by <unknown>
Very soon, Professor Mo Xuan, who was dressed like an old farmer, returned to the hut. Laying the firewood at the back of the house, he massaged his back and went back to the wood desk, putting the wine calabash in front of Li Yao.
"This village is too shabby for such a rare honorable guest. Do forgive us," Professor Mo Xuan said with a smile. He poured the wine that was as dense as sugar into cups, as if there was infinite of it in the wine calabash.
Chapter 1769: Eternal, Wonderful New World |
Looking at the foam that the wine raised in the crude bowl, Li Yao felt that he was looking at the most fatal poison. He demanded full of wariness, "What… do you want exactly?"
Professor Mo Xuan sat down and stretched out his arms comfortably. He picked up an escargot and sucked the delicious juice inside. Swallowing it down, he moaned in great satisfaction. He pointed at the dream-like village at the foot of the mountain with the greasy chopsticks and said, "Should I call you Fellow Cultivator Lin or Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture? But it doesn't matter. As you can see, I am a refiner. By the classification in our place, I am sort of a 'creation-type Cultivator'.
"Creation. Hehe. Yes. I have created countless pieces of precise and marvelous magical equipment in the past two hundred years. But they were all chainswords, vibration sabers, crystal cannons, crystal suits, and so on. All of them were weapons that we used to butcher our own kind!
"Such things only brought chaos, pain, blood, and destruction to the world. So, am I qualified to be called a 'creation-type Cultivator'? No. I am obviously a 'destruction-type Cultivator' who is destined to destroy everything.
"I'd had enough of creating weapons for murderers. One day, I had a complete epiphany and realized how ridiculous and egregious my past life was. I refused to continue creating dreadful weapons to slaughter my own kind. I had to return to the true meaning of 'creation-type Cultivator', to create a new world that is more beautiful!
"Look at the carefree village down there. Look at the clear pool next to us, the happily swimming fish inside, the fragrant food in front of us, and my little granddaughter 'Ah Luo'. Isn't it much better to create things that will bring pleasure and happiness than to create cold weapons of slaughter?
"This is exactly my purpose. I don't have any other intention."
The muscles all over Li Yao's body tightened as he stared at Professor Mo Xuan. He was ready to jump up anytime.
Ah Luo seemed to have heard none of their conversation. She simply picked up a bamboo cylinder from the pool, which turned out to be storing cold, delicious plum syrup. She sipped it, and her eyebrows almost hit the ground because of the sour flavor.
"This is so delicious! Grandpa, his wounds have not recovered yet. He cannot drink alcohol. Let him drink the plum syrup with me!"
The virtual girl that was constructed from tremendous data spoke innocently, but her crisp and delightful voice only added to Li Yao's anxiety.
Professor Mo Xuan agreed with a smile. Then, he turned around and said to Li Yao, "There's no need to be so nervous. Ah Luo did not lie to you just now. This village has indeed admitted a lot of broken soldiers that fell from the outside world. They are all the soldiers of the federation who suffered PTSD.
"Wars are cruel. No matter how the federation emphasizes the righteousness of our cause and berates the Imperium of True Human Beings and the Alliance of the Holy Covenant to be evil and inhuman, the cruelty of wars is not reduced at all.
"In the federation, the Imperium, or the Covenant Alliance, soldiers are all obliged to kill people. They must stab their chainswords into the enemy's chest, churning up the enemy's internal organs. They must face the shock of crystal bombs, the cries and screams of the enemy's family. They must destroy the enemy's towns and villages… or even perform saturated bombardment and indiscriminate slaughter when it is impossible to make out the soldiers from the civilians!
"Even the soldiers with the toughest nerves are likely to be diagnosed with PTSD after a few years in such hells. For Cultivators, it is very easy for such a disease to sneak into their soul and turn into a tiny mental devil that will cause their mental derangement at the critical moment of their training later. Their veins and nerves may be broken, their brains may crash, and their mind may be twisted into real devils, leading to even greater damage!
