Deep inside a ragged space town that had run out of spiritual energy …
Next to a noisy vegetable market where dirty water was flowing, a bald man was sipping his tofu pudding attentively in a small breakfast stall.
This place was close to the stall where the chickens and fish were butchered. The unique smell of the chickens and ducks mixed with the stink of the fish was truly nauseating.
It was late, and the tofu pudding was almost sold out. There was only some base left in the wooden bucket. It was broken and cold, and too much soy sauce and coriander had been added. It did not taste good at all.
The bald man, however, seemed to be tasting the most delicious food in the world. He was enjoying the tofu pudding with utmost concentration.
The bald man was plain-looking. His clothes were grey, and he was no different from the ordinary people on the street. His eyes were narrow and long, almost reaching his temples, but they were as tiny as needles. Unless one looked closely, they would not be able to see that two bloody lotuses were floating inside his eyes.
Fengyu Zhong was sitting opposite him. He had completely changed his appearance. His face was full of wrinkles, and his sideburns were grey. He was wearing rubber shoes and a leather apron, pretending to be a fishmonger. Even his vibe had become that of a fishmonger on the street. He seemed to be both straightforward and meticulous, as if he could rip someone off at any moment.
He felt that he was sitting on pins and needles. His face changed quickly, and he said hesitantly, "Lotus King …"
"Why aren't you eating? You will only have the strength to do things when you are full. "
The Lotus King chewed on a stalk of coriander carefully before swallowing it. He said slowly, "The food here is indeed rather unpalatable, but to those who seek the Great Dao, everything in the mortal world is nothing more than passing clouds and dust. Tofu pudding is dust, delicacies, lobsters, and abalones are nothing more than dust. They are all dust, so what difference does it make what one eats? Just eat. "
Fengyu Zhong swallowed. The ferocious bandit who had killed countless people did not dare to disobey the bald man, the Lotus King. He lowered his head and ate the cold, broken, and salty tofu pudding obediently.
The Lotus King stirred the spoon and said, "The battle today has ended in failure. You can't be blamed. On the tactical level, you've already executed it perfectly. However, there are factors outside of the battle that are involved. This is a higher level of decision-making error. The responsibility should be borne by me. So, you don't need to blame yourself. Speaking of which, I'm sorry that you lost two starships because of my carelessness. Your reputation and prestige on Spider Den plummeted, too. "
"Lian King!"
Fengyu Zhong did not expect the Lotus King to be so generous. He did not know what to say.
The two Immortal Cultivators of the Temple of Immortals were discussing earth-shattering events at the edge of an ordinary market.
But the diner next to him was the owner of the breakfast stall. There were also passers-by, but they seemed to have been hypnotized, as if they had fallen into a dream. They were still talking and laughing, and their expressions were calm.
The two red lotuses inside the Lotus King's eyes were bouncing like demonic fire. He said, "What I care about is not the loss of the two starships but the fact that you were still worried about your only son's death and that your judgment was influenced by your emotions. I thought you had already severed all ties with the mortal world and that all your anger was just an act. It seems like that's not the case. "
He remembered his only son. Fengyu Zhong's face was somewhat gloomy. He said hoarsely, "Lian King, it's true that I did not sever all ties with the mortal world. My decision at that time was partly for the sake of justice and partly because of my fury. I lost my rationality, and the result was … "
"Forget it."
The Lotus King sighed. "Sever your mortal bonds, sever your mortal bonds. Everyone knows that once you sever your mortal bonds, you can ascend to immortality. However, mortal bonds are extremely difficult to sever, and the great path is extremely difficult to walk. You and I both originate from humans, and humans are also animals. As animals, they will be tempted by various instincts. These instincts are controlled by our cells, our genes, and the various hormones that our bodies secrete. It's like an extremely firm cage of instincts, firmly locking us in. We can't break free easily."
"What is the Immortal Cultivator?"
"The Immortal Cultivator is to fight against the instincts and break the cage of instincts completely.
"Sensual pleasures are instincts, and so is the affection between father and son. Only by completely severing the instincts can we truly be reborn from hairless monkeys and evolve into a more advanced, stronger life form. Then, we will be able to live longer in the dark forest and even become the dominator of the dark forest.
"It's easy to sever the instincts of sensual pleasures, but the instincts of bloodlines are like maggots in a tarsal bone. Not even a thousand or ten thousand slashes can completely sever it. Even I can't guarantee that I've definitely severed all mortal bonds."
"Therefore, how am I qualified to blame you if you cannot sever your ties with the mortal world for now?
"However, the ties between father and son have to be severed eventually. You will never be able to see the true face of the true path of immortality if you don't sever the instincts."
Fengyu Zhong was dazed for a moment. "But I only have one son. He is … dead. How can I sever his ties with the mortal world?"
The Lotus King smiled. "You can always have another son."
Fengyu Zhong was dazed. He pondered for a moment and was immediately awed by the infinite cruelty behind the words. He was lost for words for a long time and finally changed the topic abruptly.
"About that Li Yao …"
The intelligence system of the Temple of Immortals was very advanced. Now that Li Yao's name had spread out in the world of Cultivators, it was only natural that the Temple of Immortals had caught wind of it.
