Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The strongest of the three camps, hundreds of them, stood in the middle of the silent torrent of stones, which brushed past them like a meteor shower.

There were no rules, nor was there much protection. Everybody could choose their target at their will and unleash the most furious damage. Everybody could see the difference in their combat ability. The more skilled of them could certainly occupy the most advantageous position in the operation.

Although the war had not begun yet, there were still different levels according to past achievements, fame, and status, including the equipment on one’s body.

Among them, the experts who were not wearing any plate armor and only wearing mustard suits that were as thin as a cicada’s wing were the well-deserved super experts. Their killing intent was so sharp that it was almost tangible, and yet they could only lock onto their enemy. They did not think highly of the top experts on Nash’s side at all.

“In the previous battle, the fellow Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings did not seem to be determined enough to fight. They did not encounter any exciting, soul-stirring duels. It is indeed regrettable.

Ding Lingdang took the lead and faced more than ten Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings alone. Not only was she not scared, she was even rubbing her fists in eagerness. “Today, I can finally make up for my regret!”

They did not carry any communication magical equipment. But now that they had reached the Divinity Transformation Stage, they could communicate with each other simply with their mental power at their will.

Inside the planetary ring that was seriously jammed and in a harsh environment, her ‘voice’ was still so clear that every Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator of the Imperium of True Human Beings could sense it through the waves of her mental power. The Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were all shocked, too, and did not dare underestimate the ‘Dragon King of Fire’, who had undergone a complete transformation when he just advanced into the Divinity Transformation Stage!

Ding Lingdang was a rarely-seen genius of martial arts in the past hundred years. Besides, she had made a ‘breakthrough’ in the cruel battles in the vast sea of stars. Her belief was filled with the desire for battle and victory, which far exceeded that of any Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator of the imperium. Her fists had been trained to an unbelievable, unreasonable level.

More importantly, over the past fourteen days, she had been engaged in a mental war with Li Yao for seven days and seven nights in the illusion space, tempering and consolidating her soul to the maximum. In the seven nights that followed, she had been engaged in a great, arduous struggle for the Great Dao that almost blew up every cell in her body. In the super collision of cells, flesh, blood, and soul, her body, which had been extremely strong in the first place, was pushed to a terrifying level hundreds of times beyond the limits of human beings.

A sparring partner who was in the Soul Splitting Stage day and night, through the competition of the Great Dao, would inject the essence of life into his body and cleanse his veins and nerves. Ding Lingdang was the only one in the entire Pangu Universe who could enjoy such treatment.

The exhaustion and lethargy of a division expert, on the other hand, was met with the rise of an unparalleled fiend! For example, if the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings were all burning, shining stars, Ding Lingdang would be the white dwarf, the neutron star, and the pulsar.

Or, the ‘total mass’ of the latter was smaller, but the density was thousands of times higher.

The outcome of the collision was self-explanatory.

Another thing that made Ding Lingdang let go of the burden and feel relaxed enough to devote herself to the battle was that she had made a public speech to the entire federation through remote video transmission yesterday, announcing that she would resign as the Speaker of Parliament due to “physical reasons”, effective immediately.

It was only natural.

The operation to explore the ‘Ancient Tomb of the Supreme Emperor—the Divine Tomb—the Black Tomb’ was extremely dangerous. There was a slim chance that they would be wiped out if they were not careful.

As one of the four Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators of the Star Glory Federation, Ding Lingdang had to take the risk herself.

But as the Speaker of Parliament, her death was bound to affect the functioning of the machinery of the federation.

The only solution was to end the Speaker’s career early.

Thankfully, her term had already entered its last year. She had announced to the outside world through various channels that she was merely the ‘special Speaker of Parliament in a time of war’. When the war came to an end, her mission would be over, and she would continue to shine for the federation in a more suitable position.

From the leadership to the public, everyone was well aware of her situation and had long been mentally prepared for this matter. New Speaker candidates also emerged one after another and began to make a name for themselves in the world of public opinion.

Besides, the Star Glory Federation had been in the Warring States Period for six hundred years. The government had been prepared to suffer tremendous losses at any time. A hundred years ago, when Jiang Hailu, the Speaker of Parliament, was assassinated by Lu Zui, the director of the Secret Art Department, and the Supreme Council almost came to an end, the federation established a ‘shadow cabinet’ system. From the Speaker of Parliament to the ministers of the various departments, there were ‘back-up candidates’. Even if they were assassinated by an enemy, or if they were mentally deranged because of excessive training, or if they were forced to resign because of special circumstances like Ding Lingdang’s, there would be candidates who were qualified, respected, and capable enough to be replaced immediately. Therefore, right now, Ding Lingdang had really put aside all the restraints and concerns imposed upon her. She could wholeheartedly, freely, and unscrupulously release her combat ability and destructive power that was like a prehistoric ferocious beast.

