by <unknown>
"Don't deny it just yet. It will be useless even if you do. Your credit has gone zero. I do not trust a single word that you say; I only believe in my own reasoning and deduction.
"Abandon your illusions. It is impossible for a tiny mouse to take advantage of the collision between the behemothic beasts.
"However, if you are merely hoping to survive, I may show mercy and spare you as an exception.
"There's no need to doubt my sincerity. Before I learned how vast the grand universe was, I would never have let go of a single Cultivator. However, there is a greater world in front of me that is waiting for my conquest, and there are more brutal and mysterious enemies that must be slain. Then, it is necessary to concentrate all the precious strength of the civilization of mankind and to find as many helpers as possible, including the Cultivators that I absolutely dislike.
"If you know a thing or two about the secrets beyond our tiny universe, and I think you do, you definitely know what I mean.
"I don't need to lie to you. Although I do not like Cultivators, I do appreciate you very much, Vulture Li Yao, because there is something in common between the two of us."
Li Yao scorned, "There's something in common between us?"
"Exactly. Despite our disagreement in our approaches, we are both the purest idealists. We have been striving for the prosperity of the civilization of mankind, and we are even willing to sacrifice our whole lives for our great civilization. It is exactly because I'm hoping to work and sacrifice for mankind for another ten thousand years that I've been seeking greater strength!"
Opening the broken arms, Wuying Qi said sincerely, "But what about the other people, all of them, apart from us? Just look at the ridiculous war in the Seven Seas Space Zone right now! While the troops of the four families and the warlords are selfish, unorganized, and utterly devoid of dignity and courage, aren't the fleets of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors shameless scoundrels who will defect for a few coins?
"My expedition is too distant and difficult. Am I going to command such a bunch of selfish, fake Immortal Cultivators to explore the universe beyond the universe?
"Hehe. Vulture Li Yao, I prefer to cooperate with a real Cultivator like you, which will probably be easier and more pleasant, than to work with those 'fake Immortal Cultivators' who disgust me by their sheer presence. After all, we are the same kind of people who share the same dream, which is to march out of this universe!"
"Damn you!"
New goosebumps were growing on the goosebumps on Li Yao's body. "Who's the same kind of people as you? I'm a man of principles and boundaries, not to mention that I'm also kindhearted and handsome!"
"Hehe, for the dream, any principles or boundaries can be abandoned! If you cling to the hilarious principles and boundaries without letting them go, the dream will be nothing but a joke!"
Wuying Qi suddenly changed his face and demanded, "If you do not dare to resort to whatever it takes and step on all the rules of mankind for your dream, it will only mean that you are not persistent about your dream or qualified to talk about your dream, especially one concerning the future of mankind!
"Vulture Li Yao, let me ask you one last time. Are you and the country of Cultivators behind you willing to stand on my side? We will fight together and unite this tiny universe first before we raise the bloodstained banner of the civilization of mankind on every Sector in every universe!
"Or are you really dogged enough to be crushed into pieces by my unstoppable wheels?"
BOOM!
The black flames of spiritual energy around Wuying Qi surged out. Even Wuying Qinxin's skin and flesh were torn apart, melted like the coal in fire into the purest energy.
His vibe was so unprecedentedly dominating that his real self seemed to have been teleported to Li Yao's front!
Li Yao could barely keep his eyes open under Wuying Qi's blowing air.
"Wuying Qi, I—"
The moment Li Yao opened his mouth, it was filled with wind. His cheeks were puffing like two balloons, and countless blades seemed to be scraping his oral cavity. It took him a long time before he finally vomited the wind out. Gritting his teeth, he shouted solemnly, "Can-Can I consider it for a few days? It's such an important matter. You have to let me consider for ten to fifteen days before I make a prudent decision, right? Even if I make a promise to you right now, you wouldn't believe me at all, would you?"
"Hehe. Fair enough. Then, take your time to consider it. I'm looking forward to your answer."
