Chapter 2: Becoming an Astronaut!

"Hey Yezi, what are you up to lately? Is your class having a reunion?"

"Not coming, not coming. I’m not even from the same school as you guys, and I’m planning to go visit Mount Tai."

"…Alright then, we’ll meet again if there’s a chance."

Qin Sheng hung up the phone, his heart filled with anticipation.

The Nine Dragons pulling the coffin are coming!

He immediately packed his things, rushed to Mount Tai, and checked into a hotel.

As for his parents?

Over the years, Qin Sheng had often used his magic power to quietly cleanse their bodies, taught them health-cultivation techniques, and had also given them some instructions.

Holding out until Qin Sheng returned would be no problem.

*Goodbye, Mom, I’m setting sail tonight.*

He had even told Ye Fan’s parents to help look after things.

After that football match, Qin Sheng and Ye Fan had become good friends; he would help where he could.

Although he had a "golden finger," investing in Ye Fan was a sure bet.

In fact, if he didn't have his cheat and didn't want to go on an adventure in the Big Dipper, staying on Earth to take care of Ye Fan’s parents would be a viable path.

In the future, he wouldn't lose his place in the longevity of the Immortal Domain.

But for Qin Sheng, while he had no intention of vying for supremacy, he knew the suffering of the common people.

The next day, Qin Sheng received a call from Ye Fan, saying they were also planning to go to Mount Tai and that they could meet up if there was time.

Qin Sheng naturally agreed.

"If it weren't for Li Xiaoman, Ye Fan probably wouldn't have gone to Mount Tai."

Ye Fan and his classmates hadn't originally planned a trip to Mount Tai; it was only because Li Xiaoman had suddenly returned from abroad and the reunion was extended that this whole thing came up.

Thinking of this, Qin Sheng chuckled inwardly. This is the "Red-Haired Universe's" ex-girlfriend for you—always playing a key role.

Three days later, Qin Sheng arrived at the Mount Tai parking lot in his BMW. As it happened, there was a Mercedes right behind him.

He got out and looked—it was indeed Ye Fan.

Ye Fan drives a Mercedes, I drive a BMW; we all have a bright future.

"Yezi."

"Immortal Qin."

The two greeted each other with smiles. Qin Sheng gave Ye Fan a punch, making him stagger.

This surprised Ye Fan. Such strength?

"What, surprised?" Qin Sheng laughed.

"I’ve been training for so many years, there ought to be some results."

"Are you really going to become an immortal?" Ye Fan joked.

As a friend, he knew that Qin Sheng had been searching for immortals and asking about the Dao all these years, which is why he gave him the nickname "Immortal."

Qin Sheng smiled and pinched his thumb and forefinger together

"Just a little bit off."

Qin Sheng glanced at Ye Fan’s Mercedes and asked with a strange look in his eyes

"Yezi, how much is parking per hour here?"

"Don't know, shouldn't be expensive," Ye Fan said nonchalantly. "Anyway, we’ll be down the mountain soon."

"That’s true." Qin Sheng’s smile grew even wider.

"Your classmates are waiting for you, go on. I’ll walk around by myself; we’ll meet at the summit."

Among Ye Fan’s classmates, there were ex-girlfriends and people who liked to compare themselves to others. Qin Sheng found all that annoying and didn't intend to climb with them.

"Alright, see you later."

Ye Fan’s group began their climb. Qin Sheng, with his sharp ears and eyes, could still hear their conversation.

"Ye Fan, is that the famous writer Qin Sheng? Are you close with him?"

"It's alright, we meet and chat often over the years."

"Can you invite him over to climb with us? I love his *Dragon Race*!"

"Not bad, Ye Fan, I didn't expect you to have such connections."

"..."

Ye Fan, who had been somewhat looked down upon during dinner earlier, suddenly found many of his classmates looking at him with newfound respect and enthusiasm after he displayed his Mercedes and his connection to Qin Sheng.

Stepping on the low and fawning over the high is human nature.

On Earth, they fawn over those with high status; in the Big Dipper, they fawn over the strong.

...

No mountain is greater than it, no history is older than it. Majestic and grand, the head of the Five Sacred Mountains, the number one mountain under heaven.

This is Mount Tai, which occupies a very important position in Chinese culture.

In ancient times, seventy-two emperors held the *Fengshan* sacrifices here, including the familiar Fuxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, and so on.

Later, the First Emperor, Emperor Wu of Han, and others did the same.

As for the Song Dynasty... well, better not to mention it.