"The Uranian Ring War was the largest interplanetary expedition since the New Federation was established. It was even more intense than the war between the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. Almost a hundred million soldiers were devoted to the war by the federation. Naturally, countless were afflicted with the terrible illness. Their treatment became the trickiest problem after the war.
"Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital and the production team of the game 'Civilization' both performed studies in that regard. This is exactly their research product, a virtual world that has been named 'Peach Blossom Village', or in our words, the Peach Blossom Paradise.
"Soldiers who have caused grievous damage and casualties in peaceful environments due to their severe PTSD have been delivered to this place for treatment. They rise at dawn and rest at dusk in this unworldly paradise, getting married and having children. They enjoy their lives here, and their souls that have been completely twisted by war are gradually comforted and pacified.
"Even if they cannot hold back the deepest desire for slaughter and destruction in their hearts, it will only be some artificial intelligence that they kill. The entire Peach Blossom Paradise boasts multiple data backups. It can be instantly rebuilt even if it is utterly demolished.
"Of course, I also took the opportunity to dig out a lot of crucial data from the soul of those soldiers, but it is not related to the matter at hand. There's no need to talk more about it. Hehe."
Professor Mo Xuan drank the wine in his porcelain bowl. Batting her watery eyes, Ah Luan poured another half bowl of wine for her 'grandpa' and said with mock anger, "Grandpa, you are drinking too fast. It is not good for your health. Have more dishes and drink less wine!"
Li Yao felt his heart turn cold. Naturally, he knew what Professor Mo Xuan meant by his last sentence. In the past, and even right now, the souls of too many soldiers and generals who suffered PTSD had been delivered to the Spiriters' Realm. Those people had been mentally deranged since a long time ago. Naturally, their souls would not be as flawless as Li Yao's. After tempting them slowly for decades, it was certainly possible for Professor Mo Xuan to learn tremendous secrets about the federal army and even to infiltrate the special military Spiritual Nexus of the federal army without alarming anyone!
"I'm told that Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture is from the Ancient Sages Sector." Professor Mo Xuan picked up a boiling-hot piece of tofu. He blew at it and kept it between his chopsticks to cool it. Then he smiled and said, "So, I thought that a Spiriters' Realm of such a vintage style should be most suitable to welcome you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture."
Li Yao sniffed. "Where did you send my companions?"
"Rest assured. I do not intend to do harm to anyone; I only have the greatest kindness," Professor Mo Xuan said frankly. "Their bodies are being kept in a safe place. To be honest, it was quite beyond my expectations to run into so many high-level Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. I could not invade them easily, either. However, as for their souls, they have been invited to different Spiriters' Realms as guests just like you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture. It was not until after a dialogue with them that I finally learned a thing or two about the Ancient Sages Sector."
Li Yao was greatly alarmed. By 'dialogue', it was doubtlessly corruption. If the extraterrestrial devils behind Professor Mo Xuan corrupted the souls of some of the experts from the Ancient Sages Sector and recruited them, it would be really terrible!
"According to those fellow Cultivators, the Ancient Sages Sector has been at war since time immemorial. The life of the common folk is miserable, the resources are running dry, and the spiritual energy is getting thinner and thinner. Your world is d
ying. That's why you, the strongest and wisest people of the Ancient Sages Sector, went out in search of hope.
"But is there really hope in the dark universe outside? Aren't the human beings outside also killing each other and destroying the worlds that they built?"
The sky dimmed as Professor Mo Xuan sighed. Large, dark clouds were surging close like tides with thunder and lightning. Raindrops as huge as beans were dropping.
"It's raining again. How annoying!" Ah Luo stood on her toes and observed at faraway before she shook her head in dissatisfaction.
However, the dark clouds suddenly became transparent, like a black ocean that was hanging from the sky. Ripples were spreading out from the ocean and eventually turned into two enormous black mirrors. Inside the mirrors were the grand universe and a cruel battlefield where warships were bombarding and crystal suits were fighting with fireballs exploding everywhere. Two armies were in competition!
Li Yao's pupils constricted violently. He noticed the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars emblem and the trident lightning emblem, which were the symbols of the federation and the Imperium respectively, on the starships of the two parties!
