Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

"Because I want to build something bigger and more powerful. The car is just for practice. And to complete those big projects, going to Shuntian is the best choice. I want to build the next White Star."

"Yeah," Shangluo nodded, "Then I wish you good luck. But since you're going to Beizhili, I have a phone call here, please answer it."

"Which one?" She had just asked when her Fetion message rang.

"Whose number is this?"

"Actually, I don't know who he is either. His codename is Special 95. He's currently in charge of directing the Water Department. I recommend you join the Water Department. Don't ask me what the Water Department is yet. I'll tell you later when I have the chance."

"Okay. But where is Mr. Special 95?"

"I really don't know this."

Special 95 had long since returned to the research institute, and the research on evil spirits was still ongoing. A while ago, it was verified that spiritual energy couldn't actually counteract evil spirits, but could only compress them. They were still doing what they were doing, and weren't considering spiritual energy a panacea for evil spirits.

"I don't know who he is, or where he is. Why are you asking me to contact him? You're not asking me to be a secret agent."

"."

"Really? I know you have work to do at the court, but why did you think of me?"

"Because of the different divisions of labor. Those large-scale projects that can physically affect the world are run by the Water Department. Oh, right, I almost forgot, there's also him. Do you have Gao Shiyu's phone number?"

"This already exists. We added each other before, but you were not there at that time."

"That's right. He also joined the Water Department a while ago. I think given his condition, he might really need your help. After all, he can't even read the account books clearly unless they are written in torch ink. If our plan succeeds, wait, there's a call."

The phone rang. It was Zhu Xianxin calling.

Shangluo put down the phone: "Please let everyone else take the afternoon off, leaving only the two of us and Han Xingzhi."

"Why? Aren't we supposed to test the car? How can we do that with just a few people?"

"Well, because Party A said that having him is enough."

"Wow, who on earth is this powerful Party A? You must have found the Party A. Fine, everyone else can have the afternoon off. I want to see who this Party A is."

"It's really an imperial decree!" Qi Yuan was stunned at the sight, because the person who got off the car in front of her, brought by her father, Qi Qianhu, the head of the alchemy room, was the one who often appeared in the newspapers.

"What are you looking at? Call someone." Captain Qi saw that his daughter was stunned, so he came over and waved his hand in front of her.

"Ah, sorry. Ahem, how's your Majesty?"

"???"

"Isn't that right? Then why are you yelling like that?" Qi Yuan's brain had completely shut down.

"It's okay, I'm fine."

"Ah! I remember now." Qi Yuan only remembered the correct method after Zhu Xianxin spoke. She bowed slightly, saluted with her arms crossed, and said:

"Greetings to the Emperor."

"Ah, my An. Sure, you still remember that." This actually made Zhu Xianxun a little uncomfortable. He lived a secluded life, surrounded by acquaintances, and few of them treated him to such formal greetings. Zhu Xianxun also stopped and nodded to her, completing the formalities.

"As expected, he can even control my junior brother. Sometimes he even asks for leave from me because of your matters."

"So, the Emperor is Party A?"

"Party A? You could say that. I'm here to sponsor you. Of course, I'm not sponsoring you financially. Your father knows the details better, so let him talk to you directly."

"Ah, this." She pulled Captain Qi to the side and said, "Dad, why didn't you tell me about this important matter earlier?"

"Because your father and I only found out this morning. How could I have known that the pill was meant to be sent to you?"

"What pill?"

"The world is one." When saying this, Qi Qianhu's face was filled with complicated expressions.

He left his daughter behind and went to Zhu Xianxun's side first: "I say. Long live."

"Is there something wrong?" The first words he said were "Long live the emperor", which scared Zhu Xianxin.

"Is this matter really not dangerous?"

"Really, really, really not. In principle, there's no danger. And I'm here, right? If there were any danger, I would be the first one to get hurt. Didn't you participate in the whole process? You should know that this is very safe."

"Okay." His Adam's apple moved - although there was no problem from a metaphysical point of view, it was related to evil spirit after all.

Everyone still remembers the incident with Special 95. He seemed to be on the verge of recovery, but suddenly, he was put into an iron coffin. This was a literal curse.

But Tiandi Datong is an exception, because it does not pursue evil spirits, but the other side.

"How about this," Zhu Xianxun suggested. "First of all, the small amount we've invested won't actually have any impact. So I suggest you let your daughter stay with me." He waved over there, "Hey, Qi Yuan, right? You'll stand next to me for a while?"

"Ah? That won't do." Qi Yuan shook his head. "This is our car. Of course I have to be next to it."

"Yeah." Captain Qi stood beside him for a while.

"Alright." He walked over to Qi Yuan and pulled out a stack of papers. "You're not a child anymore. You should make your own decision on this matter. This document is the process of the 'Great Harmony of Heaven and Earth' plan. You're a semi-professional, so you should be able to understand it yourself. I've decided to respect your decision as I would an adult. Oh, and Shangluo, come and take a look too. This paper was originally meant for you."