Qin Sheng walked on Mount Tai, moving as fast as flying. He had been to Mount Tai many times before, but he still marveled at its majesty.

Looking out over the mountains and rivers, Qin Sheng felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

Today, he would "shatter the void" and depart from here!

*Ascend the heavenly road, tread the song, flick a finger to cover the sky!*

After a while, black dots appeared in the sky, and then nine dragon corpses pulling an ancient bronze coffin fell.

Dragons descended from the sky, furious and ferocious!

*BOOM!*

The Nine Dragons pulling the coffin crashed to the ground. The Jade Emperor Summit was shaken, cracks appeared, and rocks tumbled down as if the end of the world had suddenly arrived.

A moment later, the lid of the bronze coffin opened. Ye Fan and the others were the closest and were all sucked inside.

The dragon corpses vibrated, and the coffin lid showed signs of closing. Seeing this, Qin Sheng rushed over at top speed and leaped into the coffin with the grace of a rolling landlady.

*I’ll form the head!*

With a loud bang, the ancient coffin closed completely. Qin Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

If nothing went wrong, the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin would take off soon.

*Raise the coffin, get rich!*

Outside, five-colored divine light shot into the sky, and the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin vanished.

As for what kind of waves its appearance and departure would cause on Earth, that was no longer the concern of those lying inside the coffin.

"We were sucked into that coffin?!"

"Call someone to save us!"

"Why is this happening? Why us?"

"..."

Inside the coffin, it was dark. Everyone was panicked, making calls and screaming—a true display of human nature.

Qin Sheng just found them noisy. He walked around the coffin alone, looking at the bronze carvings on the walls. Many of the fierce beasts recorded in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas* could be found here.

This made Qin Sheng ponder. The Nine Dragons pulling the coffin existed before the mythological era; it was definitely older than the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*.

So, had someone been inside before, summarized the fierce beasts on the bronze carvings, and passed the information out?

Who could have done it?

There was a small coffin placed inside the bronze coffin. Qin Sheng walked up to it.

This coffin was not simple. Not to mention its origin, it now buried something world-shaking—a world, prepared for the repair of the Immortal Domain.

Clearly, that world was not something Qin Sheng could touch right now.

Qin Sheng wanted to see if he could obtain the hundreds of ancient characters inherited within the small coffin.

Those hundreds of characters were each an Emperor's Rune. Even if he couldn't truly utilize them, contemplating them often would bring great benefits.

"Why is there a thirtieth person?"

There was another commotion on Ye Fan’s side. An extra person had appeared, and it wasn't until they confirmed it was Pang Bo that things quieted down.

Everyone began to explore the bronze coffin, shining their phone lights around. When they reached the small coffin, gasps were heard.

"A person, there’s a person sitting there!"

"Is that the owner of the coffin?"

"Is that a corpse?"

*If only I were truly the owner of the Three-Life Bronze Coffin...*

"It’s me. I’m also a passenger on this flight."

Qin Sheng stood up. It was a pity; without the help of a treasure on the level of a Bodhi seed, the hundreds of Emperor characters were indeed not something someone at his level could touch.

"Immortal Qin? How did you get in here too?" Ye Fan walked over quickly.

"Even a horse stumbles, even a man slips."

Regarding Qin Sheng’s appearance, Ye Fan’s classmates didn't doubt whether he was human or ghost.

Pang Bo was suspected because he hadn't attended the reunion at first and then suddenly appeared here.

"Immortal Qin, you just said you were a passenger on this flight? What does that mean?" Pang Bo also walked over.

He was burly, truly "imposing." Even if his Demon God bloodline hadn't awakened, it still had some influence on him.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Qin Sheng said.

"Remember how the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin appeared? I think we’ve already taken off, heading into the universe."

Everyone gasped. Someone asked in disbelief

"How is this possible?"

"Isn't the appearance of the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin the greatest impossibility itself?" Qin Sheng countered, then said

"Alright, wait quietly. Don't make a scene."

As Qin Sheng spoke, rosy light surged from his body, dispelling the darkness. The intense majesty made people afraid to look directly at him.

This scene caused the others' expressions to change drastically; they were shocked beyond measure.

"Holy crap, Immortal Qin, you really became an immortal!" Pang Bo exclaimed.

Ye Fan’s eyes brightened. He asked, "Is this what you’ve gained over these years?"

He was also someone who yearned for immortality, often reading ancient texts, and had always held expectations in his heart.

"Some small achievements," Qin Sheng nodded. "Not an immortal, just a cultivator."

