The Stars Beyond

Chapter 105: An Interstellar Journey

The deep-space spaceport was situated thirty kilometers from An City. It was expansive and ranked among the top four in the Old World. Anyone from neighboring provinces who wished to travel to the New World would have to depart from here.

From a distance, it appeared as a steel jungle, housing a plethora of large spacecraft. Its vastness also ensured that the security measures were of the highest caliber, with robots densely arranged and surveillance scanners omnipresent.

The surrounding area was beautifully landscaped with evergreen trees. However, these trees seemed diminutive when juxtaposed with the colossal spacecraft. Even the six or seven-meter tall trees appeared like mere shrubs beside the cold, gleaming metallic behemoths.

Having never traveled into space before, Wang Xuan arrived three hours early, wary of unforeseen hiccups or complications. After passing through the automated security checks, he sat in the waiting area, realizing that there were still over two hours left for boarding. The wait felt extra long. Time ticked by, and finally, the boarding announcement was sounded. Wang Xuan cast one last lingering gaze at the Old World before resolutely stepping aboard the spacecraft.

The massive ship surged forward like a streak of luminescence, heading into outer space. Once it was beyond the Old World, its warp drive activated, propelling it faster than the speed of light. It rapidly picked up speed, and it seemed as if the ship was journeying within a giant bubble, transcending the constraints of time and space.

Their first destination was Proxima Centauri B, located 4.2 light-years away from the Old World. It was the closest exoplanet to our solar system. A wormhole existed there, serving as a shortcut across the vast stretches of the cosmos, bringing them nearer to the New World.

Originally, a wormhole connected the moon of the Old World to the new moon of the New World, making travel between the two locations quite easy. However, due to the close proximity of the stargates to the life-bearing planets and concerns about various security issues, they were eventually relocated.

Proxima Centauri B replaced the Old World's moon, and Deep Space Star 8 took the place of the New Moon, establishing themselves as the new transportation hubs. At present, spaceships cannot directly reach the New World. The stargates erected can be shut off or even self-destructed at any time, severing connections with the external universe. The distance from the Old World to Proxima Centauri b is 4.2 light-years. But once the warp drive is activated, the journey only takes a little over four hours. Wang Xuan mused that this kind of space travel felt akin to flying between two distant cities on the Old World in the early days of aviation.

Regrettably, the metal cabin was fully enclosed. Unlike airplanes with glass windows, he could not view the wonders outside, dashing his hopes of gazing upon the brilliant stars up close. Though seats came equipped with a "full sensory image" feature for passengers to enjoy the grandeur of the cosmos, Wang Xuan gave it a try and quickly abandoned it, finding it less than impressive. Space travel was not consistently smooth. Occasional jolts, which caused murmurs of surprise among the passengers, were a result of the ship's shields neutralizing debris in space.

Inside the cold ship, the atmosphere was stiflingly silent. Most people rested with their eyes closed, taking the opportunity to have a rest. Wang Xuan too shut his eyes, but not sleep. He wanted to daringly attempt something new. With the initial formation of his psychic domain, he intended to try projecting it outward. Facing the golden cabin wall, a faint mist appeared on his forehead. Wisps of this mist seeped into the metal, slowly permeating through.

This was an ability he acquired after the initial formation of his psychic domain: even separated by barriers, his spirit could seep through, allowing him to perceive what lay beyond. The next instant, Wang Xuan witnessed the true nature of the universe. All the images of brilliant galaxies and the majesty of deep space were mere fabrications—products of technical enhancements that overly romanticized reality. What did he truly perceive now? It felt like plummeting into an abyss—oppressive, endless, and enveloped in darkness, as if the universe sought to devour one's very soul.

The experience was overwhelming, evoking a sense of despair and suffocation. Everywhere he looked was pitch black, eerily silent, as if he'd entered the realm of the afterlife. Only at unimaginable distances could faint specks of light be seen, twinkling erratically amidst the vast darkness. The cosmos was so immense that its stars appeared as mere specks of dust, nothing like the brilliance depicted in images.

Experiencing this firsthand elicited feelings of emptiness, coldness, desolation, darkness, and a profound fear of the vast expanse. Wang Xuan gasped for breath, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead without him realizing. With his psychic domain attached to the external surface of the spaceship, he detected tendrils of super-material, similar to the energy manifested by those in the domain of new arts. Additionally, there were speckled patches of strange energies—imperceptible to the naked eye but palpable to his spirit.

Among these, a massive energy cluster, akin to a dark cloud, floated by. It was eerie, mysterious, and enveloped shards of broken metal.

Chills ran down Wang Xuan's spine. Is my psychic perception accurate? What was that bizarre cloud-like substance, and why was it entangled with shattered metallic fragments? What on earth is that?!

Unfortunately, the phenomenon was fleeting and too distant for him to probe deeply. During his attempt to approach, his heart raced and his skin crawled. For a split second, he felt he might lose a part of his psychic domain, so he decisively withdrew.

Reeling from the sensation of feeling as if his soul was detached from his body and trailing behind it, Wang Xuan was inundated with dread. Thankfully, the intrinsic bond between his physical form and spirit provided a lifeline. The recovery of his spirit, which hadn't strayed too far, was challenging but he managed it just in time.

