Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The mental devil said, “It does make sense. In any case, considering the size of only ten or so Sectors at the edge of the cosmos, it is impossible for the Star Glory Federation to fully take over the center of the cosmos despite the enhancement of the Nuwa warship and the Kunlun relics.

“In the hundreds of prosperous worlds at the center of the cosmos, there is bound to be one or more regimes. It may be the old Imperium, the new Imperium, or any other country. Whatever the regime is, the true path of immortality is not going to be forgotten anytime soon, considering that it has been spread in this area for a thousand years and well believed by the people.

“Now that the Star Glory Federation is not ready to march to the center of the cosmos yet, we can only seek the second-best option right now, which is to create an Imperium that fits our appetite better.”

Li Yao nodded his head. “That is exactly what I meant. Given the sharp contradictions in the Imperium of True Human Beings, even if there is not a ‘queen in white’ such as Li Linghai, there will always be a queen in red, queen in green, or queen in purple, who comes up with another version of reform.

“A storm that sweeps across the entire center of the cosmos seems inevitable now.

“For me, on one hand, I hope a new Imperium that is more favorable for the interests of the Star Glory Federation will show up after the storm; on the other hand, I also hope that the ordinary people do not suffer much pain and loss during the storm and that they can really earn something for themselves in the collapse of the four Kurfürst families!”

The mental devil chuckled. “Of course, if we truly make great contributions to the reform and become an important member of the government of the new Imperium, hahahaha, it certainly will be very awesome!

“We are experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage after all, and we are the queen’s close subordinates. If her crazy plan does work out, it will seem quite unnecessary to hide our past, and it will really be quite possible for us to be the most important official in the court!

“Ding Lingdang is the Speaker of the Star Glory Federation. How about we help the queen establish a parliament for the new Imperium and be a Speaker too?”

“Well…”

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “You know that I am not interested in fame and fortune. I do not want to be the most powerful official in court after all. In fact, I want to get as far away from it as possible.

“However, now that we are talking about it, it’s true that I want to observe how the storm that sweeps across the Imperium will take place at the closest distance.

“Do you know? After hearing what the queen said, I’ve been studying Blackstar the Great.

“What kind of person was Wuying Qi exactly?

“More than a hundred years ago, when I listened to Su Changfa talking about Blackstar the Great in the Kunlun relic, he struck me as a ruthless, brutal man who would do anything for power.

“Later, the files that I got from Firefly further built up the impression. He was just a pure evil man!

“However, Di Feiwen, the deputy commander of the Black Wind Fleet, held a different view. He did not worship Blackstar the Great blindly but analyzed the policies in Wuying Qi’s age. At the very least, for the merchants who did not come from noble backgrounds, the age of Blackstar the Great was the golden years that were full of changes and opportunities. It was much better than the suffocating environment of the Imperium right now that is monopolized by the nobles and magnates.

“Today, the queen has said so again. Although she must’ve been exaggerating something, she might not be entirely pointless.

“Everybody has their own theory. I’m really confused about what Blackstar the Great was like in history actually.”

The mental devil yawned and said, “History is a fancy-looking bi*ch in the first place who does not speak anything truthfully. She is exactly what you want her to be like. But however sincere you are to her, and even if you think that she is sincere to you, it is impossible for you to figure out her realest look. Aren’t you simply upsetting yourself by considering such questions?”

Li Yao smiled. “Perhaps you’re right. I’ve thought it through now. It does matter what Blackstar the Great was actually like. Perhaps he was truly an unpardonable fiend, but such a moralistic judgment is utterly meaningless for a founding emperor.

“Is Blackstar the Great any different from the founding emperors of so many powerful dynasties in history? For example, what is the difference between him and the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty in the Ancient Sages Sector?

“Perhaps when they first built their enterprise, they all had their ambitions, hoping to change the problems of the past, make unprecedented accomplishments, and climb higher and higher mountains with their people and their civilizations.

“I don’t believe that Blackstar the Great’s original purpose was to establish an evil empire to brutally exploit the ordinary people, which would’ve been too low for him, right?

“However, everybody has their limits. Both their life and their cause cannot resist the passage and corrosion of time. Even the most splendid palace has its day of rotting and collapsing. The greatest ambitions and visions will still be swallowed by the selfish desires in the deepest part of the mind!”

The mental devil said, “Well, you are suddenly acting like a sophisticated poet. I’m having goosebumps. What are you trying to say exactly?”

After a long silence, Li Yao said, “I want to say that I’m somewhat scared to see the Imperium of True Human Beings in its current status.”

The mental devil found it odd. “Why? It is exactly because the Imperium is in a mess that it does not have the time to attack the federation. If the Imperium were in unity, the federation would’ve been long crushed!”

