Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The memory unit of the main biochemical brain of the Nether World was soaked in a huge, transparent biochemical slot. Billions of bubbles were attached to it like billions of cells, corroding and analyzing it. The memory unit was shrinking like a rotten apple.

More than ten strands of synthesized nerves extended out of the bottom of the biochemical slot and connected to more than ten biochemical brains of the Blade of Chaos.

One of the biochemical brains was connected to a crystal processor. Through the light beam, the information retrieved from the memory unit was displayed in front of everyone.

In front of Li Yao, Han Tuhu, and Suo Chaolong, more than ten light beams were floating, on which a huge amount of information were surging like tides.

The Fire Ant King explained their progress. “In the past ten days, we have retrieved valuable experiment data and research files from both the memory unit and the storage chips, which has proved very helpful in cracking the secrets of the legacy of Chaos and explaining everything that happened to you.

“We have also basically figured out the details of the ‘Demon God Virus’ and Elder Nether Spring’s purpose.

“The so-called ‘Demon God Virus’ can be interpreted as a virus that targets the genetic locks. It is an ‘exhilarant’ that facilitates the high-speed evolution of cells.

“Generally speaking, the gene strands in the cells of both human beings and demons are always kept in a relatively stable state, like they are shackled by an invisible giant lock.

“Although the ‘genetic lock’ restricts part of our abilities, it ensures the steadiness of our body and prevents us from mutating too radically. We can say that it is a protective mechanism of our body.

“Both Cultivators and the experts of demons try to tear apart the genetic locks when they are training, but such attempts can be highly dangerous. Once the genetic locks are wrecked, the victims will certainly be mentally deranged. They will either turn into foam because of cellular collapse or spontaneously combust and turn to ash.

“As for ordinary people and low-level demons, they can stand the consequences of bombarding the genetic locks even less.

“However, the ‘Demon God Virus’ will completely wreck the genetic lock and awaken the gene segments deep inside the gene strands that are in charge of ‘evolution’. As a result, the creature will go through evolution that should’ve happened in a span of tens of thousands of years in only a few days, if not a few hours.

“Evolution. What is evolution?

“It is a common misunderstanding that evolution means ‘higher, faster, and stronger’. No. That’s not true.

“Evolution means the adaption to the environment for the purpose of survival. It does not necessarily mean ‘higher, faster, and stronger’. It is also possible to be smaller, slower, and weaker.

“A smaller size reduces the odds of being discovered by the natural enemy. Slower and weaker means a lower consumption rate of energy and demand on food.

“Mammals that evolved from dinosaurs lost their magnificent bodies and sharp claws.

“If a mammal on the land ‘evolves’ into the whale in the ocean, it will lose the ability to move on the land. In fact, it will be suffocated because it cannot endure its own weight when it is brought to the beach by a tide.

“In fact, such evolutions are the more successful and fortunate ones.

“The truth is, evolution has no direction. It is just a series of random choices that are screened by the cruelty of nature.

“99% of evolutions fail, and only 1% of them adapt to the new environment. When the new environment stabilizes, the genetic lock will shackle the new evolution and maintain the new form and functions.

“It has always been so for living creatures over the past billions of years.

“However, the Demon God Virus created a hole in the solid genetic change, thereby allowing human beings and demons to evolve at a crazy speed!

“Therefore, no matter how hard Elder Nether Spring tried, the success rate of his evolutions was still below 5%. The remaining 95% were either killed on the spot or turned into ‘uncontrollable mutants’!

“That is the truth of the Demon God Virus!”

The muscles on Suo Chaolong’s face were twitching violently, as if he were back to the days and nights that he would rather not recall. He gnashed his teeth. “Why was Elder Nether Spring doing that?”

“First of all,” the Fire Ant King said coldly, “he wanted to find the right direction of evolution.

“95% of the evolutions failed, and 5% did not. Then, what determined the success or failure of the evolutions? If he figured out the answer, Elder Nether Spring would be able to make himself evolve incessantly into what he claimed to be the perfect third life form that was above mankind and the demon race!

“Also, the by-products of the experiments, namely the uncontrollable mutants, were powerful weapons under certain circumstances!

“Thirdly, we have discovered that the Demon God Virus of the latest generation could edit the gene segments inside our body.

“Genes are the most mysterious things of all. Our ancestors billions of years ago can pass on certain information to us through genes.

“Many people feel scared and disgusted beyond their control when they see snakes and spiders, even though the snakes and spiders are utterly harmless.

