Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“It is said that, when the Far East Demon Kingdom collapsed, the nobles carried part of the valuable treasures and resources. But they sealed tremendous strategical resources in the deep-sea east of the continent.

“When they were building a large teleportation array to connect the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, they had planned to march back from the Blood Demon Sector. Those resources were all prepared for their counterattack!

“It is safe to say that many ‘counterattack bases’ were established hundreds of years ago in the eastern ocean of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“After the last survivors of the Far East Demon Kingdom died in the Blood Demon Sector, their plan became quite well known.

“But nobody knew anything about it in the Heaven’s Origin Sector. All the federal citizens thought that the Far East Demon Kingdom was completely shattered!

“It is based on the secret channel and the ‘counterattack bases’ that my father drafted the Red Tide Plan!

“The Red Tide Plan can be divided into two parts. Firstly, an expedition army will march into the Grand Desolate Plateau and threaten the Giant Blade Pass at the south of it, attracting the attention of all the experts and the main force of the Star Glory Federation.

“But the expedition army will be carrying out a suicidal mission. The soldiers will mostly be fakes, made by a tiny proportion of regular soldiers and a huge amount of cannon fodder. Or rather, to make the army more intimidating, they will even drive a large batch of civilians into the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

“After all—”

Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly and said, “In the eyes of most human beings, demons are demons. Is there any difference between ‘civilians’ and ‘soldiers’? At the very least, they will not be able to notice anything wrong in a week or two.

“When the elites and experts of the federal army are stalled at the Grand Desolate Plateau and the Giant Blade Pass in the north, the real main force of the Blood Demon Sector will be teleported to the east of the Star Glory Federation through the secret channel left by the Far East Demon Kingdom. Then, they will march to the coast and stab into the heartland of the federation!”

Li Yao pondered for a moment and said, “We’ve talked about the Red Tide Plan before, but I still think that it is too risky and radical.”

“It is indeed an extraordinary plan,” Jin Xinyue agreed. “But that’s my father. For 99% of the time, he is the calmest politician and general, if not an emotionless machine. But for 1% of the time, he has a style that is very close to the style of an insane poet. Perhaps for him, the ‘Red Tide Plan’ is just a ‘poem’ that he wrote when he was totally drunk.

“There are a lot of hinderances for the plan to be implemented.

“First of all, the troops to attract the federal army in the north, to achieve the purpose of strategical deception, can’t be all false. The few most famous troops of the Blood Demon Sector may have to be sent to the Giant Blade Pass for the Star Glory Federation to believe that they are the main force.

“Whether the Red Tide Plan works out or not, the ace troops will certainly be obliterated!

“Secondly, the secret channel left by the Far East Demon Kingdom must be highly unstable after hundreds of years have passed. There is no telling if anything will go wrong during the teleportation. The situation of the ‘counterattack bases’ is unclear, too. Otherwise, somebody would’ve implemented a similar plan hundreds of years ago!

“Thirdly, the success of the Red Tide Plan depends on confidentiality. Once the elites of the coalition army of demons really invade the heartland of the Star Glory Federation, the expedition army will barely have any backup. They will be marching all by themselves with an uncertain future.

“If so much as a message is leaked out in advance and the Star Glory Federation is prepared for them, the entire expedition army will likely be wiped out!

“In short, the implementation of the Red Tide Plan requires unity and the willingness to sacrifice. No kingdom, city, or tribe should care about their own gains or losses. Unbelievable luck is mandatory, too!

“Hehe. How was it possible in the past?”

“But right now, the Flying Star Sector changed everything,” Li Yao said calmly.

“Exactly.” Jin Xinyue combed her hair and said, “The arrival of the Flying Star Sector forced the Blood Demon Sector into a corner. Once the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector join their hands, the Blood Demon Sector will be dragged into the abyss of doom. Then, what’s the point of the internal strife among the major demon kingdoms?

“Therefore, it may sound absurd, but the arrival of the Flying Star Sector has increased the capability of the Blood Demon Sector first instead of that of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Starting from the moment when the citizens of the Flying Star Sector appeared, all the demons of the Blood Demon Sector have become more unified and willing to sacrifice than ever, which is the greatest foundation for the implementation of the Red Tide Plan!

“What matters most is no longer the success rate of the plan.

“Even in the best case-scenario, all the demon emperors are very clear that the chance of success of the Red Tide Plan is no higher than 30%!

“But none of that is important right now. What they need is no longer a strategy whose success is guaranteed but a plan that is most fatal despite its low odds of success, one that will certainly destroy the Star Glory Federation should it miraculously work out!

“Then, this is their only choice now. The Red Tide Plan!”

Listening to Jin Xinyue’s analysis, Li Yao was breathing rapidly.

