Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

The runway lights at Daxiaochang Airport were lit up, and a large star burning with white flames was slowly approaching.

"We're here." Zhu Xianxun adjusted his collar. They all stood beside the hearse, including Te 95 himself. Phaethon was now following behind, carrying the camera. He could only appear where the camera's light illuminated him, with Tianyi Guiren acting as his image.

"What is that?" Shangluo asked in a low voice.

"It's the White Star. It's a second-generation hypersonic prototype. It can only be activated when a powerful person in the Jindan stage is in charge. This project was carried out with the assistance of Master Lan."

"Where have I heard this name before?"

"Of course you've heard of it. The White Star's R&D team is from the first generation of the White Star team from Imperial College High School decades ago. Now they are the backbone of cutting-edge technology research and development. They work at the 'Aerodynamics Research Institute' in Fengjing Changping. There they have a hypersonic shock wave wind tunnel that can create 30 times the speed of sound."

“How was it created?”

"Using torch engines. That wind tunnel uses the explosion of torch engines as power, generating shock waves at 30 times the speed of sound, which is used to conduct aerodynamic experiments. The Ninghe is the first generation of mass-produced test aircraft, which has been handed over to Lan Fang for commercial testing. The White Star is the second generation. Unlike the Ninghe, the White Star uses a torch engine entirely, so you can see the flames are dazzling white. If you look closely, you should be able to see colorful streamers."

The White Star was getting closer. Its fuselage was about the same size as the Ninghe, but it was completely encased in black thermal insulation tiles, its outline obscured by the night. Only its comet-like white tail flame and the green navigation lights on its wings could be seen.

Only after the black swan slammed heavily onto the runway could the runway lights clearly reveal its appearance—and indeed, it looked like a black swan. Its entire fuselage resembled a slimmed-down, elongated version of the Ninghe. There were no unnecessary details, just a flat, dagger-sharp nose, black winglets extending from the nose all the way back, and two turbojet ramjet detonation three-mode variable cycle engines the size of buses.

The low-altitude subsonic aircraft activated in turbojet mode, capable of reverse thrust. After landing, the rear of the engine began to deform, directing the jet forward. Like a god, the White Star, enveloped in white flames, braked to a stop midway along the runway, then began to propel itself forward on its own wheels, arriving in front of Zhu Xianxun and the others.

With the remaining warmth, this prototype, more aptly called an "engineering monster" than an "engineering miracle," slowly steadied itself. The hatch opened, and the "driver" who operated it appeared at the door.

Wearing a white Taoist robe and a pen pinned to his chest, Qingxuan Zhenren Lan Daoxing took a step into the air and walked down the invisible stairs.

"Greetings to the Successor Emperor." He bowed to Zhu Xianxun, performing the rituals between monarch and subject. "I come here by the order of the Dao Lord to ward off disaster."

After saying this, he saw Shangluo beside him and said, "The heir is here too. I'm Lan Daoxing, and I'm honored to meet you."

"Hello, Master Lan." Shangluo also nodded in return.

After a brief greeting, Master Lan turned his attention to the person he'd first noticed—Te Jiuwu's Primordial Spirit. It was currently being "constructed" by the camera, thus being displayed before everyone. But the overwhelming power within it gave Master Lan a familiar feeling. This was indeed a force approaching the Golden Core stage, with pill formation underway.

"I told you not to create too much evil energy. But now, alas." He sighed. This was indeed a tricky situation.

However, Shangluo also noticed that Lan Zhenren was different from the other "celestial masters," or other Zhenren he had yet to meet. He performed the rituals of monarch and subject before the emperor, and he actually managed matters. In other words, he was a member of the imperial court.

"Master Lan, what should we do according to Daozu's instructions?"

"The Dao Ancestor never speaks. I knew it was time to come the moment the chime rang. From the sky above Gaoyou Lake, I saw a cloud of black energy hovering over Yujing City. This evil energy is about to condense into a pill. I need to inform you of the worst-case scenario: for everyone's safety, I will throw the lead coffin off this hearse within half an hour."

On the hearse was a pool of spiritual fluid. It was now sealed tightly with a long-prepared lead box, preventing the escape of the evil spirit. However, this only stopped the flow of the evil spirit; the formation of the evil pill continued. If left unchecked, the evil pill would soon form.

"What will happen if it forms a Sha Dan?" Shangluo asked.

"It will explode. Sound familiar, right? It's the 'evil spirit bomb' we've been researching. The explosion alone is powerful enough to level a city, and the resulting evil spirit will linger for thousands of years. The area surrounding the explosion will become a murderous wasteland. So I won't just dump it on some random piece of land. I'll throw it out."

