Chapter Summaries

Gao Jian, a Foundation Establishment cultivator working for CNSA, infiltrated NASA’s Artemis launch site to ride the SLS to the Moon in search of spiritual veins. After secretly inspecting and repairing the rocket, he discovered that fueling had stopped with the tanks only a little over half full, just as the astronauts boarded.

• Gao Jian attended the Artemis launch as a CNSA observer and resolved to sneak aboard the SLS to reach Taiyin Star.
• Gao Jian escaped his NASA escort using an Invisibility Spell and flew to the launchpad on his sword.
• Gao Jian used his Divine Sense to inspect the SLS and tightened faulty bolts and repaired flawed welds.
• Gao Jian examined the SLS’s engines and structure before flying toward the Orion command module to hide inside.
• Gao Jian noticed that fueling had stopped while the tanks remained partly empty, as the four astronauts boarded the command module.

Gao Jian entered NASA’s firing room and warned that the SLS propellant tanks were underfilled, exposing a faulty sensor before the launch. Musk took responsibility for bringing him in, and NASA resumed loading as Gao Jian left for the viewing area.

• Gao Jian confronted NASA’s launch controllers and warned that the liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks were not full despite the sensors reporting otherwise.
• Anderson tried to summon security, but Gao Jian’s Foundation Establishment pressure briefly left him terrified and unable to move.
• After Gao Jian urged the propulsion team to check the loading curve, engineers found that fuel flow had dropped sharply even though the level sensors showed full tanks.
• Blackwell suspended the launch and ordered the propellant readings checked, while Musk arrived and said he had brought Gao Jian into the firing room.
• Musk and Gao Jian left under escort as Blackwell ordered loading to resume and the sensor fault to be investigated.
• Gao Jian sensed that workers had returned to the fueling area and felt relieved that propellant loading had resumed.

Gao Jian used Musk’s help to remain at the viewing area while monitoring the SLS fuel tanks, then tried to board the rocket after its launch began unexpectedly early. He left behind a talisman decoy and flew after the ascending rocket, disappearing into its exhaust as it approached Mach 2.

• Musk persuaded the security chief and an FBI agent to let Gao Jian return to the viewing area, though they still planned to investigate how he entered the firing room and learned about the fuel shortage.
• Gao Jian and Musk discussed NASA’s plans, CNSA’s lunar program, and a possible partnership, while Gao Jian secretly watched the SLS tanks fill and confirmed they were full.
• Musk learned that Blecherwell had ordered the launch early, and the SLS lifted off before Gao Jian could sneak aboard.
• Musk discovered that Gao Jian’s seated body was a burning talisman decoy, then spotted Gao Jian flying toward the rocket as an azure streak.
• Gao Jian chased the SLS through its exhaust and plunged into its fiery wake as the rocket neared Mach 2.

Gao Jian secretly repaired the SLS rocket and kept it on course as NASA officials sabotaged the launch, but a failed booster separation threatened the mission. An unseen sword strike severed the stuck booster, allowing the rocket to enter its second stage while the command center celebrated the apparent success of its backup detonation.

• As the rocket climbed, Gao Jian heard astronauts report mysterious knocks while NASA officials dismissed their concerns and concealed their plans to cause a launch failure.
• Gao Jian repaired more than twenty defects on the rocket, then braced against its side to counter a crosswind that was pushing it off course.
• The rocket passed through the crosswind layer, but the right-side booster failed to separate when its explosive bolts did not detonate.
• The flight director tried to correct the imbalance with the engines while Blackwell and the other executives watched their sabotage take effect.
• An unseen azure sword light cut away the stuck booster, straightened the rocket, and prompted the command center to cheer as Blackwell stared in shock.

Gao Jian helped the SLS rocket survive its ascent and discovered that Earth looked far larger and flatter from space than he expected. After spotting an optical window that made Earth appear normally curved to the astronauts, he continued toward the Moon, suspecting NASA was concealing the anomaly.

• Gao Jian helped ground control correct the rocket's attitude, then endured the remaining ascent as the fairing and launch escape tower separated.
• After the core stage shut down and detached, Gao Jian looked down and saw a landmass whose curvature and outlines contradicted his memories of Earth.
• Gao Jian calculated that Earth appeared far too large, considered spatial distortions, and found that his phone failed in the vacuum.
• Gao Jian inspected the spacecraft window and realized its adjustable optical glass made Earth appear normally curved to the astronauts.
• Colonel Robert, Lieutenant Colonel Jim, Ron, and Allen heard Gao Jian knocking, but Allen saw nothing unusual outside the window.
• Gao Jian suspected NASA was hiding the optical anomaly and looked toward the Moon, which remained impossibly distant for his cultivation.

