Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

What Master Black Moon said might be not entirely false. But it couldn’t be entirely true, either.

Master Black Moon and Master Spiritual Vulture, two brothers who killed their master together, might indeed have such a deep grudge that they wanted each other dead no matter what.

But it was also possible that Master Spiritual Vulture had earlier discovered the ancient cave where the armor of the Pangu Clan and the heritages of the anterior Cultivators were left. He intended to seclude himself for some time, but he feared that his enemies and his senior brother might find him. Therefore, he pretended that he was tricked and met his senior brother gladly, before he faked that he was poisoned and fell into the abyss.

Chances were that, after grasping all the knowledge of the anterior Cultivators and forging eight-one ghastly daggers, he would find his senior brother Master Black Moon and slaughter his entire family before he did anything else!

Thankfully, karma jumped in. Right before his scheme was to work out, he encountered Li Yao, the unreasonable alien Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, who suppressed him with a crystal suit and blew his soul apart, killing him forever.

The identity of Master Spiritual Vulture is too excellent!

Li Yao mumbled to himself.

First of all, the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator had clear backgrounds, and he was a reasonably famous person a hundred years ago.

There were too many folks among the ancient Cultivators who secluded themselves for a hundred years. It was not unusual that an old monster who had disappeared since decades ago returned to the human world again.

Secondly, Master Spiritual Vulture was an extreme, temperamental and bloodthirsty lone wolf who had always acted on his own. His senior brother Master Black Moon was perhaps the only one familiar with his appearance and character.

If he had lived in seclusion for decades practicing the evil arts, it was perfectly normal that his appearance and character were utterly reshaped.

As long as Li Yao did not run into his senior brother Master Black Moon, nobody would notice anything wrong.

Also, because of the guy’s brutality, other people wouldn’t have the courage to question him even if they grew suspicious of him.

Moreover, although Master Spiritual Vulture was a notorious man, according to the two barbarian Cultivators, he had been active only in the South Land of Sorcerers decades ago. He never left the place or commit any crime in the main land of the Great Qian Dynasty. Therefore, the majority of the Cultivators did not hold much of a grudge against him.

After slaughtering eight tribes in a role, his brutality had spread out to the entire South Land of Sorcerers. Together with the announcement he made later, none of the barbarian Cultivators dared to challenge him.

When somebody was smiling, it was difficult to slap them in the face. Since all the local barbarians were worshipping him as a deity, there was no need for him to commit any more murders. Therefore, in the decades that followed, he hadn’t made too many enemies.

In short, although the guy was a notorious man, few people desperately wanted him dead right now.

The South Land of Sorcerers was almost an independent system in the first place. The rest of the world regarded them mostly as cannibals and would not ask them to abide by the law and rules in the central plateaus. As long as they behaved obediently when they were out of their hometown, the two parties would live in harmony.

But of course, it would still be quite inconvenient for him to make friends with the mainstream Cultivators under such a title.

However, Li Yao had slightly changed his mind right now. He was not considering the court of the Grand Qian Dynasty as the sole target of negotiation.

Great Qian, the White Lotus Cult, the Heaven Battering King and Ghost Qin were four forces that all deserved observation.

Master Spiritual Vulture’s identity might be rejected by the mainstream Cultivators of the Great Qian Dynasty. But it might be popular among the rebellions led by the Heaven Battering King or the White Lotus Cult, and in a nascent force such as Ghost Qin which was ambitious enough to change the dynasty.

A villain had a villain’s advantages. The purpose of Li Yao’s journey was observation, and observation might not necessary have to be conducted positively.

If a certain force knew clearly that he was a merciless, brutal man who murdered innocent people, and still talked to him nicely after seeing the souls of two hundred children that he carried, such a force was not worth negotiating at all even if other conditions were perfect.

More importantly, if it were a righteous Cultivator from a famous sect, how could Li Yao kill him and assume his identity?

It’s decided then. I’ll walk around under Master Spiritual Vulture’s identity while I observe the capabilities and beliefs of Great Qian, the White Lotus Cult, the Heaven Battering King and Ghost Qin, investigate the actions of the Imperium of True Human Beings, and figure out everything about the mysterious signal a hundred years ago. After everything is settled, I’ll establish the space gate, summon the space fleet from the federation, and officially communicate with the Ancient Sages Sector!

Li Yao was not a man who liked to play the pig that ate geckos.

Besides, disguising himself in front of the barbarians was almost an insult to his acting skills.

Now that he ascertained that the identity of Master Spiritual Vulture wasn’t very troublesome, he did not want to keep acting anymore. He was about to unleash his auras and demonstrate the real power of ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’, so that he could collect information of a higher level from Ling Shoujing, the Appeasing Ambassador of the Fifth Prefecture of the South Land of Sorcerers, and Ling Lanyin, the female sword Cultivator from the Purple Pole Sword Sect.

However, what the two barbarian Cultivators said next made Li Yao stop his movement.

