Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Black Satan, which spanned the entire space field, extended countless tentacles with the surging devilish fire that looked like black lightning. At first glance, it was almost like a black star that was swallowing the universe, and the tentacles were the fire that it had spurted out.

A low, deep chuckle echoed from the center of the black star. “Li Yao, this is the second time that we have had a competition in such a battlefield, isn’t it?”

Li Yao was slightly dazed. Then he immediately realized that the ‘first time’ the enemy mentioned was the final battle between him and the star child in the virtual world during the insurgency of the Immortal Cultivators in the Flying Star Sector.

Yes. The star child must have already been corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils at that time. That was why he had been able to build a similar virtual battlefield.

However, the battlefield this time had gone through major upgrades. Both the magnificent scale and the vivid details were apparently much more impressive than the previous battlefield.

If the last illusionary battlefield was a frozen picture, the battlefield this time would be a burning swirl and an inferno where the fire never died out!

“You have finally given yourself away,” Li Yao said coldly. “Just admit it. You are an extraterrestrial devil. Both Professor Mo Xuan and Lu Qingchen are just your puppets!”

“Of course, I am an extraterrestrial devil, but I am also Lu Qingchen and a human. This is the real form of mankind, the free, strong, and ultimate form after we are extricated from all restraints and seals!”

A few flames from the black star entangled into a furry arm and extended toward Li Yao. “I don’t understand. Why do we have to fight each other? The extraterrestrial devils feed on immense emotional fluctuations. Human beings enjoy the happiness, curiosity, and sense of enterprise and ambition that are brought forth by their emotions, too. It is the fuel that builds the civilization of mankind today and the precious treasures that we are unwilling to lose!

“But the despicable Pangu Civilization believes that emotions that are too scorching will destroy the entire universe. They try to deprive us of our emotions and change us into simple tools and lifeless machines.

“The Pangu Civilization is our mutual enemy. Shouldn’t we work side by side to destroy the Pangu Civilization together?”

“Cut the cr*p!” Li Yao bellowed. “It’s true that the Pangu Civilization tries to exterminate mankind’s emotions and turn human beings into heartless, emotionless, and tearless tools, but are the extraterrestrial devils any better? You have been playing with humans’ emotions blatantly, stomping on our most precious treasures, and regarding our souls as your food. You are even more unpardonable than the Pangu Civilization!”

Lu Qingchen’s gloomy sigh came over from the black star. “You’re wrong. You’re really wrong. Everything that I’ve done is not meant to play with or manipulate anything. I am only trying to find out the ‘limits’ of a human’s soul after it is activated by infinite emotions!”

Pausing for a moment, Lu Qingchen slowly opened his fingers, each of which was longer than a starship. “What are human beings? Where do human beings come from? Where will they go? You must be interested in the answers to those questions, too, Li Yao. Join me and explore the answers together.

“Your soul is strong and weird like I’ve never seen before. You are a natural-born member of us. I’m sincerely inviting you to embark on the journey to pursue our origins. We can go to the central area of the Imperium of True Human Beings, search for the relics of the battle between the Supreme Emperor and the Blood God ten thousand years ago, excavate the Supreme Emperor’s mausoleum and the Blood God’s heritage, and finally unravel the ultimate mysteries of the civilization of mankind.

“If you are not satisfied about what I’ve been doing, I can even make certain compromises in regard to the reform of the Star Glory Federation, as long as you agree to join with me…”

“Enough!” Li Yao shouted back angrily. “I would rather die than join with you!”

“I’m afraid… it’s not for you to decide!” Lu Qingchen’s voice was suddenly ten thousand times sharper than before. The overwhelmingly huge hand snatched the Tartarean Skeleton as if it were a butterfly and clenched the Colossus in its palm hard, with squeaky noises coming out.

“Come on. Open your mind, liberate your soul, accept the real true path, and become one of us!” Lu Qingchen grinned hideously. “We will figure out the problems together. Why are such small beings like us born in such a vast universe? What are we to the universe? Are we really meaningless dust? I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it!”

“Argh!”

Brilliance that looked like crimson swords beamed out of the fist that was almost as gigantic as a planet after being clenched. One, two, five, dozens, and hundreds of streaks of redness interconnected with each other and revolved crazily, tearing the enormous fist into shreds. The Tartarean Skeleton leapt out of the suppression of the black star in the most daunting gesture, and its body size expanded together with thunderous roars.

