by <unknown>
"Well…"
The mental devil's voice suddenly echoed inside his brain.
"Who on earth can possibly stop me?"
Li Yao blew at his right palm. But of course, because of the blockage of the helmet on the crystal suit, it was nothing more than a cool and awesome pose.
"No. I'm trying to say…"
The mental devil hesitated.
"You want to know who I am? I, am your doom!"
Li Yao made yet another embarrassing pose to the many crystal cameras floating in midair.
"I think it's time you call it a day. This place is about to be melted into a steel factory," the mental devil said helplessly.
"Just wash your neck and wait patiently, for I will come to you one by one soon. Very soon!"
Li Yao poked his middle finger at the crystal cameras, declaring both thoughtfully and coldly. Then, after a sneer, he triggered mystic rays from the tips of his fingers and blew up all the crystal cameras brutally.
"How about it? How about it?"
After blowing up the crystal cameras, Li Yao seemed to have turned into somebody else. He asked the mental devil in a hurry, "Did you capture my last movement? Wasn't it very shocking and characteristic? The Sector Masters, the lords, the emperor, and such in the Imperium of True Human Beings must be stumbling in fear, aren't they?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you earlier."
The mental devil said, "Our channels to the outside world on the Spiritual Nexus have been completely cut off; both those on the slaughter stream platform and other miscellaneous nodes on the Spiritual Nexus. It is impossible for us to continue sending out the data packages."
Li Yao: "So, I said the last few lines and made those poses for nothing?"
The mental devil: "Exactly. Since the line of 'who on earth can stop me', nobody could see or hear you anymore. However, speaking of which, how are you capable of speaking such shameful lines so solemnly? Do you not feel sick and pretentious?"
Li Yao: "Why didn't you say it earlier!"
The mental devil: "I meant to say it just now, but you were too busy feeling good about yourself to notice me! It can't be helped. I wanted to send out some more data packages too, but you specified that the control system of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' was not to be sabotaged, in case the space fortress really went out of control and crashed on the surface of the planet brutally. As a result, some sort of internal barrier in the crystal processors seems to have been activated and automatically cuts off all the data transmission both internally and externally. There's nothing I can do right now."
"Forget it. Such things are all details. I think this is enough for the day. Let's just offer a better performance to the people of all the Sectors of the Imperium next time we have an opportunity!"
Li Yao licked his dry lips. It was not until this moment that he felt the fatigue deep inside his brain and his veins. However, the fire of the soul was still burning furiously, and he couldn't have been more excited. "How about it? You must've sent out quite a few minutes of video just now, didn't you?"
"Yes."
The mental devil replied, "Through the high-speed special channel of the 'slaughter stream platform' alone, we already transmitted about 55 seconds of video, shot from different perspectives and places. Later, after the slaughter stream platform was stuffed, I duplicated the video into thousands of copies and tossed them randomly into the depths of the Spiritual Nexus of the Imperium that was as vast as an ocean. A surging tide must've been raised in the entire sea of stars right now. I have to say that the game has truly gone big this time!"
"Of course. The Cultivators are announcing their grand return after a thousand years. The bigger the scene is, the better!"
In a smile, Li Yao said confidently, "In such a way, it is certainly possible to plant a different…'seed' in the hearts of countless people and Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium, isn't it!"
Li Yao still hadn't forgotten the "Black Hole Plan" that he proposed a hundred years ago.
The so-called "Black Hole Plan" was not about magical equipment such as "black hole bombs", but about how to activate the strength of the people and to transform millions of ordinary people into black holes that intimidated the Immortal Cultivators!
The Star Glory Federation was too small after all, and it was highly incapable of competing with a united Imperium of True Human Beings on the frontal battlefield. The best it could do was to show up as an unexpected army at a critical moment where the balance of strength was about to be lost.
But if he could raise the wrath of all the human compatriots in the entire sea of stars, it might be reshaped into overwhelming tides that would change the universe!
Li Yao had not quite figured out what he should do specifically.
It might turn out to be a protracted war that would last a thousand years, and he was nothing more than a minor vanguard in the war for the ordinary people to pick up their dignity and freedom again.
But at the very least, he had planted a seed in everyone's heart.
Li Yao had no doubt that in an appropriate time and place, the billions of seeds that had been sprayed to the hearts of the people would have a chance to root, sprout, and yield amazing fruits!
"Alright. The Immortal Cultivators have been mostly killed. We have announced our grand entrance in front of the billions of people of the entire Imperium too. The fall of 'Manjusaka, the City in the Sky' is unstoppable now. So, the only issue at hand right now is how to get away!"
Thinking quickly, Li Yao rubbed his hands while his lips curled into a cunning smile. "However, first of all, I don't think the thirty or so Cosmos Rings that we brought here are filled yet, are they?"
Li Yao looted trophies in the central area of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky".
His targets were naturally the most bleeding-edge magical equipment and the most precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, including the marrow crystals of high purities and the advanced fuel that powered crystal suits.
Of course, he also wouldn't miss out on the abundant experiment files and research data in "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky".
