Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

by <unknown>

  Although most of the brilliance of civilization had dimmed in their heads as time went by, the memory of hatred had been passed on generations after generations. Today, even those wildling tribes did not know why they were fighting the hostile tribes. It was now just a natural instinct that had been engraved on their gene strands.

  Li Jialing told Li Yao that there were three wildling tribes in the areas of death near the 10,084th district, respectively known as "Black Armors", "Night Wings", and "Red Rings".

  The Black Armors, as their name suggested, boasted an extremely solid black shell. Not only did the shell possess a high defense ability, but more importantly, it could also store the high temperature below the ground like a special solar panel and transform the heat into part of the energy that was vital for their survival, thus significantly reducing the Black Armors' demand on food. So, they could be spared from the unnecessary hunting as much as possible, and their survival abilities were greatly increased.

  The Night Wings, on the other hand, boasted a pair of broad membrane wings. In the underground world that was full of narrow, rugged caves, the membrane wings were naturally not for flying or gliding. Instead, they could envelop the Night Wings completely into cold, giant cocoons. On one hand, they could prevent the heat and the water inside the body from losing; on the other hand, they could also stop other underground predators from noticing the Night Wings through infrared senses.

  Many residents of the 10,084th district believed that after the Night Wings covered themselves with the membrane wings, they would turn into cold stalagmites and enter the special hibernation state where they did not need to take in anything for years. Naturally, that was an exaggeration of their abilities, but the Night Wings were certainly adept at survival.

  The Red Rings, in the meantime, were the most terrifying predators of the area.

  The Black Armors and the Night Wings' naturally-endowed techniques focused more on defense, but the genetic mutations of the Red Rings were more inclined to attacks.

  They had a pair of red eyes that were extremely sensitive to infrared rays. They also gained an organ that could detect ultrasonic waves like bats. The two abilities allowed them to perceive everything around them clearly in the depths of the darkness where there was absolutely no light.

  With their powerful hunting abilities, the Red Rings had been crushing the Night Wings for thousands of years. Even the membranes of the Night Wings were likely to have been grown to avoid the detection of the Red Rings.

  It was not until the Black Armors moved here from somewhere else and resisted the Red Rings with the Night Wings that the war of the wildling tribes came to a balance again. That, of course, was only the roughest theory. Outsiders were neither aware of nor interested in the specific details.

  However, the earthquakes near the 10,084th district were more and more frequent and seemed to have destroyed the habitats of a lot of wild animals and plants. Those animals and plants were the targets of hunting and collections for the wildling tribes. Having lost most of the sources of food, the tension among the wildling tribes immediately escalated.

  If the tension was not resolved in time, there would only be two possibilities.

  Optimally speaking, the Black Armors, the Night Wings, and the Red Rings would be killed by each other in a fierce battle and go extinct.

  But it was also possible that, when the three tribes were all short of food, they would temporarily hold back the grudge deep inside their genes and attack the nearest 10,084th district together. After all, the oinks of thousands of fat rock worms could spread to deeper parts of the world along the gaps.

  It was exactly under such a background that Long Yangjun went to the areas where the three wildling tribes were active. A lot of Nepenthe believers went with her. Apart from the believers of the 10,084th district, many of them were from the four-digit towns or higher places.

  According to the principle of Nepenthe, all humans were brothers and sisters and worth saving no matter where they lived.

  Frowning, Li Yao decided to enter the wildling tribes and trace Long Yangjun after hearing Li Jialing's introduction.

  When they passed the "giant tree" at the center of the 10,084th district, he suddenly changed his mind.

  "Wait a moment."

  Li Yao said, "Tell me where the core units of the air circulation system and the cooling arrays of the 10,084th district are."

  As Li Yao had expected, the core units of the air circulation system and the cooling arrays were right below the "giant tree", or the mainframe crystal processor.

  The two things were both critical for the locals. Once they broke down, the locals would either be choked due to the lack of oxygen or be killed by the high temperature.

  However, perhaps because of their fear for "Immortal Cultivators", or because of their absolute trust for the "Serenity Seraph", believing that the Serenity Seraph's honorable guests would not hurt them, none of them had the courage to stop them from investigating but simply observed from far away.

  There was still confusion, doubts, and anxiety on the young people's faces, but the adults and the seniors had nothing but the usual tranquility and silence.

  The air filtering and circulation magical equipment was a piece of fundamental tool for space voyages and could be found on every starship.

  Besides, as the Prince of Ventilation Tubes, Li Yao had profound studies on ventilation tubes and air circulation systems of various forms and structures. Naturally, it was impossible for him to make any mistake.

  Removing the shell of the units smoothly, Li Yao became grave when he saw the carbon dioxide sieve, the cartridge, and the oxygen generator inside.

  Chapter 2350: Li Yao's Approaches |

  There were very mature and reliable technologies on the production of air circulation devices and cartridges. Even in the Great Dark Age tens of thousands of years ago, people had been roaming in space on the starships that boasted air circulation magical equipment.