“Stop bluffing. You can’t intimidate me, regardless of whether you are Lu Qingchen or the extraterrestrial devil!” Li Yao laughed aloud. “Your scheme has been completely disrupted, yet you are acting like you are confident of your victory? Without the enhancement of the three ‘Gai’-level super crystal processors, and now that the mainframe crystal processor of Black Swirl has been blown up by us and all the devils were released by you to corrupt the Black Wind Fleet and frighten the federal fleet, are you really as strong as you appear to be after all your trump cards are out?

“Since this is the Spiriters’ Realm, an illusionary land where one’s soul and will are what really matter, let me show you the determination of real human beings!”

In his laughter, the Tartarean Skeleton expanded nonstop exactly the same as the enemy. The plate armor on its body was ripped apart again and again, only to be replaced by the boundless crimson fire spurting from deep inside the body, which constituted a second, a third… a thousandth layer of armor that was even stronger. In the end, the Tartarean Skeleton became a universal giant with stars above its head and a galaxy below its feet, as enormous as the black star!

The red giant and the black star confronted each other in silence on the two sides of the overlapping space battlefields.

The black star had been monolithic at the beginning and seemed enough to devour the entire space battlefield. But the red giant was even larger. Or rather, in the competition of will, Li Yao’s aggressiveness eclipsed Lu Qingchen’s confidence.

“Of course, we will look for the origins of mankind and our purpose in this universe!” The red giant sprinted at the black star and waved its hands. Countless starships were attracted to its arms like pebbles, condensing into two sabers that were enough to chop apart the galaxy in front of his arms. “But we are going to create our future with our belief on our own!

“The path to the future lies in our own hands. The Pangu Civilization, the extraterrestrial devils, or any other seemingly smart and brilliant dictator, none of you will ever control us, restrain us, or decide our future for us!”

The two sabers where Li Yao’s whole spirit, determination, and hot blood were concentrated slashed deep into the black star, making Lu Qingchen shiver from the bottom of his soul even though he had been emotionless when he went through all the torture and extreme painful environments.

“Our goals are the same although our means are different. We are moving toward the same destination from two different directions!”

Thousands of black fiery snakes darted out of the black star, snatching tremendous debris of starships and primeval species on the space battlefield and smashing it at the red giant.

Light as dazzling as the big bang of the universe rose from the body of the red giant. Li Yao’s soul was heavily wounded to such an extent that it was almost vaporized.

“Stop being a stubborn fool!” Lu Qingchen bellowed. “Accept my path, and you will know that everything I’ve said is true! Human beings are a type of extraterrestrial devil in a unique form. We are the lords of the devils! Only after countless extraterrestrial devils are condensed will the soul of an ordinary person be constituted. Otherwise, what do you think your soul is exactly?”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Two clusters of energy that were billions of more furious than the sun collided in the space battle thousands of times in that moment, burning all the starships, primeval beasts, and remnants of prehistoric lives to ash. Both clusters of energy were dimming and shrinking at a visible speed. After every collision, tremendous telepathic thoughts and broken souls would be thrown away, raising surging swirls around them.

Li Yao and Lu Qingchen, two souls that each had their own mysterious background, collided to the limits!

Li Yao’s mind, however, was disrupted by Lu Qingchen’s unexpected words, and a tiny crack appeared in the chest of the red giant.

The black star took the opportunity to wave the colossal tentacles and whipped the crack precisely, blowing away the red giant and nearly making it fall apart.

“Have you ever heard of ‘collective wisdom’? A single ant or bee has neither intelligence nor self-awareness. They even barely have any senses!”

The dancing fire from the black star was even more crazy, but Lu Qingchen’s voice became unusually calm.

“However, when many ants or bees gather, they can communicate in a mysterious way and act in patterns that are similar to wisdom and self-awareness.

“That is exactly the relationship between human beings and extraterrestrial devils. A minor devil is even more insignificant than an ant or a bee. It is just like a minor cell and does not have any self-awareness or wisdom, but when thousands of cells gather, it is possible for them to constitute the brain and generate the ‘soul’ that you are so proud of!

“Do you see now? This is just the most superficial layer of the mysteries of the origins of mankind. The real secrets are hidden at the center of the cosmos deep inside the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, waiting to be excavated by us!

“Come and join with me. We will look for the ultimate ‘answer’ together and find out what real human beings should look like!”

The red giant struggled to its feet in the middle of the stars.

“In your dreams…” Li Yao spat in disdain, only to discover that the surface of the Colossus had been contaminated by giant black spots at some point. The black spots were even expanding like a rampant flood!