"Mr. Qin, do you know something?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Cultivators like me have never been extinct on Earth; they have just always been hidden in the shadows. And this time, perhaps we will walk into myth, or even become myth."

"But if you ask me what exactly is going on right now, I can't say for sure."

Qin Sheng shook his head. "This is my first time encountering something like this, too."

*BANG!*

At that moment, the bronze coffin shook violently. Everyone was thrown about, terrified.

The Mars stop had arrived.

"It’s light!"

Someone exclaimed. A corner of the coffin lid had been lifted, and the light from outside shone in.

"Let’s go out and see!" Someone suggested, and most agreed.

"Immortal, what do you think?" Pang Bo asked for Qin Sheng’s opinion.

"Let’s go out."

Qin Sheng was still thinking about looting the Great Leiyin Temple.

After leaving the bronze coffin, the world outside shocked everyone.

The ground was reddish-brown, very empty, with huge rocks occasionally visible.

"We really left Mount Tai..." someone muttered to themselves.

The group discovered two characters on a rock ahead, written in bronze script.

"What are these characters?"

"Yinghuo," Qin Sheng said.

"What people in ancient times called Mars."

*Glimmering firelight, confusing and chaotic.*

In ancient times, Mars was considered an ominous star.

After confirming they had truly left Earth, many fell into despair; some even wailed loudly.

"There is likely danger here. You stay here, or go back first. I’ll go explore," Qin Sheng said.

Ye Fan: "I’ll go with you, we can look out for each other."

"Fine. Yezi, you’re strong and have good stamina; you won't hold me back if we run into trouble."

Qin Sheng looked at the others and said: "You guys don't come. If we run into danger, I won't be able to look after you."

"Pang Bo, you stay here and look after everyone."

He had intended to take Ye Fan anyway; bringing a Saint Body made him feel at ease.

There was no need for the others. Even if they went to the Great Leiyin Temple, they would just be killed by those little divine crocodiles. It was better to stay in the coffin to save their lives.

These people hadn't provoked Qin Sheng, so he naturally wouldn't deliberately lead them to their deaths.

The two left and walked forward. At the end of the path appeared an ancient temple. It wasn't large in scale; if it were on Earth, it wouldn't be much.

But a Buddhist temple standing on Mars was truly shocking.

Beside the temple was a Bodhi tree, which was even more incredible—it was an Undying Divine Medicine.

"Great Leiyin Temple," Qin Sheng stated the name of the temple—another four words that shocked the soul.

"Is it really the temple of that Buddha?" Ye Fan was surprised.

"Perhaps."

Qin Sheng suddenly laughed. "Yezi, your childhood dream has finally come true."

"Huh?"

"To be an astronaut."

Ye Fan: "..."

The two entered the Great Leiyin Temple and, after some searching, found most of the Buddhist artifacts.

These artifacts didn't really count as great opportunities; they would lose all their divine power after a few uses and become scrap.

Their greatest use was to charge the Five-Colored Altar.

"How do we take these things?" Ye Fan asked.

Qin Sheng smiled and stored the Buddhist artifacts into his Bitter Sea.

The Bitter Sea of a *Shrouding the Heavens* cultivator had the ability to store items.

Ye Fan was surprised. "Is this what a cultivator is?"

"Yeah, a very common ability."

Qin Sheng turned around. "Let’s go."

Inside the Great Leiyin Temple, there were actually quasi-emperor forbidden artifacts on the verge of exhaustion, but Qin Sheng didn't dare touch those. A proper quasi-emperor forbidden artifact was definitely the key to the seal; calling it the array eye or core was no exaggeration.

In the original story, Li Xiaoman took a forbidden artifact and was possessed by the Crocodile Ancestor.

As long as he reached the Big Dipper safely, Qin Sheng’s future would be infinitely bright. There was no need to be greedy here; he didn't want to take any risks at all.

After leaving the temple, Ye Fan caught a glimpse of the plaque hanging high and was eager to try.

Qin Sheng stopped him. "Don't touch the plaque. There are demons sealed beneath the Great Leiyin Temple. If this plaque is taken, the demons will immediately break the seal. It’s very dangerous."

"We aren't lacking this one Buddhist artifact."

In the original story, after the plaque was taken, the Great Leiyin Temple immediately turned to dust, and the Crocodile Ancestor broke the seal.

This had something to do with other artifacts being taken, but the plaque was definitely a key component of the seal.

"Demons?" Ye Fan had been shocked too many times today.

"I once went to Tibet to seek immortals. There are legends recorded that the Buddha suppressed many demons under the Great Leiyin Temple. The first layer is a demonic crocodile with heaven-defying magic power."

