novelraw Chapter 86: Half a Year
Chapter 86: Half a Year
For over a century, The Truth Society had collected numerous valuable treasures.
Only the founder and the Eight-Eyed Rank members knew of their existence.
Of course, Su Yuan knew as well.
Half a day later.
Su Yuan arrived at the base of an extremely inconspicuous mountain range somewhere in the Americas.
Beep—With the verification complete, a door seamlessly integrated into the mountainside slowly opened.
Su Yuan gave it a brief glance before stepping inside without hesitation.
He had already asked the Gray Mirror about the scene behind the door.
The answer, naturally, was that it was perfectly safe.
...Behind the door lay a space comparable in size to several football fields.
The area was divided into different sections, each displaying a wide variety of treasures.
"Verdant Wood Liquid, Stone Heart, Thousand-Year Purple Ginseng..."
As Su Yuan swept his gaze across the room, the names of numerous ancient and potent medicines flashed rapidly through his mind.
How could the ancient and potent medicines deliberately stored here by The Truth Society be ordinary? Even if the organization didn't fully understand the specific uses of each one.
The mere energy fluctuations they emitted were enough to prove their immense value.
'What a reckless waste...' he sighed inwardly. 'With these ancient potent medicines, one could nurture a true Level 7 Lifeform...'
On second thought, The Truth Society was not him. Even if they knew these ancient potent medicines were extraordinary, they were completely out of their depth when it came to using them.
For instance, if someone who didn't know how to absorb the dragon blood extracted from the Mutant Dragonfish acquired it, they would most likely try to drink a mouthful.
And for an ordinary person, tasting even a single drop of dragon blood with such intensity would basically spell their doom.
The same applied to these ancient and potent medicines before him. The Truth Society had absolutely no idea how to use or combine them.
Try them one by one?
That would be too wasteful.
Most importantly, other lifeforms simply couldn't undergo evolution as smoothly as Su Yuan did.
Stacking all resources onto a single person only for them to fail the breakthrough and perish was a common occurrence.
Thus, The Truth Society Founder planned to hand all these ancient potent medicines over to the alien forces once the Interstellar Colonial Ship arrived.
This was purely to curry favor with the alien powerhouses.
'If nothing had happened to that Magma Spirit Crystal, The Truth Society would have sent it here as well...'
Su Yuan mused silently.
That would have been the future had he not intervened.
...
'The ancient and precious medicines here are more than enough to support my cultivation all the way to a Level 6 Lifeform, or even a Level 7 Lifeform...'
Su Yuan felt a wave of profound delight.
With his cultivation speed, becoming a Level 5 Lifeform was only a matter of time.
Supported by these potent spiritual medicines, his progress would continue to advance by leaps and bounds.
While lost in thought,
Su Yuan walked up to a nearby shelf.
Sitting on this shelf was a dull gray stone.
The stone was only fist-sized and looked incredibly inconspicuous.
In fact, it truly was.
The Truth Society had no idea what this stone was used for.
The only reason it was stored in their treasury was because of its indestructible hardness.
Over the past seventy to eighty years, The Truth Society had exhausted every conceivable method but failed to damage the stone in the slightest.
It was worth noting that their methods included utilizing various technologies bestowed by the alien forces.
Even so, they still couldn't leave a scratch on it.
Because of this, The Truth Society placed the stone here, intending to hand it over entirely to the alien experts when they descended.
...
Looking at the dull gray stone, a strange glint flashed in Su Yuan's eyes.
With the Gray Mirror, he naturally knew the origin of this stone.
He even knew its entire history—why it had appeared on Earth, and who its previous owner was.
Su Yuan understood it with crystal clear perfection.
The stone was known as the Stone of Eternal Darkness.
It was undeniably the most valuable treasure on Blue Star.
In fact, this fist-sized, dull gray stone alone matched the value of an entire Blue Star.
That was right. The value of this single stone was on par with a life planet like Blue Star, which only possessed a few precious mineral resources.
As for its origin—
According to the answers provided by the Gray Mirror, a devastating battle had occurred sixty-eight million years ago in the cosmic starry sky, over a million light-years away from Blue Star.
Both sides of the conflict were unfathomably terrifying lifeforms. In the end, one side emerged victorious while the other chose to self-destruct. This stone originated from that self-destructing entity.
The powerful shockwave unleashed by the explosion hurled this stone across more than a million light-years, eventually crashing it onto Blue Star.
After weathering countless ages, it was finally discovered seventy-six years ago by a geologist from The Truth Society.
'If those alien forces knew there was a Stone of Eternal Darkness on Blue Star, I'm afraid they would unhesitatingly establish a faster-than-light route and descend upon the planet at maximum speed...'
Su Yuan mused quietly.
The value of the Stone of Eternal Darkness was simply too astronomical. Matching the value of a life planet like Blue Star was merely its baseline. If one wasn't in a rush to sell, they could take their time, and it could eventually sell for several times the worth of Blue Star.