“You might want to watch your mouth, Brother Snake Swallower. Although Master Spiritual Vulture’s whereabouts are obscure while he is on his trip, and he hasn’t shown up for decades, his senior brother Master Black Moon is the most marvelous sorcerer in the South Land of Sorcerers. He has already advanced in the Nascent Soul Stage and enjoyed unparalleled prestige!

“Is there a tribe in the place that does not worship him as a deity respectfully?

“This time, the eldest son and the second son of the Fire Rude Clan only agreed to negotiate because Master Black Moon asked them to!

“Master Black Moon is the host of the negotiation. He is now supervising everything in the village of the Fire Rude Clan. He and Master Spiritual Vulture are of the same origin and share a lot of techniques. If Brother Snake Swallower belittles Master Spiritual Vulture’s techniques, chances are that Master Black Moon will grow angry, which will certainly be a disaster!”

Master Black Moon was the summoner and the middleman of the negotiation. He was also an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage. The news made Li Yao hesitate again.

If he declared that he was ‘Master Spiritual Vulture’, others might not be bold enough to question him, but he certainly wouldn’t pass his senior brother’s test.

There would certainly be trouble if his reactions went wrong, which could become his fatal weakness at a crucial moment later.

Li Yao could only suppress the thought of revealing his identity immediately and continued walking forward on the giant python.

In the few days that followed, they had been on the road in the forests.

As the flags of yellow dragons and the drafting orders of the Great Qian Dynasty was sent into the deeper forests, more and more barbarian Cultivators were joining them. All kinds of bizarre-looking flags were now flapping in the team.

Li Yao spent most of his time hanging around with Meng Duo and Gu Siduo, the two seasoned barbarian Cultivators. Pretending that he was young and stupid, he elicited a lot more intelligence from them.

It was a pity that they were both locals of a far-flung area. Most of the intelligence was merely about the South Land of Sorcerers. They did not know much about the Cultivators in the central plateaus.

With all the tricks he learnt from Guo Chunfeng, Li Yao only found one piece of valuable information from him.

A hundred years ago, there were Cultivators in the Divinity Transformation Stage in the Ancient Sages Sector!

It was said that two invincible Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators, one in the Great Qian Dynasty and the other on the northern prairies, appeared at that time. The two of them even had a world-blighting, incredible competition.

After the battle, both Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were gone. Some said that they were both killed, some said that they had broken the void and ascended to the heavens, and some said that they perceived the ultimate truth of the universe during their battle and trained themselves in seclusion afterwards.

But all in all, a hundred years wasn’t a long time for a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator. It was very possible that the two of them were still living in a certain form!

Besides…

Considering that they were in the Divinity Transformation Stage a hundred years ago, nobody could tell how strong they could be after a hundred years of training!

Li Yao was quite sensitive about the timing ‘a hundred years ago’.

A hundred years ago, two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators disappeared mysteriously after their summit confrontation.

At approximately the same time, an uncanny signal was sent to the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector from the Ancient Sages Sector.

Were the two incidents in any way related?

I have to find the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators and convince them to stand on the federation’s side!

If two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators joined the Imperium of True Human Beings, it would be great strike on the federation!

When he imagined that two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators infiltrated into the capital of the federation and went on a killing spree, Li Yao couldn’t help but feel that his blood was freezing.

Besides, both Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were the leaders of the Cultivators. Their stance might decide the stance of hundreds of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. There would certainly be a chain reaction if they leaned towards a certain side. The consequences might be too dire for the federation if they chose the wrong side.

Li Yao couldn’t help but feel lucky.

There were a lot of discussions as to whether or not such a risky, long-distance exploration was necessary.

It was lucky that he came here after all. He still had the chance to change everything.

On their trip, Ling Shoujing, the Appeasing Ambassador, and his daughter Ling Lanyin, the female Cultivator from the Purple Pole Sword Sect, both greeted the barbarian Cultivators.

Ling Shoujing was fine. Although he was a Class-Two official and in the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage, he was not very condescending to the barbarians born and raised in the rough land. Instead, he tried to be warm when he welcomed the newcomers.

Ling Lanyin, his daughter, on the other hand, was more cold and indifferent.

She was a great expert at the peak of the Core Formation Stage from a noble sect in the central plateaus after all. Most of the barbarian Cultivators knew the gap between them very well and were already satisfied to only have a few words with her.

What was the most important of all was that Ling Shoujing’s army brought tremendous crystals and magical equipment besides the weapons. The barbarian Cultivators who were willing to serve the court were promised to return with full loads.

For a moment, the morale was quite high, and the team looked truly like an invincible army.

However, Li Yao’s eyes were keen enough for him to discover Ling Lanyin’s anxiety and worry from her twisting facial muscles and her moving pupils.

After he sent out Neltharion to eavesdrop on her conversation with her father, he learnt that a batch of strong reinforcements from the Purple Pole Sword Sect, led by a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, should’ve joined them days ago. But for some reason, they never showed up.

The village of the Fire Rude Clan, the largest town in the South Land of Sorcerers and the destination of the great army, however, was right ahead of them.