Inside the gourd, the astronauts were letting their imaginations run wild; outside the gourd, Yunyang was showing off.
His figure shot into the sky, surrounded by the Eight Immortals.
Yes, Yunyang had summoned the Eight Immortals once again. This was already his signature move. It also served as a walking advertisement for the Eight Immortals—just in case the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave actually existed in the Immortal Realm, he would at least be a familiar face when he eventually ascended.
The eight Dharma Aspects, each towering around a thousand meters tall, protected a streak of light as it shot straight into the firmament. Radar stations in the countries surrounding Celestial Xia and reconnaissance satellites in space all began to sound their alarms.
"WTF! What are they trying to do this time?"
"He’s heading straight for space and has already passed the stratosphere. Is he planning to go to the Moon again?"
"The Eight Immortals Dharma Aspect. It’s Yunyang from the Eight Immortals Palace."
"Our people have practically scoured every inch inside and out of the West Capital Eight Immortals Palace. Aside from contributing to the food, lodging, and tourism economy of that ancient West Capital, they found absolutely nothing."
"Are you guys still dreaming of uncovering the secrets of those Celestial Xia Extraordinary Beings? Don’t tell me the intelligence department is just scamming for funding!"
Aside from causing another brief period of chaos overseas, Yunyang’s actions didn’t actually stir up too much of a commotion. After all, Gu Zhao had already delivered the ultimate shock previously, leaving them practically ready to lay flat and accept the mockery.
Aside from a few die-hards who stubbornly continued to pry into the secrets of the Taoist Sect’s Extraordinary Beings—managing to scrape together rumors like the discovery of Extraordinary Empowerment Items or legends about Grotto Heaven Blessed Lands—many others had already given up.
Let alone the Taoist Sect’s Extraordinary Beings, even without these individuals, Celestial Xia had already risen. Sooner or later, it would return to its historical position. It was merely a matter of whether it happened sooner or later, and whether it lasted for a longer or shorter period. The existence of the Taoist Sect’s Extraordinary Beings merely accelerated this process, putting them under even greater pressure.
But as long as they adjusted their mindsets, played the role of good fence-sitters, refrained from trying to harm Celestial Xia, and abandoned any petty schemes, they could still live very comfortable lives.
Since that was the case, why not just go along with it?
In fact, many had already shifted their attitudes and begun actively catering to Celestial Xia. Their mindset was quite pragmatic: the Great Ming tributary system had been established centuries ago anyway, so they were simply returning to that old system.
Regardless, they were merely small nations with no ability to obtain the secrets of Extraordinary Power. In that case, they might as well pin their hopes on the Celestial Xia System. At the very least, they were infinitely better than the Angsa Pirates.
Under the old system, although Celestial Xia could make their countries wealthier, it offered no direct benefits to their individual or family interests. As a result, they were more inclined to cooperate with Huaqi Country.
But under the Extraordinary system, things were different.
Anyone with even a slight understanding of Celestial Xia’s myths, legends, or traditional culture knew that the Taoist Sect’s most famous characteristic was health preservation, and the most renowned legend of Daoism Immortals was immortality!
Coupled with the fact that the modern Taoist Masters all exuded an ethereal elegance, and the leaders of the Celestial Xia System had been looking increasingly radiant and youthful over the past two years, this impression only deepened.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, it was rumored that the Celestial Xia System, after seeking the consent of a Taoist Master, gifted a Purple Sandalwood Pendant imbued with Extraordinary Power to an old foreign friend. When this pendant visibly improved the failing health of that old friend, this trend reached its absolute peak.
By cooperating with Celestial Xia, it was possible to achieve longevity—or even immortality!
Although the Celestial Xia System had only given out a single pendant so far, the fantasies it inspired were boundless. Even Lü Zon and Lion City, who used to make a fuss about Celestial Xia all day long, noticeably lowered their voices.