All the precious files and data were stored in the mainframe crystal processors, locked tightly by all sorts of barriers and seals.
Li Yao and the mental devil were unable to crack the barriers for the time being, so they simply resorted to the simplest and most straightforward approach. They directly dismantled the storage chips of the seemingly most advanced crystal processors and stored the trophies into their Cosmos Rings.
The abundant data accumulated in the labs for almost a hundred years and all the files about countless top-secret projects all fell into Li Yao's hands.
While Li Yao was emptying the central control center, a deafening explosion echoed on the shell of the space fortress not far away.
Li Yao blew a whistle softly, outlining an azure storm that had gone mad in his head.
"Li Lingfeng is back with a Colossus. What a tough tsunami of spiritual energy. It is even fiercer than a fully-armed arsenal warship!"
Li Yao chuckled and set the Mystic Skeleton Blood Wing into stealth mode. He then controlled his breath and heartbeat and even locked all the pores over his body, not leaking the slightest spiritual energy.
As long as he was not spotted by the naked eye, he would look no different from any of the cold bodies around him on any scanning magical equipment.
It was true that Li Lingfeng was far stronger than him in terms of both level and experience. Whatever sordid and shameless tricks he were to resort to, there was not even a 1% possibility that he could take down Li Lingfeng like how he took down Wuying Lan.
But so what?
Both of them were in the Divinity Transformation Stage and had the help of a Colossus. He was only one minor level lower than Li Lingfeng and short of some battle experience with other experts in the Divinity Transformation Stage at best.
While he could not defeat Li Lingfeng, it was fairly difficult for Li Lingfe
ng to kill him too.
Besides, even if Li Lingfeng wanted to kill him, he must find him first!
"Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" was a rather large place. The main structure was like an amalgamation of multiple metropolises, which made it as complicated as a maze.
Right now, explosions, fire, and fallouts were happening everywhere. Every place was mired in chaos. Li Yao certainly would not be silly enough to go out and challenge Li Lingfeng. He would simply pretend to be a body that could be seen everywhere and just watch how Li Lingfeng could possibly find him!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Li Lingfeng, who was far away, seemed to be sabotaging the place with his Colossus "Tempest God", venting the fury in his heart.
"Be my guest. This is your own space fortress after all. You can tear it apart however you want to. It is your own spiritual energy that gets consumed in the end!"
Li Yao sneered and could further see the weakness underneath Li Lingfeng's dazzling identity and power.
It seemed that the unparalleled expert who could grow into the next "Kurfürst" was yet another spoiled descendant of the noble family who had never been through any major trouble in his life and who was not half as strong-willed as he appeared to be.
Li Yao had seen too many of such guys who thought they could control everything. Whenever things went out of their control, they would be completely at a loss about what to do, and their true selves would be revealed immediately!
Li Yao made up his mind to play dead until the end and see what Li Lingfeng could possibly do.
Right then, an accident happened again.
As if a hundred heavy cannons were stuck to one side of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" and barraged it brutally, the space fortress suddenly slanted and fell at a higher speed. The flames burning on the shell were much brighter than before too!
No. It was not the barrage of heavy cannons, but the collision from countless ragged, breaking starships, which had come relentlessly against the bombardment of the Immortal Cultivators and hit the main structure of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" heavily, before they activated their power rune arrays to the maximum and pushed the space fortress to the planet together while spurting out the most dazzling exhaust flames.
They were the starships of Starlight!
Li Yao could clearly sense the surging spiritual energy inside every starship, and the undying determination of fighting that belonged to the Cultivators inside the starships!
Dumbfounded, Li Yao immediately realized what the fellow Cultivators who fought hard at the center of the cosmos were trying to do.
Naturally, it was impossible for them to learn everything Li Yao had done inside "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky". They did not know that the space fortress was destined to fall.
They only saw the weakness of the Immortal Cultivators and wanted to give Li Yao a hand. With their starships and their lives as their weapons, they were going to knock the lofty and looming "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" to the surface of the planet together!
Chapter 2112: Our Colossus! |
One starship, another starship, and then yet another.
At least dozens of starships of Starlight crashed or were even deeply embedded into "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky". The exhaust flames that they were spurting out were like the slanted pillars of a splendid palace after the collapse or the many pillars of light that pierced deeply into the space fortress and accelerated the dismemberment and fall of the fiends' nest!
More starships were providing protection for their comrades and taking the blow of the Immortal Cultivators until they fell apart and perished into the darkness of the universe in light balls.
The Cultivators' strategy where they regarded death as their homecoming greatly stunned Li Yao.
He recalled visiting the "War Museum" at the East Ocean of the federation in his younger days, where he saw Distant Expanse, known as "the eternal flagship of the federal army".
In the final battle against the Far East Demon Kingdom, which decided the fate of the Star Glory Federation, Distant Expanse, which had run out of all the supplies and ammunitions, did exactly the same thing. It charged at the enemy's battle formation with its iron body and burning determination, knocking down the formidable enemy's flagship!
