Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

I was wrong .

In the middle of burning waves of the red flags, Li Yao’s brain was stretched to its limits. His soul was expanding nonstop in the intense resonation. As if an invisible barrier had collapsed all of a sudden, a new, vaster world was slowly unfolding in front of his eyes.

In the new world, his soul was as calm, clear, and peaceful as a snowy plateau under the moonlight.

The memories of every second after he returned to the Heaven’s Origin Sector were the snowflakes that were spraying in the cool, refreshing world.

It was not until this moment that Li Yao realized what a huge mistake he had made.

I thought that I was abandoned by the entire federation and that nobody trusted me. I felt wronged. I was angry. I was depressed. I almost slid into the dark abyss.

However, in retrospect, have I ever truly trusted my compatriots and all the citizens of the federation?

Before, I had countless opportunities to reveal my identity in public to win their support, but I didn’t do it.

Was it because I never truly trusted them from the bottom of my heart? I thought that they were just strengthless ordinary people who could not see through the scheme. Even if they did, they could not help me much and would only add to my trouble.

That is why I brushed past them every single time. I chose to infiltrate in secret and fight on my own, trying to save the world by myself!

Even when I was most desperate, all I could think of were merely Cultivators such as Ding Lingdang and Professor Mo Xuan. I never thought that I could count on them, the millions of ordinary people!

I was wrong. I was really wrong!

My compatriots, everyone who has been working and living carefully on this land, might not have strong fists, fast legs, and a high computation ability like the Cultivators do.

But they are certainly not objects waiting for their salvation. They have their feelings, their standpoints, and their thinking ability. More importantly, they have their own… fighting will!

Cultivators, of course, are obliged to protect the ordinary people.

But the ordinary people… can protect the Cultivators, too. Right now, am I not being protected, supported, and encouraged by them, by tens of thousands of ordinary people?

No…

‘Protect’ is too thin a word to describe the relationship between us!

Nobody is protecting anybody. Cultivators and ordinary people are comrades who are fighting side by side. We are merely working in different posts through different approaches to protect our mutual home, family, and future!

Huala!

Every word that Li Yao roared out in his brain turned into soundless lightning, illuminating the new world!

His eyes were brighter and brighter. He clenched his fists harder and harder. Every cell deep inside his flesh was echoing like bells being tolled. The deepest part of his soul was blossoming like a lotus!

Li Yao smiled. After everything he had been through, he discovered that Lu Zui and the scheme of the Patriots Partnership were not worth mentioning at all when he looked back.

The power of the so-called ‘patriots’ was based on the lies and the mistrust between him and everyone.

When he did not trust his compatriots, and his compatriots did not know how to trust him, he felt like he was diving into a bottomless swamp on his own. He could not find a way out in the black maze.

At that time, the Patriots Partnership appeared mysterious, ubiquitous, prophetic, and manipulative!

However, when he learned to trust Ding Lingdang, Professor Mo Xuan, Guo Chunfeng, and everybody else, the seemingly powerful Patriots Partnership was like a sand castle in the wind. No matter how high it was piled up, it would crumble when the wind was blowing.

If he had realized the logic earlier, he might have been able to crack the scheme more straightforwardly.

But thankfully, it was still not too late.

Li Yao sensed that the snowflakes of his memories were falling into his soul before they were condensed into mysterious liquids that flowed slowly into his abdomen along his spine.

Inside his abdomen, his core was shivering. Vaguely, he seemed to hear a yawn, like the first mumble of a baby after a prolonged sleep.

Li Yao thought of something. He realized that after the last confrontation with the mental devil, and through all the tests that followed, his soul had been cleansed, and his belief had been firmed. He examined himself and even interrogated himself. Finally, in the resonation with the souls of tens of thousands of compatriots, he embraced the sprout of the Nascent Soul!

It was perhaps not the real Nascent Soul Stage yet, but it was enough to make him understand the differences between the Nascent Soul Stage and the Core Formation Stage.

The difference between Core Formation Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage lay beyond the simple factors such as strength, speed, or computational ability.

Most importantly, the Nascent Soul Stage highlighted the unification of strength and consciousness.

In the Core Formation Stage, the body and the mind were separate. Maybe, after some fortuitous incidents—for example, accidentally getting marvelous medicines and techniques—one might be granted destructive brute strength if they were lucky enough, which could potentially upgrade them into the Core Formation Stage.

