Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

"Master Su, what's wrong?" Tang Qianhe was confused. "The guy is not anybody important. I don't think he knows much useful information. Why should we waste our time and effort on him?     

"As long as we can determine the rough coordinates of the Flying Star Sector based on the intelligence in his head, we will be able to swallow the Flying Star Sector after building an enormous space gate and summoning the expedition fleet.     

"What's the use of keeping him alive?"     

"If you are planning to summon the expedition fleet, it is indeed useless to keep the guy alive."     

Su Changfa's face suddenly turned extremely weird. He said mysteriously, "But otherwise, he will prove to be greatly useful!"     

Tang Qianhe and Kou Ruhuo were both surprised. Looking at each other, they both frowned. "What do you mean, Master Su?"     

"The three of us are all losers in the competitions of our respective family or sect."     

Gloomily, Su Changfa said, one word after another, "We've lost everything we had. Position, glory, manors, and slaves. We have even been blamed for things we didn't do and exiled to the desolate land at the edge of the cosmos with no way of returning for the rest of our lives!     

"I'm too old to care about anything now, but the two of you are still very young. Are you really willing to live the rest of your lives like this?"     

"But we've discovered a relic of the Pangu civilization!" Tang Qianhe said in a hurry. "This is such a great accomplishment. Is it still not enough for us to be embraced again?"     

"You're wrong, Little Tang."     

Su Changfa sighed and said, "If we had only discovered the Flying Star Sector as we were instructed to and made an accomplishment neither too big or too small, chances were that part of our crimes would have been pardoned, and our position would have been slightly restored. The enemies in our families and sects would not have considered us a great threat!     

"However, for such a great accomplishment as discovering a relic of the Pangu civilization… is it bearable for the three of us?     

"How will the guys who regard us as sworn enemies allow us to return with such an accomplishment, to take back everything that belongs to us, and even to seek revenge from them?"     

Tang Qianhe and Kou Ruhuo both fell silent.     

"Moreover, don't you forget what the expedition army for this mission is made of!" Su Changfa said coldly. "The Black Wind soldiers of the Black Wind Sector!     

"The Black Wind Sector is one of the most dangerous Sectors in the territory of the Imperium. After years of battles with the Covenant Alliance and the extraterrestrial devils, the Black Wind soldiers are as ruthless as the Covenant Alliance and as bloodthirsty as the extraterrestrial devils themselves. They are as cruel to their enemy as they are to their allies. When they go crazy in the competitions of accomplishments and trophies, they will not hesitate to slaughter their allies!     

"The Black Wind soldiers are a bunch of rabid dogs and locusts who do not understand rules in the first place. Right now, the Covenant Alliance has gathered their forces and occupied the Black Wind Sector. The Black Wind troops that are stationed outside are all going on a rampage because of the loss of their mother planet!     

"They are wandering and causing trouble everywhere in the capital space zone, demanding His Majesty wage a war and take back the Black Wind Sector immediately for them!     

"But national affairs are not child's play. Every battle influences the big picture. How can you wage a war because of their complaint?     

"However, it is also a bad idea to keep such an army of locusts, which is thorny, disobedient, and drifting homelessly every day. What can we do if they truly go mad and claim a random Sector?     

"Therefore, after receiving the signal from the Flying Star Sector, His Majesty decreed the Black Wind fleet to be the expedition army for the sole purpose of keeping the troublesome fellows as far away from the capital space zone as possible!     

"A remote, desolate Flying Star Sector is naturally not enough to satisfy the Black Wind soldiers. It is said that His Majesty made a deal with the Black Wind soldiers that all the Sectors conquered by the Black Wind soldiers after they left the territory of the Imperium would be their land!     

"Think about it. The Black Wind soldiers are all ravenous wolves with hooks in their stomachs who devour everything but give nothing. Will there be any benefits left for us after we summon them here?"     

Tang Qianhe was dazed for a moment. Then she mumbled, "Will the Black Wind soldiers be stationed here? Didn't they say that they will redeem their battle credits and march back to the Black Wind Sector?"     

"That is just bullsh*t to fool others!" Su Changfa sneered. "The Black Wind soldiers are crazy, but they are not stupid. The Black Wind Sector is exactly in the middle of the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance. It is the frontier with the fiercest battles. Yes, there are abundant resources, but they must consider whether or not they can live long enough to enjoy the resources! Although this place is much more barren, it is far from the war after all. They can develop for hundreds of years in peace!     

"The Black Wind soldiers' claim to march back to the Black Wind Sector was just an approach of negotiation. What they really want must be this place! How will they go away if they really come?"     

"You do have a point, Master Su," Kou Ruhuo said solemnly. "The Black Wind soldiers will certainly devour the Flying Star Sector without leaving any crumb!"     

"It is still acceptable if that's everything," Su Changfa said gloomily. "The Flying Star Sector is just a bone. The relic of the Pangu civilization is the real fat meat. Once the Black Wind soldiers discover it, there will not be the smallest share for us!     

