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

Based on extensive psychological analysis and behavioral pattern deduction, the research team arrived at an objective conclusion:
To minimize the potential rejection reaction from the "God's Kingdom" or "Incubator" portal, it is not recommended to use more advanced ships or aircraft. A U-boat of the same type as the 1943 "Prince Gauguin" would be the perfect choice, or it could be regarded as a carefully designed "psychological key".

Compared to unfamiliar things, a vehicle that is almost exactly the same as before is obviously more likely to be mistaken by the other party's perception as "familiar returnees", thus making them open the door and pass smoothly.

Thus, the U-505 submarine, captured by the U.S. military in June 1944, a classic IXC model submarine that should have been enjoying its retirement in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, was "borrowed" by Henkel's forces for a hefty sum and became the vessel for this deep dive.

Its surface has been renovated to restore its historical appearance as much as possible, but its interior has long been transformed with a high degree of alchemical modifications. The redesigned pipelines crisscross and shimmer with the faint light of blue or dark gold runes. Ancient dragon patterns and modern integrated circuit boards coexist in a strange way.

In essence, U-505 has become a massive alchemical creation, disguised as a modern weapon of history.

At some point, a melodious classical music began to gently echo inside the submarine, dispelling the oppressive feeling brought about by deep-sea voyages. When combined with a card game called Skat, it perfectly recreated the main form of entertainment for the crew during World War II.

The album's playlist was clearly carefully selected, including fatalistic movements from Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelungs," Sibelius's "Finlandia," a piece interwoven with Nordic vastness and melancholy, and Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde," a lament and contemplation in the face of eternal nature.

Music serves as both background and an invisible psychological suggestion and spiritual comfort, especially for Maria of the Stars, whose complex emotions span two eras are awakened by music.

In the cramped kitchen space, "Xiao Shi" squatted down and fiddled with two electric ovens: "Ham and pineapple pizza, or seafood supreme? Considering we're underwater, perhaps the latter is more appropriate?"

Although she was just a magic doll made of spirit porcelain, she could still use her true energy to digest the food she ate and break it down into essence. However, it had no taste at all and was almost a waste.

From this perspective, Shi Yiguang was undoubtedly just killing time and practicing his skills.

"Want to try some? They say it's effective in relieving deep-sea anxiety?"

"No, it doesn't feel as good as drinking a Coke."

Xia Mi replied casually from outside the door.

She leaned listlessly against a thick cooling pipe, tapping the pipe wall with her fingers, making dull thumping sounds, and humming an off-key tune. This was a far cry from her previously proclaimed "heroic" stance; she seemed more like a problem child who was bored and restless after a long bus ride.

Maria of the Stars, having taken the Jade Capsule, lay on her bed in the officer's cabin, her face slightly pale. She felt the dragon blood within her body resonating and pulsating with the ever-approaching destination, as if constantly drawing her soul.

In the middle of the submarine, the control room was dimly lit, with only the instrument panel emitting a faint green or orange-red glow.

Zhao Qing stood quietly beside the periscope, the light and shadow of the surrounding environment naturally reflected in the ripples of space that formed her eyes. She quickly noticed that the near-sea surface about a hundred meters above had changed color silently. The original deep dark blue was gradually being replaced by an unsettling crimson.

The seawater seemed to be stained with endless blood, thick and eerie, exuding a primal savagery and ferocity of life.

"A mixture of cold-resistant red algae and dragon blood factors, a common form of marine incubation ground," she commented casually. "The energy source is not geothermal energy, nor is it merely the natural absorption of primordial energy from heaven and earth; it also involves the level of primordial energy laws. Every time the power of the entire domain is overwritten, it spurs an astonishing super-evolution..."

On the sonar screen, dense dots of light surged like boiling water.

"It's quite lively under the ice."

The AI ​​version of Fingel, responsible for monitoring, interjected, his tone unusually serious: "A huge school of fish, with a wide variety of species... and big ones too, the calls of whales, there are many. For some reason, the biomass in this sea area has exploded, plankton has surged, and those who eat plankton have come, and those who eat fish have followed."

"A grand feast."

Xia Mi sighed and transmitted her voice: "I just don't know who the main course of the banquet is, and who the dishes are."

“...Actually, poisoning the food is one way to do it.” Zhao Qing smiled slightly: “But the target is too strong, and it’s easy to backfire—it won’t kill him, but it will increase his resistance.”

