Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“No, I’m not ‘brainwashing’ anybody. I’m just helping you see the fact.”

Wuying Qi 3.0’s lips curled. His face and his robe were full of ash, making him seem rather dirty. “Oh, maybe I do not need to help you at all. With your wisdom and your insight on the darkness of humanity, you should’ve foreseen your destiny, right?”

“You made use of such shameless methods, so you must have a clear understanding about the vileness of mankind. You know that you have no choice except to become the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. But you’re unwilling to face the pathetic fact. Am I right, Li Yao?”

Li Yao’s shadow was obviously shaking, like a reflection in a pond that had been just broken by a pebble.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

Li Yao gnashed his teeth and said, “I won’t become the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. I will destroy it. I will… destroy it.”

“No, you won’t. You will seize it, study it, upgrade it, and turn it into the last defense line between the Imperium and the federation, between the Immortal Cultivators and the Cultivators, to defend your motherland and your belief.”

Wuying Qi 3.0 smiled more and more brilliantly, with the volcanic ash dancing around him like butterflies. “It’s your only chance, as well as your only leverage to bargain with people like Lei Chenghu. You know it. You always know it.

“You don’t have a choice. You are different from Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, Jin Yuyan, and the thousands of Immortal Cultivators at the center of the cosmos right now. When Blackstar the Great exists, you may hold back your disagreement and work together, but all of you know that your cooperation won’t last. The moment Blackstar the Great collapses, the alliance of the Cultivators and the Immortal Cultivators will fall apart. You’re destined to fight among yourselves!

“Even if you never mean to kill Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, or Jin Yuyan, and they will never turn against you because you’ve done them many favors, what about the other Immortal Cultivators?

“Now, it is no longer a secret that you are a Cultivator from a Cultivators’ nation called Star Glory Federation at the border of the cosmos. No matter how you try to cover it up, more and more Immortal Cultivators will know it. How can you guarantee that those Immortal Cultivators won’t invade your motherland?

“Even if people like Lei Chenghu, Li Linghai, and Jin Yuyan are rational and friendly enough, will they never change? Will they control the Imperium forever? If they change or die, how will the new-generation Immortal Cultivators view the Star Glory Federation? Will they feel that it might turn into a threat to the Imperium?

“Hehe, you know very well that your motherland can’t expect to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings in a head-on clash in the next five hundred years. The resources at the border of the cosmos are limited anyway. I don’t think you can keep your speed of development, can you?

“So, faced with the Imperium of True Human Beings which is gargantuan and unpredictable, what else can serve as the Star Glory Federation’s first and last defense line except the Gold Crystal Pyramid, a dagger stabbed in the heart of the Imperium?

“So, only by threatening the Imperium with the Gold Crystal Pyramid to reach a certain ‘balance of mutual deterrence’, will peace be realized between the Imperium and the federation. If you destroy the Gold Crystal Pyramid, how are you going to ‘persuade’ the ferocious and cold-hearted Immortal Cultivators? With your sincerity, your kindness, or your nasty singing?”

Li Yao was lost for words and thought hard.

“Also, it’s not just about the Star Glory Federation; it’s also about the path of the Cultivators that is of paramount importance for you.”

Wuying Qi 3.0 extended his hand and gathered a mouthful of ash before he blew the gray butterflies at Li Yao. He smiled and said, “You are a real Cultivator, a firm and determined warrior. So, you couldn’t have cooperated with Lei Chenghu and Li Linghai purely to destroy Blackstar the Great, could you? That would’ve been one demon replacing another.

“Li Linghai’s ideas to renew the Imperium and to bring justice and fairness to everyone and Lei Chenghu’s faith in the honor of soldiers were the keys that motivated you. You were convinced that, under the leadership of Li Linghai and Lei Chenghu, the rotten Imperium will be reborn and move to a brighter future, where most ordinary people will live a better life, and the Cultivators like you can subtly change the nature of the Imperium in the process.

