Deputy Director Zhao sat at the head of the table, an open folder in front of him containing a compilation of information on the Solar System's planets, hastily assembled that afternoon.
"You all watched the livestream," he began. "Let's hear your thoughts."
Silence lasted three seconds.
Professor Li spoke first. His background was in astrophysics, but he had later transferred to the spiritual energy research team.
"Most likely, they're not in the Solar System."
Several people turned toward him.
"If the immortal cultivation civilization of the Primordial Era established a permanent settlement on any planet in the Solar System, it would have left detectable traces, regardless of its size."
"Physical traces—ruined buildings, evidence of mineral extraction, anomalous atmospheric composition. Our probes should have picked up at least some of those things."
He pushed up his glasses.
"Voyager, New Horizons, Juno... these probes have sent back vast amounts of data over the decades. We haven't found any anomalies."
"Are you sure?" someone from the military asked. "The Taiyin Realm is inside the Moon, and we never found that either."
Professor Li paused.
"...That's because of the barrier."
"Exactly." Another voice cut in. It belonged to a representative of an ancient martial arts sect, though the video was too blurry to make them out clearly.
"Modern instruments can't detect barriers erected by the mighty cultivators of the Primordial Era. If they can't detect them, how can you rule something out just because you 'haven't detected it'?"
Professor Li did not immediately retort.
He took off his glasses and wiped them.
"Then let me rephrase. With the information currently available, we cannot determine whether that ancient civilization still exists within the Solar System. But logically speaking, if they were capable of establishing a cultivation domain on Pluto, their range of activity most likely