Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

In the vacuum of the universe, sound waves could not be transmitted, but the collision of spiritual flames and mental power could raise furious tides and hit the escape capsule brutally, distorting the shell and the walls of the escape capsule.

"Brother…"

Peipei didn't need to look back to know what had happened. She burst into tears again.

The girl thought back to when she was little. Every time she made a mistake, her brother would always protect her from her father's fury.

Older brother is still older brother. Older brother hasn't changed at all. How wonderful.

Because of his brother's interference, his father and the rest of them did not catch up to him in time. The escape capsule was getting closer and closer to Shanuya.

When his father and the others finally subdued his brother and caught up with him aggressively, Peipei had already entered the range of Shanuya's tentacles.

"Shanuya! Shanuya!"

The girl expanded her brainwaves and screamed at the Void Hunters.

Shanuya woke up. She extended one of her tentacles and pulled Peipei into her arms.

Their father's space armor was as hilarious as a toy soldier in front of Shanuya's tentacles.

The escape capsule crashed into Shanuya's body. Thankfully, it spurted a few buffer air currents through the suction cup in time, allowing the girl to land steadily.

"Shanuya, it's great that you are still alive!"

Peipei burst into tears of joy.

"… Peipei?"

Sanuya seemed to be having a hard time. Since Pepe did not land in the wrinkled area of its mind, their mental connection was not smooth. Its voice sounded intermittent. "Are you alright? Is everybody on the fleet alright?"

"It's alright, it's all thanks to you, Shanuya. Most of us are fine. We've successfully escaped the 'space quake'. Thank you!"

Peipei crawled out of the twisted escape capsule. Looking at the exhaust flames of the fleet in the distance, she breathed and said, "Shanuya, let's not talk about that for now. Let me ask you, can you still perform a space jump? How many times can you jump?"

"I…"

"I've lost two thirds of my tentacles," Shanuya said. "I'm afraid that I won't be able to protect the fleet and perform multiple space jumps. Many starships will fall through the gaps of my tentacles and be swallowed by the four-dimensional storm.

"What if we don't need to protect the fleet?"

"If it's just you, you should be able to perform many more space jumps, right? After all, this is your natural instinct!"

"Of course, but how is that possible? Aren't we meant to be together?"

Shanuya found it odd. "How could I abandon the fleet and you and perform a space jump alone? Where should I go?"

"No, not alone. You still have me."

Peipei smiled, her tears flowing silently. "Shanuya, can you jump to the other side of the universe with me?"

"What?"

Shanuya was greatly surprised. "What does that mean? I don't understand."

"You don't need to understand now. Just trust me."

"Shanuya, do you believe me? Do you believe me wholeheartedly and unreservedly?"

"Of course."

Sanuya replied without any hesitation, "Of course I believe in Peipei. I am your prince, and you are my Markina!"

"Then, let's play a game. A very interesting little game. The reward of the game is… a secret."

Pepe smiled and said, "I have a secret to tell you, but I can't tell you now. I can only tell you when we are on the other side of the sea of stars, at the end of the universe. Are you willing to take me on the journey?"

"Ah, a game."

Shanuya said, "Pepe is my favorite."

"Then come on. Do the space jump now. Don't stop on the way. Jump as many times as you can. Jump as far as you can."

"When you jump hundreds of times, thousands of times, or even tens of thousands of times to a place where absolutely no one can find us, I will tell you this secret."

"But—"

Shanuya hesitated. "It's true that I can perform a space jump nonstop to a place where nobody can find us and even we lose our coordinates, but it means that we will never find our way back. We won't be able to return to our fleet, and we might have to live alone for the rest of our lives.

"It's alright for me. Peipei, your brother, father, and all your family and friends are here, aren't they? Are you willing to abandon them? What happened exactly? Do you want to abandon them?"

"…"

Peipei didn't know how to answer. Her pearl-like tears flowed out again.

"Or are they abandoning you?"

Shanuya's tentacles turned crimson again. "Tell me what happened. Did somebody bully you and want to abandon you?"

"No. No. Stop asking—I will tell you when we reach the other side of the universe."

Peipei took a deep breath and tried to hold back her tears. She forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. No one is bullying me. It's just that… there's a secret that I have to tell you. But I can't tell it to you here. I can only tell it to you in a place where no one can find you. I… I can't think of any other way. This is the only way. Believe me. This is the only way!"

"I still don't understand."

Shanuya said, "You human beings are too weird.

"I think that human beings are too weird, too. Brother, father, and myself are all weird. Thankfully, you have a thousand or even ten thousand years to get to know us. Right now, you just need to trust me wholeheartedly.

Peipei begged, "Please, Shanuya, don't waste your time. Let's go now. Just like Sinbad in the story, let's sail far away and brave the wind and waves. Let's venture into the depths of the sea of stars where there is no one!"

"Aha. Adventure in the depths of the sea of stars. I like the idea."

Shanuya said, "Then I'm not Shanuya but Sinbad—a nice name, too, as nice as the Prince of Happiness."

Its temper was a bit like a child's. In the blink of an eye, it put aside its doubts.

"Then let's go, my prince Sinbad!"

Peipei's voice was shaking. She did not dare to look at her own fleet anymore.

"Are you sure?"

Shanuya was suspicious. "The space quake just now made me a bit dizzy. I don't have a good sense of space right now. Once I perform a space jump, I might not be able to find my way back. If I jump dozens of times, or even hundreds of times, I will definitely be far away from the active area of human civilization. I won't even know where I am right now.

"It means that you might not be able to see your family and friends for years, decades, or even your entire life. Why is that?"

"I… I'm sure."

Peipei closed her eyes. "Stop asking. Stop asking. When we reach the other side of the sea of stars, at the end of the universe, I will tell you. I will tell you everything. Then, you will treat me as the representative of everyone. You can do whatever you want!"