Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“I didn’t know what was going on in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital back then. It was almost my only option.” Jin Xinyue defended herself, almost feeling like crying. “In terms of professionalism, it was one of the best special hospitals for brains, and it was far more capable than ordinary hospitals when it came to the recovery of broken brains and the awakening of vegetative patients.

“Besides, it was a private hospital that would keep the information of big clients absolutely confidential, which was important because I didn’t want the whole thing to leak out and escalate into a shocking scandal. Most importantly of all, it was Professor Mo Xuan who referred me to the hospital.

“You are my master, and Professor Mo Xuan was your teacher. I had been in contact with him for a long time.

“He knew the truth about why my father was sent to the war tribunal. He also knew that my father was more inclined to peace and that the war years back was stopped by my father, you, and me together. The surrender of the Blood Demon Sector was facilitated by my father, too. My father was not a real ‘war criminal’. Therefore, he had always been sympathetic toward my father.

“Besides, Professor Mo Xuan also gave the impression of a noble gentleman. He was passionate about the advancement of technology and the distant ‘Tinder Plan’. He had never been involved in any power struggles. Naturally, I had absolutely no doubt about his integrity.

“Did I have a second option when he referred me to Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital and promised me that he would try his best to help?”

Li Yao was stunned. Blinking quickly, he remarked, “Terrible. This is too terrible. Since Jin Tuyi’s brains were cooked in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital, the lair of the extraterrestrial devils, Lei Yuqin and Professor Mo Xuan must’ve played some tricks on him. Then, after he was sent back to you, wouldn’t they know everything about you and the ‘Dim Moon Plan’? You must’ve told the details of the plan to Jin Tuyi, mustn’t you?”

“Yes.” Jin Xinyue nodded. “He was my father. He dedicated himself to the reconciliation of humans and demons in the past. The Dim Moon Plan was an extension of the Red Tide Plan itself. Naturally, I needed to tell him.”

“No wonder the extraterrestrial devils knew your whole plan so clearly and even set up a series of schemes and countermeasures according to the Dim Moon Plan. Everything makes sense now if they had Jin Tuyi as a spy.” Li Yao tilted his head and pondered for a moment. Then he shook his head again and said, “This is still not right. If the extraterrestrial devils had indeed sent such a ‘super emissary’ to you, how could their scheme have failed? Besides, Jin Tuyi was the other person whom Boss Bai spoke to before leaving the federation?

“What could the two seasoned, sophisticated men have chatted about? Was Jin Tuyi to be credited for Boss Bai’s insight of the whole situation beforehand? Also, did you just say that Jin Tuyi…”

“He is gone forever,” Jin Xinyue said gloomily. “As the fire of war drew near, his dementia and sluggishness grew more and more serious, as if he were plagued by ‘cerebral sclerosis’ again.

“He could not walk in daylight, and since he had been reduced to such a condition, I naturally couldn’t bring him to carry out the ‘Dim Moon Plan’ together with me. Therefore, I had him settled in an absolutely safe underground fortress, planning to send him to Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital for treatment again after the war was over.

“But he somehow escaped from the underground fortress and ran to an artificial lake to feed the birds.

“The Feather Clan has always been intimate with birds. In the past, in his spare time when he was not working busily, one of his greatest hobbies was grabbing a handful of rice, feeding the birds in the Blood Demon Sector, and listening to them singing freely.

“When he was discovered, he was already dead. It’s said that his death was quite uncanny. Fierce flames surged out of his brains and burnt up his brain, soul, and mind, leaving absolutely nothing behind. He died very resolutely without any hesitation.

“The time of his death should have been soon after his conversation with Boss Bai. It must have been when he learned that we had secured a decisive victory.”

Li Yao frowned. “Was it suicide?”

“It seemed to be suicide,” Jin Xinyue said, “but I am not very certain. His brain was severely damaged and was slowly ossifying. How could he have been able to trigger such immense force to burn up his soul? What a great demand of strength and determination it must’ve been!”

Li Yao, Ding Lingdang, and Bai Kaixin all fell into silence.

“Master,” Jin Xinyue said, with tears in her eyes, “my father’s death was not out of my expectations. After all, he should’ve died a hundred years ago. I am more than satisfied to have spent the last few years with him like we were a regular pair of father and daughter.

“But I only want to figure out what this is all about. Was he really corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils? How did he die in the end?

“Moreover, I’m even more eager to know if it was Jin Tuyi who kept my company in the past couple of years, or was it something else, like a Deviant Spirit, the artificial intelligence you mentioned before?”

The question was even more perplexing than the mysteries of Bai Xingjian that Bai Kaixin had raised moments prior.

Li Yao felt like his head was as huge as a pot. His mind in a mess, he counted his fingers and listed all the facts. “It’s a bit messy. Come on, let’s sort everything out first. First of all, Jin Tuyi was alive and probably implanted with some sort of virus during the procedures in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital, right?”