He took a considerable while to collect himself, gratefully accepting a cup of water from an attendant to soothe his dry throat. He had narrowly evaded catastrophe. Deep in thought, Wang Xuan mulled over the enigmatic forces at play in the vast, inky darkness of space. These unseen energies were fraught with peril. And what of the broken metal fragments, shrouded in that ominous nebula?

Were they remnants of a destroyed spaceship? He could not be sure.

Surprisingly, he discerned a slight enhancement in his spiritual prowess. His thoughts meandered to ancient lore, where near-immortal beings braved the heavens, harnessing its boundless energies to fortify themselves. By his deduction, this ancient rite mirrored the modern act of venturing into space to harness its exotic forces.

But then, a stark realization hit him—the prohibitive cost. A spaceship ticket was priced at a staggering 2 million Novadollars. He sighed deeply. Whether in age-old times or the present, harnessing the energies of the heavens came at a hefty price.

For the first time, the importance of financial stability dawned on Wang Xuan. Upon stepping out of academia, he recognized that, be it emotions or ancient practices, material support was indispensable.

Soon, they reached Proxima Centauri b. Orbiting a red dwarf, this closest exoplanet to the sun was largely barren. Its sole defining feature was a meticulously constructed base, mirroring a quaint city.

Two centuries ago, long before humanity ventured beyond the Solar System, Proxima Centauri B was speculated to be a potentially habitable planet. Clearly, such hopes were overly optimistic.

Upon landing, the spaceship underwent stringent inspections, underscoring the rigorous security measures one must endure before setting foot on the New World. The thorough checks both inside and outside the spaceship, along with its occupants, took more than an hour. It was evident that Wang Xuan wasn’t the only space travel novice on board. Murmurs filled the air as passengers shared their anxieties and speculations about the New World.

"What if our bodies disintegrate while passing through the wormhole? Where exactly is the New World?"

"Just relax," another passenger reassured, "You'll wake up and we'll be there. It's likely that the New World isn't even in the Milky Way Galaxy. Think about it, the Old World could be the only planet in our galaxy capable of sustaining life. There might be nothing else out there that could bear life in the vast expense of our galaxy."

This revelation took Wang Xuan aback. Was the New World truly located outside the Milky Way? If so, reliance on wormholes was indeed imperative. Even with warp engines, leaving the confines of the Milky Way could take years. Soon, the spaceship smoothly entered the wormhole. Attendants assured passengers they'd arrive at their destination after a brief slumber.

Given his recent harrowing experience, Wang Xuan decided against any adventurous forays of his spiritual realm into the unknown territories of the wormhole. As his consciousness blurred, an unspecified time elapsed before a brilliant vista greeted him. The spaceship had exited the wormhole, arriving at the Deep Space Eighth Star.

Upon reaching, Wang Xuan had to transfer to a mid-sized spaceship to continue his journey to New Moon and reunite with Qin Cheng. The Eighth Star's position in this galaxy was akin to Proxima Centauri b's in the Milky Way, lying 4.5 light years away from New Moon.

Five hours later, Wang Xuan smoothly landed on New Moon aboard a medium-sized spacecraft. The moon orbited the New Star.

"It's been two months since I last saw Qin Cheng," thought Wang Xuan as he stepped off the spaceship, eagerly wanting to meet his dear friend.

The vast distance between their locations, stretching beyond the confines of the Milky Way, had made regular communication impossible. New Moon boasted impressive urban planning, teeming with life. Everywhere he looked, flourishing plants painted a picture of a garden-like city ready for habitation. Soon, a holographic advertisement caught Wang Xuan's eye, depicting an ethereal palace with fairy-like women floating mid-air, fragrant osmanthus trees, and flying rabbits. This indicated the presence of a palace called "Guang Han Gong'' on the New Moon. Although Wang Xuan felt a mild sensation of weightlessness, the rest of his surroundings felt comfortably familiar. He hailed a hover car, intending to visit Qin Cheng at the given address.

On his way, he was deeply moved by the sight of a modest temple, not grand in size, but radiating a divine aura under the sunlight.

This wasn't just his imagination playing tricks on him. Wang Xuan stared intently, extending his spiritual field, and sensed an overwhelmingly dense mystical energy emanating from the temple. For a split second, an intense urge overwhelmed him, urging him to explore its depths immediately.

"That's a historic temple complex with a history of two thousand years," the hover car driver explained. "Every brick and tile here was transported from the Old Earth, embodying the vicissitudes and weight of history. It's said that the Bodhisattvas here are especially efficacious."

Not only was there this ancient temple on New Moon, but there was also an incredibly old Taoist temple, considered a primary sanctuary for Taoism. It, too, was entirely relocated from the Old Earth.

Wang Xuan was torn, his emotions in turmoil. He pondered whether he should visit these ancient structures. Hesitation gripped him, fearing he might not be able to control his own reactions.

Both these historic complexes were extraordinary. If he were to meddle carelessly, there was no telling what might be unleashed. He even half-jokingly wondered if, amid all the mysteries, he might accidentally release the "Old Zhang" he frequently mentioned!