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

"Coordinates confirmed, southeastern edge of the Aiken impact basin, depth sampling point A-7." The communication echo, transmitted by the spirit weasel, ignored the vacuum, and moon dust rose and slowly settled beneath its feet.

"Feedback is starting to accumulate. The 1732nd active lunar seismic wave is being transmitted back... Interestingly, the reflection signal from the Suochangyan anomaly is 7.2% stronger than the model prediction. It seems that the 'star' that caused the accident 42.5 billion years ago collided more 'deeply' than we thought."

"324 kilometers, stuck in the transition zone of the upper lunar mantle, the iron-nickel remains weigh about 2180 trillion tons, what a huge 'tumor'."

This is the culprit behind the largest existing impact crater in the solar system. That impact almost ripped the young moon apart, causing deep magma to gush out like blood. After cooling, it formed this vast, dark impact basin rich in unique minerals.

Every precise lunar seismic wave measurement adds details and makes a diagnosis to this ancient "medical record".

The deeper secrets may lie hidden in these impact ejecta that reach deep into the lunar mantle—about the origin of the moon, about Theia, and about the hidden and profound connection between the two celestial bodies that lasted for billions of years after the impact ripped them apart.

"Speaking of which, didn't this avert a disaster for Earth?"

Thinking of this ruin with a diameter of five thousand miles, Xia Mi was secretly shocked and casually remarked, "If this thing had headed for Earth back then, we'd probably all be microbial fossils by now, right?"

"Not necessarily," the EVA avatar replied objectively. "Statistically speaking, it's very likely that several 5000-kilometer-class impact craters were created on Earth during the same period, but they were completely erased by subsequent active geological activities, leaving no trace—the spark of life is more tenacious than you and I imagine."

“It might just be a possibility,” Xia Mi smiled. “Maybe it’ll be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back?”

"Forget it, I won't argue."

She strode lightly through the entrance, half-hidden by the shadow of the crater, and arrived at the official gateway to the base—the throat of a giant lava pipe.

A very thin, almost invisible membrane sealed the cross-section leading forward, shimmering with a watery sheen.

It bulged slightly at the opening of the tube, like a huge, translucent alveolus, separating the inner and outer worlds.

Xia Mi reached out and touched it a few times, then squeezed it a little harder, and moved to the other side. "This membrane looks like jelly," she commented, "and it feels like jelly too."

"Tonight's feast is all booked," EVA said with a hint of helplessness, clearly noticing the strong appetite on the other end of the line. "I suggest you maintain your professionalism during the mission and not make inappropriate associations between geological exploration and food."

"That's called an occupational hazard."

Xia Mi answered confidently: "Geologists see everything as stratification, gourmets see everything as ingredients—I'm both, I see everything as a jelly-filled cake."

The scene inside the lava tube suddenly unfolded.

Even though she had seen it countless times in the materials, she still felt a visual shock: the dome was more than three thousand meters wide and about one thousand meters high, stretching into the depths of darkness with no end in sight.

It is a product of ancient volcanic activity on the moon, large enough to contain an entire mountain range and allow millions of people to settle there—the stress of the lunar crust and the moon's low gravity allowed the rock walls to maintain this incredible scale without collapsing.

Its greatest value lies in providing a natural giant room with minimal temperature difference and near-perfect radiation shielding.

Especially compared to the 300-degree diurnal temperature range on the lunar surface.

"A temperature-controlled luxury residence! If real estate developers on the moon had appeared billions of years earlier, how much would this cost per square meter? But I guess only a Dragon King-level tycoon could afford the whole pipe."

If one's eyesight is exceptionally good, one can notice in the distance crisscrossing "spider webs" that gleam with a pale silver sheen.

They stably suspend the numerous platforms, building modules, and piping systems constructed in the early stages in mid-air, arranged in an orderly fashion at varying heights.

