Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

When Li Yao found Xu Zhicheng, the Grand Guardian of Nepenthe was working hard with his fellow workers and the spiritual puppets. On a crystal tank that had been smashed into pieces, he was dismantling the vehicle into the most fundamental parts with iron claws and blast drills in sweat so that they could be packed away.

Although he had suffered enough tortures from the Immortal Cultivators over the past few days, he was in delirious excitement right now. Ignoring other people’s request that he should take a rest and treat his wounds, he was still on the frontline, cleaning the battlefield.

According to him, tearing down the Immortal Cultivators’ Great Iron Plants and shipping it to the people that belonged to the underground towns was the most gratifying thing in the world. How could anything happen to him?

“Fellow Cultivator Li!”

Seeing that Li Yao had arrived with the two kids, Xu Zhicheng jumped off from the crystal tank with a big smile and reached Li Yao in only two steps, so healthy that he did not look like a tormented old man at all.

He wiped his hands on his clothes. Not knowing how he should express his gratitude, he simply bowed deeply at Li Yao and said, “Thank you… Thank you very much. You’ve saved every person of the Great Iron Plants!”

“Grand Guardian Xu, you are most welcome!”

Li Yao blushed. His actual age, counting the hundred years when he was in hibernation, was certainly older than Xu Zhicheng’s, but the time when he was really conscious was certainly not as long as the guy. Besides, Xu Zhicheng had suffered a lot in the underground world, and he had just taken the whole set of soul-searching techniques of the Immortal Cultivators. His hair was gray, and his face was wrinkled. He looked like Li Yao’s grandpa. How could Li Yao take such courtesy?

“I wish I had come sooner.”

Li Yao gnashed his teeth and said, “Although we drove the Immortal Cultivators away, so many innocent people were still killed. Some even died in the fight of the Colossi.”

“It’s inevitable. The Great Iron Plants is exactly a burning furnace of fiends that claims the lives of countless people as fuel.”

Xu Zhicheng said, “We knew what awaited us the day of our uprising. None of us was scared of death. The key was to make it worthwhile. Right now, the Great Iron Plants has been completely destroyed. I believe the deceased workers will rest in peace and thank you for everything you have done.”

Li Yao sighed and said, “How’s the resource collection going? We can’t stay here for too long. Although the loss of two experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage and three Colossi is a rather terrible blow on the Immortal Cultivators, and they may not be able to assemble a new troop to attack us, it is better to be safe than sorry. The sooner we evacuate, the better.”

“It’s half done now. We didn’t know that the Immortal Cultivators had stocked so many assets here. They are enough to keep the residents of dozens of towns full for years. If we use the resources frugally, we can help even more people.”

Xu Zhicheng said with a smile, “We also need to thank Fellow Cultivator Li for bringing so many spiritual puppets. They are so helpful! Without the spiritual puppets, we, the workers, wouldn’t be able to ship the resources away in ten days.”

Thinking of something, Li Yao asked, “Grand Guardian Xu, I wonder, what’s your impression on spiritual puppets?”

Slightly dazed, Xu Zhicheng glanced at Li Yao in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Just a casual chitchat.”

Li Yao said, “I mean, do you like spiritual puppets? What’s your opinion on such a piece of magical equipment that can replace humans?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Xu Zhicheng thought for a long time before he said carefully, “I don’t know. We, the underground workers, have complicated feelings about the spiritual puppets.

“When we are rational, we know that the spiritual puppets are just tools and thoughtless iron blocks. However, in most mines and factories, the massive appearance of spiritual puppets means either the loss of jobs for the workers or that they have to work extra hard in order to compete with the spiritual puppets. However, the workers only have so many potentials, but the spiritual puppets are more advanced after each generation.

“The day will come when the spiritual puppets are so advanced that we cannot catch up with them even if we drain our blood and marrow, right? By then, the high and mighty Immortal Cultivators would definitely replace all human beings with spiritual puppets. If so, how can the poor workers make a living?

“From that point of view, the underground workers hold natural disgust and wariness against the spiritual puppets, because they are our direct competitors.

“It is needless to say that the Immortal Cultivators such as Li Minghui are unwilling to increase our wages and benefits but generous in purchasing tremendous battle puppets to administrate and suppress us. When we did anything wrong, so much as spending slightly more time in the toilet, we would be thrashed mercilessly by the spiritual puppets.

“We knew that they were cold, empty, iron cans, but when the spluttering whip surrounded by electric arcs slapped your back so hard that you were almost cut into halves, who could possibly keep their rationality?

“Therefore, it is almost inevitable that we loathe the spiritual puppets.

“But when the spiritual puppets are at our service or even under our control, what a great role they can play!

“Li Minghui purchased a batch of anti-heat puppets made of composite porcelains as aids when the mine collapsed or in a fire. Of course, it was not because he was concerned about the lives of the workers, but because he did not want the accidents to escalate. However, can you imagine the euphoria of the workers when they saw the spiritual puppets arriving on the spot of the accident while passing through the flames and spurting out the frigid foams and gels?

