Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The plan of gambling and robbing had been concocted by Li Yao and Long Yangjun together in the first place. Naturally, Li Yao did not have a problem with it. As for the rest of the experts, they had to admit that it was the best solution to address their capital problem to rob somebody in such a lawless, chaotic place.

Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar and Master Bitter Cicada raised questions. “We won’t attack the ordinary people or the innocent, right?”

“Of course, how much money can the ordinary people possibly have?” Long Yangjun apparently did not think that it was a big deal. “The money we are in need of is more than a few million. In such a murky place as the Dragon Snake Space Zone, the targets that call for our attention are certainly the powerful magnates who have committed all kinds of wrongdoings. It does not contradict your belief, does it?”

“That’s good!” Ba Xiaoyu the Beggar was relieved and smiled in delight. “I like robbing the rich and helping the poor!”

“I have a question,” ‘Heaven Battering King’ Qi Changsheng said. “Since we are in need of a batch of crystal suits, why don’t we simply loot crystal suits instead of money?”

“Good question!” Long Yangjun said. “There are two reasons. Firstly, the crystal suit centers must be heavily protected by a large team of guards in crystal suits, which means that it will be more difficult to take it over. Secondly, crystal suits are not small objects. Most of the cosmos rings that we carry are already filled with the Colossi. How many crystal suits can we expect to stuff into them?

“Looting the anonymous crystal cards and the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and possibly a few Cosmos Rings that we can crack later, will be much safer than robbing a crystal suit center. We are going to need the money later anyone. So, we might as well take care of the problem once and for all. Any other questions?”

There was no reply.

“Alright. Let’s take action according to our plan!”

Long Yangjun waved her hands and said, “Remember, the focus of our operation is not guaranteed success. With the Cultivation of the twelve of us, if we go on a rampage, it should be more than enough for us to sweep across the entire Fish Dragon City!

“However, Fish Dragon City is a place where forces from different regions gather. The Chamber of Commerce, the Cultivators from the center of cosmos on Firefly, the Immortal Cultivators of the CIFA, the spies of the major sects from the Star Glory Federation, the special agents of the Secret Sword Bureau… all kinds of people are playing their part on the stage.

“If we throw a brick randomly on a street, we might hit a person with double identities. Should we reveal the Cultivation of the Nascent Soul Stage, we will certainly catch the attention of the local forces here. Right now, we are not familiar with the territory and the situation of Fish Dragon City. It will be near impossible for us to escape their pursuit!

“In the last three days, I collected all the news of assassinations, sabotages, robberies, and fights in Fish Dragon City that have taken place in the past five years. This is the pattern that I’ve figured out. For the fights, competitions, and robberies that the experts in the Nascent Soul Stage were involved in, most of them were found out eventually. However, when the criminals were only in the Core Formation Stage, the cases often went uninvestigated. After all, in the land of outcasts, everybody is robbing and killing each other, not to mention the headhunters from the federation. There is too much mess to be taken care of.

“Therefore, the difficulty of our mission is that we have to accomplish our goals neatly with the Cultivation of the Core Formation Stage at best without leaving any traces behind, in case the procedures later where we purchase the crystal suits and prepare the false identities are affected. Do you agree?”

All the experts nodded at each other.

“Alright, Lord Wang. Do you really need to tell us so much?” Heaven Battering King Qi Changsheng was so excited that his eyes were bloodshot. He grinned and said, “This is the business that I’m most familiar with. I have also read a lot of books on criminology and criminalistics as well as the biographies of the tough bandits in the federation from the past hundred years over the past few days! Hehe. Ten Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators going robbing together. That’s enough respect for Fish Dragon City. If the job fails, we might as well slit our throats or hang ourselves!”

“Excellent!” Long Yangjun nodded. “Let’s divide whatever’s left of the capital we have into two parts. Half of the money will be the funds for our gambling, investigations, and reconnaissance. The other half will be given to Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, who will go to the crystal suit center to order appropriate crystal suits and magical equipment for us. He may also rent a refining workshop for modification and adjustment purposes later.

“After we have the money, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture will be able to buy the crystal suits and the magical equipment components that are most suitable for us and modify them directly. Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, is Heiye Lan going with you or us?”

Li Yao thought for a moment and said, “She’d better go with you. That way, she will be more or less of use. I’m just going shopping. I don’t think that I’ll run into any danger, will I?”

“Alright. Then, Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture, you can go on ahead. I have taken the liberty of setting a few targets here. Let’s all study them together, fellow Cultivators. We’ll be leaving in ten minutes!”

Long Yangjun’s eyes suddenly grew sharp. “Remember, fellow Cultivators. Unless it is absolutely necessary, do not reveal your capabilities in the Nascent Soul Stage or the Divinity Transformation Stage. The focus of our raid is—low profile, low profile, and low profile!”

