Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'

Li Mingji sat at the bridgehead, checking his watch, watching the time, the cigarette in his hand already burned to the end.

"Still not here?"

He frowned.

This isn't what Starry Abyss had promised.

For secrecy and safety, Starry Abyss didn't arrange for Li Mingji to directly contact the deity named Xides, seemingly to hide Starry Abyss's actions from certain existences.

For this, he needed to wait for Xides to come to him actively.

However, twenty minutes had already passed, and the space remained unchanged. They had agreed Xides would personally come to find him, but that wasn't happening now.

Li Mingji stubbed out his cigarette, but nothing changed.

To be honest, he had nothing else to do now. He couldn't find work and had been idling outside for so long. He would definitely be scolded by the family when he got back. Frost Plated women rule the house, but being so pathetic, even that kid Li Aozi might look down on him.

Being looked down on by women was one thing, as Frost Plated had been this way since ancient times, but losing face in front of his son was truly unbearable for Li Mingji.

"Let's wait a little longer..."

Just as he was thinking this, a rickety pickup truck drove over from the other side of the river, loaded with all sorts of discarded parts. Li Mingji glanced at the license plate; he recognized the car and instinctively greeted it:

"Yo, still working this late?"

Screech—

"Oh, Uncle Li Mingji."

The pickup slowly stopped beside him, the window rolled down, revealing an honest and simple female face. She smiled and said kindly:

"I'm not working, just going to a place... Consider it a business trip. I'll probably be back in a while."

Li Mingji curiously said: "A business trip? You do car repairs and have to go out of town—though you're not a local, Green Creek Bay is only a hundred miles from here, going back and forth is still convenient, no need to find work outside."

"Uh... it's a bit complicated." The girl called Qiu Ran scratched her head, glancing at the luggage in the truck bed: "Uncle Mingji, I'll be honest with you, but don't tell my boss or siblings, okay."

"No worries, no worries, though Uncle has accomplished nothing, the Li family is known for being honest and trustworthy."

Li Mingji laughed:

"Go on, Qiu Ran, what's the matter with you?"

"It's like this, Uncle Mingji, I've got a strange disease. A medical institution finds it very valuable for research and is willing to take me for specialized treatment to gather some research data."

Qiu Ran put her mind at ease and told Li Mingji:

"I'm afraid if my family knows I'm sick, they'll be very worried, and it wouldn't be good if it affects them... You know, my younger siblings are already in high school. I want to get better soon and prepare for the college entrance exams with them."

"Oh, that's why. Be careful on the road."

"Yeah, I'll buy some things at the Fertile Village and then leave."

"Hold on."

Li Mingji said, reaching into the inner pocket of his coat and pulling out two gas vouchers:

"Uncle doesn't have much money to spare right now, can't give you some travel expenses, but you might find this useful."

"Uncle Mingji, this is an electric pickup, and besides, I have to return the car later..." Qiu Ran joked, but still took the gas vouchers, smiling: "Thanks, Uncle Mingji. There seem to be quite a few people named Mingji."

"Just going with the flow. They say a humble name leads to a good life. Look at Uncle, I've grown old, though I have no job or great accomplishments—hey, don't say, I've never been sick, unlike my kids with their complicated names, always catching colds and fevers."

Li Mingji waved his hand.

"When I get better, I will definitely introduce you to a job in the city."

"The city is too far. Even going to work in the county would turn the house upside down."

Li Mingji stubbed out the cigarette end and said:

"Alright, Uncle won't hold you up any longer. Start early, come back early. In a few years, my brats also have to take the college entrance exam. Even if my son is in a tech school, I want him to try."

"Alright, Uncle, I wish your kids go to university."

After a brief chat, Qiu Ran stepped on the gas and left in a hurry.

"It's not easy for anyone. A sister raising three siblings, providing for them to go to college, such commitment, I really can't compare."

Li Mingji lit another cigarette, sitting at the bridgehead:

"I wonder how much longer I have to wait. Oh, seed of the Starry Abyss, help me out, I've decided to give my life away, you help our whole family... live a good life."

He took a puff of his cigarette, recalling Qiu Ran's blessing, couldn't help but mutter:

"At the very least, let that Li Aozi in my family go to university too."

Boom!

After that breathtaking azure flash, Xides was immediately hit by an unprecedented shock, his form being instantly destroyed by forces beyond the Starry Abyss, leaving only a spiritual body, held by Leoz's single hand, straight through the forest and mountains, crashing down.

[Finally, it stopped.]

Leoz knelt on one knee, his whole spiritual body trembling. Finally, he had escaped the chaotic motion in the cosmic realm.

"Ugh! What's going on?!"

Xides struggled hard, but his soul was firmly suppressed by the equally spiritual Leoz. He lifted his head, looking at Leoz, who was enveloped by ether, incredulously saying:

"Kidding me... This level of divine power, there's no such strong person in the game! Who exactly are you?"

"Game? Did you preview with the timeline?"

Leoz said, with divine power invading the other's mental network, starting to download vast amounts of information from the opponent:

"A seed from the Starry Abyss? It's been five thousand years already."

