Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1499
Li Yao slowly retrieved all the maintenance tools into his Cosmos Rings before he slapped his forehead and said, "That's very reasonable. I can save them for the time being, but I can't save them forever; I can save one of them, but I can't save them all. So, everything I did is utterly meaningless. But in such a case, I have a minor question for you."
Slightly dazed, Li Jialing asked, "What is it, Brother Yao?"
"You know that hundreds of thousands of people must be receiving excruciating refinements and experiments in laboratories, prisons, and dungeons exactly at this moment, right? It seems unlikely for me to rescue all of them. Then, why did I rescue you from Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan at great risks? If it were utterly meaningless, I could've hidden in a corner, bulged my eyes, and blown whistles while I watched Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan rub and knead you into a real slaughter machine. Wouldn't that have been great?"
Li Jialing's golden face was immediately frozen, unable to say anything for a long time.
"Answer me, do you really think that it was meaningless that I saved you? After all, I saved you, but I couldn't save everybody else!"
Staring at Li Jialing in the eyes, Li Yao said, "If you really think so, I have ten thousand ways for you to relive the sufferings of the past. I'll respect you as a good man if you agree to that!
"But if you have accepted my help gladly, only to feel that me helping other people is utterly meaningless, how can you justify yourself? Because you are more handsome and more worthwhile to be saved, and the despicable people here are not as great as you?"
Li Jialing was rendered speechless and blushed. But thanks to the clusters of golden fur on his face, it was barely possible to tell his embarrassment.
Li Yao curled his middle finger and his index finger and knocked Li Jialing's forehead, causing a huge noise.
"Wow! It hurts!"
Not expecting that Li Yao would attack him abruptly, Li Jialing covered his head and jumped to his feet.
"Damn right it hurts."
Li Yao said, "Why are you playing sophisticated as if you have seen through the darkness of humanity and the cruelty of society when you are at such a young age? For a young man like you, you should be more sunny, hotblooded, and recalcitrant. If you really want to see through everything, you can wait until you are two hundred years ago. Right now, your wings haven't grown tough yet, and you'd better watch and learn after Brother Yao!
"Furthermore…
"Saving them for the time being and saving them forever, saving one of them and saving them all—these are not in contradiction at all! A journey of a thousand kilometers has to begin with a most insignificant first step, doesn't it?
"Come on, widen your eyes. No, that's not wide enough. Keep bulging them until your eyeballs are jumping out. Yes. That's right. Keep it. Now, use your egg-like eyes to look at Brother Yao's solemn face, and tell me if I am joking. Do you think that I was teasing you when I said that I was going to save the world?
"Let me tell you again. Brother Yao is best known for his truthfulness. I never tell any lies. I will save them both for the time being and forever, and I will save one of them and all of them!"
Li Jialing was completely overwhelmed by Li Yao's dominance.
For a moment, he had forgotten Long Yangjun's words about Li Yao's "brain disability due to wounds". In a trance, he seemed to see Li Yao's magnificent performance when he challenged Wuying Lan and Li Lingfeng with one crystal suit and one Colossus in "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" again!
"Brother Yao…"
Li Jialing felt that Li Yao's heavily-wounded soul was expanding into a giant that was ripping apart the crust almost ten thousand meters deep, letting the sunlight on the surface of the planet into the place.
In comparison, his own soul was as insignificant as a grain of dust.
The young man considered it for a long time and hesitated before he said, "However, what exactly are you going to do, Brother Yao? You are not helping them repair the air circulation magical equipment one town after another, are you?"
"Of course, that's impossible. The efficiency will be too low."
Li Yao said carefully, "The source of all the problems is the dark, corrupted system of the Imperium of True Human Beings. Whatever scheme your mother and Wuying Qi have, they are at least right about one thing. The Imperium today has been corrupted to the point that a world-shifting reform is necessary. Without a reform, everybody from top to bottom will be suffocated in the stinky and dirty air while the oxygen percentage drops exactly like the locals of this place!
"However, there are different approaches for reforms. I have my own ways, which are entirely different from Li Linghai and Wuying Qi's and absolutely incompatible with Long Yangjun's!"
Li Jialing sighed and said, "After spending time with you for such a long time, I have finally discovered that no matter how casual Brother Yao appears, you are always an unwavering Cultivator deep down your bones. Even the flames of ten thousand stars cannot burn your beliefs.
"About the path of the Cultivators… Truth be told, Brother Yao, I've been considering the differences in the paths recently. The path of the Cultivators, the true path of immortality, and the Path of Ultimate Benevolence, which represses feelings and desires to reduce resource consumption and maintain the harmony of the universe.
"To be honest, the future lying in front of the path of the Cultivators is indeed beautiful. Who doesn't want to live in a world which is peaceful, open, prosperous, and where everybody helps each other kindly?
"It is a pity that resources are limited and humans are born evil. So, it is most difficult of all to transform the ideas of the Cultivators into reality. I'm afraid that it will only be a dream however hard you work!"
Li Yao nodded his head and said, "I admit that, compared to the true path of immortality which takes advantage of the weaknesses of humanity, and the 'Path of Ultimate Benevolence' that completely abandons humanity, it is indeed most difficult to carry out the philosophies of the Cultivators and build a harmonious, beautiful world.
