"WOW!"
Actually setting foot on the Moon felt vastly different from just looking at photos.
Before them lay a desolate, uneven lunar surface littered with gravel and rocks. Bathed in sunlight and the reflected glow of the Blue Star, the group could see the surrounding craters and impact basins. Looking back at the Blue Star from the Moon was far more breathtaking—and intensely overwhelming—than looking at the Moon from the Blue Star.
"It’s so beautiful!" Song Qiuqiu said.
Wasting no time, Erin turned her back to the Blue Star, took out her phone, and snapped a gorgeous selfie. "It’s a pity there’s no signal on the Moon. Otherwise, posting this with a Moon location tag would be amazing."
Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi couldn’t resist the temptation either, pulling out their own phones to take pictures.
Zhang Hang alone stood scrutinizing the Guanghan Palace in front of them. "It’s rugged and grand, but it lacks refinement. It doesn’t quite match Fairy Chang’e’s status!"
"I didn’t prepare anything last time." Gu Zhao glanced at the palace. It was indeed rather crude. "That’s why I came prepared to renovate and reinforce it this time, so it won’t be destroyed by the extreme temperature differences, solar radiation, or small meteorites."
"How are you going to reinforce it?" Zhang Hang asked.
"With an Array, of course," Gu Zhao replied.
Naturally, there was no Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in outer space or on the lunar surface. However, Gu Zhao could now mobilize the Five Elements Five Qi. By using a sliver of his own True Qi as a catalyst, he could draw upon the Moon’s ley line energy. He couldn’t speak for a massive scale, but protecting a single palace would be an absolute breeze.
Under the shocked gazes of Zhang Hang and the others, Gu Zhao began renovating and reinforcing the Moon’s Guanghan Palace.
First came the palace grounds. Previously, he had only built a solitary main hall. Now, with ample materials, Gu Zhao directly enclosed a massive area on the mountain peak, constructing ceremonial archways, perimeter walls, and grand palace gates.
Inside the walls, he leveled the ground. On the spirit screen just beyond the main gates, he carved a mural of Chang’e flying to the Moon on the front, and Chang’e playing with the Moon Rabbit on the back.
Past the spirit screen lay a three-courtyard palace complex. The first hall featured a solitary Moon Rabbit. The second hall was dedicated to Chang’e flying to the Moon. The third hall enshrined the Taiyin Primordial Monarch, while the side halls on the left and right were dedicated to Moon Palace Fairies and Taiyin Celestial Soldiers.
Since materials were plentiful—the Taoist Office had even prepared the ridge beams, roof tiles, glass, altars, yellow canopies, incense, and candles required to build a palace—he simply needed to assemble everything using the mortise and tenon joints.
Consequently, the entire palace came alive with flying eaves, bracket sets, and beautifully carved and painted beams, complete with pavilions, corridors, artificial rockeries, and stone sculptures. Aside from the lack of flora, streams, and ponds, Guanghan Palace looked nearly identical to various Taoist Sect temples back home, albeit exceptionally brand-new and devoid of any marks of weathering.
Gu Zhao stood outside the final Taiyin Hall.
The great hall rested on a nine-tiered platform, flanked by a deer on the left and a fox on the right. The hall featured three large doors. Now wide open, they revealed the Taiyin Primordial Monarch seated high upon the divine altar. Offering Fruit sat on the table. Flanked by draped yellow canopies and illuminated by the distant sunlight, the statue seemed to exude a trace of Divinity.
Gu Zhao looked around, then patted his gourd. A large brass tripod cauldron materialized outside the Taiyin Hall. With a wave of his hand, Gu Zhao summoned a clump of Moon Soil into the cauldron, planted three sticks of incense inside, and ignited them using his Magical Power.
"Now it’s perfect," Gu Zhao said, nodding with a smile.
"Good thing technology is so advanced nowadays. Everyone back home knows you came up here," Xiao Ya sighed in admiration. "If someone as powerful as you actually existed in ancient times and built a Guanghan Palace on the Moon, the first astronauts to land here would’ve been scared to death upon seeing it."