"Throw it 'out'?" Shangluo was stunned for a moment. "Where to throw it?"

"Throw it out of the heavens, into orbit. Only then will the evil energy from the explosion not remain on Earth. This is the only way."

There's another chapter coming soon

Chapter 303 White Star's Miracle

"Also," Lan Daoxing also reminded, "All of you will need to cleanse yourself later. This evil spirit is not an ordinary evil spirit, so you must be careful."

"I've had everyone take Xiao Huan Dan throughout the entire process," Zhu Xianxun said, "so no evil spirit has entered their bodies, they'll be fine."

"Your Majesty the Successor Emperor is worthy of being the head of Dan, and he has thought everything through. So just leave the rest to me." After saying that, he was about to walk away.

"Wait, Master." Zhu Xianxun stopped him. "There's still hope. I still want to save him. Researcher Wu is not only my schoolmate, he's also a witness to the yin-yang interaction between spiritual energy and evil spirits. If we can protect him, our research will take a huge step forward."

"Of course, of course." Master Lan didn't move forward. "There's always a chance. We can always seize a glimmer of hope. But we don't have much time. How are you going to think about this? Just give me 10 minutes."

"Shangluo, what do you think?"

"board the plane."

Climbing onto the plane from the trail opened by Master Lan, the heavy lead coffin was also pulled up by an invisible force.

The space on the plane was very small, with only a few folding seats against the bulkhead, similar to the seats Shangluo had sat in the Ninghe cockpit. Although they looked simple, these seats actually provided better vibration insulation, allowing passengers on board to withstand the impact.

The cockpit and passenger compartment were connected. Two pilots, wearing anti-gravity suits, sat there, strapped tightly to their ejection seats. They couldn't turn around to salute the emperor, so they saluted the reflection in the mirror. Zhu Xianxun returned the salute.

"You two, just take care of yourselves. I'll take care of the rest." Lan Daoxing instructed the two pilots - what he meant was that if something happened, the two could just pull the ejection seat and jump out without having to worry about the rest.

"Understood." The two answered while looking ahead.

"Yeah," Lan Daoxing said, looking towards the cabin door. Phaethon had also boarded. She was carrying her camera and following the shadow of Special Ninety-Five all the way, so she had to work much harder than the other two.

"You are...ah, it's you." Lan Daoxing nodded. "Can you bear it?"

he asked Phaethon.

“I don’t know if I have to carry it all the time.”

"It depends. You're right to let him become a vision. That way, you won't need to summon a spirit. But if you want to save this hero, you'll probably have to carry him the whole time. What do you think?"

"Okay, I'll carry it then."

"You're a man of integrity. This matter has nothing to do with you, and it's not your responsibility. So why don't you seek profit and avoid harm instead of taking the risk?"

"Because I owe someone a lot of money."

"You don't owe me. You owe your father."

"I can't refuse that reason, so it's no different than owing you. Anyway, assign any dirty work to me. I won't shy away from it."

"Well, very good." Lan Daoxing nodded. "Then please take a seat. And this one, Researcher Wu. Thank you for your hard work."

Te Jiuwu nodded. "I already know. I certainly hope to escape unscathed. But I know you all did your best."

"I will do my best," Lan Daoxing replied. "I promise you with my karma—I will never send you away until the last moment, until it's absolutely necessary. As long as there's a glimmer of hope, I will do my best."

After a brief downtime, the White Star started up again. It needed no refueling and was able to complete the flight, all thanks to the miracle of Torch.

The so-called miracle is probably certain. From an engineering perspective, whether it is the shock wave wind tunnel that can create 30 times the speed of sound or the two "turbojet ramdeton three-mode variable cycle engines" at the rear of the White Star, they only exist in theory.

But as long as it exists in theory, Ju Su's miracle can make it come true - but the higher the miracle flies, the more powerful the pilot is needed to pull the thin kite string to prevent the spark of the miracle from falling out of control.

Lan Daoxing stood in the cabin, hands behind his back. He stood behind the two pilots, his spiritual awareness and magical power safeguarding the operation of this "miracle creation."

"Shangluo, does it look familiar?" He turned around and glanced at Shangluo. "Is it similar to the miracle you experienced before?"

"Is this... a continuous miracle?"

"Yeah. Let me show you."

The taxiing began. Unlike the Ninghe, the torch-driven turbofan engine ran very smoothly from the start. There was not even any shaking in the cabin. It was as comfortable as a wide-body airliner.

