"Therefore —"
Li Yao's voice sounded like a gloomy wind from hell. "The so-called 'temple' is indeed a scheme to lure the snakes out of their holes and catch them all!"
"It is not exactly a 'scheme'. It is just a 'game' of an enormous scale at best."
The mental devil was still smiling. "You've seen it too. For the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Immortal Cultivators today, 'Cultivators' are already a very ancient and insignificant concept. They are not much of a threat at all.
"Compared to the pressure of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant in the head-on battlefield, even if Starlight does exist, it is nothing more than a minor problem.
"The military operation to annihilate Starlight, on the other hand, is just an entertainment for relaxation and relaxation. Nothing more.
"In other words, although the Cultivators like you have always regarded the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Immortal Cultivators as mortal enemies and have been trying to compete with each other on the path of belief, the Immortal Cultivators do not even bother to look at you in the eye. You are regarded as flies and mosquitoes, or at best, as rare and protected animals!"
"Yes. In the eyes of the Immortal Cultivators, the Cultivators are nothing more than flies and mosquitoes. Although such things do not cause much damage, they can be quite annoying when they hum next to one's ears all the time. Therefore, they are going to make a flypaper to attract all of us to the same place before they burn us up. Hu. The whole world will be peaceful again!"
Li Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Such a scheme is exactly the same as the Xing Yao Federation's plan to build the 'Dragon Snake Space Zone' and send Lu Qingchen to establish the 'CFIA'.
"Wei Longtao of Starlight in the Land of Sins is exactly Lu Qingchen of the Federation's CFIA. He is not a legendary hero who is fighting hard below the ground but a puppet idol that the Immortal Cultivators intentionally created!
"The 'temple of the Cultivators' that he talked about, or the 'control center of the global sword network', must've been surrounded by the Immortal Cultivators even if they do exist. They are waiting for the ignorant members of Starlight to crash into them and get themselves killed.
"No. We have to save them!"
"Of course, we have to save them," the mental devil said slowly.
The mental devil said slowly, "But not in the underground temple but in space."
"Starry skies?"
Thinking quickly, Li Yao said thoughtfully, "That's right. Are you saying that of the two major branches of Starlight, the underground world and the space world, the latter is the key?"
"That's obvious."
The mental devil analyzed. "As the saying goes, if you keep a turtle in a jar, it will never grow up. It is impossible for a dragon to jump out of a tiny pond.
"The Martial Meritocrats Sector in the past and the Land of Sins today are exactly such a tiny pond and an airtight container. Even if Starlight is truly led by an unparalleled genius, how much can it develop and grow in this place?
"With the overall capability of the Imperium of True Human Beings and the cunningness of the Immortal Cultivators, was it not possible to completely destroy the underground branch of Starlight in the past hundreds of years? Even if there were a few that slipped through the net, they wouldn't be able to do much.
"However, not only did the Immortal Cultivators fail to completely destroy the underground branch of Starlight, they also sent such a legendary hero as' Wei Longtao 'in secret, reviving and developing the dying underground branch of Starlight. If it was just for a game, wouldn't the cost be too high? Wouldn't it be too childish?
"Therefore, this is exactly the trick of fishing a big fish with a long line. The underground branch of Starlight is just a fat, fat bait. The real target of the Immortal Cultivators is the space forces of Starlight!"
"Fair enough."
Li Yao's mind was opened, too. He said quickly, "First of all, Blackstar the Great returned to the Martial Meritocrats Sector almost a thousand years ago with an overwhelming fleet for a battle of revenge, which was the 'Judgment War' that Wei Longtao and Zuo Jingyun talked about. It should be true.
"But at that time, the Martial Meritocrats civilization had already developed to the peak, and it had also absorbed the temperament of the Sand Primitive Sector. Technologically speaking, it was not much worse than the Imperium. At the very least, there was no generational gap between stone axes and submachine guns. It was just that the Imperium's civilization was far inferior in scale and comprehensive national power.
"Then, even though they were retreating in the frontal battlefield and were no match for the Imperium at all, it is not entirely impossible that a few starships broke out of the siege and escaped into the sea of stars, right?"
"Very likely," the mental devil said.
"In fact, the 'Martial Meritocrats civilization' that we are talking about right now is a twin civilization that includes both the Martial Meritocrats Sector and the Sand Primitive Sector. The communication between the two Sectors was very frequent. So, they must've grasped rather advanced space cruising technology.
"Also, don't forget that A Boxing Champion said that a small-scale war broke out between the Martial Meritocrats Sector and the Sand Primitive Sector before Blackstar the Great arrived.
"While the war would've greatly diminished the comprehensive capability of the Martial Meritocrats civilization, part of the cutting-edge technologies and weapons could've been developed, too. For example, a few super starships could've been produced by concentrating the strength of the entire world. The comprehensive combat efficiency of such starships was seventy to eighty percent of that of the starships of the Imperium. It seemed reasonable.
"If such advanced starships did exist, it was very likely that a few of them would've escaped, if not crushed the fleet of the Imperium."
"The universe is too vast a place. Once they escaped from their planets, they would've been like dragons that had been unlocked. It would've been very difficult for them to be locked onto and annihilated."
