Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 1663
Like a burning, vengeful ghost, Long Yangjun burst into laughter with a twisted face and a headful of messy hair.
Chapter 2625: Dog Bites Dog! |
"How vicious of you!"
His face pale, Li Yao lost his calmness and pointed at the tip of Long Yangjun's nose, cursing aloud, "I knew that you were a brutal, insane villain the moment I met you. You have been manipulating me to gradually approach the center of the cosmos since the very beginning! At first, you came and fought with me only because you felt that the Star Glory Federation was strong and you hoped you could get enough resources to repair the Nuwa warship. Now, after realizing that His Majesty's thigh is even thicker and more worth clinging to, you are naturally kicking me and the federation away, hoping to achieve your purpose by manipulating His Majesty!
"Your Majesty, don't trust her at all. She is only lying to you! She is just pretending! Really, Your Majesty, I swear to god that she is pretending! Don't believe anything she says! Everything will be over as long as she is killed, Your Majesty!"
"You know very well which one between us is pretending!"
With gloomy fire bouncing on her body, Long Yangjun chuckled miserably. "Li Yao, it was you who started such a ruthless game! It's too late to regret it now! I am in possession of so many secrets of the primeval age, the coordinates of so many relics, the ways to control the Nuwa warships, the upgrade plans of Colossi, and the extraordinary arts from the primeval age. Given enough time and resources, I can recover all of them and dedicate them to His Majesty. I am definitely much more valuable to His Majesty than a scoundrel like you and the wretched federation behind you!
"Like you said, I'm traveling in the universe by myself, and in order to survive, I have to find a thick thigh to cling to. Before, since we were more or less friends, I decided to cling to the thigh of the federation. Now that you are so heartless, and His Majesty is the only great man in history who can compare to the Supreme Emperor, why shouldn't I work for His Majesty? I'll be an idiot if I don't!
"I think that you are in such a hurry to kill me not just because you are scared of my revenge, but also because you are scared that I will reveal the secrets about the Star Glory Federation to His Majesty, right? You haven't even told the coordinates of the federation to His Majesty, yet you claim that you are loyal to His Majesty? That is downright absurd!"
"You—You—"
Li Yao seemed to have been infuriated after Long Yangjun pointed out what was on his mind. Brutality as intense as fire beamed out of his pale face, and he rolled his eyes crazily, as he considered how to break Wuying Qi's control and kill Long Yangjun.
"Your Majesty, do you see his cunning eyes? This scoundrel must not be trusted!"
Long Yangjun said coldly, "Back in his hometown, he was best known for his acting skills, his tactics that knew no boundaries, and his shameless style. Whoever believes half a word that he says will be buried in regrets. I swear to god that he must be acting. Chances are that he hasn't been brainwashed by Your Majesty at all, or at least not as badly as he appears. That's because he spoke to us in person before that he received special soul training that made his brain immune to most mental attacks.
"Therefore, Your Majesty, there's no need to hesitate now. Whatever this shameless guy says, as long as you turn a blind ear to it and simply chop his head, the whole world will be in peace!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we had a deal!"
Li Yao was so exasperated that he was soaked in sweat. "You promised that the independency of the Cultivators will be partly retained, and that I could join the 'Enlightenment Committee'. You're not… well… you're not…"
"Independency of the Cultivators? That's hilarious. How is an insignificant Star Glory Federation qualified to compare to His Majesty's Imperium of True Human Beings?"
Long Yangjun sneered in disdain, "I'll make it much simpler. All I want is to figure out the mysteries of my origins and find out the truth of the primeval war. I believe that His Majesty must have a lot of primeval treasures that he cannot crack. On the other hand, I am capable of cracking the treasures although I don't have any. Therefore, His Majesty and I are much more complementary!"
"Your Majesty, kill her!"
Lost for words, Li Yao shouted angrily.
"Your Majesty, kill him!"
Long Yangjun echoed equally aggressively.
"Enough! Who do you think I am? An executioner at your command?"
Wuying Qi had been observing the two of them biting each other with a casual smile. Now that the two of them were truly squabbling, he finally turned grave and roared to calm them down.