“Experiments have also shown that even the children of snake demons are scared of snakes, too. Their fear will not go until after they slowly grow up.

“The fear beyond reason is a warning that our ancestors passed on to us through genes. It is our natural instinct.

“However, from Elder Nether Spring’s memory unit, we have discovered a group of extremely weird gene segments that can be divided into two forms. Let’s call them ‘master gene segments’ and ‘slave gene segments’ for the convenience of communication.

“Judging from the experiment data, people who had ‘slave gene segments’ would unconditionally have emotions such as fear, admiration, and subjugation toward those who had ‘master gene segments’. The emotions are beyond all reason and willpower. They are a ‘natural instinct’.

“You may understand it as a mark that is stamped to the deepest part of the cell. It is an ineffaceable curse. Whoever gets stamped with the ‘slave gene segments’ will be the peons of the owners of the ‘master gene segments’ forever!”

Han Tuhu narrowed his eyes. “So, as long as Elder Nether Spring plants the ‘master gene segments’ into his body and figures out a way to spread out the ‘slave gene segments’, everybody whose ‘slave gene segments’ are activated will become his slave and follow his commands as unconditionally as a mouse is scared of a cat?”

“Correct.” The Fire Ant King nodded. “Although we have destroyed a lot of research facilities in the ‘Nether World’, judging from the research records, the sixth generation of the Demon God Virus, which was already completed, has perfectly combined the two functions, namely the crack of genetic lock and the activation of master and slave gene segments.

“It means that, once ‘Demon God VI’ is spread out on a large scale in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, many creatures will die, many will lose their mind and become ‘uncontrollable mutants’ who know nothing but killing, and the few lucky dogs who evolve successfully and receive enormous strength will become the most loyal soldiers of Elder Nether Spring!

“That is the future that Elder Nether Spring looks forward to.”

There was nothing but silence.

The only sound was the bubbling memory unit inside the biochemical slot.

“Since the sixth generation of the Demon God VI is already so powerful,” Li Yao asked, “why hasn’t Elder Nether Spring released the virus and started a large-scale infection?”

The Fire Ant King managed a smile and replied, “I know that the Heaven’s Origin Sector has an uncanny fear about the biochemical technology of the Blood Demon Sector. A lot of fantasies are actually about a mysterious virus from the Blood Demon Sector spreading on a large scale in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and turning everybody into the walking dead.

“To be honest, the Blood Demon Sector has indeed done similar studies in the past, but all the projects were abandoned in the end.

“It is because the large-scale transmission of a virus is not as simple as you imagine, and the strength of the infected might not be as high as you feared them to be.

“It’s very simple. If a virus is powerful enough to kill someone very quickly, it is very likely that the patient will die before they have a chance to spread the virus!

“If a virus has a long incubation period and spreads in a mysterious way, it often infects the victim at a very low speed, and the symptoms that it can bring will not be severe, either.

“It seems to be an unresolvable contradiction.

“Faced with a highly-efficient government and army, the so-called walking dead are nothing but moving targets.

“Take the extraterrestrial devils for example. They have been old nemeses of human beings for a long time. The ‘devilized people’ who are possessed by the extraterrestrial devils are millions of time stronger than the walking dead, but haven’t they been blown to smithereens every time?

“If there is absolutely no choice, it is always possible to impose a perimeter around the infected area and blow everything inside to the ground. Any government will not hesitate to do that when they must.

“The Demon God Virus has obvious shortcomings. It is vulnerable under high and low temperature. Furthermore, the longevity of the cells of the ‘controllable mutants’ is too short. Even if no measures are taken to deal with them, a few days of hunger is more than enough to starve the ravenous cells that have just finished the evolution.

“Also, do not overestimate the power of ‘evolution’. Such evolutions are based on the body of every individual after all. An ordinary person cannot be stronger than a Cultivator even if they contract the Demon God Virus and successfully evolve. They can only cause some trouble to society. Nothing more. Only the Cultivators who are infected with the Demon God Virus and evolve successfully are the perfect warriors in Elder Nether Spring’s mind, I think.

“More importantly, any virus will be cracked very soon, with vaccines and antidotes, when it breaks out on a large scale.

“It’s true that Elder Nether Spring can throw out the virus on a large scale right now, but the best outcome he can expect is to infect a few cities of the Heaven’s Origin Sector or the Blood Demon Sector and to create an epidemic area. A large batch of ordinary people or low-level demons might become three to five times, or maybe even ten times, stronger than before. But then what? Is it really meaningful for Elder Nether Spring’s cause?”