Before Li Yao replied, Cui Lingfeng thought of another possibility. "You're from the Holy League? I'm told that the latest generation of demi-humans in the Holy League can simulate all the feelings of normal human beings. Even the Ring-Tu Test failed to see through them. So, you are here on behalf of the Holy League? "
Although the enemy of an enemy was not necessarily a friend, Cui Lingfeng certainly treated the Alliance of the Holy Covenant better than he treated the Imperium of True Human Beings.
Li Yao scratched his head. "I am neither from the New Federation, nor the Imperium, nor the Holy League. Although there is no direct evidence, you will realize it if you think about it carefully, Speaker. It is purely a coincidence that I am here. You chose me randomly to examine the 'lie detector' before you brought me with you! Whether I am from the Federation, the Imperium, or the Holy League, it is impossible for me to predict your random decision, right? "
Cui Lingfeng was slightly dazed. "Fair enough. In order to keep it a secret, it is true that I did not decide which refiner would examine the 'lie detector' in advance. I was thinking of randomly selecting one from the list of professors of the Refining Department of Star Ocean University at the last moment. But after I read Professor Luo De's analysis report, I suddenly thought of something and realized that summoning Professor Luo De would probably be more confidential and safer. Nobody could have known my real purpose. Therefore, it was impossible for them to play tricks on Professor Luo De!
"Even if you are from the Holy League, you couldn't have known the decision in advance because even I didn't see it coming myself!
"Besides, the Holy League has no reason to come to the rear of the Imperium after such a long journey. This is a remote village at the edge of the cosmos. It is not the most critical battlefield!"
Li Yao nodded quickly. "Indeed. You do have a point, Speaker Cui."
"Not the Federation, not the Imperium, and not the Holy League. So, who are you exactly?"
Cui Lingfeng stared at Li Yao deeply, especially his hands that had been restored to their original, unattractive appearance. "You are quite adept at dismantling and analyzing magical equipment. You can even vaguely imitate Professor Luo De's style. You also boast such a tough combat ability. Xuansu was a top-tier expert on Firefly, but she did not even have the courage to run away in front of you! You must be a 'Double Yuanying' who has reached the peak of both the fields of fighting and refining, right? I didn't know that there were experts like you at the edge of the cosmos? Who are you? whose interests you represent? What is your purpose for sneaking into Firefly? Now that you have saved me, you want to make a deal with me? "
"You," Cui Lingfeng said said, blinked his eyes.. I and my friends, of course, we are.. Of course, my friends and my Lingfeng.. of course, we... a... of course. Of course.......
. "Cui Lingfeng was dazed.
Li Yao coughed and said, "Of course, there is no need to hide who we are. You will learn it very soon anyway. But you may not believe it even if I tell you."
"Why don't you tell me first?" Cui Lingfeng asked.
Li Yao hesitated for a moment and said, "Well, we are natives of the Red Lotus Sector. Cultivators from the 'Red Lotus Sector'."
Cui Lingfeng frowned hard. "The Red Lotus Sector?"
"Yes. It is an insignificant Sector," Li Yao said.
"Because our star is highly unstable and has large-scale solar wind outbursts every now and then, the living environment is extremely harsh. Even the 'Red Lotus Sector', our home planet, which is the only planet that is somewhat habitable, is scourged by natural disasters that are as terrible as the furious ocean of the Red Lotus Sector. Therefore, even in the age of the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago, the Red Lotus Sector was not developed on a large scale. Only a few residents made a living by growing certain cash crops that can only grow in high-temperature environments and raising animals of the fire class.
"Thankfully, in the Armageddon Rebellion ten thousand years ago, the shocking battle between the Supreme Emperor and the Mad Armageddon did not affect the Red Lotus Sector.
"In the ten thousand years that followed, the Star Ocean Imperium completely collapsed. The Star Ocean Republic struggled to rebuild and develop, but it never had the time to explore our tiny Sector. In fact, wasn't Firefly built for the purpose of searching for the small Sectors outside of the center of the cosmos?
"We developed on our own for ten thousand years in the most harsh environment. The fury of the star destroyed our civilization time and time again, keeping our civilization at a very low level of survival. People could only fight with the most primitive magical equipment and their fleshly bodies. Basically, well, it was not much different from the age of the ancient Cultivators in the legends.
"Just like that, we spent ten thousand years in ignorance. Although we heard the distant legends of the Star Ocean Imperium and hoped that the advanced civilization of mankind at the center of the cosmos could bring us new hope, it was the conquerors of the Imperium of True Human Beings who came in the end.
