Dumbfounded, Di Feiwen did not know how he should retort for a long time.
His dilemma logic had never failed him before, but it had never occurred to him that it would be stalled by Li Yao's ridiculous joke!
Calming himself down, he sorted through his messy thoughts and said, "Where there is life, there is hope. Survival is the most important thing! In any case, survive first. Even if you are deformed beyond recognition or even become a 'starved ghost', so what? As long as you're alive, there's hope for you to turn the tables around. It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. You'll have to endure hardships, conceal your claws and teeth, and endure humiliation. One day, you'll be able to kill this tiger. When that time comes, you can change back.
"No. Many mistakes can never be fixed once they are made. Many things can never be changed again once they are changed. Even if the 'starved ghost' can really kill the tiger, the best you can do is to turn into a second tiger and never turn back into a human being."
Looking at the picturesque red flags below the mountain, Li Yao said softly, "Certain things are more important than survival, aren't they? Let's go back to the example just now. If you are migrating in the wilderness with your children and encounter a lion-type demon beast, you will have two choices.
"Or, you stand in front of the tiger, baring your fangs and brandishing your claws, yelling and shouting to attract the tiger's attention. You even rush up and fight with the tiger bravely, trying to buy time for your children to run away first. However, they are too young and are destined to be unable to run away. After you are eaten by the tiger, they will also be eaten by the tiger one by one.
"In other words, everything you do will be in vain. The best you can do is to make your family die with dignity.
"The second choice is that you abandon your wife and children and run away on your own. You can even pick up your children and throw them into the bloody mouth of the tiger. You are an adult, and your speed is faster. While the tiger is enjoying the tender flesh of your children, there is still a 1% chance that you can survive.
"According to the so-called 'rationality' of the Immortal Cultivators, the second choice will naturally ensure the maximization of the benefits of the entire migration team. After all, everybody is going to die anyway. It is perfectly reasonable to ask your children to make a minor contribution and help you 'survive'!
"But ask yourself, if you make the second choice and send your children to the tiger's mouth to stall for time, can you really change back?
"Even if you survive the tiger's mouth, discover the Prehistoric Ruins, master the Prehistoric Divine Arts, kill a thousand or ten thousand tigers in the wild, and find a hundred or so beautiful women to give birth to hundreds or thousands of children for you — can you be considered to have changed back? Can you be the same as before?"
This time, it was Di Feiwen's turn to be silent.
Li Yao smiled and said, "Besides, the odds of surviving from the jaws of a tiger are not as high as one percent. You said it yourself. The universe is a boundless dark forest. There are countless lion-type demon beasts, snake-type demon beasts, and all kinds of savage and brutal beasts wandering in it. Even if you use such a despicable method to escape from the attack of a big tiger, there is a ninety-nine percent chance that you will immediately run into another even more savage and terrifying monster, right?
"It is not hard to figure out that, compared to the short history of mankind and the three thousand Sectors that we have explored, the entire universe is close to infinite both in terms of time and space.
"In the infinite time and space, there will certainly be countless powerful beings that are far stronger than us and that we cannot resist or even imagine at all. They are not gods and devils but the gods and devils who created the gods and devils, and even the gods and devils who created the gods and devils!
"For any civilization, the final destruction is an event with a high probability. The hope of 'immortality' is extremely slim and close to zero.
"Then, what's the use of you groveling, groveling, and changing yourselves into ghosts, beasts, cockroaches, and locusts? Do you think that you can escape from the Dark Forest and never die in such a way?
"You can't. Faced with the vast universe, we are like ordinary people who are faced with lion-type demon beasts in the desert. We will be killed if we fight, and we will be killed if we run. We will be killed if we curse them at the top of our lungs, and we will be killed if we send our family to them obediently. Since everybody dies, why don't we die with dignity?
"Let's just say that the Imperium of True Human Beings has turned itself into such a hideous creature under the guidance of the true path of immortality. So what? Is it useful? After a thousand years of war, you have not even finished a tiny Alliance of the Holy Covenant. The fate of your country is at stake!
"Even if you do defeat the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, you may still be faced with the double scourge of the Pangu civilization and the extraterrestrial devils. Even if you deform yourself into 'iron cockroaches' that are entirely different from the human beings in the past, and even defeat the Pangu civilization and the extraterrestrial devils, what then?
