Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 810
"Anyways, this is your only opportunity now, Fellow Cultivator Li!" Su Changfa's smile suddenly disappeared. He moved close to Li Yao and stared at him in the eyes, declaring coldly, "The universe is vast, but you can't find any place that you can call home now, Fellow Cultivator Li. Whether you believe us or not, you can only show your best performance and have a last try!
"If you really distinguish yourself, it is possible that you will announce your grand homecoming later. Not only will all the dirt of your past be kept a secret, you will also even boast power and position that are beyond your imagination, or set foot in the ultimate levels that you've never dreamt of!"
Stimulated by his scorching eyes, Li Yao's own eyes turned from bloodshot into two abysses. He nodded hard and said, "Understood. I'm willing to be at the service of you three seniors!"
"Excellent!" Su Changfa nodded in satisfaction. "Alright. Let's rest in our base and prepare for the exploration!"
The four of them left the cave for the war base.
Only several hours passed, but the relationship between them was greatly different now.
Li Yao rubbed his fists and jumped up and down, acting as if he did not know how he could demonstrate his value even if he meant to. Noticing that nobody paid any attention to him, he scratched his hair and approached Su Changfa, asking respectfully, "Senior Su, if I may ask, what is this ancient relic exactly? I can tell that the corpses and puppets here are quite old. Are they from the era of ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago?"
"Forty thousand years ago?"
Su Changfa was amused. He shook his head and said, "It doesn't hurt to tell you now, foolish boy. This relic dates back to far beyond the era of the ancient Cultivators. It is a battlefield of the God-Sealing War in the primeval age!"
"The God-Sealing War?"
This time, Li Yao was truly dazed. It was a strange word that was not mentioned at all even in the memories of Ou Yezi, the master of refining in the world of ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago.
It appeared that there were indeed benefits to hanging around with the Immortal Cultivators. His eyeballs shuddering fast, Li Yao blurted out, "What is that?"
"As its name suggests, it was a war to seal all the deities and devils in the universe."
Ambition was leaking out of Su Changfa's body and interweaved into fire of spiritual energy while he scratched his long beard. "In the primeval age, when the deities were in their heyday, everything in the universe was dominated by 'divinity'!
"However, human beings are the essence of all creatures. We are the strongest, most excellent, and most advanced species in the sea of stars. How could we accede to the reign of the deities generation after generation?
"Nothing is ever qualified to crawl over our head. It is our destiny to slay all the deities and devils should they be standing in our way!
"The God-Sealing War was a war between deities and human beings, 'divinity' and 'humanity'! The outcome of the war was that all the deities in the universe were sealed. Divinity declined, and humanity thrived. That was the beginning of our dominance over the three thousand Sectors!"
Although he had made a similar judgement earlier, Li Yao still could not help but feel shocked when it was confirmed by the Immortal Cultivators.
The God-Sealing War!
Even the deities could be sealed!
How audacious, unstoppable, and magnificent human beings in the primeval age were!
Listening to their conversation, Tang Qianhe, the female Immortal Cultivator, could not help but interject. "Master Su, the planetary warship here is large and splendid enough in my eyes. Do you think it is possible to be the legendary 'Wild Shepard'?"
"I wouldn't go that far!" Su Changfa pondered for a moment but shook his head. "The legendary 'Battle of Wild Shepard' was a decisive battle at the last phase of the 'God-Sealing War'. It was in this battle that countless human beings who were under the control of the Pangu Clan were awoken and launched a critical strike at the Pangu Clan from behind. That was why 'humanity' defeated 'divinity'!
"The planetary warship here is fairly large, but it is far from qualified to be the main battlefield for the 'Battle of Wild Shepard'!"
Glancing at Li Yao, Tang Qianhe asked rather mysteriously, "Then, do you think it is possible at all that we can discover… the thing here?"
Li Yao was rather embarrassed. He wondered whether or not he should keep listening and was worried that unexpected changes might happen if he eavesdropped on their secrets.