'With this Stone of Eternal Darkness, once I resolve the alien threat and make contact with the human empire of the cosmos, I can sell it for a massive amount of startup capital...'
Su Yuan's heart swelled with joy.
The stone itself was useless to him. The best course of action was to exchange it for Cosmic Currency, which he could then use to purchase the treasures he actually desired.
...
"Sky Blue Origin Stone, Purple Gold Soft Sand..."
After carefully storing away the Stone of Eternal Darkness, Su Yuan continued his stroll through the treasury.
The remaining treasures were mostly the special resources desired by the alien forces. Although they couldn't even compare to the Stone of Eternal Darkness, mining these resources on Blue Star cost the aliens practically nothing.
...
'I'll pack up all these ancient and spiritual medicines and take them back...'
Su Yuan instantly made his decision.
Since the ancient and spiritual medicines were vital to his cultivation and could be used at any time, he naturally needed to keep them close.
As for the other mineral resources... Su Yuan wouldn't need them in the short term and had little interest in them, so he opted to leave them exactly where they were.
After all, he now had total control over The Truth Society. Their treasury was effectively his personal vault.
If he ever needed anything in the future, he could come and grab it anytime.
...
Five days later.
Under Su Yuan's orders, The Truth Society convened its highest-level video conference, with him presiding over it.
The specific purpose of the meeting was to leverage the infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities of nations worldwide to help Su Yuan produce high-tech weapons.
To prepare for the arrival of the Interstellar Colonial Ship in a little over four years, Su Yuan had handpicked specific high-tech weapons.
Xia Nation had already shouldered a portion of the workload.
Now, it was time for the rest of the world's nations to handle the remaining share.
The video conference proceeded exceptionally smoothly, with no one suspecting Su Yuan's true identity.
After all, he was heavily endorsed by thirteen Eight-Eyed Rank members and twenty-three core Seven-Eyed Rank members.
Who would dare to doubt him?
As for whether the real The Truth Society Founder would notice?
There was naturally no need to worry. The founder's only channel for understanding the outside world was through those thirteen Eight-Eyed Rank members.
And now, those exact thirteen members answered exclusively to Su Yuan.
Simply put, everything The Truth Society Founder currently knew was precisely what Su Yuan allowed him to know.
Furthermore, all the surveillance cameras scattered across the globe that the founder could theoretically access... had naturally been hijacked and looped by Xiaolan long ago.
Forcibly invading the network of the base where The Truth Society Founder resided might take Xiaolan a split second given her capabilities.
But merely swapping out surveillance feeds? That was child's play.
If one were to summarize the situation, The Truth Society Founder had already plummeted into a meticulously crafted cage designed solely by Su Yuan.
'In half a year, the perfect opportunity will arise. When that time comes, I can lure him out of the base on his own volition...'
Su Yuan mused silently.
Given how highly The Truth Society Founder valued his own life, it would normally be impossible for him to step outside his sanctuary.
Because leaving the base meant ending his hibernation state, which in turn meant accelerating his march toward death from old age...
For the founder, this was an absolutely unacceptable outcome.
He had waited over a century for the alien forces to arrive. He would never allow himself to fall right before the finish line. ...
Modu, Lab No. 1.
Qiao Mingyuan was engrossed in reviewing his research data.
Right at that moment.
A deeply familiar voice drifted over:
"Mingyuan..."
The instant Qiao Mingyuan heard that voice, he froze in disbelief.
He snapped his head up. "Anna!"
The two of them immediately rushed forward and embraced tightly.
"Anna, how... how are you..." Qiao Mingyuan was overwhelmed with indescribable emotion.
During the half year he spent inside Lab No. 1, Qiao Mingyuan had been unable to contact the outside world.
However, through his occasional conversations with Su Yuan, he had slowly pieced together an understanding of just what kind of untouchable behemoth The Truth Society really was.
Such a terrifying global shadow syndicate was simply beyond the reach of any normal human.
Therefore, despite having received Su Yuan's promise, Qiao Mingyuan had secretly harbored very little hope.
But now?
Looking at Anna standing right in front of him, looking exactly as she did in the past, Qiao Mingyuan felt as if he were dreaming.
"Anna, you..."
After his initial wave of excitement subsided, Qiao Mingyuan couldn't help but ask.
"Your Boss rescued me..."
Anna quickly explained.
"Boss!"
Qiao Mingyuan's eyes grew moist.
He never expected Su Yuan to actually fulfill his promise.
Although he didn't know how the Boss managed to pull it off, it didn't take a genius to figure out that snatching his wife from the clutches of a leviathan like The Truth Society must have required an unimaginable price.
What Qiao Mingyuan didn't realize was that the supposedly unstoppable, monolithic Truth Society...
...was now completely subservient to Su Yuan's every whim.
...
The balcony of Villa No. 66.
With a long spear in hand, Su Yuan relentlessly practiced the Nameless Spear Technique, which the Gray Mirror had derived from the "Yin-Yang Robe" sacred method.