No matter how sophisticated or targeted a poison may be, it is still only at the level of changes in electrons and atomic nuclei. It is almost impossible for it to reach the QCD (Quantum Chromodynamics) energy scale or the SF-QED (Strong Field Quantum Electrodynamics) energy scale, let alone the electroweak unification energy scale or the extra-dimensional energy scale.

A deeper analysis of the power hierarchy of the four monarchs—earth, water, fire, and wind—confirms that the Black King has already mastered the latter two domains, and may even have reached higher levels.

While it's possible to find special stellar energy that can bypass elemental control and target one's innate energy and law domain, even if it were truly effective, using it in advance would likely lead to adaptation and gradual harmlessness. It would be better to trigger it only during actual combat.

To break through these constraints, one must start with changes in time, space, cause and effect, and fate, and develop a sacred poison similar to Gungnir before one can be considered to have truly mastered it.

While Herzog did develop a nerve agent that could be effective against the first generation, this was undoubtedly based on the latter being in a state of disorder and unable to even release their Words of Power, making it impossible for them to threaten the true King.

"How is the creation of the Divine Oracle progressing?" Xia Mi asked thoughtfully. "The dragon's might of the Word Emperor is simply too powerful. Even thousands of years later, with my memories fragmented from back then, I still feel lingering fear..."

Although it has developed to a level close to a two-in-one adult through various means, it still feels that it is difficult to put up a fight.

This doesn't mean she's not confident she can defeat Nidhogg in a group fight, even if the latter isn't at his peak and is in a strange state. Rather, it means she has serious doubts. If she were to face that supreme being again, she might even have her bloodline sealed and suppressed, unable to move from beginning to end. Going there would be like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Considering that the Black King can so easily grant the first generation of humans the title of Grand Master, and mass-produce "Dragon Kings," the difference is indeed that great.

In ancient times, Nidhogg would utter a high-pitched or terrifying voice from his mountain-like throne, using the power of words to intimidate unruly kings and command their descendants to submit to him.

If they cannot break through the Emperor's exclusive privileges, even if the kings manage to withstand the dragon's might using advanced alchemy, none of their pure-blooded subordinates will be able to use them; they will all betray them on the spot.

To this day, there are still many ancient dragons and ancient species in the world who believe that the four monarchs are traitors who murdered the Supreme Being. They not only try every means to attack each other, but also leak information to allow hybrids to launch surprise attacks. They also harbor the fantasy that the Black King will return and the dragon race will return to its former glory. This is naturally inseparable from the long-term influence of the "Emperor of Words".

This supreme incantation can absolutely be imprinted on one's mind.

This is why many subsequent generations of species have a violent urge to destroy the world.

Only the new generation of dragons, that is, the younger ones who have never seen an "emperor", can shed this special mental filter, restrain themselves, and strive to live a good life.

The dragon kings, including most of the monarchs, the fallen angels also known as the "Seventy-Two Pillars of Solomon," and the young, teenage, and adult dragons who have begun to integrate into human civilization are allies that can be won over and cooperated with.

However, if the plan proceeds smoothly and restores or even strengthens the "oracle" created by the White King, the power can grow even further.

Reducing enemies and increasing friends has always been the fundamental principle of struggle, and it must be put into practice.

“We’ve completed most of it,” Zhao Qing replied. “Fear stems from the unknown. In any case, now that we’re here, there’s no need to back down! Relax! If there’s any danger, I’ll cover the rear!”

"So it's settled?" Xia Mi blinked, sensing the periscope being manipulated to descend slightly by a few meters.

An interesting phenomenon has emerged.

That shocking crimson color exists only in the top three or four meters of seawater, like a floating blood-red lid.

Once the "lid" is penetrated, the seawater below quickly becomes exceptionally clear. The submarine's searchlight beam easily penetrates the 20-30 meter thick layer of water, illuminating a bizarre, vibrant, and breathtaking underwater world.

It is more than 300 meters below sea level, not the dark abyss that was expected.

Countless self-luminous plankton and jellyfish create a natural backlight, illuminating the rugged outline of the massive seamount.

Those seamounts exhibit a beautiful and strange fractal structure, some resembling an infinite magnification and replica of the tender antlers of a newborn fawn, while others look like a giant mushroom cluster that, when unfolded, is the size of a football field.

The fringed spots, the ribbed discs, the segmented tubes, the upward-pointing bell shapes, and the slender cones each display their unique forms.

Even more so, some are as majestic as mountains, yet their details resemble ancient castles weathered by time, solemn and mysterious.