"Hehe. We and they are all homeless dogs, but there are only the three of us while they have a whole fleet! This place is too far away for any message to be sent back to the Imperium in time. It will be more than easy to make us 'go missing' in the relic of the Pangu civilization!"     

Li Yao was both delighted and worried while he was eavesdropping. He was delighted that the Imperium of True Human Beings had a limited effective boundary as Professor Zhou Yifu had described. Only the dozens of Sectors around the capital space zone were really under the emperor's control, while the Sectors farther away boasted a certain degree of independency.     

For example, the Black Wind soldiers who lived in the Black Wind Sector did not entirely obey the orders of the emperor, and they could even negotiate with him!     

Judging from the unsurprised tone of the conversation, that was not a special case in the Imperium. It was possible that all the frontier Sectors who boasted their own troops were more or less the same.     

Such an amalgamation of warlords was obviously a great advantage for the Star Glory Federation's strategic planning later.     

What Li Yao was worried was that the 'Black Wind soldiers' that were coming at them were cruel even for the Immortal Cultivators. It was obvious that they were the most ferocious and inhumane guys!     

Besides, now that their own home was occupied by the Covenant Alliance but they had decided to look for a new shelter instead of taking back their home, the war between the two parties would not end until one side was utterly eliminated!     

While pondering the solutions, Li Yao continued eavesdropping.     

With a bitter smile, Tang Qianhe said, "Master Su, according to you, would you say the odds of our doom are ten to one?"     

"We are a hundred percent doomed," Kou Ruhuo said coldly. "Otherwise, why would our enemies have been hypocritical enough to give us the opportunity of 'expatriation'? This is a scheme. They are trying to kill us through the Black Wind soldiers!"     

Su Changfa sighed. "I'm too old now. I have neither the determination nor the strength for a desperate counterattack. If I am all by myself, what does it matter if I end up as a pile of dry bones at the edge of the cosmos?     

"But are the two of you really willing to give in?"     

Tang Qianhe hurried to reply, "Master Su, of course, we are not willing to give up just like that. We are eager for your enlightenment!"     

"Death matters little to me," Kou Ruhuo said coldly, "but it will be best if I die after chopping off the heads of a few enemies!"     

Su Changfa chuckled. "If the two of you are determined to counterattack, I am always ready to give you a hand. Right now, the only solution for us is to conquer the Flying Star Sector on our own instead of summoning the Black Wind fleet!"     

Li Yao was anxious at the beginning and then relieved later. Everything would be good if the three Immortal Cultivators did not summon the main force from millions of lightyears away.     

Conquering the Flying Star Sector right now with only the three of them?     

That would truly be a suicidal mission!     

Tang Qianhe and Kou Ruhuo looked at each other in silence.     

"Even if the guy's intelligence about the Flying Star Sector is true, the three of us are still far from enough to occupy the entire Flying Star Sector!" Kou Ruhuo said solemnly. "It is a civilization based on starships with a sparse territory after all. Almost a thousand sects are scattered in dozens of space zones. Even if they do not have many experts, how can the three of us take over all the land?"     

Su Changfa smiled and replied unhurriedly, "Now, you must understand why I didn't destroy the guy's brain and soul in the beginning, mustn't you?     

"Since he is the son of an elder of a local sect of the Flying Star Sector, he might be of use if we keep him alive when we are conquering the Flying Star Sector!     

"Also, the relic of the Pangu civilization is a planetary warship. The debris on the primeval battlefield on the surface is but a drop in the ocean. The real marvelous weapons and the primordial techniques must be buried deep inside the planet.     

"If we can enter deep into the planetary warship and excavate the marvelous weapons of the primeval era, we will have some bargaining chips to live on!"     

Tang Qianhe and Kou Ruhuo both gasped. "Entering the planetary warship?"     

"Exactly!" Su Changfa's face suddenly turned extremely hideous. In the most excited voice, he declared, "I, as a cr*ppy old man, lost all hope when I was exiled to the desolate land at the edge of the universe. But now that I have been blessed by the heavens to discover such an unparalleled treasury, it is impossible that I'm going to let it slip through my fingers!     

"Even if I must die, I will die in the depths of the Pangu's relic, which will be better than dying at the hands of the Black Wind soldiers with the laughter of my enemies!     

"However, if we are fortunate enough to not get killed but excavate infinite secret treasures from the relic… Hehe. Hehehehe!"     

Tang Qianhe and Kou Ruhuo both changed their expressions at Su Changfa's laughter that was full of hatred. Greed and abhorrence were flowing out of their own eyes, too!     

"However, the guy is still keeping something from us!" Tang Qianhe reminded. "He still has ill intentions and will prove to be an unstable factor!"     

"It doesn't matter. I have basically guessed what he was lying about!"     

While chortling, Su Changfa walked to Li Yao. "Trust me. The guy will cooperate."