Taking a deep breath, Li Yao said gloomily, “I’m scared that I will turn into another Blackstar the Great.”

The mental devil hesitated for a long time before saying, “Well, I think your worries are ungrounded, and there should be a limit to your shamelessness. Regardless of Blackstar the Great’s side, and even if he was an unparalleled fiend, he at least united hundreds of the most prosperous Sectors at the edge of the cosmos. He was the second greatest person next to the Supreme Emperor in the past ten thousand years!

“You are a ‘dominator of three Sectors’ at the edge of the cosmos at best, which is partly the result of your disciple Jin Xinyue’s vehement promotion. If you are recorded in the official history of the Imperium, you will be nothing more than a barbarian master of a remote land. There’s no need to be scared at all. Really. Just do whatever you want. You can’t become Blackstar the Great in the next thousand years. Rest assured about that!”

“Try to get what I’m saying.”

Li Yao said, “I am not talking about feats and sizes but the common conundrums that we are faced with.

“Leaving the ideology issues aside, is the Star Glory Federation today any different from the Imperium of True Human Beings a thousand years ago or the Star Ocean Republic several thousand years ago? They are all just born, full of vigor and ambitions, without many burdens from the past or interest groups that are too powerful. There are even benefits in many aspects that can accelerate the development of the country, improve the happiness of the people, and soothe the conflicts of different groups.

“But what will happen a few hundred years later?

“When the benefits from the Kunlun relic and the Nuwa warship run out, and the interest groups grow to the point that their greed and ambitions are awakened, what will happen?

“It can be seen from the collapse of the Star Ocean Republic.

“The Immortal Cultivators such as Su Changfa, Di Feiwen, and Li Linghai, and the Cultivators from Firefly such as Cui Lingfeng and Tang Zhengdong, all agreed that the Star Ocean Republic was indeed too sick to be saved at its last years.

“In other words, ‘Cultivators’ is not an elixir that can cure all diseases. You cannot ensure that you will stay uncorrupted, pure, bright, and righteous just by carving the word ‘Cultivator’ on your forehead.

“Cultivators can degenerate too, like those in the last years of the Star Ocean Republic. They were even corrupted to such an extent that the ordinary people chose Blackstar the Great over them.

“Perhaps, while the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators are against each other, they are faced with a common foe, which is something deep inside humanity.

“Who can ensure that the Cultivators of the Star Glory Federation will never be changed? Will the Star Glory Federation become the Star Ocean Republic in its last years and the Imperium of True Human Beings today several hundred years later? Will a class of powerful families and magnates that can swallow the country show up?”

The mental devil said, “You’ll have to ask yourself the question. Getting to the bottom of it, your group is exactly the biggest and most influential one in the federation!”

“Yes. That’s why I said that I’m scared that I will turn into the next ‘Blackstar the Great’.”

Li Yao said, “Think about it. I was only away from the federation for a hundred years, and Jin Xinyue was already capable of bragging me into ‘dominator of three Sectors’ and ‘founding father of the federation’. While I do appreciate my disciple’s fidelity, everything has limits. After all, a hat of ‘dominator of three Sectors’ is big enough for such a casual and low-key person such as myself. I won’t be able to hold it anymore if it grows any bigger.

“Imagine this. The Star Glory Federation truly has a chance to march to the center of the cosmos a few hundred years later, establishing an enterprise that is even greater than the Imperium’s today, and I have already died or been away in search of Earth by then. But ‘Li Yao’s group’ still exists and expands abnormally into a ‘Kurfürst family’ in a different form, and I am embroidered into some sort of ‘master of stars’ or ‘king of kings’ who far exceeds Blackstar the Great. Then, they do all kinds of bad things under my name and let me take the blame. Eventually, a new hero rises in public indignity and overthrows the federation, and I am described as an unpardonable fiend in the new history books. Wouldn’t I be terribly wronged in such a case?”

The mental devil was dazed for a long time. “That does make sense. Now that you put it in such a way, I am feeling somewhat sympathetic for Blackstar the Great!”

“The competition of the federation, the Imperium, and the Covenant Alliance will probably last for another hundreds of years, won’t it? But I can’t wait that long. As long as the three parties reach a balance, I will definitely set off to search for Earth, my earliest origins.”

Li Yao threw away her casualness and said most solemnly, “However, I do not want to leave a federation that is full of hidden problems and may repeat the fate of the Star Ocean Republic and the Imperium of True Human Beings when I leave for Earth. I do not want to see a divided and corrupted Star Glory Federation just like what the Imperium is today when I return to the universe after I accomplish my missions on Earth!”