The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

This "iceberg" looks dangerous and is extremely strange. If an accident were to occur and the gas core nuclear reactor, which is tens of thousands of degrees Celsius, were to explode, and given that it is located tens of thousands of meters in the air, what chance would it have of survival?
Just as Fingel nervously cast "Bronze Throne," chanting dragon runes to enhance it while frantically searching for any available parachutes, the aircraft, still traveling at Mach 5, had already touched the crystal-clear surface of that enormous "cloud."

There was no violent impact as expected, no explosion or disintegration, and no deafening roar.

The aircraft, whose outer shell had heated to thousands of degrees due to friction, was like a red-hot iron being plunged into cold butter the moment it touched the surface of the "ice cloud," or like a drop of water merging into a larger body of water, silently "melting" into it.

The seemingly hard "ice surface" appeared to transform into viscous and elastic liquid light waves, rippling out in huge, colorful concentric rings, magnificent and splendid.

The world before my eyes suddenly changed.

Outside the cabin, the thin atmosphere, the deep space, and the curved horizon were no longer the backdrop; instead, there was an indescribable, diffused milky-white glow.

Countless tiny, hexagonal, translucent ice crystals filled the field of vision, floating, rotating, and refracting light at a strange, slow rhythm, densely packed, as if one had entered a dreamlike realm composed of diamond dust.

“Mystic Ice Aerogel.” Shi Yiguang’s voice came, answering everyone’s questions. “Because it is rich in pores and has an extremely low density, but a very high specific surface area and amazing structural strength, it is an excellent shock buffer and energy absorption medium, as well as a building material.”

After entering the interior of this enormous "ice crystal cloud," the aircraft's speed decreased in a comfortable and smooth manner, not at all like crashing into a solid object, but almost like rushing into an infinitely deep super-buffered sponge with enormous damping.

Countless tiny grains adhere to the outer side of the bulkhead, absorbing its kinetic energy through microscopic deformation, rapidly condensing and sliding off, converting it into polarization voltage, which is instantly conducted away and dissipated.

Soon, the bright nuclear lights went out, the engine noise subsided, and the huge spaceplane slowly glided through the bizarre gel space, finally coming to a complete stop and quietly hovering in the center of a cavity.

"Welcome to 'Guanghan Outpost,' this is berth A6." Shi Yiguang unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up: "We've arrived."

"...This landing method is quite 'cool'."

Fingel released the incantation, carefully stood up, and gazed out the window at the bizarre and still world that defied common sense. After a long while, he finally let out a long breath:

"Although there is no Chang'e fairy who flew to the moon in the legend, it is indeed vast and cold, and the name is quite appropriate."

"The original plan was to have three major outposts: Langfeng, Yaotai, and Guanghan," Shi Yiguang explained. "However, due to time constraints and a lack of manpower, only Guanghan was basically completed."

"The reason it is called 'largely completed' is mainly because the environment has not yet been conditioned to the normal threshold. The temperature is about minus 20 degrees Celsius, the oxygen content is only 4 to 6% of that at ground level, and the air pressure is also uncomfortable... Before going out, it is recommended to wear an emergency oxygen mask and a pressurized protective suit. They are in the bulkhead storage compartments, so make sure you don't get the wrong size."

After waiting a few minutes and everyone had finished changing, she stepped out of the cabin first and onto a semi-transparent bridge of light formed by flowing ice crystals, heading towards the floating platform in the distance: "Stay close and don't touch the surrounding structures. Next, we'll transfer to the internal shuttle boat."

"Area B is a berth for air-to-ground travel, while Area C is anchored at the ends of two 'skyhook' mooring and lifting systems, which can lead to space."

Fingel looked around and saw only a vast expanse of milky white and ice blue, with huge hexagonal cavity structures extending infinitely upwards, downwards, and in all directions.

Countless platforms, corridors, towers, and pipes, also made of mystic ice aerogel, crisscross like the roots of a giant tree, suspended in the void, reminiscent of a beehive.

The horizon was submerged in a pervasive mist of ice crystals and structured glimmers of light, stretching as far as the eye could see.

It was eerily quiet here, with only the low hum of the pressure suit's circulatory system and my own amplified breathing. Occasionally, there was the faint sound of ice crystals colliding, like the whispers of distant stardust.

"This place... is too big and too quiet, isn't it?" Fingel shrank back and couldn't help but mutter through the communication channel inside his helmet, "Where are the people? Where are the troops? Where is the forward command center? It feels like an abandoned behemoth's lair?"

