The "heart" was bright and conspicuous within the transparent sphere, continuously radiating Lunar Force, gradually filling the remaining empty space inside the sphere.
At this moment, Coppelia asked if she wanted to eat something. While maintaining the form of the "heart," she checked the sensation in her abdomen. Indeed, not a trace of hunger came through. She refused the offer.
When she turned her attention fully back to the sphere of light, that solid "heart" had already expanded on its own, reverting to a liquid state. The internal Lunar Force, losing its constraint, scurried wildly inside the "cell."
She forcibly compressed the "heart" back again. However, as soon as she relaxed her control even slightly, the structure could not maintain its form and immediately collapsed.
No. A real heart must move on its own...
Coppelia had said to utilize the inherent characteristics of Lunar Force. What characteristics did Lunar Force have? Right, it is Light Realm Power, capable of decomposing into the seven elements... Which elements can be used to construct a "heart"?
She manipulated the Lunar Force to manifest various properties. After continuous attempts, she found a line of thought.
This time, she shaped an exquisite multi-layered spherical structure. The new "heart" as a whole exhibited the stability and connective properties of the "Dendro" element; the structure thus became stable and could perform contraction movements on its own.
When it contracted to a certain critical point, the interior would trigger an "Electro" elemental reaction, causing the exterior to expand.
As long as energy was added at the right moment... a "heart" with a stable structure, capable of autonomously pumping Lunar Force, was thus completed.
After multiple rounds of fine adjustments, she withdrew her external influence bit by bit. Finally, this "heart" could beat rhythmically entirely relying on its built-in mechanism, requiring only a periodic replenishment of a small amount of energy to maintain itself.
At this time, Coppelia came to remind her to eat again. But the intense joy brought by "creation" overshadowed everything; she responded simply, then locked her attention firmly back onto the "cell" in her hand.
Next was the skin. All the animals she saw today had skin. They separated the inside from the outside, preventing useful internal energy from dissipating and blocking external impurities from invading...
With the experience of building the "heart," she manipulated the Lunar Force to exhibit the flexibility and stability of "Hydro" and "Dendro," creating a thin yet tough "skin" for the "cell."
She straightened her legs together, released the sphere of light from her hands, and let it fall onto her thighs.
If it were an ordinary water balloon, it would have burst by now, splashing everywhere.
But Columbina only felt a slight coolness on her thigh. The sphere of light did not burst; instead, like an elastic soft cushion, it deformed and limply covered the contours of her legs.
That layer of "skin" still firmly bound the liquid Lunar Force inside, with no leakage.
She used both hands to lift this flowing "pancake" up again.
It wouldn't break anymore, but it still couldn't maintain a fixed spherical shape. Next, she needed... bones!
Animals without bones looked limp and floppy, just like jellyfish and octopuses. Moon Spirits had fixed shapes, so there must be something like bones inside their bodies.
She made the Lunar Force exhibit the sturdy nature of the "Geo" element, quickly constructing a ring of supportive mesh framework inside the "cell," propping up the entire sphere from within.
She let the sphere of light free-fall a few more times to test its strength. During the process, she discovered defects such as insufficient toughness of the "skin" and fragile connection points in the framework, reinforcing and repairing them one by one. Finally, the "cell" possessed a stable, deformation-resistant spherical contour.
Columbina let out a soft breath. She felt she was one step closer to creating a real Moon Spirit.
Success after success boosted her confidence greatly. She intended to keep going.
She proceeded to create a network of "blood vessels," allowing the energy pumped by the "heart" to be transported in an orderly manner to all parts, rather than running wild. She also created "muscles" capable of contraction, and "nerve" fibers to transmit stimulus signals, allowing this sphere of light to react with partial deformation to external touch.
She also added many more intricate and subtle structures inside the "cell" to balance the relationships between the various components and adjust the energy flow and material exchange.
This "cell" became increasingly complex, looking more and more like a life-like creation capable of making basic reactions to the outside world.
Columbina felt very satisfied with her work. Sure enough, compared to the abstract and difficult-to-understand "Authority of Space," studying these concrete structures was obviously much simpler and clearer.
She placed the "cell" on her lap, observing its slight rolling and surface squirming caused by internal activity, carefully checking for possible errors or loopholes, and repairing them at any time.
With this process, her understanding of life structures deepened, and her control over Lunar Force became more refined and adept.
Unknowingly, the sky outside had already brightened. However, the heavy clouds had not yet dispersed; a gray-white mist permeated outside the cave, leaving heaven and earth in a haze.
Columbina had already shaped the various internal structures of the "cell" to be quite perfect.
She shifted to one end of the cushion and placed the "cell" in the vacated spot. Then, she condensed a relatively rich Lunar Force in one palm and extended it to one side of the "cell."
Soon, the surface of the "cell" on the side closer to her palm began to squirm at an accelerated pace.
She moved her palm to the other side, and the surface of the "cell" on that side made the same reaction.
Great. This way, it can simply seek direction based on the source of energy.
Next, I have to make it learn to "eat"... No, Moon Spirits shouldn't need to eat meals; they eat Lunar Force. I need to make it learn to actively absorb external Lunar Force to replenish energy...
She attempted to stand up, wanting to go to a more open place outside the cave to test other state reactions of the "cell."
But just as her buttocks left the cushion, a sudden sense of collapse grabbed hold of her. Her legs went soft, a slight dizziness hit her head, and immediately her body sank, sitting back down heavily.
She subconsciously glanced at Coppelia beside her, confirming she hadn't woken her sleeping companion.
In the instant she broke away from that state of high concentration, the long-suppressed intense hunger surged from her abdomen like a wild beast. At the same time, the deep fatigue accumulated throughout the night flooded her limbs and bones like a bursting dam.
Must rest...
She reached out to hold the "cell" and move it to a safer place, but her left hand trembled uncontrollably. She tried to use her left arm to prop up her body a little, adjusting her posture to lie down on the mat. However, the strength in her left arm suddenly drained away completely.
Her body lost support and fell forward weakly, pressing onto the still-sleeping Coppelia.
____
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