The two Qigong pilots exchanged information with the Imperial Guards' tower at high speed. After a final confirmation, the White Star, trailing its "comet tail," once again sprinted towards the sky.

"The turbofan is shut down and the engine is switched to subsonic ramjet operation."

"Switch to supersonic ramjet mode."

This stage represents the limit of conventional aircraft. Whether using pulse ignition like the Ninghe, or turbofan or ramjet, the sky’s the limit.

"1.9 times the speed of sound. Master, I'm about to send out a shock wave."

Shock waves, or detonation waves, are the key to the next level. They occur in high-speed airflow, powerful explosions, and jets of gas from the sun's surface. It's through the detonation of these shock waves that the vehicle is propelled into the realm of hypersonic speeds.

"Hold steady." Lan Daoxing stretched out his hands, held the two pilots' hands on the throttle, and led them in the operation.

"Everyone back there, get ready. We're about to take off!" The White Star's true miracle was about to unfold—after a brief loss of thrust, the engine completed its transformation. The turbofan, already causing drag, completely shut down, and the rotating detonation mechanism within the engine nozzle began to activate: a Gatling-like array of detonation tubes was revealed.

"Qian position is normal, Kun position is normal, and the detonation rotation begins."

The top and bottom detonator tubes were activated first. Adjacent tubes ignited in a clockwise pattern, creating two intertwined spirals like a spinning yin-yang fish. Then, four, six, and even eight ignited, each a violent, independent shock wave. Even the slightest error would cause the entire detonation process to unbalance and collapse. But they were all contained within the tiny combustion chamber by the miracle of the torch, blasting out hypersonic jets along the tapered airway at 20 times the speed of sound.

It was like being hit by a heavy hammer from behind, the huge impact force pushed me forward.

"Ah, this is quite powerful, Phaethon, are you okay?" He looked back and saw Phaethon gritting his teeth, still carrying the camera. Even the Tianyi nobleman in the camera did not shake, and the image was still as stable as before.

"Apollonia, is everything okay in the box?"

They said it was fine, but they would charge extra for playing like this. They said they would ask me to discuss the salary with you after they get back.

Chapter 304 Abandoned in the Wilderness

An unprecedented pressure weighed Shangluo down on the stool, far greater than the pressure during the Ninghe's ascent. However, from the perspective of a celestial being, this wasn't unacceptable—this was something Shangluo only discovered "after some time"—the advantages of a celestial being. Even without learning the techniques, a celestial being's body was incomparable to a mortal body.

So-called magical powers, martial arts, and supernatural powers are all ways of influencing the outside world through one's own body. Shangluo's supernatural power only learned the art of cursing dates, and its influence on the outside world was roughly at the level of "selling 7 dates a day", and it also required obtaining a legal production and operation license.

However, curbing the influence of the outside world on one's own body does not require learning; it is inherent in the body of a celestial being. In other words, this is actually one of the "fruits of the Tao", the state that the technique of fetal breathing and fasting aims to imitate.

If one reached the Jindan stage like Master Lan, they could be as free as he was: the White Star was climbing straight up at a terrifying speed, but Master Lan just stood there, as stable as if he were standing on flat ground. Not only did he have time to watch over the bridge, but even his white robe didn't droop due to gravity, it just hung naturally along his torso.

His overall condition was no different from that of Te Jiuwu, whose only spirit was outside.

Shangluo hadn't yet reached the Golden Core stage, but his Small Circulation had already begun to flow at a trickle. The "pushing back" sensation, or rather, the acceleration of gravity, no longer caused him discomfort. However, he found it difficult to resist the "force," as it remained incredibly strong. To move freely against this force, he needed to continue practicing.

Behind her, Phaethon Shangluo glanced at her. She was experiencing the full force of gravity, and her expression showed it. Phaethon's face was grim, and her teeth were clenched tightly. Her hand, gripping the camera, was shaking, but she managed to steady herself.

"Are you okay?" Shangluo asked, "Let me get it."

Phaethon's lips moved, but his hands remained motionless.

She said she was being paid and would do a job commensurate with her wages. Apollonia helped her pass on the message.

"Oh, this... I'm so embarrassed. I paid you less than the minimum wage."

She said, "The responsibilities and obligations between us cannot be measured by money."

"Okay. But, Phaethon seems to have a pretty good physique?"