He imagined the Arctic front to be a fortress filled with smoke, bustling with people, and exuding an aura of iron and blood, rather than the cold, magnificent but deserted temple before him.

“The Guanghan Outpost is an automated hub with very few personnel maintaining it under normal circumstances, usually less than a hundred people,” Shi Yiguang explained as they walked. “Its main function is to monitor and supervise the Arctic Circle defense line construction and real-time combat situation, and coordinate related energy dispatch. It can be considered a regional temporary command node.”

As they were talking, a flock of drones, about the size of pigeons, made entirely of crystal-clear ice, and shaped like dragonflies, silently flew out from a hole above.

They formed a neat formation, swept over the heads of the crowd, and quickly disappeared into the depths of another passage.

Immediately afterwards, another group of larger, more complex, multi-legged unmanned units, dragging some kind of glowing energy conduit, moved rapidly along the wall.

Even larger transport ships, as large as whales, silently hover on fixed routes, their bellies occasionally opening to spit out or swallow tiny working units, inside which potted plants and flowers can be vaguely seen.

"Wow……"

Fingel watched this futuristic, sci-fi scene unfold in this frigid, classical wonderland, feeling both incredibly incongruous and strangely harmonious: "Seriously, how does such a huge... 'cloud' float in the sky? Just how heavy is this thing?"

Shih Yi-kuang said in a calm tone: "The total weight is about 25 billion tons."

"How much...how much?!"

Fingel nearly bit his tongue. "25 billion... tons?! Ordinary cumulus clouds are probably only a few hundred or a thousand tons, right? This thing is tens of thousands of times that! Did they use anti-gravity technology?"

“It’s just simple air buoyancy, similar to a super airship,” Shih Yi-kuang explained. “Compared to its total volume of tens of thousands of cubic kilometers, this mass is actually negligible.”

"As for the source of materials for building the 'Guanghan Outpost,' it is through a series of complex atmospheric regulation engineering experiments that the huge energy and moisture carried by the cyclone system generated over the tropical ocean surface are guided to the high-latitude region in a cascading manner through the 'atmospheric pressure slingshot' effect, thereby pulling, transforming, and reshaping it."

"Throughout the process, the 'Peerless Wind and Rain Sword Intent' will be used for guidance and form constraint, supplemented by the 'Yinglong Water Storage Method' to enhance its water-locking effect. The 'Stratospheric Solar True Fire Projection Array' is responsible for providing the energy required for the thermodynamic gradient and some phase changes;
"Using angular momentum conversion and collapse-concentration technology, multiple eyewall replacements are performed, and a graded stripping 'orbit insertion' operation is carried out through a magnetically guided orbital kinetic energy damper. Finally, the ultra-compact core of the typhoon is transported to a predetermined airspace, causing the water to freeze rapidly, thereby harvesting enough polarized ice crystals..."

"It is worth mentioning that during the journey of that cyclone, in addition to intercepting most of its lightning-like energy and a small amount of its material, it also brought nearly 100 billion tons of additional precipitation to the arid regions of Eastern Siberia and the Far East... which can be considered a side effect of improving the ecology."

"So, this 'Moon Palace' is just a frozen eye of a typhoon?"

Upon hearing this, Fingel, who had already boarded the ferry, was once again shocked: "Isn't it said that the energy release rate of a mature typhoon system is almost equivalent to detonating a megaton-yield hydrogen bomb every minute? That's higher than the power output of all of humanity! You can control this thing?"

A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

Not long ago, around mid-to-late October, while he was idly browsing news flashes from various news agencies on his old sofa in the news department, he did see several rather strange weather news reports.

The news of "abnormal merging of twin hurricanes in the North Pacific," "abrupt path change and intensification of extratropical cyclone Fiona," and "storm system 'Ambur' persisting for more than three weeks, setting a new record in the satellite era" has caused a global uproar among meteorological experts!

The endless broadcasts and various vague and contradictory temporary explanations led countless people to exclaim, "Atmospheric dynamics no longer exists!"

"It's just taking advantage of the situation," Shi Yiguang replied. "The main purpose of the experiment was to extract the majority of the total energy of electrical activity from the formation to the dissipation of the typhoon, and through various induction methods, it accounted for 1.5% of its latent heat of water vapor, approximately 10^19 J..."

"If this scale of energy had not been 'harvested' and highly compressed and stored here in an orderly manner, this outpost would not have been able to be built, nor would it have been able to maintain its many functions. After all, the electromagnetic environment that allows the ice to undergo a natural phase change is not easy to create."

