by <unknown>
Gui Suishou, as a stubborn pessimist, was in obvious violation of the spirit of the meeting.
However, the guy had popped up out of nowhere and volunteered to join the meeting, and he had been spreading his pessimism and escapism theories even before the meeting began. It was clear that he was there to frustrate everybody and shatter their faith!
Jiang Hailiu did not want such a pessimist to join the meeting at all. However, given his seniority and capability, it was inappropriate to forbid him from joining the meeting, and it was even more inappropriate to forbid him from speaking.
"What are you laughing for, Fellow Cultivator Zhou?" asked Jiang Hailiu with a frown.
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Everybody cast their eyes to the old tortoise.
Not just the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators from the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector, even most demon emperors in the Blood Demon Sector had never seen Gui Suishou with their own eyes before. All very curious about the legendary person, they pricked their ears up, ready for his insights.
"No biggie. I just feel that everyone is focusing on the trivial details and neglecting things that are really important!" Gui Suishou shook his head mysteriously.
Squinting, Jiang Hailiu said, "Then, what do you have to enlighten us regarding the Covenant Alliance?"
"I don't have anything to enlighten you, except for my distressing pessimism and escapism theories." Gui Suishou smiled. "However, if you think that what I am scared of are simply the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, you are greatly wrong. The Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, strong as they may be, will not be as good as the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago. They are not enough for me to firmly believe in my absolute pessimism!"
"Oh?" Jiang Hailiu asked, "So to speak, Fellow Cultivator Gui believes that there is something other than the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance that is much more dreadful and irresistible for us? What is it exactly?"
Whispers were echoing in the hall again. Even Li Yao was gazing at Gui Suishou in astonishment.
The Imperium and the Covenant Alliance were already great headaches. What kind of existence could be even more scary than them?
"I am not certain about it. I'm only saying that it is possible. The answer lies in the name of the Covenant Alliance," Gui Suishou said slowly. "The name of a country often gives a hint about the ideology and the origin of the country.
"The country of the Immortal Cultivators is named Imperium of True Human Beings because they believe that only the Immortal Cultivators are the true human beings. The ordinary people whose spiritual roots are not awakened can barely be called 'human beings'.
"The Alliance of the Holy Covenant, as its name suggests, is an alliance formed by multiple Sectors because of a certain 'holy covenant'. Such an understanding is perhaps very close to the truth, isn't it?"
The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and the demon emperors all frowned. Gui Suishou was talking nonsense and wasting their time!
Without bothering to raise his head, Gui Suishou continued speaking slowly. "What is this 'holy covenant' exactly? We have found answers from the last words of Fellow Cultivator Li Yao's foster father, too.
"There are two key phrases in the last words, 'Path of Ultimate Benevolence' and 'Pangu's Covenant'!
"The Path of Ultimate Benevolence must be a certain ideology of the Covenant Alliance and the belief for the Cultivators of the Covenant Alliance. Literally speaking, ultimate benevolence does not sound bad, but we don't know the true meaning behind those words yet.
"But the second keyword is much more interesting. Pangu's covenant? Pangu?
"Fellow Cultivators, whether you're from the civilization of human beings or demons, we all agree that Pangu is our mutual ancestor. It is not just a myth but an undeniable fact proved by our respective historians and archeologists!
"In the civilization of demons, there are more detailed descriptions about how Pangu created the universe and how Nuwa created living souls. Naturally, some of them are exaggerated, but most of the content is reliable and at least reflects part of the truth.
"The Pangu Clan was an advanced civilization, or an alliance of the advance civilizations, billions of years ago. Under the banner of the 'Pangu Alliance', there were different civilizations such as the Pangu Clan, the Kuafu Clan, the Houyi Clan, the Zhurong Clan, the Gonggong Clan, and the Nuwa Clan, which were either the different branches of the same species or the combinations of different alien lives.
"The civilization of mankind, on the other hand, was enlightened by the Pangu civilization, or even directly created by it. The Pangu civilization is the father, and the civilization of mankind is the son.
"It is needless to mention the civilization of demons. You've already excavated the last relic of 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi and unveiled the truth of demon's origins.
"Demons were created after human beings drank a certain gene transformation drug left by the Pangu civilization and had mutations from inside to outside.
"If you think about it, the universe is so vast, and different species on different planets are in different life forms. How could there possibly be one drug that 'happened' to stimulate the gene strands and trigger such delicate mutations in human beings after being sealed for billions of years?
"Such a coincidence is simply too unbelievable!
"The only answer is that the Divine Water of Kunlun, discovered by 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi, which could transform human beings into demons, was specifically designed for human beings by the Pangu civilization!
"The appearance of demons was not a coincidental mutation but a careful calculation of the Pangu civilization after countless experiments!
"This is the only way to explain why so many primeval cells can be activated inside our body, to the point that we are violating the laws of nature, while our body functions remain stable and we still boast high vitality and reproductive ability!"
Gui Suishou's words suddenly heaved everyone's mind to the vast universe in a scale of billions of years. The impatient Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and demon emperors all calmed down and listened to his analysis.
