by <unknown>
Then, what were the so-called Pangu's Covenant and Path of Ultimate Benevolence?
With those questions in mind, the three of them continued exploring. Neltharion got a general picture of the battle from the sky. The giant hole at the center of the concentric circles was more than one kilometer in diameter. According to the feedback of the mystic rays and the soundwaves, it was more than a hundred kilometers deep, suggesting that it should be a channel leading to the inside of Kunlun.
It must have been an entrance of the 'planetary warship' that led to the central area of Kunlun.
The Nuwa army was attacking for the purpose of breaking into Kunlun, while the Pangu army was holding the formation and trying to stop them from approaching the entrance of the planetary warship.
In other words, this was a 'beach landing' in the primeval era.
But it remained unclear if the Nuwa army had successfully broken into Kunlun in the end.
The spiritual and electromagnetic environment inside was too complicated. Some of the traps and rune arrays might have been hibernating, too. The three of them did not dare take the risk.
During that time, Li Yao established a communication base on the highest mountain nearby and finally reached out to Sparkle.
The pictures and videos that they sent back to Sparkle were great eye-openers for the four star spirits, who were all greatly amazed.
However, the work of the four star spirits had not gone so well. Hardly had they built a space defense array when it was violently scourged by a meteoroid cascade. Although the array was not damaged, many units had to be replaced now. Also, too many crystals had been consumed. The facility had to be repaired and refilled first.
As a result, the deployment of the star beacon and the space communication system had to be slightly delayed again.
The three explorers were more than anxious, but there was nothing that they could do except pray in silence that the minor apocalypse of the Imperium of True Human Beings would not come too fast.
It was a pity that they seemed to have used up their luck by jumping to the depths of the crab nebula, landing on Kunlun successfully, and finding so many relics of the primeval era without any trouble.
After only an hour, exclamations suddenly burst out on Sparkle.
"Unusually intense spiritual waves have been detected. An extremely fast object crashed its way through the ocean of meteoroids and is now flying toward Kunlun!
"They are very close to us, but they are much larger than us in volume and mass. They will brush past us in twenty minutes and break into the atmosphere of Kunlun in half an hour. Also, the landing point… is not far away from you!"
Li Yao and the rest of the explorers jumped to their feet.
"Retreat the space defense array now and pretend to be a meteoroid in the camouflage mode. Do not get discovered. If you are found, run away immediately toward the pulsar, and bet that they don't have the courage to follow!
"Do not send out spiritual waves or telepathic thoughts. Keep absolutely silent until we reach out to you!"
Li Yao's hands turned into a storm as he dismantled the communication base and threw all the components into his Cosmos Ring.
Professor Mo Xuan and the Fire Ant King, on the other hand, examined the surroundings to make sure that they had not left any traces.
When they met again, their faces were all incredibly grim.
"I didn't think that the Immortal Cultivators would be so fast. They will land in less than twenty minutes, but our star beacons haven't been deployed yet. Even without any interference, it will take days to fully unfold it and guide Burning Prairie to this place!" Professor Mo Xuan was grave.
After witnessing the incredible relics inside Kunlun, they were even more firm that the relics could not be allowed to be taken away by the Immortal Cultivators!
"Damn. Kunlun is such a large place. Why are they landing here? We are truly unlucky!" the Fire Ant King mumbled.
"It has nothing to do with luck." Li Yao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "The primeval battlefield is the place with the most intense metal reaction and spiritual waves. The Immortal Cultivators are here for reconnaissance and exploration, too. It's only natural that they chose to land here!"
"There are only the three of us right now. What do we do?" Professor Mo Xuan asked worriedly. "They are the legendary 'minor apocalypse'. Do we stand any chance of stopping them?"
Gritting his teeth, Li Yao declared resolutely, with brilliance as cold as the edge of a sword beaming out of his eyes, "Of course we do! There's no need to underestimate ourselves or overestimate the 'minor apocalypse'!
"Although there are only the three of us here, we are all in the Nascent Soul Stage!
"We are unclear of the capability of the Imperium of True Human Beings, but let's simply compare it to the Star Ocean Imperium.
"The Star Ocean Imperium was the peak of the modern Cultivation civilization, but the majority of the Cultivators in the imperium were still in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage. The Core Formation Stage experts were already unquestionable pillars in the army. For those in the Nascent Soul Stage, it was not a problem to become the commanders of a fleet!
"Therefore, in either the Star Ocean Imperium or the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators such as us are definitely top-tier experts!
"Our enemy is only here for reconnaissance. In the eyes of the Immortal Cultivators, this land is a primitive, desolate place. Being sent here from so far away is essentially an act of exile. What experts can there be?
"I estimate that there are only several Nascent Soul Stage experts at best. We can definitely compete with them!
"Is the Imperium of True Human Beings really extravagant enough to send a dozen Divinity Transformation Stage monsters for a reconnaissance mission? If that's the case, we will have to seriously consider Gui Suishou's Monument Plan!"
