by <unknown>
"Thank you," Li Yao said. "Why don't you skip to the 'but' part?"
"But… perhaps because I was too young and ignorant back then, it was rather strange that I was affected, moved, or maybe even contaminated by you before I knew it?" Long Yangjun mumbled. "It's true that you are rather silly, but you have also shown me what a real Cultivator should look like and what a more independent, beautiful, and bright civilization of mankind can be without the support, interference, and control of the Pangu Clan or the Nuwa Clan. You showed me the third option between absolute control and absolute freedom. You let me know what courage, responsibility, and protection are and what law, system, and honor mean.
"Hehe. It is exactly because Vulture Li Yao, the dominator of three Sectors, is such a person that I have such a way of thinking right now after hanging around with you for a long time and being influenced by you. That is why I started to consider the differences between ordinary people and Cultivators carefully and the true meaning of life. I began to wonder if there was any difference between the destinies that other people gave me and my own destiny—if it was obligatory for me to hear the voices in my head and control or destroy everyone.
"What if it was not you who showed up before me but someone who was more selfish and focused more on his own interests? If he had intended to obtain something from me instead of showing me the possibilities of a bright and beautiful future of mankind, or if he had tried to capture me and interrogate me for the secrets of the Nuwa warship and even slice me up for studies, I wouldn't have become who I am today, and the outcome of the Star Glory Federation would've been vastly different, too.
"Furthermore, if you hadn't brought me to the Star Glory Federation, and Heiye Lan had taken me to the Black Wind Fleet or the Imperium of True Human Beings, allowing me to view myself and the entire universe in the ways of the Immortal Cultivators, I have no idea if I would've followed a certain voice inside my head and done anything unpredictable inside the Imperium.
"All in all, I must offer you my sincerest gratitude. At the very least, I'm very satisfied about my personality and way of thinking right now, which have been influenced by you to a very large extent.
"The Star Glory Federation, the edge of the cosmos, and the even vaster world owe you their thanks, too, for transforming me into what I am right now and stopping me from causing inestimable damage. From that point of view, you have saved the federation and the world yet again without knowing it!"
"You're welcome." Li Yao coughed and casually said, "Saving the world is a daily routine for me. I am already used to it."
Chapter 1917: The Question Before Departure |
Long Yangjun chuckled and kicked hard while holding her stomach. "You are so funny. If I were not occupied in the search for my real destiny, I wouldn't mind staying in the federation to hang around with you at all!"
Li Yao coughed hard. "What is the meaning of that? Besides, what do you want exactly? You can still find your destiny in the federation!"
"Forget it. I cannot even explain my own identity. Although I'm willing to trust you, I cannot stop other Cultivators from growing suspicious and hostile toward me!"
With a casual smile, Long Yangjun said, "Besides, the edge of the cosmos is too small a place. I would like to visit a vaster world and see how the civilizations of mankind function in the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, what the people there are guarding, and what kind of future they are fighting for. Only then will I be able to find my real destiny, won't I?"
Li Yao felt lost. "Are you going to the Imperium?"
"Of course. Even if the power from Pangu and Nuwa does flow in my body, it is just the power of two bottom-level commanders at a minor base at the edge of the cosmos. It is far from enough to unravel all the mysteries," Long Yangjun said carefully, "If mankind is really the most perfect 'tool' or 'carrier' created by Pangu and Nuwa, what exactly happened at the last years of the primeval war that made both Pangu and Nuwa disappear and left only human beings to themselves?
"Also, what is the most perfect form of mankind exactly? Is it supposed to be what we look like right now?
"According to the Pangu Clan, if we cannot control our ambitions and desires, we will likely destroy the universe or be wiped out by the will of the universe. The former is easy to understand, but what is the will of the universe? Is it some sort of rhetorical device or a real power that is of a higher level than the Pangu and the Nuwa civilizations?
"I want to know the answers to these questions and all the questions that I am not aware of yet. Such answers cannot be found in the Star Glory Federation. I must go to the Imperium of True Human Beings at the center of the cosmos!