The technique consisted of thirty-six forms, and each thrust felt like roaring flames ablaze.
Burn! Burn! Burn!
Let the whole world burn!
Su Yuan's spear trembled with power, every strike blazing like an inferno.
"Exhilarating! How exhilarating!"
Su Yuan's figure moved like a phantom, while the spear in his hands transformed into a lunging fire serpent.
The deeper he immersed himself in the spear technique, the more he could sense the searing essence hidden within it.
'No wonder the Gray Mirror told me to comprehend this spear technique, saying that as long as I master it, I would grasp Ultimate Yang...'
Su Yuan sighed inwardly in admiration.
If he didn't have this technique and was told to comprehend Ultimate Yang directly?
That would be entirely too abstract.
What exactly was Ultimate Yang?
Was it heat?
Was it fire?
It was neither!
Although Su Yuan still didn't fully know what Ultimate Yang was, by practicing this spear technique, he was certain that true Ultimate Yang was not just mere heat and flames.
'This is far too wondrous...'
Su Yuan marveled silently. If he had tried to comprehend the Power of Ultimate Yang directly, it wasn't outright impossible, but it would have undoubtedly taken an eternity.
However, using this spear technique as a medium made grasping Ultimate Yang considerably easier.
It was just like a person eating beef, and a cow eating grass.
Humans couldn't simply graze on grass to survive, but cows could. By eating the cow, a human indirectly acquired the nutrients from the grass.
...
'These thirty-six forms of the Nameless Spear Technique are purely offensive. Who could have imagined that their underlying essence is tied to a supreme defensive method...'
Su Yuan's mind raced.
Originally, he had intended to prioritize a life-preserving defensive method. Yet, by a stroke of luck, he had ended up mastering this aggressive spear technique first.
'Whether it's Yin or Yang, the nature of power is ever-changing. It ultimately depends on how one harnesses it—it can manifest as an impenetrable defense, or it can be forged into a lethal offensive weapon...'
Su Yuan stood perfectly still with his spear in hand, his heart filled with deep contemplation.
After pondering for a moment,
Su Yuan probed deep into his sea of consciousness to ask the Gray Mirror.
'What stage have I reached in my comprehension of the Nameless Spear Technique?'
The gray surface churned with a hazy mist before delivering an answer.
[Minor Attainment (100/2000)]
"Not bad," Su Yuan nodded slightly.
In truth, the thirty-six forms of the Nameless Spear Technique didn't possess built-in stages like minor or major attainment.
But for the sake of his own understanding, Su Yuan had arbitrarily divided the technique into four levels: Initiation, Minor Attainment, Major Attainment, and Perfection.
He then instructed the Gray Mirror to frame its answers based on these foundational tiers.
Reaching Perfection would signify complete mastery of the spear technique, allowing him to finally perceive the Power of Ultimate Yang.
As for the [progress] displayed next to Minor Attainment, that was also a precise numerical metric Su Yuan had requested from the Gray Mirror to track his exact rate of improvement.
This allowed him to constantly monitor his own advancement.
'Are there any areas in my spear practice that require improvement...?'
Su Yuan continued to inquire.
He made it a habit to ask this after every practice session to prevent himself from veering off course.
The hazy surface of the mirror rippled once more, forming strings of text.
[The burning intent in the seventh form is far too hollow. The killing intent in the seventeenth form must be amplified...]
The Gray Mirror immediately laid out the numerous flaws present during Su Yuan's training.
"I see!"
A look of profound realization washed over Su Yuan's face. Thanks to his practice of the Six-Dimensional Cultivation Method, his Comprehension was undoubtedly top-tier. He swiftly grasped the crucial points behind the Gray Mirror's feedback.
...
'At my current rate of progress, I should be able to push this spear technique to Major Attainment in two months, and reach Perfection in half a year.'
Su Yuan deduced silently.
This was the logical conclusion based on his cultivation metrics.
It had also been verified by the Gray Mirror's calculations.
In essence, it yielded the exact same result as directly asking the Gray Mirror when he would fully master the technique.
"Let's keep training!"
Brimming with motivation, Su Yuan continued his drills. Honing his spearmanship directly translated into a massive boost in his combat prowess. The thirty-six forms of the Nameless Spear Technique were incredibly fierce and masculine. With a single thrust, even a Level 4 Android would be forced to retreat.
'By the way, what is my current strength ranking across Blue Star and Xia Nation?'
Su Yuan queried the Gray Mirror.
The misty mirror surface provided the answer.
[Rank 1 in Xia Nation]
[Rank 1 on Blue Star]
...
"Just as I expected!"
Su Yuan gave a slight nod.
Over this period of grueling practice with the thirty-six spear forms, he could clearly feel the substantial surge in his battle power.
Coupled with the intense cultivation he had undergone over the past month or two, becoming the strongest on Blue Star was simply a matter of course.
...
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.