Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Luo Xingzi was more than angry. Flames of spiritual energy surged out as he pointed his longsword at the star child and shouted, “Shut up! Men of different believes should go separate ways! You Immortal Cultivator consider ordinary people to be ants and would do anything in order to achieve your purpose. Even new-born babies can be ‘sacrificed’ under your regime. The Cultivators will never be your accomplices!

“Besides, the Imperium of True Human Beings raised a storm of blood in the Flying Star Sector before you officially show up. In the Skyhill Domain, Heavenly Saints City, Iron Plateau, and dozens of other space zones, tens of thousands of innocent victims have been murdered by you!

“There’s nothing worth communicating between us. Let the sword in my hand decide whose path is the righteous one!”

The star child’s voice was as calm as before. “Luo Xingzi, there is no need to burst into such fury. It only indicates the weakness and fright in your heart.

“I sent so much valuable information about the Imperium of True Human Beings to you without keeping anything to myself because I want us to settle our differences and stop attacking each other.

“Cooperating with the imperium brings you only merits and absolutely no harm.

“According to the traditions of the imperium, remote Sectors such as yours are usually reigned in a semi-autonomous regime. As long as you submit to the imperium, you may be the governors or the masters of the Flying Star Sector.

“The imperium will not destroy your sects. Instead, a lot of magical equipment, resources, and techniques will be offered to you so that you can become even stronger.

“You may even have the privilege of studying more advanced techniques in Empyrean Terminus, the capital of the imperium, and step into an unimaginable new level.

“The six of you are all in the Nascent Soul Stage. Have you never dreamed of ascending into the Divinity Transformation Stage before?”

“Divinity Transformation Stage?”

The six Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment with complicated feelings.

It was not because they were tempted, but because… if experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage did exist in the Imperium of True Human Beings, the capability of the imperium was unfathomably high!

“Li Yao, your training methods are quite unusual. You are only in the Core Formation Stage, and yet your combat ability is equal to the Nascent Soul Stage. It is truly incredible.

“However, I assume that you must have encountered a lot of difficulties during your training, mustn’t you? It must have been troublesome and perilous for you to advance into the Core Formation Stage from the Building Foundation Stage. Your chances are really slim if you want to break into the Nascent Soul Stage from the Core Formation Stage on your own.

“I can even say that, without very special fortuitous events, you are never going to enter the Nascent Soul Stage.

“But if you join the Imperium of True Human Beings, you can study with the Immortal Cultivators of the imperium and form your Nascent Soul with the help of experts in the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if such a genius is restricted to the ‘superlative height of the Core Formation Stage’ forever?

“Moreover, for highly-developed worlds such as the Flying Star Sector, the imperium will even ask you to conquer the underdeveloped Sectors nearby. You will gain tremendous benefits from the conquered Sectors, too.

“How does it sound? If you agree to cooperate with the imperium, your own Cultivation will soar exponentially, and you may break into a new level. Your sects will thrive, your progeny will be stronger, and with the help of the imperium, you will expand forward, until every one of you becomes the master of a Sector!”

Luo Xingzi laughed. “If there are so many benefits, why didn’t you come up with the offer a hundred and twenty years ago? There are no three-year-olds here. We are all clear that no lunch comes free. What are we going to pay?”

“Simple. Resources and warriors,” the star child replied. “I have observed you for a hundred and twenty years. I cannot help but conclude that the Flying Star Sector has been treating the ordinary people too mercifully. In fact, most ordinary people are parasites to the civilization of mankind. They waste resources and make no contribution. Yet, you’ve been protecting and indulging them, which will only stagnate the entire civilization.

“For example, there are dozens of space zones in your territory. A lot of planets boast high reserves of resources in those space zones. Yet, the development has been slow because of the harsh environment on them.

“But in fact, as long as you modify the body of the ordinary people slightly, they will be transformed into slaves with infinite strength. Then, they can be sent to those planets for mining. Tremendous resources will be excavated at an extremely low cost. The price is merely the lives of some slaves. Nothing more.

“Another example. The weird ‘eggs of apocalypse’ on Iron Plateau can swallow animals and transform them into strong apocalyptic beasts.

“Such a mysterious technique will be highly valued in the military. With some human experiments, I believe that strong ‘apocalyptic warriors’ can be produced, which will further increase the capability of mankind.

“But you did not do that, either. What a waste of such treasures!

“When the Flying Star Sector becomes part of the imperium, the parasites will not be allowed to live such comfortable lives anymore. The imperium will teach you hundreds of amazing methods that will exploit the potential inside the bodies of ordinary people and turn them from idle parasites into beings that are useful to the civilization of mankind.

“Hehe. Although ordinary people are just ants, they will still be a tiny bit of fuel when they are tossed into the fire of our civilization.

