Him and their stars.

Chapter 1926: Deep in the Mantle
Now Xia Li still looks like the beautiful girl next door who is about fifteen or sixteen years old. There are only eight bone wings extending from her back, which are more than two meters in length.

However, the aura she condensed at this moment was much sharper and deeper than when she was on the planet before.

Now, Xia Li was at home, and she was terrifyingly strong. The spores were gathering towards her, like a fluorescent tornado that could tear the world apart at any time.

"I am the master of the swarm. And this is my world, so I will take the initiative." She looked at Yu Lian meaningfully, her voice gradually becoming low.

Yu Lian thought that if she had encountered Xia Li in this state last time, she would have been the one to flee, right? If she took into account the ability bonus of the home court, she might really be able to deal with the siege of several saints.

Whether it's her ability or her character, this girl has grown in a pleasing way! No wonder she feels like she's done it again.

However, the only thing she hadn't expected was that Yu Lian now also had a sense of security returning to his home turf, and also felt that he was incredibly strong.

So the latter picked up Xingzhi with one hand and held up Fuxiao with the other hand.

The dimensional sword balls surrounded him from behind, and countless glowing spores seemed to sense it and gathered in the direction of Yu Lian. As a result, the vortex behind Xia Li slowly stopped, as if it had changed from a tornado that was about to tear the world apart to a gentle breeze.

Xiao Hui looked at Yu Lian, whose face was full of murderous intent, and then looked at Xia Li, whose murderous intent had solidified into a mask and was even beginning to crack. He couldn't help but sigh with sympathy, and then he took out a piece of melon like a magic trick.

Then, the leader of the insect swarm once again showed an expression of doubt about life: "Why, how could it become like this?"

She has always liked to doubt life, but this time is almost the most doubtful time.

"Each of our lives is very wonderful. Everyone's life must be experiencing amazing growth, and everyone will face choices in the process. So, what kind of choice is the right one will often determine the upper limit of our lives. Don't you think so? Xia Li, I hope you will never lose your direction at any time." Yu Lian spoke earnestly, like an old teacher telling a story.

Xia Li also suppressed her flash of murderous intent and responded with an expression that was about to cry, as if she was a junior high school student who learned that her parents were going to be called in. She nodded vigorously: "Can we reconcile?"

She quickly forced a smile and said, "No, we didn't have any conflicts. There's no need to talk about reconciliation. Really, no. I'm trying to stay on the right path."

Yu Lian's smile became even brighter. "Yes, we are getting along well, and no one has any intention of backstabbing each other. Right, Xia Li?"

Charlie nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Backstab? What backstab? I don't mean any harm to you, really! I am just going to show you what I am capable of on my home turf. Really! This is also to show you my world. Yes, this is part of the show. Really!"

"Indeed, I have seen that. Charlie, you are a good guide."

Xia Li smiled a shy, innocent, and very girlish smile and continued to lead the way.

Six of the eight bone wings on her back disappeared as if they had flashed. The remaining two also shortened to about one meter in length, and the deep and elegant purple color that radiated spiritual light also disappeared immediately, revealing the silver-gray color of typical metal products, the same color as all the new wrenches bought in the small hardware store.

If the bone wings just now were mysterious alchemical weapons, exuding an indestructible and sharp aura, the temperament of these bone wings now suddenly seemed honest, full of the industrial atmosphere of the working people.

The young man is teachable. Yu nodded.

Xiao Hui, who was playing with the floating spores, came over slowly: "As I said before, you always show your full proficiency in bullying little girls!"

"I am still doing my best to help her grow up." Yu Lian said confidently: "Also, to be honest, in terms of her real age, she is actually of the same generation as Emperor Ilessel. Even my grandmother would think she is too old."

He didn't know if his words had touched Xiao Hui's heart, but she really looked hurt, and even staggered back a few steps while holding her chest.

But then again, being able to show staggering while floating can also be considered body art.

As Yu Lian continued to move forward with Xia Li, his vision became clearer.

In this huge underground space dyed blue-purple by fluorescent light, the native mosses growing on the ground, walls and ceiling are constantly expanding along the pulse rhythm of the fungal carpet. It is no longer possible to tell what their original colors were, but now they all present a strange blue-gray color. Although they don't look bright, they are full of refreshing vitality.

Standard mushrooms grew out of the moss, the small ones were only about three to five centimeters, and the large ones were nearly half a meter, like translucent trees growing on the strange blue-gray grassland.

Yu Lian squatted down and brushed his fingertips across a clump of umbrella-shaped fungi. The translucent caps immediately secreted amber mucus in response to stress, which condensed into crystal water storage capsules on the surface of the "grassland" formed by the fusion of fungal carpet and moss.

