Deep in the universe lies a miraculous city known as "Eternal Daylight."
It's not built on a planet, but rather envelops an aging red giant. This is a Dyson Sphere structure with a diameter of two hundred million kilometers.
Within this massive artificial shell, countless floating islands, inverted cities, and rivers flowing with liquid light energy constitute an extravagantly luxurious wasteland.
This is the headquarters of the Interstellar Commercial Alliance, and also the largest auction house in the entire universe.
Here, with enough credits, you can buy the ownership of a planet, a mercenary army capable of destroying a galaxy, or… the rise and fall of a civilization.
"This place is so vulgar… it's outrageous." A sleek, unmarked black shuttle (the disguised Suzaku's deputy ship) slowly docked at the VIP port of the Dyson Sphere.
The hatch opened.
There was no mechanical roar, only the clear, melodious sound of ancient chimes.
Shen Qingqiu stepped out.
This time, she wasn't wearing her sharp leather jacket or the cyberpunk-style bodysuit.
To portray the "mysterious envoy from the higher-dimensional civilization of Andromeda," she pulled out her most treasured attire.
A flowing, shimmering brocade gown.
The fabric wasn't ordinary; it was woven from ten-thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk mixed with nanofibers brought from the cyber world, a fabric she had cultivated in the cultivation realm. The hem was embroidered with large patches of golden spider lilies, which seemed to bloom and wither in the void as she moved, swirling with dazzling light and shadow.
Her long hair was no longer tied up, but styled into a noble, flowing bun, adorned with the phoenix-blood jade hairpin that had witnessed countless battles in countless worlds.
"Seventeen," she called softly, her voice languid, tinged with a nonchalant arrogance.
"Here," Seventeen replied, following closely behind.
He wasn't wearing any of the standard battle armor either.
He wore a dark, wide-sleeved robe, a red silk sash tied around his waist. His signature right arm, adorned with a star, was not concealed but rather displayed openly outside the sleeve, its black-gold metallic surface shimmering with starlight, creating an eerie yet harmonious beauty with the ancient attire.
He no longer resembled a bodyguard, but rather a guardian deity from ancient mythology.
…
"Halt! Please present your identification code and proof of assets!" The port's security was not a living being, but a hovering, spherical AI guard with six mechanical arms. Its infrared scanner swept over the two individuals.
"Unknown civilization…unidentified…warning! warning!" The guard emitted a piercing electronic voice.
Shen Qingqiu stopped.
She didn't even look directly at the spherical guard.
She merely tilted her head slightly, her lace folding fan (this time made of the rare interstellar material "Nebula Yarn") lightly covering her mouth and nose.
"Seventeen, it's too noisy."
"Yes." Seventeen stepped forward.
He didn't move, not even activating any weapon systems.
He simply raised his star-shaped right arm, facing the guard, palm slightly open.
[Simulated signal: High-dimensional suppression.]
*Buzz—* A profound wave, not belonging to this dimension, instantly enveloped the guard.
It was the **"divine sense pressure" of the cultivation world, mixed with the "logic lock" of the cyber world.
The guard's red light instantly went out, turning into a respectful green light.
The mechanical arm drooped, emitting a trembling electrical sound.
[Detected…extremely high energy level fluctuation.]
[Judgment: Unseen high-dimensional existence.]
[VIP passage…open.]
Shen Qingqiu chuckled, her skirt brushing against the mirror-like floor.
"Let's go."
"Let's see what good stuff these country bumpkins have prepared."
…Auction House · Sky City.
This was a massive floating island within the core of a Dyson sphere.
Above was the tamed red giant star; beneath was a transparent crystal floor, offering a direct view of the bottomless mechanical structures below.
The venue was already packed with important figures from every corner of the galaxy.
There were beings of light, their bodies composed of pure energy; tycoons of a deep-sea civilization with tentacles; and a mechanical pope whose entire body was 99% cybernetically enhanced.
The moment Shen Qingqiu and Seventeen entered, the previously noisy venue fell into a momentary, deathly silence.
They were too extraordinary.