“By then, as long as the Flying Star Sector provides a certain number of warriors, slaves, and resources for the imperium every year, you will receive a huge amount of assistance. Everything will be better for the six sets of Heavenly Saints City and the six tribes of Iron Plateau. Your interests will not be harmed at all.”

“Understood.” Luo Xingzi took a deep breath and said, “You are saying that, as long as we give up the interests of ordinary people of the Flying Star Sector and connive while they turn into cannon fodder for the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Cultivators such as us will gain astronomical benefits?

“No. Hehe. If we agree to such a deal, I’m afraid we can no longer be called Cultivators. By then, we will be just like you… the Immortal Cultivators!”

“Maybe you find such a proposal hard to accept for now,” the star child said calmly, “but when you reach Empyrean Terminus and experience the real meaning of the true path of immortality, you will definitely figure out that this is the inevitable future of the civilization of mankind!”

“Shut up! By no means will we select such a future!” Luo Xingzi’s eyes were bloodshot. Colorful brilliance burst out of his body as he rushed toward the star child!

The star child made of billions of stars was almost a hundred meters tall. He was like a magnificent buddha in front of everyone.

Luo Xingzi charged at him like a firefly charging at the radiating, furiously-burning sun!

BOOM!

The star child blocked Luo Xingzi’s attack by extending just one of his fingers. Then, he curled his finger and flicked Luo Xingzi away as if the Cultivator were a fly!

“This is the world of my brain, a palace constructed by my soul power. How can you expect to defeat me in this place?”

The star child’s voice suddenly turned thick and heavy like roaring thunder. From the battlefield in space far away, which had been the star child’s background, the debris of almost a hundred crystal warships suddenly flew toward him rapidly. A dozen crystal warships collided and interweaved into hands and feet several thousand meters long, and the remaining crystal warships formed a monolithic torso!

An iron giant made of hundreds of crystal warships stood up slowly in the illumination of the stars!

All seven Cultivators gasped sharply. Although they knew that it was an illusion that the star child had made, they could not help but feel gloomy and desperate!

“Do you see? This is my power. This is the power of the Imperium of True Human Beings!

“There is nothing that your Sector can do to resist such power!

“Come on. Join the imperium and become an Immortal Cultivator. One day, you will be as strong as me!”

The debris and scraps on the chest of the giant that was almost ten thousand meters tall wriggled into an enormous face. That face was what had just spoken.

Compared to the magnificent giant, Luo Xingzi was as insignificant as a random speck of dust floating in the depths of the universe.

But the dust lunged at the giant for a second time. A furious roar echoed against the thunderous sounds that the giant made. “What’s the meaning of strength if you can’t protect the weak?

“We are Cultivators. We burned out life and soul, paid everything, and embarked on the path of Cultivation to protect our home and every ordinary people in the sea of stars!

“We will sacrifice for the civilization of mankind, but we will only sacrifice ourselves. We will not sacrifice other people for our glory and greatness!

“Sacrificing yourself or sacrificing other people is the biggest difference between the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators!

“I, Luo Xingzi from the Feathered Snakes Brotherhood, will always be a Cultivator, and I will fight against the Immortal Cultivators and the dreadful future of the Imperium of True Human Beings until the end of my life even if my body perishes and my soul is cursed forever!”

Swoosh!

Luo Xingzi turned into a straight golden line and stabbed at the chest of the iron giant like an extremely narrow, long sword!

The star child sniffed. A third metal arm suddenly protruded out of his chest, opened, and slapped at Luo Xingzi brutally like a collapsing mountain!

BOOM!

This time, Luo Xingzi was not blown away. Instead, it was the giant hand of the star child that was showing signs of crumbling, because the moment before the collision occurred, another six streaks of brightness darted close and resisted the attack together with Luo Xingzi!

All seven Cultivators made their choice!

“You—”

Looking at the six Cultivators who flew to his side and helped him block the giant hand of the star child, Luo Xingzi felt that his nose itching, and his eyes welling up. He could not help but laugh aloud until his tears dropped!

“Do you see? This is the choice of the Flying Star Sector! This is the answer of the Cultivators!”

“Poor choice.”

The star child’s voice was louder than before and more outraged. The debris of various kinds of starships flooded out of his body incessantly and strengthened his third arm, which was protruding out of his chest. The arm was now full of thorns and hooks. The fingernails on the five fingers were longer and brought the seven Cultivators more pressure.

“Cultivators like you have lived a peaceful life in the remote area of the sea of stars for ten thousand years. You are like the flowers in a greenhouse, and you have never seen a real storm before. That is why you are insisting your hilarious beliefs!

“Protecting the weak is just a boring hypocrisy. It is just a way to satisfy your vanity when you are praised and adulated by the ordinary people!

“For your vanity, you’ve protected the ant-like ordinary people but buried the future of your entire civilization!

“This is your righteous path that leads to the abyss. This is what you think to be justice!”