…

Half an hour later, Li Yao arrived at the Four Sectors Magical Equipment Center deep inside Fish Dragon City.

It was the largest store of magical equipment established by the Chamber of Commerce of the Uranian Ring Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, the Nether World Sector, and the Water Crystal Sector.

Not only did the store sell all kinds of magical equipment, including crystal suits of every type and level, it also boasted a rather adequate catalog of components, rare metals, and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. It even had refining rooms and maintenance workshops with comprehensive facilities, as well as a magical equipment test field that offered more than eighty extreme environments, for rent. In short, as long as one’s pockets were full, they could buy any magical equipment that they wanted from this place other than Colossi or main-force warships!

What made the place more interesting was that, since Firefly was docked right outside of the Dragon Snake Space Zone for repair and modification, the Cultivators on Firefly often traded their assets, magical equipment, and techniques with the Star Glory Federation through the Dragon Snake Space Zone.

As the saying went, it is easy to fetch water when a river is near. Many components and materials from the center of the cosmos, which were bizarre and unseen for the refiners at the edge of the cosmos, were on sale there, making the store even more abundant than the magical equipment stores in the capital city of the federation. It was more likely for the treasure hunters to find what they desired in this place.

The debris of two Colossi, which towered more than twenty meters tall on either side of gate into the ‘Four Sectors Magical Equipment Center’, alone was indicative enough of the magnificence of the place.

Although they were already beyond repair, and all the rare materials and key components had been dismantled, the Four Sectors Magical Equipment Center was still wealthy and powerful enough to find such two remnants of Colossi as doorkeepers.

It was said that the essence of the traditional refiners from the Uranian Ring Sector, the Forest Ocean Sector, the Nether World Sector, and the Water Crystal Sector was gathered in that place. Not only were many masters of refining who had dominated the four worlds decades ago living there under different names, even the experts of refining from the center of the cosmos on Firefly also showed up on a regular basis, selling the magical equipment from Firefly on consignment in the place, purchasing the local magical equipment, and trading with the local refiners.

As a result, some experts of refining from the Star Glory Federation were attracted to the place. Changing their name and appearance, they risked going to the Dragon Snake Space Zone and competing with the experts from the four Sectors and the center of the cosmos!

All in all, this place was a true paradise for refiners. With money and techniques, all the dreams and desires of a refiner could be satisfied there!

Wearing the sloppy shirt, beach pants, and slippers, Li Yao stared at the colorful, dazzling board that said ‘Four Sectors Magical Equipment Center’ in the middle of the two remnants of Colossi with mixed feelings.

He felt like he had travelled back a hundred years, back to when he walked into the largest magical equipment store in Floating Spear City for the first time as a crazy fan of magical equipment. The feeling of being amazed, overwhelmed, and yet overjoyed was too marvelous!

A hundred years had passed. Everything had changed, but everything seemed the same, including his boundless passion for all kinds of magical equipment, from crystal processors to crystal suits, from chainswords to vibration sabers to storm bolters to machine guns…

Finally, he was all by himself again.

It was a rare time of relief for Li Yao in the intense and exciting life of battles.

For Long Yangjun’s whole plan of gambling, reconnaissance, investigation, and robbery to be implemented, it would take at least two to three days.

Li Yao also needed a few days to finish the selection, adjustment, and modification of crystal suits.

Over the next few days, he could dwell in the world of magical equipment and relax his nerves, which had been too tense for too long.

Right now, I’m all by myself. Long Yangjun apparently gave me such an opportunity intentionally. Should I find a way to contact the federation, say, look for the special agents of the Secret Sword Bureau in the local area?

After pondering for a moment, Li Yao eventually gave up the idea.

After all, a hundred years had passed. He was not familiar with how the Secret Sword Bureau worked. Also, given the complexity of the situation, he could not guarantee that he would be able to find an agent of the Secret Sword Bureau who had not been ‘polluted’ by the CIFA, Firefly, or other forces.

If he reached out to the federation via the Spiritual Nexus, such cross-Sector communication was exceedingly vulnerable to interference and tracing. Furthermore, he was not sure that the recipient of his message was reliable!

Therefore, he might as well observe more before he made any decision!

Li Yao vaguely had a feeling that, although the federation was more than capable of dealing with the Black Wind Fleet with the seven Sectors that it had in terms of the strength on the surface, what would decide the outcome of the war was actually the spies and trump cards that were hidden below the table.

None of the local forces were aware of his existence and his real identity. So, he could absolutely become a trump card for the Star Glory Federation who would reverse the scales of victory at the most crucial moment!

Even if I wish to contact Ding Lingdang and Jin Xinyue, I will have to find a reliable channel after I return to the Star Glory Federation, or I need to do it very subtly. I can’t give up my advantage so quickly!

Therefore… I might as well enjoy my life here for now. Hehe!

Gulping in excitement, Li Yao rubbed his hands and walked into the magical equipment center.