"As one of the core components of the global 'ice crystal cloud system,' in a sense, 'Guanghan Outpost' can be regarded as an unprecedented supercapacitor and distributed magnetic field generator. The total magnetic energy stored and released in its interior is now more than three times the total amount of the entire geomagnetic field."

She paused, then added, "In this way, it can indirectly influence, or even to some extent control, the global atmospheric energy cycle. For example, sending 0.5% of the magnetic energy into the atmosphere above Chicago could generate a strong electric field, causing a lightning storm and corresponding rainfall, which would have resulted in Henkel being struck by lightning as soon as he stepped outside..."

The tone was calm, yet it revealed a terrifying power capable of rewriting the planet's climate; however, the last half of the sentence was rather "cold."

Fingel: "..."

Maria of the Stars: "..."

Regina: "..." The instantaneous release of 5×10^16J of magnetic energy is not as simple as being struck by lightning; it is far more intense than airdropping dozens of little boys. Even if Hango stayed indoors, the result would probably be the same.

"This feeling... is just like riding the subway inside a whale's belly."

After a moment of silence, Fingel tried to liven things up again: "The ferry boat is about twenty meters long and made of aerogel. It should only weigh a few dozen kilograms, right? It's lighter than me. I don't feel safe sitting on it at all. I'm always worried that it might capsize at any moment. Floating around empty, I'm even more afraid that it might stall and crash at any time."

"Should we go to Sector B first and then go down? Miss Reggie Love needs to avoid danger, so should we transfer to Sector C to reach the space station?"

Shi Yiguang nodded: "Similar to the electromagnetic braking we used to come here, there is an electromagnetic acceleration rail in the C1 area that can launch the launch vehicle to an altitude of 160km above the ground, and then send it to the perigee of Qingxiao-1 and asteroid 4179 by Tian Gou, and then take a ride along the way... It can reach the lunar base in as little as three and a half days."

"As for Section B2, well, we'll be there soon."

Sure enough, after the ferry boat traveled diagonally downwards for another half a minute and passed through several huge, seemingly light-formed circular gates, a platform finally appeared in front of it, about a hundred meters square, with a spire made of black ice standing in the center.

Besides several azure antennas, at the top of the tower, there is a huge, multifaceted crystal that slowly rotates, emitting a gentle yet vast spiritual energy that sweeps over everyone who arrives, with an air of scrutiny and recording, yet without any malice.

"Identity confirmed. Temporary permissions granted."

A neutral, emotionless voice resounded directly in everyone's minds: "Visitor registration complete."

“What is this?” Fingel asked.

"Type C: Beacon of the Soul"

Shi Yiguang replied, "It can monitor and identify your dragon blood marks, and also has a certain function of divine energy conversion and transmission. Within the corresponding range, it can be intelligently controlled using the acquired permissions."

"After wearing the Qi receiver outside your dantian, you will experience a temporary feeling of being empowered by internal energy, receiving a sufficient amount of external Qi to fill your meridians, facilitating various actions..."

"If capsules are like buying true energy, then beacons are like renting."

"First a weather controller, and now a mind beacon?" Fingel swallowed hard. "Does 'renting' cost money?"

"What do you think?" Shi Yiguang replied with a smile, "Of course not, unless it causes permanent damage to the transmission of true energy."

"Alright, we should head down now. Regina, are you planning to stay here, or do you want to do some sightseeing along the way?"

“If there’s no one to host us,” Regina thought for a moment and said, “we should just stay with our great-grandmother and cherish these last precious moments… After all, the apocalypse is still a few days away.”

“Understood.” Shi Yiguang pointed to another, even larger device directly in front of him: “This is the ‘Sky Ladder,’ the latest type of two-way high-speed maglev channel, over 30km long, with a one-way trip taking about 17 minutes. Three have been built so far, and more are being added.”

What you see is a constantly rotating vortex of ice crystals, with its center sunken downwards, seemingly bottomless, as if it leads straight to the Earth's core.

She gestured for everyone to leave the ferry and walk along the "light bridge" to their target, standing on the edge of the whirlpool: "The other end of them connects to the forward base on the ice field below."

"Forward base?" Fingel pressed.

Shi Yiguang replied: "Two full-strength tank regiments from Russia, along with more than 300 engineering units and technical teams from 17 countries, are stationed there, responsible for the pre-processing of some peripheral materials, the maintenance of energy transmission nodes, and... preventing small-scale harassment that may come from the ground."