Ye Fan didn't dare touch the plaque anymore. Then, the two took the Bodhi seeds and left the place at high speed.

Their movements were too fast, and they hadn't touched the key Buddhist artifacts, so by the time Qin Sheng used the divine power within the artifacts to activate the Five-Colored Altar and manifest the Taiji diagram in the sky, the Crocodile Ancestor hadn't broken the seal yet.

The Nine Dragons pulling the coffin shook again and vanished from Mars.

"ROAR!"

The Crocodile Ancestor broke the seal and roared, *I will announce my... with blood!*

Looking at the empty Five-Colored Altar, the Crocodile Ancestor was a little confused.

Where are the people?

*This time, the Crocodile Ancestor’s divine fetus failed to possess Li Xiaoman. I wonder what’s going on with that divine thought of the Great Accomplished Saint Body...* Qin Sheng thought to himself.

The seal broke slower this time. Theoretically, the divine thought shouldn't have had time to board the coffin, but since it involved a Great Accomplished Saint Body, Qin Sheng couldn't be sure.

"Let’s try again."

Qin Sheng leaned against the small coffin, holding a Bodhi seed, and meditated quietly.

*"The Way of Heaven, to reduce the surplus and replenish the deficiency..."*

The vast heavenly sound rang in Qin Sheng’s ears, as if coming from the ancient primordial era, vast and supreme.

The hundreds of ancient characters he couldn't touch before now unveiled themselves to Qin Sheng, eternally branded in his heart.

This wasn't a cultivation method; most of it spoke of the construction and repair of the Immortal Domain. But they were profound enough to point directly to the essence of the Great Dao. Even understanding a little bit of it would be of great benefit.

When the heavenly sound vanished, Qin Sheng opened his eyes and thought

"My talent is indeed up to the task."

Those without sufficient talent wouldn't be able to hear this scripture even with a Bodhi seed.

Afterward, Qin Sheng gave the Bodhi seed to Ye Fan and let him try.

Undoubtedly, Ye Fan also succeeded.

Pang Bo failed.

This made Pang Bo a bit embarrassed. Why was he the only one who didn't succeed?

As for the Bodhi seed, Qin Sheng let Ye Fan keep it.

Regardless of whether this item had any karma with Buddhism or the Great Accomplished Saint Body, leaving it with Ye Fan was the better choice.

It was definitely not because Qin Sheng was afraid of the Great Accomplished Saint Body’s divine thought.

Anyway, if he needed it in the future, he could borrow it at any time.

"Yezi, we arrived at Mars before, and I’m afraid we aren't going back to Earth now," Qin Sheng suddenly said.

"Your Mercedes is still parked at the foot of Mount Tai. If we have a chance to go back in the future, remember to pay the parking fee. Don't be a deadbeat."

"And pay mine while you're at it."

Ye Fan was speechless. What time is it, and he’s still talking about this!

"Immortal Qin, are we really going to the Big Dipper?" Pang Bo asked.

There was a star map carved inside the bronze coffin, recording the path from Earth to the Big Dipper and then to Ziwei. After seeing it, everyone guessed that the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin might send them to the Big Dipper or some planet in the Ziwei star field.

"I once saw in an ancient book that humans are not alone; there are other life-bearing planets outside of Earth."

Qin Sheng said: "Perhaps the Big Dipper is one of them."

"Could it be that someone visited other life-bearing planets in ancient times?" Ye Fan was shocked.

"Very likely," Qin Sheng nodded.

"I’ve heard that there are god-like cultivators who can cross the galaxy, but Earth hasn't seen such great masters for a long time."

For inheritances with true foundations, the myriad races beyond the heavens and ancient life stars had always been recorded.

The others were all shocked, feeling that their worldview had been reshaped.

After an unknown amount of time, the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin landed with a boom.

The Big Dipper stop, arrived!

The coffin lid opened, and a bright world full of vitality appeared before everyone’s eyes.

"I’m really not reconciled."

Ye Fan sighed lightly. "Why did it have to be us who encountered such a thing?"

Qin Sheng turned his head and stared at Ye Fan.

You ask why?

The Nine Dragons pulling the coffin had been wandering the universe since time immemorial. Many ancient emperors had seen it; Earth-Ziwei was one of the routes.

But for it to head to Earth at this point in time, and stop at the Forbidden Land of Ancient Times, this was definitely because of Ye Fan.

Someone had interfered with this interstellar train.

Who could it be?

So hard to guess.