Chapter One: The Uninhabited Planet

When Li Xingyu emerged from his dizzy spell, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. There was nothing here except a rugged, uneven expanse of rocky ground, and he stood atop a relatively flat slab of stone. Etched into its surface was a runic formation, much like the one that had teleported him from Nastar—though he had barely a moment to take in his surroundings before a wave of vertigo swept through him, forcing him to sit back down on the stone.

He had never truly understood the exact workings of teleportation; all he could recall was the crushing pressure and the violent sensation of being torn apart, as if his body would be splintered and shredded. He knew this was to be expected during long-distance teleportation—the greater the distance, the more intense the agony. Yet he did not panic. Instead, he followed the methods recorded in his jade slip, circulating his vital energy throughout his body to resist the onslaught and desperately maintaining his defensive technique. All of this, however, consumed vast amounts of his power, forcing him to abandon his original plan to use his energy to shield Huo Yu. He could only imagine that, by now, the little creature had been crushed and torn apart by the pressure.

After sinking down onto the ground, even meditation was beyond him; all he could do was sit quietly, waiting for his body and reserves of vital energy to recover. The teleportation had drained him utterly, and had it lasted much longer, he doubted he could have survived.

Suddenly, his chest stirred, and a furry little head poked out, shaking vigorously before nuzzling against Li Xingyu's chest. It then gazed curiously through the transparent part of his spacesuit, observing its surroundings. After a while, it began pawing at the suit, bumping its head against it and emitting plaintive whimpers, as if longing to be let out.

Li Xingyu, startled at first, could only smile helplessly and say, "Huo Yu, I can't move right now, and I have no idea what's outside. Please be patient—once I've recovered and scouted the area, if it's safe, I'll let you out."

Huo Yu clearly understood him; it uttered a few reluctant sounds, then obediently burrowed back into his shirt, seemingly content with the scent of its companion. With even meditation out of reach, Li Xingyu’s attention naturally drifted to Huo Yu. Ever since he had discovered the little creature, it had been shrouded in mystery and brilliance. Over all these years, he had kept and cared for it, yet curiously, it had never grown or changed in the slightest. This had long puzzled him. From his reading, he knew that spirit beasts—especially advanced ones—grew extremely slowly, unless spurred by some extraordinary event. Judging by Huo Yu's appearance and behavior over these years, it was likely a spirit beast as well.

This most recent teleportation only reinforced his theory. Even he, with his cultivation and deep reserves, had nearly succumbed to the ordeal, but Huo Yu seemed unfazed, perhaps merely a little dizzy. He had examined Huo Yu’s body countless times, finding no trace of special energy within—suggesting it had little or no cultivation. Yet it had withstood the crushing force of teleportation unscathed, which could only mean its physical body was extraordinarily resilient—a defining trait of spirit beasts. Li Xingyu was now more determined than ever to keep and nurture Huo Yu, eager to see what surprises this faithful companion, the only living thing he had brought from Nastar, might bring him in the future.

Once he was able to meditate again, Li Xingyu still dared not remove his spacesuit, so he began his recovery clad within it. During his meditation, he noticed the spiritual energy here was extremely thin, no denser than what he had felt when cultivating in deep space near the solar system. This confirmed that he was no longer on Nastar, and that this place held no native spiritual energy—only the traces that drifted through the cosmos.

He had no idea how much time passed before he felt his reserves restored to seventy or eighty percent. He stopped meditating and stood up, a soft sigh escaping as his meridians and dantian filled once more with vital energy.

Enjoying the sensation of recovery, Li Xingyu extended his spiritual sense to probe his surroundings. His range now spanned nearly three hundred meters, but within that area, he detected neither atmosphere nor any trace of life. The results were the same when he probed the ground and underground—this was clearly a lifeless planet.

After some thought, he used his vital energy to form a protective layer over his skin and removed his spacesuit. Though the suit wasn't cumbersome, it still restricted his movements. The moment he slipped out of it, Huo Yu leapt from his chest and landed on the ground nearby. The sudden movement startled Li Xingyu—no matter how resilient Huo Yu’s body, how could it survive without air? But his concerns proved unfounded. Huo Yu frolicked happily, darting about as if it had come home.

Seeing the little creature unharmed, Li Xingyu found he could no longer be surprised. He had long since realized Huo Yu was no ordinary being, and surely it could sense whether an environment was dangerous. After all, Huo Yu had given him so many surprises that nothing about it could truly disturb him now.

Turning his attention to the runic formation at his feet, Li Xingyu observed it carefully. It was a pure receiving array, designed only to accept teleportation from the corresponding array on Nastar. This discovery surprised him.

If, as he suspected, the array on Nastar was meant to send spirit beasts back to the cultivation realm, then why deposit them on a lifeless planet? This must be a transit world, but why was the formation here only a receiver? If the spirit beast could simply leave from here, the array on Nastar would have been unnecessary; it could have departed directly for the cultivation realm from there. In truth, the so-called "cultivation realm" was not a separate world, merely a region suitable for frequent activity by cultivators. Theoretically, anyone capable of space travel could simply fly there without the need for arrays or other devices.

But since a teleportation array had been set up on Nastar, it implied either the spirit beast could not travel through space on its own, or its pace was too slow, or the distance too far—making the journey impossible. If that were so, there must be another teleportation array here that would allow departure from this world—perhaps located some distance away. But if so, why make things so complicated? Why not simply connect the two locations directly? Li Xingyu could not fathom the reasoning.

Though he could not unravel the logic, Li Xingyu trusted his conclusions. Whatever the rationale behind the spirit beast's master's arrangements, his own priority was to find the rumored exit array as soon as possible. Staying here served no purpose and offered no benefit. More importantly, while he could survive in space for a limited time thanks to his cultivation, his resources were finite—oxygen, food, and water, though replenished before leaving Nastar, would eventually run out.

In truth, it was not just escape that drove him to search for the array, but the very need to survive. He scooped up Huo Yu, now nestled at his feet, chose a direction, and set off—following the most reliable method for exploring unknown terrain without retracing his steps or getting lost.

This was the third update of the day; another chapter would follow later. Support is appreciated! The novel will officially launch tomorrow. I hope all readers will continue to support Crystal.

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