Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 392 Sun, Here I Come! (3k)

"Hey, Benben?" Luo Qing was surprised to find an iron dog nearby.

The mechanical dog has a really long lifespan; it's been almost two hundred years, and apart from some paint chipping, it hasn't changed much.

Luo Ji preemptively asked, "Why did you steal someone's dog?"

Luo Qing was speechless.

He couldn't possibly say that Benben was the first sentient being he had ever seen in this world, and that it was very much like the puppet sect from his hometown, which is why he couldn't resist wanting to get his hands on it and play with it.

Originally, Luo Qing intended to return it, but after spending decades alone in the Hollow, he worried that Radiaz might develop psychological problems, so he brought the thick-skinned Benben to Mercury.

Under the circumstances at the time, only this mechanical dog could move freely inside the Mercury Hollow.

In fact, even without Benben, Regiaz wouldn't have been able to be saved if he hadn't gotten stuck in the cavitation center.

Radiaz knew Luo Qing's true intentions: "It's probably for my sake. Anyway, please thank that scientist for me. And please ask Dr. Luo Ji to take Benben back to Earth for me. It must be very homesick."

Benben cried out.

Luo Ji agreed.

Luo Qing sighed from the side, "I know about Tu Hengyu's situation. Once I cultivate the Great Dao of Time further, I will be able to transform the 40-minute Time Stream into a 400-year Time River. At that time, I will rescue Tu Gong's wife and daughter who suffered misfortune and bring them to the present world as an apology to Tu Gong."

"The Way of Time? You know that? Does the Way of Time really exist?"

Although Luo Ji had heard the term "Luo" many times in cultivation movies and settings, it felt different when Luo Qing actually said it.

Luo Qing said confidently, "The timeline does exist, and I do have some talent in the Dao of Time. I am not one of those stupid cultivators who know nothing about the Dao of Time."

Luo Qing is also getting better and dares to call out the Emperor.

However, Luo Ji's common sense in physics told him that turning back time was almost impossible.

But he had indeed heard Ding Yi tell the fantasy story of the blueshift in the universe, so he still held onto a sliver of hope.

If only time could turn back, so many regrets in the world could be resolved by these four words.

Luo Ji asked, "What is the essence of your 'way of time'? Is it based on the theory of general relativity that allows speeds faster than light?"

Luo Qing shook his head confidently: "No, it's about the principle of reverse entropy, which is about entropy increase, entropy level, and entropy decrease... You'll understand when you reach my level."

Luo Qing put on the airs of a Nascent Soul cultivator and spoke in a condescending manner.

Luo Ji chuckled.

Radiaz couldn't understand the conversation between the two cultivators, nor was he interested in it. After putting away the glowing talismans, he asked, "Professor Luo Qing, are you also here to investigate the sun?"

The risk-averse's prediction could not be hidden from this highly information-rich society, especially after the experts from the coalition government repeatedly verified it with the risk-averse.

The entire helium flash prediction exploded like a thunderclap throughout the entire solar system.

This is far more frightening than MOSS's predictions back then.

"Well, I'm going to go deep into the core of the sun and calculate how much hydrogen is left for nuclear fusion."

The essence of a helium flash is that the intensity of hydrogen fusion inside the sun is insufficient to support the sun's gravitational effects, and then an explosive fusion of helium begins.

Generally speaking, a helium flash cannot occur unless there is external intervention, as long as the intensity of hydrogen fusion inside the sun is sufficient.

"The core of the sun." Luo Ji was somewhat astonished. The temperature at the core of the sun was as high as 15 million degrees Celsius. Was this really a world that a Nascent Soul cultivator could set foot in at will?

Or is it that Luo Qing's Nascent Soul stage is different from what Luo Ji imagined?
Luo Ji had already tried it himself. Without wearing any protective gear, he couldn't stand it for long on the surface of Mercury. Even his clothes would slowly carbonize or even burn. The temperature of 400 degrees Celsius was just too much.

Not to mention the interior of the sun.

Luo Qing suddenly asked, "Brother Luo, what realm are you at now?"

Although he could have gotten the answer at a glance, he still asked out of basic social etiquette in Kyushu.

"Foundation Establishment, early stage, peak perfection." Luo Ji asked uncertainly.

Good, good, good, another peak of perfection.
"You should cultivate diligently. Once you reach the late Foundation Establishment stage, you should be able to try to comprehend the zero-point energy of the vacuum. However, relying solely on internal circulation cultivation techniques is still too slow. The zero-point energy of the vacuum is the true path to immortality."

Faced with Luo Qing's detailed teachings on cultivation, Luo Ji did not blindly trust him, but rather took notes critically.

"By the way, would you like to come with me to see the core of the sun?"

"Huh? I'm not going." Luo Ji tried to refuse.

"Radiaz, are you going or not?" "No, no, I have solar phobia." Radiaz waved his hand vigorously.

"Hasn't your solar phobia been cured?"

"Just committed the crime."

"Alas, what a pity. You originally had the opportunity to become the first human to land on the sun."

Rediaz repeatedly emphasized that he had no interest in being the sun version of Armstrong, especially since he had visited the Korean Peninsula during his visit to the Soviet Union as President of Venezuela in the 1980s, where he had come into close contact with the sun and even shook hands with it.

15 minute later.

Luo Ji and Luo Qing, protected by the Fire Avoidance Technique, simultaneously appeared on the surface of the sun.

