The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators thought quickly and immediately realized what Gui Suishou meant. The name ‘Pangu’ was like a dull clap of thunder striking everyone’s heart. They found it barely possible to breathe.

　　“Master Gui,” Jiang Hailiu said solemnly, “are you suggesting that the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is related to the Pangu civilization?”

　　“If we think on the bright side,” Gui Suishou said unhurriedly, “the so-called ‘Pangu’s Covenant’ might just be a slogan. Demons also like to shout that we are the descendants of Pangu and Nuwa during a fierce battle to boost the morale. But in fact, we’ve never received any direct gifts from the Pangu civilization. Most of the arts and techniques were developed on our own.

　　“If the Alliance of the Holy Covenant is the same, there will be nothing to fear.

　　“However, if that is the case, one thing will be inexplicable. How did the Alliance of the Holy Covenant rise miraculously in only several hundred years and even almost suffocate the Imperium of True Human Beings, forcing the latter to drastically change its system and ideology?”

　　The whispers around were louder and louder, and Jiang Hailiu’s eyebrows furrowed harder and harder. He said emotionlessly, “What do you mean?”

　　Gui Suishou smiled casually and explained, “Fellow Cultivator Li Yao’s foster father also admitted that the Imperium of True Human Beings is the rightful heir to the Star Ocean Imperium and a traditional superpower that has developed for almost a thousand years. Then at the beginning, it must’ve occupied the most prosperous Sectors at the center of the universe and excavated tremendous relics of the Star Ocean Imperium to arm itself.

　　“Before the Covenant Alliance showed up, the Imperium was definitely a well-deserved dominator of the universe!

　　“Then, how did the Covenant Alliance, which was absolutely unknown before, rise rapidly and cause immense pressure to the Imperium of True Human Beings?

　　“It must be noted that the Imperium of True Human Beings was even panicked when it was faced with the threat of the Covenant Alliance. It was so desperate that it degenerated from a country of Cultivators into one of Immortal Cultivators!

　　“All the evidence suggests that the rise of the Covenant Alliance was quick and unexpected. It showed up in front of the Imperium as a raging behemoth all of a sudden without any warning. Also, the arts and weapons demonstrated by the Covenant Alliance must’ve been unseen in the Imperium before and even far better than their counterparts in the Imperium. That is why the Imperium was so terrified!

　　“But how is that possible?

　　“Training methods and the development of technology require time and effort. The Imperium of True Human Beings had already occupied the most abundant resources of mankind and the most powerful legacies, and it had been developing rapidly for more than a thousand years. How could the Covenant Alliance have developed even faster than the Imperium?

　　“Let’s say that the Covenant Alliance also discovered important relics of the Star Ocean Imperium, or rather, even if it had received all the heritages of the Star Ocean Imperium, the best outcome would be that it was on par with the Imperium!

　　“There is no reason why the Imperium would be so scared of an enemy that was on the same level as itself, and there is also no reason why the Covenant Alliance could crush the Imperium to a losing streak for a hundred years, until the two parties divided the prosperous area evenly!

　　“Therefore, if ‘Pangu’s Covenant’ is not just a slogan but a real thing, suggesting that the Covenant Alliance really excavated tremendous relics of the Pangu civilization and received the direct legacy from it, won’t everything make better sense?”

　　There was nothing but silence in the hall. None of the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked well.

　　But Gui Suishou could not have cared less about how other people felt. Shaking his head, he continued. “The Imperium of True Human Beings has the legacy of the Star Ocean Imperium, while the Alliance of the Holy Covenant has that of the Pangu civilization. I think it goes without saying which of the two legacies is more advanced, right?

　　“Of course, I am not blindly evaluating the past over the present. I don’t believe that the civilizations today are definitely worse than the civilizations in the primeval era. But we also have to admit that, even counting from the moment our nearest ancestors learned to use fire and tools and established tribes, the light of our civilization has only burnt for a hundred thousand years. We are still a young, if not naïve, civilization.

　　“The Pangu civilization, on the other hand, is a mature civilization that developed for at least a million years, judging from the relics they’ve left. It is also worth mentioning that they are also our creator and our ‘parent’!

　　“I don’t think it is demeaning ourselves to say that the Pangu civilization was more advanced than the civilization of mankind, is it?

　　“Fellow Cultivator Fire Ant, you once excavated ‘Chaos’ Ba Yanzhi’s secret base deep inside the White Silver Death Desert together with Fellow Cultivator Li Yao. Ba Yanzhi studied the legacy of the Pangu civilization in that very base before. Would you please tell us briefly what the legacy was?”

　　The Fire Ant King hesitated for a moment. Then he stood up and said coldly, “Allow me to briefly explain. Forty thousand years ago, ‘Chaos’ Ba Yanzhi fled to the Blood Demon Sector at the edge of the universe from the center, covering such a long distance, for the simple reason that there was a relic of the Pangu civilization near the Blood Demon Sector.

　　“At the cost of the disintegration of his body, he was temporarily granted tremendous strength, which allowed him to discover the relic and retrieve the legacy from the relic, including an enormous throne left by the Pangu civilization.

　　“Through such a legacy, Ba Yanzhi began to study ‘man-made spiritual roots’, ‘synthesized gold core’, ‘integration of flesh and magical equipment’, and other technologies. He also researched some dangerous viruses, like the primitive version of the Demon God Virus.