"The 'suspended roof system' has a 0.3 mm diameter scimitar wire with a single wire tensile strength of 12 MPa," EVA's explanation was timely inserted, "They not only provide support, but more importantly, cushioning."

“The moon does not have plate tectonics, but thermal expansion and contraction and micrometeorite impacts still occur. This suspended structure allows the building to absorb deformation like a pendulum, rather than confronting it head-on.”

"So it's based on the hammock principle."

Xia Mi concluded, her body already floating up, stepping onto a glowing walkway, which was also part of the suspension system, swaying slightly.

You can understand it that way.

“Sleeping so high up, if you roll over and accidentally fall off the bed, that would be terrible.” Xia Mi looked down into the bottomless darkness as she walked, the light from the walkway only illuminating a limited area. “Even with low gravity, a few hundred meters is enough to kill someone. It’s really a good place to test your courage…”

A ghostly being silently swept past her, its pale blue form leaving a phosphorescent afterimage in the air.

It was a Transformer whose physical body had long since decayed somewhere on Earth. Only his soul was completely extracted. Through the sword talisman pasted on his heart, his appearance in life could be vaguely discerned: he seemed to be a typical street vagrant who died from poverty, illness, and cold.

His spirit form allowed him to thrive in the low gravity and oxygen-free environment of the moon, eliminating the need for bulky life support equipment.

Here, one rarely sees flesh and blood in the conventional sense.

"We've caught up with the new era."

Watching the streak of light gradually fade into the distance, Xia Mi muttered to herself, "Being dead is busier than being alive. Who would have thought that you'd have to get a license to be a ghost, and that you'd be working 996 hours a day on the moon?"

Of course, the work done by the "ghost immortals" is only the sideline; AI, alchemy puppets, and sword-cultivating golden men are the main force in the work.

“But in this new era, the life experiences of both the poor and the rich are more equal than ever before, and the gap no longer exists.” EVA calmly responded: “Everyone has the same starting point after ‘dismemberment’, and their physiological and safety needs have been fully met, and their original social relationships have been broken.”

"In other words, these 'ghost immortals' who are brought here are working to gain respect and self-realization, out of their inner passion and love. Someone who was once considered a 'lazybones' and could only receive relief food can now take on simple tasks and gain positive feedback and growth from them."

"...In their own words, it was a feeling of 'being reborn'."

"Let's not talk about 'afterlife blessings' or anything like that. It's too cutthroat, I don't want to hear it anymore." Xia Mi interrupted her, then glanced at a corner where ghosts and immortals were gathered: "What are they doing over there?"

“When the lunar soil is heated to produce water, about fifty to sixty liters can be extracted from one ton of hydrogen-rich ilmenite,” EVA explained. “The ghost immortals obtain water not for their own use, but for the flower seeds they plant. These are mainly improved laurel and fluorescent moss, which can grow in low-gravity, high-radiation environments and belong to the dragon subspecies.”

"That's quite romantic." Xia Mi raised an eyebrow. "Living under a bridge in life and planting a garden after death, that's quite an upward curve in life."

She continued walking, the light from the walkway shimmering beneath her feet, guiding her towards the depths.

Along the way, dense drill marks can be seen on the rock walls—part of a lunar seismic monitoring network.

Thousands of sensors were implanted into the rock layers, forming a giant neural network that constantly sensed every tremor inside the moon.

"The concentration of vital energy is nearly four hundred times higher than that on the moon's surface, but we haven't seen any spirit-gathering arrays along the way," Xia Mi asked again. "Besides the membrane covering the entrance to prevent leakage, what else is it relying on?"

The moon's gravity is weak, and the Earth's crustal movement is almost stagnant, so the "earth's aperture" has almost no effect on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

In such a harsh environment, without using any spirit-gathering techniques, how could a high concentration of vital energy be enough to fill the entire lava tube?
"...A breakthrough has been achieved in the solar true fire propagation technology?"

You guessed half right.

EVA said, "Do you see those supports that go through the tube walls?"

