in the current space-time."

"By then, things will become very troublesome," Yu Sheng said softly, then took out his phone for a look.

The phone couldn’t receive any signal in this ’Time Deep Well,’ but Yu Sheng had a myriad of methods to communicate with the outside world. The simplest way was to open a channel to the real universe.

Moreover, Erin could also connect with her mass-produced bodies here—though it’s unclear whether this ability of the little puppet came from the Omen Goddess or from the Alice Puppet. Clearly, her ’soul structure’ could also transcend time and space to a certain extent.

The ’Space-Time Defense’ of the Gate of Eden was gradually revealing more and more loopholes in front of the travel agency, and next, Yu Sheng was going to tear open the largest gap in this barrier.

"The fleet of Boundary Land has already launched an attack, and the news of the Stargate’s fall will soon reach the Saint Realm," he said to himself softly, looking at the message log on his phone screen, estimating the passage of time outside and the battle conditions from Baili Qing, "Wait here... just wait here."

The connection established by blood sketched a vague illusion deep in his mind. Looking up, beneath the turbid sky, it was as if he saw a vast ring-shaped gate towering to the heavens, standing upright on the ground.

He saw the gate growing in time and space, with its roots piercing deep into the ground of this Deserted Star, piercing into its history and future. Before the gate, many swaying figures gathered, devout, fanatical, joyous, waiting expectantly.

Yu Sheng waited alongside them.

They awaited the official start of the ritual, awaited the Angel Catalyst’s final inspection to complete, awaited the Holy Order.

Yu Sheng awaited the news from the boundary to reach the Saint Realm.

Hu Li also came over, the little fox squatting beside Yu Sheng’s feet, quietly waiting as well.

...

The holy light gradually returned to tranquility. Colander, under the dual effects of neuroinhibitors and Spiritual Power Potion, once again fell into a semi-conscious ’Spirit Communication’ state, a satisfied smile on his face, with flames quietly burning in his eye sockets.

The Holy slowly stepped back half a step, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Everything seemed to be unfolding according to plan. Now it simply required some patient waiting for a period until the Angel Catalyst completed testing and adjusted to its optimal state.

However, just then, a strong unease inexplicably arose in the spiritual intuition of many people.

A small shuttle tore through the sky, descending from the clouds in the direction of the mountains, landing hastily and visibly on the docking platform near the Gate of Eden.

A priest wearing a white short robe nearly tumbled out of the craft, his voice completely off-key: "The Border Star Gate has fallen—Boundary Land! The main force of Boundary Land’s fleet! They’ve invaded!"

Like a frigid gust sweeping across the land, the sudden, turbulent powerful spiritual energy fluctuations nearly pressed the priests near the Gate of Eden to their knees. The expression on the Holy’s face changed drastically for the first time, as he swung his head to look at the messenger priest, eyes blazing in the air.

"Say it again, was it an attack or a fall?"

"Fa-Fall!" The messenger priest prostrated himself on the ground, "The enemy suddenly emerged from within the Stargate, and the defense forces had no time to resist. The Star Castle was completely destroyed, and the Living Saint guarding the Stargate is missing... Now there’s no news from the border, and that fleet has likely started infiltrating deep into the Holy Country..."

The terrifying news struck like doomsday thunder among the high-tier priests. After a brief shock, most of them simultaneously thought of the same thing—

The Gate of Eden, Angel Catalyst!

The glow in the Holy’s eyes flickered rapidly a few times, and many clues instantly linked together. He seemed to come to some decision and abruptly turned his head: "Connect the catalyst!"

A Great Sage closest to the gate instinctively spoke: "Holy, the catalyst is still undergoing final tests and adjustments. If it has..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when another voice interrupted: "Boundary Land’s army is already at the doorstep!"

"But..."

"Connect the catalyst." The voice of the Holy came from the platform again, gentle yet carrying an undeniable authority.

"...Yes! As you will!"

The priests immediately obeyed the command. Moments later, a "Holy Object Cabinet" next to the Gate of Eden was opened, and technicians carefully retrieved the "Holy Object" which had been securely protected by the Force Field Box.

Two priests stepped forward to take over, slowly pushing a floating platform towards the Holy. On the platform lay a mysteriously glowing, black "stone" made of unknown material.

The stone was protected by a layer of light blue energy barrier.

"Turn off the Force Field Box."

"Yes!"

...

Yu Sheng suddenly looked up, his gaze landing on a nearby spot.

He walked towards it, raising his hand as he went: "Lu..."

A flash of a blade, and a long cut appeared on his palm.

Yu Sheng glanced back, seeing the Mechanical Girl in the nun’s dress gracefully lifting her skirt while standing on a nearby boulder.

"Thanks."

Yu Sheng smiled and shook his head, then looked at the empty space in front of him, slowly reaching out his hand...

The Force Field Box was turned off, exposing the black "Angel Catalyst" to the air, where the suppressed contaminating power began to rapidly spread out, while unstable Space Rifts swiftly grew along the catalyst’s surface.

The priests holding onto the floating platform were visibly trembling, yet dared not let go.

"Relax," the gentle voice of the Holy calmed the fear in their hearts, "This is the normal power of the Angel."

He then personally reached out, pressing his palm above the catalyst momentarily to suppress its restless energy, and together with the two priests, pushed the "Holy Object" towards the direction of the Gate of Eden.

Below the gate, the ground’s pale golden grooves began lighting up one after another, while a low and harmonious hum emanated from the grand circular structure.

Yu Sheng gently closed his eyes, his perception guiding him forward—the wind of the alien wilderness seemed to carry a low hum, with a distant future’s light shining on his face. He extended his hand forward, palm slightly clasping, as if touching something unseen to the naked eye.

The blood from his palm slowly flowed out, yet did not fall to the ground. The crimson outline appeared and disappeared in the air, sketching the image on the other side of the space-time curtain.

He slowly walked forward, heading towards the Gate of Eden standing tall after hundreds of years.

Two trembling priests from the Hidden Monastery slowly moved forward, walking towards the doors of the new world at the platform’s end.

The Holy placed his hand on the Angel Catalyst. For an instant, he seemed to feel a suspicious "heat" and turned his head slightly in bewilderment.

He saw the side profile of the priest’s bowed head, and further away, there were only mountains and clouds.

Yu Sheng turned his head, looking at the illusion established by the blood connection before him, he slowly curved his lips, softly saying: "Hello..."

Together they walked forward, each holding the same Angel Catalyst, moving from different timelines towards the same goal.

Upon reaching the platform’s end, the Holy heard a strange sound.

He looked down and saw Colander, who had been put to sleep by the potion, struggle unexpectedly. The Great Sage, embedded in the Spiritual Ability Observer, was gasping, the fire crackling in his burnt-out eye sockets. He seemed to see something, his lips twitching violently as he desperately tried to speak, but suddenly—

Yu Sheng extended his hand, in the crevice of the space-time curtain, he raised an index finger in front of Colander.

"Shh, don’t tell him."

Colander quieted down.

"What did you see?" the Holy asked.

However, Colander seemed to fall into slumber once more, his consciousness lost in another timeline, showing no response to the Holy’s inquiry.

The Holy’s brow furrowed slightly, his expression suddenly changed.

Something is wrong, the catalyst questions—

But at that moment, he watched helplessly as the irregular "Black Stone" suddenly detached from the floating platform, seemingly pulled by an invisible force, and plunged straight into the unstable curtain of light of the Gate of Eden.