The Lotus King said, "You don't need to worry about that guy. You have more important work to do, which is to expand your forces on Spider Den and become the real dominator of Spider Den."
Fengyu Zhong was dazed. "But right now, my capability and prestige are both extremely weak."
The Lotus King said, "Weakness is sometimes a kind of strength. Take that Li Yao for example. He is just a Building Foundation Stage Cultivator. Compared to you, he should be the weakest, right? Yet, he was able to make you suffer heavy losses and almost get yourself killed. He was even more embarrassed than when you were hunted down by almost ten Core Formation Stage Cultivators.
"Why? Isn't it because you think he's weak? "
"If he were a Core Formation Stage Cultivator, or even a Yuanying, would you have been fooled by him?"
Fengyu Zhong was deep in thought.
The Lotus King continued. "Right now, everybody on Spider Den knows that the Storm Prison Pirate Gang is on the brink of collapse. You have released the false news that you are heavily wounded. Those with ill intentions should be making a move now. The forces that have been lurking in the darkness should all show up now."
"Your wife is the daughter of the leader of Black Spider Tower. With her around, maybe other people will not dare to act recklessly. Then, you will play a good show of betrayal. Let everybody think that you are all by yourself. When your opponents have played all their trump cards, we will launch a thunderous strike.
"That's the general idea. You can think about the details later. In three days, draft a plan and budget for me. How many people, how much money, and how much magical equipment you need. I'll take care of it.
"In short, go ahead and do whatever you want. I have confidence in you."
Fengyu Zhong took a deep breath and said, "Alright. With the Lotus King's promise, I will definitely take over Spider Den. But please pay attention to Li Yao, Lotus King. This is not my personal grudge. The guy is indeed brutal and ruthless. Cunning and insane. He is even more dangerous than the toughest space pirates. We must not treat him as a common Building Foundation Stage Cultivator. I even suggest that we list him as an enemy in the Core Formation Stage and ask the experts of Black Spider Tower to assassinate him first. "
The Lotus King smiled casually. "You don't need to worry about that. Do you know why I suggested that you set the battlefield in the Iron Plateau Space Zone?"
Fengyu Zhong was dazed for a moment. The Iron Plateau Space Zone was a forbidden area for Cultivators. All kinds of dangers were lurking in the sea of stars. Even he had almost been killed. He had thought that the Lotus King was merely trying to take advantage of the terrain there. But now that he thought about it, could it be that …
Fengyu Zhong's eyes suddenly shone. He asked in both surprise and delight, "We have spies on Iron Plateau, too?"
The Lotus King smiled but did not say anything. He drank up the half bowl of cold tofu pudding and smacked his lips. "Landing on Iron Plateau? He is asking to be killed. "
…
At the edge of the cosmos … A minor battle had just ended.
A starship of space pirates discovered a ragged, bull-level carrier on a remote route.
Judging from its appearance, the carrier seemed to have been blown to the place by a severe cosmic storm. It had lost almost all its power. Its shell had been torn apart, and the crystal cannons installed on it were all tilted. It could not move at all, like a small animal that was mired in a swamp.
The overjoyed space pirates immediately lunged forward. Under the threat of the cannons, they forcibly docked the carrier. A large batch of space pirates swarmed in.
What surprised them was that the interior of this Barbarian Ox-class transport ship was completely empty. There was not even a single strand of human hair.
Right then, the cabin door was locked. Deadly gas was released incessantly, killing all the space pirates who had invaded the cabin within a second.
The shell of the carrier, in the meantime, completely tore apart the gentle appearance of the carrier after a series of flashes of brilliance. Almost a hundred dense cannons extended out, making the carrier look like a hideous iron hedgehog.
The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag was raging on the light beam at the head of the carrier.
Sparkle had shown up.
The two parties were very close to each other, and they were connected by the magnetic field. There was no way to dodge at all. Under the barrage of thousands of cannons, the space pirates' starship had completely lost its combat ability in only twenty minutes.
The remaining space pirates were all fleeing crazily in their Crystal Suits. But the sailing route was too remote. Without the support of the starship, the fuel of the Crystal Suit would not be enough to support them to the next supply point. They would be nothing more than iron dust floating in the sea of stars.
Realizing that, the space pirates had no choice but to surrender.
Ten minutes later, all the space pirates who surrendered were shot dead.
The Cultivators of the Grand Desolate Plateau from the Tian Yuan Realm, who had fought against the demon race for five hundred years, never knew the meaning of 'mercy'.
"The first camouflage hunt has succeeded.
"But it took too long. It took us twenty minutes to suppress a starship of the lowest level. Our firepower distribution is still imprecise. We should redesign the positions of the crystal cannons.
"There are not enough space pirates on the ship, either. There is still a lot of room for modification in the plan to lure the enemy in.
Inside the empty cabin of Sparkle, four clusters of liquid metal were shivering and condensing into human faces occasionally.
The 'Four Kings' of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution were now four spectral Cultivators. They had some understanding about the training of ghosts and were now able to simulate the appearance of human beings.
A cluster of liquid metal that was even larger rolled in. It slowly protruded and condensed into a silvery human shape. However, it was only half a meter tall and looked like a colorless statue. It was Professor Mo Xuan, the former dean of the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution and the founder of Project Mystic Skeleton.
"Li Yao has been found."
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