Li Yao said solemnly, "The space pirates of the Flying Star Sector have been on the rampage for thousands of years. Firefly of the government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic has been on the run for a thousand years, too. It is not entirely impossible that 'Starlight', the resistance organization of the Cultivators of the Martial Meritocrats Sector, has been shining in the space zones at the edge of the Imperium where the strength of the Imperium is weak for hundreds of years. It is in line with the intelligence that Di Feiwen told us, too.
"Think about it. Di Feiwen and the Black Wind Fleet set off more than a hundred years ago. The Land of Sins at that time was entirely different from what it is today. But there were already rumors that Starlight was active. The Immortal Cultivators couldn't have played the same game for a hundred years, could they?
"All in all, Starlight must've existed in the sea of stars. Also, it boasted a small force that caused some trouble for the Immortal Cultivators.
"In order to resolve the trouble once and for all, the Immortal Cultivators created a legendary hero named 'Wei Longtao'. They supported the underground branch of Starlight in the Land of Sins and asked them to find a way to reach out to the fellow Cultivators in space. Then, they came up with a magnificent plan to launch a desperate counterattack. After the main force of Starlight was deployed, they would be fished up once and for all!"
"Did you not hear what the Immortal Cultivators said just now? The 'Battle of the Temples' will take place in a few days, but it is still not the 'final challenge'. There is still a space battle later that will be the highlight," the mental devil said.
"Therefore, it is useless for you to chase after Han Te and the Coloured Glaze right now. On one hand, we are of unknown origins, and the warriors of the resistance organization, including Zuo Jingyun, have witnessed Wei Longtao's' valor 'when he covered the rear fearlessly at the cost of his own life. It is impossible for them to believe a mysterious, weird guy like you and doubt their general commander.
"Besides, even if you do unveil Wei Longtao's mask with all your skills, so what?
"Wei Longtao is just a puppet. Mincing him into pieces is not going to solve the problem. Even the entire underground branch of Starlight, including the 'temple', is not important. Space is the key!
"Just like I said, we are now like lone ghosts. We have the level of the Divinity Transformation Stage, but we do not have the combat ability of the Divinity Transformation Stage. It is not like we can really blow up all the Immortal Cultivators and blow up 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky', right?
"If we stay here, we will not be able to save anyone, including ourselves! Let's return to the sky and retrieve our bodies, Crystal Suit, and Colossi. Swallow all the high-energy nutrition drugs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and release the most violent strength of the Divinity Transformation Stage. Sneak into 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' before the main army of the space branch of Starlight arrives. Only then will we have a slim chance of finding the key to resolve the situation! "
"Then, let's go."
Li Yao made the decision quickly. "We don't have much time left. We have to seize every second!"
Neltharion was not much longer than a finger. The gaps that the super penetrators could not enter were not hindered by the tiny multipurpose exploration starship at all.
After sneaking in zigzags for a long time in the underground gaps, Li Yao activated the drill of mystic rays and began to dig upward.
Naturally, he did not intend to dig out of the ground all the time, which would consume too much time and soul energy.
He was looking for the vertical channels that the Immortal Cultivators dug out. Very soon, he found one of them.
In the vertical channels, a lot of penetrators and spiritual puppets were still carrying tremendous assets up and down. The Immortal Cultivators who were operating the penetrators were mostly in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage. Few of them were even in the Core Formation Stage. It would be the greatest joke if Li Yao, in the Divinity Transformation Stage, was discovered by them.
Hiding in the gaps of the tracks of one of the penetrators, Neltharion returned to the surface successfully half an hour later.
On the surface was a small forbidden military zone. Further away was a desolate and bleak land. There was no sign of any bandits or thugs. There was no telling whether they had been driven away or killed directly.
Li Yao released his telepathic thoughts and scanned everybody and the vehicles in the forbidden military zone carefully. Very soon, he locked onto a small shuttle. Such a vehicle that looked like a rocket was specifically designed to get rid of the gravity and make short-distance ferries on the ground and beyond the gravity sphere.
Before the few Immortal Cultivators walked into the shuttle, talking and laughing, Li Yao had already maneuvered Neltharion to the bottom of the stabilizing fins of the shuttle.
Neltharion had enough power to get rid of the gravity on its own. Li Yao was only doing that because he wanted to deceive the defense rune array that covered the sky with the shuttle.
"Hu —"
Dense smoke and fire spurted out of the bottom of the shuttle. Mystic rays flashed on the surface of the shuttle, and it entered the fuzzy stealth state before it rushed out of the atmosphere at a high speed!
Half an hour later, Neltharion floated outside of the gravity sphere of the Martial Meritocrats Planet quietly.
Li Yao's soul perceived the rust-colored planet before his eyes as well as "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" that was parasitic on the planet like a tumor and a bloodsucking bug.
After learning the truth about the Land of Sins and the City in the Sky, his feelings were naturally entirely different from when he dived into them head-on.
"As it turns out, the Imperium of True Human Beings has already forgotten your 'old friends' like us. The Cultivators are no longer your enemies but just toys, clowns, puppets, and protected animals. They can only be used for your daily training and entertainment."
Staring at Manjusaka that was dripping blood, Li Yao mumbled, "It doesn't matter. I will remind you of … everything about the Cultivators again.
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.
