Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“Is… Is it Grandpa Yao?”

Han Te and Liu Li were blushing in excitement. There was no telling if their faces were dyed red by the sky that was burning furiously. Looking at each other, they finally summoned their courage and asked the question that they had been holding back for a long time, “Master Fist King, what do you think of the crash of ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’? Is the legendary Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years real… and is it Grandpa Yao?”

After hearing the question, everybody focused their eyes on the Fist King.

“Isn’t the Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years a lie the Immortal Cultivators fabricated?” Zuo Jingyun mumbled before she clenched her fists and asked with glowing eyes, “Does he really exist?”

“I do not have enough evidence to draw a conclusion regarding whether or not the Cultivator that has been lost for a thousand years exists.”

The Fist King pointed at a crystal processor on his left shoulder that was protruding abnormally because of a careless connection with his cold finger. Then he said casually, “However, the temple of the Cultivators, or the control center of the global sword network, was a real thing, except that it collapsed a very long time ago and eventually fell to the hands of the Immortal Cultivators. It is an undeniable fact that they modified and made use of the relic, which can be proved by the mainframe crystal processor of the global sword network here.

“So, in my opinion, of the ungrounded, obscure legends that have been passed on for hundreds of years on the Land of Sins, some are the lies made up by the Immortal Cultivators, but some others may be real. Some magnificent beings who far exceed the expectations of us and the Immortal Cultivators are still active on this dark land and beyond the stars where it is even darker!”

“It’s Grandpa Yao. It must be Grandpa Yao!”

Covering her eyes, Liu Li was so excited that she almost burst into tears. “Grandpa Yao is the Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years. He has shot down ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ on his own and saved us by the way!”

“Yes. In that case, everything starts to make sense now!”

Han Te said confidently, “Grandpa Yao’s mysterious origins, his unparalleled strength, and his creative, unconventional methods! He is the Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years. He snuck into the Land of Sins to gather intelligence in secret and to make tactical plans before the Immortal Cultivators implemented their great scheme. Finally, in a cutthroat attack, he completely sabotaged the Immortal Cultivators’ plan and rescued all of us!”

“Wait a moment—”

Zuo Jingyun and the resistance warriors of Starlight looked at each other in bewilderment, still confused even to this moment. “Who is this ‘Grandpa Yao’ that you are talking about?”

“It is an expert who is far stronger than me.”

The Fist King said casually, which made Zuo Jingyun and everybody else gasp hard when they heard it.

“Grandpa Yao is an expert who was active hundreds of years ago. He might’ve been through the Judgment War in person. Even the comprehensive scourge of the Immortal Cultivators failed to kill him!” Han Te said proudly.

“Grandpa Yao is very awesome. I believe that he is the one who has blown up ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ and the expert who went on a killing spree and slaughtered the Immortal Cultivators until they were begging for mercy on the light beam a moment ago!” Liu Li held back her excitement and declared.

Zuo Jingyun and the many resistance warriors of Starlight swallowed hard.

To this moment, and probably for the remaining days of their lives, they would never forget the bloody, cruel, and flagrant scenes that they saw on the enormous light beam in the underground temple.

The mysterious crystal suit that looked like a dark God of Death while triggering haloes that were as intense as blood had reaped the lives of the seemingly magnificent Immortal Cultivators blatantly, the high and mighty “angels”, as if they were chickens and dogs!

Was it the mysterious “Grandpa Yao”?

He was truly strong and deserved the title of “the Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years”!

“He is moving toward us at a high speed.”

Pressing his crystal processor softly, the Fist King received the signals that Li Yao sent over incessantly. “1,500 kilometers. 1,000 kilometers. 500 kilometers. He’s here!”

Everybody felt that their heart was grabbed.

Although Li Yao hadn’t arrived yet, many resistance warriors of Starlight including Zuo Jingyun already felt the urge to worship him.

A distance of several hundred kilometers was nothing but a yawn for someone in the Divinity Transformation Stage.

Had Li Yao not been flying close to the ground and devoting most of his spiritual energy covering his traces, fearing that Li Lingfeng might discover him, and if he were to bring out the most intense flames of spiritual energy, Li Yao would’ve covered a distance of a thousand kilometers in three seconds.

“He’s here!”

Even the Fist King’s voice was mixed with subtle emotions, which was quite rare.

“Should we stop?” Zuo Jingyun asked, somewhat nervously.

The other resistance warriors were even more anxious, wondering what a magnificent man—probably with three heads and six arms—would be showing up before them.

They had thought that the entrance of “Grandpa Yao” must be astonishing and impressive, leaving a blazing trail of sparks and lightning. At the very least, there should be some sonic booms that were resulted from supersonic flight.

But out of their expectation—

“Huh?”