“One of the roots of the ‘World Tree’, a Nibelung root node, is located fifty kilometers away from this site.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the ice crystal vortex suddenly emitted a low hum, its rotation speed slowed down, and a circular platform slowly rose from the central depression. The surface was covered with the same translucent ice crystals as the light bridge, and a ring of light blue indicator lights was embedded around the edge.

“Come on up, the weight capacity is no problem, it can transport destroyers.” She added, “But don’t touch it randomly, be careful of frostbite, the icy energy can seep into the protective suit.”

Fingel quickly stopped and sat down.

With a soft "hum", the platform slowly sank into the ice crystal vortex, and the surrounding scenery instantly came to life.

The once still ice crystal vortex suddenly revealed spiral-shaped rune-like light trails on its inner wall. The pale blue icy light rapidly ascended along the trails, while the platform slid down along them, gradually increasing in speed without any bumps.

It's like floating on calm water.

Regina moved closer to the edge of the platform, watching the scene rushing past the window: the ice pipes formed blurry lines in her vision, and occasionally she could see dozens of containers and the alchemical golems escorting them glowing with a warm yellow light in the passageway.

Seventeen minutes wasn't a long time, but Shi Yiguang had already taken the time to start the new task assigned by Zhao Qing, quickly dialing Xia Mi's number:
"...Do you still remember the four strategies we agreed on earlier: 'Weak Water,' 'Burning Wind,' 'Splitting Earth,' and 'Extinguishing Flames'?"

“Of course I remember…it’s exhausting to create earthquakes so often!” came the reply from the other end of the conversation. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve closed my eyes?”

"how long?"

"796 hours! Almost 800!" Xia Mi cried out in despair, "I'm suffering! Overtime is so tiring!"

"The last time I had a good dream was back in..."

“Don’t tell me you haven’t mastered the method of virtual personality substitution,” Shi Yiguang walked to the self-service machine on the side of the platform and poured a cup of hot milk tea. “Sister Qing said that you have already cultivated ‘different consciousness’. You can easily manipulate the subconscious and the seven souls in your body. How could you be tired?”

"Please!" Xia Mi exclaimed, "I'm using my powers! How can you control something with your subconscious? Can't you be reasonable?"

"Can the duration of the use of power be as low as one-thousandth of 796 hours?" Shih Yi-kuang emphasized: "The last report pointed out that for the King of the Earth's Mountains, 'shooting' is no different from a bodily instinct, which can be equated to a conditioned reflex... Is it because there is no entertainment activity and he is tired of it?"

"You already know, why are you asking? Quickly satisfy my spiritual needs!" Xia Mi said loudly, seemingly displeased, "Eat, drink, and be merry! Custom-made dresses, jewelry, alchemical materials—not a single one can be missing!"

“Indulging in sensual pleasures leads to wrongdoing!” Shi Yiguang couldn’t help but remind him: “Tranquility is the foundation of order in the world.”

"Acting according to one's nature is the mark of a true person!" Xia Mi retorted. "Do as you please without overstepping the bounds, understand? I am a believer in the principles of the Free and Unfettered School! Abiding in self-awareness and self-understanding is ultimately an illusion; the mortal mind is the mind of the Way!"

"What are your requirements? Be specific! Make a list!" Knowing that she couldn't persuade him, Shi Yiguang sighed softly, thinking to herself that the other person was hundreds of times older than her, yet acted more like a child.

After fusing with the Water King's core, did Xia Mi consider herself to be a being that surpassed the first generation, and thus become increasingly unrestrained?

Need some education, huh? I work more overtime than you, don't I?
Look at Constantine, he's a true role model of diligence!
……

Almost simultaneously, on the outskirts of a ground base a distance from Mount Everest, in a vast, deserted square, only twelve golden statues stood, their swords gleaming faintly in the biting cold wind.

Zhao Qing's three-dimensional image slowly coalesced at their center, gradually becoming clearer, and eventually even revealing a sense of almost solidity, though the crystalline light of the sword was faintly visible.

Around her, however, the space seemed to be disturbed by an invisible force. A layer of light gray mist quietly spread out, swirling and flowing like a veil, making the entire area appear illusory and hazy.

"After so many trials, the twelve natal swords, forged by the past divine beings, have formed the 'Twelve Capital Heaven and Earth Fiends Star-Gathering Array,' gathering the essence of the sun and moon. Their spirituality is finally able to bear the arrival of my will and the influence of my laws!"

"Although the old man Youdi's 'Demonic Source Array Construction Chapter' has set many traps, it hasn't misled people on the key essence..." (End of this chapter)