"The demon civilization highlights the importance of body training. We focus on breaking the gene locks and unleashing the force deep inside our cells!
"When our experts broke the gene strands and observed the deepest part of the cells internally, they occasionally saw the primeval memories hidden at the end of the gene strands, where the charm of the Pangu civilization in its glory billions of years ago was partly revealed!
"But I'm not sure if any Cultivators have seen such anomaly before."
Li Yao hesitated for a moment.
He had seen the anomaly Gui Suishou described before.
When his soul dived into the deepest part of the nucleus of his cell, and when he was marching to the source of the gene strands, he had gone back to the primeval era in a trance. He had witnessed the Pangu civilization, whose members were as tall and mighty as dinosaurs, creating lives. The sky-blocking super warship 'Kunlun' had left a deep impression on him, too.
Before he could respond, a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator not far away from him stood up first and said, "Yes. When I was almost mentally deranged during one of my training sessions, I saw the legendary primeval era while my head was dizzy!"
It was 'Iron God' Yan Ba!
'Iron God' Yan Ba was a body fundamentalist who focused on the training of his body and rejected all magical equipment. He had once offered a precious spiritual seed to Li Yao, which helped him defeat the ferocious Skeleton Dragon on Boneyard!
Body fundamentalists did not count on any tools but specialized in the improvement of their body and soul. When their Cultivation reached a certain point, their genes would go through mutations, too, decorating them with features of the primeval beasts. It was similar to the demons' training methods.
It was not strange that Yan Ba, a body fundamentalist in the Nascent Soul Stage, had once triggere
d the cellar memories of the primeval era before.
Li Yao stood up and nodded at Yan Bu from the distance, greeting the senior who had offered him great help selflessly, before he said, "Like Senior Yan, I saw the Pangu civilization in the primeval era, too, during my training!"
Some other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators also stood up after considering for a moment and claimed that they did have fuzzy memories of the primeval era. But they were not certain whether the memories were illusions or real heritages hidden deep inside their cells.
"Alright. In such a case, I believe that everybody admits that we were created and enlightened by the Pangu civilization. The Pangu civilization is to our civilization a parent to a child."
Gui Suishou smiled, but his wrinkled face was somewhat chilling. "Then, if we look back at the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, and the key phrase 'Pangu's Covenant', we will have a lot to think about."
Chapter 1201: War of Successors! |
The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators thought quickly and immediately realized what Gui Suishou meant. The name 'Pangu' was like a dull clap of thunder striking everyone's heart. They found it barely possible to breathe.
"Master Gui," Jiang Hailiu said solemnly, "are you suggesting that the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is related to the Pangu civilization?"
"If we think on the bright side," Gui Suishou said unhurriedly, "the so-called 'Pangu's Covenant' might just be a slogan. Demons also like to shout that we are the descendants of Pangu and Nuwa during a fierce battle to boost the morale. But in fact, we've never received any direct gifts from the Pangu civilization. Most of the arts and techniques were developed on our own.
"If the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is the same, there will be nothing to fear.
"However, if that is the case, one thing will be inexplicable. How did the Alliance of the Holy Covenant rise miraculously in only several hundred years and even almost suffocate the Imperium of True Human Beings, forcing the latter to drastically change its system and ideology?"
The whispers around were louder and louder, and Jiang Hailiu's eyebrows furrowed harder and harder. He said emotionlessly, "What do you mean?"
Gui Suishou smiled casually and explained, "Fellow Cultivator Li Yao's foster father also admitted that the Imperium of True Human Beings is the rightful heir to the Star Ocean Imperium and a traditional superpower that has developed for almost a thousand years. Then at the beginning, it must've occupied the most prosperous Sectors at the center of the universe and excavated tremendous relics of the Star Ocean Imperium to arm itself.
"Before the Covenant Alliance showed up, the Imperium was definitely a well-deserved dominator of the universe!
"Then, how did the Covenant Alliance, which was absolutely unknown before, rise rapidly and cause immense pressure to the Imperium of True Human Beings?
"It must be noted that the Imperium of True Human Beings was even panicked when it was faced with the threat of the Covenant Alliance. It was so desperate that it degenerated from a country of Cultivators into one of Immortal Cultivators!
"All the evidence suggests that the rise of the Covenant Alliance was quick and unexpected. It showed up in front of the Imperium as a raging behemoth all of a sudden without any warning. Also, the arts and weapons demonstrated by the Covenant Alliance must've been unseen in the Imperium before and even far better than their counterparts in the Imperium. That is why the Imperium was so terrified!
"But how is that possible?
"Training methods and the development of technology require time and effort. The Imperium of True Human Beings had already occupied the most abundant resources of mankind and the most powerful legacies, and it had been developing rapidly for more than a thousand years. How could the Covenant Alliance have developed even faster than the Imperium?
"Let's say that the Covenant Alliance also discovered important relics of the Star Ocean Imperium, or rather, even if it had received all the heritages of the Star Ocean Imperium, the best outcome would be that it was on par with the Imperium!
"There is no reason why the Imperium would be so scared of an enemy that was on the same level as itself, and there is also no reason why the Covenant Alliance could crush the Imperium to a losing streak for a hundred years, until the two parties divided the prosperous area evenly!
