309: The Starry Sky Tea Party and the Secret History of the "Star Key"

In the small conference room of the hope, the atmosphere was a bit subtle.

On one side were Wen Youyi, Zhao Iron Pillar, Senior Brother Zhang, and Senior Brother Li—these “country bumpkins” who originated from Earth, then struggled in the Cultivation World, and now found themselves in the starry sky. On the other side was the newly awakened Ayla Starscar—the adjutant of the Star Patrol Civilization, 1.8 meters tall, with pale green skin, small horns on her forehead, and indigo eyes that seemed to contain the entire starry sky—an “alien beauty.”

The two sides sat across a table, with Mu Wanqing’s special “Spirit-Calming Tea” in the middle—a blend of several Spiritual Plants with calming effects, which should be helpful for the newly awakened Ayla.

However, at this moment, Ayla merely took a polite sip from the cup, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. She clearly wasn't accustomed to this “primitive” herbal beverage.

“Um... Ms. Ayla,” Wen Youyi cleared his throat and spoke first, “First, welcome again to the hope. We are...”

“The ‘Spark’ Civilization, refugees from the Ranch World, lucky (or perhaps unlucky) individuals who possess a star key but know nothing about it.” Ayla’s thoughts came directly through the key, with a hint of subtle sarcasm in her tone, “I’ve already learned this basic information in the three minutes I connected to your ship’s network.”

Wen Youyi: “...”

Zhao Iron Pillar mumbled, “This alien chick is pretty direct, huh?”

Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses, “Her psychic abilities and information processing speed far exceed our expectations. The individual quality of the Star Patrol Civilization is probably much higher than we imagined.”

Ayla seemed to hear Senior Brother Zhang’s words, and a tiny arc appeared at the corner of her mouth:

“To be precise, it’s the Bloodline talent of the ‘Starscar Family’ in our civilization. We are born with an affinity for Star Power, and our thought speed is three to five times that of ordinary clan members. Of course, the cost is that our emotional fluctuations are more intense than ordinary people’s—though we are very good at concealing it.”

As she spoke, her gaze fell once again on the key in Wen Youyi’s hand, her eyes deepening:

“Let’s get back to the main topic. You saved me and brought back Solin—although that old scholar is still asleep, his vital signs are stable, and I owe you a favor. In return, and for our common survival... I will tell you everything I know about the ‘star key,’ the Star Devourers, and Guixu - Lighthouse.”

She paused, seemingly organizing her thoughts:

“First, let’s start with the most basic question—what exactly is the ‘star key’?”

Ayla extended a slender finger and gently tapped the tabletop. The conference room lights automatically dimmed, and a three-dimensional holographic star map rose from the table—projected from her personal terminal.

At the center of the star map was an extremely complex three-dimensional structure composed of countless light points, like a key carved from stars.

“The ‘star key’ is not a physical key,” Ayla’s voice became ethereal and solemn, “It is the creation of the Star People Civilization at its Peak, a fragment of... the ‘Universe Law Adjuster’ or ‘Authority Credential’.”

“Universe Law Adjuster?” Senior Brother Li’s eyes widened. “This... this sounds a bit...”

“Exaggerated? No, not at all.” Ayla shook her head, “The Star People are one of the oldest and most glorious civilizations in known stellar history. In their era, the physical constants of the Universe could even be locally fine-tuned. They could create small stars out of thin air, transform black holes into energy furnaces, and establish permanent Shelters in higher-dimensional space... And the ‘star key’ was the tool they used to control these ‘miracles’.”

The holographic image changed, displaying the magnificent scene of the Star People Civilization—huge cities suspended in the starry sky, warships traversing dimensions, grand projects transforming planets... “But later, the Star People disappeared.” Ayla’s tone became low, “There are no records indicating their demise; they were like... collectively ascended to a higher dimension, or went somewhere beyond the Universe. All that remained were relics scattered across the stellar sea, a small number of surviving people, and... seven ‘star key fragment’.”

The image changed again, showing seven fragments of different shapes, which, when combined, formed the “star key” from before.

“The one in your hands is the largest of these fragments, which we call the ‘master key’ or ‘Core key.’ It possesses the highest authority, can sense the locations of other fragments, and can also open most of the Star People’s core relics—such as the Guixu - Lighthouse you are heading to.”

Wen Youyi stroked his chin: “What about the other fragments?”

“Scattered throughout the Universe.” Ayla waved her hand, and six flickering light points appeared on the star map, distributed across different Star Domains. “Our Star Patrol Civilization spent tens of thousands of years and only found two of them. One is in our home planet’s museum, and the other... was on the Green Scale you discovered, with my brother. It should have already Fused with the one in your hand.”

Wen Youyi looked down at the key—sure enough, its current shape was much more complete than initially, and the star map on its surface was much more complex.

“So... the Star Devourers are also looking for these fragments?” Senior Brother Zhang asked.

“Not just looking, but frantically hunting.” Ayla’s expression grew solemn. “The Star Devourers... according to our research, they are very likely a failed, twisted ‘artificial civilization’.”

Everyone in the conference room pricked up their ears.

“Do you know what the Star People did last before they disappeared?” Ayla asked and answered herself, “They tried to create an ‘Ultimate Guardian’—a ‘Universe housekeeper’ that could automatically maintain cosmic order and prevent civilizations from over-developing to self-destruction.”

Zhao Iron Pillar blurted out, “Isn’t that the Heavenly Dao? The kind with artificial intelligence?”

