Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Jiang Tao’s face flushed as he minced his words:

”O-of course that’s not what I mean! What I meant to say was that... no one can predict the beast tide outbreak. If the ordinary people die, they can only blame their bad luck. We cultivators are the elites of society—the pillars of the country! We are like the feathers of a phoenix and the horns of a unicorn[1]. Wouldn’t it be a pity... to die in vain like this? Only, only if we survive could we take revenge for the ordinary people!”

His remarks rendered the seven cultivators completely speechless.

”Zhang Meng”, who was hesitating to come forward a moment ago, could not help but ask his wife in a low voice:

”Xiaodie, was I as shameless as this guy?”

”How could you?”

Yan Xiaodie smiled. Gently wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck, she said with a voice full of deep love, ”My husband is the most handsome man in the entire Heaven Origin Sector! Even when you are shameless, you are still very handsome!”

While speaking, she tip-toed and passionately kissed Zhang Meng on the lips.

Ding Yin indifferently looked at Jiang Tao, much like he was looking at a dog:

”Little Friend, since our opinions differ and we cannot find a common ground, and as it seems that you also do not wish to fulfill the sworn duty of cultivators, please return to your seat. And also, please be careful not to disturb the ordinary people, lest you create a panic.”

”You are all stupid!”

Jiang Tao clenched his teeth and said with a distorted face, ”What the f*ck is ’a cultivator’s sworn duty to protect ordinary people’!? ’The blood of the strong must flow for the weak’!? These are all ideologies from a couple centuries ago! Besides you fools, no one else takes this seriously! I don’t believe there are only so few cultivators onboard. There are definitely many cultivators like me who are not going to act even until the very end—we are the ones who have made the wisest decision!”

Wei Qingqing’s voice was very gentle, yet it carried an indomitable will, ”I am cultivating my own truth. As for the other cultivators, it has nothing to do with me. I just want… to have a clear conscience.”

”You are… simply… unreasonable!”

”Then quickly get the hell out! You don’t need to be so chatty. Don’t interrupt this father when he is trying to save the world!”

The obese man spat a mouthful of saliva towards Jiang Tao’s feet, which fell dead right in between his legs like a flying sword, scaring the hell out of him.

Jiang Tao’s complexion turned from red to purple, much like fresh pork liver. Although his lips parted, in the end, he did not dare to retort. He shrunk his neck and staggeringly receded towards Coach No.15.

Across from him laid a wounded soldier who was moaning in pain.

Without even taking a single glance, Jiang Tao stepped over him.

The red-eyed officer coldly looked and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, ”Stone, gather every brother and take the wounded to Coach No.15!”

”Battalion Commander!”

A bearded man with a shaved head anxiously said, ”I am not going! I want to fight till the bitter end with you!”

The red-eyed officer gave him a stern stare and shouted, ”Company Commander Stone! I repeat, gather all the brothers and form a second defense line in Coach No.15 to protect the civilians onboard—this is my command!”

”Battalion Commander...” The bearded fellow sobbed.

”Stone, cultivators have a cultivators’ duty, and the federation army has its own duty. I am a soldier of the federation army as well as a cultivator. Now is the time for me to fulfill my duty. Your time has still not arrived! Go! Stick to your post and prepare for battle. If we are not able to buy 3 minutes, then it will be your turn. Remember, even if you can hold on for an extra second, that one second will still count!”

The red-eyed officer heavily patted the bearded fellow on the shoulder.

”Yes, sir!”

The bearded fellow gathered every soldier. ”Thud!” Every soldier stomped their boots as they stood at attention and saluted, splashing water everywhere.

Afterward, carrying their Thunderfire Boltgun on their shoulder, they put the seriously injured soldiers on stretchers and supported the lightly wounded soldiers as they retreated towards Coach No.15.

”Student Li Yao, you should also go.” Ding Yin walked in front of Li Yao and kindly smiled.

Li Yao blankly watched everything.

His forehead was incomparably aching. An inexplicable power from left and right was trying to break from the inside; it was as if a nail was ruthlessly drilling its way out from the top of his head. He felt a buzzing sensation in his entire brain, and his whole neural field was in ebullition.

”Professor Ding, are you planning to sacrifice yourself to buy time for us?” Li Yao asked in a low voice.

Ding Yin nodded and calmly replied:

”Yes. After you have withdrawn, we will choose the right time and detach the armored coach from the train. You will continue on your journey while we cover for you in an attempt to buy three minutes.”

Li Yao anxiously said:

”Professor Ding, I know you want to combust your life and overdraft your spiritual energy so that you can transcend your spiritual energy limit by ten times to fire the Taiyi Lightning Railgun—but there is no need to detach the armored coach from the train! Even if you overdraft your spiritual energy, you will not necessarily die; however, if you detach yourself from the train, the armored coach will lose its driving force and you will be engulfed by the tide of Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes! You will die, you will certainly die!”

Ding Yin sighed and said:

”Student Li Yao, it’s not that simple! In the absence of super-compressed crystal cells, the Taiyi Lightning Railgun is a powerful equipment which only Core Formation Stage cultivators can use with ease. We are just low-level cultivators. Even if we combust our own lives and crush our spirits, we would be barely able to operate the Taiyi Lightning Railgun. It is also impossible for us to accurately aim.”

”It is like handing the Thunderfire Boltgun into the hands of a three-year-old child; even if he had the strength to pull the trigger, he would still not be able to hit a target outside the 100 meter range, am I right?”

”This—” Li Yao was tongue-tied.

Ding Yin slightly smiled and said:

”In this case, there is only one way that could allow us to hit the target.”

