Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1656
Chapter 2613: The Next Sun Plan! |
Below the array of super crystal processors from the primeval age, countless thick crystal wires, which looked like parasitic vines, extended out to an area of dense crystal processors of mankind. They were all the latest models of the Imperium.
It appeared that Wuying Qi had connected an abundance of crystal processors of human beings to the crystal processors of the primeval age, trying to activate the artifacts from hundreds of thousands of years ago with the operation pattern of human crystal processors. There was no telling how he was going to achieve that at all!
However, it was still not the key that Li Yao paid attention to. What attracted him was the weird devices that looked like… blood pools next to the human crystal processors.
Every blood pool was like the most gigantic medical cabin, except that they were not filled with green medical fluids but suspicious liquids that were as red as blood. Inside the liquids that looked like plasma, films as thin as paper were floating. Enshrouded by the films were objects in the shape of human beings.
The reason why they were "objects in the shape of human beings" was that they had been so drained that their original features were beyond recognition, like highly-rotten but living skeletons. Their heads were also full of lumps that were beating like hearts and releasing intense brainwaves nonstop.
All the brainwaves were absorbed by the red, suspicious fluids. After being purified and transformed by the super crystal processors, they were sent to the depths of the array crystal processors of the Pangu civilization incessantly.
The "people" who were enveloped and swallowed by films had not entirely died yet.
Even though he was dozens of meters away, Li Yao could sense the intense remorse and their miseries in the mist.
Perhaps the people who came here first were not forced. They worshipped Wuying Qi from the bottom of their hearts and were tricked by his fancy words, thinking that they would be the operators of the stellar-level magical equipment.
They couldn't have seen it coming that they would "operate" it in such a way!
"Hurry and pour the new 'fuel' in!"
The officer commanded the soldiers to throw the ignorant Meditation Healers into the empty blood pools. Immediately, many workers in white suits stuck certain thick and sharp tubes into the back of the Meditation Healers' heads, connecting the "sacrifices" to the gigantic stellar-level magical equipment.
So, all the Meditation Healers were regarded as "fuel".
"It seems that, just like he had to detonate Wuying Qinxin's brain when he performed a mental attack on us in the Seven Seas Grand Market, Wuying Qi has to drain the brains of hundreds of Meditation Healers to enhance his own brainwaves in order to carry out the brainwashing that involves the whole space zone."
The mental devil said, "Modifying the stellar-level magical equipment of the primeval age with the crystal processors of human beings, allowing it to shoot out the brainwaves of human beings without any attrition, even using the sun as the power and the magnifier—what an amazing technology! Take a guess. Did Blackstar the Great come up with such a marvelous technique on his own, or did he…"
"Huh?"
Li Yao was still dwelling in fury and had clenched his fists before he knew it.
Even though it was the unpardonable Immortal Cultivators that were being tortured in the blood pools, such an evil crime still crossed the boundaries of humanity!
Li Yao felt that ten thousand needles were stinging his eyeballs, making him too furious to think.
"You—"
The Imperial Guards, who had been collectively hypnotized, were highly sensitive about the deviants. Immediately sensing that something was wrong with Li Yao, the officer in the lead looked at him suspiciously and scanned every detail on his face. "What happened to you?"
There was no need and no time to wait.
The real Wuying Qi might arrive at any moment. Long Yangjun, who was pretending to be Li Linghai, and Li Jialing, who was pretending to be Li Yao, couldn't resist him for long.
Even though he sensed quite a few dominating vibes in the darkness around, so what?
Few people in the entire Imperium could block Li Yao's attack in an unexpected ambush!
Li Yao raised his head and smiled at the officer. His original face and his eyes that were as sharp as fiery sabers appeared as his smile spread out.
Li Yao attacked. Before the components of his crystal suit had even flown out of his Cosmos Ring, his fingertips had already unleashed a hundred supersonic air blades that cut the throats of the dozens of soldiers and crystal processor operators. Then, they took a weird turn in the midair and attacked in the darkness.
All the defenders were greatly shocked. Nobody expected that such a tough expert at the peak of the Divinity Transformation Stage was bold enough to invade the Gold Crystal Pyramid at the risk of his life, or that Li Yao's soul was so weird that it remained unaffected from the mental attack.
Very soon, Li Yao's crystal suit that was as deep and dark as the night sky had been dyed deep red by the blood.
Broken limbs and bones were everywhere on the ground. Not a single defender could utter the weakest voice.
The only survivors were the few unconscious Meditation Healers that hadn't been thrown into the blood pools and the "fuel" who had been drained inside the blood pools.
Li Yao looked at the "fuel" in the blood pools thoughtfully.
"They are beyond saving. Their brains and their souls are already exhausted, and their vitality are being extracted incessantly. Even if you don't kill them now, their lives will still go dry very soon in agony."
The mental devil said, "Give them a hand?"
Li Yao lowered his head and snapped his fingers. Ten streaks of brilliance pierced through the blood pools, extricating the wretched "fuel" from their miseries.
Then, Li Yao stepped back to the entrance of the gate and deployed hundreds of highly-oriented crystal bombs in a row, before he returned and examined the super crystal processors in front of him.