Rumors began to circulate among the people of Lü Zon regarding the historical Celestial Xia People who had drifted to the Southern Ocean, with scholars attempting to prove that Lü Zon was the final hermitage of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yunwen. Meanwhile, the public in Lion City intentionally or unintentionally began emphasizing that they were the country with the highest proportion of overseas Celestial Xia People, making them a natural ally of Celestial Xia.
Every country within the cultural radiation sphere of Celestial Xia in Southeast Asia began actively spreading Daoism culture.
Therefore, even though Yunyang’s launch into space this time was incredibly domineering in presence, the actual commotion it caused wasn’t as massive as when Gu Zhao brought back the Moon Rock and Moon Soil. However, once ordinary citizens captured footage of the thousand-meter-tall Dharma Aspect, it ignited a massive frenzy on the internet.
His first move was at the telecom fraud compound; his second was annihilating the typhoon. Now, several months later, Yunyang appeared in Yandu once more, manifesting the Eight Immortals Dharma Aspect to blast into space.
It could be said that Yunyang was already the Daoist from the Daluo Palace who manifested his divinity before mortals the most.
"Daoist Yunyang! I want to have your babies!"
"Buy the tickets! We’re going on a pilgrimage to the West Capital Eight Immortals Palace!"
Just as the internet was whipped into another frenzy, Yunyang had already broken through the atmosphere. While passing by the Celestial Palace Space Station, he casually greeted the three newly rotated astronauts inside before continuing deeper into space, heading straight for the Moon.
Upon entering the cosmos, Yunyang retracted the Eight Immortals Dharma Aspect and summoned a Flying Sword. He activated his Sword Control Technique, which was his fastest Flying Method.
WHOOSH—
The dazzling Sword Light triggered a soundless vibration in the vacuum of space, then transformed into a streak of light, flying directly toward the Moon.
Countless radars and satellites were locked onto Yunyang.
"Yunyang Master’s speed has stabilized. His relative speed to the Blue Star has exceeded the third cosmic velocity, reaching 17.2 km/s. At this rate, he will land on the Moon in six hours."
"It’s indeed a bit slower than Mr. Gu, but to us, it’s already incredibly fast. We fundamentally lack the ability to achieve this kind of acceleration, let alone the deceleration capabilities needed when approaching the Moon."
"It’s simply unimaginable. How do they withstand the immense pressure brought by such extreme acceleration and deceleration? Even steel would be crushed flat."
"This is Qi, a miraculous energy produced through human Cultivation that can protect the body in all directions. It’s just a pity that there are far too few people who can cultivate this kind of energy."
Countless radars and satellites watched as Yunyang gradually distanced himself from the Blue Star and drew closer to the Moon.
This was also Yunyang’s first time attempting such a long-distance flight. He had to admit that flying through outer space was indeed vastly faster than flying within a planet’s atmosphere.
Let alone on the Blue Star, even when flying in the Otherworld, it was difficult for him to push his speed to such an extreme. The Spiritual Qi recoil within a planet would place tremendous pressure on both his Protective True Qi and his body, severely suppressing his speed.
"This is exhilarating! Hahaha!"
Yunyang pushed the Flying Sword, accelerating to the absolute limit as he transformed into a streak of light.
Arriving slightly earlier than estimated, Yunyang approached the Moon just shy of the six-hour mark.
The astronauts inside the gourd space heard Yunyang’s voice. "Put on your spacesuits. We are almost at the Moon. Once you’re suited up, turn on your lights, and I’ll let you out."
Hearing this, the crew quickly donned their spacesuits, performed their airtightness self-checks, opened their oxygen valves, and entered operational mode.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
With a series of soft clicks, their helmet lights flickered on one by one.
The next moment, they felt a sudden weightlessness as their vision flooded with light. They had already left the gourd space and were standing right on the surface of the Moon.
Yunyang was very thoughtful, positioning them so that the very first thing they saw was their home planet, suspended far away in the distant sky.
WOW—