Chapter 471 The Harmony of Heaven and Earth

“Ah, because I don’t have a choice, right?”

"Do you still want to choose?" Zhu Xianxun tilted his head and looked at him. "If anything happens, you have to come with me. I'm not sure if anyone else will go with me."

As he spoke, he looked at the other Jinyiwei behind him and said, "Everyone, please disperse first and wait until they finish watching. Do you want anything to drink? It's my treat today."

In the convoy's lounge, Qi Yuan from Shangluo sat on both sides of the long table, looking at the two parts of the document respectively.

Captain Qi sat in the middle: "You guys watch first, and ask me if you don't understand anything."

"I've almost finished reading it." Shangluo handed his copy to Qi Yuan first. "I also participated in this project sporadically, but..."

"But you didn't expect this whole thing to be connected, did you?"

Shangluo nodded.

In fact, his participation was not just "sporadic". He was involved in every key node of this plan.

The origins of the plan lay in the Special 95 incident and the ectoplasmic fluid. The injection of ectoplasmic fluid into Special 95 was both a healing process and a research one. When other methods proved ineffective, the ectoplasmic fluid was used to curb the progression of Special 95's condition, restoring the body damaged by the evil spirit. However, the evil spirit was not expelled from the body at all; instead, it was compressed.

It's long been known that evil energy can be compressed, and the Gobi Desert Research Institute has been researching how to do it. However, compressing evil energy isn't any simpler than compressing spiritual energy; it's actually more complex. Spiritual energy isn't suitable for use as a weapon, but evil energy can be, which is why the research on evil energy continues unabated.

The "Special 95 Incident" proved that evil spirits could actually be easily compressed—compressed by spiritual fluid. The formula for this spiritual fluid was provided by Shangluo, and there had never been a carrier as good as spiritual fluid before.

"Since the research has progressed to this stage, it should have been tested with torch before, right?" Shangluo asked.

Before Shangluo arrived, the imperial court was researching a new area of research. Shangluo himself had seen various applications for this technology, but he hadn't yet seen its potential here.

"Indeed, it has been experimented with." Captain Qi pushed his glasses. "In fact, Torch Su was also studied as a kind of 'spiritual fluid,' but it was later discovered that it had more potential for use in machinery and was not suitable for direct ingestion. Because it actually does not contain spiritual energy, it can only give something spirituality. You have seen the White Star, right?"

"Yes, I've also seen the [Xuantan Tiger]."

"The Xuantan Tiger's technical level is quite high. If it weren't for the fairness of the competition, I would have told Qi Yuan long ago to learn it carefully. The Xuantan Tiger's Torch Engine uses spiritual fuel, which is why it requires a Qi practitioner to operate it. Unlike the behemoth engine on the White Star, the Xuantan Tiger verifies the practicality of a miniaturized solution. Right now, everything seems very optimistic."

"I think," Shangluo glanced at the document, "if we use this 'Heaven and Earth Harmony' on the car, it will probably become even more 'optimistic'."

After reading it, he already knew what the unity of heaven and earth was.

"You actually did the opposite, using evil energy to compress spiritual energy? This is too... too strong."

Shangluo's mind exploded when he first saw it. Based on the results of the Special 95 incident, Zhu Xianxin decided to reverse the principle and thus came up with this "Heaven and Earth Harmony," using evil spirits to compress spiritual energy, forcing it to be compressed to a higher level. This was when Shangluo raised his head and looked at Captain Qi:

"Is this imitating the formation of a dan? Are you imitating the formation of a dan in the Jindan stage?"

"That's right. I think it's quite risky, but I have to say it's a very tempting plan."

"So, what's the price?"

"The cost is probably that we currently don't know how to use it on humans. Even a tiny bit of evil spirit can affect a person's body and mind. Previous experience has proven that evil spirit is almost impossible to expel. Therefore, even if the spiritual energy compressed in this way is truly compressed into a golden elixir, it is likely impossible to extract it."

"So, you want to find a dead object to experiment on?"

"That's exactly the point. If humans can't bear the risk, then let the machine bear the risk."

"So, will there be any danger in today's experiment?"

"Technically speaking, not at all." Captain Qi shook his head. "When discussing toxicity, we also have to discuss dosage."

He took out the "Heaven and Earth" coin. It was neither big nor small, about the size of a billiard ball, but it shone with gold. Shangluo tried to touch it, but it felt as light as a feather.

"Originally, the evil energy inside is turbid air, the heaviest thing, but it also contains the other half of spiritual energy, which is pure air. So when the two sides cancel each other out, it seems not so heavy."

"I looked at the dosage. Is there only a tiny amount in here?"