"Li Yao, a monarch does not joke. Now that I've promised that you and most Cultivators will be pardoned as long as you recognize your mistakes, why would I launch another expedition? Even the 'false Immortal Cultivators' in the four Kurfürst families, who are sworn enemies to be, can be pardoned by me. I have fewer reasons to attack the Cultivators at the edge of the cosmos whom I barely know. As long as you don't ask to be killed and accept my 'enlightenment' obediently, you will be safe and sound. Rest assured about that."
Wuying Qi reassured Li Yao and then looked at Long Yangjun. "Long Yangjun, you don't need to be too bothered by your identity either. Although your background is truly special, I always recruit people for their talents, not for their origins.
"In my eyes, the thirteen carbon-based lives in the Pangu civilizations' alliance in the past extracted the essence of their genes and injected it into a carefully-selected ape on a blue planet, producing the most perfect carbon-based life in the whole universe that is known as mankind.
"Therefore, there is no clear boundary between the Pangu Clan and human beings. They are just different evolutionary phases of the same life. We are all 'human beings' and dominators of this universe in a general sense.
"Furthermore, you were a human being hundreds of thousands of years ago, except that you received certain special genetic modifications and soul training. I don't think you are any different from other people. In fact, due to certain experiences of mine, I find you rather similar to me!"
"Really?"
Long Yangjun was overjoyed.
"Of course. We are the same type of people. I, you, and Li Yao; we are the people who stand on the summit of evolution."
Wuying Qi waved his hands and declared resolutely, "Our history and past don't matter; what matters is the future. As long as we stick together, we will definitely create a new-generation, real human beings in the near future!
"Since you two were good friends and are now fighting for a common purpose, why do you have to fight each other? I believe both of you, but I'm still waiting for your next performance."
"The next performance?"
Li Yao and Long Yangjun looked at each other.
Shadows of sabers and swords raged in their eyes.
"Your Majesty, I have a confession to make!"
Long Yangjun suddenly said, "Did you know that Li Yao had set a malicious trap on Li Jialing? As a matter of fact, our main purpose on this trip to the underworld of the capital planet is to deliver this trap for Your Majesty to step in!"
"Oh?"
Wuying Qi asked with great interest, "What kind of trap?"
"Before we left, Li Yao did a minor surgery on Li Jialing and planted a tiny Cosmos Ring on the back of his neck. Inside the Cosmos Ring was a piece of confining magical equipment that Li Yao invented himself. He claimed that it could suppress even the gods."
Long Yangjun glanced at Li Yao cockily and continued, "He knew that Your Majesty was determined to get Li Jialing's body and therefore transformed it into a trap. Then, if Your Majesty injected your soul into Li Jialing's body carelessly, you would be caught by his magical equipment!
"With Your Majesty's strength in the Divinity Branching Stage, such a piece of minor magical equipment naturally cannot trap you. However, as long as Your Majesty is somewhat affected, it will facilitate his following attacks.
"The Cosmos Ring could both be controlled by Li Yao's telepathic thoughts remotely and by Li Jialing manually by pressing the back of his hand. He couldn't have told Your Majesty such a vicious trap, could he?"
Li Yao shouted even before she concluded her accusation, "Long Yangjun, you can't be more wrong. I've joined His Majesty sincerely, and I naturally informed His Majesty of the matter as soon as possible. Why else do you think His Majesty has been grabbing the back of Li Jialing's neck?"
"What?"
Long Yangjun found it hard to believe.
Observing their subtle reactions, Wuying Qi absorbed the Cosmos Ring inside Li Jialing's back with his fingers.
Li Jialing had been watching their performance in shock. Now that the back of his neck was torn apart, he screamed miserably and almost passed out. There was no telling whether it was because of fury or because of pain.
Wuying Qi played with the fingernail-sized Cosmos Ring for a while and tossed it back to Li Yao.
Li Yao opened his hands, and a shackle that looked like a glittering scorpion immediately flew out of the Cosmos Ring.