Nobody noticed any anomalies, and even the gate of the earthly dragon was not opened, but a stranger somehow found his way into the narrow space that had already been as crammed as a can of sardines.

It almost seemed that he ripped the ripples of the space and emerged out of the void.

What an uncanny technique and what a terrifying level!

“Excuse me, everyone. Please forgive my intrusion.”

The stranger said very gently, “Would you please slightly retreat your elbow? It is sticking in my groin.”

Everybody turned their neck in difficulties and stared at the mysterious man in bewilderment.

The weird guy who had shown up inexplicably…

He had ragged clothes and a body that was full of bruises. His face was black and blue, and it was so swollen that his eyes were barely recognizable. He had truly been deformed. It was almost a misery to look at him!

The Fist King: “…”

Zuo Jingyun: “…”

Xiahou Wuxin and Xin Xiaoqi: “…”

Han Te and Liu Li were dazed for a long time, before they stuttered to ask at the same time, “G-Grandpa Yao, is that you?”

“Yes.”

Li Yao grinned, only to stretch his swollen bruises and made him look even more awful. But delight beamed out of his eyes that had been narrowed into two gaps as he said, “I promised you that I’ll be back! No, Sister Zuo, let’s not stop here. Many Immortal Cultivators may be patrolling and peeking from the sky. It is safer to hide inside the vehicle until they disperse.”

“It’s really Grandpa Yao!”

Han Te cried in joy. He then observed Li Yao carefully for a long time and thought hard, before he said carefully, “I understand now. This is a very sophisticated technique of ‘body reincarnation’, right? Grandpa Yao found a body of flesh and blood that was relatively fresh and finally returned to the human world without the boundary of metals and machines!

“However—

“If you had reincarnated yourself in a body to be reborn, why didn’t you choose a body in better conditions, Grandpa Yao? This body looks like… a pig!”

“Does it matter?”

Liu Li frowned and argued, “With the magnificence of Grandpa Yao’s soul, he would certainly choose a strong body if he were to reincarnate himself. As long as the body sturdiness was good enough, it would suffice. Even if the body was as ugly as a pig, so what? Grandpa Yao certainly wouldn’t have cared less about that!”

Li Yao: “… Excuse me, but this is not ‘body reincarnation’ but exactly the body I was born with. This is what I really look like.”

Han Te and Liu Li were both astonished. “Huh?”

“You—”

Interrupting the two little chatterboxes, Zuo Jingyun couldn’t help but ask on behalf of all the resistance warriors who were exploding with curiosity, “Senior, are you the legendary Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years? Were you the one who shot down ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’, performed the slaughter in the live stream, and had a battle with a Colossus in the sky just now?”

Thinking for a moment, Li Yao admitted frankly, “The crash of ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ indeed had a lot to do with me. The one who showed up in the stream was me too. Later, I competed against Li Lingfeng in a Colossus. However, the Cultivator who has been lost for a thousand years has nothing to do with me whatsoever. A legend is perhaps only a legend after all!”

“What?”

The answer was truly out of everyone’s expectations. Zuo Jingyun couldn’t help but ask, “Then, if you will forgive my bluntness, senior, who are you exactly? Are you a… Cultivator too?”

“That’s right.”

Li Yao put on a warm smile and said firmly, one word after another, “I am a Cultivator, and I always will be.”

Zuo Jingyun, Han Te, Liu Li, and all the other resistance warriors sensed the strength contained in Li Yao’s words, which set their blood on fire.

“Thank you for saving our lives, senior. We… We really don’t know what we should say!”

After a long daze, Zuo Jingyun finally said, “So, to speak, you are a hero from the space branch of Starlight who has been persisting in the resistance against the Imperium of True Human Beings in the sea of stars, senior?”

Li Yao pondered a moment, and deciding that it was not the best moment to reveal the great secret about the existence of “Star Glory Federation”, he simply shook his head and said, “I have nothing to do with Starlight. I can only say that the universe is far vaster than your imagination. Where there is darkness, there is light. In the depths of the boundless universe lie countless resistance forces similar to Starlight, some of which are even a hundred times stronger than Starlight in terms of comprehensive capabilities and capable of competing with the Imperium of True Human Beings. I am exactly from one of such resistance forces!”

“What?”

Zuo Jingyun and the many resistance warriors were truly shocked this time.

In the boundless sea of stars, there were countless other resistance forces similar to Starlight?

They were not alone. They were not fighting on their own. Countless people who were struggling to survive in darkness only to be mired in desperation were rising up to resist when they could not hold it any longer!

“Is it true?”

Zuo Jingyun’s voice was trembling hoarsely.

“Of course it is true. The universe is such a large place. Anything is possible. So, do not give up at all whatever desperate adversities you are in!”

Li Yao grinned. “However, this is not the time to explain everything yet. The most important thing right now is to get you out of this wretched planet!”