But Su Changfa simply smiled and said frankly, "Fellow Cultivator Li is on our side now. What must be kept a secret from him? The thing is common sense in the Imperium, and even little kids know of it! Besides, everybody will have to work hard and excavate it together. Fellow Cultivator Li strikes me as a man of luck. Chances are that he will find it for us!"
Li Yao scratched his nose and asked awkwardly, "Senior Su, Senior Tang, what are you talking about exactly?"
"It's a thing named 'Book of Revelation'!" Su Changfa said. "According to legend, at the end of the God-Sealing War, the experts of the Pangu Clan inferred the outcome that divinity would decline, and their reign would fall. So, with the unbelievable techniques, they condensed the essence of the civilization of the Pangu Clan, even including their genes and heritage, into an enormous treasury of information!
"They essentially saved their entire civilization into it!
"The treasury of information in which the entire civilization was saved was named Apotheosis of Lists. It was divided into eight volumes, and it has also become known as the Book of Revelation!"
Chapter 1239: Book of Revelation! |
Li Yao was rather fascinated. The eight volumes of the Book of Revelation that stored the essence of the Pangu civilization were quite similar to the Monument Plan that Gui Suishou had proposed. Both endeavors were trying to pass on the civilization in a different form after its decline.
However, the Pangu Clan's Monument Plan was obviously much more magnificent and mysterious.
Maybe, there were more unexpected factors, or even a great scheme, in everything.
How did the Imperium of True Human Beings know of the Apotheosis of Lists' existence? Did several of the eight volumes of the Book of Revelation fall into the hands of the Immortal Cultivators?
Li Yao was more curious than ever. He felt that ten thousand ants were crawling on his heart and almost couldn't wait to ask.
However, he somehow felt alarmed deep inside his brain. Thinking quickly, he was almost having cold sweat!
The old fart was truly cunning!
To this moment, Su Changfa was still not entirely convinced by Li Yao. He raised the enticing topics intentionally in order to test him!
For the role that Li Yao was playing, even if he knew the existence of 'Pangu' and 'Nuwa', he should be regarding them as the figures of legends. If they were talking about the war between human beings and the Pangu Clan matter-of-factly, but Li Yao showed no surprise at all and simply pursued the whereabouts of the Apotheosis of Lists, something would be seriously wrong with him!
It would suggest that Li Yao had known part of the truth about the primeval war, which was contradictory to his identity!
Thinking that through, Li Yao applauded Su Changfa's sleaziness in his heart while he put on a dumbfounded expression again and stammered, "Pan—Pangu? Isn't it our ancestor in the legends? Does the so-called 'God-Sealing War' mean sealing Pangu? It—It—It—"
Su Changfa narrowed his eyes and observed Li Yao's face without leaving out any muscle. Failing to find any loopholes, he smiled and said in disdain, "Is the Pangu Clan in any way qualified to be our ancestor? Human beings have only one ancestor, the Nuwa Clan!"
Pausing for a moment, he continued the previous topic. "The eight volumes of the Book of Revelation are divided into two parts. The reason it is given such a name as weird as Apotheosis of Lists is believed to be that what is stored in the civilizational treasure are the names of the unparalleled experts in the Pangu civilization. They are like eight rosters.
"But of course, what is etched in the Apotheosis of Lists are much more than simple names! Behind every name is everything about the expert, including their genes, memories, techniques, Cultivation arts, and research products. When countless experts of countless fields are listed together, they represent the peak of their civilization!
"Of the eight volumes, the first part consists of the Volume of Thunder, the Volume of Fire, the Volume of Plague, and the Volume of Fighting, while the second part contains The Stars and Galaxies, The Mountains and Rivers, The Rain and Cloud, and The Kindness and Evilness.
"Among them, the Volume of Thunder and the Volume of Fire both elaborated on the arts of the manipulation of spiritual energy and the transformation of different classes of spiritual energy. Whoever gets either of them will become the absolute authority in the studies of spiritual energy!