Xia Mi looked in the direction indicated and saw that in the middle of the lava tube, countless silver-white giant supports pierced into the void from the rock wall like ribs. Each one was tens of meters thick, with complex rune circuits flowing on its surface, and larger golden-red foils unfolded.

They illuminated the depths of the lava tubes, making them brightly lit.

"Energy Storage Glass Sphere Units 881 to 885, True Fire Constraint State Stable... Taiji Qi Furnace Core Enters Cyclic Cooling, True Water Injection and Recovery, 'Clarity' Talisman Plate is Operating Well, Current Conversion Efficiency: 99.7%..." A weasel returned from afar, relaying the system's monitoring report.

"This is actually a reversal of the process of refining the true fire of the sun. The true fire produced by the array of talismans on the sun surface is transported here, and then it is disintegrated, diluted and harmonized layer by layer, turning into a universal and gentle primordial energy, which is then injected into the environment inside the tube with almost no loss."

"Have the sampling and dating results come out yet?" Xia Mi blinked and got back to the point. She stopped in front of a large drilling platform on a rock wall and examined the waveform on the display screen.

"The 'Wanggu-3' cluster of wide-area automated drilling units has completed core extraction and in-situ analysis at its 4092nd sampling point. Sampling depth range: from the lunar surface to 15 meters below the surface. It primarily covers the edges of different geological units, including Oceanus Procellarum, Mare Imbrium, and the East Mare Basin… Based on cross-validation using impact crater statistical dating and isotope decay dating, a preliminary time series of major lunar mare basalt eruption events has been mapped: the earliest dating back to 42 billion years ago, and the latest lasting until approximately 12 billion years ago…"

"Analysis of the residual magnetic field strength of the ancient moon indicates that the moon may have once possessed a global dipole magnetic field with an intensity of approximately 190±10% of that of the current Earth, which rapidly decayed about 31 billion years ago..."

EVA has begun to present data and analysis professionally.

"Stronger than Earth's magnetic field? Really?"

Xia Mi paused.

"That was certainly true 35.6 billion years ago."

Xia Mi whistled: "So this seemingly lifeless stone beneath our feet used to be a 'magnetic magnet'?"

"Then wouldn't Earth be its little brother, protected by it?"

Among many unverified hypotheses, the global magnetic field may be equivalent to the brainwaves of stellar consciousness, and its strength may reflect the power of the "master" behind it.

However, considering that the power of human brainwave activity is only measured in nanowatts, which is less than one billionth of the human body's power, and the value of the magnetic field is estimated to account for only a negligible proportion of the total power, if the difference is not large, it may just be a difference between being awake and asleep, or between being active and not.

"Perhaps." EVA pulled up a set of data, which was a curve of the intensity of paleomagnetic and paleolunar magnetic fields. The two lines—one representing the Earth and the other representing the Moon—almost completely overlapped in the range of 42 billion to 35 billion years ago.

“Look here, the magnetic tilt angle, magnetic declination angle, and even the frequency of magnetic pole reversal all show a high degree of correlation.”

"This is not a coincidence that could be produced by two independent celestial bodies."

"Do they share the same magnetic field?"

Xia Mi gasped.

Although there was no air for her to breathe.

Could it be that the Earth-Moon system was once dominated by the consciousness of a single star?
"Or rather, the distance between the moon and the earth was once close enough for their magnetospheres to cross-link," EVA corrected. "Based on tidal evolution models, the distance between the earth and the moon at that time may have been only one-third of what it is now, or even closer."

"The Moon is tidally locked to Earth, and at the same time, the interaction between its liquid outer core and Earth's magnetic field maintains a giant magnetic structure spanning the two celestial bodies, a superimposed shield."

"What then?"

“35.6 billion years ago, the radioactive heat source inside the moon decayed, the nuclear dynamo effect stopped, and the magnetic field dropped sharply to a few microteslas. The distance between the Earth and the Moon also gradually increased due to the transfer of angular momentum and tidal acceleration, and the two worlds became ‘isolated’ from then on,” EVA continued.