Everybody nodded together.

Li Yao continued. “His mission was supposed to be monitoring Jin Xinyue and figuring out the whole content of the Dim Moon Plan. He might even have secretly influenced the ‘Dim Moon Plan’ as a father to make the plan better fit for the design of the extraterrestrial devils, right?”

Everybody looked at each other. It was quite true, too.

“But he did something very strange. He reached out to Boss Bai, another super badass, and eventually made Boss Bai a crucial person for us to win the war.” Li Yao paused for a moment and said, “Then, after the last conversation with Boss Bai, where he learned that we had secured a decisive victory, he finished himself in the most determined way and ensured that not the slightest remaining soul would be left behind, right?”

“Yes.” Jin Xinyue wiped away the tears in her eyes and said full of expectation, “Master, as someone who once spent nights talking with my father, you are one of the people who know him best in the New Federation. Can you infer the missing parts of the whole issue?”

“It is very complicated.” Li Yao scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. “The whole thing is simply too strange. Although I do have some vague theories, it is difficult for me to connect them for the time being. How about this? Do you mind if I tell somebody else the issue? I have two suitable candidates who can help us analyze the situation. One of them has even higher deduction and analysis abilities than me.”

Jin Xinyue and Bai Kaixin looked at each other. After pondering for a moment, both of them agreed.

“This is too important an issue to be kept a secret. Regarding both Jin Tuyi and Boss Bai, as their children, we will be obliged to write countless reports for the military and the parliament for them to figure out what exactly happened.

“Since they are the candidates that master recommends, they must know what they are doing and will not cause any further disturbance. So, let’s invite the two experts to unravel the interconnected and enigmatic puzzles together!”

…

An hour later, countless pieces of critical intelligence, as well as two ancient people, showed up in the secret room.

They were Long Yangjun and Han Baling.

“Fellow Cultivator Han,” Li Yao said. “This is all the evidence we have collected so far about the connections between Bai Xingjian and Jin Tuyi and their background files. You have heard the description of the whole incident from the different perspectives of Bai Kaixin and Jin Xinyue, too. I wonder, have you come to a conclusion?”

“Of course, I have possible conclusions.” Han Baling frowned and said, “But I don’t understand. Why did you ask me to study the case?”

“Naturally, because of your analysis and deduction abilities that are certainly unparalleled in the edge of the cosmos!” Li Yao praised.

Han Baling was slightly dazed. “Is that so?”

“Of course!” Li Yao and Long Yangjun nodded and replied at the same time.

“I dare not say that I’m unparalleled.” Nobody could really refuse flattery, especially that from Monster Li, the dominator of three Sectors. Even a person as extraordinary as Han Baling could not help but feel satisfied. He coughed lightly and elaborated, “However, you are all deeply mired in the trap and influenced by your feelings. Naturally, you cannot figure out the truth quickly.

“However, in the eyes of an outsider such as myself, after all the evidence and files are presented, the only truth is already more than obvious.

“Jin Tuyi’s brains must’ve been cooked by the extraterrestrial devils in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital. There’s no doubt about that.

“Jin Xinyue’s Dim Moon Plan was a critical procedure in the extraterrestrial devils’ scheme. They must’ve tried to set up spies near Jin Xinyue. Since Jin Xinyue had fed herself to them, how could they let go of the rare opportunity to create a super emissary?

“Monitoring and swaying Jin Xinyue through Jin Tuyi to control the progress of the Dim Moon Plan was the foundation of the extraterrestrial devils’ confidence in sitting on the fence and watching the tigers fight!

“However, while the extraterrestrial devils got everything figured out for themselves, Jin Tuyi was too remarkable a man to be completely at their mercy without fighting back.

“Although his brains were severely damaged and ossifying; although the extraterrestrial devils had implanted all kinds of viruses, barriers, and sealed on him; and although his entire brain had been deformed and reshaped, Jin Tuyi was still Jin Tuyi, a guy who was patient enough to win a war in a span of a thousand or ten thousand years!”

Jin Xinyue could not help but exclaim, “Are—are you suggesting that my father was still resisting the extraterrestrial devils? Then why didn’t he tell me about the extraterrestrial devils’ plan?”

Han Baling shook his head and said, “The extraterrestrial devils must’ve controlled him on a very deep level. The barriers, seals, and viruses that invaded his brains must’ve been very weird, too, allowing them to monitor every second and every minute when the two of you were together and forbidding him from telling you the information in anyway. He could not even think about telling you the truth, and he must have made up his mind with unparalleled willpower in order to not do so.

“Otherwise, should the extraterrestrial devils have noticed any anomaly, all his previous endeavors would’ve been in vain!”