Maybe, on the two ends of the sea of stars, the Cultivators of the federation and the Cultivators of the Imperium had a lot of differences.
Maybe, under the suppression and annihilation of the Imperium of True Human Beings, the Cultivators here had lost too many things.
However…
In any case, some things could never be changed.
They were all Cultivators!
Li Yao's nostrils were on fire, from which hot streams that felt like smoke spurted out.
At this moment, he sensed that Li Lingfeng's fury that could destroy everything was shifted at the starships that were crashing at "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky".
Most of the starships were modified based on carriers and mining starships. They were much less sturdy in structure than the military starships. Having taken too much bombardment in the fierce battle just now, they were already riddled with holes and on the brink of collapse. It was impossible for them to bear Li Lingfeng's hateful attacks at all at this moment. They were all dismembering, exploding, collapsing, turning into scattered moths!
"Not good. Li Lingfeng is now on a rampage in fury and embarrassment!"
Devastating pictures immediately flashed inside Li Yao's head. "If I continue pretending to be a dead person and leave it alone, he will certainly blow up the starships of all the Cultivators!"
Li Yao's fingers began to move uncontrollably again.
The smoke that was rolling inside his nostrils and throat was condensed into scorching magma.
His brain was simmering even harder, and his soul was bouncing up and down like a gorilla in estrus.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Maneuvering Neltharion, the mental devil turned into a streak of redness and appeared before Li Yao again, triggering sharp ripples. "Don't do anything stupid. Li Lingfeng is not Wuying Lan. He is not someone you can deal with right now. That is an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage who has been famous for a long time!"
Li Yao rubbed his nose. "But I am an up-rising star of the Divinity Transformation Stage experts, like the sun at eight o'clock in the morning!"
The mental devil said in a hurry, "Sun my a*s! Don't be rash, and don't do anything stupid. You can't win a head-on clash against Li Lingfeng! Even if the two of you are both in the Divinity Transformation Stage and have a Colossus, the combat ability of the Colossi depends on the sets of intact logistical, maintenance, and industrial systems! Without enough backup supplies and a maintenance workshop, our Colossus is nothing but a one-time weapon. If it is broken and runs out of supplies after the battle, what are you going to do in the next battle? Where are you going to maintain your Colossus, and where are you going to refill the fuel and ammunition?"
Li Yao hesitated. "Seems so. You do have a point!"
On the shell of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky", the massacre was still going on.
The starships of Starlight were absolutely no match for "Tempest God", Li Lingfeng's Colossus. They were ripped apart and completely blown into cosmic dust one after another!
The mental devil: "Of course I have a point. There's also yourself. If you and Li Lingfeng are equally heavily wounded by each other in the battle, he can recover himself by going to the most advanced medical facilities at any moment, but what can you do? Don't forget that we are in the Imperium. Where can you find a hospital that can treat the patients in the Divinity Transformation Stage?"
Li Yao: "Huh. Well said!"
The mental devil: "If you know that I'm right, don't be rash and don't do anything silly. Calm down. You must calm down!"
Li Yao: "Understood. Calm down. I must calm down."
The mental devil: "…What are your hands doing? Why are you taking out of the Cosmo
s Rings? Why are you summoning Little Black? Why is your hair standing up as if in electric shock? It is now even entangled in cracking electric arcs and shining in red and gold! Hey, hey, hey. Don't think that you can defeat your enemy by a headful of cool hair. Let me tell you. The most sensible decision right now is to preserve our strength and escape at the first opportunity available. Are you listening to me at all, a*shole?"
"I am. Your words are so correct and make so much sense."
Opening his fingers, Li Yao combed his hair that had erected and risen to the sky like a bunch of arrows. Narrowing his eyes, he remarked, "However, as you know, I have always been like this since the first day I embarked on the path of Cultivation. This is what Cultivators do. This is 'Vulture Li Yao'!"
…
At the edge of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky", on the bridge of "Great Mountain", the armed mining starship, Gao Kangda, the captain, watched the starships of his comrades being blown up by Li Lingfeng's Colossus one after another, yet he put on a smile of satisfaction with tears flowing on his face.
With everything coming to this point, the result of the battle had far exceeded everyone's expectations.
They had truly shot down "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky". Nothing could possibly stop the fiends' nest from falling, and all the evil Immortal Cultivators inside had been killed miserably. It was almost an accomplishment too good to be true.
Gao Kangda could totally imagine the furious and overwhelmed looks of the Immortal Cultivators.
The enemy had even deployed a Colossus to deal with the "mobsters" like them.
That was a Colossus, the ultimate weapon of the Imperium of True Human Beings and even the entire civilization of mankind, and the king of destruction that they had never dreamt of even in their nightmares!
Having shot down "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" and been killed by the wrath of a legendary Colossus, Gao Kangda felt that his life was worth it!
"Forward! Forward! Forward!"
While laughing hard, he operated on the control panel quickly, trying to exploit the last bit of impetus out of "Great Mountain", so that it could dig deeper into the shell of "Manjusaka, the City in the Sky" and make it fall even faster!