Even more astonishing is that the seamount is covered with a large number of tree-like giant structures, which are not plants, but some kind of huge, living filter-feeding organisms.

Thousands upon thousands of tiny, petal-like tentacles sway gently on this vast living structure, gracefully undulating with the water flow.

Occasionally, these "trees" will spew out powerful, dark green or dark blue viscous water, as if the male and female trees are conducting a silent and grand pollination ceremony.

“Identifying environmental biological communities…the morphology of many individuals closely matches the fossil record of the Sinian period. The fractal branching structure of Gania, the triradial symmetry of Sanxingan, the leaf-like morphology of Dickinson’s jellyfish…and even some features that seem to be from the older Ediacaran biota.”

"This sea area... is the remains of a living ancient biosphere, or rather, an ecological window that was forcibly awakened by the power of dragon blood and frozen in a certain ancient geological era."

The AI ​​version of Fingel mobilized the database and provided an analysis report: "A considerable portion of them are products of the period before and after the Avalon eruption, and have been extinct for hundreds of millions of years..."

This scene inevitably evokes the image of the original "Kinlunga Divide" in Norse mythology:
Before the world was created, there was no sky or earth; the space was filled with thick fog, and across the fog stretched a chasm between Muspelheim, the land of fire, and Niflheim, the land of fog.

Where flames and icy chill intertwined, Ymir, the progenitor of the frost giants, and the colossal cow Odumbra were born. Odumbra survived by licking ice and salt, while Ymir lived on its milk.

Professors in Kassel have speculated that the Kinlunga Gap might refer to a massive rift in the deep sea.

Myth has it that the first life was born here, which may be an allusion to the fact that the dragon civilization was born from a similar environment.

“It seems we’ve found the right place,” Zhao Qing said softly. “The primordial soup of life is also… the final resting place.”

The spotlight beams swept across the slowly dancing ancient creatures, casting huge, distorted shadows.

"Coming."

"Xiao Shi" synchronized the navigation data and confirmed the final coordinates: "There should only be a dozen kilometers left... uh?"

Before he finished speaking, all the lights on the ship, including the backlights on all the instrument screens, went completely dark in an instant.

It wasn't a power outage, but rather a temporary deprivation of some more fundamental "existence," as if plunging into absolute nothingness.

The darkness lasted only a moment, perhaps less than half a second.

The lights came on again.

But what the lights illuminated was a completely different world.

The view of the deep sea outside the porthole disappeared without a trace.

Instead, a thick, swirling, grayish-white fog filled the air.

Amidst the mist, a vast, deep chasm, seemingly piercing the heavens and the earth, loomed in the center of the field of vision.

The submarine stopped submerging and, as if it had lost its weight, began to slowly rise.

They emerged from the sea of ​​fog.

My eyes suddenly opened up.

The night sky was crystal clear, and the stars shone like diamonds.

The Milky Way hangs low, seemingly within reach.

You can clearly see the winding coastline and the twinkling lights.

The bright moon cast its clear light, illuminating a vast and boundless field not far away. Violet-green wild alfalfa undulated like waves, and the air was filled with the fragrance of grass, laurel, and tulips.

A flock of kestrels soared and tumbled, tracing graceful paths, as if performing a courtship ritual among themselves.

Further away, the long, drawn-out whistle of a train blew. A long, black iron train, spewing thick steam, raced along the tracks, its powerful strides creating a gust of wind that swept up countless wildflowers and weeds.

Behind the submarine, another, even louder, whistle sounded, signaling that a merchant ship, laden with cargo, was entering port under cover of night.

On the hill, a huge cluster of windmills slowly rotated their blades, and spiderweb-like power lines transmitted electricity to distant towns, where the melodious chimes of church bells chiming the hour could be heard.

The hot spring is located at the top of the mountain. The spring water contains a large amount of limestone and flows down the mountainside layer by layer. The limestone is deposited on the mountain rocks, turning the entire mountain white.

An elderly man, walking with difficulty, crossed the riverbank and lit one street lamp after another with a long-handled torch. The light reflected in the river water, like a string of pearls drifting away with the current.

From somewhere, the faint sound of waltz music drifted over, melodious and cheerful, probably from the mansion of some nobleman or wealthy merchant, where a grand ball was being held tonight.

This is definitely not the deep sea beneath the Arctic ice sheet.

Here, on April 23, 1888, in the Principality of Marston, it was a breezy spring night.