The strategic, decisive battle between the Star Glory Federation and the Black Wind Fleet had indeed begun!
"Look. The world outside is at war again," Professor Mo Xuan said unemotionally. "For land, for resources, for honor, and for ancestors, the Star Glory Federation, the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, Jin Xinyue, Ding Lingdang, Wuying Qi… Everything's the same. Those who claim to be heroes, who deride their enemies as devils, and who are labeled by their enemies as devils are determined to ruin the universe and our civilization.
"The universe is a boundless place, but it has no room for a peaceful paradise. Do we really have any option but to hide in the Spiriters' Realm?
"Look at the gruesome battlefield. You must have seen battlefields that are in different forms but equally gory in your hometown countless times before, haven't you, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture?
"Haven't you had enough of such a life? Are destruction, massacre, and conquest the only things that can satisfy 'heroes' like you? Why can't you dedicate your strength, resolution, and vigor to creation? Stay here and join the Spiriters' Realm. Let's build a real, perfect, and eternal world that is devoid of wars and embraced by peace together!"
Professor Mo Xuan extended his hands toward Li Yao sincerely.
Li Yao was almost creeped out by the sincerity inside Professor Mo Xuan's eyes. Then, he was agitated by the reflection of the ongoing, heated war in the sea of stars. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down and gritted his teeth, firmly replying, "Professor Mo Xuan, you have chosen the completely wrong path. However wonderful your 'new world' is, it is false. False! You think you can get away from wars by escaping into the Spiriters' Realm, but is it any different from the ostriches that hide their heads in the sand?"
Chapter 1770: You Are Under Arrest! |
"What is real, and what is fake? The so-called soul is nothing but a cluster of special energy waves, and the fleshly body is just a combination of protein and carbohydrates! All of a human being's feelings, your joy and your pain, aren't they the result of the nerve endings being stimulated by bioelectricity?"
Professor Mo Xuan kept his arms straightened at him. He earnestly said, "Is protein destined to be superior to silicon chips? Is the glow of bioelectricity at the nerve endings more real than the 'emotions' triggered by the spiritual energy in rune arrays? Look around. Look at the fragrant cuisine, the peaceful and quiet village, and my lovely, innocent granddaughter. Are they not 'real' enough for you?
"Pleasure is pleasure. Happiness is happiness. Pain is pain. Desperation is desperation. There is no such disparity as real and false!
"But let's just say that everything here is false. So what? Isn't the most illusionary happiness ten thousand times better than real pain? To live a carefree life in a false paradise, or to be ravaged and slaughtered by a real war. For most people, do they really need to think to pick an answer?"
Li Yao gritted his teeth. Flames of spiritual energy gradually surged out of every pore on his body, forming a fuzzy shadow around him. His soul was too powerful. The form and frequency of his surging spiritual energy had surpassed the calculation limits of the Peach Blossom Paradise. The data could not be handled in real time. The whole world grew more and more unsteady, as if a minor earthquake was happening at the core of the earth.
"I will not listen to your demagogism!" Li Yao bellowed. "Real is real, and false is false! A palace constructed on a beach is absolutely useless no matter how splendid and delicate it seems. You want to bring absolute peace to the world, but the only thing you can present is absolute darkness! Is there any essential difference between the so-called 'new world' and 'Peach Blossom Paradise' that you have constructed and the drugs that narcotize and give them the ultimate sense of pleasure? That's not real happiness. It's just the seemingly glorious light you see before your death!
"Regardless of whether you are Professor Mo Xuan or the extraterrestrial devils, whatever your plan is, I will not let things go your way!"
The flames of spiritual energy around Li Yao became more and more turbulent until they almost formed a small storm that was gradually shredding the hut and the entire village.
Ah Luo, the virtual girl, shrieked in fear and dropped the bamboo cylinder to the ground. The deep pure plum syrup flowed everywhere.
Her tears were also dropping like pearls, but she summoned her courage and stood in front of Professor Mo Xuan. Her voice shaking, she said, "What—what are you doing? Don't hurt my grandpa!"
