Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
From the depths of Li Yao’s memories emerged a young man who looked like a bean sprout. His face was a bit ugly, but his eyes were incomparably clear. At first, he respectfully poured tea for Li Yao, and then he sat obediently to the side, listening to Li Yao and his master, the Immortal Cultivator Su
Changfa, discuss the Dao.
That was… more than a hundred years ago.
However, it had never occurred to Li Yao a hundred years ago that such an unattractive, weak, and ill young man would have such a bizarre encounter and grow into a top expert and schemer who was on par with Yan Xibei, Xiao Xuance, Elder Nether Spring, and his grandfather, Lu Zui.
“Lu Qingchen…”
Li Yao and Lu Qingchen had a long history. It was even safe to say that Li Yao was responsible for Lu Qingchen’s current appearance.
First of all, Li Yao had a fierce battle with Lu Zui, the leader of the ‘Patriots’ and the former director of the Star Glory Federation’s Department of Mysteries. Eventually, Lu Zui’s true face was revealed, which planted the seed of suspicion in the young man’s heart.
Lu Qingchen did not hate Li Yao because of the incident. He had admitted many times that his grandfather deserved it and that he would only destroy the federation if he followed his grandfather’s path.
But there was no doubt that the incident had left a mark of ‘doubting everything’ in Lu Qingchen’s heart. If even his grandfather, a high and mighty, unyielding, and well-tested Cultivator, was likely to make a grave mistake, then what was 100% correct?
Perhaps because of his ‘doubting everything’ spirit, after the Immortal Cultivator Su Changfa was captured and brought to the federation for the dissemination and debate of the Great Dao of Immortal Cultivators, Lu Qingchen joined Su Changfa’s sect without any hesitation to learn the essence of the
Great Dao of Immortal Cultivators.
Li Yao had to admit that Su Changfa and Kou Ruhuo were both out-and-out, pure Immortal Cultivators. They were the experts who advocated for the survival of the fittest and the survival of the fittest. They were definitely different from the selfish, short-sighted guys from the four major families in the
imperium.
Li Yao was moved by the fearless spirit displayed by the Immortal Cultivators in the fierce battle against the resurrected Pangu Clan. With the idea of “the truth becomes clearer the more one argues”, he gave Su Changfa the opportunity to expound on the Great Dao in the federation. Only then could Lu
Qingchen become Su Changfa’s true disciple.
Even so, Lu Qingchen did not accept the ideology of the Immortal Cultivators 100% of the time. Instead, he thought of a new approach and tried to combine the advantages of the Great Dao of Cultivation with the advantages of the Great Dao of Cultivation to create a path named ‘Immortal Cultivation 2.0°.
The core theory was that everything was ever-changing. There was no Great Dao that could be found anywhere in the universe. Therefore, according to the time and environment, one had to be a Cultivator when one should be a Cultivator and a Cultivator when one should be a Cultivator.
Such a ‘True Immortal Dao’ was quite similar to Li Jialing’s ‘cultivation is skin and cultivation is bone’.
If Lu Qingchen’s achievements were limited to this, he could be considered a rather insightful young theorist. The Star Glory Federation did not punish him for his ideas and opinions. Even if he believed in the 100% fundamentalist path of immortality, as long as he did not commit crimes and bring
disaster to the nation, it was still his personal freedom.
It was a pity that, after his teacher, the Immortal Cultivator Su Changfa, passed away, Lu Qingchen learned from a second teacher, who was Professor Mo Xuan, or ‘Devil Mo Xuan’, who had swallowed the ‘star child’ and was corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils living inside the star child’s body.
In the beginning, Lu Qingchen had only participated in Professor Mo Xuan’s Phantom World Project’.
Li Yao estimated that, at that time, Lu Qingchen probably wanted to establish his own virtual space and create countless virtual humans with the data to practice his ‘True Immortal Dao’.
It was like creating a game in which everyone lived and worked according to the rules set by him. Naturally, it was not illegal, nor was it against any ethics.
However, Lu Qingchen did not know that Professor Mo Xuan had been corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils, and that the ‘Nether World’ that had been infected by the ‘star child’ was still looking for a younger, stronger-minded host.
Therefore, the ‘collapse of the Void Spirit Sector’ happened.
After the incident, Lu Qingchen’s soul, the ideology of the Great Dao of True Immortals, and the power of the extraterrestrial devils combined and became the most dangerous schemer in the battle of the Black Wind Fleet’s assault on the Star Glory Federation.
He and Professor Mo Xuan had a clear division of labor. Professor Mo Xuan would deal with the federation, while he would sneak into the Black Wind Fleet and kidnap the entire fleet.
Had Li Yao not arrived in time with the twelve ancient experts, they would’ve been able to take advantage of the situation and turn the Star Glory Federation and the Black Wind Fleet into a world of devils.
During the battle, Mo Xuan was moved by the singing of Li Yao and his billions of compatriots. He suddenly came back to himself and cut off the connection with the power of the extraterrestrial devils inside his body in time, restoring Professor Mo Xuan’s’ self and stopping the further destruction. He
also reminded Li Yao of ‘Lu Qingchen’.