"The Volume of Plague, on the other hand, is about the mysteries of genes, viruses, and biochemistry. All the research products on biochemistry and virology of the Pangu civilization are saved in this one.
"The Volume of Fighting stores the blood, genes, experiences, and memories of the strongest warriors and most distinguished commanders of the Pangu Clan, as well as all the military theories and the battle formations of the Pangu civilization! Whoever learns and grasps the Volume of Fighting will become the most excellent strategist in the entire universe.
"The Stars and Galaxies is about the research products in astronomy of the Pangu civilization, including their profound understanding about the universe, the navigation maps of infinite space zones, the ways to absorb spiritual energy from a star or to build star beacons, and so on!"
"The Mountains and Rivers as well as The Rain and Cloud are both focused on the modification of planets. How to build a man-made atmosphere, how to generate a synthetic ocean, and how to realize a self-circulating ecological system, and so on. Together with the biochemical and genetic technologies recorded in the Volume of Plague, a planet that was cold and dark in the beginning will be transformed into a natural paradise that vigorously absorbs spiritual energy and stellar radiation and provides an environment for infinite creatures!
"The Kindness and Evilness is the most sophisticated and mysterious volume of all. It is said that all the knowledge of the Pangu civilization about the soul is stored inside. But what is kindness, and what is evilness? What exactly is the soul? Is there anybody smart enough to answer the questions?"
Li Yao was so thrilled that his mind almost flew back to the primeval age millions of years ago!
Volume of Thunder, Volume of Fire, Volume of Plague, and Volume of Fighting!
The Stars and Galaxies, The Mountains and Rivers, The Rain and Cloud, and The Kindness and Evilness!
The Pangu civilization had left such an enormous treasury. He could not wait to get a volume of the Book of Revelation and see what kind of amazing knowledge and techniques were stored inside!
While talking, Su Changfa glanced at everyone's face. He sneered and said, "The Book of Revelation is the ultimate treasure in the universe. The Supreme Emperor in the past only got three volumes of them, and he already led the renaissance of humanity and established the once prosperous Star Ocean Imperium!
"How could such an ultimate treasure be easily found by us? Even if we did, it is not something we could decrypt or understand. It would definitely raise a storm of blood and even get us killed!
"Let's not overthink it. As long as we can excavate a few regular treasures, or the Cultivation techniques of the Pangu Clan and the Nuwa Clan, of the primeval age, it will be good enough for us to stop!"
Li Yao, Tang Qianhe, and Kou Ruhuo all nodded quickly.
Li Yao's mind was greatly stirred.
The Supreme Emperor—the founder of the Star Ocean Imperium and the greatest contributor to the renaissance of humanity—had once gotten three volumes of the Book of Revelation!
It was indeed a piece of shocking news.
However, on second thought, it did make sense.
Before, when Li Yao read the history where humanity revived and the Star Ocean Imperium rose ten thousand years ago, he had always felt that something was off.
It was true that, at the last years of the Demon Beast Empire, the internal strife within the demon race was already untamable, and they were far weaker than in their heyday.
However, the feet of a centipede would be cramping even after it was dead. The demon race was an absolutely overwhelming civilization that had reigned the universe for thirty thousand years, during which time they had savaged and exploited the ordinary people while eliminating and suppressing the Cultivators, trying to weaken the strength of mankind as best as they could. They had also established a stable, hierarchical society with the Four Pillars System. The bottom-level demons were mostly paralyzed, and an enormous regular army was at their disposal!
At that time, human beings did not have a regular army at all, and the Cultivators were anything but strong.
It was an unbelievable miracle that the Supreme Emperor had been able to lead mankind to rise in only one century and conquer countless space zones without experiencing major setbacks!
All the history books attributed the accomplishment to the degeneration of the Demon Beast Empire itself, the charisma of the Supreme Emperor, and the devotion and sacrifice of the human experts. Sometimes, it was even ascribed to the ungrounded 'fate'. The historians believed that it was the will of fate that the demon race declined and mankind rose again.