Before the final hurdle to meet the Black Emperor, a hidden mark implanted on Star Maria many years ago reacted. Odin suddenly intervened, using it as a beacon to forcibly distort their course and send them elsewhere.

"The lost city of Siberyl is not just a legend after all..."

With a thought, Zhao Qing had already gathered a large amount of information: "There is indeed such a strange 'ancient' civilization, living in another dimension of the world line, in a fault line of spacetime..."

"Don't panic, everyone. I can sense that the original Ice Sea Hatching Ground has not disappeared. It is still there 'eating' in an orderly manner. It's just that the coordinates of consciousness have split into parallel mirror images and placed into a maze-like corridor. But it's far from a true switch."

"Simply by observing oneself, letting the mind be dead and the spirit alive, free from all attachments, one can rediscover the vision for the Arctic voyage."

Otherwise, it would be nothing more than an enhanced version of the Suspended Puppet Sword that releases true qi externally, and it would never be able to continue to work. "Xiao Shi" would definitely be taken offline.

This state of being derived from the World Tree is quite similar to entering the Dream Realms, representing a series of hidden methods for cultivation and advancement, from which she can gain a lot and better develop the potential abilities of "Citation".

“Hmm…it’s more like a person being put into a television set, yet still able to observe the outside world.” Xia Mi tried to explain: “But this television set is also a real and authentic world. The window we use to look back is just like another television playing.”

“The same ink drop has seeped into two adjacent pages.” Maria of the Stars spoke slowly: “Just like the boundary between reality and the surreal, the beginning and the end of things happen in the blink of an eye.”

“The Desire Realm, the Form Realm, the Formless Realm,” Shi Yiguang’s tone became slightly serious, “It is by no means a fake, but rather a fragment of cosmic light…”

Each and every one of you here is an extraordinary individual. Unlike ordinary hybrids, you will not be lost or confused, unable to perceive the truth. The barriers between timelines cannot limit you.

"A 'test' set by Odin? A riddle to solve?" Zhao Qing speculated. "He wants to confirm our intentions, or rather... whether we are qualified to communicate and cooperate with the 'God King'."

“They might also want to turn us into fertilizer for the ‘World Tree’,” Xia Mi pursed her lips. “We mustn’t let our guard down!”

"Don't worry." Zhao Qing nodded and waved his hand to activate multiple alchemical matrices inside the submarine, putting it into an optical stealth state so as not to be detected by motorboats passing by the port.

"Actually, in my opinion, Odin doesn't seem to have completely mastered this world. He probably only has partial authority, which allows him to open an entrance, which is a kind of application of the laws of spacetime."

She sensed it for a while: "The concentration of spiritual energy here is extremely low, and its activity is even more negligible, which seems unfavorable for the natural birth of cultivators..."

"Naturally born?" Shi Yiguang asked, "And artificially born?"

"I don't know about that," Zhao Qing replied calmly. "I just discovered the red mercury vapor coming from the mist rising from the ship's smokestacks..."

To be honest, the sounds of conversation carried by the wind and the social scenes visible in the distance had already given her many ideas.

It contained medieval Latin, Greek, and a small amount of Celtic and Chinese, along with corresponding faces and customs.

"Considering the danger of the team splitting up, we should try to move together as much as possible from now on." Zhao Qing added as he gave the order: "Let's set off, go ashore and take a look around, to gather intelligence—a medium-sized city like this, with a population of about 100,000, should have places like higher education institutions and libraries to store information."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that its technological development seems to be no more than the 19th century, and that a typical dragon city doesn't look very advanced, even closer to the style of the Middle Ages. However, with the help of alchemy, it is no less impressive than modern human civilization in many ways, each with its own strengths and weaknesses."

If she weren't just a descended mirror puppet with limited usable skills, she wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble; a sweep of her divine sense within a hundred miles would have sufficed.

In comparison, Xia Mi should be the main force in completing the mission.

Based on her experience of repeatedly infiltrating human society and creating identities without being detected, although she might have some flaws in the information age, she could easily succeed in this low-tech ancient era.

Moreover, in the past few thousand years, Xia Mi, who had just been resurrected, was almost always in the initial juvenile stage, and appeared weak. But now she wields great power comparable to an adult, and can destroy mountains and flatten a hundred miles with a single blow. Needless to say, she is even more powerful.

Of course, it is also unacceptable to open a meticulously crafted, expensive holographic puzzle game full of clues and then wantonly destroy the map. Such a self-destructive act is not allowed.

...(End of chapter)