Xu Zhicheng meant to refute, but when he saw Li Yao's eyes that were as sharp as blades, he could not say anything at all.
"No feelings, no willpower, no follow-up battle plans, and the only thing you want to do is to die after a big fight. What is such an action if not escape?"
Li Yao, however, did not let go of Xu Zhicheng but continued to poke at the wound in the deepest part of his heart. "If you really want to avenge your sons, raise your saber and sword in the most furious posture with your love for them and your loathing for the Immortal Cultivators. That will be the real battle!"
"It's useless."
After a brief silence, Xu Zhicheng shook his head softly. "In any case, we are no match for the Immortal Cultivators. The result will be the same whether we fight or escape.
"You said that everybody has to die twice. That may be true, but even if we do not practice the Serenity Arts, we will still be exploited to death by the Immortal Cultivators. Nobody will remember us after we die. There won't even be a gravestone with a name on it. Won't we be 'completely obliterated' as you said?"
"Don't give up. You will have a chance!"
Li Yao grabbed Xu Zhicheng's shoulder hard and refreshed his depressed father with the stinging pain. "Listen to me, Grand Guardian Xu. I'm not here to berate you righteously, nor am I here to laugh at Nepenthe from above. The Cultivators sincerely want to help you and fight side by side with you. Also, I've brought my own solution!"
Hope beamed out of Xu Zhicheng's eyes. With uncanny strength, he broke free from Li Yao's hands and grabbed Li Yao's shoulder, shaking it hard. "What's your solution? Master … Li, can you help us win the battle?"
Li Yao coughed and said, "Don't call me 'master'. Just call me 'fellow Cultivator'. The battle is too hasty, and the Cultivators are not in a good situation. Naturally, there is no chance of winning. However, if Nepenthe can be patient for a while longer, the situation may be different.
"Don't think that I'm just making excuses. I'm telling the truth.
"After hearing about Nepenthe, I've been thinking hard about how we should communicate and cooperate with each other on my way to the Great Iron Plants.
"Right now, under the leadership of Grand Guardian Xu, Nepenthe has been spreading deep below the ground. This is a very good start.
"I have a lot of plans, blueprints, and procedures for the production of basic magical equipment here. I can teach you all of them. Some of the magical equipment does not even need crystals to be activated. Ordinary people can use them casually. Naturally, they are not very powerful, but they are enough to deal with the lone low-level Immortal Cultivators and make them regard the depths of the underground as a dangerous journey.
"Also, the 'telepathy technique' that you practice is based on the reverberation of brainwaves. It is very similar to the training methods of a special profession named 'qi-trainers' in my memory. The qi-trainers can gather the fighting will of thousands of people through the reverberation of battle souls, and they can trigger world-shaking strength from the fleshly body of the Refinement Stage Cultivators!
"Of course, 'brainwave reverberation' is not the same thing as' battle soul reverberation '. The qi-trainers have awakened their spiritual roots after all. If they want to transplant their techniques, a lot of modifications and countless experiments will be required. But it is at least a path that is worth a try!
"Also, although I am all by myself, 'Starlight' still exists stubbornly at the edge of the Imperium. Countless Cultivators are developing and expanding by taking advantage of the internal strife among the Immortal Cultivators. They are destined to march to the Empyreal Terminus Sector one day!
"Besides, other than Starlight, we have … an even larger and more thorough organization that is capable of competing with the Immortal Cultivators head-on!"
Xu Zhicheng was greatly surprised. He looked at Long Yangjun in shock and suspicion.
Long Yangjun nodded her head and said, "Grand Guardian Xu, I can testify for that. Li Yao did not lie to you. The Cultivators are much stronger than you and the highest authorities of the Imperium imagine. Also, they are much stronger than the Cultivators in the last years of the Star Ocean Republic in both their mental appearance and their fighting will."
"Also, I suggest that you wait for a while longer because I predict that the capital planet will be in chaos in a year and a half!"
Li Yao declared resolutely. Faced with Blackstar the Great's unstoppable rise, the four Kurfürst families certainly couldn't do nothing. Also, with the main fleet of the Holy League that had been lurking in the darkness, the Imperium would certainly be quite lively in the next year and a half. "If you really want to make a difference, you can raise your banner when the capital planet is truly in chaos. It will certainly be more effective than right now!
"Think about it, Grand Guardian Xu. If you can't help but cause a riot tomorrow, the best outcome will be that you destroy a Great Iron Plant and kill Li Minghui. You won't be able to cause any trouble even on the capital planet, much less the entire Imperium.
"However, if you can hold back for a while longer, I will teach you all the Cultivation arts that are suitable for your training and the techniques to refine low-level magical equipment. Since you are the most excellent workers, I believe that you must be able to refine some of the clumsy and crude components, right? I can simplify the procedures of the 'grassroots' magical equipment and guarantee that you will be able to refine them in secret.