"You know that I did not hesitate to camouflage myself and sneak into the library in the royal palace of the Great Qian Dynasty in order to find an answer. As it turned out, I discovered the secrets about the Nuwa warship in the depths of the Land of Eternal Night.
"According to the people on Firefly and the captured Immortal Cultivators, inside the capital of the Imperium of True Human Beings in the Empyreal Terminus Sector, there is a royal library of an enormous scale and storage. It has been passed on from the age of the Star Ocean Imperium to this day. The secrets of the past tens of thousands of years are all kept inside.
"In that case, why can't I do what I did again and sneak into the royal library of the Imperium of True Human Beings to find out the truths exactly like 'Eunuch Wang Xi' in the past? Chances are that I will find something unexpected!
"Also, what is the truth about the Supreme Emperor, who led the civilization of mankind out of the 'Great Dark Age', and the Mad Armageddon, his strongest clone who was corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils? Do they know part of the secrets about the primeval wars and can help me resolve my puzzles and illuminate my way ahead?
"Everything can only be found out at the center of the cosmos. So, this journey is inevitable for me!"
While Long Yangjun was speaking, the picture became blurred again.
It was obvious that the 'teleporter' she was in had accelerated to an unbelievable speed or was even flying in a way that was beyond 'speed'.
"However…" She put on a sweet smile. "Since I have received tremendous support from you all the way here, my gratitude will not be just an empty promise. I already reminded you many times after we entered the Pangu laboratory and told you a lot of truths. Right now, I will answer one last question from you. Cherish the opportunity and think carefully what you are going to ask!"
Li Yao could not help but clench his fists. Without any hesitation, he said, "Fine. I want you to tell me if you intentionally led 'Sha Yue' into the factory of giant crabs in order to create a reborn member of the Pangu Clan and stimulate the recovery of your memories."
Long Yangjun was slightly dazed. She frowned and said, "You have only one precious opportunity, and you chose to ask such an insignificant question?"
Li Yao gnashed his teeth. "This is not an insignificant question. It is very important to me. Believe me, it is of paramount importance for you, too!"
Long Yangjun chuckled and asked back, "What if I say 'yes'?"
Staring at him, Li Yao declared, one word after another, "The exploration operation is highly dangerous. Everybody prepared to sacrifice themself before they entered the Pangu laboratory. If it's due to an accident, we'll have nothing to say even if all of us are killed. However, if you intentionally led one of our teammates into the dangerous area for your own purpose, I will find you, kill you, and avenge 'Sha Yue' even if I have to chase you to the center of the cosmos!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You do have some intimidating aura today, Monster Li!" Long Yangjun covered her mouth and laughed, not scared of Li Yao's threat at all. She replied dutifully, "Although I do not have any evidence and cannot convince you to believe me, it really was an accident.
"At that time, when I was 'revisiting' the familiar place, the two powers inside my head were in serious conflict, causing my brain to be an utter m
ess. Besides, the black mist that could block the search of telepathic thoughts were too dense for me to take care of each and every member in the exploration team.
"If I had done it on purpose, 'Sha Yue' wouldn't have been the only victim. I could've released a few more giant crabs to create more 'reincarnations' of the Pangu Clan. In that case, we would've been able to capture some of them alive for studies, wouldn't we?
"However, now that you've pointed it out, I can admit frankly that I actually considered if I should sacrifice the lives of a few explorers in order to simulate the memories deep inside my brain. However, after debating with myself for a while, I eventually abandoned the thought. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"If I say that it was for our friendship and I was concerned that we would no longer be friends if I did that, would you believe me?"
Li Yao felt goosebumps rise all over his body. Rubbing his arms hard, he said, "We are both adults more than a hundred years old. Would you please stop saying such disgusting things?"
Long Yangjun laughed and said, "If you think that it is too disgusting, allow me to give you a metaphor that is easier to understand. Let's say that you meet a round-faced, silly retard with a runny nose on the street. He looks careful and solemn and is holding a rainbow lollipop as if he were protecting his entire world. Let me ask you, could you bear to kick the retard to the ground and snatch his lollipop to smash it into pieces?"
