Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

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In order to perform the most important infiltration mission in the history of the Star Glory Federation, Li Yao’s gear had been fully upgraded with the application of the most cutting-edge technology after the federation’s hundred years of development.

As a literal ‘espionage starship’, the ‘Heavenly Eye’ model of exploration starships not only had a fully automatic navigation and maneuver system, which could automatically search for and reach the coordinates inputted on the star map even if the only crew member entered the hibernation state, but also had a remote communication system that could automatically expand.

The enormous system made of a hundred communication units that were refined out of memory alloys was compressed at the rear of the starship when not in use, occupying only one third of the cabin.

When it was to be used, it could automatically expand into an enormous antenna with a diameter of hundreds of meters within twenty-four hours.

With enough spiritual energy, it could send a three-minute video message to the edge of the cosmos. Also, the system boasted a high anti-interference ability. Neither cosmic storms nor wormholes were likely to completely obliterate the message that it sent out.

At the borderland of the Star Glory Federation, twelve information reception bases of a gargantuan scale had been established, with thousands of antennas moving slowly, searching for the traces from the center of the cosmos to make sure that Li Yao’s message would be received the moment it was sent out.

The whole system was fully automated. Even if Li Yao was not inside the starship, it could stay on hold for several years by absorbing solar energy or send a message to the edge of the cosmos after every designated time.

Of course, considering that the exploration starship was too large for Li Yao to carry with him when he went into the heartland of the Imperium, or that it might be necessary to destroy the ‘espionage starship’ on his own if it was discovered by the Imperium, Li Yao also brought another type of portable communication magical equipment with him.

Such a piece of magical equipment that could be stored in a Cosmos Ring could not send any messages independently. It was in fact a piece of ‘parasitic’ magical equipment designed to hack the communication bases of the Imperium. The virus provided by the specialists of the Black Wind Fleet targeting the communication system of the Imperium would allow Li Yao to ‘hijack’ a communication base of the Imperium for a while to send out messages in secret.

Other than communication, which was of paramount importance, the most useful things were the crystals and the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

There was a famous saying about training, which was that training was like rowing a boat against the current. You were either making progress or moving backward. There was another famous saying about training, which was that nobody could live without food.

With Li Yao’s capability, his demand for resources every day was as huge as the demand of a heavy starship. Without a long-term, steady supply, unless he kept suppressing his level to an extremely low state with the Soul Converging Technique, a few high-intensity battles in a row would definitely starve his fleshly body and the soul inside his brain.

Behind enemy lines, it was practically impossible to have all the resources that an expert close to the Divinity Transformation Stage needed. It was almost like a hungry dinosaur appeared in a tiny forest, and it would not be a secret if the predator began to prey on the living creatures in the forest.

Therefore, Li Yao carried twenty Cosmos Rings with him. Also, a lot of the Cosmos Rings were used to store Colossi and therefore boasted an astonishing amount of storage space.

The crystal cores and the marrow crystals that the federation had collected for a hundred years and contained the most spiritual energy filled the Cosmos Rings entirely. Not a single grain of rice could have squeezed in.

Those resources should be enough to support at least one and a half years’ high-intensity training and fighting for Li Yao. If he failed to sneak into the local environment of the Imperium or deliver any effective messages after a year and a half, he would have to pray for luck on his own.

Considering the complexity of the environment within the Imperium and the Immortal Cultivators’ excellent methods of detecting Cosmos Rings, if Li Yao intended to sneak into a certain organization in the Imperium in disguise, his body would certainly be searched for Cosmos Rings. Since it was not necessarily safe to carry the Cosmos Rings with him, the federation had installed localization chips of the latest model on those Cosmos Rings.

The localization chips would release a feeble wave automatically every so often. The wave was similar to the natural radiation that a lot of mines would emanate, but it would be possible to trace the wave back with special detectors.

If Li Yao really meant to sneak into a certain heavily guarded organization in the Imperium, he could hide all the Cosmos Rings in a secret location beforehand. With his perception close to the Divinity Transformation Stage and with the help of the detector, he would not worry that the Cosmos Rings would be lost as long as they were on the same planet. He could always find a way to retrieve the Cosmos Rings after he passed the examination and won the enemy’s trust.

Now that the possibility of infiltration in disguise was taken into consideration, false identities were definitely necessary.

Thankfully, there were too many autonomic forces in the Imperium of True Human Beings. A lot of planets and Sectors all managed their own business and had a lot of clandestine soldiers. There were also countless merchants and space pirates who wandered in the sea of stars. In many cases, the two types of people were actually the same time.

Di Feiwen helped Li Yao prepare more than ten identities that were almost real with all the necessary background files. All of them were small fries in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage.