At the front, Lan Daoxing turned around and said, "Daozu mentioned this matter. After all, when he was in the jar, he didn't just help you, the heir, build your foundation. He also expelled not only your power but also the turbid qi. So, he also helped her strengthen her tendons and marrow. She now also has an innate Dao body. As long as she cultivates properly, she can also achieve the true fruit."

“Hmm???” Phaethon’s expression suddenly changed.

[Ah! She discovered it, she discovered that the two of you were in the same boat! She couldn't hold it in any longer!]

Phaethon's hand trembled violently, and the camera almost slipped off her body. She didn't want this to happen, but she just gasped, her breathing became disordered, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Shangluo quickly reached out to hold the camera. Zhu Xianxun in the front heard the noise.

"My memory is so bad, I can't remember." He felt in the bag wrapped around his waist. The way he tied the bag was similar to Shangluo's, but Shangluo's bag was so tight that nothing could be taken out. His bag was filled with medicine.

After rummaging around for a while, he pulled out a golden bottle and took out a golden pill as big as a longan.

"Here you go." He turned around and handed a golden pill to Shangluo, "Help her eat it."

"Thank you." Without saying a word, he pried open Phaethon's clenched teeth and stuffed the golden elixir into the gap between his lips and teeth.

"Huha!" Phaethon took a deep breath, "I've finally caught my breath."

She touched her chest, then her face—the force that had pinned her to the seat had dissipated. The entire cabin was as quiet as a wide-body airliner.

Phaethon was surprised and asked, "What kind of medicine is this?"

"The Creation Pill," Zhu Xianxi replied, "is a pill developed during the Water Dragon Project. You know that Jindan-stage True Beings can practice the Small Circulation of Heaven, right? Celestial Beings can also practice this with the trickle flow. This Creation Pill mimics the principle of the Small Circulation of Heaven, using medicinal power to forcibly open the Ren and Du meridians, maintaining the 'Small Circulation of Heaven' state for a period of time. Now that your body is relying on the Small Circulation of Heaven to function, let alone this acceleration, you wouldn't die even if you were thrown into a vacuum—well, not until the medicinal power wears off."

"How long can this last?"

"It depends. Wait, Shangluo will give you one too. For a celestial being like Tianren, eating one can keep the effect for a long time, and keeping it running for more than ten hours is no problem. At the Qi training stage or lower, the effect is much smaller, ranging from a few minutes to dozens of minutes. It depends on the specific usage scenario. Taking one when you have a headache or fever can be effective for a long time. But if you take one in a vacuum, it will probably be gone in a few minutes."

"It sounds like it can still be salvaged?"

"Yes, it can save patients. However, it hasn't been rolled out for medical use yet because it's very expensive. But as long as we complete our ascension, medical problems related to the mortal body can be easily solved. For example, a life that currently requires the entire emergency department to rescue can now be properly treated by taking the Good Fortune Pill. Even if the heart and lungs are suspended, vital signs can be maintained. However..."

He looked at Special Nine-Five who was sitting next to him. "While the illnesses of the mortal body can be quickly resolved, I'm afraid we will face more problems. I'm sorry." He said to Special Nine-Five:

"I'm sorry, but we haven't made any progress in our research on evil spirits. We're like humans before Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs. We know nothing about spiritual energy, evil spirits, or other diseases brought by the supernatural world. Sometimes, I feel powerless, too. You're not the first one. Mr. Wen Yan also left us helpless back then, perhaps because we had too few samples."

"Was it the same situation back then?" Shangluo asked him.

"I heard it was similar, but I couldn't handle it at the time, so I don't know the details. Now, looking through the materials, I can only witness what happened from other people's perspectives. It was also a disaster caused by evil spirits, but for other reasons, it wasn't caused by evil spirit research—well, to make it clearer to you, I can put it this way. Evil spirits are somewhat similar to the nuclear radiation in your area, but not exactly the same. However, nuclear radiation can easily generate evil spirits."

“I suddenly feel that we still have a lot to do.”

Today's events are truly just the beginning. While celestial beings can indeed escape the sufferings of the mortal world, their worlds are also ripe with new troubles. We must find a way to cure the stubborn evil spirits. We can't simply throw every patient into space—that would be like abandoning the sick in the wilderness during the prehistoric times. It's a cruel, yet unavoidable, choice. No one present wants this.

"So," Shangluo nodded, "we must work hard to get everyone back. This isn't just for one more healer, but to speed up the arrival of a time when the 'evil spirit' can be cured. Master Lan, how long do we have left?"

"One minute until stable flight. 1 minutes and 19 seconds until I have to push him into the wilderness."