Bai Xinghe stared at Li Yao in silence. Illusionary stars and apocalypses brushed past his face nonstop. In the shadow of the sea of stars, there was no telling whether he was crying or smiling.
Li Yao's head was in a mess.
He had discussed the origins of the apocalypses with Xiong Wuji on Iron Plateau. He had also heard the reason why the Blood Stripe Virus launched the apocalypses from Yan Xibei, the Blood Devil who had been possessed by the Blood Stripe Virus.
Now, after hearing everything from Bai Xinghe, the pieces of the puzzle matched perfectly!
Could it be that everything was real? Was the universe really a dark forest?
Li Yao gritted his teeth and shook his head hard.
His instincts told him that the Dark Forest Theory had loopholes. Huge loopholes.
But for a while, he couldn't figure it out and comprehend it.
Maybe, it was because he did not like the Dark Forest Theory or such a cruel and merciless universe from the bottom of his heart!
Once again, Li Yao recalled what Huangpu Xiaoya and Xiong Wuji had said.
"Even if the universe is really a dark forest, we Cultivators will burn our lives and turn into a tiny spark!
"If there is no way out in the dark forest, we will set fire to it and clear a path!"
Only by knowing the truth would one be able to understand how much power was hidden between the lines!
Li Yao took a deep breath and held his head high. Looking at Bai Xinghe in the eyes, he said, one word after another, "I don't like the Dark Forest Theory. Not at all."
Bai Xinghe smiled. "The sea of stars does not exist because of your likes and dislikes. Like it or not, the Dark Forest is right here, right next to us."
Li Yao said coldly, "We seem to have gone too far. Whether or not the Dark Forest Theory is valid, what does it have to do with the Immortal Cultivators?"
Bai Xinghe's voice turned even more creepy. "As I said just now, the Dark Forest is right next to us. Not only does it exist in different civilizations, but it also exists in the same civilization. A Dark Forest can be summoned at any time, too!
"I wonder, have you ever heard of a bunch of people named 'Fire Stealers'?"
Li Yao was suddenly alarmed.
Of course, he had.
Five thousand years ago, when the Flying Star Sector suffered an apocalypse, the Flying Star Sector was divided into two factions.
One party was building an enormous fleet in space. They tried to transfer the entire civilization to a starship and escape from the planet. They were called "spacers".
The other party concentrated the resources of the entire Sector on Iron Plateau, the capital planet, to establish a planetary defense array. Those who resisted the Heavenly Tribulation were known as the Home Faction.
Although the spacers and the homers had different stances, they were compatriots after all. Therefore, they did not turn on each other openly in the end. Instead, they negotiated and decided to divide all the techniques, Cultivation arts, and training facilities of the Flying Star Sector into two and develop them separately.
However, some radicals among the spacers believed that Iron Plateau was destined to fail to resist the apocalypse. These Cultivation Methods and Divine Abilities would only be buried with them. It was better to leave them to the Spacer Sect so that they could develop more smoothly in the future.
After decades of careful planning, the radicals had stolen most of the Cultivation arts, techniques, and resources that had been left for the Iron Plateau natives!
Those people believed that everything they had done was for the sake of the civilization of human beings in the Flying Star Sector. That was why he called himself the Fire Thief!
Bai Xinghe said casually, "It seems that you know about it. It makes sense. Since you are the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, you must know about the things that made it impossible for the Iron Plateau natives to train themselves. How can you not know about it when you can only be transformed into 'qi-trainers'?
"However, have you ever considered a question?
"After the Fire Thief obtained a lot of Cultivation arts, techniques, and training facilities, they left Iron Plateau in advance and flew to the edge of the Flying Star Sector.
"By logic, the Fire Thief should've had a lot of crystal warships. They were made of the experts of the spacers, too. Also, they were not struck by the apocalypse head-on at the edge of the Flying Star Sector.
"However, to this day, the descendants of the Iron Plateau natives and the fleet of the Flying Star Sector that were struck by the apocalypse have all survived stubbornly. They have even spread to every space zone of the Flying Star Sector.
"Why did the people who survived the apocalypse by hiding at the edge of the Flying Star Sector disappear without a trace?"
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. The question was indeed weird.
Of the three forces at that time, the main fleets of the homers and the spacers had all suffered destructive strikes.
The fleet of the Fire Thief, on the other hand, had been hiding at the edge of the Flying Star Sector. Even if they were swept away by the aftermath of the apocalypse, they couldn't have suffered more damage than the first two fleets!
Where had they been for five thousand years?
Bai Xinghe sighed. "Let me tell you what happened years ago. You will realize after you listen to my story that the apocalypse is perhaps far from the most dreadful thing in the sea of stars!"
Li Yao pricked up his ears, feeling rather uneasy.