"What a piece of delicate confining magical equipment. Only the deftest hands could've crafted such a spectacular toy."
Wuying Qi said with a smile, "That explains my confusion why you brought Li Jialing with you when you were going to such a dangerous place. It was highly illogical. I wouldn't have touched his body recklessly in the first place, but now that you are so candid, you have saved me tremendous time for a full body check."
Li Yao grinned and bared the sharp teeth at Long Yangjun.
Long Yangjun somewhat lost her patience. She continued, "Fine, even though Li Yao has informed Your Majesty of the matter, did he tell Your Majesty that he has a piece of portable magical equipment named 'Neltharion' that he has been baptizing with his blood. It has an unstoppable drill of mystic rays and carries countless Cosmos Rings that are fully loaded with crystal bombs, designed to blow up the critical parts in a target?"
Before Wuying Qi replied, however, Li Yao simply offered Neltharion with both hands and chuckled. "I confessed to His Majesty that I had such a piece of magical equipment a long time ago, and I just drilled through the shell of the mainframe crystal processors of the Gold Crystal Pyramid with it, planning to sneak in and plant crystal bombs. Now that I came to the realization at the critical moment, I have naturally recalled it as well as all the crystal bombs. Do I even need you to inform His Majesty?"
Chapter 2626: More and More Critical! |
"You—"
Caught unprepared, Long Yangjun was unable to say anything for a long time, as if her throat were stuffed with a crystal bomb.
Seeing her blushing face, Li Yao gloated even more. Rubbing a Cosmos Ring on his little finger, he retrieved a tiny object and delivered it to Wuying Qi with both hands respectfully. He said, "Now that I have agreed with Your Majesty's ideology, there is no need to hide anything now. Not only have I confessed the secrets about Neltharion, but I am also willing to offer the critical item to Your Majesty. This is exactly the half key to the central room in the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum!"
On Li Yao's palm, the half black metal stick floated and emanated deep brilliance.
"What!"
Long Yangjun gasped hard and said subconsciously, "It's fake! It must be fake! Don't fall for it, Your Majesty!"
Li Yao sniffed. "His Majesty's eyes are too keen to be fooled by any trick. Your warning was highly redundant!"
Greed flashed in Wuying Qi's eyes as he opened his fingers and attracted the half key that Li Yao offered to himself. He examined the key in his palm carefully.
Then, he took out Li Linghai's half key. After the two parts of the key were stuck together, they were truly combined in tiny cracking sounds!
Wuying Qi injected a stream of feeble spiritual energy into the key to inspect the cohesion of the key, only to detect no error at all. The key was such a complete piece that he could not stab his spiritual energy into it at all.
"This is indeed the critical key to open the last part of the Supreme Emperor's mausoleum!"
Wuying Qi grabbed the complete key in his hands tightly. Eyeing Li Yao with even more compliments and trust, he said, "Well done, Li Yao. I appreciate your judiciousness and your loyalty."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Yao cut Long Yangjun with his eyes again.
Long Yangjun's cheeks were puffing like bloated dolphins. Gnashing her teeth for a long time, she finally unleashed her ultimate move. "Fine, fine, you are truly His Majesty's loyal subject, but I wonder, have you told His Majesty the things about Lei Chenghu?"
Slightly stunned, Li Yao immediately showed embarrassment.
Wuying Qi had been scanning the look on their faces and the changes of their biophysical parameters. Detecting Li Yao's anomaly, he slightly frowned and asked, "Huh?"
"Ha. It seems that you haven't told His Majesty such an important matter yet. Why, do you want to keep the last trump card to negotiate with His Majesty?"
Long Yangjun grew cocky again now that she hit Li Yao's weakness. She grimaced and said, "Are you going to confess yourself, or do you want me to tell everything to His Majesty?"
"Who… Who's keeping any trump card? I just didn't have the time to say it."
Li Yao glared at Long Yangjun brutally, before he said to Wuying Qi while blushing. "Your Majesty, as a matter of fact, we—we had a minor agreement with Lei Chenghu…"
Narrowing his eyes, Wuying Qi asked expressionlessly, "What kind of agreement?"
