Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Li Yao’s question silenced everyone.

To be able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage, no one was an ordinary person who didn’t have any ambitions. They more or less had the lofty aspirations to change the world. It was just that when faced with the torrent of the times and society, many times, they had no choice but to be drawn into it. Gradually, they were anesthetized and fell, forgetting their sincere and sincere hearts from long ago.

Even the most selfish Immortal Cultivators lowered their heads in shame when they heard Li Yao’s question. Looking back at the past, they could not bring themselves to say that they had truly lived a happy, straightforward life.

“I don’t know about you, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not enough. I don’t feel happy, I don’t feel excited, I don’t feel satisfied. I feel that I’m far from the most wonderful, the most intense, and the most gratifying, but everything in the world is no longer enough for

me.

Li Yao’s voice was lower and further away, as if he had forgotten everybody and was talking to his own soul instead. He mumbled to himself, “I’ve seen neutron pulsars releasing radiation in thousands of colors to create a splendid painting hundreds of times more glamorous than the aurora. The painting covered me like a soft jellyfish. I’ve seen the high-energy particles of cosmic storms rushing toward me like a glittering rain of sand. I’ve seen the ancient bacteria on the struggling planets surviving tenaciously and changing their genes in search of a way to break their destiny. I’ve seen the throne of the Pangu Clan vanishing in the wind hundreds of thousands of years ago in the Kunlun Mystic Land.

“Hundreds of thousands of years. Just a few hundred thousand years. In the scale of the universe, it was just a short moment. The magnificent, magnificent, indestructible throne, as well as the so-called experts, dominators, generals, and tyrants sitting on the throne, were all obliterated. Together with their great achievements and crimes, they vanished into thin air. Not a single bit of information was left.

“I saw the most unbelievable scenes in the universe and experienced the most soul-stirring adventures. My soul even experienced a hundred reincarnations. But when I returned to the crowd, I was disappointed to find that everything in the mortal world was… not exciting enough to satisfy my appetite.

“No matter how much dragon liver and phoenix marrow I eat, it is just like chewing wax. I drink the most delicious wine. The burning taste is even worse than the fatal cosmic radiation. I hear the cheers of thousands of people and the shocked screams of my enemies. What I remember is that I was alone in the deepest part of a cave on a desolate planet. The dripping sounds of water and my own ravings. After the competition against planets, stars, supernovas, nebulas, stone belts, and cosmic storms, even the most beautiful and devastatingly beautiful women have become dull. They are nothing but pink skeletons.

“I couldn’t go back. It was then that I suddenly realized that I had gone too far and couldn’t go back at all. Money was really crap for me, and the schemes and struggles between the kings and the dominators were just child’s play for the kindergarten kids. I didn’t have no desires. I had my own ambitions, which were hundreds of times more ambitious than all of you combined. However, the tiny Pangu Universe was not enough to realize my ambitions. My ambitions were at the end of the multiverse!

“Therefore, I don’t understand. I really don’t understand you… How can you be immersed in such a boring, boring game for so long? You are in the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage. You are the most fortunate product after countless mutations of the most excellent genes of billions of human beings. Your hard work and crazy training are completely worthy of your luck. You have already walked so far on your own path. Why did you stop and even retreat? Why did you waste your precious talents and even more precious lives on these boring things such as power struggles, internal strife, money, and status?

“The things that you are after-money, status, the reverence of other people, and the prosperity of your family… Even a bumpkin from a remote village can do it with a few tricks. This bumpkin does not need the slightest bit of spiritual energy to become a tyrant in his own independent kingdom. He acts like a tyrant and makes his own servants and maids regard him as a god!

“But you are not moneybags. You are f*cking Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. You have slain storms, bombarded thunder, watched stars burning furiously at a close distance, and waved your fists in the vast sea of stars in the glittering dust of the universe! How did you numb yourself and suppress yourself in such a way so that you could abandon all your pursuits and ambitions and stomp your noble head into the mud?

“Really. We are all hundreds of years old. How much suffering have we gone through? How much time and effort have we spent to reach the Nascent Soul Stage and the Divinity Transformation Stage? Can’t we pursue a higher level of spiritual pursuit? Can’t we find some excitement that has never been experienced before and make a fuss in a place that is incomparably deep and far away? Do we have to fight over things that have been fought over a hundred and eight thousand times? Do we have to be like the Pangu Clan, or are we simply going to die in the wind and be obliterated?”

Li Yao’s voice was louder and louder, and his face was more and more hideous. He was gritting his teeth in fury.