"The universe is infinite, and so are the forces and beings that are more powerful. There will always be a deity's civilization that even the 'iron cockroaches' can't take care of, and they will obliterate you as easily as they can!"
Di Feiwen thought for a long time in a daze. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I thought that you did not understand the darkness of the universe, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I didn't know that you were even more pessimistic than the Immortal Cultivators and that you could see through the darkness of the universe.
"The Immortal Cultivators still have a glimmer of hope, thinking that we will be able to survive in the cruel world as long as we struggle hard and change ourselves according to the laws of the universe.
"I didn't know that you would deprive us of even the slim hope, my lord. We have lost all hope of survival and are only considering how to die in a more spectacular way. I'm truly … lost for words."
"You're wrong again."
Li Yao smiled, baring his white teeth. "Of course, the Cultivators can see the darkness of the universe, but we can also see the feeble brightness hidden in the darkness. Although the odds of ultimate destruction are very high, chances are that we can persist longer than your true path of immortality if we walk on our path!"
"Oh?"
Di Feiwen's eyes flashed. "Where does the brightness come from?"
Li Yao said, "In the past, I was also caught in the deadlock of the so-called 'Dark Forest', and I felt that it was extremely difficult to break out of it. For 'ordinary people' like us to wander in this wasteland full of lion-type demon beasts, it was as difficult as ascending to the sky.
"However, when I remembered the joke about dying in a more dignified way, I vaguely had an 'epiphany' feeling.
"Who says that we are walking alone in the dark forest? Who says that there are only 'lion-type demon beasts' around us? No. The universe is a vast place, but we are not alone!"
Di Feiwen narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand …"
"It's very simple. The so-called 'lion-type demon beasts' here refer to the alien civilizations that are stronger than the civilization of mankind and that are full of malice and determined to annihilate us, right?"
Li Yao said excitedly, "But who says that the alien civilizations must be full of malice and are determined to annihilate us?
"Yes. According to the law of the jungle in the dark forest, the alien civilizations should annihilate or enslave us and nip the one-billionth threat in the bud.
"However, what if they want to 'die in a more dignified way', too?
"Look. Since they are civilizations that are far more powerful and advanced than us, their logical thinking abilities must be much better than ours, right? Then, if even I can think of the idea that 'death is inevitable no matter how hard we struggle, we might as well die in dignity with our original appearance and the most precious things', how can those civilizations not think of it?
"If a highly-developed alien civilization chooses to 'die in a more dignified way', it is possible that they will extend the olive branches of friendship and communication to enlighten, help, and protect the relatively weaker civilizations. Then, they will no longer be lion-type demon beasts but teachers and comrades that we can trust and fight side by side with.
"The universe is boundless, and there are thousands of civilizations. If only one or two of them decide to 'die in a more dignified way', they will naturally be swallowed by the darkness around them. But if ten, a hundred, or a thousand civilizations all choose to 'die in a more dignified way' and choose to communicate and help each other instead of cheating and swallowing each other, chances are that none of us will die. Instead, the darkness will be completely dispelled, and the universe will be brighter than ever."
Di Feiwen looked at Li Yao as if he were a mentally disabled child.
Li Yao ignored him and became more and more excited. "The civilization of mankind right now is still too weak. It is barely possible for us to burn down the entire 'dark forest' on our own, but I do not believe that we are fighting on our own, nor do I believe that we are the only civilization in the universe that values' dignity 'more than' survival '. Or rather, in my definition, the so-called' civilization 'is something that we must protect that is more important than survival!
"Perhaps, in the places that we cannot see, the dark forest is already on fire, and what we need to do is to join the ranks of the 'arsonists' and ignite the most critical spark so that the fire will spread to the uncontrollable extent. Who says that it can't be the case?
"However, if such an 'alliance of arsonists' made of the civilizations in the universe who 'want to die in a more dignified way' does exist, certain conditions must be met to join the alliance. At the very least, I don't think that the Immortal Cultivators who are evolving toward 'iron cockroaches and armed locusts' are qualified to be a member of the alliance.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
