Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Master?”

Jin Xinyue was rather confused. Why was the old monster suddenly hesitating?

Li Yao scratched his hair in embarrassment and said, “Now that I think about it, I haven’t set up any rules for my disciples yet.”

Are you serious?

“How about this.” Li Yao found a solution. “I am quite an easygoing man, and I don’t have too many rigorous rules that you have to follow. But now that you have turned back into a human being and even entered the Core Formation Stage, you can follow the ‘Constitution of Cultivators’ for now and try to become a real Cultivator from inside to outside!”

“…Wait a second, Master. Why is this conversation getting increasingly weird for me? Isn’t the Constitution of Cultivators a law of the… the Star Glory Federation?”

“Exactly. I am a citizen of the Star Glory Federation. Now that you are my disciple, naturally, you will abide by the law of the federation as a dutiful, useful person for our society. Is there a problem?”

“…..Wait. Wait wait. Master, please give me ten seconds. My head is rather befuddled right now, and I need to think about everything more carefully.”

“Alright!”

Ten seconds later, Jin Xinyue swallowed hard and glanced at Li Yao. She asked cautiously, “Well, Master, I think there is a misunderstanding here. Are you not a great demon from forty thousand years ago that was resurrected recently?”

“Who said that?” Li Yao asked innocently.

“I… It… You said last time you were Elder Bloody Vulture…”

“Everybody has a lot of identities when they are out doing their training. Therefore, I did not lie to you when I said that my name was ‘Bloody Vulture’. It was indeed a name that I used in the past. As for ‘Elder’, you added it yourself. I never acknowledged it before.

“Other than Bloody Vulture, I have quite a few names, such as Fiend Star and Sand Scorpion. But I spent most of my days in the Star Glory Federation, and when I was in the Star Glory Federation, I was ‘Vulture Li Yao’.”

“The ‘Vulture Li Yao’ who killed almost a hundred descendants of the noble families on Boneyard ten years ago and wiped out a squad of silver-blood demons, known as the most brutal Building Foundation Stage Cultivator of the Heaven’s Origin Sector?”

“That’s me.”

Jin Xinyue stared at the vulture statue in her hands, dumbfounded.

The statue seemed to be alive and pierced into her heart, freezing her mind and soul.

“So, rumors have it that a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator has snuck into the Blood Demon Sector to instigate trouble. That’s you, too, Master?”

“Probably. But I didn’t instigate trouble. Fine. From the temporal point of view, I may have instigated some trouble, but it was for a good reason. Would you like to hear my explanation?”

Li Yao’s intimidating aura filled the entire secret room like a quickly expanding octopus.

Jin Xinyue found it hard to breathe. Sweating hard, she smiled, but her expression looked uglier that if she had been crying. “Yes. Of course. Take all the time you need, Master. I’m all ears!”

Li Yao coughed and told Jin Xinyue everything that he had told the Fire Ant King before, including his important experiences in the Flying Star Sector and the secrets about the origins of the demon race.

At first, Jin Xinyue was both frightened and upset.

She was only thinking about how she could save her life. It never occurred to her that the old monster’s real identity was so horrible, which would certainly drag her into an even dreadful swirl.

However, Li Yao’s experiences attracted her, especially the formidability of the Imperium of True Human Beings, the shocking origins of the demon race, and the mysteries of Elder Nether Spring’s Spore Stratagem!

“My purpose is simple. I wish to stop the mutual destruction of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector so that we can face the threat of the Imperium of True Human Beings together!” Li Yao said. “Theory that human beings and demons share the same origin is a fact. You know it better than anybody else; you are a walking proof!

“Since we are of the same origin, the whole thing is definitely not unnegotiable.

“Besides, we face imminent peril. Leaving the Imperium of True Human Beings aside, Elder Nether Spring’s Spore Stratagem, should it work out, will turned both the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector into wastelands!

“For you personally, you don’t want to hide in a shelter for the rest of your life, do you? Only after the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector reach a truce, and all the demons learn of their origins and make a choice freely about their future, will you be able to show up openly in public!”

Jin Xinyue thought quickly and realized that the real identity of her ‘master’ was in fact better for her.

He was quite right. With her current appearance, the demon race would not embrace her, and human beings would only make use of her.

Only if the two Sectors cease fire would there be room for her survival.

Moreover—

Jin Xinyue’s eyes flickered from side to side, and suddenly, she realized that she was indeed the key to the situation!

“Whoever you are, Master,” she said respectfully, “you will always be my only master. As a disciple, I’m certainly loyal to my master! What are we going to do next?”

Li Yao could tell from the mysterious smile on her lips that Jin Xinyue was planning how to gain the greatest benefits from the whole thing.

But he had never expected his third disciple to be someone frank and forthright.

Perhaps, Jin Xinyue and her character would be the sharpest dagger to cut the knots that were ahead of him quickly.