"The Imperium of True Human Beings swallowed the Red Lotus Sector. The Immortal Cultivators destroyed our homeland and savaged our compatriots! The might of the Empire was not something that cultivators like us, who were still in the Middle Ages, could resist. Countless Red Lotus cultivators fell in the war against the Empire. Most of the survivors were converted into Immortal Cultivators and joined the ranks of the Empire's army, establishing a new and brutal rule! "
"Only a few people, including myself, were lucky enough to steal a starship of the Imperium of True Human Beings and capture a lot of soldiers on it. We learned the skills to pilot the starship.
"While the army of the Imperium was unprepared, we escaped from the Red Lotus Sector. Perhaps we left our homeland forever. I will never forget that day. It was 443 years ago."
Li Yao's eyes gradually turned red, but there were no tears, as if his tears had been vaporized by the angry red lotus.
There were almost no loopholes in his story.
It was because the Red Lotus Sector was real. The temperamental stars and the natural disasters in the Red Lotus Sector led to the slow development of the civilization in the Red Lotus Sector. It was also true that many of the fields in the Red Lotus Sector were still in the medieval era. The Imperium of True Human Beings' conquest of the Red Lotus Sector 450 years ago was also real.
The Xing Yao Federation had captured some soldiers of the Imperium on Heiye Lan's claw fleet ten years ago. They could easily confirm the existence of the Red Lotus Sector by questioning any of the captives.
Of course, it was impossible to verify whether or not a handful of Cultivators had stolen a starship of the Imperium and escaped from their homeland in the Red Lotus Sector five hundred years ago.
Deep in thought, Cui Lingfeng asked noncommittally, "And then?"
"We were more or less a 'Firefly' many times smaller, hiding here and there in the sea of stars to avoid the hunting of the army of the Imperium."
Li Yao said, "But we were too weak, and we lacked experience in piloting a starship. We were no match for Firefly at all. After only a few years, the Cultivators who escaped perished one after another. There were only a dozen of them left.
"After a discussion among the dozen of us, we all agreed that we could not go on like this. The hunting of the army of the Imperium was secondary. Our starship was too insignificant, like a grain of dust in the sea of stars. It was barely possible for the army of the Imperium to catch us. The biggest problem was that the Cultivation of the survivors was not low at all. The resources that they consumed every day were astronomical. There were not many assets on board in the first place. They could not bear such consumption.
"If things went on like this, we would either attack each other or surrender to the Imperium out of desperation.
"We did not want to attack each other or surrender to the Imperium. Therefore, we could only take a gamble. We set the destination of the starship at the edge of the cosmos and switched it to the automatic cruise mode. Then, we all entered the hibernation cabin and tried our luck.
"Just like that, all of us drifted on the starship for more than four hundred years in the hibernation state. In the end, the starship detected extremely intense spiritual waves nearby. It was not until later that we learned that they were the space ripples caused by the integration of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. We were woken up by the mainframe crystal processor of the starship and snuck to this place, the Dragon Snake Space Zone.
"As newcomers, we did not know what this place was at all and whether or not it was another territory of the Imperium. Therefore, we decided to disguise ourselves and observe the Dragon Snake Space Zone carefully.
"After we discovered that there was a strong country of Cultivators named the Xing Yao Federation, which was preparing to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings, we were all overjoyed. Naturally, we thought of joining hands with the Xing Yao Federation and, well, even joining the Federation to deal with the Imperium together, hoping that we could march back to the Red Lotus Sector one day.
"However, we did not want to go to the government of the Federation directly, because … because …"
"Because you had concerns," Cui Lingfeng said. "On one hand, you were worried that the people of the Federation would not believe you and would suspect that you were spies of the Imperium and would imprison and interrogate you. Chances were that you would bring a lot of secret treasures and techniques of the Red Lotus Sector with you when you escaped, which you would not reveal to the outsiders. On the other hand, you were worried that you would be ostracized and driven by the people of the Federation because you were alone and might even be treated as cannon fodder. Lastly, you were worried about whether or not the Xing Yao Federation was an ideal, real country of Cultivators and whether or not it was capable of resisting the Imperium, right?"
Li Yao pretended to be surprised. "How did you know that?"
"Because what you were worried about was exactly what I was worried about," Cui Lingfeng said with a bitter smile. "Alright. Please continue."
Li Yao licked his dry lips and said, "You're quite right. We were the last hope of the Red Lotus Sector. When we escaped from our hometown, of course, we brought a lot of … treasures of the Red Lotus civilization with us. We did not want those things to fall into the hands of other people, neither the Imperium nor the Federation.
"One must always be wary of other people. At the very least, before we figure out whether or not the Xing Yao Federation was a country of Cultivators that could really be trusted, we did not want to lose all our secrets.
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