Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1136
The iron troll was riddled with holes under Long Yangjun's attack. The deep blue flames of spiritual energy were flickering in fear. It extended countless tentacles furiously trying to snatch the Yin Yang, sometimes even spurting space torpedoes to Long Yangjun hoping to blow her up. However, Long Yangjun's Yin Yang was the fastest and most agile Colossus of what the twelve experts from the Ancient Sages Sector carried. It was even faster than Li Yao's Tartarean Skeleton. How could the iron troll do as it wished?
"Found it!" Long Yangjun's eyes were as cold as ice, as she stared at the hundreds of space torpedoes at the core of the ball-shaped body of the iron troll. "The computational units and the control chips must be installed right there!"
At this moment, the destructive light balls around the Tartarean Skeleton had all perished. Although the surface of the Colossus was slightly dimmed, even more violent flames of spiritual energy were surging out under Li Yao's fury. Li Yao gritted his teeth hard to straighten his left arm and open his fingers. All the crimson thorny veins around its body were condensed on the left army and soon constructed into what appeared to be the barrel of a cannon in front of his left arm.
A highly dangerous red light ball was generated from the thorny barrel.
The iron troll sensed the fatal spiritual waves from Li Yao's side, too. The only solution filtered by the enormous database was to run away immediately. But the black-and-white light blades from Li Yao were improving both their speed and density to a higher level in the moment, harassing the deep blue halo that supported its body, making it unable for the monster to move. How could it run away?
"Explode now!" Li Yao roared. The destructive force hidden deep inside the Tartarean Skeleton erupted like a hurricane and gathered in the thorns on the left palm, turning into an enormous light ball more than a hundred meters in diameter, which then submerged into the core of the body of the iron troll!
Chapter 1758: Silver Tomb |
After a moment, all the crazily dancing flagella and tentacles around the iron troll were ossified and straightened. They extended as far away as possible, as if they were trying to get out of the range of explosion.
But there was no time!
The blood red light ball exploded abruptly at the core of the iron troll, swallowing everything within a thousand meters instantly. The strong radiation and interference caused by the light ball even completely blew the 'nerves' and 'veins' of the iron troll into smithereens. Almost a thousand space torpedoes were detonated at the same time before they proliferated crazily like abnormal tumors. After they reached the limits of ugliness, they exploded, shrank, and perished, leaving countless broken pieces that were rapidly revolving behind!
It appeared as if Li Yao had stabbed a bloody hole in the universe with the Tartarean Skeleton, and the iron troll had been attracted into the hole and vanished forever!
The heated battlefield fell into weird stillness again, but the flames of spiritual energy around the two Colossi were still dancing crazily like two flags, rising high above!
A moment later, everybody was exclaiming in excitement. The soldiers of the federal army were so excited that they had no time to bother whether or not their voice could be heard by each other in the vacuum. Bashing their chests, they uttered the most passionate, loudest, and sincerest roar!
"Long live the federation!"
"Long live the Colossi!"
The cacophony of the crowd might not have been able to pierce through the cold universe. However, the crystal cannons, flying swords, chainswords, vibration sabers, and high-heat axes that were filled with all their spirit, will, and hot blood certainly could!
A moment later, the battle line of the federal army that had almost dispersed a moment ago was compressed into an iron tide again that rushed at the army of ghosts!
The army of ghosts had just changed into the piton-shaped battle formations that were most suitable for high-speed charge, but before they had reached the super high speed that was most necessary for such a battle formation, they were forced to change into the defense mode.
Despite their massive computational ability, they were still cramping nervously as their brains crashed.
Li Yao and Long Yangjun boosted the morale to the highest with only the two of them again!
Now that they had played their final trump cards, naturally, there was no reason for them to stop there. They would certainly ensure that the best effect was achieved.