“Your father is the commander-in-chief of the coalition army,” Li Yao said. “By your estimation, what will he do after he learns the news about the Flying Star Sector? Will he call for a ceasefire and even work for peace because of the overwhelming capability of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector, or will he go all in and start the final war?”

Although Jin Xinyue looked feeble, her nerves seemed to be made of steel. She recovered from Li Yao’s shocking identity and reactivated her computational ability. She calmly analyzed, “He will start the final war, of course! Not just my father, any leader of the demon race would make the same choice. I would do exactly the same thing if I were the commander-in-chief!

“Let’s stand in their shoes for a moment. You are the Speaker of Parliament of the Star Glory Federation, Master, and you learn the news that the Blood Demon Sector will be reinforced by another world of demons, and its capability will soar in the next couple of years. Right then, the Blood Demon Sector sends out envoys, hoping to strike a truce or even a total peace.

“What judgement will you make? Will you believe that it is not some kind of delaying tactic?”

Li Yao pondered for a moment and had to admit that it was indeed a conundrum.

If he were the Speaker of Parliament and learned such news, he would definitely not trust the envoys from the Blood Demon Sector but take a wild gamble, too!

Nobody would put their chances of survival on their mortal enemy!

“If so,” Li Yao said, “can you estimate how the wild gamble will be played? How will your father launch the attack according to his personality?”

Deep in thought for a moment, Jin Xinyue suddenly exclaimed, “The Red Tide Plan!”

Li Yao had heard the name before.

It was said to be an assault plan that Jin Tuyi had dedicated his life to.

He was hoping to attack the prosperous area of the federation from the ocean to the east of the Star Glory Federation!

Jin Xinyue breathed quickly and said, “After the civilians of Void Turmoil City were captured, we were locked up and had military training quickly. We were not only taught the tricks of a long march but also the methods to survive in the desert. They seemed to be planning to drive us to march in a desert!

“Although the land of the Blood Demon Sector is barren, there are no large deserts except for the White Silver Death Desert. Besides, there are barely any resources in the deserts. They don’t have any reason to send the civilians there.”

Li Yao squinted. “The Grand Desolate Plateau?”

Jin Xinyue nodded. “Yes. The merging point of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is on the Grand Desolate Plateau. If we attack the Heaven’s Origin Sector through the regular routes, the soldiers will inevitably pass through the entire Grand Desolate Plateau. The coalition army of demons is grouping the civilians and driving them to the Grand Desolate Plateau as cannon fodder!

“But it doesn’t make sense!

“Although the ‘Battle of Dawn’ has failed, the Blood Demon Sector is still the stronger one at present. Training the regular demons into cannon fodder should not yet be necessary.

“There’s a difference between advanced cannon fodder and mediocre cannon fodder. Why do they not resort to the advanced cannon fodder, namely the well-trained black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons?

“After all, all cannon fodder will consume resources. Sending so many civilians into the Grand Desolate Plateau will be a huge pressure for our supply line. They will likely be starved before they march to the Giant Blade Pass. If so, the only thing that will be struck is their own morale instead of the federal soldiers.”

Li Yao nodded. Jin Xinyue did have a point.

Approved by Li Yao, Jin Xinyue was greatly encouraged. “Unless, of course, the Grand Desolate Plateau will not be the main field, and the coalition army is not sending the main force there. It is just a fake main force consisting of a few regular soldiers and a huge amount of cannon fodder!

“So much cannon fodder is required to fake an expedition army of an unprecedented scale that the current cannon fodder they have is far from enough. That’s why they are training the civilians into cannon fodder!

“After all, they do not have any demand on the combat ability for the cannon fodder. As long as they are sent into the Grand Desolate Plateau and deceive the main force of the federal army for a fortnight, it will be good enough!

“The real route of attack, on the other hand, is in the ocean east to the Star Glory Federation!

“Since hundreds of years ago when the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector first met each other, the main point of impact has always been the north of the Grand Desolate Plateau.

“Over the past few years, most of the best tides have broken out on the Grand Desolate Plateau, too. As a result, it is now assumed that the Blood Demon Sector can only attack from the north!

“But it is wrong!

“Five hundred years ago, when the Star Glory Federation was just established, the most formidable enemy for them was the ‘Far East Demon Kingdom’ to the east of the federation!

“The Far East Demon Kingdom was demolished in the end, but before their collapse, they built a large teleportation array in the ocean east of the federation and established a channel to the Blood Demon Sector.

“Part of the nobles fled to the Blood Demon Sector through the channel.

“After they reached the Blood Demon Sector, however, they were idiotic enough to create a party named ‘Far East Freedom Front’, hoping to occupy some of the land of the Blood Demon Sector and set up a government-in-exile. Very soon, they were suppressed and butchered by the local demons!

“The Gold Crow Kingdom naturally took part in the suppression of the ‘Far East Freedom Front’. As a result, the secret channel leading to the ocean in the east of the Heaven’s Origin Sector fell into my father’s hands in the end!”