Chapter Twenty-Three: The Opening of the Relic Gate

The above was, of course, all nonsense. However, after a series of solemn, nonsensical ramblings and witty banter, followed by a stretch of logic that held up, its credibility increased significantly. It was no surprise that even someone as experienced as the old mechanic, Mr. Karl, or as sharp-witted as Miss Inna, were struck by a sudden realization.

"...So that is why you were so certain that no more enemies would pursue us?" Inna asked.

"At least for the time being, there shouldn't be. Now, everyone should get some rest. We will set off again at daybreak. If we truly manage to open the ruins of the Enlighteners, then it is truly by the grace of the Spirits of the Universe. If not, we shall consider it a stroke of luck that we found a mountain pass." Yu Lian put away the "improvised explosives" he had finished rigging, clapped his hands, and ended the conversation.

His closing words served as a precautionary measure; when he eventually opened the ruins, perhaps no one would be too shocked.

Yes, that should be exactly how it goes.

Yu Lian woke up on his own after two hours of rest. Feeling that more than half of his strength had returned, he rested his mind for a moment, and the final traces of drowsiness vanished. This was one of the perks of being a psionic. At the very least, he held a significant advantage in terms of stamina and energy.

Seeing that everyone was still resting, Yu Lian picked up a lamp and, relying on his memories from the past, walked toward a rock wall. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary cliff face. Under the light, the cracks in the stone lacked any aesthetic appeal, let alone any discernible pattern. Yu Lian could only place his hand against the wall, tracing it bit by bit, trying to sense the rhythm that should exist behind the stone.

The last time—or rather, in his previous life—when he unlocked these ruins, it had been thirty years later. In historical terms, that was an entire era, but in the vastness of nature, it was merely a fleeting moment. Therefore, the state of the ruins should not have changed much. Probably...

"Is this how one explores the ruins of the Enlighteners?" Inna’s voice sounded from behind him.

"I’m not an archaeologist, and I don't have any professional equipment. So, I have to rely on my intuition," Yu Lian said without turning his head. "At least, that’s how Dr. Jones unlocked it."

"Who?" Inna asked, bewildered.

"Dr. Maluda Jones! From the Alliance’s show, 'Treasure Hunters Alliance'! In the finale of the eighth season, the sixth-generation Professor Jones used this exact method to unlock the treasury of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Dawn Empire and retrieved the Dagger of the Time Dragon."

"It’s already in its eighth season? And Professor Jones is on his sixth generation?" Inna was horrified, and her shock quickly turned into indignation: "You just spoiled it for me!"

That wasn't the point, surely...

"How far have you even watched?" Although it wasn't the point, Yu Lian couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, Professor El Jones, season two..."

"Isn't that still during the Alliance's Home Planet era?" Yu Lian was also aghast. He had known the extrasolar colonies were remote, but he hadn't expected them to be this isolated.

"I—I didn't want it to be this way! But we are in the boonies here! Tulon is already rural enough, let alone a military outpost. We don't even have a connection to the Nebula Network here!"

Yu Lian immediately looked sympathetic, but then he felt like slapping himself twice.

Wait, was this the influence of the original owner of this body? The twenty-one-year-old military cadet Yu Lian might be a fan of "Treasure Hunters Alliance," but how could he, the great Yu Lian who had traversed the sea of stars for thirty years, be one? Wouldn't he be the laughingstock of the underworld if that got out?

"Uh, in any case, this is just a desperate attempt. It’s possible it’s all just my imagination."

"No, if it’s Professor Jones, then there must be a reason!"

Yu Lian’s mouth twitched. He turned to look at the Sergeant, who had suddenly become incredibly earnest for some reason. After hesitating for a long time, he said slowly, "That... that’s a television show."

"Aren't they all based on true stories?" Miss Inna answered, resolute and matter-of-fact.

"...Yes, at least many of the details are real." Yu Lian decided not to dwell on the issue and pressed his entire body against the stone wall. The last time he obtained the map and opened these ruins, he had been a Fourth-Ring master, and his sensory abilities were naturally far superior to what they were now. To feel the subtle rhythm—one so faint that even satellites and probe drones couldn't detect it—he had to focus his entire spirit.

Inna knew that Yu Lian had reached a critical moment. She stopped speaking but did not leave, silently taking up a guard position.

Yu Lian closed his eyes, feeling the pearlescent nebulae within his soul—invisible to the naked eye—beginning to boil. Brilliant light converged into a long river, pouring from his body into the stone wall, finding a delicate resonance. Within that unremarkable, plain stone wall, Yu Lian felt as if he had discovered another universe.

The nebula in his soul sea grew brighter. To put it more intuitively, the ring-shaped nebula seemed to expand once again, pushing forward stubbornly toward the still-silent outer ring, much like the effect of his own science ships finally securing a vast territory after decades of exploring in a game he played before his transmigration.