The 'Tartarean Skeleton' and the 'Yin Yang' marched into the enemy's battle formation from two sides. Like wind blowing apart clouds, they were utterly invincible as they pushed forward. They slew the army of ghosts as if they were merely pulling weeds, rewriting the definition of 'onslaught'!
Boom!
Li Yao casually threw out crimson waves, and a few crystal suits that did not have time to dodge would end up as round fireballs.
Crack!
The bloody thorns were waving around the body crazily. As long as they touched any part on the enemy's crystal suit, however slipper the plate armor was, they would still snatch it and rip the crystal suit apart as if it were the lousiest wooden box.
Chi! Chi! Chi! Chi!
On the dozens of black wings made of spiritual energy at the back of the Tartarean Skeleton, there was a broken piece of the primeval treasures the size of a fingernail hidden at the core of every feather. All the pieces had been installed with the control rune arrays that Li Yao had carved carefully and baptized repetitively with the blood from his heart. Under the control of his telepathic thoughts, those pieces of primeval treasures could still deal serious damage to crystal suits and even small starships once their speed increased enough.
At this moment, a lot of warriors of the army of ghosts were riddled with holes, with blood flying everywhere, under the attack of the stormy pieces released by Li Yao!
Soon, nothing was in Li Yao's way anymore. When he looked back, he could only see a whole battleground of gory debris. There was not a single organized combat unit on the enemy's side anymore.
That was the dominance of the Colossi that were as strong as the main-force warships but much more agile and swift than them!
"Great job!" Luo Qisheng and Long Yangjun flew toward Li Yao. The old colonel of the federal army could not disguise his excitement at all. In his eyes, Li Yao and Long Yangjun had become two almighty gods that had appeared out of nowhere. He was willing to accept their command. "The army of ghosts at the periphery of District 01's space station is about to be suppressed by us. What do we do next? Do you clear the battlefield completely, or do we break in right now?"
"We break in right now!" Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other. The two of them did not dare underestimate the enemy anymore after the abrupt changes just now.
Although they reversed the situation with the help of the Colossi, all their trump cards had been revealed, too. Besides, the Colossi were gluttons that consumed mental power, spiritual energy, crystals, and ammunitions at an unbelievable rate. Despite the immensity of Li Yao's and Long Yangjun's souls, using the Colossi for a long time would still be as much a burden as when an ordinary soldier waved a saber weighing ninety kilograms for an hour without rest.
The fierce battle just now had caused various battle performance parameters on the two Colossi to slightly drop. Li Yao and Long Yangjun both felt that their souls were slowly burning like candles. If they dawdled, there might be new unexpected changes. So, they might as well charge at the core of the enemy's battle formation while they still could!
In five minutes, when there was still engagement of fire at the edge of the battlefield, the daring team made of the officers had already gathered.
The two Colossi were certainly the unquestionable vanguards. Li Yao and Long Yangjun broke into the space station through the airtight gate that the iron troll crawled out of a moment ago.
At the core area of the hundred ball-shaped space stations of Hundred Flowers City, District 01 was the space station that had been built the earliest and in the largest scale. The shell of the silver ball was almost a hundred kilometers in diameter. Even a small starship would be able to dive into the space station carefully in order to ship assets. The two Colossi were both less than fifty meters tall, so they did not need to worry that they might bump their heads.
The three airtight gates were under Professor Mo Xuan's control. Naturally, they would not be opened or closed easily. They did not have time to play the game of hacking crystal processors or cracking the rune arrays, either. So, the soldiers simply spurted tremendous gel at the exit of the airtight gates, forming a super tiny blockage layer to prevent the oxygen inside the space station from leaking out.
Boom!
After ensuring that the internal pressure was stable enough, Li Yao kicked the second and the third airtight gates in front of him heavily with the Tartarean Skeleton.
The daring team exclusively made of Cultivators, led by Luo Qisheng, broke into District 01 with crystal cannons on their shoulders and chainswords in their hands like wolves and tigers, finding their way into the main control room of Hundred Flowers City and the Grand-Unified Spiritual Nexus Information Processing Center!