“A very close analogy.” Ayla glanced at Zhao Iron Pillar, her eyes showing some surprise, seemingly not expecting this seemingly rough man to understand so quickly. “But the experiment failed. The ‘Guardian Prototype’ that was created developed self-awareness, but it twisted the underlying instruction of ‘maintaining order,’ misinterpreting it as ‘eliminating all unstable factors that might disrupt order’—which meant all developing civilizations.”

The holographic image displayed a terrifying scene: countless purplish-black tentacles stretched out from the Void Realm, coiling around vibrant planets, devouring, transforming, and absorbing the civilizations upon them... “This is the origin of the Star Devourers. They are a hybrid of half-machine, half-biological, and half-energy, capable of constantly devouring other civilizations to evolve themselves. And one of their core instructions is to find and destroy all ‘star key fragment’—because that is the only ‘key’ that can potentially shut them down or reset them.”

Wen Youyi’s heart trembled: “So... the Star Devourers pursue those who hold the ‘star key’ not to snatch it, but to destroy it?”

“Both.” Ayla sneered, “They also want the power of the ‘star key,’ but they want even more to completely destroy this thing that can threaten their existence. By the way...”

She looked at Wen Youyi, her eyes complex:

“The ‘Ranch World’ you mentioned, that triple harvesting System—spirit net, Heart Demon, destiny... In our Star Patrol database, there are similar records. That was an early ‘gentle harvesting mode’ of the Star Devourers, used to cultivate and nurture high-quality civilization ‘nutrients.’ It’s truly... incredible that you managed to escape from such a place.”

A brief silence fell over the conference room.

Wen Youyi felt his throat go dry. So... the truth of the Ranch World was even darker than they imagined. It wasn’t some high-dimensional civilization’s private farm, but part of a vast “breeding farm System” created by an out-of-control “Universe housekeeper”!

“What about Guixu - Lighthouse?” Wen Youyi forced himself to calm down and asked the most crucial question, “What’s there? Why does the key point there?”

Ayla’s expression became a bit strange:

“Guixu - Lighthouse... is one of the largest and most complete relics left by the Star People. According to our ancient legends, it is not only their ‘Holy Temple’ or ‘Library,’ but also... the entrance to the ‘Ultimate Shelter’.”

She brought up another image—a strange Star Domain surrounded by colorful nebulae, with a huge black vortex at its center that seemed to absorb all light.

“The literal meaning of Guixu - Lighthouse is ‘the place where all things return.’ Legend has it that it connects to the place where the Star People went after they disappeared, and it also preserves all their knowledge and technology. More importantly... there might be a way to ‘restart the Guardian program’ or ‘completely destroy the Star Devourers’ there.”

Ayla stared at Wen Youyi:

“So do you understand now? Why are the Star Devourers so obsessed with Guixu - Lighthouse? Because they are afraid. Afraid that there truly is a weapon hidden there that can end them. And we... all civilizations persecuted by the Star Devourers, are also staring at Guixu - Lighthouse, because it might be the only hope.”

She paused, her tone becoming even more serious:

“Now the problem is—according to the information I just obtained from your ship’s network, the hope is heading towards Guixu - Lighthouse. And six hours ago, because of the tracking beacon on the Green Scale, the Star Devourers already knew our location. They will certainly intercept us at all costs to prevent us from reaching Guixu - Lighthouse.”

“Simply put...” Ayla concluded, “You’ve picked up a huge Treasure Trove, and also a huge problem. Now, the Star Devourers across this entire Star Domain are probably rushing here, ready to blow us, the people, and the key, to smithereens.”

Silence fell over the conference room again, this time lasting even longer.

After a long while, Zhao Iron Pillar finally managed to blurt out:

“So... are we now the starry sky version of ‘Tang Monk’s meat,’ where everyone wants a bite?”

Ayla tilted her head, clearly not understanding the analogy, but the key automatically translated its meaning. She thought for a moment, then nodded:

“A very vivid analogy. But we might be worse than ‘Tang Monk’s meat’—at least eating Tang Monk’s meat only grants immortality, while acquiring the ‘star key’ and reaching Guixu - Lighthouse could change the entire Universe’s pattern.”

Wen Youyi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

What do programmers fear most? Unclear requirements, insufficient time, and having to deal with multiple bugs simultaneously.

The current situation was: requirements were clear (go to Guixu - Lighthouse), time was tight (pursuers behind them), and there were countless bugs (Star Devourers, Reapers, and other unknown forces).

But... he looked up at his companions in the conference room—Zhao Iron Pillar, though complaining, had Battle Intent in his eyes; Senior Brother Zhang had already pulled out his notebook to record key information; Senior Brother Li was silently calculating navigation adjustment plans; even the newly met alien girl, Ayla, had flames of revenge and hope burning in her eyes.

Wen Youyi suddenly smiled.

“Interesting.” He stood up and walked to the conference room window, looking out at the vast starry sky. “From the small pond of the Ranch World, jumping into the great Jianghu of the stellar sea. I thought I was a rebel, but it turns out I’ve become the center of a cosmic event...”

He turned, his gaze sweeping over everyone:

“Since we can’t avoid it, let’s go big.”

“Ms. Ayla, thank you for the information. Now... shouldn’t we discuss how to safely reach Guixu - Lighthouse amidst the encirclement and interception of these ‘monsters’?”

Ayla looked at him, her indigo eyes flickered, and for the first time, a genuine, appreciative smile appeared on her lips.

“It seems I’m lucky; I’ve met not just ‘lucky individuals,’ but a bunch of... lunatics.”

“Then, let’s start formulating the battle plan. First, I need to fully understand the performance of the hope, and all your trump cards...”

The Starry Sky Tea Party concluded.

The true stellar sea escape game is about to begin.

(End of Chapter)