Yu Lian actually quite liked this direct sensory experience; it was satisfying to clearly perceive the growth of his own strength.

He finally felt the exact same rhythm he had felt all those years ago, and he finally let out a sigh of relief. Even if there was a butterfly effect, it seemed the wings weren't powerful enough to change everything.

Yu Lian stretched out his hand, following the vibrations, and stopped at a certain spot. He wiped away the dust and infused his psionic energy into it. The stars of the winter night spilled down from the narrow opening at the zenith, seeming to merge with the lamp in his hand, transforming into silver rays that reflected onto the mottled stone wall. Silver traces slowly emerged, pulsing like blood vessels, as if bestowing life upon the stone.

At first, the surging light patterns were as fine and imperceptible as a spiderweb, but they soon began to expand, becoming clearer. Then, elegant silver arcs of light formed magnificent wings and a floating stellar emblem. Sophisticated runes formed a banner across the emblem, and the vast, solemn majesty beneath the firmament surged toward them.

Inna gazed at this magnificent scene, finding herself almost breathless.

"Is—is this truly the ruin of the Enlighteners?!"

"It should be. There are many types of Enlighteners, but the emblems at the hidden entrances of their ruins all feature brilliant stellar patterns, resembling the morning star. That is the origin of their honorific," Yu Lian said.

"It’s too beautiful. I truly can't imagine that this is..."

It was indeed a sight of beauty that ordinary people could hardly conceive. On the gray, gloomy cliff face, the simple silver light patterns and the uncomplicated emblem were as magnificent as a perfect universe. Yu Lian knew that those simple-lined emblems were constructed with proportions that perfectly matched the aesthetics of carbon-based intelligent life. Even if expanded ten thousand, a hundred million, or a trillion times, the proportions remained perfect, without a single flaw. The silver halos were brilliant but not scorching, elegant but not vulgar, gorgeous but not frivolous; they flowed with warmth, like the blood of the soul and the river of life.

No civilization in the known world could replicate this sight, not even the "Treasure Hunters Alliance," the show that Yu Lian and Inna both loved. In fact, that production crew, which certainly lacked no funding, had tried their best to recreate the grand spectacle of the Enlighteners' legacy being activated, and for that, they had earned the fanatical adoration of their viewers. Yet, having arrived at the scene, one realized how the clumsy imitations of successors could never capture even a ten-thousandth of the greatness of these ancient ancestors.

So, this was one of the reasons why mysticism, class society, and bloodline theory remained so prevalent! Yu Lian remarked with a revolutionary sense of irony.

"How was such a beautiful scene achieved?" Inna asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, when you have the time, you could study hard, get into a good university, major in archaeology or high-energy materials science, and get a job at an Enlightener Civilization Research Institute after graduation."

"Would I understand it then?"

"No, you would just realize that more than half of those state-funded scholars are nothing but bags of wind."

Inna took a second to ponder this, then let out a laugh: "Alright, although I still think the 'elites' in the bureaucratic group are just a bunch of golden marmots eating while wrapped in feather blankets; since I have an interesting example like you, I'll assume for now that Lunarians are the exception."

"That goes without saying. Once we get to Tulon, if you meet Senior Sister... uh, Officer Bonaparte, you will be firmly convinced."

There were actually quite a few "bags of wind" among the Lunarians, but one shouldn't speak ill of their own kind. Fortunately, the only two Lunarians on this small colony planet weren't exactly embarrassing.

The two shared a smile. Inna felt a subtle stir—perhaps a heartbeat—at having found a comrade worth trusting, even relying upon; while Yu Lian was thinking that this girl actually had a rather assertive air when she smiled. If she were to meet Senior Sister Eleanor, who would be the one to take the initiative?

Just then, the emblem on the gate flashed with a brilliance like the midday sun, but it quickly faded, so fast that one might have thought the white light was a hallucination. Then, on the rock wall where no seams had been visible, the outline of a massive doorway suddenly emerged, large enough to accommodate a medium tank.

Following that, the two great doors began to part along the seam of the light-traces with a dull, humming sound, revealing a spacious corridor leading into the unknown.

The gate to the Enlightener ruins was open, exactly as it had been when Yu Lian had first encountered it "years ago." He took a satisfied breath of the air rushing out from the cave, feeling the familiar scent of metal and stone. Just as he was about to say something to Inna, he heard an exaggerated exclamation from behind him: "Heavens! A Prophet, an apostle of the Spirits of the Universe!"

Because of the commotion, everyone had naturally woken up, and they were even more stunned by this miracle, their sleepiness entirely gone. They had all risen, and the first thing they saw was Yu Lian standing in the center of the Gate of Light, surrounded by the silver veil that looked like the light of the firmament.

"Thud!" Sergeant Baka, the most formidable fighter in the group aside from the psionics, knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly while shouting in awe.

Well, even though the Bear-men of Bean were stronger than humans, they were also far more superstitious.