"I wonder whether or not Lei Chenghu reached out to Your Majesty and reported that I snuck into his flagship and tried to persuade him."
Scratching his messy hair, Li Yao said rather hesitatingly, "Well, if he did report it to Your Majesty, he must've claimed that he refused me determinedly and even released abundant crystal suits and Colossi to kill me, but I still escaped in the end. However, his story was fake. It was just a play that he and I acted together."
"Is that so?"
Terrible fire was surging inside Wuying Qi's eyes. "So to speak, even Lei Chenghu, the God of War and 'the last Immortal Cultivator of the Imperium', has also betrayed me?"
"Not exactly. Please make no mistake, Your Majesty. Lei Chenghu is the toughest Immortal Cultivator and will never betray Your Majesty easily for the Cultivators."
Li Yao waved his hands quickly and said, "However, I stupidly told Lei Chenghu that Your Majesty might be doing something that… jeopardized the true path of immortality, say erasing the free will of the Immortal Cultivators through brainwashing or destroying the whole Empyreal Terminus Sector.
"For Lei Chenghu, the Imperium seems more important than Your Majesty. Getting to the bottom of it, he is loyal to the Imperium but not to Your Majesty, to the true path of immortality but not to the one who created it, and to the free will of mankind but not the order of a certain supreme being. That is where his belief lies and must not be corrupted.
"We talked for such a long time that my mouth almost went dry, but in the end, he was only skeptical and claimed that he would never betray Your Majesty without concrete evidence.
"Besides, the Seven Seas Space Zone was still an utter mess. Most of Yun Xuefeng's remaining troops had been taken over by Song Yushi, who was still capable of dealing with the Astounding Thunder Fleet. Lei Chenghu needed time to finish Song Yushi's fleet. Even if he planned to interfere with the battle in the capital, he was still incapable of that!
"Therefore, we reached an agreement with Lei Chenghu and split. We came to the capital to look for evidence, and he would finish Song Yushi and the likes as soon as possible, hoping to crush all the enemies in the Seven Seas Space Zone in ten to fifteen days. Then, he would gather an elite fleet and wait for our message.
"If—well, if Your Majesty is truly doing something that jeopardizes the free will of mankind, he'll be on our side and stop Your Majesty with us.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. At that time, I did not understand the true meaning of enlightenment yet. I thought that it was just regular brainwashing. That was why I made such a plan with Lei Chenghu.
"Also, I believe that Lei Chenghu never meant to betray Your Majesty. Once he perceives the amazement of enlightenment, he will definitely support Your Majesty too.
"Therefore, please don't punish General Lei Chenghu, Your Majesty. He… He is truly a great loyal man, much more loyal than me!"
Wuying Qi smiled and said, "That explains a lot. So to speak, you were sent here by Lei Chenghu's information boat, weren't you? How did you plan to search for evidence at the beginning?"
"Yes, we came here on Lei Chenghu's boat."
Li Yao said, "After Nepenthe's uprising last time, we accidentally discovered the Gold Crystal Pyramid. At that time, the Gold Crystal Pyramid was not unearthed yet, but we already detected that it was of paramount importance for Your Majesty and that it must've been your ultimate secret weapon. Therefore, we reached this place again this time.
"We planned to take pictures of the secrets here with our portable cameras and steal the central data in the mainframe crystal processor of the secret weapon. Then, we could find a way to deliver the data back to the Seven Seas Space Zone, or maybe we could jump back to the Seven Seas Space Zone ourselves so that Lei Chenghu could see it.
"Photos can be fabricated, but the central data can hardly be. We would have concrete evidence.
"We did not expect that the four families' ace fleets would be blocking and interfering with the Spiritual Nexus of the capital so intensely, or that Your Majesty had deployed such a powerful barricade below the ground of the capital planet that only Your Majesty's own battle net could transmit messages. Our data had been blocked by the two shackles and could not be sent out at all.
"As for the videos and photos and the information in the crystal processor, they were stored in my jade chips, which we planned to bring out. It seems impossible right now!