She was like a flood that had been suppressed for five years and was about to drown the entire universe.

Not just the experts of the federation, the experts of the imperium and the Sanctuary Alliance had made plans for their future, too. They handed over their power to other people and devoted themselves to the unprecedented exploration.

For the Immortal Cultivators, it seemed inconceivable to hand over power to someone else.

But on second thought, if they could get the heritage of the Supreme Emperor, the warships of the Pangu Clan, and even the ultimate treasures left by the makers of the black wall from the ‘Ancient Tomb of the Supreme Emperor’, who would dare to refuse to return the power to them when they returned victorious?

On the other hand, if they were greedy for temporary power and did not dare to participate in the exploration, what right did they have to continue sitting on the throne when everybody else had returned with unbelievable adventures?

Even Li Jialing, the emperor of the imperium, insisted on ‘arriving in person’.

Otherwise, if other experts got the legacy of the Supreme Emperor, the Pangu Warship, and the ultimate treasures of the ancient times, how could he compete with them with his ‘Wu Yingqi’s legacy’?

Because of the uniqueness of the operation, the three parties of the Star Ocean Imperium, the Star Glory Federation, and the Sanctuary Alliance, as well as all the other heroes, had made a deal that they would abandon their past identities during the operation and assign tasks based on their capability. They would address each other as ‘Fellow Cultivators’.

Even if he did not consider himself to be the ’emperor’ of the imperium, Li Jialing, who had absorbed the knowledge of Black Star Emperor Wu Yingqi and sharpened himself in the defense of the imperial capital, was not scared of any opponent, including Ding Lingdang.

Not far away from Li Jialing was Li Linghai.

Li Linghai’s background was very similar to Ding Lingdang’s. They were both legendary martial arts geniuses.

Ding Lingdang had Li Yao’s help in her training, and Li Linghai had been possessed by the remaining soul of Black Star Emperor Wu Yingqi over the past decades. He had become Wu Yingqi’s ‘true disciple’. The legendary Dragon Emperor Cultivation Art, which had been strengthened by the Blood God, was extremely powerful!

Li Linghai’s capability could not have been more impressive, not to mention that he had been killed by her brother, Li Lingfeng, who was also a seasoned god, while she was talking and laughing

In the battle of the Gold Crystal Towers below the ground of Empyrean Terminus, Wu Yingqi’s remaining soul had burst out, overtaxing Li Linghai’s body and almost killing him.

At that time, all the specialists, including Li Yao, believed that Li Linghai’s body was going to be wasted. If he was not killed, his Cultivation would plummet, and he would fall from the Divinity Transformation Stage to the Nascent Soul Stage or even the Core Formation Stage.

Everyone had given up on Li Linghai, except for one. It was Li Jialing.

Although he was serious about Li Linghai on the surface, Li Jialing, who had lacked motherly love since childhood, valued his own mother more than anybody expected.

In the battle of the Gold Crystal Towers, in order to protect himself, Li Linghai had even gone against Wu Yingqi’s will.

If it were not for the deep motherly love that Li Linghai had for Li Jialing, Li Yao wouldn’t have been able to do anything even if he shouted himself hoarse.

Therefore, deep down his heart, Li Jialing loved Li Linghai and swore that he would let his mother walk out of the abyss and regain her former strength!

As the saying went, the mother and the son were connected by blood. Li Jialing and Li Linghai’s spiritual energy transmission and integration were not hindered at all. They seemed to share the same blood, veins, and nerves.

Besides, Li Jialing had absorbed Wu Yingqi’s soul pieces, and Li Linghai was Wu Yingqi’s true disciple. The two of them had been training in the same system named ‘Dragon Emperor Empyrean Terminus’. When Li Jialing poured his spiritual energy into Li Linghai’s body to treat his mother’s wounds without caring about the cost, the result was even more unbelievable. Not only was Li Linghai’s spiritual energy recovered day by day, even Li Jialing’s spiritual energy reserve was stronger than ever.

As the emperors and empresses of the Imperium of True Human Beings, who could enjoy more training resources than them? As long as they found a suitable training method, it would be too conservative to describe their progress as rapid.

His son had poured in the best Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures without caring about the cost. With the help of the cutting-edge technology, after countless days and nights of inhuman suffering, Li Linghai finally gritted his teeth and returned to his previous level, if not higher.

Those who returned to the peak from the abyss would always see many different things when they looked at the scenery above the peak.

Even Li Jialing and Li Linghai might not have been among the top three experts in the Pangu Universe, but the two of them, who both practiced the ‘Dragon Emperor Empyrean’ and were connected to each other, had unparalleled teamwork. They were definitely one of the strongest pairs in the Pangu Universe.