Floating Spear City, his hometown, was on the eastern coast of the Star Glory Federation.

He remembered the ‘Distant Expanse’, known as ‘federal army’s eternal flagship’, that he saw in the sky of the Devil Dragon Island as well as the enormous Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars flag made of the red glow.

If all the experts of the Blood Demon Sector really showed up from the bottom of the ocean, leading the elite troops, and marched into the most prosperous and the least guarded heartland of the federation directly…

The consequences would be too dire to imagine!

“Do you know the specific location of the secret channel?” Li Yao asked solemnly.

Jin Xinyue shook her head. “My father is the only one who knows the details of the Red Tide Plan. The general picture of it, which I talked about just now, was found out at a great cost, too. Perhaps it is also the reason my father abandoned me. He attaches more importance to the Red Tide Plan than any of his children.”

Li Yao frowned in silence.

Jin Xinyue’s eyes glittered. She suddenly said, “However, I think that what Master should focus on is not my father’s ‘Red Tide Plan’ but Elder Nether Spring’s Spore Stratagem, or even the connection between them.”

“Huh?”

Li Yao glanced at her, vaguely feeling that she might be onto something.

“As you said just now, Master, although you destroyed Elder Nether Spring’s research base, he’d already produced a hundred spores in secret, which are the ‘carriers of the Demon God Virus’ and dangerous genetic bombs, right?”

“Precisely,” Li Yao replied.

“But the Demon God Virus is still deeply flawed right now in that it is vulnerable to flame and frost. It is impossible to spread to the entire continent and can only destroy a few cities where the population is highly concentrated at best. Therefore, Elder Nether Spring must select a perfect time and location to detonate the bombs.”

“What have you thought of?”

Deep in thought, Jin Xinyue mumbled, “I am merely thinking that, if I were Elder Nether Spring, and my purpose was to infect as many people, preferably experts, as possible with the hundred spores, what should I do?

“I would certainly pick a highly-populated area. Also, it would be best if those gathered in the area consist of strong soldiers, fighters, Cultivators, and great demons!

“It will be even better if there is a great number of demon emperors and Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators among them!”

Li Yao stared at her and suddenly gasped.

Jin Xinyue managed a smile and said, “You seem to have figured it out, too, Master. If the Red Tide Plan is really activated, millions of demons will charge into the most populated area in the east of the federation and even reach the capital city!

“Whether the Heaven’s Origin Sector is prepared or not, the greatest number of experts and the strongest crystal suit legions will certainly be gathered around the capital city to defend it!

“Also, when news spreads that the capital city is under attack, the federal army stationed in the Giant Blade Pass may not be able to retreat easily, but the Core Formation Stage Cultivators and the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators will certainly return to the capital city for the battle, using vehicles such as super shuttles or teleportation arrays, in a couple of days!

“Think about it. What will the capital city of the Star Glory Federation be like by then?

“It will be an ultimate war of an unprecedented scale, with dozens of demon emperors and Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, hundreds of Core Formation Stage Cultivators and demon kings, and countless more experts of lower levels on the two sides!

“At that time, the capital city of the Star Glory Federation will be the area where the density of unparalleled experts is highest in both the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. All the participants will be the toughest, strongest, most well-trained soldiers of the two Sectors even if they are not the unparalleled experts, right?

“Right when the best forces of the two worlds are engaged in a head-on, blood-draining battle, the spores that have been lurking in the coalition army of demons will suddenly break out. The Demon God Virus will speed across the capital city of the Star Glory Federation and swiftly contaminate all the soldiers and experts!

“Most of the victims will be killed instantly or turned into ‘uncontrollable mutants’. However, the few ‘lucky dogs’ will become even stronger than before, and they will be Elder Nether Spring’s loyal slaves!

“The capital city of the Star Glory Federation and the satellite cities around are the most populated and prosperous regions. As the ‘uncontrollable mutants’ spread out, carrying the ‘Demon God Virus’, it is possible that the few metropolises near the capital city will be plagued, too. There is no way that the Star Glory Federation will demolish the capital city and the surrounding metropolises, which would be like crushing its own heart. The only thing that they can do is to send more soldiers to the infected area to control the situation.

“On the coalition army of demons’ side, having marched into the heartland of the Star Glory Federation by themselves, they will be harassed by the uncontrollable mutants. It will be impossible for them to retreat to the ocean in the east!

“As a result, everybody will seem to be attracted by an invisible magnet and trapped in the infected area, unable to move, until there are no survivors left!

“We must note that the strongest Cultivators and demons and the best troops of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector will all have gathered there! When everybody there is infected, killed, or turned into Elder Nether Spring’s slaves, will there be any other forces who are capable of competing with Elder Nether Spring?”