"However, that is not the reason why we shouldn't work on it. Let me give you an example that young people of your age can understand. Let's say that you are studying in a school where there are more boys than girls, and there is a cheerleader in your class who can be rated ten in every aspect. Not only is she uncriticizable in look, body figure, charm, and whatever, but she is also good at cooking, sewing, and other home skills. Furthermore, she is kindhearted and helps a grandma to cross the street every day. Most importantly of all, her interests and hobbies are exactly what you like too. Whenever the two of you start talking, you can never stop. All in all, she is a goddess of goddesses.
"Naturally, such a girl certainly has a bunch of pursuers, and it is terribly difficult to get her. Several brawny men surround her like sharks every day and glare at whoever approaches her.
"Then let me ask you, as a passionate, ambitious young man, should you just abandon her and pursue another girl that you don't really like because it is too difficult to pursue the cheerleader?"
Li Jialing slowly bulged his eyes and thought for a long time. Then he shook his head. "I don't think so."
"What do you mean by 'I don't think so'? Be specific!"
Li Yao frowned and said, "If you pursue a girl that you are actually not satisfied with and don't even like, just because the odds of winning the love of the cheerleader is too difficult, isn't such an action cowardly and shameless?"
"It truly is!" Li Jialing nodded his head heavily.
"On the other hand—"
Li Yao carefully guided him. "If you are truly going to be a shameless coward, shouldn't you at least try your best to pursue her first and wait until you are cruelly refused by her or beaten up by her brawny bodyguards before you pursue somebody else?
"What if she is blind and just like your tiger—no, lion appearance? What if those brawn bodyguards are actually her brothers who are testing her pursuers for her? What if no one else has the courage to pursue her, and she has hungered for a long time? In that case, wouldn't you suffer a heavy loss if you don't even dare to try?"
Li Jialing was greatly enlightened, but then he was confused again. "Brother Yao, you do have a point, but what are you trying to say exactly?"
"It's very simple. The cheerleader is exactly the path of the Cultivators."
Li Yao said, "Although I am your brother, I'm not forcing you to embark on the path of the Cultivators at all. However, if you feel that the world depicted by the Cultivators is beautiful albeit it is difficult to put the ideas into practice, it is all the more reason why you should work on it so that you wouldn't waste your youth! If it doesn't work out when you have burnt up your hot blood, you can always shift to a different rail! In the early years of the Imperium of True Human Beings, too many Cultivators were transformed into Immortal Cultivators. If you are defeated by the dark reality in the end after trying your best, and you become an Immortal Cultivator again because you do not have an option, you will not regret it, and Brother Yao will not berate you either. But if you run back like a coward without even having the courage to pursue the cheerleader, don't blame Brother Yao for criticizing you. Doesn't it make perfect sense?"
Chapter 2352: The Deepest Dungeon |
Complicated expressions popped up on Li Jialing's face as he mumbled, "It does make sense, but… why do I feel that what Brother Yao said made sense, what Sister Long said made sense, and even what Blackstar the Great said made sense too? You are all right. I-I'm completely confused!"
"That's why I said that you are still too immature and need more personal experiences."
Li Yao said, "Besides, in many cases, if you are merely talking, even the most bizarre reasons can be decorated flawlessly, but what actually matters is what you do and how you put them into practice.
"I admit that the situation at the center of the cosmos is chaotic, and that the ideas of the Cultivators look rather obsolete. But it is exactly because of the chaotic situation and the balance of Blackstar the Great, the four Kurfürsten, and the Covenant Alliance that we can take the opportunity and rise!
"If it were five hundred years ago when the Imperium of True Human Beings was still relatively united and steady, we would be really hopeless!
"Therefore, give some credit to Brother Yao and the path of the Cultivators. Trust me, I am best at taking advantage of chaos!"
Li Jialing hesitated for a long time but still nodded his head. Not giving a straight answer, he simply said, "I will remember what Brother Yao said. In any case, I am definitely not a coward!"
Right then, the two of them suddenly heard intermittent but rhythmed voices far away from the town. Somebody seemed to be singing a weird tune.
Slightly dazed, the two of them looked at each other and listened quietly, only to realize that the young and vigorous voices were from the kids who were playing on the mainframe crystal processor a moment ago.
Having never breathed such fresh air before, the children showed more intense reactions from the "oxygen intoxication" than the adults did. They clapped their hands and sang ancient rhymes while giggling. Perhaps the children born in the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago, who were the ancestors of everyone today, might've sung exactly the same song in their momentary joy, didn't they?
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yao listened for a while and remarked, "Very pleasant, isn't it?"
"Yes."
In a trance, Li Jialing said in a low voice, "When I was little, I spent every second in training and fighting. I never had any chance to sing any song."
Li Yao said, "You will have children someday, chubby and lovely kids. Do you want them to live in a world without light and rhymes?"
After a long silence, Li Jialing gradually clenched his fists and said, "Brother Yao, let's go and see what the wildlings living in the areas of darkness and death look like."
