Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“It’s just a video.”

Chu Zhixiao asked, “Have you never doubted the possibility of Master Zhi Shan’s falsification?”

Li Yao thought of something and realized that the puppet king’s bewitchment had planted the seed of suspicion in Chu Zhixiao’s heart.

Otherwise, she would never have asked such a question.

Of course, for Li Yao, Chu Zhixiao’s suspicion was not necessarily a bad thing, It all depended on who was guiding the suspicion, Li Yao or the puppet king.

“I knew the integrity of my family long ago. What’s there to doubt?

Yun Haixin smiled bitterly. “Even without the video of Master Zhi Shan, I know that my wife and children must be having a hard time in their family, and their lives might be in danger.

“Then what?”

Chu Zhixiao continued, “What happened when you knew that your wife and children were in a life-and-death situation?

“Then, Master Zhi Shan gave me two options and offered me a deal.

Yun Haixin’s eyes lost focus as she dwelled in her painful past. “At that time, my children were about to come of age. With the schemes of my enemies, it was very likely that they would be sent to a secret training camp with a high death rate. Even if they survived the ordeal of living a life worse than

death, they would still become assassins who would hide in the darkness for the rest of their lives, assassins who specialized in dirty work, and so on.

“Or, they might be sent to the frontline like me and die a meaningless death as cannon fodder.

“If such a fate did befall them and they were separated from their mother for a long time, it was not hard to imagine what would happen to my wife. She was not a strong woman in the first place. Not only was she devastated by the loss of her husband, she was also trying to help her two children resolve

their dilemma. She was simply driven mad.

“There’s no need for you to tell me, Master Zhi Shan. I’m very clear that if I don’t take action, my family will be broken apart.

“The two options that the Great Master gave me were simple, too. Firstly, he could ‘brainwash’ me in accordance with the regular procedures like he did with the other captives of the imperium and erase my memories and self so that I could live the rest of my life in ignorance.

“The forces of the Holy Alliance will abandon the surveillance of my wife and my children and leave them to their own devices. They will be bullied to death by their family’s enemies.

“If Iam desperate for… the help of the gods, I will join the Holy Alliance as a clear-headed man and complete the tasks that the Great Sage entrusted to me.

“Under the premise that the mission is completed, I can do whatever I want. I can curse and complain however I want. It doesn’t matter if I grab someone from the Sanctuary Alliance and curse them. The gods can… forgive my recklessness and ignorance.

“Then, Master Zhi Shan will activate all the forces that the Sanctuary Alliance has hidden in the imperium and help me rescue my wife and children and send them to the Sanctuary Alliance!

“kind of understand now.”

Chu Zhixiao thought for a moment and said, “It was twenty years ago. But it’s been less than ten years since you joined the yaksha squad. What kind of missions did you perform in the ten years before that?”

“Many missions, such as the identification of spies,

Yun Haixin said, “Before the spies that are carefully trained with tremendous resources are sent to the imperium, they must be tested by the original citizens of the imperium to see whether or not they are qualified and to modify the loopholes that they reveal without them knowing so that they will be

more ‘perfect’. As a Meditation Healer and an expert in the Nascent Soul Stage, I am naturally the best candidate to test them. This job is irreplaceable for the brainwashed ‘soldiers’ and ‘workers’.

“Tt is true that a man of the imperium with a clear head can evaluate the people of the Star Glory Federation from different perspectives and find flaws that we cannot. You are indeed very valuable.

“But I still can’t understand why you are willing to do that.

“Even though your wife and your children are living miserable lives in the imperium, don’t you despise the ‘mindless’ life of the Sanctuary Alliance the most? Why did you agree to let Master Zhi Shan bring them to the Sanctuary Alliance?

“Of course, there are conditions. Eternal Brightness.

“Master Zhi Shan showed me the life on Eternal Brightness,” Yun Haixin said. “The life was… illusionary, but peaceful and happy.

“Master Zhi Shan promised me that, as long as I served the Sanctuary Alliance well, it wouldn’t matter even if I still hated the Sanctuary Alliance from the bottom of my heart. With the completion of the mission, my wife and my children would live on ‘Eternal Brightness’ forever.

“Of course, their memories will be sealed. They will no longer remember the past. They will think that they were born to be a member of the Bright City, but their self-awareness will still be retained. They will still have their past feelings, hobbies, and habits. They will be rid of the darkness and welcome

the light. They will live a happy and carefree life in this small cultivation world!”

Chu Zhixiao opened his mouth but did not know what to say.

“Isn’t it ironic?”

Before she finished her sentence, Yun Haixin started laughing at herself. “I am an Immortal Cultivator, but I would rather die than let my wife and children live the life of an Immortal Cultivator. I would rather abandon my path of Cultivation, shoulder the crime of ‘traitor’, and cooperate with the

unforgivable devils in my eyes, just so that my wife and children could live in an illusionary world of Cultivators.