Li Yao looked as if he had swallowed a fly. "What kind of cr*ppy metaphor is that? Of course I wouldn't do that. Why would any normal person do that?"
"That's right. In my eyes, Cultivators like you are the retards of the universe. The so-called shining points of humanity, friendship, trust, hope… all those bright things are like the most vulnerable lollipop that you hold in your palm carefully."
Long Yangjun sighed.
"In the past few years, you, the retard, have been trusting me and treating me as a real friend, believing that I could also turn into a real Cultivator although I was a 'monster' from the Ancient Sages Sector with a mysterious background. If I lied to you and manipulated you at the last moment, or even intentionally caused the miserable death of some innocent people, it would be like a retard sincerely offering me a beautiful, delicate and wonderful lollipop in a silly smile, but I slap him right in the face and take the lollipop from him and smash it into pieces.
"Tell me. How guilty would I feel, and how could I ever bear to do that?"
Li Yao was dazed for a long time and still failed to figure out the answer. "Are you complimenting me or insulting me?"
"I'm complimenting you, of course!" Long Yangjun said solemnly. "Although it's true that you are a retard, in the past few years, you have taught me to care about the community of retards without you knowing it. In the past, I did not have any sense of guilt, and I would not hesitate to do anything. I did not care about any people other than myself. Therefore, your tutelage was very effective!"
Li Yao ignored the mockery in Long Yangjun's words and somehow believed what she said.
Looking at his face, Long Yangjun could not help but smile again. "Fine. In case you blame me for not being grateful enough, the minor question just now will be complimentary. I'll give you another opportunity for one last question. Think about it carefully this time!"
"Okay!" This time, Li Yao truly thought hard for a while. "I would like to know the relationship between the so-called 'chaos', or the 'extraterrestrial devils', and mankind.
"When I had a fierce fight with Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan and Extraterrestrial Devil Lu Qingchen, they told me that human beings are a type of extraterrestrial devil. At that time, I thought that they were merely trying to confuse me and disturb my mind.
"However, after collecting the last words of the commanders of the Pangu Clan and the Nuwa Clan, and even sensing the information sent by the remaining soul of the commander of the Nuwa Clan, I began to feel that the theory might be real.
"But it doesn't make any sense. If human beings are a type of extraterrestrial devils, what about the possession of the extraterrestrial devils? Can thousands of extraterrestrial devils occupy the same shell?
"Also, extraterrestrial devils are very strange, too. Some of them boast strong thinking abilities, some have only the simplest self-awareness and instincts, and some are utterly ignorant as groups of basic waves.
"I am completely confused right now. Are human beings extraterrestrial devils or not? If they are, why are most people relatively calm and rational most of the time, and why are they out of their mind and filled with the desire to kill after they are corrupted by new extraterrestrial devils?"
Chapter 1918: Create a Destiny |
"Wow. You have asked such a complicated, mysterious question that contains the ultimate philosophies of the universe. How do you expect me to answer it?" Long Yangjun smiled. "In fact, everybody has their own understanding about that unsubstantial, theoretical question. There might not be a correct answer, or there might be ten thousand correct answers, all of which can explain part of the unknown universe from a certain perspective."
"Then, what is your 'correct answer'?"
"I do not have one," Long Yangjun replied. "The best I have are some immature deductions and hypotheses that I would like to share and discuss with you.
"We have been talking about the opposition between the 'Pangu Civilization' and 'chaos' and even depicting it as an unprecedented war that involved all of the three thousand Sectors hundreds of thousands of years ago. But before the division of the Nuwa Clan at least, the form of the so-called 'war' and the criteria of victory are barely comprehensible and imaginable for us.