Li Yao's words were quite reasonable. The Fire Ant King and Professor Mo Xuan nodded quickly, finally having the courage for a head-on clash.
However, unless it was absolutely necessary, they still did not intend to fight the Immortal Cultivators directly. It would be best if they could wait until Burning Prairie came to reinforce them.
Therefore, they decided to ambush at the edge of the primeval battlefield first. They would see what the Immortal Cultivators were up to.
While their hearts were pounding, the twenty minutes passed quickly. A brilliant exhaust flame appeared in the middle of the purple clouds and crashed toward the ground straightly. But when it was a thousand meters to the ground, hot streams that looked like a blossoming lotus were unleashed, which significantly reduced its speed.
It was a rather large cluster of fire, yet it landed like a soft feather.
When the glow around all dispersed, the 'minor apocalypse' that had troubled the three Sectors for several years finally revealed itself in front of Li Yao.
"Huh?"
Li Yao and his companions were all dumbfounded. They looked at each other in disbelief with a weird expression.
It was not because of the magnificence and formidability of the stranger but because… it looked too plain.
At first glance, the 'minor apocalypse' launched by the Imperium of True Human Beings was simply a round, metal box that was about one kilometer long and dull gray in color. During its long voyage in space, it must have been hit by countless meteoroids, which had left bumps and dents all over its surface. It was mottled and utterly devoid of the charm of the Imperium that they had imagined.
Li Yao thought for a long time and finally realized what it actually looked like. It was basically a turtle shell, only much larger!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Li Yao's description turned out to be accurate. When it was about a hundred meters from the ground, four long arms extended out of the 'turtle shell', and the four drills at the front of the arms revolved rapidly and dug into the ground, affixing the turtle shell to the su
rface of Kunlun!
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and observed. He did not find any magical equipment or signs of rune arrays on the surface of the turtle shell.
Did the starship from the Imperium of True Human Beings boast zero combat ability? Was it the legendary 'minor apocalypse' at all? Could it be that the specialists of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector had been wrong the whole time?
Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!
Right then, more than ten doors were opened around the turtle shell, revealing the deep, dark inside.
Li Yao was more anxious than ever!
Chapter 1228: The Underestimated Imperium! |
Countless black shadows flew out of the door. Illuminated by the purple clouds of Kunlun, they were emitting dangerous colors.
In only three minutes, the sky was occupied by hundreds of black shadows carrying chainswords and crystal cannons. The structure of their armor was entirely different from that of the armor of the Heaven's Origin Sector and Flying Star Sector. Despite its vintage style, the flawless gear system at the joints suggested a much higher level of refining.
Hundreds of Immortal Cultivators? Li Yao felt both blood-freezing and baffled.
It was utterly illogical. The Imperium of True Human Beings a hundred years ago was only able to teleport a star child, who did not have a real body, to millions of lightyears away. Now, after only a hundred years, how was it already able to teleport hundreds of Immortal Cultivators precisely?
Were they not scared that the hundreds of Immortal Cultivators would perish in space if anything happened to the teleportation?
Such a development of technology was too unbelievable!
However, upon closer inspection, Li Yao immediately noticed something wrong. Those 'crystal suits' were all about 1.5 meters tall, even shorter than ordinary people. Also, their limbs were narrow and long, and they were extremely slender. Unless the Immortal Cultivators were all dwarfs, it would be impossible for them to fit in such crystal suits.
They were not crystal suits but certain war puppets. There was no sign of life inside. No wonder such a huge batch of them had been successfully teleported all at once.
Although they were lifeless puppets, their teamwork was quite immaculate. The three hundred war puppets were like a well-trained army. They established defenses around the turtle shell and searched around, as if invisible strings were guiding them from behind.
Li Yao thought quickly. Then, lightning suddenly struck his brain. His eyelids cramping, he said to Professor Mo Xuan in a low voice, "Grand Illusionary Soldiers?"
The operational patterns of those war puppets were very similar to those of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers. No, they was even more advanced than the Grand Illusionary Soldiers', as if they were some sort of upgraded version.
"Very possible," Professor Mo Xuan replied in a low voice. "In the Flying Star Sector, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers were the main force for the Immortal Cultivators in their rebellion.
"Although the plan was proposed by Xiao Xuance, it was in fact under the influence of the star child from the Imperium of True Human Beings, who pretended to be Xiao Xuance's foster son Xiao Tianbao. It is safe to say that the star child actually led the project!
"Even the 'star brain', which controlled the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, was built by the star child.
"The clues suggest that the 'Grand Illusionary Soldiers', as a type of fully-automatic magical equipment, are a very mature technology in the Imperium of True Human Beings and very popular main-force gear. To carry out an expedition mission where a long journey is involved, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers—lifeless, loyal, and unemotional—are the best choices."
Li Yao recalled the breathtaking feeling when he was surrounded by the Grand Illusionary Soldiers in the riot of the Immortal Cultivator again.
With a dull ache pervading his mind, he mumbled to himself, "I hate the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!"
