Forty millenniums of cul.., p.787
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 787
"But whichever side wins, the final victor will definitely become an ultimate force that occupies the most prosperous area at the center of the universe, has a population of trillions, and boasts the unparalleled techniques of the Pangu civilization!
"Faced with such an ultimate force, do we really stand any chance? Do we have any choice but to escape?"
Every word that Gui Suishou spurted out was like a mountain pressing down the hall. All the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing how they should respond.
Angry, Jiang Hailiu glared at Gui Suishou.
Gui Suishou looked back at him honestly and innocently, like an old, shameless scoundrel.
Having no alternatives, Jiang Hailiu declared gloomily, "Fellow Cultivators, this is about our enemy. Now, we will have a ten-minute break. Everybody can sort through your solution again. In ten minutes, we will come back and discuss how to defeat our enemy… whoever they are!"
Faced with the tremendous pressure of the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, the magnificent Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators reacted no differently from ordinary people would. They dispersed and joined their friends, discussing in small groups.
Li Yao meant to go to Iron God Yan Ba and thank him for offering the spiritual seed years ago. The two of them could also exchange the mysteries of the primeval memories in the cell.
But Gui Suishou came to him promptly.
Li Yao glared at him like Jiang Hailiu had done. He was not willing to talk to Gui Suishou, either.
It was not because he objected to Gui Suishou's theory. He admitted that it was rather self-consistent.
However, spreading such absolutely pessimistic speculation in such a meeting whose sole purpose was to cheer everybody up was exactly like telling parents 'your baby will eventually die' in a baby shower.
It was definitely not a wrong statement, but it was wrong to be so blunt!
However, Gui Suishou seemed unable to discern the hatred in other people's eyes. Brazenly, he said, "My young friend Li Yao, after hearing my assumption, have you grown a deeper understanding about the necessity of the Monument Plan?"
"Everything is just your speculation, backed by no evidence," Li Yao said coldly. "You are just exaggerating and scaring everybody!"
"Scaring everybody?" Gui Suishou smiled. "I know exactly why this Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage has been convened. You are just trying to cheer each other up. I don't want to dishearten you, so I chose the mildest hypothesis to share with you and kept the assumptions that are even more dreadful to myself!"
Chapter 1202: When a Father Wants a Son Dead |
"More dreadful speculations?" Li Yao sneered. "Please speak whatever is on your mind, Master Gui. I'm all ears. If Master Gui does have a point, I might increase the investment to the Monument Plan!"
Pretending that he did not hear the sarcasm in Li Yao's words, Gui Suishou replied unhurriedly, "Alright. Let's go a little bit deeper, Fellow Cultivator Li! Just now, I was merely talking about the possibility of the Covenant Alliance excavating the relics of the Pangu civilization on a large scale, in which case the Pangu civilization's influence on the Covenant Alliance will be indirect and passive, and the 'Pangu's Covenant' will be an agreement among the human beings of different Sectors.
"However, is there an assumption that is even worse?
"What if the 'Pangu's Covenant' is not an agreement within the Covenant Alliance but one between the Covenant Alliance and the Pangu civilization? What if the Pangu civilization's influence on the Covenant Alliance is not passive but active?
"What if the Pangu civilization—the living Pangu civilization and Pangu Clan—is looming behind the war between the Covenant Alliance and the Imperium? What do we do then?"
The cold smile on Li Yao's face froze. Dumbfounded for a long time, he snapped, "It's impossible. The Pangu civilization has been destroyed for a long time!"
"Says who?" Gui Suishou asked back peacefully.
Li Yao was of a mind to point out the idiocy of the question because the so-called Pangu, Kuafu, and Nuwa were all species in the legends that had long perished hundreds of thousands of years ago.
But on second thought, he did not have solid evidence of the Pangu civilization's destruction. Everything was just his assumption!