In this interstellar age filled with steel, lasers, and biological modifications.
This pair of people, dressed in "ancient costumes" and possessing an ethereal air, were like two drops of ink in a hot oil pan—incongruous, yet mysteriously enigmatic.
"Who are they? Which civilization?"
"I don't know… my detectors can't read their data."
"Those are… carbon-based life forms? How can they have such a strong energy field?"
Shen Qingqiu ignored the inquisitive, greedy, and questioning gazes around him. Guided by a waiter, she headed straight for the best and most expensive VIP box, number one.
"Wait." A metallic voice rang out.
A massive, jewel-encrusted figure blocked her path. He was a renowned mining tycoon in the galaxy, owning hundreds of resource planets.
"That's my seat." The jewel-encrusted figure looked down at Shen Qingqiu, radiating a blinding light (a display of wealth).
"Little girl, no matter where you're from, in this place, this is what matters." He waved a black gold card in his hand, a symbol of billions of credits.
Shen Qingqiu stopped.
She slowly raised her eyelids, a faint, indifferent luster flowing in her golden eyes.
"A backwater?"
She repeated the word, her tone gentle, yet sending a chill down one's spine.
"Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu opened her folding fan and gently fanned herself.
"Tell this… Mr. Stone."
"What is true 'wealth'?" Seventeen nodded slightly.
He didn't take any money, nor any weapons.
He simply took out a jade slip, no bigger than a fingernail, from his wide sleeves.
It was an ordinary jade slip he used to record his sword techniques in the cultivation world.
But under Shen Qingqiu's **[Civilization Library]** packaging, it had a new name.
Seventeen held the jade slip between two fingers and tossed it gently.
The jade slip floated in the air.
"Release." Seventeen uttered a low shout.
Boom!
A dazzling sword intent soared into the sky.
That wasn't a physical attack; it was pure **"information flow"**.
The sword intent transformed into a grand holographic image in the air—a man and a sword, cleaving through a galaxy.
The power of laws contained within that image, the "artistic conception" that transcended the realm of technological understanding, instantly stunned the entire audience.
"What...what kind of technology is this?"
"No circuits, no energy core, storing such a vast amount of information solely through matter itself?"
"This is...nanodimensional space folding storage technology?! Or the legendary blueprints for a causal weapon?!" The scientists and wealthy people in the room went crazy.
In their eyes, this small jade slip represented a technological tree never seen before, surpassing their current dimension.
The crystal man was so frightened that he took a step back, his gems dimming slightly.
Although he was rich, he wasn't stupid.
Someone who could casually throw out "high-dimensional technology" was someone he couldn't afford to offend.
"This is just a poem my master wrote in his spare time..." Seventeen put away the jade slip and said calmly.
His tone was as flat as if he were saying, "This is just a piece of scrap paper I threw away."
"Get out of the way."
He uttered two words.
The crystal man felt like he had been granted a pardon and scrambled to make way.
Shen Qingqiu closed his folding fan, not even glancing at the crystal man.
She linked arms with Seventeen, stepping gracefully into VIP Box Number One amidst the awe and astonishment of the crowd.
...Inside the box, the luxury was unparalleled.
An entire wall was one-way transparent, offering a panoramic view of the auction hall.
Rare fruits and fine wines from various planets were laid out on the table.
Shen Qingqiu sat on the soft cloud-like sofa and let out a long sigh.
"Playing the master is really tiring."
She rubbed her stiff neck, her previously composed demeanor instantly crumbling.
"But, it worked well."
She picked up a purple interstellar grape, peeled it, and offered it to Seventeen's lips.
"Ah—" Seventeen obediently opened his mouth and ate it.
He looked at Shen Qingqiu, his eyes full of laughter.
"That jade slip actually only recorded the weather forecast for this nearby star system."
"Shh." Shen Qingqiu raised her index finger and placed it against his lips.
"In their eyes, it's like a book written in the heavens."
"That's the charm of information asymmetry. As long as I don't say it, they'll conjure up a thousand sophisticated explanations in their minds." Seventeen held her fingers and gently kissed them.