"Therefore, if 'Pangu's Covenant' is not just a slogan but a real thing, suggesting that the Covenant Alliance really excavated tremendous relics of the Pangu civilization and received the direct legacy from it, won't everything make better sense?"
There was nothing but silence in the hall. None of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked well.
But Gui Suishou could not have cared less about how other people felt. Shaking his head, he continued. "The Imperium of True Human Beings has the legacy of the Star Ocean Imperium, while the Alliance of the Holy Covenant has that of the Pangu civilization. I think it goes without saying which of the two legacies is more advanced, right?
"Of course, I am not blindly evaluating the past over the present. I don't believe that the civilizations today are definitely worse than the civilizations in the primeval era. But we also have to admit that, even counting from the moment our nearest ancestors learned to use fire and tools and established tribes, the light of our civilization has only burnt for a hundred thousand years. We are still a young, if not naïve, civilization.
"The Pangu civilization, on the other hand, is a mature civilization that developed for at least a million years, judging from the relics they've left. It is also worth mentioning that they are also our creator and our 'parent'!
"I don't think it is demeaning ourselves to say that the Pangu civilization was more advanced than the civilization of mankind, is it?
"Fellow Cultivator Fire Ant, you once excavated 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi's secret base deep inside the White Silver Death Desert together with Fellow Cultivator Li Yao. Ba Yanzhi studied the legacy of the Pangu civilization in that very base before. Would you please tell us briefly what the legacy was?"
The Fire Ant King hesitated for a moment. Then he stood up and said coldly, "Allow me to briefly explain. Forty thousand years ago, 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi fled to the Blood Demon Sector at the edge of the universe from the center, covering such a long distance, for the simple reason that there was a relic of the Pangu civilization near the Blood Demon Sector.
"At the cost of the disintegration of his body, he was temporarily granted tremendous strength, which allowed him to discover the relic and retrieve the legacy from the relic, including an enormous throne left by the Pangu civilization.
"Through such a legacy, Ba Yanzhi began to study 'man-made spiritual roots', 'synthesized gold core', 'integration of flesh and magical equipment', and other technologies. He also researched some dangerous viruses, like the primitive version of the Demon God Virus.
"Eventually, all the people and demon beasts ended up killing each other because of the leakage of the virus."
The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had all heard a thing or two about the Mausoleum of Chaos before, but it was particularly scary considering what Gui Suishou had said just now.
Brilliance that was utterly unbefitting for a man of more than a thousand years old beamed out of Gui Suishou's eyes as he demanded aggressively, "So, you are saying that Ba Yanzhi, an ancient man forty thousand years ago, was already taking part in the incredible research such as 'man-made spiritual root' or 'synthesized gold core' after getting the legacy of the Pangu civilization and that his research would've succeeded without the accident?"
The Fire Ant King shook his head. "It's hard to say. He might've succeeded."
Gui Suishou smiled and said, "What if it weren't Ba Yanzhi, an ancient man forty thousand years ago, but modern people who were highly civilized and already received part of the legacy of the Star Ocean Imperium several thousand years ago? If the latter found the relics of the Pangu civilization, would it have been more possible for them to retrieve the techniques of the Pangu civilization through modern rese
arch methods?"
Dumbfounded, the Fire Ant King was lost for words.
"Therefore, we can make a bold assumption as to the rise of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant."
Gui Suishou's voice grew larger and larger, turning from the dull noise of a conch to the barrage of guns. "One to two thousand years ago, the Imperium of True Human Beings dominated the center of the sea of stars and occupied the entirety of the prosperous lands of the Star Ocean Imperium in the past. It also retrieved and inherited tremendous legacies and techniques of the Star Ocean Imperium!
"Of all the worlds of human beings, none were a match for the Imperium of True Human Beings!
"But at this point, some remnants of the Star Ocean Imperium who lived in a Sector at the edge of the cosmos discovered relics of the Pangu civilization by accident!
"The Pangu civilization, which was glorious for a million years, wouldn't have entirely disappeared even if it had long perished. Its dead body would still be a boundless treasury.
"Since 'Chaos' Ba Yanzhi was able to find a relic of the Pangu civilization, other people could naturally find a second, a third, or even more relics!
"All in all, the human beings who discovered the relics of the Pangu civilization, after retrieving the knowledge in the relics, armed themselves with it. They considered themselves the lineage of Pangu and bonded with each other through 'Pangu's Covenant'. They grew quickly and expanded until they had a head-on clash with Imperium of True Human Beings, the dominator of the universe!
"The Imperium of True Human Beings was a traditional superpower, with a vast territory and a large population. Its roots were deep.
"The Alliance of the Holy Covenant, on the other hand, was just a new country. It didn't have a territory as vast as the Imperium's in the beginning, and the Sectors that it occupied were relatively barren. The population and the resources of the country were not as abundant as the Imperium, but it boasted much more advanced techniques and legacies than the Imperium did!
"One of them is bigger, and the other is more developed. That is why the two of them are on par with each other. It remains to be seen who the final winner will be!