This illusion is damn vivid! Li Yao cursed in his heart. But he suddenly lost the courage to look at the girl 'Ah Luo', who was shocked and frightened, in the eyes.
He even felt sorry for the five dishes that had been blown to the ground by his soul storm.
It was the way of the extraterrestrial devils' attack. Invisible and yet unbelievably sordid!
You—you are shameless enough to simulate the most sacred feeling of mankind as your weapon and your shield. I will not be deceived by you. I'm going to destroy this place!
Thinking about his family, friends, and compatriots who were fighting fiercely in space, Li Yao gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, summoning the explosive strength deep inside his soul.
As his soul power continued expanding, wind and thunder were blowing around. The clouds and mist grew thicker and thicker, but the whole world seemed to dim, as if the rendering quality was getting lousier and the running speed was turning sluggish!
Finally, the entire Peach Blossom Paradise was slowed down to a point where mottled light spots showed up, as if thousands of colorful butterflies were crumbling. Li Yao, Professor Mo Xuan, and the virtual girl 'Ah Luo' all became sharp, fuzzy, and dim as they were gradually disintegrated.
"You cannot destroy the Spiriters' Realm." Professor Mo Xuan's casual voice echoed from his body that was gradually falling apart. "People who entered the Spiriters' Realm in the past, especially the soldiers who suffered PTSD, were often too obsessed about the so-called 'real' and 'fake' at first just like you. They obliterated the 'fake world' every now and then, but before long, they would accept this place, grow fond of everything, and be completely integrated with the Spiriters' Realm. They consider this place reality and the world outside an ugly illusion!
"Hehe. Many of them fell in love with my granddaughter, Ah Luo, and even married her. Ah Luo is indeed a very lovely girl and will be a great wife. Maybe you will fall in love with her one day."
Li Yao was truly creeped out. "You are mad. You are not Professor Mo Xuan. What kind of monster are you?"
"Huh?" Professor Mo Xuan sounded quite surprised. "Since we met for the first time, you seem to have been very certain that I am not Professor Mo Xuan. That was why you began your investigation into me, too. Why? On what grounds is an expert from the Ancient Sages Sector so suspicious of a professor
in a foreign world hundreds of lightyears away? I believe that my camouflage in the Tinder Base was immaculate. There shouldn't be any point that called for your doubts, unless…"
Li Yao was greatly alarmed, crying that it was not good in his heart.
Long Yangjun was quite right. In such weird metal warfare, his real identity was indeed his last trump card.
If Li Yao had exposed his identity carelessly in Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital or even earlier, the virtual world and the girl appearing before him would have probably been Floating Spear City and Ding Lingdang instead of the Peach Blossom Paradise and Ah Luo!
Would he really be determined enough to kill his wife's illusion?
"Whoever you are, we have seen through all your secrets. Your vile scheme is now completely disrupted!"
Li Yao tried to disturb Professor Mo Xuan's mind by attacking actively. He spat hard, and his soul storm raged toward Professor Mo Xuan overwhelmingly.
"I don't believe that you are as confident of your victory as you appear to be. Do you really think that the twelve experts from the Ancient Sages Sector are made of paper? You want to corrupt the souls of the twelve of us in a row? Not so easy! Old man, you are now both swallowing the souls of the twelve of us and hacking the Spiritual Nexus and the mainframe crystal processor of the federation. It can't be easy for you, right? Your computational ability and your soul power have been pushed to the limits, right? You are going to collapse immediately as long as I slightly move my little finger, right?"
"You have suddenly changed the tone of your speech to be a very dramatic and exaggerating one. What are you trying to hide?" Professor Mo Xuan was utterly unmoved. His eyes were still emitting profound brilliance in midair although they had been vaporized into ashes. He eyed Li Yao up and down as if Li Yao were a piece of magical equipment. "There's really no explanation for that. Your real identity has clearly been exposed. There should be nothing that you need to disguise. Besides, the two of us do not know each other. What can I do even if I know your real identity? Therefore…"