Gao Jian discovered that the SLS upper stage had failed to ignite, while NASA prepared a false broadcast and blamed a radiation storm for aborting the lunar mission. As NASA’s leadership defended the decision, Elon Musk burst into the command center and called their explanation bullshit.

• Gao Jian stayed outside the spacecraft and discovered that the EUS engines only simulated ignition, leaving the spacecraft without thrust.
• NASA’s launch broadcast showed CGI of a successful translunar injection while spectators and officials failed to locate the real spacecraft.
• CNSA leaders discussed Gao Jian’s disappearance and learned that he had been seen with Elon Musk near the launch site.
• The deputy secretary-general urged CNSA to delay its lunar program, emphasizing that safety came first.
• Blackwell claimed a geomagnetic storm made the Van Allen radiation belt too dangerous and said he had ordered the EUS ignition terminated.
• Elon Musk kicked open the command-center doors and shouted that Blackwell’s explanation was bullshit.

Musk forced a confrontation in NASA’s launch control room over the blocked lunar mission, and Administrator Jasade ultimately authorized EUS ignition. The rocket fired, but its engine-camera feed showed Gao Jian working on a nozzle before the flames blasted him out of view.

• Musk entered the control room, paid NASA security agents to stand aside, and accused Blackwell of inventing a geomagnetic storm to prevent the moon landing.
• Musk challenged the storm data and demanded ignition, while NASA staff revealed their support and discovered that only leaders with L5 clearance could authorize the EUS.
• NASA engineers confronted the four executives, and Musk prepared to seize control by force before Administrator Jasade arrived and authorized ignition.
• Jasade fired Anderson and ordered Blackwell to grant L5 authorization for the EUS upper-stage engines.
• The live telemetry showed Gao Jian hammering a rocket nozzle, then the engines ignited and blasted him out of view.

Gao Jian survived the EUS engine ignition, caught up with the Orion spacecraft, and rode its translunar burn into space. During the coast, he realized the spacecraft’s apparent motion did not match the Earth-Moon distance and concluded that most of its speed was carrying it sideways rather than toward the moon.

• Gao Jian was thrown clear by the EUS engines’ exhaust, then used his spirit sword and Wind-Riding Art to catch the accelerating spacecraft and cling to its exterior.
• The TLI burn ended successfully, and Gao Jian observed the astronauts carrying out their checks as the spacecraft began its unpowered coast.
• Gao Jian noticed that the spacecraft had maintained 10.92 km/s for half an hour, even though the moon’s apparent size barely changed and Earth still looked vast.
• Gao Jian rejected the idea that the moon was ten times larger than expected and deduced that the spacecraft’s velocity was mostly tangential, carrying it in a lateral loop instead of toward the moon.

Gao Jian realized the spacecraft was trapped in a Lorentz-force spiral through the Van Allen radiation belts, putting the lunar mission and the astronauts at risk. As the crew discovered a ground image showing a human figure blasted away by the EUS engine, the cause of the launch’s unexplained thumping became more alarming.

• Gao Jian deduced that a vast magnetic field was forcing the spacecraft into a ninety-six-hour spiral and preventing it from following its planned lunar trajectory.
• Gao Jian concluded that the spacecraft might be unable to slow down for lunar orbit or landing and resolved to survive and warn CNSA about the danger.
• Gao Jian watched the moon for signs of cultivation, then developed a nosebleed after spending hours inside the radiation belts and worried about the astronauts’ exposure.
• Jim questioned Allen and Ron about the strange thumping sounds they had heard during launch, but they dismissed his concern.
• Jim and the others examined an image from the ground and saw a human figure being blasted away by the EUS engine during the translunar injection burn.

Gao Jian immobilized the SLS cameras after the astronauts spotted his blurry silhouette, while NASA officials struggled to explain the impossible figure. A sudden Carrington-level geomagnetic storm crippled communications and endangered the Orion crew, leaving the ground unable to guide their emergency return.

• Gao Jian used eight immobilization talismans to freeze the SLS cameras after their footage captured his silhouette.
• Director Jasade fired the flight director for revealing the image, and Elon Musk hired him at SpaceX.
• Blackwell and Jasade examined the blurry footage as Elon Musk denied that Gao Jian was still at the launch site, and the FBI official threatened to report the incident to the president.
• Commander Robert reported that all eight external cameras had failed, then the Orion crew lost its video and voice links with Houston.
• Radiation readings surged as a geomagnetic storm escalated to Carrington-level alerts, disrupting spacecraft and infrastructure around the world.
• Director Jasade ordered Orion to abort the lunar mission and return to Earth, but the crew could only answer with static.