"Yes, only a tiny amount of evil spirit and spiritual energy. So the experimental equipment only needs to be the size of a billiard ball - actually, it's more appropriate to call it a model. It's like building a verification aircraft before building an airplane. Before building a verification aircraft, you have to make a small model for testing. This is a small model. The evil spirit and spiritual energy carried in it are only a 'tiny bit'."

"What if this 'little bit' is leaked?"

"No. This is a school, a place with the strongest yang energy. Even a tiny bit of evil energy, if placed in a hospital basement, might linger for a while. But in a school, under the scorching sun, it would dissipate in less than ten seconds. So I say it's objectively very safe."

"What do you think?" Shangluo looked across. Qi Yuan had almost finished looking.

"Dad." Qi Yuan first looked at her father.

"There are only rulers and subjects here, no fathers and daughters. This is the first time I'm telling you this, so be careful next time."

"Oh, then, Captain Qi, the prospects of this plan are not so great that we can make it big!"

"Yes, as large as you want. This 'Heaven and Earth Harmony' device has the potential to be enlarged. And it can be enlarged to a very large extent. Unlike all previous spiritual energy devices, it can compress both evil energy and spiritual energy at the same time. So all we need to do is win by quantity - prepare huge, huge, huge amounts of evil energy and spiritual energy, and then let them complete the 'Heaven and Earth Harmony' in the container. By then, not to mention the Jindan stage, even higher levels might be possible."

"Further up?"

"Yes, even higher. Perhaps," Captain Qi blinked, "perhaps, we can even produce the Dao essence flower of Taiyi Jinhua. This is our long-term vision. Of course, the biggest problem is still the container. Such a small pill is actually made of divine chromium. Well, but as long as it succeeds, everything will be easy."

Chapter 472 Extra Meal

"If I knew this was how it was supposed to be used, I probably wouldn't have agreed."

Shangluo got in the car. The "Heaven and Earth" coin hung around his neck. Qi Yuan stood outside; normally, she was the one who closed the hatch.

Yes, like many other things, Ming creations must be operated by a "human." A living person can do, a celestial soldier can do, as long as it's a "human." But the power of celestial soldiers is limited—and they're not very willing to sign up for dangerous positions.

"So it's just you." Outside the cockpit, Zhu Xianxun held onto the car shell with one hand. "I'm worried about leaving it to someone else."

"Are you sure I have to drive this thing?"

"Yes, because no one is willing to sign up, so you have to open it."

"Doudou knows this thing is dangerous!"

"That's because Doudou's cultivation isn't strong enough. You're a celestial being, a celestial being. There's only a tiny bit of evil energy in there, so even if it explodes, it probably won't have any effect on you."

"What do you mean by 'mostly'?"

"Well," Zhu Xianxun continued, holding onto the car shell. "Let me put it this way. To use an analogy you're more familiar with, you have a black hole theory over there, right? As long as matter is compressed past a critical value, objects of any mass can form a black hole. What we're going to do is similar to this. We're going to compress the thing inside that little ball around your neck past a critical value. If we still use the black hole analogy, then even if something with such a small mass forms a black hole, its existence time can be ignored, and the impact it causes can also be ignored. It probably won't cause any harm to you."

"So, there's still a slight possibility, right?"

"You could choke to death even if you were drinking water. Nothing is impossible in this world, right? And you've also witnessed a 'critical change' that almost got out of control, right?"

"Are you referring to Phaethon?" Shangluo raised his head.

"That's right. Although Wen Yuan's description is a bit fragmented, and you didn't mention it much, her condition at the time had crossed that boundary, and she even seemed to be able to control herself. If the problem hadn't been resolved at the time, I'm afraid a terrible incident would have occurred - but it's not impossible to solve it."

"Okay." Shangluo sighed, "Then how do I use this thing?"

"Activate it, and while it's active, it should grant you the power of a Golden Core Stage. Unlike the previous Creation Pill, which only granted you a temporary burst of Vajra Indestructibility, this 'Heaven and Earth Unity' should be able to simulate the full power of a Golden Core Stage peak. So, from a cultivation perspective, I think it would be helpful for you to experience it."

"Wow!" Shangluo now knows how powerful this thing is.

"How long can it last?" he asked hurriedly.

However, Zhu Xianxi could only shake his head: "I don't know either - because I've never tested it before. Otherwise, why would I ask you to try it out? Why don't you find a watch to measure it?"

Apollonia

"How unlucky I am! I'm with you all the time and I always run into this kind of thing. You can leave, he didn't force you."

"The arrow is on the string and must be shot. And I really want to see what it feels like to be in the Golden Core stage."

Just like many things before, if you ask him if he has any objections, he does. But considering the opportunity to experience the Golden Core Stage, Shangluo will choose to reserve his opinion. Even if she is asked to leave, she won't leave.

[But now you’re tying me up and won’t let me leave! ]

"What do you think?"

【I want to have more food. 】