"Do you think that if I summon the 'Arsonist' and blow up all the super crystal processors in this place, be they mankind's or Pangu's, will it stop the Gold Crystal Pyramid from functioning?"
Li Yao consulted the mental devil.
Having swallowed Professor Mo Xuan's heritage, the mental devil could almost be called a new generation of "Internet devil". The work related to crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus was its specialty.
"Don't do that. It's certainly not that simple!"
The mental devil said, "Look, most of the crystal processor operators were killed just now, but the data and the information on the light beam are still rolling, and the Gold Crystal Pyramid shows no sign that it has stopped.
"According to my estimation, the array of super crystal processors we have discovered is just the tip of the iceberg for the control system or even the display interface at the front end. Even if you completely tear a virtual light beam apart, it doesn't mean that you can shut down the crystal processor that projects the light beam, right?
"Also, I'm highly suspicious that there's some sort of self-defense and self-acceleration in the control system of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. It means that you will only accelerate its activation if you attack it brutally."
Li Yao bulged his eyes. "Why?"
"It's just simply common sense!"
The mental devil said unhurriedly, "In our Internet industry, we have to consider user scenarios when we work on a project. Then, assuming that the Gold Crystal Pyramid was constructed by the zealots of the Houyi Clan as their last trump card, they would definitely consider the possibility that the Gold Crystal Pyramid was sabotaged by the Pangu Clan or the Nuwa Clan brutally. In such a user scenario, isn't it normal and necessary to deploy a defense mechanism of attack-induced accelerated activation?"
Li Yao asked anxiously, "Then what do we do? How do you think we can wreck it completely?"
"About that, I'll have to hack the internal network and study its structure before I give you an answer."
The mental devil controlled Neltharion to fly at the control crystal processor. "I think you can either summon a powerful fleet to launch a blanket, saturated bombardment at the pyramid, or wait until I locate its core for a critical attack. Anyway, let me take a look first…"
Neltharion found the control crystal processor. The drill of mystic rays revolved quickly, and it dug in soon.
Unusual bloody stripes immediately spread out on the information flashing on the light beam.
Li Yao sensed that a high-speed channel of data transmission had been established between him and the mental devil. The information that was previously stored in the control crystal processor of the Gold Crystal Pyramid flooded into his brain.
"As I expected, Wuying Qi has set up a very brilliant control system. This is only the manifestation at the front end. Not many commands are needed at all. All the procedures that require controlling have been finished. It is safe to say that the Gold Crystal Pyramid has already been woken up. Everything is automatic now."
The mental devil said, "Thankfully, we did not blow up the place recklessly just now, or we would've lost the ports to hack the internal network of the Gold Crystal Pyramid.
"As for the Meditation Healers you killed in time, it did not help much either. Their mental power had been extracted and stored in a place we haven't discovered yet. Killing them only means that Wuying Qi's power output will be lowered by one thousandth.
"Huh. Look at what I've found. 'Next Sun Plan'. This is Wuying Qi's real scheme. What does 'Next Sun' mean? Is he going to create a more powerful Imperial and civilization tomorrow, or does it mean that he will increase the luminescence of the sun by ten thousand times, thereby creating the brightest new sun?
"Wow. Our guess just now was correct. Wuying Qi does not mean to destroy the sun; he only wants to trigger the sun with minimal power and transform the sun into an energy source and a magnifier so that his mental attack will sweep across the whole space zone. The four families' ace fleets will all become his puppets.
"However, look at this place. He is fully prepared for the side effect of the Gold Crystal Pyramid. He estimates that thirty to fifty billion ordinary people will be killed in the battle. It's not because of the radiations and the high-energy particles, but because the ordinary people cannot bear the intense mental blast. It's very likely that they will be deranged into lunatics who only know killing and sabotaging, if not animals with nothing but primitive instincts.
"Think about it. A violent sun, insufficient resources, volcano eruption, earthquake, and most people turning into beasts. A death estimation of thirty billion is too optimistic.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Our Blackstar the Great's game is bigger and bigger. A thousand years ago, he only blew up a tiny resource planet, but a thousand years later, he is going to immolate billions of people on the capital planet in order to get a strong, loyal fleet for himself!"
Chapter 2614: A Second Competition and a Final Battle! |
Exchanging the lives of billions of people for the most loyal and strongest fleet!
Also, considering Wuying Qi's craziness, if his plan in the Empyreal Terminus Sector worked out, it was quite possible that he would do the same in other space zones!
When the worlds were purged one after another, the Imperium would become the second Covenant Alliance in the end; a larger Covenant Alliance that occupied more resources, except that all the puppets in the "larger Covenant Alliance" worshipped not the Pangu Clan but him and him alone!
Was Blackstar the Great planning to take care of the four families and even the Covenant Alliance in such a way?
Yes, if everybody were equally brainwashed, equally loyal to their leader, and equally fearless and zealous, with barely any social friction, since the Imperium was larger in size and had more resources, the Covenant Alliance would naturally be no match for the Imperium, and the war that lingered for a thousand years would end with the Imperium's victory.
