Although there were some unexpected twists, Yu Sheng still managed to contact the Black Star exploration expert and seasoned victim—after communicating with Qianfeng Ling Mountain and watching the spectacle for five minutes, he directly brought the old handsome guy over from the Taixu Spirit Hub.

Then he immediately contacted the local World Bridge research expert and seasoned victim—when he arrived, Luo was petting a cat (Momo), and as soon as he heard that the Hidden Monastery's World Bridge had exploded and a Black Star emerged after the explosion, this golden-haired elf's passion for research blazed ferociously, and he nearly jumped out of his chair, grabbing his cat to follow Yu Sheng to the Mass Effect.

Now, the two of them (plus a laboratory assistant) are standing on the bridge of the Mass Effect, staring in disbelief through the massive observation window at the Black Star floating in space.

After a few minutes, Master Yuan Hao was the first to break the silence.

"What's the principle here..."

"I knew you'd say that," Erin grumbled nearby. "At least use a different word."

"Never mind the principle for now," Luo abruptly turned his head, his star-like eyes fixed on Yu Sheng, "Boss, how did you manage this?! Wasn't this supposed to be a planet?!"

Yu Sheng chuckled and guided the golden-haired elf to the main control console on the bridge, pointing at a holographic display: "Watch the VCR."

On screen was the complete collapse of the Holy Realm Planet, recorded from the first-person perspective of the Mass Effect — including some thrilling footage from a planetary ground team capturing the evacuation process and the transport ship navigating through the disintegrating planetary remains.

Luo's expression throughout was:

O~O?

Momo dove under the table the instant the planet collapsed.

Only the old handsome guy seemed the most composed—though Yu Sheng suspected it was not due to his experience and strong mentality, but because he had not recovered from a two-day pursuit by a beloved confidante.

However, Master Yuan Hao was evidently pondering the real issue.

"Miss Hu Li thinks that the so-called Black Star is not a real star, but a peculiar phenomenon that appears under certain conditions, is that right?" he turned to Hu Li with curiosity.

Hu Li nodded thoughtfully: "That's how I see it. Moreover, the current observational results indicate that the parameters don't match those of a physical star; there are issues with gravity and spectral data."

"When I fell into the Black Star, the Immortal Boat malfunctioned, and the recorded data was unreliable," Master Yuan Hao stroked his chin, deep in thought, "But Miss Hu Li's words remind me—when I crossed that black barrier, the scenes I encountered were inexplicable; yet if they were all illusions and space-time overlaps caused by bizarre phenomena, it would make sense... except that in the final place, I encountered that self-proclaimed 'Envoy' named Kongdaman... which remains unexplained."

"What's the current state of this thing?" Luo entered the conversation, turning to Baili Qing standing nearby—originally intending to directly call her expressionless, but reconsidered upon seeing the fully armed Boundary Land soldiers at the entrance.

"Currently, the Black Star remains stable, its energy growth has stopped, and its scale no longer changes," Baili Qing nodded, "Additionally, our antenna system occasionally captures some signals from the Black Star, but they seem entirely meaningless, indecipherable in content, with the signal strength, waveform, and timing being completely random."

Luo furrowed his brow tightly, contemplating for a moment before saying, "I need data on that 'Gate of Eden,' as well as the energy readings it emitted before the Black Star appeared. Do you have any?"

"Our antenna system recorded quite a bit of usable data," Red said, "But regarding the close-range parameters and internal operations of the Gate of Eden, it's impossible. That thing already exploded, and during the intense battle earlier, we had no chance to collect samples."

Luo then turned his gaze to Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, gestured to himself, then to Erinluna and Hu Li: "Do you want to check our education?"

"Didn't you gather anything back?" Luo doubted slightly.

"...Well, I did collect some," Yu Sheng scratched his head, "But nothing related to the Gate of Eden... No, that's not my fault, you saw it yourself, given the situation at the time, I was in the Earth Core, a Dark Angel on the verge of taking me down with them, the whole planet crumbling above me, the uncontrollable Gate of Eden consuming everything, I had no recording equipment at hand, where could I gather data—how about I bring you along next time in such a situation?"

Luo immediately recalled the VCR he had just watched; his ears instantly pinned back (Yu Sheng once again witnessed the elf's airplane ears): "Never mind, I'm not as resilient as you."

"Yu Sheng isn't resilient," Erin muttered nearby, "He's just very adaptable."

"Have you sent in probes?" Luo pretended not to hear the muttering and asked instead.