”That is to let them approach! Let them come closer until the target is right next to us so that the muzzle is against their temple—no, not the temple but inside the target’s mouth! So when we pull the trigger, the gun will blast off its head!”

”So we have no choice but to detach ourselves from the crystal train. While you move forward, we will enter the Ghost Face Silver Mosquito tide and fire the ball of lightning from within. Only in such a manner can we hit the target.”

”We seven have all drawn our own estimation and finally came to the same conclusion. There is no other choice for us besides this.”

”Student Li Yao, I’m sorry that I can not compare notes with you again. Finally, I want to tell you...”

”I actually don’t know anything about the Nine Yin Mother Sword’s technique of binding tenerbrum energy. It was the first time I have heard of such magical equipment, so in the waiting room, I simply pretended to go to the lavatory in order to hide from you. It was not my intention to hide anything from you. Hahaha, shameful, isn’t it?”

Li Yao’s lips quivered. There were thousands of things he wanted to say, but in the end, not a single word came out.

”Student Li Yao, this is goodbye. May you awaken your spiritual roots as soon as possible and become a cultivator—become a… true cultivator.”

Ding Yin heaved a sigh as he slightly poked Li Yao with his finger. Li Yao suddenly turned limp and powerless, completely unable to move.

Ding Yin turned around and left. Examining the Taiyi Lightning Railgun, he repaired it one last time.

”Quickly leave! It’s too dangerous here!”

Two soldiers forcibly carried Li Yao to Coach No.15.

”Woosh!” The door between the armored coach and Coach No.15 tightly shut.

Only now did Li Yao recover his strength. Struggling with all his might, he arrived before the gate and stuck his nose against the tempered glass as he looked at the other side of the window.

In the dark curtain of the night, the demon clan giant created by the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes came closer and closer.

Again and again, it stretched out its devil claws and ruthlessly clawed at the defensive arrays of the crystal train.

Every time it collided with the defensive arrays, thousands upon thousands of streaks of lightning would burst forth.

The crystal train would shake left and right like a lone boat amidst a turbulent storm.

The frequency of the demon clan giant’s attack was getting higher and higher. In contrast, the electric brilliance released by the defensive arrays was getting bleaker by the attack.

After a stalemate of over ten minutes, a “Swoosh!” sound reverberated and strange ripples appeared in the air. It seemed as if something had disappeared.

The demon clan giant’s devil claws unscrupulously clawed over.

The defensive arrays were destroyed completely!

At this moment, the only thing blocking the beast tide from the train filled with ordinary people was the coach which only had seven low-level cultivators inside.

Among which was only a single battle-type cultivator, and that was the red-eyed officer.

”Now!”

The red-eyed officer roared as he heavily hammered a fist onto the detaching array glyphs at the end of the armored coach that connected it with the rest of the train

”Squeak!” The armored coach hobbled as it separated from the crystal train.

The crystal train’s speed soared to the limit, and like an arrow shot from a bow, galloped ahead at full speed.

And the armored coach was gradually slowing down.

In the eyes of Li Yao, the armored carriage turned into a deadly arrow that directly shot straight towards the demon clan giant like a lightning bolt.

In his ear rang thunderclaps-like roars of seven cultivators.

”Ladies and gentlemen, let’s fight side by side!”

”In this moment, let’s behead the demons and exterminate the devils!”

”Evil bastards, cultivators are here! Come here to die!”

In Li Yao’s field of vision, the armored coach was getting smaller and smaller, much like a small boat engulfed by the frightful billows and terrible waves created by the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes.

But in the next second, the Taiyi Lightning Gun’s roar reverberated as incomparably dazzling streaks of lightning that were akin to a giant dragon that had been in deep slumber within the sea jumped up, brandishing its claws and baring its fangs as it tore apart the demon clan giant right from the middle!

The demon clan giant let out ear-piercing, blood-curdling shrieks as if it was in great pain.

Countless Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes were electrocuted to ashes, while the rest of them stagnated for a while before they, once again, gathered together to form a giant.

Taking advantage of the moment while the giant stopped, the crystal train had galloped a dozen kilometer ahead.

The demon clan tried to catch up, but once again, a ball of lightning rose into the sky and ruthlessly exploded just above its head, confusing and disorienting it for a while as it repeatedly wailed.

Third time… Fourth time… Fifth time...

Every time the demon clan giant wanted to charge forward, it would be completely blocked by the giant net of lightning created by the explosion of the ball of lightning, rendering it unable to move.

Li Yao watched in a daze.

God knows after how long, some burning hot liquid trickled down his face.

He very well knew that with their cultivation, it was simply impossible for Ding Yin and the others to operate powerful magical equipment like the Taiyi Lightning Railgun, which fired balls of lightning that had the strength equivalent to an attack from a Core Formation Stage cultivator with all its strength.

They, in order to madly supply the spiritual energy, even damaged their meridians, overdrafted their lives, and using their flesh, blood, and soul as a price—forcibly fired the Taiyi Lightning Railgun!

Foundation Building Stage cultivators like Ding Yin and the red-eyed officer could only forcibly fire the Taiyi Lightning Railgun 3-5 times by completely burning their lives.

In contrast, Wei Qingqing and the others were only Refinement Stage cultivators, who were not even battle-type cultivators; their spiritual energy reserves were simply not enough.

Perhaps forcibly firing just one round of Taiyi Lightning Railgun was enough to make them burn their lives and crush their souls, causing them to fall on the spot.

They were all using their valuable lives to buy three minutes for a car full of ordinary people, who were also complete strangers to them.

And that was just because—they were cultivators!

TLN:

[1] Meaning rare.