Maybe it was not right. Perhaps, some of the ancient Cultivators forty thousand years had seen the Pangu Clan in person. Also, the communication between human beings and the Pangu Clan was probably still very intense. Otherwise, the tales that Pangu created the universe, Kuafu chased after the sun, Gonggong crashed into the Buzhou Mountain in his fury, and Nuwa mended the sky and created human beings… none of that would have passed on at all.
Such myths were the evidence that the ancestors of human beings had close contact with the Pangu Clan!
Seeing the gloom on his face, Gui Suishou was smiling even more delightedly. "See? Even you are uncertain that the Pangu Clan has really perished, aren't you?
"Besides, even if a civilization is destroyed, there are many ways that it is revived and return again!"
Li Yao shuddered. Somehow, the Blood Stripe Virus, an alien species that was destroyed long ago, suddenly occurred to him!
"In the fields of primeval mythology and the Pangu civilization, the studies in the demon clan are much more developed," Gui Suishou said slowly. "Since the Demon Beast Empire forty thousand years ago, the classics such as 'Legends of Ancient Demons' have been passed on among us. In many classics, the 'obliteration, rebirth, immortality' theory can be found. Some of them even claim that the Pangu clan will arrive again in the final war and bring us all to the splendid Pantheon of Demons, where we will enjoy eternal glory."
"That's just the propaganda the high-level demons used to paralyze the low-level demons!" Li Yao said angrily.
"Indeed. It was just a means of propaganda." Gui Suishou smiled. "However, no propaganda comes from nothing. It is exactly because the prophecy that 'God Pangu will arrive again' had been long spreading out among the demons that such a propagandistic, mythological system was founded.
"The propaganda is definitely false, but the prophecy that 'God Pangu will arrive again' is perhaps from the mutual primeval memory deep inside the cells of different generations of demons. Perhaps, it was a message left by the Pangu civilization to us, just like the last words that your foster father left to you, Fellow Cultivator Li!"
Li Yao took a deep, deep breath.
This old, crazy lunatic was too dangerous!
He seemed weary, slow, uncompetitive, and harmless, but after only a few words, and not even releasing his demonic energy, he was already shaking Li Yao's mind to such an extent that Li Yao felt his soul was collapsing!
The old scoundrel was even scarier than Jin Tuyi and Elder Nether Spring!
Li Yao summoned his spiritual energy to calm himself down in silence before he gnashed his teeth. "Master Gui, are you suggesting that the living Pangu Clan is hiding behind the Covenant Alliance? Then it's quite odd. Isn't the Pangu Clan our creator? Isn't the Pangu civilization our parent civilization? Why is a father hostile to a son?"
"I am not saying that the living Pangu Clan must be hiding behind the Covenant Alliance, nor am I implying that the Pangu civilization will certainly arrive or be reborn again!
"However, before you calculate your victory, you must calculate your failure. You consider what will happen in the worst-case scenario and how you should deal with it. Then, whether it happens for real eventually or not, you will not be panicked.
"Maybe I am just fretting and talking nonsense. Maybe, the Covenant Alliance has nothing to do with the Pangu Clan. Maybe, the Pangu Clan has long disappeared in the dust of history and will never arrive or be reborn again.
"Maybe, even if it arrives again, it will be a generous, kind hearted father who will give us a hand selflessly, who will end our war and slavery, and who will facilitate a great leap of our civilization!
"Everything will be excellent if so.
"But what if it is not?
"What if the worst things happen for real, one after another?
"What if the Pangu civilization, our 'parent', is truly reborn but is hostile to us? What can we do if it lurks in the darkness and interferes with our civilization through the Covenant Alliance?"
Gui Suishou's words cast Li Yao into deep thought again. His despise for Gui Suishou a moment ago instantly disappeared!
"Now, do you understand why I am an absolute pessimist?" Gui Suishou sighed and smiled bitterly. "If we are only faced with two super forces made of human beings that are the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, of course, I wouldn't be so desperate. However, if our ultimate enemy is our parent civilization, our creator, and the legendary deities, do we have any qualification to fight them?