After ascending to the Nascent Soul Stage, Li Yao found his head much clearer than before. When he reviewed the history, he had brand new judgements and realized that there was much more to it!
Other than everything else, how could mankind have developed such marvelous techniques and technologies while everybody was struggling to survive in the thirty thousand years of suppression?
Like a big bang, the Star Ocean Imperium had invented crystal processors, crystal suits, planetary warships, super-large star beacons, and countless kinds of other super magical equipment in only several hundred years, not to mention the incredible techniques!
A lot of the magical equipment and techniques were far more advanced than their counterparts today.
For example, the Heaven's Origin Sector, the Blood Demon Sector, and the Flying Star Sector could not produce a 'planetary warship' even today, but the Star Ocean Imperium already did ten thousand years ago!
Techniques and technologies all required accumulation. How could the Star Ocean Imperium have established a mature system of magical equipment and techniques in only hundreds of years? It was an uncannily high mountain in the history of the civilization of mankind!
Before, Li Yao could not figure out the reason at all. Were the Cultivators today really so much dumber than the Cultivators of the Star Ocean Imperium? What the Cultivators hundred years ago developed were sometimes hardly understandable, much less duplicable, for their counterparts today after studying for almost a thousand years!
If everything that Su Changfa had said was true, the Star Ocean Imperium's rapid rise would be quite explainable.
Most of the techniques, magical equipment, and technologies of the Star Ocean Imperium were not invented from scratch but based on the Book of Revelation!
No wonder the Star Ocean Imperium's capability expanded exponentially and crushed the demon race!
If the Star Glory Federation has access to one volume of the Book of Revelation…
Li Yao was fantasizing again and swallowed hard.
"Rest assured, Master Su. We know what to do," Kou Ruhuo said solemnly. "The Book of Revelation is a curse rather than a bliss. It was a scheme that the Pangu civilization left the book! Although the Star Ocean Imperium in the past rose with the help of the Book of Revelation, it collapsed as quickly as it rose and could not avoid its inevitable doom at all. Even worse, on the dead body of the Star Ocean Imperium, such a monster as the Covenant… has been born!
"We will be very careful. Even if we do find anything, we will not repeat our predecessor's mistake!"
Li Yao's heart was pounding.
What was the meaning of that?
The word that Kou Ruhuo kept to himself was obviously 'Alliance'. He seemed to be suggesting that the Pangu civilization left the Book of Revelation for a big game and that there were endless more mysteries to the establishment and decline of the Star Ocean Imperium and even the birth of the Covenant Alliance.
It seems that I have to participate in the journey to Kunlun now.
Li Yao had been curious about Kunlun in the first place. He simply did not dare take the risk while the main troops were not there yet.
However, the three Immortal Cultivators including Su Changfa apparently had a much deeper understanding about the relic of the Pangu civilization than he did. It was not a bad idea to go down and take a look first with the three 'tour guides'.
Li Yao calculated the capabilities of the enemy quietly.
Judging from the fact that Kou Ruhuo kicked on his chest casually and yet blew apart the furious spiritual energy of the Core Formation Stage inside his body without any trouble, the guy must be greatly above the Core Formation Stage, which meant that he was a battle-type Immortal Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage!
Chapter 1240: Parasitic Wasps and Incubators! |
Su Changfa's capability was unknown. However, he was apparently familiar with secret techniques to do with the soul and adept at hypnotization and manipulation. He was not at all bothered by Li Yao, who was in the 'Core Formation Stage'.
Moreover, he was also the captain of Flourishing Sun. Even Kou Ruhuo, who was in the Nascent Soul Stage, showed enough respect for all and addressed him as 'Master Su'. Therefore, his Cultivation could not be very low. By the most conservative estimation, he should be in the middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage.
The middle level of the Nascent Soul Stage and skilled at the secret techniques concerning the soul—he would prove to be a tough enemy in a fight!