He raised his hand, clenched his fist, feeling the fragile strength within.

"No wonder I'm so weak now."

Now even the soul lacks perception due to the absence of a host, and many memories have become blurred.

Of course... the most crucial factor is the division left by Redd Gold with the Divine Sword Veilue, even if the [Scholar] hadn't interfered, his divinity was still separated.

"You look like a deity from the Starry Abyss, right? I am from the Starry Abyss too, we're kindred spirits, there's no need for conflict between us!"

Xides struggled, needing no system panel reminder, just the aura of the other was enough to crush him.

"Brother, no, your aura is ancient, you must be of the first generation of Starry Abyssal Spirits? I'm here for a task from the Starry Abyss. We don't need to fight."

"God name Xides, is it? You were crafted by Starry Abyss and Lai Anding together—a being with no mandate and function but directly given a name."

Perhaps due to the division by the Divine Sword Veilue, Leoz felt a slight surprise:

"Starry Abyss truly favors you."

Xides felt the pressure from Leoz ease and sighed in relief, saying:

"It's just a necessary action... May I ask, brother, no, who are you, sir?"

Leoz remains silent.

He released Xides but did not withdraw the divine power exerted on him. Leoz turned his head, scanning the surroundings.

The earth was dark and profound, covered everywhere with bizarre purple coral, the air filled with an anxious, hopeless, bewildering aura.

"This is..."

Leoz felt unfamiliar with this presence.

In the past, Starry Abyss would depict itself to the Outer Abyssal Primordial God as a land of endless resources and bliss.

Yet, what's truly before him, these purple substances... they're filled with ominous and void-like aura, even having fought so many enemies before, this power was something he felt for the first time.

"Uh, this should be a place of Void, looks like Void has already started invading Layer Abyss ahead of time."

"Void?"

"Yes, the 6th Narrative—[Void Garden], they are the most evil Narrative Civilization, monopolizing one layer of the Starry Abyss in Zhou Yuan, completely disregarding kinship, wantonly invading other narratives."

Narrative.

To Leoz, this term was even more foreign.

But he quickly grasped the information relevant to it—the newly born deity Xides, provided Leoz with many things he had never contacted or imagined before.

[In Xides' impression, 'Starry Abyss' is a game, yet this is just a guise, Starry Abyss specifically nurtured Xides, letting him dive from the first layer of Starry Abyss, step by step guiding subsequent players to continue diving, while also completing various 'game tasks.']

Leoz swiftly analyzed, part of the perceptive thought divided by the Divine Sword Veilue came in handy:

[These subsequent people would be called 'Descenders'—is it, a situation less like players and more akin to deities donning a disguise?]

Though not knowing the exact intention, Leoz found this method rather familiar.

[Perhaps Starry Abyss needs these players to carry out its will—like how we once followed its decree, resisting Destroyers and Society Beyond the Abyss. Meanwhile, civilizations and life Within the Abyss could enjoy tranquility, even developing such strange things as Grand Narrative.]

However, as the outer layer's Chief God's Cosmic one after another broke down, the blissful internal narratives would taste the same crisis and torment as they did back then.

Yet even so, Starry Abyss still particularly protects them, specially dispatching disguised deities to save the Starry Abyss...

In five thousand years, [Society] suffered a lot at Starry Abyss's hands, but Starry Abyss's immense size was enough to sustain a war of attrition.

[No, not saving.]

Leoz immediately realized one point:

[Starry Abyss doesn't simply want to help the outer layer's projection cosmic, but rather to reinforce stability and dominate other Starry Abysses.]

The reasoning is quite straightforward.

If the Will of the Starry Abyss genuinely wished to protect other Starry Abysses, there would be no need for Xides to act stealthily, while concealing from deities, claiming this is just a game, and further deceiving Narrative Civilizations, saying they are a group of Descenders, a special species.

Directly deploying a divine army to organize expeditions, thoroughly sweep [Society], that would be a true expression of concentrated power.

Yet, Starry Abyss deliberately hides the identity of the Spiritual Warriors, employing a double deception, indicating its motives are anything but pure.

[Both to combat Society and to reinforce control over other Starry Abysses.]

Perhaps... the latter's purpose might even surpass the former.

[Seems like I've touched a taboo of the Starry Abyss.]

Leoz slightly nodded.

Did Gaia predict this would happen? No, this should just be simple bluffing.

Gaia is not a meticulous thinker; her strength is already substantial, further considerations would be inefficient.

Whereas my current situation doesn't seem favorable.

[If this is true, now, I cannot fully trust Starry Abyss. Five thousand years is indeed too short for deities, I haven't yet transformed my mindset... this isn't efficient, I need a Brief Lifespan Species' thinking.]

The power of the Spiritual Body is also continuously consuming, the urgent need is to find a suitable host to merge with.

He glanced at Xides, the latter seemingly thought he'd seen through the situation, immediately displayed an innocuous demeanor.

[Since I'm already at odds with Starry Abyss, might as well go all the way.]