"Failure is inevitable if you resist your parent civilization. The only correct path is to escape!"
Li Yao clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes, compressing the brilliance in them into the edge of a saber. He said, one word after another, "I still don't understand. Even if the Pangu civilization does exist, it was them who created us. Then, why would they be hostile to us and even want to destroy us?"
"Wasn't the civilization of demons created by the civilization of mankind?" Gui Suishou replied, unmoved. "But did the civilization of mankind not detest the civilization of demons and even want to destroy it? Had the Imperium of True Human Beings not been coming, despite the 'same-origin theory', do you think that the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector would've reached a truce?"
Li Yao was rendered speechless.
Demons had been created by human beings. The civilization of mankind was sort of a 'parent' for the civilization of demons, but such a 'parent-child' relationship did not necessitate the harmony between the two civilizations.
On the very contrary, the civilization of mankind created the 'child' with ill intentions in the very beginning. The demons were only meant for mining.
The civilization of demons, in the meantime, awakened its self-awareness almost the day it was created. It resisted its parent fiercely and even waged a patricidal war, until the incipient civilization of mankind was destroyed!
That was the relationship between the civilizations of mankind and demons. So, what about the relationship between the Pangu civilization and the civilization of human beings? Was the Pangu civilization really destroyed? Was their destruction related to the initial human beings in the primeval era?
"It seems that you've got it." Gui Suishou extended his hand that was as wrinkled as kelp and patted Li Yao's shoulder. "Young man, the universe is far darker than you think. The so-called 'parent-child relationship' means nothing in this cold world.
"Besides, the morals and code of conduct in different civilizations can be vastly different. Perhaps, some ethical, natural things in the standard of the Pangu civilization are unpardonable in ours.
"Maybe, the Pangu civilization is really not hostile to us. It merely means to 'discipline' its child, who is 'misbehaving'. But are you sure that the 'disciplining' is acceptable by our moral standard?"
Li Yao bit his teeth hard. His eyes became sharper while he declared resolutely, "I don't care about who the parent civilization is and who the child civilization is. Whoever threatens the civilization of mankind, I will not hesitate to kill them even if they are legendary deities!"
"I do appreciate your bravery. I've seen many brave warriors in my long life. You are definitely among the best of them." Gui Suishou sighed and said gloomily, "But this time, the enemy we are faced with is perhaps really different from usual. Too different!
"You must've heard a saying before.
"When an emperor wants a subject executed, the subject will be. When a father wants a son dead, the son will be!"
…
Ten minutes later, the Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage reached the second half, which was also the more important procedure.
Regarding the assault of the Imperium of True Human Beings and the appearance of the Covenant Alliance, many Nascent Soul Stage experts had come up with their own solutions. Some of them were about new magical equipment, new Cultivation arts, and new tactical troops, while some were magnificent strategic plans that would take decades and tremendous resources to be accomplished.
The plans and proposals would all be discussed in the Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage. If they were supported by the majority, they would be the main strategies of the three Sectors in the next hundred years, or at least the very least, point out the direction of development in a certain specific field.
"Fellow Cultivators, we will require the wisdom from every one of you now!"
During the ten minutes, Jiang Hailiu, the host of the meeting, had sorted through his thoughts, too, and tried to set the meeting, which was deviated by Gui Suishou a moment ago, back to the right course. "Allow me to present my humble opinions first. In fact, there is no need to underestimate ourselves. Compared to the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, we are perhaps truly underdeveloped in most fields, but we still have four advantageous fields that do not have a huge gap with their counterparts in the Imperium or the Covenant Alliance. Some of the fields even exceed our enemy's!
"If we build up the four advantageous fields in the next hundred years, they are likely to be the fatal weapons and the ultimate moves of the federation!"
Chapter 1203: Advantages of the Federation |
Behind Jiang Hailiu, a 3D light beam rose up, displaying rows of splendid buildings established in a deep valley.