On the rock wall in the distance, some kind of vine-like symbiont is pumping nutrients transported by the fungal blanket into the cracks in the basalt, and new dark red moss is spreading between the stone texture like capillaries.

Yu Lian picked up a drop of amber water storage capsule, and the liquid seemed to pull out a piece of tangled sugar thread at his fingertips.

He took out a test tube made of composite materials from his storage ring and prepared to bring the liquid components to the Silence. Then he heard Xiao Hui say, "These water storage structures are the reverse transformation products of the swarm acid."

"...So, it's a strong alkali?"

Xiao Hui smiled: "You are really cute when you are stubborn and argumentative."

Yu Lian still did a good job of collecting information. It was one thing for the omnipotent Gray Goddess to give accurate information, but it was another thing for him to make his own judgment. He hoped that everyone on the Silence could come up with the same correct answer, preferably a more detailed answer.

If we can unlock some formula for producing business fluids on our own, that would be a great thing.

He continued to move forward. The further he went, the thicker the fungal mat became. He felt a warm sensation on the soles of his shoes, as if he was stepping on the finest velvet carpet with geothermal heat.

He looked up at the thirty-meter-high cave dome, where thousands of glowing cocoons hung, each pulsating regularly, spreading filtered water evenly throughout the entire ecosystem.

A fern-like plant was growing out of cracks in the fungal blanket, its serrated leaves covered with fluorescent glands that seemed to breathe and contract.

"Could these luminous genes come from the light beasts in the virtual world?" Yu Lian exclaimed in amazement.

"For your generation's civilization, they are more valuable for research. Also, don't bring everything up in the virtual world, okay? Their abilities are merely from the immortal jellyfish, and they can only perform photosynthesis. However, their virtual system can also integrate the chloroplasts of cyanobacteria, which is really worth studying." Xiao Hui said.

She didn't know when she had changed into the standard white coat used in the laboratory, but underneath she was wearing the same knee-length dress as Charlie. She didn't look like a scientist at all, but more like she was playing cosplay.

Of course, the hem of her white coat and skirt moved automatically without any wind. Needless to say, those cellular and even atomic-level nanoclusters were frantically collecting environmental data, looking even more dedicated than Charlie's worker bees.

A silent signal was also beating on Yu Lian's terminal. It was the scanned image shared by Xiao Hui.

Deep in the fungal blanket, nano-scale swarm units were constructing ion exchange membranes at the roots of mosses, converting heavy metal pollutants into glowing silicon crystals. At a certain moment, he seemed to see the marine ecology of billions of years ago reviving in the rock formations, but this time the creator was not a god, but the swarm that was supposed to bring destruction.

The style of the painting is to build and prosper together, rather than to pollute and devour. Yu Lian finally bowed to the little master in admiration: "Xia Li, although you are full of hostility and vigilance towards me, and although you always want to stab me in the back, this is the first time I respect you so much."

The Little Lord did not expect to be so suddenly praised, but he subconsciously took two steps back: "Well, well, look at what you said, I really have no hostility, nor am I wary. Didn't we agree to reconcile?"

Xia Li was indeed in a state of PTSD, but the bone wings behind her trembled proudly.

She waved her hand gently, and a few spores that had lost their luminous function fell on the fungal carpet on the ground. They were immediately absorbed by the luminous veins and merged into the entire world.

"I transformed the corrosive glands of worker insects into molecular sieves, which can decompose sulfides to synthesize amino acids. And these mosses that have been fused with the fungal mat can fix nitrogen. Fungi decompose rocks to release minerals, and the fungal mat is their circulatory system."

"That is to say, even if you don't need to devour creatures, you can still hatch your own army?" Yu Lian said with interest: "Really, literally, growing creatures out of stone!"

Charlie put her hands on her hips and said, "Hehe, isn't that great? Of course, with biological resources, the efficiency can be much higher. In addition, some special individuals and lords still need rare minerals."

The bone wings behind Xia Li gathered her spiritual energy and threw a light source deep into the cave. The fluorescent veins flowing in the world appeared brighter, and tens of thousands of luminous mushrooms bloomed at the same time. In the flowing waterfall of light, Yu Lian's naked eyes finally saw the amber capsules embedded in the fungal carpet, each of which contained a dormant insect egg.

The strange life solidified in amber is waiting to awaken in a new ecological cycle.

Or, a cell of a strange life form?