"Then, you can contact the other resistance forces below the ground in secret and try to convert them to your side. Even if you can't convert them, you can at least communicate with each other and reach an agreement.
"In the meantime, I will reach out to the main force of Starlight at the border of the Imperium. I have a big brother whose surname is Bai. He is a very loyal and affectionate man. He has already raised a strong team at the border of the Imperium. I will certainly ask him to help in the battle at the cost of my hundred years of friendship with him.
"By then, your internal forces will be even stronger, and you will have the support of the Cultivators from the outside. Wouldn't it be much better for you to rise up in rebellion when the internal strife of the Immortal Cultivators is the fiercest and they have no time to care about anything else?
"My promise will be fulfilled in a year and a half at most. You have been trapped in the darkness for thousands of years. Can't you wait for the most critical year and a half?"
Xu Zhicheng was deep in thought. His expression was obviously more or less relaxed.
He looked at Long Yangjun questioningly again. Long Yangjun frowned and pondered for a long time, before she said, "Well, although the guy's words are more or less exaggerated, they are … not too wrong. Perhaps, the situation will be better for you if you wait for a year and a half before you rise up again."
Xu Zhicheng lowered his head again. Rubbing his knees with his sweaty hands, he mumbled, "The arrow has been nocked, and it has to be released. We have already reached the last step of our preparation. Also, if Nepenthe continues to expand, Li Minghui will certainly discover it!"
"These technical details can be slowly discussed and solved one by one!"
Li Yao gritted his teeth hard and said, "How about this? If Grand Guardian Xu changes your mind, I will help you take down Li Minghui!
"Taking down Li Minghui is naturally not enough to dismember the entire Black Iron Group or solve your fundamental problem, but it will at least cause chaos for a while, and a newcomer will take Li Minghui's place.
"Once the newcomers arrive, they will definitely be most concerned about how to stabilize their own throne. They will think of a way to clean up the old people like Li Minghui. They will definitely not extend their tentacles to the workers at the lowest level in the beginning. Perhaps they will even do everything possible to appease you and give you a taste of sweetness first.
"In such a way, you will have precious time to catch your breath. You can take your time according to my plan.
"You don't need to worry that the incident will be traced back to you. Li Minghui is such a two-faced, detestable guy. He must have a lot of enemies. Right now is the sensitive moment of the Dongfang family's collapse. I can pretend to be a survivor of the Dongfang family and execute the 'traitor'. He is a Yuanying Cultivator and is not someone that you can kill in any case. Nobody will suspect you!"
Xu Zhicheng bulged his eyes and found it hard to believe his ears. He asked, shivering, "Are — are you serious? Li Minghui is an Immortal Cultivator in the Yuanying Stage, and he has a bunch of ferocious subordinates around him. He has also introduced thousands of battle puppets of the latest model recently. You want to kill him on your own? It's too dangerous! "
"If we can change the mind of Grand Guardian Xu and all the Nepenthe members in return, the risk is worth it!"
Li Yao stared at Xu Zhicheng and said, "A man of his word is a man of his word. What do you think, Grand Guardian Xu?"
Caught in a dilemma, Xu Zhicheng turned to Long Yangjun for advice again.
But Long Yangjun said that she would be neutral and would not interfere with any decision of the Nepenthe members. She could only guarantee that Li Yao would do what he said and help them kill Li Minghui.
Xu Zhicheng wiped the sweat on his forehead carelessly, only to make his face black and white. Taking a few deep breaths in a row, he finally made up his mind.
"Alright, we —"
Before he finished half of his sentence, the ceiling above his head suddenly trembled violently, and dense dust sprayed out.
Almost at the same time, a deafening explosion was heard. The soundwaves hit the gate of the cave brutally like an ocean, causing the gate to be rattling nonstop.
Then, earsplitting alarms echoed around the entire Great Iron Plants.
"Not good. The mine has exploded!"
Xu Zhicheng's face changed greatly. Having no time to bother with Li Yao and Long Yangjun, he rushed to the entrance of the cave. Hardly had he opened the door when he heard a second explosion that was even more intense. The soundwaves turned into a wild wind that almost blew him to the ground.
Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other. They both sensed that the intensity of the explosion was extremely high and that the explosion was mixed with extremely chaotic spiritual energy.
Inside the mother lodes below the ground, other than the rocks and the minerals, there were also countless poisonous gas bags large and small that were of high temperature and pressure. If the poisonous gas bags were broken by accident, the inflammable and explosive gas would leak out. It was not unusual to see an explosion.
However, the general explosion of poisonous gas would not contain such intense spiritual waves, and the raw crystals mixed with tremendous impurities would not explode at the first touch.
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