This is the innermost layer of the sun's atmosphere—the photosphere, where the surface temperature has reached about 6000℃. At this temperature, Luo Ji has completely retreated into the Fire Avoidance Technique, while Luo Qing treats the 6000℃ high temperature as nothing, and all the plasma thrown around him will turn into a gentle breeze and dissipate.

"If a traditional Nascent Soul cultivator were as powerful as you, I'd eat this sun alive," Luo Ji whispered to Luo Qing beside him, trembling.

From where the Luo brothers, Luo Ji and Luo Qing, are located, one can already see distinct grain-like structures on the surface of the sun by looking down. These grain-like structures are pairs of cells, each cell being about 1000 kilometers in diameter, and they look like boiling liquid.

In addition, the two could see a small, noticeably darker region on the sun's surface. These dark regions were one or two thousand degrees cooler than the surrounding area and covered an area that was almost comparable to that of Earth.

"These are sunspots."

After the initial panic, Luo Ji began to calm down and carefully observe the surface of the sun.

Luo Qing nodded and transmitted his voice to Luo Ji: "There's something I haven't told anyone else. My observation is a kind of quantum entanglement-like, delay-free observation that is not limited by the speed of light. Therefore, I have already looked at all 20,000 stars within 50 light-years of the sun."

Luo Ji nodded; he was a cosmologist.

According to existing cosmological theories, due to the gravitational balance effect, the average distance between stars in a galaxy is generally between three and six light-years. If we take four light-years as the value, the number of stars within a distance of 50 light-years should be around 8,000. However, the actual number of stars within a 50-light-year radius of the solar system is as high as more than 20,000.

This indicates that the star density at the end of the first spiral arm where the solar system is located is actually higher than the average level of galaxies, and the area around the solar system is quite lively.

Luo Qing's voice turned heavy: "However, the truth is that none of the more than 20,000 stars within these 50 light-years are in the process of helium flash or supernova explosion."

Luo Ji said thoughtfully, "In other words, we cannot predict the timing of a helium flash based on the stellar transfer model of the risk mitigater."

Luo Qing nodded.

"If the risk-mitigator's prediction is correct, it means that the Sun or a nearby Trisolaran system will become the starting point for this cosmic thinking."

Is this the starting point for cosmic thinking...?

Why is it so?
Luo Ji was also in a daze upon hearing this.

Luo Qing, skeptical, said, "The dialectical materialism states that all phenomena are a collection of contradictions. This applies everywhere. There must be signs before a solar helium flash. I don't believe that a helium flash would occur for no reason if the sun's internal hydrogen content is sufficient."

Luo Ji asked, "Could it be related to the starless isolation zone of the Carbon-Based Federation?"

The news that the Carbon-based Federation is advancing the construction of a starless isolation zone is no secret to someone of Luo Ji's caliber.

Luo Qing rejected Luo Ji's judgment:

"It has little to do with the Carbon-Based Federation. Don't be fooled by their sudden visit to Earth; their project is actually still over 120 light-years away. Their early arrival is purely due to special circumstances. According to the stellar transport model of the Risk Removers, even if it were a cosmic convulsion caused by clearing stars, it would still take 120 years for the convulsion to reach the solar system at the speed of light."
If simply cleaning up stars could stimulate cosmic thought, then the risk-takers would have already figured out the patterns. It's precisely because cosmic thought is completely random that the risk-takers have been unable to grasp its true meaning.

"So that's it..."

Luo Ji thought for a while and then suddenly asked a question about Dark Forest Strategy.

"Luo Qing, I've been thinking, if the carbon-based federation's starless isolation zone covers the entire solar system, then it means that within this isolation zone, which is 500 light-years wide and 10,000 light-years long, the solar system will be one of the very few surviving stars. This almost naturally advertises the location of the solar system to the surrounding area. Won't this attract the Dark Forest Strike?"

Ever since learning about the construction of the starless isolation zone, Luo Ji has been worried about this issue.

Only civilizations of level 3C or higher can survive in the isolation zone. In the eyes of the Hessen civilization, aren't the surviving stars in the isolation zone just sitting ducks?
Unexpectedly, Luo Qing was not worried about this problem.

"It's not that complicated. You're overthinking it. The solar system isn't located in the very center of the isolation zone, but rather on its outer edge. The same applies to the Trisolaran and Eridanus systems. If you think of the entire isolation zone as a moat, then the solar system is just a rock on the edge of that moat."

Rocks like the Solar System are everywhere along the moat's edge. With rocks scattered all over the riverbank, the Solar System's location isn't easily exposed. Moreover, when the Carbon-Based Federation advances the construction of the buffer zone, it will issue warnings to nearby advanced civilizations. Civilizations that receive these warnings won't risk launching a Dark Forest Strike. Unless they're deliberately courting death, the advanced civilizations of the First Arm won't provoke the Carbon-Based Federation.

As the dominant power in the Milky Way, the Carbon-based Federation possesses an absolute military advantage over other civilizations in the galaxy.

It's important to know that the Carbon-Based Federation's broadcasts clearly stated that even if the target civilization is hiding in a small universe or a two-dimensional universe, it will be executed immediately.

Luo Ji was finally relieved to hear this.

"However, it will be a long time before the Carbon-Based Federation's engineering team can come over. There are at least two or three hundred years of construction time. There are hundreds of thousands of stars to be cleaned within these 120 light-years. These are all things for the future. Let's solve the helium flash problem first."

(End of this chapter)