Wuying Qi said with a smile, "I believe that you will not disappoint me. I'll be waiting for you at the capital!"
Hu!
Wuying Qinxin's body finally couldn't withstand Blackstar the Great's remote control anymore and was burnt into black charcoal by the furious flames of spiritual energy.
"Huh?"
He did not expect that Wuying Qi would be so gullible. Could he have fooled the man with such an obvious pretense?
While he was surprised, he discovered that the fire did not burn up Wuying Qinxin's entire body but kept her head that was like a living skeleton. The skull absorbed all the crazy waves and spiritual energy wandering in the air. In cracking noises, it grew larger and larger still, expanding to three times its original size, like a clear crystal ball.
The eyes that had been magnified exponentially and looked like abysses stared at Li Yao in a feigned smile.
"Not good!"
Li Yao's pupils constricted violently. The bones all over his body were cracking, and every cluster of his nerves was shrieking.
There was no time. In the next second, Wuying Qinxin's abnormally expanded head, mixed with the invincible might left by Blackstar the Great, exploded brutally!
Chapter 2575: Brain Seal |
Wuying Qinxin's brain seemed to have expanded billions of times in the blink of an eye, dragging Li Yao into a different world.
The complicated cables, tubes, wires, and burning buildings were gone, replaced by darkness and vague stars that swirled around Li Yao slowly.
However, as Li Yao observed more closely, the glittering stars all turned into Blackstar the Great's deep and intimidating eyes, which stared at him without blinking.
Thousands of Wuying Qi's eyes stared at Li Yao at the same time, raising the most disturbing waves deep inside Li Yao's soul.
The eyes were like mystic rays of a temperature of ten thousand degrees, trying to brand certain unquestionable, inviolable, and non-erasable information to the deepest part of Li Yao's soul.
"Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Imperium of True Human Beings! Long live the civilization of mankind!"
Li Yao seemed to have heard the crazy roars of countless people inside his head.
Consumed in the torrent, Li Yao drifted forward beyond his control for he did not know how long. Gradually, the messy noises and roars became clear and organized. They all turned into… his own voice!
Li Yao heard himself shouting desperately and unwaveringly, "Long live Blackstar the Great! Long live Blackstar the Great! Long live Blackstar the Great!"
He shuddered hard in the coldness. The hole leading to Earth from the deepest part of his soul opened again, unleashing ten thousand electric arcs that struck the terrible and weird illusions into pieces.
The ovations came to an abrupt halt. Among the stars, Wuying Qi's eyes were closed. However, purple tides surged over from the infinite darkness, which turned out to be made of thousands of raging true dragons of purple fire.
The tides of true dragons swept close and collided into Li Yao's soul brutally, resulting in a deafening noise.
BOOM!
Li Yao felt that every pillar in his mind palace was shivering. Vomiting a mouthful of blood crazily, he fell to the deepest part of the maze and passed out instantly, not knowing anything anymore.
He did not know how long he groped in the darkness.
The powerful soul in the Divinity Transformation Stage retained the last bit of consciousness, allowing him to percei
ve the information that Wuying Qi had inculcated into his head.
He saw an overwhelming, destructive fleet sailing toward the Star Glory Federation under the command of Wuying Qi, razing the country to the ground in only a year and a half.
He saw countless Cultivators of the federation, including himself, kneeling before Wuying Qi's feet, paying tributes to the ancestor of Immortal Cultivators and cheering "long live Blackstar the Great" from the bottom of their hearts.
He saw that under Wuying Qi's governance, a new country of Immortal Cultivators that was fairer and brighter was truly born, and it defeated the Covenant Alliance, united the whole Pangu universe, and marched toward the infinite stars beyond the black wall.
Billions of years later, when the civilization of mankind truly thrived and occupied every corner of the multiverse, the people by then would probably not be bothered by the minor "tricks" that Blackstar the Great adopted a long, long time ago.