However, was such a victory really the victory of mankind? Or would it be the real doom of the noble human beings who had free will?
"He must be stopped!"
Li Yao gnashed his teeth and asked, "How long do you need to locate the core components of the Gold Crystal Pyramid, or at least the direction of them, so that I can blow them up with my most powerful 'Ultra-Galactic Cannon'?"
"Don't be hasty. Having received all of Professor Mo Xuan's knowledge on crystal processors and the Spiritual Nexus, I certainly know what I am doing."
The mental devil said confidently, "Even if Wuying Qi has adopted the most advanced super crystal processors of the Imperium and set up dozens of defense measures to protect his secret, so what? I'll definitely dig out all of his secrets if I have twenty-four hours!"
Li Yao bulged his eyes. "Twenty-four hours? You've got to be kidding me. We don't even have twenty-four minutes!"
"Then, there is nothing I can do."
The mental devil replied helplessly, "The Next Sun Plan has been activated and is not a big secret itself. That's why I found it easily. However, the secrets about how to stop the Gold Crystal Pyramid have naturally been locked in the deepest part of the crystal processors by Wuying Qi and protected by the strongest state-of-the-art encryption measures. The monsters such as Xiaoming, Wenwen, and the Fist King who are adept at the Spiritual Nexus and the crystal processors are not around. However optimistic I am, it will still take a couple of hours!"
Soaked in a cold sweat, Li Yao was about to open his mouth when heavy footsteps echoed far away from his back. But then, they came over from only a couple of meters behind him, or even stomped on his heart directly, almost blowing it apart!
Despite the sturdiness of Li Yao's soul and body, he grunted as blood surged to his throat. His head was dizzy, and the world was swirling before him.
The weirdest thing happened!
Under his feet, on the floor of the enormous place, in the middle of the esoteric ravines of runes, dark brooks were flowing from everywhere. The thick fluids that constituted the brooks were not water but more like some sort of living oil or gel.
When all the ravines of runes were filled by such black oil or gel, the runes on the ground turned black.
Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!
Massive and profound noises echoed in the palace, like the moan of the universe that made one feel the vastness of the cosmos and the insignificance of human beings. They would inevitably feel that human beings, as individuals, were no different from germs on a scale of billions of years. How meaningless their lives were!
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.
In the moan of the universe, the sound of water dripping came over, dripping directly inside Li Yao's brain.
However, there were no actual water drops. Instead, from the black, thick fluids, black beads the size of fingernail were separated and ascended to the midair, slowly ignoring gravity.
Very soon, hundreds of black water drops floated around Li Yao inside the empty palace, some high and some low.
The water drops were attracted to each other, extending tentacles that looked like spider threads to join each other.
From that perspective, they were not water drops but the cells and nerves of a certain weird life, which were proliferating into brilliant clusters.
Li Yao was astounded by the nightmare and did not know how to react for a while. He did not dare to touch the black water drops that were growing nerves either.
He had been stranded by the thousands of black water drops and their nerves!
"False! False! They're all your illusions! You are already mired in Wuying Qi's mental attack!"
The mental devil's voice came from the deepest part of Li Yao's brain, more anxious than ever. "He's here! Wuying Qi is here! We do not have twenty-four hours or twenty-four minutes! Blackstar the Great is right behind us!
"However, he hasn't launched an attack yet. That's odd. What does he want? Let me see… Got it!
"Listen, we still have a chance. Although Wuying Qi has arrived in time, he has to be very careful too. First of all, a battle here may damage all the super crystal processors. Although I estimate that the crystal processors are not the real core, their loss will result in certain interferences with Wuying Qi's plan. For example, the activation of the Gold Crystal Pyramid could be postponed, and the best opportunity when the four families' ace fleets are gathered may be missed out.
"Secondly, after Xiaoming and Wenwen's treatment, we are multiple times stronger than when we fought him last time, as suggested by the fact that we crushed three experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage including Yue Wushuang. The remote confrontation in the Seven Seas Grand Market last time also taught Wuying Qi a lesson about our new strength. Even though we are still no match for him, he will have to pay a horrible price if he is determined to kill us!
"Since he is going to launch brainwaves crazily in the Next Sun Plan, it will definitely consume his spiritual energy and even his soul power tremendously. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to suffer heavy wounds at such a moment!
"Do you understand? Right now, we are both deeply wary of each other. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to destroy us with violence but would try to brainwash us through mental attacks and eliminate the threat without fighting. If possible, he can even turn us into his accomplice.
"This is an opportunity. This is the only opportunity that we can defeat him. We have to do this… this… and that in order to kill this thousand-year-old monster, but first of all, you have to delay him long enough.
"Enough talking. I can sense that his mental power is surging over like a tide. He is unaware of my existence for now. I have to cut the connection between us in case he discovers anything. All in all, try to buy me enough time for me to crack the secrets of the Gold Crystal Pyramid!"
Before the thousands of black water drops and nerval threads completely enshrouded Li Yao, the mental devil's voice had come to an abrupt end.