However, impressive as their brute strength might be, they did not know where their strength originated and how they should really apply it. Eventually, they would become the prisoners of their own strength and slaves of their natural instincts, living their whole life unaware.

In the Nascent Soul Stage, however, the strength and the consciousness would be highly combined. A Cultivator would fully understand the source of their strength and its destination. They would really be able to carry out their own will and belief with their strength!

In short, a Cultivator could only see clearly what they were fighting for exactly after they advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage!

Below a ragged, bloodstained Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag, Li Yao slowly opened his eyes.

For a moment, millions of stars seemed to be shining inside his eyes, as if the fighting will of the tens of thousands of ordinary people had been concentrated in his eyes!

The next moment, the millions of stars were all absorbed into his soul. Li Yao’s eyes became pure black again. The only thing that remained was the dark-golden brilliance in the deepest part of his pupils!

Li Yao carried on shoulder the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag that had been scourged on countless battlefields. Surrounded by almost a hundred veterans, he held his head high and glared at ‘Hidden Star’ in the sky without disguising his new, burning aura at all!

The spiritual shield around Hidden Star was rippling, as if it were under real attack.

“Lu Zui, you are doomed!” Li Yao declared resolutely. His every word was hitting the spiritual shield of ‘Hidden Star’ like a bomb.

Hidden Star was shaking violently in midair, struggling in vain under the fury of the public.

“In order to raise the war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, you planned the assassination of the Speaker in the Federal Square and killed more than ten thousand innocent victims. The undeniable evidence of your crimes is now in my hands!

“In order to destroy the evidence, you were trying to bombard me as well as so many compatriots here, when you knew clearly that tens of thousands of people had gathered in this place!

“Everything you did crossed the lines of not only the Cultivators but also all human beings! Lu Zui, the evidence and the eyewitnesses are all here. What do you have to say for yourself?

“Lu Zui, director of the Secret Sword Bureau, I know you are in this very crystal warship! If you are innocent, just come on out and confront me in front of all our compatriots here!”

Li Yao’s every word was delivered to the ears of the public clearly, making them understand everything that had happened quickly.

Such a piece of appalling news naturally raised another round of whispers. They eyed the crystal warship in the sky with more confusion and anger.

They did not know if Li Yao was telling the truth.

But they did notice that Lu Zui never showed up.

Li Yao was standing in public openly while Lu Zui was hiding himself in a warship. Naturally, the ordinary people made a judgement without any trouble.

Surrounded by the veterans, the Secret Sword Agents who were loyal to Lu Zui were so ashamed that they almost wished to turn into effluence so that they could flow into the sewer!

On Hidden Star, Li Yao’s words were sweeping across every cabin like hurricanes. The ears of every ‘patriot’ were humming.

All the patriots were lost for words, their faces pale.

Lu Zui’s hair was messy, his skin as yellow as dry wood. The speckles on his face were growing at a visible speed, but his vigor was jumping out of his body hurriedly like fleas.

Right now, Li Yao was standing on the ground openly. He could easily lock onto Li Yao with the crystal railgun.

But what was the point?

Lu Zui struggled for a long time. Shivering, his hands extended to the light beam, retreated, extended, and retreated again. Finally, after a long sigh, he collapsed into his chair in depression.

He sensed that three intimidating auras had arrived.

They were three battle-type Cultivators who were worshipped as ‘War Gods’ in the federation!

The three Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had been invited by the Secret Sword Bureau to help the execution of Blood Devil Li Yao. They were not members of the Patriots Partnership. He had been lying to them the whole time. Was there any point now that they had arrived?

Moreover, Lu Zui observed through the surveillance light beam that the air platforms on the parliament building were all opened. Hundreds of representatives and experts flew out!

All the representatives and experts had been informed earlier that a ‘triumph parade’ would be held outside today, which could be rather noisy.

Also, some of the officials responsible for the guardian work of the parliament building were members of the Patriots Partnership, too. It was not difficult to adjust the soundproof rune arrays and the blockage rune arrays on the parliament building to a higher level so that most of the waves from the outside world would be blocked.

Therefore, the representatives inside did not notice the chaos outside in the beginning.

However, the blockage had its limits, too. Right now, Li Yao was practically holding his solo concert outside. The representatives and experts inside were not deaf. How could they still sense none of it at this moment?

“It’s over now.”

Lu Zui smiled bitterly. He looked toward the north, his eyes unfocused.

It was the direction of the Dark Desolate Domain on the Grand Desolate Plateau.

At the very least, his scheme had completely failed on his side!