  No matter how technologies declined in the ten thousand years of warfare, this most fundamental technology was never lost. Even the Star Glory Federation at the edge of the cosmos had developed it to such a high level that the gigantic air circulation system in the space fortresses could provide fresh air for millions of people at the same time.

  The technologies of the Imperium of True Human Beings were at least decades more advanced than those of the Star Glory Federation. They certainly had more knowledge about air circulation too.

  Li Yao had received tremendous files about the starships of the Imperium in Li Linghai's Deep Sea Palace. He had profound studies on the air circulation systems of the starships.

  Even the heavy starships more than ten kilometers long produced hundreds of years ago had never met any technical difficulties in terms of air cleaning, filtering, and recycling. With a tiny bit of highly-compressed "catalyst", the wastes could be transformed into fresh air incessantly, before the "sieves" in the molecular level filtered the toxins in it. Even when there was a huge fire on a starship yielding intense poisonous smoke, the battle performance of the entire starship would not be affected at all.

  The air circulation devices adopted in the underground world were slightly different from their counterparts on the starships. The requirement on airtightness was lower, but the requirements on anti-heat and anti-vibration abilities were much higher.

  But that was not a big problem either. Li Yao himself knew quite a few special porcelains that could significantly improve the performance in anti-heat and anti-vibration as long as they were sprayed on the surface of the components. It was not complicated, and the cost was certainly not high.

  However…

  In the core units of the air circulation magical equipment of the 10,084th district, all the cleaning chips and exchange units were rusted and deformed. The rune arrays on the surface and inside were all as twisted as the scribble of naughty kids. Absolutely no anti-heat measures were taken.

  Because of the continual
work day and night and the lack of a decent cooling system, the temperatures inside the units were so high that one would leave a dent on them by jabbing at them softly with a finger.

  "Crude" did not even begin to describe such components. They were far behind the current age. Even the assembly lines five or eight hundred years ago wouldn't have produced such lousy products. God knew which unqualified factory crafted them!

  Something would be terribly wrong if the air in the town could be fresh when such unworthy components were used. That explained why Li Yao had been smelling dirt and rust the whole time while he was here!

  Li Yao was infuriated and even disgusted. For a master of refining like him, to watch such shi*ty components was almost sullying his eyes and his mind. Holding back his fury, he stood straight and shouted at the locals outside, "Who purchased those components? Who installed them? And from whom did you buy them? You've been tricked!"

  Li Yao's exclamations echoed in the giant cave and crashed into pieces on the stalactites and stalagmites, only to be greeted by silence. The locals who were hiding behind the spikes and the fungi and observing them in secret all quickly retreated their heads like shocked snakes.

  "It's useless, Brother Yao, stop shouting. Except for the few designated talents trained by Sister Long, nobody will talk to us."

  Li Jialing explained, "The locals thought of us as the Immortal Cultivators, or at least people who come from the surface of the planet.

  "For hundreds of years, the Immortal Cultivators from the surface of the planet have never brought anything for the locals except slavery, destruction, and catastrophes. In the past, wherever the Immortal Cultivators showed up, it often meant that precious mother lodes and relics had been discovered in the area, and it also meant that the villages nearby would suffer a disaster!

  "As time went by, the dread for the people from the ground has been deeply branded into the flesh and bones of the underground locals, whose only way of resistance is silence.

  "There are too many lessons for that. When the Immortal Cultivators heard that new mother lodes and relics were discovered below the ground, they came here pretending to be kind and friendly, even offering resources that the locals were in dire need of in the name of His Majesty or the major sects. But they were simply trying to elicit information concerning the mother lodes and the relics from the underground locals.

  "After the information was retrieved and the coordinates and reserve were figured out, the Immortal Cultivators would immediately change their attitudes. The whole village would be destroyed, and the villagers would either be annihilated on the spot or enslaved until they died.

  "Such things happened hundreds of times before and cannot be entirely kept a secret. As time goes by, all the locals know that talking to the people from the ground will lead to disasters and that they have to remain silent and keep a distance from the strangers."

  Li Yao frowned. "Aren't we the honorable guests of that…'Serenity Seraph'?"

  "It is exactly because we are Sister Long's honorable guests that they are bold enough to watch us and a maid can slightly talk to us."

  Li Jialing said, "Otherwise, when the people from the ground like us came here, chances were that all of them would've hidden themselves in the caves, shuddering in fear together with the rock worms!"

  Li Yao sighed and looked through the fog again. His eyes even pierced through the cold and hard shell of the underground locals, almost allowing him to feel the panic, anxiety, confusion, and even a tiny bit of… expectation under the nonchalant appearance.

  Li Jialing continued, "In fact, you don't even need to ask them such a simple question. The answer is obvious if you think about it. If the components sold to them are not so lousy that the facilities break down on a daily basis and can be used steadily for a long time, then, there will be no problems for the supply of oxygen at all, will there?

  "If the oxygen supply does not have any problem, and there are sufficient rock worms, this place will be totally able to feed itself. Then, how can the three-digit and four-digit towns up above control the five-digit towns such as the 10,084th district, and how can they get dozens of rock worms by paying a tiny can of compressed air?"