“The spiritual puppets on such occasions are truly like gods that have descended. Many workers actually worship the relieving puppets as gods and give them offerings and new decorations during the important festivals, hoping that they could be faster and save a few more people when accidents happen.

“Even such a heartless and petty Immortal Cultivator like Li Minghui could understand the wish of the humble workers and agreed that the workers could decorate and worship the relieving puppets.

“What is going on right now further highlights that. Those spiritual puppets are not collecting and shipping assets but the hope of survival for so many underground locals! With those spiritual puppets, tens of thousands of more people may get to survive. Even though those iron cans were blatantly slaughtering us a moment ago, so what? They are empty-headed tools in the first place!

“In conclusion, the underground locals both loathe and love the spiritual puppets. As to exactly whether they are good or bad, all that matters is whose hands they are in, right?”

Having been the Grand Guardian of Nepenthe for years, and since he was in the Refinement Stage, Xu Zhicheng had a rather clear head. After introducing the situation to Li Yao, Li Yao had a lot of mixed feelings.

Li Yao thought for a moment and summoned his courage to ask, “Then, if the spiritual puppets are not in anybody’s hands but only their own, what will you think, Grand Guardian Xu?”

“Not in anybody’s hands?”

Bulging his eyes, Xu Zhicheng was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I almost forgot to introduce to you. They are my children.”

Li Yao pushed the two kids out. “Xiaoming, Wenwen, this is Grandpa Xu.”

“Nice to meet you, Grandpa Xu!”

The two kids greeted him cutely. Even the few spiritual puppets nearby in the idle state bowed at Xu Zhicheng, too.

“Your children?”

Xu Zhicheng was even more surprised. Looking at the two kids, he mumbled, “You’ve been bringing such little kids with you all the time in such a dangerous battle? That’s really…”

“They are different from regular kids. You’ll know it after hearing me out.”

Li Yao briefly repeated what he said to Long Yangjun just now.

Of course, it was unnecessary for Xu Zhicheng to learn the existence of the Star Glory Federation. The irrelevant things such as the game “Civilization” were also left out by Li Yao, who only told Xu Zhicheng the few key points.

Xu Zhicheng had been listening attentively the whole time, but from his eyes that were full of confusion all the time, it was not hard to tell that he did not quite understand what Li Yao said.

“Well, I know that this can be a little bit tricky to understand…” said Li Yao somewhat in embarrassment.

“It’s indeed perplexing.”

After thinking for a long time, Xu Zhicheng asked politely, “Fellow Cultivator Li, I’ve lived below the ground in my entire life, and my knowledge certainly can’t compare to that of the travelers who roam the sea of stars. Can you explain to me in the shallowest way the biggest difference between the two kids and the normal children?”

“The biggest difference is that—”

Pondering for a moment, Li Yao said, “Normal children have bodies first before they condense their souls, but my two kids had condensed their souls before their bodies were born.”

“Okay, I can understand that.”

Xu Zhicheng nodded his head and said, “But what exactly is the so-called ‘soul’?”

Li Yao was stunned for a moment before he said, “There are various definitions on the meaning of soul. If it is explained in detail, I fear that even a hundred books won’t be enough. Even I dare not say that I know the full answer!”

“If you don’t know precisely what ‘soul’ is, is the soul being born before the body any different from the soul being born after the body?”

Xu Zhicheng said, “I’m just an unrefined man who has been mining my entire life. I really don’t understand the complicated and intangible concepts such as ‘soul’, ‘body’, and ‘self-consciousness’. I also don’t understand why you are so worried and hesitant. Even if the kids have souls before they have their bodies, then what?”

“Then, they are blessed with the powerful abilities of hacking, controlling, and sabotaging the Spiritual Nexus. They are capable of controlling one or maybe ten thousand spiritual puppets simultaneously.”

Thinking for a long time, Li Yao said, “These are extremely, extremely powerful abilities, perhaps more powerful than anybody else’s in the whole universe. Is that alright, too?”

“Got it. A power that is too strong is not necessarily a good thing.”

Xu Zhicheng finally understood Li Yao’s concerns. “Similar things happened in the underground towns before. The kids with exceptional talents in training were often seized by the Immortal Cultivators from their parents and sold to the big families on the surface of the planet as servants or muscles. Those with better luck would send some money and mails back to their families every year, and the less fortunate ones were simply never heard of again.

“Therefore, many underground families often hid the kids’ potentials after they discovered that the kids were talented in training. They would rather the kids be clumsy and spend a regular life below the ground.

“However, some other parents hoped that their kids could take the chances on the surface of the planet for a better life, even though it meant that they had to be separated forever.

“Fellow Cultivator Li, are you also in the dilemma where you wonder whether you should make the kids more clumsy and ordinary or to help them shine brilliantly with your best?”