"It seems … meaningless for the big picture and the magnificent battle in space."
Li Yao broke free from Long Yangjun's grip and grinned bitterly. "However, it is meaningful for Xu Zhicheng, for his two sons who are dead but still 'alive', and for the thousands of underground natives who have been living in the darkness for ten thousand years just like them. Perhaps it is slightly meaningful for all the living and the dead, right? Don't forget that I just promised Xu Zhicheng that I would fight side by side with them! "
"Then, what about your mission?"
Long Yangjun asked calmly. "You have come to the Imperium of True Human Beings as a plenipotentiary and a special representative of the 'Xing Yao Federation', haven't you? You are here to seek more national interests for the Xing Yao Federation. At the very least, you are trying to keep the Xing Yao Federation alive, aren't you? You are even trying to influence the war between the Imperium and the Holy League on your own and reach a certain subtle balance, aren't you?
"Compared to this insignificant war — no, it's not even a war. It's just a chaotic riot that's destined to fail — don't you think that you have a more important mission, a loftier mission to accomplish? Should anything happen to you, what about the missions? What about the Xing Yao Federation? "
Li Yao hesitated for a moment. The brilliance in his eyes was even brighter, and his smile was even more brilliant. "Yes. It is exactly because I am a special representative of the Xing Yao Federation, who has come to the center of the cosmos to promote the beliefs of the Cultivators on behalf of the Federation that I have even less excuse to retreat.
"In this place, I represent the image of the Xing Yao Federation and all the Cultivators. How can a real Cultivator simply stand by and do nothing when they are faced with such a situation?
"If we can ignore the lives of so many ordinary people just because of a certain 'loftier mission' or a 'more important mission', is there any difference between the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators? If we can turn a blind eye to the death of hundreds of thousands of people for a 'loftier mission' today, we can certainly sacrifice the lives of countless people for a 'loftier mission' tomorrow!
"If I really did that, how would I have the face to preach the Dao of Cultivation everywhere in the future? No one will believe me. No one will believe the Xing Yao Federation. Even I won't believe in myself anymore! "
Long Yangjun frowned so hard that water seemed to be dripping from her forehead. She said gloomily, "The Federation really shouldn't have sent such an idiot like you to carry out such an arduous, complicated, and important mission. You will definitely screw it up!"
"Maybe, but that's exactly what the Cultivators of the Federation are."
Li Yao retrieved three Crystal Suits and all the attack magical equipment from his Cosmos Ring and examined them one by one. Grinning, he said, "I believe that even if it were not me but my wife Ding Ling Dong, she would've made the same choice. She would've charged forward in the first second without talking as much as I did.
"As for other people … I believe that they would've done the same. For such a mission, the Federation will certainly send out real Cultivators, and the real Cultivators don't have a second choice when they encounter such a thing.
"Even if … I really screw up the mission, it won't be the end of the world, right? The world won't stop spinning just because I'm not around. During the hundred years when I left the Federation to search for the Ancient Sages Sector, didn't the Federation run perfectly well, too?
"I believe in Ding Ling Dong. I believe in Guo Chunfeng. I believe in Senior Brother Peng Hai. I believe in 'Solar Eclipse' Jiang Shaoyang. I believe in Wu Mayan, Xie Anan, and Jin Xinyue. I believe in all the Cultivators and all the citizens of the Xing Yao Federation. Right now, they must be working hard for the path of the Cultivators and the future of mankind, too! Even without me, the path of the Cultivators will still reach the center of the cosmos and even the entire universe one day. I have no doubt about that! "
Long Yangjun could've refuted Li Yao's words from a hundred perspectives.
However, faced with Li Yao's scorching eyes, she was somewhat rendered speechless.
It was like a debate between a smart person and an idiot. No matter how much logic the smart person knew, how brilliant the art of debate was, and how tricky the rebuttal was, it would be useless.
The smart person would only fail in front of the brilliant and bright smile of the idiot!
"I also believe that, even if I cannot influence the big picture, I can at least influence the people around me and plant the seed of 'Cultivators' in their cold, barren hearts!"
Li Yao stared at Long Yangjun's face passionately. "As long as the seed takes root and sprouts in their hearts, it is possible that their frozen blood will boil, and they will be unable to help themselves from taking over my banner and completing the mission in my place!"
Long Yangjun felt creeped out under his stare. "Hey, hey, hey. That's one thing, but don't look at me like that. I'm not going to be an idiot like you … What's this?"
Dumbfounded, Long Yangjun stared at the three jade chips and two Cosmos Rings that Li Yao had given to her.
"Inside the jade chips are the ways to contact me and the Federation. There are also the production and assembly flowcharts of the super-remote communication base."
Li Yao looked at Long Yangjun expectantly. "Inside the Cosmos Rings are the disassembled units of the communication base. However, most of the components have been broken and will require a large base to maintain and refine them.
"We are friends after all. If … I do … you can talk to the Federation for me, or you can go to Boss Bai and ask him to send the message back to the Federation. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"It is not!"