"The Pangu Civilization was like moving mountains, whereas chaos or the extraterrestrial devils were countless times smaller than the smallest microorganisms. Or rather, they did not have any entity and were merely 'shadows of microorganisms'. They did not have any self-awareness or a civilization. Do not mistake chaos or extraterrestrial devils for personified existences, which would be the greatest mistake."
Frowning, Li Yao said, "However, I have seen a lot of extraterrestrial devils that boast strong emotions and self-awareness, such as Mo Xuan, Lei Yuqin, Lu Qingchen, and also the commander of the Nuwa Clan who tried to possess me just now. Wasn't an ancient extraterrestrial devil that had hibernated for hundreds of thousands of years lurking inside her brain?"
"You couldn't be more wrong," Long Yangjun remarked. "It is highly inaccurate to call Mo Xuan an extraterrestrial devil. Specifically speaking, what existed inside Professor Mo Xuan's soul was not a single extraterrestrial devil but a collection of millions of 'chaos' and 'extraterrestrial devils'.
"No. Not just Professor Mo Xuan. Millions of extraterrestrial devils exist in the brains of you, me, and everybody else."
"Millions of extraterrestrial devils?" Li Yao was completely confused. "I don't understand…"
"You may compare our soul to an ecological system. It has a sky, a continent, an ocean, and plants and animals. It is an exuberant, unique planet, an independent Sector, or a mysterious, unpredictable universe!
"Every gentle breeze, every beam of sunlight, every blade of grass, and every drop of dew in the tiny universe is not exactly 'you'; the ecological system that all of that makes up is your mind, your consciousness, and your soul. Do you find such a metaphor acceptable?"
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao nodded slowly.
"But a long, long time ago, at the very beginning, such an 'ecological system' did not exist," Long Yangjun said. "At that time, human beings, as 'tools' or 'carriers', had only a bare, lifeless planet inside their brain, a world of absolute desolation and death and a universe without the slightest heat and waves. The best that there possibly had been were some unconscious waves, like thunderstorms and earthquakes in nature.
"However, perhaps because 'seeds of life' were implanted into the bottomless, scorching oceans when the planet was born, or maybe because meteorites from outer space brought amazing gifts, afte
r a long time, ancient lives gradually appeared on the planet of death and silence.
"More and more lives appeared, and they became more and more complicated. They integrated, swallowed each other, and evolved, slowly transforming the desolate planet. They covered the lifeless earth with colorful moss. From the moss grew huge trees, and the fruits ripening on the trees fed countless creatures. Everything together made a complicated and precise ecological system that was the soul of a human being."
Li Yao was rather stunned as he listened.
"The extraterrestrial devils are like cells," Long Yangjun said. "Your body is made of millions of cells, while your soul is made of millions of extraterrestrial devils. A single cell or a single extraterrestrial devil is not you, but when millions of cells and extraterrestrial devils are condensed, they will construct your fleshly body and your powerful soul.
"The fleshly body may get sick. It may be infiltrated by foreign viruses and germs and can even grow 'cancer cells', eventually leading to self-destruction.
"By that logic, the extraterrestrial devils are themselves neither good nor bad. The grass swallows dew and sunlight, sheep feed on grass, and wolves feed on sheep. None of them are good or evil here. Everything will be fine if they can assemble a balanced food chain that can maintain the order of the entire ecological system.
"However, if a certain ferocious foreign species barges into the ecological system and shatters the vulnerable ecological balance, there will be dire consequences."
Li Yao thought of something and said, "So, the so-called 'invasion of extraterrestrial devils' is not as simple as an extraterrestrial devil swallowing the soul of a human being; it is the catastrophic consequence when 'a few' extraterrestrial devils invade the sealed ecological system inside someone's brain causing the malfunction and even collapse of the entire ecological system?"
"Exactly," Long Yangjun said. "The term 'extraterrestrial devils' is strongly biased in the negative sense. One will inevitably imagine them as dark, evil, and bloodthirsty existences. I prefer to call them 'chaos'. By 'chaos', it means that they are neither good nor bad, neither kind nor evil. It is brightness, and it is darkness. It is kind, and it is evil.