"Whatever you say, that's what it is."
"Even if you say it's the truth of the universe, I'll make it the truth."
Just then.
The auction began.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
The host was a holographic projection with three heads.
"Welcome to the once-a-decade 'Interstellar Treasures' auction! Tonight, we will witness a miracle!"
The first item was brought up.
It was a mineral emitting a ghostly blue light.
"The essence of the deep sea, a specialty of the water world, allowing the wearer to breathe in a vacuum…"
Shen Qingqiu was uninterested.
She could easily solve this with a simple "water-repelling talisman."
She leaned on Seventeen's shoulder, idly playing with the embroidery on his cuff.
Until…
"Next up is one of tonight's grand finale items!"
The host's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. A transparent box, locked in a powerful force field, was pushed forward.
Inside the box was a fragmented, rusty piece of bronze.
The fragment looked unremarkable, even covered in dirt.
But the moment Shen Qingqiu saw it, her golden pupils contracted sharply.
*Buzz—* A piercing alarm suddenly sounded in her mind's [Library of Civilization].
[Signal from the same source detected!]
[Item Analysis: Core fragment of a 'Kunlun'-class starship.]
[Source: ...Earth.]
"Earth..." Shen Qingqiu sat bolt upright.
That was the homeland she had been searching for. That was the place she had dreamt of countless times throughout her ninety-nine reincarnations, yet remained unreachable.
The host excitedly introduced:
"This fragment was discovered in the desolate Orion Arm, on the edge of the Milky Way."
"Testing revealed that the inscriptions on it do not belong to any known civilization. However, it contains an extremely ancient energy wave, leading us to suspect... that it is the key to the **Lost God Realm**!"
"Starting bid: 10 million credits!" The entire audience erupted in cheers.
For these highly exploratory advanced civilizations, the unknown coordinates of the God Realm are more precious than any resource.
"50 million!"
"80 million!" The price soared.
Shen Qingqiu's fingers gripped the sofa armrest tightly, her knuckles turning white.
She had to get it.
Not just for the coordinates, but also to confirm—whether Earth still existed.
"Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu turned her head, her eyes resolute.
"We must buy it."
"But..." Seventeen frowned, checking the balance of the Vermilion Bird's account (most of which was from robbing pirates). "We don't have enough money."
"The highest bid so far is three times our total assets." No money.
This is the most embarrassing thing.
No matter how convincingly they act like beings from a higher dimension, without real money, the auction house won't accept it.
"Who said we have to buy it with money?"
Shen Qingqiu stood up and walked to the French windows.
She looked at the buyers below, frantically raising their paddles, a desperate, mad laugh playing on her lips.
"Seventeen."
"Tell me, if I offer something,"
"something that would make them believe I possess... **'immortality' technology."
"How much would they pay for it?"
Seventeen paused.
"Immortality? Isn't that a lie?"
"Yes, it's a lie."
Shen Qingqiu turned around, her red dress as vibrant as blood under the lights.
"But in the cultivation world, it's called... 'The Longevity Technique'."
She pulled out the backup data of the [Nano Divine Gold] she had obtained in the cyber world, which had already merged with Seventeen.
That was the core algorithm she had written—the one for perfectly converting consciousness into data.
For this interstellar civilization, still desperately pursuing physical modification and consciousness uploading but facing rejection reactions,
this thing was the true Holy Grail.
"Make a bid." Shen Qingqiu's voice, amplified through the loudspeaker, echoed throughout the auction hall.
"Box One, bid."
"No credits required."
She held up the data chip in her hand, emitting a faint golden light.
"In exchange for…the ticket to 'immortality'." The entire hall fell silent.
Immediately afterward, everyone's gaze, including those of the previously high-ranking figures, was fixed on the chip in the red-clad woman's hand.
Those gazes were more fervent than those seeing a star explode.
Shen Qingqiu stood high above, her flowing skirt billowing.
She wasn't buying anything.
She was using a colossal lie to ignite the desires of the entire galaxy.
"Step into the Heavenly Palace, sweep away the stardust."
She murmured softly.
"I've made my move."