"It is true that the radicals of the spacers were not sordid, shameless, and unpardonable villains when they carried out the Fire Thief Plan," Bai Xinghe said.
"On the contrary, many of them are determined, honorable, and willing to sacrifice themselves at any time for the continuation of their civilization."
"They carried out the Fire Thief Plan with the mentality that 'if I don't go to hell, who will?'.
"When they stole a lot of Cultivation arts and techniques from Iron Plateau and fled to the edge of the Flying Star Sector, they kept sending messages to the main fleet of the spacers, claiming that they would return to the main fleet after the apocalypse was over and that they would be punished for what they had done.
"Many of them even swore that they would kill themselves the moment they returned.
"All the sins will be borne by us. We only hope that the civilization of human beings in the Flying Star Sector will live on forever!
"That was the slogan of the Fire Thief Plan at that time!
"It sounds selfless, heroic, and noble, doesn't it?"
With a weird smile on his face, Bai Xinghe said gloomily, "Then, the apocalypse arrived. But instead of lunging at Iron Plateau directly, it split into two parts and attacked Iron Plateau and the fleet of the Flying Star Sector simultaneously!
"In the blink of an eye, the powerful apocalypse swept across the central area of the Flying Star Sector. Both Iron Plateau and the fleet of the Flying Star Sector were involved in the swirl of destruction. The Flying Star Sector was in chaos and didn't recover for a thousand years!
"The fleet of the Fire Stealers was hiding at the edge of the Flying Star Sector. They observed the arrival of the powerful apocalypse and sensed that the central area of the Flying Star Sector was covered in destructive strikes. Naturally, the connection between them and the main fleet was cut off, too, because the entire main fleet was falling apart and struggling in the surging tides!
"After years of observation and analysis, the fleet of the Fire Thieves confirmed one thing. The main fleet of Iron Plateau and the fleet of the Flying Star Sector were both destroyed in the apocalypse!
"After confirming the 'truth', other than being shocked and grieved, they were overjoyed that they had survived the disaster!"
"Because they were still alive!
"They also boasted a fleet of a large scale and a lot of experts. More importantly, they boasted countless techniques, Cultivation arts, and training facilities!
"The fire of the civilization of the Flying Star Sector was not completely extinguished. Right now, they were the last hope of human beings in the Flying Star Sector!
"In an instant, the little bit of guilt that was left on the Fire Stealers vanished!"
"Judging from the results, what they did was completely correct!"
"If they hadn't been so bold, the entire civilization of the Flying Star Sector would've been wiped out by the apocalypse!
"Right now, they were the last Flying Star Sector survivors. They had to pass on and rebuild their civilization at whatever cost!"
Li Yao was fascinated.
At this moment, everything seemed to be very reasonable, but he faintly smelled a trace of danger.
Bai Xinghe smiled and said, "After the initial ecstasy died down, the 'last Flying Star Sector survivors' discovered a fatal, unsolvable problem.
"They were short of food and fuel."
Li Yao couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?"
"It's easy to understand," Bai Xinghe said. "The Fire Thieves Operation was a top secret in the first place. Naturally, they couldn't summon a large batch of starships on a large scale.
"Therefore, the number of crystal warships under their control was not large in the first place. Also, they were not necessarily carriers that were suitable for carrying a lot of goods.
"The Cultivation arts and techniques don't take up much space, but the training facilities and magical equipment do.
"They did not have enough Cosmos Rings to store so much magical equipment and training facilities.
"Food and water, on the other hand, could not be stored in Cosmos Rings for a long time.
"In order to steal as much magical equipment and training facilities as possible, they could only modify the starships under their control on a large scale. They tried to expand the warehouse and reduce the amount of food and fuel they carried.
"After all, according to the plan, they would only stay at the edge of the Flying Star Sector for one to two years, three to five years at most. After the apocalypse was over, they would turn themselves in to the main fleet.
"This is what they repeatedly stated when they communicated with the main fleet. They are not traitors. The resources they brought with them are not enough for a journey across the Vast Thousand Domains. Therefore, they will definitely go back and turn themselves in. Otherwise, they will definitely not be able to survive."
"The main fleet naturally carries enough food and fuel, and there's enough space to build an ecological system in space to produce new food."
"Therefore, right now, the Fire Thieves, the 'last Flying Star Sector survivors', were faced with an awkward situation.
"Right now, they boasted the most powerful techniques, the most advanced magical equipment, and the most complicated training facilities of the Flying Star Sector!
"But they did not have the necessary food and fuel for their survival!
"Without food, they would starve. Without fuel, their starships would not be able to move at all. Even if the best magical equipment in the universe was piled up, it would still be nothing more than an iron coffin floating in the sea of stars!
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