　　“Eventually, all the people and demon beasts ended up killing each other because of the leakage of the virus.”

　　The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators had all heard a thing or two about the Mausoleum of Chaos before, but it was particularly scary considering what Gui Suishou had said just now.

　　Brilliance that was utterly unbefitting for a man of more than a thousand years old beamed out of Gui Suishou’s eyes as he demanded aggressively, “So, you are saying that Ba Yanzhi, an ancient man forty thousand years ago, was already taking part in the incredible research such as ‘man-made spiritual root’ or ‘synthesized gold core’ after getting the legacy of the Pangu civilization and that his research would’ve succeeded without the accident?”

　　The Fire Ant King shook his head. “It’s hard to say. He might’ve succeeded.”

　　Gui Suishou smiled and said, “What if it weren’t Ba Yanzhi, an ancient man forty thousand years ago, but modern people who were highly civilized and already received part of the legacy of the Star Ocean Imperium several thousand years ago? If the latter found the relics of the Pangu civilization, would it have been more possible for them to retrieve the techniques of the Pangu civilization through modern research methods?”

　　Dumbfounded, the Fire Ant King was lost for words.

　　“Therefore, we can make a bold assumption as to the rise of the Alliance of the Holy Covenant.”

　　Gui Suishou’s voice grew larger and larger, turning from the dull noise of a conch to the barrage of guns. “One to two thousand years ago, the Imperium of True Human Beings dominated the center of the sea of stars and occupied the entirety of the prosperous lands of the Star Ocean Imperium in the past. It also retrieved and inherited tremendous legacies and techniques of the Star Ocean Imperium!

　　“Of all the worlds of human beings, none were a match for the Imperium of True Human Beings!

　　“But at this point, some remnants of the Star Ocean Imperium who lived in a Sector at the edge of the cosmos discovered relics of the Pangu civilization by accident!

　　“The Pangu civilization, which was glorious for a million years, wouldn’t have entirely disappeared even if it had long perished. Its dead body would still be a boundless treasury.

　　“Since ‘Chaos’ Ba Yanzhi was able to find a relic of the Pangu civilization, other people could naturally find a second, a third, or even more relics!

　　“All in all, the human beings who discovered the relics of the Pangu civilization, after retrieving the knowledge in the relics, armed themselves with it. They considered themselves the lineage of Pangu and bonded with each other through ‘Pangu’s Covenant’. They grew quickly and expanded until they had a head-on clash with Imperium of True Human Beings, the dominator of the universe!

　　“The Imperium of True Human Beings was a traditional superpower, with a vast territory and a large population. Its roots were deep.

　　“The Alliance of the Holy Covenant, on the other hand, was just a new country. It didn’t have a territory as vast as the Imperium’s in the beginning, and the Sectors that it occupied were relatively barren. The population and the resources of the country were not as abundant as the Imperium, but it boasted much more advanced techniques and legacies than the Imperium did!

　　“One of them is bigger, and the other is more developed. That is why the two of them are on par with each other. It remains to be seen who the final winner will be!

　　“But whichever side wins, the final victor will definitely become an ultimate force that occupies the most prosperous area at the center of the universe, has a population of trillions, and boasts the unparalleled techniques of the Pangu civilization!

　　“Faced with such an ultimate force, do we really stand any chance? Do we have any choice but to escape?”

　　Every word that Gui Suishou spurted out was like a mountain pressing down the hall. All the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing how they should respond.

　　Angry, Jiang Hailiu glared at Gui Suishou.

　　Gui Suishou looked back at him honestly and innocently, like an old, shameless scoundrel.

　　Having no alternatives, Jiang Hailiu declared gloomily, “Fellow Cultivators, this is about our enemy. Now, we will have a ten-minute break. Everybody can sort through your solution again. In ten minutes, we will come back and discuss how to defeat our enemy… whoever they are!”

　　Faced with the tremendous pressure of the Imperium and the Covenant Alliance, the magnificent Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators reacted no differently from ordinary people would. They dispersed and joined their friends, discussing in small groups.

　　Li Yao meant to go to Iron God Yan Ba and thank him for offering the spiritual seed years ago. The two of them could also exchange the mysteries of the primeval memories in the cell.

　　But Gui Suishou came to him promptly.

　　Li Yao glared at him like Jiang Hailiu had done. He was not willing to talk to Gui Suishou, either.

　　It was not because he objected to Gui Suishou’s theory. He admitted that it was rather self-consistent.

　　However, spreading such absolutely pessimistic speculation in such a meeting whose sole purpose was to cheer everybody up was exactly like telling parents ‘your baby will eventually die’ in a baby shower.

　　It was definitely not a wrong statement, but it was wrong to be so blunt!

　　However, Gui Suishou seemed unable to discern the hatred in other people’s eyes. Brazenly, he said, “My young friend Li Yao, after hearing my assumption, have you grown a deeper understanding about the necessity of the Monument Plan?”

　　“Everything is just your speculation, backed by no evidence,” Li Yao said coldly. “You are just exaggerating and scaring everybody!”

　　“Scaring everybody?” Gui Suishou smiled. “I know exactly why this Meeting of the Nascent Soul Stage has been convened. You are just trying to cheer each other up. I don’t want to dishearten you, so I chose the mildest hypothesis to share with you and kept the assumptions that are even more dreadful to myself!”