Chapter 661: The One to be Sung

Chapter 661: Chapter 16: The One to be Sung

“Besides, I believe that with your body of a Divine Wood, going to the Moon isn’t just about avoiding the Immortal Banyan Tree… Zhou Buyi, you can use your own power to forge a new future for the people of this world!”

When Su Zhou said this, even Zhou Buyi felt it was excessive praise. “You’re overstating things, that’s too much…”

But Su Zhou was lost in his own thoughts. He lowered his head and mused, “A Divine Wood naturally terraforms its surroundings into an environment suitable for its own survival. If we were to plant a Divine Wood on the Moon, a vast ‘Divine Wood ecosystem’ would emerge in a few hundred years, at the very least. Yes… the way a Divine Wood changes an environment isn’t always a bad thing. They are natural-born engineers for planetary terraforming in an age of interstellar colonization!”

Of course, Zhou Buyi, being from the Divine Wood World, couldn’t understand terms like “interstellar colonization” or “planetary terraforming.” However, he could vaguely sense Su Zhou’s excitement mounting. “And if this Divine Wood also possessed a human will, it could spontaneously convert Spiritual Qi and local matter to create a regional ecological cycle… Then, as it advances, terraforming an entire planet and making it habitable would be a simple matter!”

Done with his musings, Su Zhou looked up at Zhou Buyi, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Qiming might have been the one who brought it up first, but now I’m truly convinced that sending you to the Moon is a brilliant idea!”

Zhou Buyi: “?”

Shao Qiming: “You mean you thought it was a bad idea before?”

“Of course not!”

Realizing he had misspoken, Su Zhou quickly corrected himself. “What I mean is, beyond the initial goal of ensuring Zhou Buyi’s survival, I’ve realized this plan is surprisingly in tune with his own aspirations and goals.”

After explaining that he wasn’t just casually agreeing but was genuinely on board, Su Zhou’s enthusiasm returned. “Based on the Tianzheng Alliance’s development trajectory, as long as it doesn’t self-destruct, the formation of a global alliance within the next century is a foreseeable outcome. And without a world war to check it, the population explosion during that time will be enough to pack the entire planet.”

“When that time comes, even if they’re against it, humanity will only have a few options: family planning, world war, or pioneering a New World. The first two are about culling the population. But the third option, through Zhou Buyi, could slowly guide them to the Moon over the span of a century. By then, the Divine Wood that is Zhou Buyi should have been able to create ecosystems across the lunar surface. From there, whether they set out for other satellites or continue to terraform the Moon and establish lunar colonies, it opens up a new path for future development.”

Hearing this, Shao Qiming followed the same line of reasoning. “Yes, and the Divine Wood that Zhou Buyi becomes—the Wood of Continuation—can create offshoots. It’s perfectly suited for taking root in various locations on the Moon, creating individual ecosystems that can later be interconnected… The prerequisite, of course, is that Zhou Buyi can actually get to the Moon and survive there.”

That was the million-dollar question. As the subject of the conversation, Zhou Buyi could only give a wry smile. He gazed down at the Immortal Banyan Tree beneath his feet for a moment with a complex expression, then shook his head. “Enough. I am indeed almost two hundred years old. Naturally, I won’t act on impulse as I did in my youth.”

“Since the Immortal Banyan Tree and I cannot coexist on this planet, my departure for another world is practically a certainty. As for whether I can survive, you needn’t worry. The resilience of a Divine Wood far surpasses that of ordinary life, and it’s not as if I haven’t been to the top of the atmosphere before. The most important question is how I’ll get there.”

Whether to go was a matter of willpower; how to go was a matter of technology. On this point, Shao Qiming was hesitant. He worried that giving rocket-related technology to the Divine Wood World would be, in a sense, an act of treason against his own world. He had also been about to warn Su Zhou not to transfer technology just because he was friends with the recipient.

But his way of thinking wasn’t expansive enough—at least, not compared to Su Zhou’s.

“What’s so difficult about that? Just calculate the trajectory and fly there yourself.”

As he spoke, Su Zhou extended his hand. Hundreds of Gale Seeds erupted from his body like fireflies, transforming into phantom-like patterns of light that swiftly coalesced in the air, forming a partial model of a rocket’s propulsion system, its structure outlined by Spiritual Qi.

He guided the model rocket through the air and said in a tone that suggested it was obvious, “With your reserves of Spiritual Energy, and the fact that you only need to propel yourself, if you also prepare some Spiritual Power Arrays for an acceleration boost and bring along plenty of Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Materials and pills to replenish your power, breaking ten kilometers per second shouldn’t be difficult.”

Zhou Buyi nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”

Shao Qiming: “?”

Although Shao Qiming was momentarily stunned by Su Zhou’s ridiculously Extraordinary solution, upon further reflection, he was dumbfounded to realize that for a Transcendent, a trip to the Moon truly wasn’t something that required much deliberation.

Earth’s historic Moon landing happened because the world’s major powers were all competing in a space race. In Zhengguo’s case alone—not even counting the preliminary research, the satellite launches to scout the lunar surface, or the work to select a landing site—the project cost hundreds of billions. It involved tens of thousands of corporations and departments from every conceivable industry. One hundred and eight B Class Academies, along with all the other major Academies, gave their full support. Even public opinion across Zhengguo was so favorable that ordinary people were willing to hold fundraisers for the effort.