  Slightly dazed, Li Yao gradually became cold.

  Li Jialing said with a bitter smile, "After living half a year of a carefree life with the help of the omnipotent Brother Yao, I seem to have returned to the days when I had to activate my brain cells to the maximum to deal with Li Lingfeng and Wuying Lan in the past in order to see everything clearly. This is really… uncomfortable!"

  Li Yao stopped talking but fell on one of his knees before the air circulation magical equipment. With his eyes half narrowed, he listed the materials inside his Cosmos Rings and drafted the plans of maintenance in his head.

  Maintaining a piece of air circulation magical equipment was really nothing for an expert like him who could even repair a Colossus.

  However, Li Yao considered the plan for five minutes and polished the whole plan in the most cautious and careful attitude. Then, he cleaned and whetted all the components with his best for an entire hour. The garbage that was too crappy to be used was simply thrown away and replaced by the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that he tricked from Li Linghai. By using his soul that was still extremely feeble, he reorganized the entire circulation and cleaning system with the micro-engraving techniques in the molecular level.

  As for the catalysts to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen, he did not have any of them in his Cosmos Rings. Thankfully, it was not complicated to mix them. Without even frowning, Li Yao combined a bucket of them with a few kinds of invaluable cooling liquids and combustion improvers. Considering the consumption rate of all the residents of the 10,084th district and the rock worms, it should suffice for the next couple of years.

  "Nailed it!"

  Li Yao smiled at the renewed, glittering components and then closed the cover of the core units. Then, he adjusted the activation rune arrays nearby.

  Immediately, a wave of cool and fresh air spurted out of the roots and branches of the "giant tree" which spread out to the entire tire. It was as refreshing as a drizzle on a hot summer afternoon.

  Many locals had been snooping on what Li Yao was doing from far away carefully. They did not dare to stop him, and they did not know what he was doing exactly until this moment. Almost finding it impossible to believe what their eyes and their skin had sensed, they were all utterly dumbfounded.

  It had been for a long time, perhaps thousands of years since the ancestors of their ancestors, that they had forgotten the feeling of "ecstasy". The darkness and destitution of reality even forced them to accept Long Yangjun's "kindness", abandoning their feelings that had nothing but pain and desperation.

  But right now, their brains that had been sealed for a long time were suddenly rippling. Rigid, twisted, and weird expressions appeared on their faces, where sunny flowers were gradually blossoming regardless of their ages and genders. They were all staggering and dancing as if they were drunk.

  "Dear folks, I have just repaired your air circulation system. The oxygen percentage in the air is gradually restoring to normal, and the toxins in the air have been filtered. You have been used to a low oxygen intensity for a long time, and you will encounter a phenomenon called 'oxygen intoxication' after the sudden increase of oxygen intensity. But it will not harm you at all and will only make you smarter and stronger. There is no need to be anxious!"

  Li Yao stood straight again. Not caring if the locals were following him, or if they would believe him even if they understood what he was talking about, he simply went on and announced, "It has occurred to me that the general cooling system of this town has a lot of hidden problems too. I will help you fix the problems after I return from the deeper parts. Then, I will compile all the maintenance procedures into an operation manual for you so that you will be able to maintain them in the future on your own. Trust me, it is not complicated at all.

  "Howe
ver, for safety reasons, you'd better elect two representatives who are smartest and deftest. By then, I will teach them hand by hand, and they can teach the rest of you. Then, you will no longer need to trade the rock worms that you've raised through all the trouble for the insignificant compressed air, and you will not be exploited by the upper levels anymore!"

  Chapter 2351: How to Pursue the Cheerleader |

  Li Yao's deafening voice echoed in the town for a long time, almost ripping apart the mist that surrounded all the locals.

  Dwelling in the amazing "oxygen intoxication" state, the locals felt unprecedented vigor despite their dizziness. Even the tranquil faces of the old were spreading out the redness of excitement.

  Although nobody had the courage to say anything back to Li Yao, the eyes of many of them were apparently much more emotional, and they were not as docile and lifeless as a moment ago.

  "Let's go!"

  Finishing what he did, Li Yao patted his hands and grinned at Li Jialing. "Now, we may set off and find Long Yangjun!"

  Frowning, Li Jialing looked at the people around who had subtle changes and then at the air circulation magical equipment that Li Yao had just repaired. He said thoughtfully, "Even if you can temporarily fix the air circulation magical equipment, Brother Yao, so what? The catalysts that you left will run out sooner or later, the cartridges will eventually be dusted and stained, and all the chips and rune arrays will be worn out one piece after another. Eventually, the magical equipment will be damaged again, and the oxygen percentage that you just raised will drop. This place will become suffocating and stinky just like before. You can only save them for the time being, but you can't save them forever.

  "Even if you can save the 10,084th district forever, there are still thousands of sunless towns like the 10,084th district deep below the ground of the capital, and there are probably millions of more miserable towns and villages in the hundreds of Sectors under the control of the Imperium! Even if you can save one of them, it is impossible for you to save them all. Then, what's the point?"