Li Yao could tell that the 'deep valley' was in fact the underground fortress on Spider Den in the Flying Star Sector. It had been built by the Star Ocean Imperium to resist the Blood God's rebellion army.
Right now, it had been excavated by the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector and transformed into a large research center.
There were two facilities of the utmost important inside the underground fortress.
The first of them was the secret residence of Yan Xinjian, the vice-commander of the Flying Star Coalition Fleet hundreds of years ago.
Yan Xinjian was the best expert who had the highest chance to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage in the past thousand years in the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Flying Star Sector, and the Blood Demon Sector. It was a shame that he had been swallowed by the abyss inside his own heart. He had betrayed everybody and degraded into the 'supreme space pirate' from the vice-commander of a fleet that struck space pirates. He had also excavated the underground fortress of the Star Ocean Imperium in the depths of Spider Den.
Legacies of the Star Ocean Imperium were piled up in Yan Xinjian's residence. Years ago, Li Yao had explored the residence, too, and even trained alone inside for a thousand days. He had absorbed Yan Xinjian's training log, which laid a solid foundation for his 'superlative height of the Core Formation Stage'. It was also one of the reasons he could advance into the Nascent Soul Stage at such a young age.
In that sense, it would not be wrong to say that Li Yao was a disciple of Yan Xinjian, the top expert of the three Sectors in the past.
After the riot of the Immortal Cultivators was settled and Spider Den was taken over by the Cultivators, the development on the underground fortress had immediately begun. Li Yao had never intended to keep Yan Xinjian's residence to himself.
All the items inside belonged to the Flying Star Sector after all. It was already more than enough for him to train inside for a few years. So many marvelous arts were naturally best to be shared with all the Cultivators!
Right now, the Glorious Sunlight Group, which was under Li Yao's control, together with the traditional forces of the Flying Star Sector such as the six sects of Heavenly Saints City and the Star Fighters' Alliance, funded a 'Supreme Residence Development Company' and developed Yan Xinjian's residence. Many classics, arts, and treasures that had been buried for hundreds of years had been unearthed and could be put to use again!
Other than Yan Xinjian's residence, the second facility, and the more important one, was the Star Prier's House, an underground observatory established by Liu the Prier, who was one of the best astrologists and cosmologists in the Star Ocean Imperium!
"The building in the picture must be familiar to you, fellow Cultivators," Jiang Hailiu said solemnly. "Detailed files have already been sent to your crystal processors prior to the meeting. This is the 'Star Prier's House'.
"In the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago, Liu the Prier's family was one of the most famous mining magnates, best known for its almost infinite wealth!
"Spending almost all the fortunes of his family, Liu the Prier purchased dozens of the most advanced super crystal processors of the Star Ocean Imperium and established this underground observatory to study the apocalypses. Later, in the war that caused the fall of the Star Ocean Imperium, this place was modified into a surveillance station that could monitor the entire sea of stars.
"It is safe to say that the Star Prier's House represented the peak of space surveillance in the Star Ocean Imperium!
"Even if the Imperium of True Human Beings truly inherited the relics of the Star Ocean Imperium, their observation methods will be no more advanced that those in the Star Prier's House.
"Since the center of the universe was the main battlefield in the cruel war between the Supreme Emperor and the Blood God, the important Sectors of the Star Ocean Imperium, including the Empyrean Terminus Sector, were mostly blown to smithereens. Such large military observatories were the primary targets. It would have been very difficult for them to be preserved during the bombardment.
"On the other hand, the smaller Sectors at the edge of the universe, such as the Flying Star Sector and us, might have better chances to survive the catastrophe and keep more intact relics.
"All in all, this is an 'eye' that can see through the mysteries of the three thousand Sectors. Right now, the eye has fallen into our hands. If we learn all the techniques in the Star Prier's House, in the fields of reconnaissance and exploration, we will be on par with the Imperium of True Human Beings, if not better than them!"