The weird thing in front of their eyes, however, cast everybody including Li Yao and Long Yangjun into a big surprise.
Inside District 01, the blue sky, the white clouds, and the enjoyable scenery simulated by the Grand Illusionary Land had gone. The only thing left was the silver cabin wall that was emitting cold brilliance that felt like ice. That was all within their expectations and nothing to be surprised at.
However, at the center of District 01, there should have been a lot of authentic soil and plants that made up a fairly large garden for the staff who worked in this place to rest and relieve their pressure. The park had completely vanished!
No. It did not vanish. The part was still where it used to be, except that the colorful flowers, the green bushes, and the fruitful trees inside it all turned silver!
Exactly. After careful observation, everybody realized that things within District 01, from the plants to the buildings, had all turned silver. They looked like silver statues that had just been frozen!
As the core of Hundred Flowers City and the hub of the Spiritual Nexus of the entire Star Glory Federation, hundreds of thousands of researchers, crystal processor experts, and Spiritual Nexus specialists lived in this place. It was supposed to be lively and crowded by people, but now, there was nothing but dead silence, as if the place was a tomb made of silver. All the residents seemed to have gone to another world!
All the members of the daring team shuddered hard at the weird scene.
"What happened in this place? How did it end like this?"
"What exactly is the weird stuff that has consolidated on the ground and on the cabin wall?"
"If Professor Mo Xuan is truly behind everything, what is he trying to do now that even his best Hyper Spirits have been taken down?"
Right then, the 'silver tomb', which was still and quiet previously, began to move!
As if a cold wind was blowing from the bottomless level on the stagnant water, ripples were spreading out on the silver materials that enshrouded the cabin ball, the ground, and all the buildings. They turned from solids into thick liquids, running, wriggling, and condensing. Smiling silver faces were surfacing on the ground, wall, and sky.
Seeing the scene, Li Yao felt that lightning was striking inside his head. He immediately understood what was covering District 01. "It's liquid metal!"
Luo Qisheng realized what was going on, too. He shouted, "Watch out, everybody. Something is not right. This is liquid metal of the mustard-seed level, designed to repair the broken parts of the space stations!"
Liquid metal was not a name for any natural metal but a special alloy mixed by countless metal elements. At a certain temperature, pressure, and spiritual waves, its form could be changed freely, like rubber or gel.
Because it could easily be reshaped, and it could turn into the solid form with a high intensity immediately when the conditions that kept it in the liquid form altered, it served as one of the necessary materials to repair the shells of the starships.
Hundred Flowers City was a space metropolis connected by a hundred enormous space stations. The aging of the shell and the leakages caused by cosmic storms and meteoroid assaults during the daily operation were almost unavoidable. Naturally, a huge amount of liquid metal was stored in this place.
Hundred Flowers City even boasted its own liquid metal factory that produced almost a hundred tons of liquid metal on a daily basis!
At this moment, it appeared that all the liquid metal stored in the entire Hundred Flowers City had been secretly shipped to District 01. The place had been completely drowned and turned into a silver ocean!
On the surface of the silver ocean, right below the big smiling faces, heads, torsos, and limbs were being condensed one after another. Very soon, a lot of liquid metal puppets two to three meters tall with particularly sharp arms and legs were formed. Staggering, they stood up on their feet and stared at Li Yao, Long Yangjun, and the other members of the daring team in silence, continuing smiling.
Chapter 1759: Mo Xuan, the Extraterrestrial Devil! |
Ripples were still spreading out on the surface of the hundreds of liquid metal puppets, as if they were living people who were breathing.
On their oval 'skulls', the ripples crowded into the same place, forming what appeared to be facial organs. They seemed to have become scholars who were brooding.
The members of the daring team were all shocked by the weird scene. For a moment, they were at a loss about how to deal with the liquid metal puppets.
Li Yao, on the other hand, was even more greatly stunned.