“That’s the reason why you could keep your belief as a Cultivator while cooperating with Lei Chenghu and rescuing Li Linghai.

“It’s a nice plan, but how are you going to carry it out?

“How can you guarantee that Li Linghai will fulfill her promise? How can you guarantee that Lei Chenghu will be a soldier who fights for the civilization? And how can you guarantee that their ‘reform’ will go as you wish?

“What if they regret later? What if they are reluctant to liberate the hominoids living below the ground on the capital planet? What if Lei Chenghu is going to sacrifice thousands of ordinary people for a certain purpose? How are you going to supervise and stop them?

“The Gold Crystal Pyramid is the only way, isn’t it? You know very well that, only by controlling the Gold Crystal Pyramid, a piece of magic equipment that can destroy the capital, will you and other Cultivators be able to participate in the renewal of the Imperium as a supervisor with the highest authority.

“You can certainly destroy the Gold Crystal Pyramid under the spur of the moment, but if so, the Cultivators will lose the only weapon to contain the Immortal Cultivators. What are you going to do if the Immortal Cultivators slaughter hominoids again? Rescue them one by one?

“Just wake up, Li Yao. Stop fooling yourself and escaping from the dilemma. This is your responsibility. This is your destiny. This is the most glorious power that belongs to you! You have to let all the Immortal Cultivators know that you can destroy the whole Empyreal Terminus Sector and that you will unhesitatingly do so with a heart of iron if need be.

“Only by doing so can you intimidate all the Immortal Cultivators, secure your tiny federation under the pressure of the Imperium, ensure that the reform of the Imperium goes according to your plan, and rescue the hominoids who are still suffering!”

“Do you really think that I’m such a demon? Whatever happens, I will not destroy the Empyreal Terminus Sector!”

Li Yao bellowed in rage, “This is not just the capital of the Imperium of True Human Beings, but also the most prosperous Sector of mankind, a vital crossroad of the universe, and our precious home and wealth. I will never destroy the Empyreal Terminus Sector crazily like you would!”

“Your fury, just like your overly-passionate speech, is only a cover for the weakness and panic in your heart.”

Wuying Qi 3.0 grabbed a mouthful of ash again, which turned into a gray flower. He blew at the flower, and the flower wobbled away, glimmering. He stared at the dance of the flower and smiled. “Maybe you won’t, but you have to convince all the Immortal Cultivators that you will. If it makes you feel more comfortable, you may consider the whole thing to be a strategic deception, and to start this strategic deception, you have to become the master of the Gold Crystal Pyramid first.

“Also, there’s one other thing that’s quite ironic. Do you know what it is?

“Do you remember the standard for the alliance of the Pangu civilizations to accept new members? To boast the ability to destroy themselves, which is the sign of a real civilization.

“However, none of the self-destroying abilities of the thirteen carbon-based lives that made up the alliance were invented by ‘demons’. The terrifying abilities to tear apart a planet, change the magnetic field, or even control a star were all the inventions of sages, geniuses, and peace-lovers, who created the abilities that were enough to destroy their civilization for the purpose of defending their civilizations, their homes, and their families against evil enemies or even ending wars for good.

“To protect their civilizations, intelligent lives created the abilities that could destroy their civilizations. It sounds ironic, but it was and will always be true.

“So, if one day you lose control and turn from a dragon-slayer into a demon in the Gold Crystal Pyramid, don’t go too hard on yourself. You won’t be the first, and you certainly won’t be the last.”

Stunned, Li Yao listened quietly and wiped the ash that had dropped to his face.

The ash melted in his palm like dirty snowflakes and leaked into his body.

“Rest assured, the ash is nothing but an illusion. It does not contain the slightest mental power.”

Wuying Qi 3.0 smiled and said, “For people like you, mental corruption is useless and will only raise your wariness. Besides, I’m already too weakened to have another mental competition with you. I can only expect that you will realize your unique destiny eventually, and I have no doubt that you will.”