Everyone, be they Cultivators or Immortal Cultivators, was dumbfounded as if they had been struck by lightning.

Their expressions were somewhat absent-minded, and their eyes were somewhat unfocused. There was no telling where their chaotic thoughts were going.

It was true that, faced with such an enormous planet, and especially after the soul-stirring, life-threatening ‘battle of the giants’, everyone’s heart had been cleansed to a certain extent. Everything in the world had indeed become… dull.

“I’m not targeting anyone, nor do I want to label everyone as ‘Cultivators’ or ‘Immortal Cultivators’.

Li Yao smiled and continued, “In the past, I cared a lot about my identity as a ‘Cultivator’. But now, I’ve figured it out. People are people. Human nature is the same. There’s no need to distinguish between cultivators and Immortal Cultivators. The reason why the soldiers of the federation have stronger willpower is because we have known since the very beginning that there are vaster worlds beyond the federation. Our mission is to march into the universe. Our world is open, and our path is clear. That’s why we are more united inside the federation. All our ambitions and strength have turned into the blades of war.

“But for the warriors of the ‘Old Empire’, they thought that they had occupied the entire universe and that it was impossible for them to explore or conquer the outside world. Therefore, as the universe was sealed, their minds were gradually sealed, too. How could they hide their frustration and desperation other than savaging their compatriots? “If the same person were to live in the Federation’s environment, he might become an aggressive, high-spirited cultivator. But if he were to live in the closed and self-mutilating environment of the Old Empire, he would have no choice but to become a selfish, timid Immortal Cultivator. Otherwise, he simply wouldn’t be able to live to grow up!

“What we are going to do today, including what we just did, is to dig a hole in the ‘shell’ of the boundless darkness of the Pangu Universe, find a bright path, and find the direction in which the civilization of mankind will soar in the next million years! Only in such a way can we dig a golden path in our gradually-closed hearts, so that every one of us can figure out why we are alive, what we are pursuing, what we are going to achieve, what we are going to leave behind, and how we are going to live a happy life! “I’m speaking from the bottom of my heart. Really. I really don’t want to fight with you over some… power, strength, heritage, and ultimate treasures of the ancient era. It’s boring. It’s really boring! I don’t care how many ultimate treasures we will find in the exploration of the Mausoleum of God. In my opinion, if my words can touch the heart of any fellow Cultivator and remind you of your purest heart, if you can have some higher-level pursuits and dreams, those will be the real ultimate treasures. If most of the fellow Cultivators here can be touched and bring back hundreds of such ultimate treasures, our civilization will have hope!”

Having said that, Li Yao stared at all the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators on the picture.

His eyes were so hot and full of expectation that most of the people, including Li Linghai, did not dare to look at them directly. They all lowered their heads, but their chests were expanding uncontrollably because of the surging blood.

At the beginning, when they broke through the atmosphere for the first time and stood among the brilliant stars, they had been gazing at the universe!

Li Yao’s words made everyone think for a long time.

It seemed that the entire exploration fleet was tempering themselves in the furnace of the universe.

Li Yao fell asleep, too. He spent an hour repairing his damaged cells and muscles.

When he woke up, every pore on his body seemed to be singing.

A familiar and warm feeling came from his temples. Ding Lingdang was standing behind him and massaging him softly.

Li Yao smiled.

“Honey.”

Holding Ding Lingdang’s wrist, he moaned in pleasure and closed his eyes, not wanting to get up.

“Honey, you were so awesome just now.”

Ding Lingdang’s voice was gentler than ever. “I can see that many fellow Cultivators are deep in thought and greatly touched.

“Is that so? Of course. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, trying to find an opportunity to ‘unintentionally’ say it, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do it on purpose.

Li Yao grinned. “I finally caught you today!”

“That’s why my husband is awesome.”

Ding Lingdang continued massaging Li Yao. “There is one thing that I don’t quite understand. Can you explain it to me again, Hubby? You are the one who said, ‘After going through the competition of the Great Dao against planets, stars, supernovas, nebulas, stone belts, and cosmic storms, even the most beautiful and devastatingly beautiful women have become dull and uninteresting. They are nothing more than pink skeletons’. Isn’t that your original sentence? I didn’t wrong you at all, did I? Explain. What do you mean by ‘pink skeletons’? Who are pink skeletons? How are they dull and uninteresting? Explain yourself! Also, how did you compete with a supernova for the Great Dao? Come on, tell me!”