"Two unmanned probes disappeared at the observable edge of the Black Star," Red nodded slowly, "The moment they crossed the boundary, communication was cut off, without transmitting any usable information; considering it emerged from the 'transformation' of the Gate of Eden, to prevent any mishaps, we didn't dispatch a second batch of probes."

"I think a long-term observation station is needed here—if this Black Star can remain stable," Luo quickly suggested, "We've never observed this phenomenon this steadily before; it's a rare opportunity. Additionally, we require more effective detection methods—the unmanned probes you use at Boundary Land are too outdated; I recognize those old models. I'll get a batch of good ones for you at cost..."

Baili Qing watched the golden-haired elf silently.

Luo couldn't help but bristle on the spot: "Come on, let's be reasonable, right? At least cover the cost price! I just reopened those factories, raw materials also cost money—and my current boss doesn't even pay wages, I still have to give him dividends on those trade routes..."

Baili Qing: "..."

Yu Sheng: "..."

"As per your arrangements," Red finally spoke up, "Boundary Land can station a Mobile Star Fort here for your observation post. It might not be as large as your excessively grand Black Stone Space Station, but it is structurally solid, with a strong shield, and can cope with typical cosmic weather disasters. However, there's a prerequisite: all observation data and research results must be shared with us, and the Mobile Star Fort is only provided to you rent-free; we will reclaim it after the project concludes."

Luo immediately turned to look at Yu Sheng. Seeing Yu Sheng nod, she followed suit and nodded as well.

Baili Qing also quickly glanced at Yu Sheng.

"Can we not get all flustered over this?" she whispered.

Yu Sheng: "..."

He wanted to sternly point out that the other party was stereotyping, countering with something like "What do you take Mr. Yu for," but he couldn't open his mouth because what the other party said was too accurate.

After all, he was an upright person.

Luo let out a barely noticeable sigh.

"I'll also return to Qianfeng Ling Mountain and bring some disciples here," Master Yuan Hao quickly added, "and some Magic Treasures I designed for exploration after encountering Black Star that year."

Saying this, he turned his head, looking quietly at the dark "celestial body" in space.

"…Last time you got away, but this time I have to find out what you are."

Yu Sheng's focus obviously shifted after hearing Master Yuan Hao's words: "You have disciples?!"

Yu Sheng was genuinely a bit surprised. After all, given the personal exploits and behavior patterns of this old suave guy, it didn't seem like he would regularly attend the sect. He went partying downhill on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, encountered old flames on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and got tied up in a cave as a "captive Taoist partner" on Sunday—his disciples had self-study seven days a week?

Then he saw the old suave guy pull out a fan and waved it in front of himself with a profound look: "I can poach some people from Junior Brother Yuanling."

Yu Sheng: "..."

In any case, this matter was settled.

The pitch-black "cosmic void" still quietly floated where the Gate of Eden had been. Despite its apparent mass being zero, it, like the Holy Realm before, was orbiting the local Constant Star. It seemed it would persist for a long time, turning Luo and Master Yuan Hao's research into a long-term project.

For the others on this "battlefield," many tasks were just beginning.

Despite the uproar of this battle, Yu Sheng and the others only managed to take out the home planet of the Hidden Monastery—cutting off the head with one blow— but they still had to find a way to deal with the corpse of this monster, which was still convulsing and oozing foul blood.

In this Church Country surrounded by gravitational faults, there were still 11 habitable planets, along with an uncertain number of resource stars and industrial stars.

Because midway through the battle, the United Fleet, along with the revolting Holy Maiden Knight Order, successfully cut off all communications from the Holy Realm Planet, other planets in this Star Region likely had no knowledge of their home planet's fall. It's even possible that reinforcements continue to arrive from various locations, intending to save their "church comrades."

However, should any of these reinforcement fleets arrive, they would certainly encounter a big surprise—

Where's my hometown? Where is my big hometown? What is this black sphere?.JPG

"Our engineers are working fast to extract the star map data recorded in that Stargate," Baili Qing said to Yu Sheng in the corridor after leaving the ship bridge, "Fortunately, our battle at the Stargate went relatively smoothly, and the cultists didn't have time to destroy the star map server. Soon, we'll have clarity on the locations of other Hidden Monastery colonized stars in this Star Region. The strongest troop of the enemy has already disintegrated on their home star; the defense forces on other colonized stars pose little threat."

Yu Sheng nodded lightly, then glanced at Luna and the Artificial Angel walking silently beside him.

"Focus on finding a planet called Pasture Star," he said, "then… liberate it as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, I understand."