"Only Blackstar the Great can save the civilization of mankind! Only Blackstar the Great can lead us to get rid of the destiny that has tripped countless civilizations for billions of years, to surpass the Pangu, Nuwa, and all the other primordial civilizations, and to make the civilization of mankind the only 'eternal civilization' in history!"
Li Yao couldn't tell if it was Wuying Qi's murmur in his head or that he was really thinking that in his own mind.
Li Yao was woken up by the horrible thought and jumped so high that he hit the broken ceiling. He then fell to a gutter among the dilapidated walls.
"I… What happened…"
Li Yao groped on his body, only to discover no wound on his body, except that his head hurt very much and had a numb feeling, as if his head was thrice its previous size.
Fine. After he extended his hand and felt it, he realized that it was not "as if" but real. His head was truly swollen and bleeding, and dry blood was all over his lips and ears. When he slightly shook his head, the whole world was swirling before his eyes, and he could barely sit steadily.
It was a symptom of serious brain damage, at least severe brain concussion plus intracranial hemorrhage. He was not paralyzed or turned vegetative all thanks to his magnificent body in the Divinity Transformation Stage.
The soul blast from Blackstar the Great, which was enhanced by sacrificing the brain of Wuying Qinxin, a super Meditation Healer, turned into the shocking "suicide mental bomb". It was unbelievably powerful.
Thankfully, Li Yao's soul was unbelievably sturdy, which allowed him to manage to resist Wuying Qi's suicide blast. If it were any other Cultivator in the Divinity Transformation Stage, they probably would've been shocked into morons or faced even more terrible consequences.
Blackstar the Great was truly immeasurable and invincible!
Only such an unparalleled expert like Wuying Qi was qualified to lead all the Cultivators, the Immortal Cultivators, and human beings to unite the federation, the Imperium, and the Covenant Alliance so that all the experts of the Pangu universe could be gathered to march out and find a way out for the civilization of mankind.
Nothing good would happen if he continued to resist His Majesty, which would only give the scoundrels an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. However terrible Wuying Qi was, he was definitely much better than the selfish, fake Immortal Cultivators of the four families or the emotionless "mechanical humans" of the Covenant Alliance, wasn't he?
Honestly speaking, it was hard to tell which of them was more terrible, Wuying Qi or Boss Bai. If he could cooperate with Boss Bai, why couldn't he work with His Majesty?
Wait—
Li Yao's eyes suddenly bulged, and he slapped himself in the face hard.
Pa!
A crisp slap echoed from the darkness.
What am I thinking of exactly? How can I possibly have the idea of submitting to Blackstar the Great?
Li Yao found it very unbelievable. He was very certain that before he passed out, or to be more exact, before he suffered the blast of Wuying Qi's suicide mental bomb, he absolutely, absolutely, absolutely never thought to compromise or cooperate with Wuying Qi, much less submitting to the guy.
He even considered temporarily cooperating with "real Immortal Cultivators" like Lei Chenghu, but Wuying Qi was definitely not on the list of his potential partners.
That was because Li Yao vaguely felt that Wuying Qi was simply too dangerous. Indescribably dangerous and far exceeding the "real Immortal Cultivators".
However, his soul was truly wavering right now, and he could not help but have the idea of giving in to Wuying Qi or even bending his knees to surrender.
It was absolutely not his own intention, but it was impossible for him to get rid of the idea all of a sudden either. The idea had been branded on his brain by an iron with a temperature of thousands of degrees, even piercing through his brain and reaching his soul!
What the heck? Why would I suddenly have the idea of succumbing to Wuying Qi? Is he so charismatic that I have been swayed by him before I know it?
Creeped out, Li Yao pulled his hair hard. You've got to be kidding me. It's absolutely impossible. There must be something wrong with his "mental bomb" just now. He "implanted" such a dreadful idea inside my head!