"Wait," Xia Mi suddenly stopped, her gaze falling on a scanned image highlighted on the edge of the platform, "Antarctica?"

"Why is Antarctica singled out?" "Your observation is very insightful."

EVA explained: "The Aiken impact occurred 42.5 billion years ago, precisely when the Moon's magnetic field was at its strongest. This impact not only excavated deep material but also created a permanent 'scar' in the lunar mantle—a low-resistivity channel, an opening through which magnetic field lines can more easily concentrate."

"so?"

“So,” EVA pulled up another spectral analysis chart, “the Antarctic-Aitken region was where the Earth-Moon magnetic field crosslinking was strongest at that time. We detected an abnormally high nitrogen isotope ratio in the anthracite sample—δN reached +180‰, far exceeding the typical value of native solar system materials.”

"This number..."

"It closely matches the early atmosphere of Earth."

EVA added: "Strong evidence suggests that during the period of strongest magnetic field crosslinking, Earth's paleoatmosphere 'leaked' along magnetic field lines to the lunar south pole region and was frozen in ice in permanently shadowed areas or trapped in mineral lattices."

"So the lunar south pole not only has water ice, but also... fossils of Earth's ancient atmosphere?" Xia Mi felt a strange shiver. "3.5 billion years ago, not only were the Earth and the Moon connected by magnetic fields, but their atmospheres were also connected?"

"That's one way to understand it. That's why we've focused our exploration here. The Aiken Basin is more than just an impact remnant; it's a 'witness' to the early close relationship between the Earth and the Moon, and a key to unlocking the mystery of the Moon's origin."

“Nitrogen, water vapor, and even organic molecules and primitive archaea may have migrated in both directions along this ‘magnetic bridge’.”

"Good heavens," Xia Mi couldn't help but complain, "So our ancestors had already done the moon landing countless times before."

"While archaea and viruses that drift to the moon could never evolve the ability to make sarcastic remarks, you are clearly an exception." EVA's voice remained steady, yet inexplicably revealed a hint of humor.

"So Antarctica is where they finally 'parted ways'."

Xia Mi murmured, "The magnetic field broke, the air stopped circulating, and from then on, one evolved busily on the blue planet, while the other slowly cooled down in the gray desert... No wonder it's so cold, it's heartbreak."

Xia Mi continued forward, the light on the walkway flickering incessantly.

The rock walls here gradually change from grayish-white lunar mare basalt to a deep olive green, a mixture of peridot and pyroxene from the lunar mantle, gleaming with an oily luster.

The drill marks became denser and deeper, with some holes reaching diameters of tens of meters and edges as smooth as mirrors, clearly not left by ordinary drilling equipment.

"We're almost there."

EVA warned, "The entrance to the 'shaft' is just ahead."

"Vertical shaft?"

“The official name is ‘Deep Lunar Exploration Tunnel A-01’,” EVA’s voice took on a solemn tone. “A vertical tunnel with a depth of over 300 kilometers, penetrating the entire lunar crust and reaching the bottom of the upper lunar mantle, the top of that iron-nickel ‘tumor’.”

"What a waste of resources." Xia Mi leaped onto a floating transmission light track. "Isn't that thing just a big lump of iron and nickel? It crashed in and got stuck. In geology, it's called an 'intrusion,' right?"

“According to the latest three-dimensional magnetospheric imaging, it is by no means a simple iron-nickel lump.” EVA pointed out the key point: “Its magnetic field lines are arranged in a highly ordered topological structure, pulsating regularly, with a period of stable at…23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.

"A standard sidereal day?"

“A magnetic structure sealed deep within the lunar mantle, with its ‘heartbeat’ centered on the Earth’s rotation period?” Xia Mi frowned and said in a low voice, “This doesn’t sound like something that was formed naturally.”