If it was in the previous timeline, this scene would have made Yu Lian immediately go into PTSD. His next reaction would definitely be to use all means to burn all the insect eggs and fungi in the cave to ashes. If he could bury a dozen antimatter bombs in the cave, it would be even better.

But now, when Yu Lian looked at this scene, he felt very proud and felt that his own power was growing stronger.

He was so empathetic towards Charlie.

Xia Li said regretfully, "There are only 300,000 of them here, which is far from enough to make up for the losses in the past few months. If there were biological resources, the number would be more than ten times."

"Co-prosperity and co-existence is not the most efficient option for expansion, but it is definitely the most correct choice," said Yu Lian.

She didn't comment, but walked to a nearby rock wall. The fungal carpet and tundra that covered the rock retreated like the tide, revealing the blue-gray rock surface. They did not grow directly on the rock, but grew into vine structures, forming a protective color for the rock layer.

"How hidden is it?" Xia Li asked again sincerely.

"Even if a snake came here, it wouldn't be able to find it." Yu Lian also answered sincerely. Even he almost hid it, let alone a snake? Yani used all kinds of powers, but at most she could only lock onto the existence of this galaxy.

Xia Li's bone wings gently touched the thick rock layer, and a slight scratch brought out a string of sparks. This was not a rock layer at all, it was clearly a strange metal material.

Obviously, Xia Li was not just scratching the rock for fun. The sparks she drew on the wall did not go out in the end, but instead formed mysterious words in the air and fell on the rock wall.

Yu Lian heard the sound of metal friction, very soft and smooth, and then there was an open narrow passage that could only accommodate one person.

However, the passage did not have a clear view, but was wrapped in a translucent film, which looked a bit like a thick sausage casing.

Charlie walked straight forward and passed through the membrane, just like sinking into a pool of water. The biofilm swayed with a faint mucus, and then it returned to calm again.

Yu Lian followed her through seven layers of biological membranes. With each layer, he could feel the electromagnetic signal weaken by an order of magnitude. When he reached the bottom of the channel, not only did his terminal lose signal, but even the mystic channel was almost blocked.

Well, he couldn't feel the space anchor point on the Silence anymore. If he wanted to use the Sky Jade to escape when in danger, he would easily get lost in the subspace turbulence.

Yu Lian was briefly confused for a moment. If he forced himself to enter a state of meditation at this time, he would definitely appear guilty, right?

However, as a mature adult, you still can't be angry.

Yu Lian sighed in his heart, and took the initiative to speed up the circulation of his spiritual veins in his body, while directly opening the state of "cosmic perception".

Very good, he once again captured the space anchor point tens of millions of kilometers away.

Of course, such a dynamic could not be hidden from Xia Li who was standing nearby. She turned her head and uttered a clear sneer, revealing a rare hint of complacency at having the upper hand.

"How shameful. You are like a Hakimi walking upside down." Yu Lian heard Xiao Hui's ridicule again. The core of the Zerg's secret is likely to be ahead. As an omnipresent civilization-guiding AI, Miss Robot will certainly not miss such an important scene.

As long as it's not Ha Jimei, it's fine. Thinking of this, Yu Lian automatically ignored her sarcasm: "How are you now? Can you still feel your own cells?"

"I can't sense it. I have lost contact with all my nanocells. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be entering the standby stage according to the existing program. I am at my most vulnerable stage now, so you must protect me."

Very good, from the unmotivated reaction of this robot ghost girl, it can be seen that although this space is very mysterious, it should not be particularly dangerous.

While thinking, Yu Lian followed Xia Li through the small door at the end of the passage. The scene in front of him finally became clear to him.

That was another underground cave, about the size of half a celestial ball. It was quite spacious, but compared with the space outside that could accommodate an entire metropolis, it was perhaps just an inconspicuous bubble.

However, all the floors, ceilings and walls are still covered with the swarm's fungal carpet, but it is a light pink color that is harmless to humans and animals.

…It matches the current Shirley very well.

"Were you trying to tell me that this color suits me?" Xia Li said unhappily.

You thought so, too. Otherwise, how could you have hit the mark? Yu Lian smiled, revealing everything.

Charlie was speechless and angry.

However, compared to the vibrant gray-green fungal carpet outside, these pink colors appear very calm, as if all the fungi that constitute their existence have fallen into a dormant state.

And in the core surrounded by the pink fungus blanket was the core that Xia Li had been looking for. It was like a giant insect egg made of purple gold - of course, that was just Yu Lian's imagination. In fact, only a part of the round protrusion of that thing passed through the ground and was exposed in this cave.

If its main body is as oval as imagined, it should be an ellipsoid with a diameter of more than three kilometers embedded deep in the earth's crust.