After all, for experts in the Nascent Soul Stage or the Divinity Transformation Stage, they were rare talents even in the Imperium. It was impossible for Di Feiwen to fabricate the life story of an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage or the Divinity Transformation Stage recklessly.

Besides, there was also the title of ‘Black Wind King’.

Li Yao had accepted the pledge of loyalty from the remaining soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet as well as the scepter as the commander of the Black Wind Fleet. Although he had not been approved by the emperor, he was now the authentic Black Wind King according to the tradition of the Imperium.

The title of Black Wind King was not something so intimidating that whoever heard it would shudder in fear and kneel before him. On the contrary, if he could not demonstrate enough strength, he would only raise unnecessary attention and get himself burnt.

However, if his fists were hard enough, his saber was fast enough, and his Colossus was big enough, such an identity could save Li Yao a lot of trouble and make it easier for him to be acknowledged by the people of the Imperium.

As for exactly how the value of the title could be best utilized, Li Yao would have to make smart responses when the time came.

After everything was set, Li Yao spent the next two weeks with Ding Lingdang.

For Ding Lingdang personally, she was very tempted to travel to the center of the cosmos with Li Yao.

However, her identity was too special. She was the incumbent Supreme Speaker of the Federation, but even when she went to the center of the cosmos after her retirement as a ‘former Supreme Speaker of the Federation’, it would still be rather awkward if anything went wrong.

The federation was in a subtle relationship with the Imperium. The federation was not ready for total war against the Imperium yet. Even if it was capable of stabbing the Imperium in the back, it remained to be seen whether or not such a decision would be made when another great enemy, the Covenant Alliance, seemed to be up to something greater.

Li Yao was respected as the dominator of three Sectors among the people, and he was also the pillar of the brand-new interest group that controlled the federation. However, he was not appointed to any official post. Such an identity would be very convenient after he went to the Imperium. He could be a representative of the authorities or a man who was on personal errands. Whatever happened, there would be room for negotiation.

However, if the ‘former Speaker of the Federation’ was lost in the Imperium or even killed by the Immortal Cultivators, there would be little room for negotiation and concession.

Therefore, Ding Lingdang could only seize the last few days to have competitions of beliefs with Li Yao day and night to prepare for their prolonged departure.

As it turned out, under their destructive competitions of beliefs, Li Yao’s level was showing signs of breaking through again. It seemed that the wall between the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage was getting thinner and thinner and could be shattered at any point.

If he could advance into the Divinity Transformation Stage before he went to the Imperium, it would certainly be a great enhancement for his journey to the Imperium.

However, training was not like in a novel or a game. The breakthrough would not necessarily take place when some values reached the tipping point.

Although Li Yao sensed that the surging spiritual energy was flooding inside his cells, blood, and brain nonstop like a volcanic eruption, it remained to be seen what kind of opportunity he would run into for him to make the leap that was of paramount importance.

He had spent the last three days in the Star Glory Federation in Floating Spear City, his hometown.

Floating Spear City, the place where his legend began, was also the best starting point for him to bid farewell to the Star Glory Federation and walk to the center of the cosmos.

As the hometown of ‘Vulture’ Li Yao, Floating Spear City was vastly different from during his childhood. Not only had its coverage been expanded by at least five times, it was also marching toward the sky and beneath the earth. The population had been increased by more than twenty times.

The magical equipment graveyard of the past was long gone, replaced by jampacked skyscrapers and busy traffic that extended into the sky.

However, looking at the hometown that was both familiar and strange, Li Yao’s eyes seemed to have surpassed the limits of time and space and saw the magical equipment graveyard where wastewater and gas were running loose. He saw the young man in the playground of Crimson Nimbus No. 2 High School.

At that time, there was a furiously burning fire in his heart.

He felt quite lucky that the fire did not die down at all after a hundred years. It was burning even more brightly!

Li Yao put down everything and tasted the local specialties of his hometown on the streets and in the underground ghost city of Floating Spear City.

Ding Lingdang, Jin Xinyue, Wu Mayan, Xie Anan, Guo Chunfeng, the Fire Ant King, Fiend Blade Peng Hai… All his family, friends, and disciples went to Floating Spear City to see him off.

After spending the three carefree days in satisfaction, Li Yao returned to the launch base of the Heaven’s Artillery in the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau.

The Heavenly Eye Plan was a top secret of top secrets. Except for his family and friends and the leadership of the federation, few people knew that the most dangerous man at the edge of the cosmos had already ripped through space and darted to the center of the cosmos in the cold morning.

By ‘few’, it was not counting two little children who were as cute as dolls.

Nobody knew how the two seemingly harmless and pitiful children appeared in the murky, chaotic Dragon Snake Space Zone.