In the final battle in the illusion, although Lu Qingchen was defeated by Li Yao and the mental devil, it seemed to have been too easy and straightforward.
Li Yao remembered that his devil soul had said something weird before it completely dispersed. He said, “What are you exactly? If we meet again…”
It was all the information about Lu Qingchen in Li Yao’s memory.
Was the tricky kid really not dead yet?
“That’s right.”
Li Yao mumbled, “There are indeed a lot of similarities between Lu Qingchen and the puppet king. If it were him, everything would make sense.
“First of all, Lu Qingchen is a very special ‘Nexus’. During the battle against the Black Wind Fleet, he could leave his body at his will and sneak into the mainframe crystal processor of ‘Black Swirl, the flagship of the Black Wind Fleet. He practically hijacked the entire Spiritual Nexus of the Black Wind Fleet.
“No. It is not as simple as hijacking the Spiritual Nexus. He has also snuck into the brain of the commander-in-chief of the Black Wind Fleet, Hei Yeming, and directly seized control over him, completely submitting to his will!
“It must be noted that Dark Night Brightness was an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage. Although he was heavily wounded in the war against the Sanctuary Alliance and his Cultivation plummeted, he was not below the Divinity Transformation Stage. His soul was still as strong as before, but it
was not enough to resist his hypnosis and bewitchment!
“Also, it is Lu Qingchen’s specialty to refine brain viruses with emotions as weapons. Do you remember when we snuck into the ‘Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital’ in Hundred Flowers City with Long Yangjun and saw a lot of their research files, as well as the puppets and Phantom Entities that they carefully
refined?
“The technique is exactly the same as what the puppet king did in the Sanctuary Alliance today. Damn. Why didn’t I think of it earlier?”
“However, if the puppet king is really Lu Qingchen, how did the kid end up in the Sanctuary Alliance?”
“That’s not strange.”
The mental devil analyzed, “If the puppet king is Lu Qingchen, he must’ve absorbed a lot of data about the Black Wind Fleet when he hijacked the mainframe crystal processor of ‘Black Swir!’, the flagship of the Black Wind Fleet. There must be a lot of coordinates regarding the Imperium of True Human
Beings, including the coordinates of the frontline worlds such as the Black Wind Sector.
“Since Long Yangjun can jump over, and we can jump over, why can’t he jump over when he is not bound by a shell but an illusionary wave?
“Don’t forget that one of the predecessors of ‘Devil Lu Qingchen’ was a’star child’ from the Imperium of True Human Beings. The star child had the ability to travel freely in the sea of stars. Naturally, Lu Qingchen inherited the ability, too. It was quite reasonable!”
“Right, right. I almost forgot about it!”
Li Yao suddenly realized what was going on. “The Imperium of True Human Beings sent the star child to explore the periphery of the sea of stars. The star child was corrupted and corrupted by the extraterrestrial devils while he was travelling through the four-dimensional space. Professor Mo Xuan
swallowed the star child who was corrupted and transferred part of his strength to Lu Qingchen’s soul. Therefore, Lu Qingchen has grasped the star child’s techniques, too. The Imperium of True Human Beings is like half of his hometown. It was a piece of cake for him to return to this place.
“At that time, the imperium was engaged in a fierce battle with the Sanctuary Alliance. It was only reasonable that he jumped to the place through the starships on the frontline.
“However, why did he come to the Sanctuary Alliance instead of staying in the imperium?
“I think there are two reasons.
“Firstly,” the mental devil said, “Lu Qingchen is a ‘Nether World Devil’. His strength can only be triggered to the maximum with a good network environment. Compared to the Star Ocean Imperium, the network of the Sanctuary Alliance is much more sophisticated and relies more on the ubiquitous
Spiritual Nexus. He is like a fish in water in this place. Training, hacking, and combat are all easier for him.
“Secondly, he might have the same idea as you, which is to balance the relationship between the Star Glory Federation and the Star Glory Federation. But since you have ‘Empress Li Linghai of the Star Glory Federation’, it will be more convenient for you to do your job in the Star Glory Federation. Since he
does not know Li Linghai, it is impossible for him to stabilize the situation of the Star Glory Federation. Therefore, it will be better for him to come to the Star Glory Federation and turn it upside down. The balance between the Star Glory Federation and the Star Glory Federation will be maintained, and
the safety of the Star Glory Federation will be secured.
Huh?”
Li Yao said, “He still wants to keep the federation safe?”
“Of course, just because they are on different sides doesn’t mean they are unpardonable!”
“Both Professor Mo Xuan and Lu Qingchen call themselves true patriots,” the mental devil said. “They believe that everything they do is to save the federation! ‘Only by netting the Star Glory Federation will they be able to resist the scourge of the imperium and the Sanctuary Alliance. They can even
overtake us and become the strongest human beings in the universe in a brand-new form. That was the reason they took the risk in the beginning. It is also their belief. Whether Lu Qingchen turns into an Immortal Cultivator or an extraterrestrial devil, he will always be patriotic. Is there a problem with
that?”
