Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“I remember it too now!”

Han Tuhu’s eyes shone as he exclaimed, “Ding Lingdang is from the Grand Desolate War Institution, and so is President Li. Ten years ago, you must’ve met each other before in the Grand Desolate War Institution, didn’t you?”

His eyelids twitching, Li Yao nodded slowly. “Indeed, we did.”

“That will be a lot easier!” Han Tuhu said excitedly. “When we return to the Heaven’s Origin Sector, you can try to sneak to Ding Lingdang’s side. With your keen eyes, you will certainly be able to discover enough traces to unveil the true face of this ‘Blazing Tyrannosaur’! Right, what was your relationship with Ding Lingdang in the past? Are you confident that you can get close to her and win her trust?”

Expressionlessly, Li Yao replied, “That shouldn’t be a problem. We used to be in a romantic relationship. More exactly, she is my fiancée. I was planning to marry her when I’m back home.”

“…” Han Tuhu.

“…” Suo Chaolong.

“Cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough, cough.” The Fire Ant King was the first to recover. “As—as expected of Vulture Li Yao. Only such a great hero who has been tested by countless battles like yourself is the perfect match for the untraditional Lady Ding!”

Suo Chaolong wiped his sweat. “Ex—exactly. Now that I think about it, Ding Lingdang is not very suspicious. She is a pure battle-type Cultivator after all, and her supporters and worshippers have gathered around her because of her personal charisma. They are not well-disciplined. The real Abyss shouldn’t be someone like that!”

Han Tuhu slapped the table. “Indeed. You’ve reminded me of yet another suspect who is more suspicious than President Li’s fiancée!

“The man was the most brilliant new star before the rise of President Li and Ding Lingdang. He was also one of the youngest Core Formation Stage Cultivators in the federation.

“What is scarier is that, not only did the guy boast exceptional combat ability, he was also gifted at operation and management. He is a hybrid-type Cultivator!

“More than ten years ago, when the guy was only in his thirties, he established his own sect! In the past ten years, his sect has been expanding crazily as if it has eaten a lot of crystal bombs. Its comprehensively capability is multiplying every year! Today, his sect is attracting the most talented young Cultivators of the federation to join. As for himself, he was nominated as Celebrity of the Nation twice in a row. He is definitely the well-deserved most influential person among the young Cultivators!

“The guy is Peng Hai, also known as Fiend Blade! His enterprise—Double Dragons Union—ranks the 92nd in the top five hundred sects of the federation right now, surpassing many big sects that have a long history!”

The Fire Ant King nodded in agreement and said, “That’s right. Fiend Blade Peng Hai seems much more likely than Ding Lingdang. His Double Dragons Union is a huge, meticulous organization that is involved in the development of many kinds of magical equipment in the federation army. The Demon Beast Detector, from which the sect earned the first bucket of gold, has been updated to the ninth generation. Every soldier in the federal army is equipped with one. It is one of the most important pieces of portable magical equipment for them!

“If Fiend Blade Peng Hai is Abyss, and he has hidden backdoors in the Demon Beast Detector, there might be dire consequences!”

Han Tuhu frowned. “Wait. Demon Beast Detector? I feel that I’m missing something…”

Li Yao coughed and said, “The Demon Beast Detector was my invention. Fiend Blade Peng Hai was my senior brother. He is also the one who guided me to the path of Cultivation. I have a lot of shares in the Double Dragons Union, too. In fact, the ‘double dragons’ refers to us.”

“…” Suo Chaolong.

“…” Han Tuhu.

“Master, are you really certain that you are not Abyss sent by Elder Nether Spring?” Jin Xinyue asked.

Jin Tuyi, who had been listening quietly as a hologram, finally opened his mouth. “Alright. Stop proposing groundless hypotheses.”

After only three months, he appeared much older than before. Not only was his hair pure white, wrinkles, from which dark, golden colors were beaming out, found their way onto his cheeks, too.

He was narrowing his eyes, as if he were taking a nap, all the time and seemed to be indifferent to the stimuli of the outside world.

Only on such occasions would he slightly open his eyes that were still emitting feeble brightness.

“Li Yao, Ding Lingdang, and Fiend Blade Peng Hai are all less than fifty years old. If any of them are Abyss, it means that Elder Nether Spring sent an infant, or a young child, to the Heaven’s Origin Sector fifty years ago.

“If so, there would’ve been too many unpredictable factors. Who could guarantee that an infant, or a child, would grow into a Cultivator, and even a Core Formation Stage one so that they could influence the federation?

“Besides, children are unlikely to be absolutely loyal to Elder Nether Spring. How could Elder Nether Spring be sure that Abyss would still be loyal to him when they grew up?

“If he did send anybody over, it must be someone in their thirties or forties. After all, Cultivators can keep their faces young. If they practice special techniques, even someone in their sixties might be able to pretend to be a sixteen-year-old.”

Jin Tuyi’s conclusion was rather convincing. Everybody nodded in agreement.

Deep in thought, Li Yao remarked, “If that’s the case, all the Cultivators between fifty and a hundred years old must be scrutinized.”

Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment—the list of suspects was bordering on infinity.

Fifty to a hundred years old were the prime years for a Cultivator. Their experience and resources would have been accumulated to the maximum, and the health of their body and soul had yet to decline. It was the most precious golden years for them!

Many leaders of the key departments in the federation were Cultivators at such an age.

Also, the leaders of the key departments were almost exclusively ‘rarely-seen geniuses in training’ who had experienced a lot of fortuitous events and accomplished unparalleled military credit through mountains of dead bodies.

According to the criteria, the managers of the major sects, the middle-level officers of the federal army, and the directors of certain bureaus in the government would mostly have to be captured for verification!

Jin Tuyi coughed lightly. “Without any proof, we won’t be able to get specific names even if we sit here until dawn. Therefore, we might as well analyze Elder Nether Spring’s purpose and what the Children of the Nether World and Abyss are up to exactly.”

Everybody nodded in agreement. Li Yao said, “That’s right. No matter how well the Children of the Nether World and Abyss have been hiding, they will jump out very soon. If we know their purpose in advance, we will be able to adopt appropriate strategies!”

The Fire Ant King’s eyes were glittering. “Have you already figured it out, commander?”

Jin Tuyi smiled and struggled to shake his head. “Elder Nether Spring is now a rabid dog grasped by desperation. Who knows how exactly he will play his last move?

“However, I’m most certain about one thing.

“For the enthusiastic hawks of the Star Glory Federation, right now is the best opportunity to attack the Blood Demon Sector in the past five hundred years!”

Everybody almost stood on their feet in shock upon hearing the words.

Jin Tuyi breathed heavily as he said, “In the past hundred years, the comprehensive capability of the Blood Demon Sector has been higher than the Heaven’s Origin Sector, and we were the invaders. In the meantime, the Heaven’s Origin Sector was developing faster than the Blood Demon Sector and was the defender. The Heaven’s Origin Sector traded space for time and planned to counterattack when they had an overwhelming advantage after further technological advancements.

“Without the unexpected changes, the overwhelming advantage wouldn’t have come into being until decades later.

“However, the situation is different today. The destruction of the Eye of Blood Demon caused the death of fourteen demon emperors and countless elite troops. The savaging of the Demon God Virus significantly wasted the fundamental forces of the Blood Demon Sector and stalled a lot of troops. Also, while we were rapidly seizing power, we were also creating countless enemies!

“In the four demon kingdoms, there must be more traditional nobles who want to feast upon our flesh than we can count!

“Given a few years’ time, the Blood Demon Sector will certainly recover from the mess, but right now is truly the moment when we have the fewest demon emperors, the most disordered army, the worst internal discord, and the most widespread plague in the history of the Blood Demon Sector!

“Do you think the firm hawks in the Star Glory Federation and those who have invested all their belongings or even the assets of their sect into the ‘victory funds’ will let go of the opportunity?”

Everybody gasped, and Jin Xinyue frowned. “But the Star Glory Federation doesn’t know anything that is going on here.”

Jin Tuyi smiled and said, “What if the Children of the Nether World tell them?”

Everybody fell silent. The atmosphere was even more depressing than before.

Jin Tuyi struggled to drink some water. He breathed for a moment and rubbed his temples softly before he continued with his eyes closed. “The key of the Spore Stratagem is to raise a world war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. In the world-blighting war, the Demon God Virus will be released so that a cruel new world will be created.

“Plan A of the Spore Stratagem was to let the final battle happen in the capital city of the Star Glory Federation through the Eye of Blood Demon.

“Now, Plan A has failed.

“However, if the Children of the Nether World can convince the leadership of the Star Glory Federation that the Blood Demon Sector is at its weakest right now, that an expedition right now will be enough to completely suppress the Blood Demon Sector, and that the demons will be the perfect slaves for collecting resources for the preparation against the army of the Imperium of True Human Beings… who can be certain that the Spore Stratagem will not be rekindled?”

Li Yao rose up suddenly. “Let’s go and elicit the other half of the intelligence from Lu Wuxin right now. Then, we will immediately head back to the Heaven’s Origin Sector, hand over the intelligence to the leadership of the federation, and tell them the whole truth!”

BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM BAM!

Not a moment after Li Yao concluded his declaration, somebody knocked on the door in the utmost fury. Dents were appearing on the thick, heavy planks.

All the participants looked at each other in bewilderment and raised their alert. Opening the door, they discovered that it was Wei Tianqing, the demon emperor from the wolf clan who was responsible for watching over Lu Wuxin.

“General Wei, what are you doing here?” The Fire Ant King stood up and said solemnly, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching over Lu Wuxin right now? The Mad Medic is sordid and cunning. He might run away at any moment!”

Wei Tianqing’s face was pale, and his furry tail was trembling crazily like a blade of grass in the blowing wind. It was not until he panted for a long time that he gnashed his teeth. “He can’t escape now. He’s dead!”

“What!”

Li Yao, Jin Xinyue, Han Tuhu and Suo Chaolong all jumped to their feet.