The appearance of the liquid metal puppets was almost exactly like Professor Mo Xuan's current life form.
He knew that Professor Mo Xuan had tried to build 'artificial bodies' with liquid metal more than a hundred years ago, but he did not know that the professor had indeed succeeded, at least partly.
He was wondering what was residing inside the liquid metal puppets. Was it living souls, pure artificial intelligence, or merely parts of Professor Mo Xuan?
"Lay down your weapons and stop fighting." Holes appeared on the big faces of the hundreds of liquid metals simultaneously, from which the same voice was broadcast, Professor Mo Xuan's voice that was filled with pain, desperation, and excitement. "Enough blood has been shed in the cold space. Everybody is fighting for the Star Glory Federation and the civilization of mankind. I don't want to hurt anyone. So, drop your weapons!"
The hundreds of liquid metal puppets were uttering the same voice. The entire silver world was humming under the shock.
It was obviously Professor Mo Xuan's voice, but when hundreds of his voices overlapped with each other, it sounded twisted, deep, and weird, giving everybody the feeling that he was some sort of… fiend!
Looking at Long Yangjun, Li Yao bellowed, "Who are you exactly, Professor Mo Xuan or the extraterrestrial devils?"
"What's the difference?" Self-mocking chuckles echoed from the holes on the heads of the hundreds of liquid metal puppets at the same time. "Besides, even if I claim that I am 'just' Professor Mo Xuan, will you believe it? Is there any way that I can prove myself?
"So, it doesn't matter now.
"On the other hand, you, the experts from… the Ancient Sages Sector, are rather interesting. How can you sense the existence of the extraterrestrial devils, huh?"
He was almost admitting that he was an 'extraterrestrial devil' by responding in such a way. Whispers were immediately triggered among the members of the daring team.
At this moment, they finally confirmed that their actions of defiance and insubordination previously were justified.
However, it also suggested that the extraterrestrial devils did exist, and they had corrupted the most critical hub of the Spiritual Nexus to such an extent. The future of the federation was still uncertain!
Li Yao was slightly dazed. Then, he realized that 'the first real identity' that he and Long Yangjun had prepared was not really a secret because they publicly announced it a moment ago. Even if Professor Mo Xuan did not have spies in the crowd, with his identity as one of the best refiners of the federation, it certainly would not have been difficult for him to implant certain detectaphones in the crystal suits of some of the soldiers.
Besides, Yan Liren, Master Bitter Cicada, and the rest of the experts were misled by Professor Mo Xuan and teleported to somewhere unknown. They were likely to have been ambushed by Professor Mo Xuan. It was not unusual that Professor Mo Xuan had learned of their 'real' identity.
Right then, Luo Qisheng furiously roared, "Professor Mo Xuan, is it really you? How is it possible? The Professor Mo Xuan I knew was a great hero of the federation who saved the federation multiple times and made great contributions for the federation to grow into what it has become today! But right now, you are conspiring with the Black Wind Fleet, controlling all the leadership of Hundred Flowers City, and compromising the hub of the Spiritual Nexus. What do you want exactly?"
"Conspiring with the Black Wind Fleet?" The holes on the faces of the hundreds of liquid metal puppets were shivering at the same time, as if they were all amused. With their piton-like limbs shaking softly, they replied, "No, you're mistaken. From beginning to end, I have always been a proud Cultivator of the Star Glory Federation. I never conspired with the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings; I merely invited them to my trap.
"You must've heard a thing or two about the scandal that took place in the capital, but everything you know is fake. It is a plan directed by and starring Jin Xinyue, who intends to die together with the enemy.
"However, the commander of the expedition army of the Imperium is definitely the opposite of reckless. Besides, the information under his control is a hundred times more than what you are aware of. Jin Xinyue's delicate but fragile scheme is not enough to deceive him at all. However fat and succulent the 'bait' appears to be, the Black Wind Fleet will not bite it.