Thankfully, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers as individuals were not very impressive. Their combat ability was based on their number, but there were only three hundred Grand Illusionary Soldiers there.
Even if the Grand Illusionary Soldiers of the Imperium of True Human Beings were even stronger than the 'counterfeit' versions produced by the star child, Li Yao would not be troubled by them because he was also much stronger than the past, not to mention that he was supported by another two experts in the Nascent Soul Stage.
But there was definitely more to the turtle shell. It was unnecessary for them to launch an assault yet. They could wait for Burning Prairie to deal with the enemy later.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
More than ten Grand Illusionary Soldiers of the Imperium of True Human Beings flew over their heads.
But they had hidden themselves with delicate camouflage in advance. They had buried themselves into crevices before they covered themselves with tremendous mud and rust. They looked exactly the same as the rest of the remains in the battlefield.
The metal reaction and spiritual waves were so intense there that they were like a few drops of water that had melted into the ocean. Unless they were observed at a close distance, it was impossible for anybody to notice them.
As they expected, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers detected no anomaly. Their masters never would have dreamed that somebody had arrived in Kunlun earlier than them.
The Grand Illusionary Soldiers were released perhaps for the purpose of exploring the local lives of Kunlun. Discovering only low-level lives such as moss, weeds, and insects, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers soon returned and stayed on alert around the turtle shell.
Another hundred shadows dashed out of the cabin, this time, not Grand Illusionary Soldiers but beast puppets about one meter long.
Most of the beast puppets were in the form of a spider and looked similar to the 'Tarantula' that Li Yao had refined before. A jet system was also installed to their round belly, allowing them to move agilely and quickly on the ragged folds.
The metal spiders crawled nimbly among different rock stratums, knocking the rocks now and then amid clicking sounds. In the end, they seemed to find what they desired. All the metal spiders were gathered together.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The extensible arms of the 'turtle shell' which had dug deep into the ground were now plucked and thrown to the air, while it crept to the location that the metal spiders had selected.
After the turtle shell was affixed to the surface again, more than ten drills extended out of the bottom of the turtle shell and suddenly penetrated underground like the drilling pipes that collected the underground minerals!
"Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!"
The drilling pipes were revolving fast, and both the ground and the turtle shell were trembling with dull noises. Overwhelming spiritual waves were coming over from the depths of the turtle shell!
Li Yao and his companions looked at each other in bewilderment, not having the faintest clue what the ugly starship from the Imperium of True Human Beings was doing.
After observing it carefully for more than an hour, they finally guessed the turtle shell's purpose. It seemed to be collecting the metal remains deeply buried underground.
In the meantime, the metal puppets were bouncing up and down on the folds and delivering the scraps of the larger remains to the turtle shell.
What was odd was that they simply excavated scraps that were larger and seemed to contain the most metal but showed no interest in the dead bodies of the primeval species at all or cared about the completeness of the remains.
While Li Yao and his companions were still confused, the turtle shell was going through new changes.
The shell was opened piece after piece, like thousands of blossoming buds. Many more metal puppets jumped out, with bizarrely-shaped components attached to their back by the electromagnetic force field.
Very soon, the number of the metal puppets reached almost a thousand. They jumped near to the turtle shell, where they paved the ground and
established what appeared to be some buildings with the components on their back.
More than ten large buildings were being constructed at the same time. Therefore, the speed was rather now, but it was obvious that the buildings were neatly planned and quite impressive. Once they were completed, they would constitute an impenetrable war base.
Li Yao even saw that several buildings looked like smaller 'turtle shells'!
There seemed to be a highly-efficient workshop inside the turtle shell. As more and more underground minerals and metal scraps were sent into it, more metal spiders and Grand Illusionary Soldiers were produced.
Then, the metal spiders could collect more remains and minerals and dedicate themselves to the construction of other buildings. The overall working efficiency was growing exponentially!
Li Yao and his companions did not intend to take any action at first because their star beacons were being constructed in space under the camouflage of the meteoroids. The longer they delayed, the more likely Burning Prairie was going to show up. Time was on their side. It was just a matter of speed.
However, after monitoring in secret for a long time, they all discovered that something was not right. The Grand Illusionary Soldiers deployed around the turtle shell were already more than five hundred, almost a double of the original ones, and the number of the metal spiders had surpassed two thousand!
Many buildings nearby were gradually taking shape.
The buildings deployed at the periphery were the watchtowers carved with countless attack rune arrays. Some of them were already unleashing spluttering high-voltage electric arcs.
Behind the watchtowers was a forest of cooling towers and furnaces, which constituted metal purification factories and magical equipment factories that were not small at all!
Other than them, there were also buildings that Li Yao failed to recognize. Judging from the antennas hundreds of meters tall that were being assembled, they had to have facilities to send telepathic thoughts into the space!
Several Grand Illusionary Soldiers and metal spiders were installing the crystal cannons just produced in the turtle shell to the highest place of the watchtowers.