Jiang Shishi giggled. "Even knowing about it beforehand, they’ll still be scared half to death."
Song Qiuqiu and Erin nodded in unison.
Then, they watched as Zhang Hang whipped out his phone and started recording himself. "What’s up, brothers! I’ve got some free time today, so I’m bringing you all on a tour of Guanghan Palace on the Moon!"
Everyone else fell silent, utterly speechless.
"Awesome!" Zhang Hang let out a long breath, then looked at his phone. "Brothers, eating hotpot on the Moon feels absolutely incredible!"
Song Qiuqiu facepalmed. "Aren’t you afraid your comment section will be full of people mocking you once you post this?"
First of all, landing on the Moon was a ridiculous premise to begin with. Ever since Huaqi Country’s last manned lunar mission decades ago, the Blue Star hadn’t seen another human set foot on the Moon. Even Huaqi Country had lost its own lunar landing technology. Celestial Xia, despite its incredibly strong aerospace capabilities today, had only managed a robotic lander mission capable of bringing back a mere two or three kilograms of Moon Soil.
A manned lunar landing? According to schedule, that was still years away, and for safety reasons, it might even be delayed. Yet he was claiming he landed on the Moon.
Okay, taking a step back—say he really did land on the Moon. Where was his spacesuit? Did he not know there was no air on the Moon? Then there was atmospheric pressure. Everyone knew that walking on the Moon involved bouncing around. What was the difference between his perfectly steady strides and walking on the Blue Star?
Oh, right, and his background: Guanghan Palace. It was the twenty-first century. How could there be a palace on the Moon...? Well, actually, that part might genuinely be up for debate now. Still, it wasn’t a place an ordinary person could reach! And where was the old Taoist Master who was supposedly with him?
Finally, there was the hotpot. Forget the Moon—you couldn’t even eat hotpot on the Third Pole of the Blue Star. How the hell was he eating hotpot on the Moon? Do I look like a hotpot to you?!
"I just love knowing the truth when the whole world is in the dark," Zhang Hang laughed heartily. "When I get back, I’m going to edit a highlight reel of this trip. A few years from now, when astronauts land on the Moon and livestream their discovery of Guanghan Palace, people will dig up my old video. That will be epic."
Erin laughed. "Aren’t you afraid of being targeted by people from foreign countries?"
Zhang Hang rolled his eyes. "After almost getting kidnapped last time, I swore never to travel abroad again. If they have the guts to come into the country and kidnap me, I’ll give them credit!"
Song Qiuqiu nodded. "If you want to experience a world of ice and snow, you can go to Black Province Ice City. If you want tropical coasts, there’s Qiong Province Cliff City. If you’re craving seafood, head to Bin City. For deserts and the Gobi, there’s Jiang Province. Even for tropical rainforests, Dian Province and Qiong Province serve as perfect domestic alternatives."
Zhang Hang concluded, "What kind of scenery don’t we have at home? Why go abroad just to suffer?"
Erin thought about it for a moment. "Culture and humanities?"
The group just smiled without saying a word. Who would dare compare culture and humanities with Celestial Xia?
Erin nodded. "Alright then, I suppose the only thing left is novelty-seeking."
With the recent surge in popularity of short videos, all sorts of travel vloggers had documented their trips to various countries, practically stripping away the glamour and exposing the reality abroad. It wasn’t that foreign scenery was bad, but it definitely wasn’t as mind-blowing as it used to be hyped up to be. Coupled with language barriers, poor public safety, and inadequate transportation, it really wasn’t as comfortable as domestic travel for the average person. Simply touring all the big and small scenic spots back home within a single lifetime was difficult enough.
"So, if we want to travel in the future, we should just go on in-depth tours across the country," Zhang Hang said. "There are plenty of vloggers introducing deep-dive tours of obscure domestic spots. We can use those for reference."
Gu Zhao nodded, then dropped a slice of beef into the pot. "We can talk about travel later. For now, let’s just eat."