Clenching the jade chips and the Cosmos Rings, Long Yangjun gnashed her teeth. "Why should I help you and go crazy with you? As I said earlier, I am an absolutely neutral bystander. The Federation, the Imperium, the Holy League, and even the extraterrestrial devils have nothing to do with me. I will not help anybody. I only care about myself. Everything that I do is for my own purpose. I don't care about your life or death at all! "
"If that is the case, why did you arrange for the girl who is least devoted to Nepenthe to deliver food to me in the 10084 district? Wasn't it because you wanted her to ignite the last fire in my heart as well as in your own heart?"
Li Yao did not give in at all but charged forward. "Furthermore, why did you go through all the trouble to establish a Nepenthe deep below the ground? Was it really as simple as building a few nests, completing your Cultivation arts, or running some sort of 'social experiment'?
"Was it really a coincidence that you brought me to this place at the most critical moment?
"Or maybe, deep down in your heart, you believe that the world before your eyes is wrong, and you vaguely expect that my arrival can change everything so that I can achieve something that even you, the most 'smart' person, can't with the most naïve, idiotic, and clumsy approaches?
"Although you refuse to admit it, the choice that I'm making right now is exactly what you've been looking forward to, isn't it? If I really run away with you, I'm sure that you will be very disappointed. You will completely lose your confidence and be swallowed by the darkness, won't you? "
"You …"
Long Yangjun was rendered speechless. Not daring to touch Li Yao's aggressive eyes, she simply mumbled, "It's impossible. You can't change the whole world. It's hopeless. The Pangu civilization, the Nuwa civilization, and the infinite primeval civilizations earlier have all been swallowed by the dark universe. Perhaps this is the destiny of civilizations. How can the civilization of mankind be spared?"
"Yes. Compared to the boundless universe, human beings are too insignificant."
Li Yao put on the first Crystal Suit and stored the other two Crystal Suits into the Cosmos Ring that was easiest to retrieve. Then, he sheathed the sabers on his back. Nine sabers were unfolded in the shape of a fan, as if gold and silver colors were reflecting each other on his back.
Li Yao grinned at Long Yangjun. "However, no matter how insignificant we are, I will fight this world to the end and will not be changed by it!"
Long Yangjun's breath suddenly stopped. In her trance, she had the feeling that all the idiocy was contagious.
Unable to look at Li Yao in the eyes anymore, she simply moved her eyes to the battlefield and changed the topic. "How do you want to fight this battle exactly?"
She immediately regretted the moment she said that, because the question about the details meant that she had acknowledged the significance of Li Yao's battle.
"I don't know. This battle is indeed extremely dangerous. There is not even a 1% chance of success. I can only hope that the control system of the battle puppets can be cracked more easily."
Li Yao pointed at the firing points and the cores of the defense rune arrays around the Great Iron Plants and said, "First of all, I'm going to blow up all the fixed firing points and the pivots of the defense arrays, which will significantly reduce the pressure on the Nepenthe believers so that they can spare more soldiers to deal with the battle puppets and the Immortal Cultivators.
"Then, I'm going to find the control center of the battle puppets. Such a thing should exist, right? If I can crack and hack it, it will be possible for me to control part of the battle puppets and even the entire defense system of the Great Iron Plants.
"Although the odds of success are very low, and such an approach might not be able to resist Li Minghui's keenness, it is the only solution."
The mental devil had swallowed tremendous tenebrum energy and heritage left by Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan and Extraterrestrial Devil Lu Qingchen. It had learned a lot of ways to hack and control the Spiritual Nexus from the two "extraterrestrial devils of the Spiritual Nexus".
Right now, the Black Iron Group was mainly suppressing the riot with battle puppets. There were not many Immortal Cultivators. If they could locate the control pivot and invade it with the mental devil, it would not be a hopeless situation.
As for what to do when Li Minghui's elites returned, or even later, when Li Linghai and Wuying Qi learned the whole thing, Li Yao did not have the time to consider it at all.
Right then, deafening noises echoed on the ground. From the depths of the forsaken mines not far away from them, a super heavy excavator drove out. The excavator had been modified, and it was dragging a piece of weird magical equipment that looked both like a silver pot and an iron hat. It was guarded by dozens of tough, fully-armed Nepenthe believers.
Li Yao found it familiar. Slightly dazed, he asked, "What's this?"
-----
He had only updated two chapters yesterday. He had not updated much this month, mostly because he had been to the hospital.
During the physical examination at the beginning of the month, it was found that there was a shadow on his liver, which might be a tumor or something. Later, he had been running to the hospital and even had an enhanced MRI. He was under a lot of pressure, too. Therefore, he sometimes did not update as fast as before.
Yesterday, he visited the specialists again, who confirmed that it was a benign hemangioma. He did not need to bother with it for now. He only needed to pay attention to the follow-up examinations every year. Finally, he was more or less relieved.
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