Li Yao took a deep, deep breath and forced himself to calm down and observe the idea that had been deeply branded into his soul.
With his powerful soul in the Divinity Transformation Stage and his firm beliefs, he could analyze the whole thing rationally and calmly, reaching the objective conclusion that he would never lower his head before Wuying Qi.
However, it was still not enough to stop certain intuitional thoughts and the deep reverence for Blackstar the Great.
It was like tiny spiders and innocuous snakes could not hurt human beings, but some people were still scared of them for no reason.
Li Yao meditated for more than ten minutes before he finally calmed himself down and erased the reverence for Wuying Qi deep inside his soul bit by bit.
However, he still sensed that the hideous "mark" was still lingering inside his soul, and it was not to be completely wiped out anytime soon.
As a result, there would be a flaw in his heart, which would hinder him if he had a head-on clash against Wuying Qi before the mark was completely wiped out.
Is this the simple dominating vibe of the true dragons that belong to the supreme sovereigns, or a technique that is more daunting and creepy?
It inevitably occurred to Li Yao that if an unparalleled expert beyond the Divinity Transformation Stage like him almost failed to survive it, the people in the Refinement Stage, the Building Foundation Stage, or the Core Formation Stage who were significantly weaker must've been completely controlled by the mark, unable to free themselves, right?
Wuying Qi wasted so much time talking to me only because he was preparing for such an "ultimate skill". Thankfully, I had similar experiences before. If it were another common expert, would they have been controlled by the thought, crying to kneel before Wuying Qi and fight for him?
Such a creepy "implantation of thoughts" is almost the scariest brainwashing method. Does it have anything to do with Wuying Qi's illogical operations recently?
Li Yao wiped the blood on his lips and in his ears. Thinking hard for a long time in the darkness, he still couldn't figure out what exactly Wuying Qi wanted.
He meant to contact Li Jialing and Jin Yuyan, only to discover that his wrist crystal processor and his crystal suit were both under interference. Around him was an extremely chaotic ocean of spiritual energy where no message could be sent out. It must be another consequence of Wuying Qi controlling Wuying Qinxin to blow up her brain.
Thankfully, his body was not greatly affected. On all fours, he held back his headache and climbed upward one floor after another. When he was about to reach the surface of the planet, he finally heard Li Jialing's panicked shouting.
"Brother Yao! Where are you, Brother Yao?"
Li Yao leaped up in his crystal suit, before he fell on the
ground and gasped hard. "I'm here!"
"Brother Yao—"
Li Jialing hurried to jump at him. Anxiety and concerns were all over his face. "Where have you been? You were out of reach for more than half a day. Also, why are your soul waves so disordered, as if you just suffered severe wounds? What happened exactly?"
"It's been more than half a day?"
Li Yao was slightly stunned. He did not expect that the brief unconsciousness in his self-perception would be as long as a couple of hours.
He listened carefully, only to notice that the sounds around were not right. Explosions, gunshots, and riots were echoing everywhere. Frowning, he asked, "What's going on outside? Why does the internal district of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors sound like it is in a war?"
Chapter 2576: Collapse of Confidence |
"Something terrible has happened, Brother Yao!"
Li Jialing said anxiously, "Another internal conflict has broken out in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Jin Yuyan has been—"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Li Yao stood up straight immediately. His eyes popping out, he asked, "Please don't tell me that Jin Yuyan has been assassinated again."
"I didn't say that."
Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Li Jialing went on, "However, it may be even worse than him being assassinated. In my opinion, it would've been better if the accident was that he was shot! But in fact, it-it is the trade data in the central database of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors that have been cleared, disrupted, and covered!"
"What?!"
As if falling into an ice cave, Li Yao felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.
The core trade data of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors was concerned with the interests of countless Immortal Cultivators. It was the biggest reason why thousands of experts were willing to fight for the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors and the only reason why the free coin was valuable.