“Yes, you and I are both very clear that the world of cultivators is a false one. It is absolutely impossible for it to exist. Even if it does exist, it will not last long.

“But I don’t expect it to last long. A hundred years or two hundred years will be enough for me. As long as Master Zhi Shan’s experiments on human nature can last another two hundred years so that my wife and children can live a comfortable, happy life in the Bright City, I will be satisfied. I will fulfill my

duty as a husband and father.

Chu Zhixiao was breathing heavily and messily.

Obviously, the Slaughter Goddess had never felt such intense human emotions before. The flood-like ripples cast her into deep shock and confusion.

“You…”

She thought for a long time. “Have you seen your wife and children after all these years?”

“T’ve never seen them in person, but I’ve often seen videos of them living in Bright City.”

Yun Haixin said, “Haven’t you always wanted to know how a clear-headed man of the Star Ocean Imperium such as myself managed to survive in a hell such as the Sanctuary Alliance for such a long time? However much I hate this place and my job, I still did my job dutifully and meticulously.

“They were the only reason. The glimmer in hell was the greatest strength that kept me alive!

Chu Zhixiao took a deep, deep breath.

“Your wife and children were not born and raised on ‘Eternal Brightness’ and were never discovered in the past twenty years?”

She asked.

“No. There is a complete set of procedures that allow outsiders to blend in seamlessly.

“Not just my wife and children,” Yun Haixin said, “but the family of many people of the imperium are here, too.

“Well—”

Chu Zhixiao was dazed. “Why?”

“Don’t you see? There are all kinds of reasons. For example, to create a real ‘lurker’.

Yun Haixin’s smile was both sad and weird. “Do you think that ‘persuaders’ are the guys who have been deeply brainwashed? Then you’ve underestimated Master Zhi Shan. The so-called brainwashing and ‘mimicking emotions with computational ability’ will be discovered sooner or later no matter how

skilled and secretive they are.

“It is impossible for such man-made spies to sneak into the highest level of the imperium and pry into the core secrets.

“Let me tell you what a real ‘lurker’ looks like. They are definitely not from the Star Glory Federation, nor are they the citizens of the Star Glory Federation who were brainwashed after being captured by the Star Glory Federation, nor are they the underground natives who believe in the gods passionately at

the bottom level of the Star Glory Federation. They are people like me, who believe in no one else but themselves, and who believe in the law of the jungle!

“The more experienced the Immortal Cultivators are, the more they will understand the darkness and evil behind the path of immortality, and the less they want their descendants to live in the kingdom of the Immortal Cultivators.

“Therefore, the members of the Sanctuary Alliance brought our family to ‘Eternal Brightness’ in various ways so that they could live a dream-like life and force us to cooperate.

“Their targets were all carefully selected. They were all people like me who had deep feelings for their family and were willing to give up everything for them. Therefore, almost no one refused them.

“Just like that, we were clear-headed, kept ourselves to ourselves, and had abundant, if not excessive, feelings. But we still ‘willingly’ ended up being the claws and teeth of the Star Glory Federation. We either served the Star Glory Federation like I did, or we lurked inside the Star Glory Federation and

transmitted all kinds of intelligence to the Star Glory Federation, helping the Star Glory Federation learn every detail about the core of the Star Glory Federation.

“The idiotic authorities of the Star Ocean Imperium used the ‘spiritual diagram test’ to identify the spies of the Sanctuary Alliance. Yes, the latest generation of spiritual diagrams test can identify almost all the members of the Sanctuary Alliance who have been brainwashed, but they will never be able to

capture someone like me, because we have not been brainwashed in the first place and still maintain our strong self-awareness and feelings!

“Do you see now? The ‘persons’ that you’ve seen so far are just low-level spies. They are low-level intelligence officers. Even the seemingly well-crafted spies are just disguises. They are bargaining chips that can be sacrificed at will so that the authorities of the imperium will discover them on purpose.

“The value of the spies is to fool the authorities of the Star Ocean Imperium into thinking that they know how to capture the spies of the Sanctuary. But they do not know that the real spies were not brainwashed at all!

Not just Chu Zhixiao, even Li Yao was secretly shocked and soaked in cold sweat.

“Human emotions…”

Chu Zhixiao mumbled, “How weird and scary.”

“Yes. Human beings are such weird and scary things. They can sacrifice everything for an illusionary dream and burn themselves.

Yun Haixin’s face was full of sorrow. Looking at her trembling hands and listening to the furious roars outside, she mumbled, “It’s a pity that the dream has been shattered.

Year 2017. Year 15 to Year 17. The 40,000 Years of Cultivation is about to enter its fourth year. I am truly fortunate to have the company of all my fellow readers. Here, I wish everyone a happy New Year’s Day. 2018’s wishes come true. Of course, we will welcome the ultimate secret of Earth together.. Please

look forward to it!