Gao Jian used his Boundless Golden Light Formation to shield the lunar crew from a catastrophic Miyake-class geomagnetic storm, but his spiritual energy was nearly exhausted. As the golden barrier shrank around the astronauts, he shouted at Jim not to go outside.

• Gao Jian sensed a geomagnetic storm erupting from Earth and watched it engulf the SLS rocket in radiation.
• The astronauts lost contact with the ground and their spacecraft systems failed as the crew began suffering the storm’s effects.
• Commander Robert confessed that he had knowingly selected the crew despite expecting the lunar mission to fail, and blamed Blackwell for sabotaging the landing.
• Gao Jian spent his last spirit stones to create a Boundless Golden Light Formation that reduced the radiation striking the astronauts.
• As Gao Jian narrowed the barrier to surround the crew, Jim reached toward the golden curtain and Gao Jian shouted, "Don't go outside!"

Gao Jian’s golden shield protected the four astronauts from a super-Carrington geomagnetic storm, but it weakened as they suffered radiation sickness. The storm suddenly subsided after the shield collapsed, leaving Gao Jian unconscious and the fate of the astronauts uncertain.

• Ron tested the radiation beyond the membrane and realized it was shielding the astronauts from deadly high-energy particles; the crew concluded that someone had been protecting them throughout the launch.
• Ron connected the earlier knocks to three dangerous moments in the rocket’s flight, and Robert, Jim, and Allen realized their unseen protector had repeatedly saved their lives.
• As Gao Jian’s spiritual energy ran low, the shield dimmed and the astronauts’ radiation sickness worsened; Robert wrote accusations about Blackwell while Jim recorded a message for his mother.
• Allen approached the window as the Boundless Golden Light Formation collapsed, and all four astronauts were engulfed by the radiation while Gao Jian lost his grip on the rocket and fell unconscious.
• The super-Carrington storm abruptly subsided after raging for thirty minutes, leaving almost all functioning satellites failed as Earth’s power returned and the auroras and radiation gradually faded.

After surviving a brief but devastating geomagnetic storm, the Orion crew faced certain death from radiation and a disabled spacecraft. Gao Jian, a CNSA observer with supernatural abilities, reached the command module and rescued the astronauts, but he told them the mission could not continue because the rocket was dead.

• Ron woke in the freezing Orion cabin and found Commander Robert trying in vain to restart the spacecraft’s control system.
• Robert told the crew the geomagnetic storm had ended after only half an hour, and Ron warned that they had received a fatal radiation dose.
• A blue-green streak appeared outside the window, and Gao Jian shattered and restored the window before entering Orion and replenishing its air.
• Gao Jian introduced himself as a China National Space Administration observer and examined the disabled console while the astronauts watched in shock.
• After confirming that the crew could not contact the ground, Gao Jian told them their journey to the moon would have to end because the rocket was dead.

Gao Jian healed the four astronauts with residue from a Hundred Herbs Life-Renewing Pill, but found that radiation had destroyed Orion’s flight systems and engines. After showing them the vast, flat world beyond the spacecraft’s curved windows, he explained that he had stabilized their orbit and planned to force the spacecraft back toward Earth.

• Gao Jian admitted he had been aboard the rocket and caused its earlier malfunctions, then learned the astronauts still had no way to contact the ground.
• Gao Jian gave Jim, Robert, Ron, and Allen pill residue that restored their bodies, and instructed them to meditate while he circulated air through the cabin.
• Gao Jian scanned the Orion spacecraft and found its flight control system and European Service Module engine irreparably damaged by radiation.
• Gao Jian showed the astronauts the vast, flat world outside the spacecraft and suspected someone had deliberately caused the geomagnetic storm; he warned them not to reveal his existence and promised to bind them with a Heart-Binding Curse.
• Gao Jian told the astronauts he had adjusted the spacecraft’s charged surfaces to stabilize its outward spiral and would use force to push it toward Earth.

The Artemis Geomagnetic Storm left almost all of the world’s satellites inoperative, triggering widespread disruption and casualties. As officials called it an unprecedented natural disaster, the public argued online over its cause, and the chapter left humanity increasingly divided by mutual accusations and labels.

• The Pentagon and space agencies worldwide reported that contact had been lost with more than 99% of active satellites in orbit.
• The satellite failure disrupted navigation, finance, aviation, shipping, logistics, and disaster relief, while secondary disasters killed nearly a thousand people.
• NASA and other scientists questioned how the storm had arisen despite stable solar activity, while Vance declared it an unprecedented natural disaster.
• Online theories and arguments spread across social media, with organizations and individuals blaming one another and attaching labels to opposing groups.
• ICANN announced an inspection and maintenance of the global DNS root servers, briefly quieting the world.