"Considering that the Earth's rotation period is getting longer and longer, how does this rhythm match up? 42 billion years ago, a day on Earth was only six hours long! Is it monitored and updated in real time?"

"This is not a difficult adjustment."

EVA pulls up a holographic cross-sectional image, peeling back the layers of the structure deep inside the tunnel to reveal the dark red sphere labeled "Star Core": "Even more bizarre are the residual magnetic features inside."

“Normally, ferromagnetic materials retain random magnetization directions after losing an external field, forming a chaotic remanence. But the magnetic domains inside this star's core... are arranged in a nearly perfect, nested concentric spherical shell structure, with the magnetization direction changing continuously and smoothly from the core to the outer shell.”

Concentric circles? Spherical? Like an onion?

"Furthermore, the temperature of the lunar mantle has long been above 1000 degrees Celsius, higher than the Curie point of iron-nickel alloys (about 770 degrees Celsius). Theoretically, any natural magnetization record should have been completely erased by thermal demagnetization long ago. But it wasn't. Its magnetic structure not only remained stable, but also... restrained," EVA emphasized.

"Reserved?"

"Its magnetic field is completely confined inside by some mechanism, without leaking a single bit into the external space. We can only 'see' it through lunar seismic wave reflection and penetrating neutrino imaging. From the outside, it is just an ordinary, slightly magnetic metallic lump, a perfectly normal meteorite remnant."

"Like something... that has been deliberately hidden?"

"exactly."

The transmission light track began to accelerate, sending Xia Mi into a massive circular gate. The gate slowly opened, revealing a dizzying abyss behind it—a vertical tunnel about fifty meters in diameter, piercing straight into the absolute darkness deep within the moon.

The tunnel's inner walls are covered with silvery-white crystallized ceramics and supporting structures, maintaining the domain of the Glazed Brahma City's Word of Power. Every kilometer there is a circular platform covered with various alchemical monitoring devices.

It's like a string of lanterns hanging at the entrance to hell.

The descent was long and silent.

The surrounding rock layers gradually change from olive green to dark brown, and then to a kind of high-pressure mineral aggregate that is almost black.

The temperature was rising, but the protective layer was keeping the heat out. Xia Mi looked at the depth gauge on the platform; the numbers kept jumping: fifty kilometers, one hundred kilometers, two hundred kilometers…

The lunar crust is only fifty kilometers thick on average, which she has already passed through; she is now traveling through the solid upper lunar mantle.

The surrounding rock walls began to emit a faint red glow, the radiation from the high-temperature rock itself. Soon, she saw huge diamond crystals embedded in the rock strata, a gift from the high pressure.

EVA did not disturb Xia Mi's enjoyment of the "scenery" until the number exceeded 300 kilometers, at which point the platform began to slow down noticeably.

“Based on isotopic dating,” she continued, “the ‘activation’ traces of this star’s core—that is, the formation time of those concentric magnetic domains—are not from the impact 42.5 billion years ago.”

"That is?"

"120,000 years ago, the error was positive or negative for 3,000 years."

"Slightly earlier than the era of the co-rule of the Black and White Kings?" Xia Mi pondered, having recently reconstructed a more accurate dragon chronology: "Nidhogg seems to have some kind of restriction that prevents it from leaving Earth too far. So, could the unusual modifications it underwent be related to the White King?"

"I think so."

Across hundreds of thousands of kilometers, a thought that sprouted from the entangled sword intent conveyed Zhao Qing's viewpoint.

“If I’m not mistaken, the White King refined this star core into a controller and an interface for interacting with the consciousness of the Earth and the Moon,” she paused, “like an earpiece, like a lighthouse… thereby reconnecting the destinies of the two worlds.”

"What do you mean? Activate the magnetic field to allow the Earth and Moon to share the same stellar consciousness again?" Xia Mi countered, "Is it that simple?"

The energy required to maintain a global magnetic field is negligible for beings like the Black King and the White King.