After checking the assets they were to bring with them and confirming the map of the complicated tunnels and gaps, Li Yao and Li Jialing passed a long channel and opened the rusted gate of the shelter while a few fully-armed sentinels observed them, entering the wilderness.
The moment they left the ancient shelter, they immediately discovered that the temperatures had risen by dozens of degrees. The air was soggy and stagnant, enshrouding them in invisible magma that might melt them into parts of the colorful rocks at any moment.
There were countless tunnels outside of the shelter that led to every direction up and down. Li Yao touched the wall of the tunnels, finding that it was smooth, unnatural, and had traces of manual work. There were also helical whorls on it, suggesting that all the tunnels had been dug by enormous excavators and shield tunneling machines a long, long time ago.
Li Jialing and Li Yao said that when the Demon Beast Empire and the Star Ocean Imperium collapsed, countless demons and Cultivators escaped to the underground world. They naturally carried a lot of large magical equipment for the underground environment, of which excavators and shield tunneling machines were certainly the key.
At that time, nobody hoped to be stranded in a shelter in loneliness. All the refugees had ambitious plans, hoping to dig countless tunnels with the excavators and shield tunneling machines and connect all the shelters so that they could reestablish an enormous "underground empire".
Perhaps they partly succeeded at the beginning. The force made of hundreds of shelters could exchange resources and information as much as possible, thus continuing the civilization from the ground.
But good days did not last. Very soon, the regime of the demons and that of the Cultivators discovered each other. A bloody, incessant war immediately began. The Cultivators at that time had just passed the thirty thousand years of the Great Dark Age, and they still held larger-than-life hatred against demons. The demons, having just lost their country and their lineages, would never concede either.
The brutality of the war must've been a hundred times crueler than the battle to besiege "Starlight" below the ground of the Land of Sins. Deep below the surface of the planet, where there was a shortage of all resources, including sunlight and water, it was inevitable that nobody could win the war.
The tunnels of demons and those of humans met and collided together. The excavators of the two parties drilled through the enemy's skulls, their tracks crushing over the enemy's bones. The gigantic shield tunneling systems with a hundred discs could've dug out a bright future, but they only shattered the enemy's civilization as well as their own in the end.
Ten thousand years later, the civilization of the past was almost gone, and the only things left were the twisted tunnels and the abandoned shelters, as well as the dead bodies at the corners which had decayed into ashes, telling the brutality of the war in silence.
Li Jialing told Li Yao that, because of the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the past ten thousand years, most of the tunnels had been twisted and deformed into dead ends.
The destination of many tunnels was a forsaken shelter, in which there was nothing but bones and ashes. Anything with the slightest worth had been ransacked.
Only a few of the tunnels led to the caves deeper into the ground that were barely suitable for the survival of living creatures. Those caves were mostly gigantic bases that were supposed to be super towns accommodating the refugees' civilization, but they were the habitats for the wildlings and the animals now.
Long Yangjun had spent a long time in this place. She explored all the tunnels and natural cracks near the 10,084th district and drew them into a 3D map that had been imported into Li Jialing's portable crystal processor. Together with the localization chip that could report her coordinates in real time, they were not worried that they could lose their way.
Those tunnels were the "underground highways" that connected different shelters. Naturally, they were not small at all but at least three meters in diameter, broad enough for a fully-armed warrior in a crystal suit to pass by. So, it was not too hard to push forward.
Li Yao and Li Jialing were both capable of a lot of techniques. Although there was no light, and the air was hot and pungent, they were still moving fast.
Even though the tunnels had been torn apart by earthquakes, leaving only zigzagging, narrow gaps, they could also change the structures of their bones and muscles and squeeze through. Since the wildlings were able to move through the gaps, they couldn't have been too narrow and twisted.
Soon enough, the lights of the 10,084th district completely disappeared into the darkness. They seemed to have walked into the rocks that nobody had ever entered since the primeval age. They heard absolutely nothing in the utter silence. As a result, the sounds of the organ movements inside the body and the running blood were much clearer than before. Even every breath became as deafening as thunders.
This place was exactly the areas of darkness and death that were often frequented by the wildlings.
The two of them released their spiritual energy and sensed the crevices carefully, discovering a lot of creatures that could only be found at such a depth below the ground.
There was a creature that looked like moss but had a tiny umbrella on the head growing in the hottest areas inside the crevices. What was most bizarre was that their umbrellas would release orange brilliance during a bloom, like tiny lanterns.
Li Jialing told Li Yao that the creature similar to moss was known as "Fire Flower" by the locals and could be traced back to the primeval age hundreds of thousands of years ago. They were likely to be an experimental life created by the Pangu civilization or the Nuwa civilization because natural-born creatures rarely had its bizarre characteristics.
The Fire Flowers fed on heat. They would even join each other in clusters, forming carpets that could slither forward, while they chased after magma like herding livestock.
Their body structure was naturally not strong enough for them to survive the magma without being damaged, but whenever the magma slightly cooled down and consolidated, it would immediately become their most succulent prairie. Tremendous Fire Flowers would enshroud the cooling magma and absorb the heat inside without leaving out a single drop.