Jasade told President Vance that the Artemis crew had died after a geomagnetic storm crippled their spacecraft, while Counselor Wang continued searching for the missing observer Gao Jian. A burning object crossed the sky over Houston, where an unauthorized Minuteman missile and a Julang submarine missile collided with it before it plunged toward the Gulf of Mexico.

• Jasade reported to President Vance that the Artemis crew had no chance of survival and prepared to announce their deaths.
• Counselor Wang received an anxious call from CNSA officials, who demanded news of the missing Gao Jian.
• A blazing object appeared over Houston, shattered the consulate windows with its shock wave, and was recognized by Wang as a meteor-like object.
• An unauthorized Minuteman III launched from Wyoming toward the object, while a Jin-class submarine in the Gulf of Alaska launched a Julang to intercept the Minuteman.
• The Julang destroyed the Minuteman as the object accelerated through the explosion and plunged toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Gao Jian separated the Orion command module from the rest of the rocket and pushed it back toward Earth. The capsule entered the atmosphere over the United States and streaked toward the Gulf of Mexico.

• Gao Jian summoned his Green Bamboo Sword and explained that its talking sword spirit was an AI he had installed.
• Gao Jian flew outside the SLS rocket and cut through the connection between the Orion command module and the service module, separating the return capsule from the rest of the rocket.
• Gao Jian pushed the capsule into a spiraling descent, steering it toward the Gulf of Mexico rather than NASA’s planned splashdown zone.
• Gao Jian noticed that Earth’s curvature seemed more pronounced at lower altitudes, leaving him uncertain about the world’s shape.
• Gao Jian prepared the astronauts for reentry as the capsule reached 122 kilometers and heated to 2,800°C while passing over Texas toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Gao Jian saved the returning capsule after two intercontinental missiles targeted each other over Houston, then used his cultivation to bring the astronauts safely down in the Gulf of Mexico. As American forces converged, he escaped underwater while a surfaced foreign submarine drew their attention.

• Jim spotted a missile rising beneath the capsule, and Gao Jian flew outside and accelerated the spacecraft to evade it.
• A second missile, Julang, collided with the Minuteman over Houston, and the capsule survived the blast but continued falling at extreme speed.
• Gao Jian tried to slow the capsule with its parachutes, but the drogue and two main parachutes were destroyed by heat and air resistance.
• Gao Jian used the Water-Drawing Art to raise a waterspout that slowed the capsule enough for it to splash down safely.
• As American warships and helicopters approached, a foreign submarine surfaced and drew their attention, allowing Gao Jian to dive underwater.

After the Orion return capsule and two missiles exploded over Houston, the United States and its rival promoted a cover story about a meteorite while suppressing witnesses and confronting the rival’s submarine. The capsule was recovered from the Gulf of Mexico, where rescuers discovered all four astronauts were alive but unconscious.

• The White House and the rival government issued matching statements claiming their forces had jointly intercepted a dangerous meteorite that turned out to be the Orion return capsule.
• Houston residents struggled to share evidence of the capsule’s apparent acceleration because global DNS maintenance had crippled the internet.
• American forces destroyed recording equipment and deleted footage from Mexican and Cuban fishermen, a Mexican warship, and officers of the Second Fleet.
• The Jin-class submarine refused American demands to board and inspect it, locked torpedoes onto the lead vessel, and displayed its remaining missiles.
• The submarine agreed to leave the Gulf of Mexico under United States Navy supervision, after which recovery teams retrieved the capsule.
• The NASA recovery team and rescuers opened the capsule and found all four astronauts alive but unconscious.

After the American forces left, Gao Jian swam from the Gulf of Mexico to Texas and returned to shore, determined to keep his cultivation secret. He reached a public phone and called Counselor Wang, who answered in a furious panic.

• Gao Jian watched the American fleet depart and saw the astronauts and Orion capsule recovered, while trusting the Heart-Binding Curse to keep the astronauts from revealing him.
• Gao Jian swam through the sea for a day and night, avoided boats, and reached a Texas beach before changing into dry clothes.
• Gao Jian found that his phone had been damaged, worried about money, and considered ways to earn extra income before ruling out options that could break the law or draw attention.
• Gao Jian searched for a working public phone and called Counselor Wang at the consulate general in Houston.
• Counselor Wang shouted at Gao Jian and demanded to know where he had been.