The connection and interruption of the magnetic field are undoubtedly just appearances.

“Beneath the surface lies a channel of will.” Zhao Qing’s thoughts traversed the void, responding calmly, “The magnetic field is merely a carrier, just as sound waves are merely a carrier of speech. What truly matters is the ‘information’ transmitted through this carrier—the ‘thoughts’ of the will of the stars.”

"Furthermore, the White King's aim is not to reconstruct the Earth-Moon connection from 42 billion to 35 billion years ago, but rather to reshape an even more ancient and primitive state," she pointed out. "If the Moon lost its independence during those 7 million years, what about other eras?"

"42.5 billion years ago, the impact of that planet severely damaged the Moon's consciousness, which allowed Earth to take advantage of the situation and invade?" Xia Mi immediately understood the key point: "There is never a romantic journey between two parties, only a savage, instinctive process of devouring, digesting, and merging?"

“But Earth consciousness seems to have indigestion,” Zhao Qing said. “At least, it has left some remnants.”

"Residue?"

"Think about it, what role did this tumor on your foot play during the long process of eating?" she asked again.

"Teeth that won't let go of fatty meat?"

"Just like when a hungry wolf bites its prey, it will instinctively use its canine teeth to lock onto the vital parts, thereby firmly controlling and preventing the other party from struggling."

"For a 'cold' consciousness that has experienced countless collisions, mergers, and devourings of planetesimals and eventually ranked among the eight major oligarches, the satellites that seem to be 'loyally' protecting it are never companions or followers, but rather delicacies that have been served on the table and are waiting to be enjoyed."

"Don't imagine the consciousness of the stars as a tender and affectionate character."

"In the early stages of the formation of the solar system, even if planetesimals developed consciousness, they would kill each other upon meeting, and there would be almost no normal communication between them. Everyone they saw was an enemy."

The platform descended to its lowest point.

Xia Mi leaped down and looked around.

It was a slightly curved metal "wall" with bright silver and silver-gray stripes interwoven, occupying the entire tunnel cross section. The surface had rough, small cracks and was covered with dark purple patterns that radiated outwards like branches and leaves.

It is quietly embedded in the dark brown lunar mantle rock layer, with its edges and the contact surface with the rock showing a strange fusion state, as if this iron-nickel star core has "grown" into the interior of the moon.

Based on the gold abundance commonly found in iron meteorites, this object is equivalent to at least 30 billion tons of gold, which is many times larger than the global economy.

"The 'core' covers an area of ​​approximately 5.2 square kilometers, with the vast majority of its volume still buried deep beneath the hotter lunar mantle. What we are currently in is merely its 'ceiling'," EVA explained.

"Huge! Really huge!" Xia Mi squatted down, tapping and striking it to test its material and stress: "An alchemical weapon, it can actually be this big!"

"After all, it was originally a 'celestial meteorite iron' that had been tempered and refined, of excellent quality. It was then refined into a 'natal object' by the Earth's consciousness and nurtured in abundant primordial magnetic energy for hundreds of millions of years, which allowed it to be sublimated."

Zhao Qing replied calmly, "Do you still remember the resonance between natal energies? Have you forgotten the essentials of cultivating the 'Starfire Sword'?"

"Let me think about it..." Xia Mi paused for a moment: "The Starfire Sword Scripture is actually a simulation of a comet's tail sweeping down from the endless sky. The sword and star are one, the life star is extinguished by fire, the imprint of one's life energy is used as the anchor point, the shape of the starfire is the sword, and the divine thought is projected to attack from thousands of miles away."
"It sounds mysterious, but it's actually the same as the instinct of the stellar consciousness to extend its power to distant places. The principle is almost identical."

Zhao Qing further explained: "Ancient cultivators left behind such techniques for future generations by comprehending the movement of the stars and sensing the laws of meteoric energy, which led to the creation of this sword manual."

...(End of this chapter)