What Cannot Be Avoided

Ye Zi did not answer him directly.

But Wang Jixuan saw it clearly: a trace of loneliness flashed across Ye Zi's eyes.

She looked like a helpless little girl after being wounded, walking through a freezing snowy night in thin clothes, the air around her gradually draining away all her strength.

Wang Jixuan looked at her again.

Now, the two of them shared an unspoken understanding.

From the very beginning, she had known Wang Jixuan had come to fish for information, so she had refused to reveal certain crucial secrets and had even tried to instill some ideas in him.

Wang Jixuan had always harbored a sliver of hope, because no matter how he looked at it, he could no longer avoid investigating that Ancient Civilization.

Ye Zi suddenly broke into a smile. "Big Brother, can we hug for a while?"

There was even a hint of longing in her eyes.

Things Have Come to This. Wang Jixuan no longer pretended.

The tadpole-like marks glowing all over this body shattered at once. A Lone Soul drifted out from between the body's brows and stared at Ye Zi before it.

Wang Jixuan's expression remained utterly calm.

Ye Zi lowered her head, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her skirt.

"Only two days..." she said, pouting.

Wang Jixuan suddenly smiled. "Why is an old crone pretending to be a young girl?"

Ye Zi was Stunned for a Moment. She looked up at Wang Jixuan with some helplessness. "This body of mine is perfect."

"Anything involving cloning technology is almost certainly incapable of being perfect."

Wang Jixuan said calmly:

"I Do Not Understand what exactly you are pursuing, nor do I want to understand you. Perhaps you think there is too much suffering in this world, but I think this world is quite good.

"And... I now count as both righteous and wicked, with one foot already in the demonic path. Yet there is one principle I believe must still be upheld."

Ye Zi smiled and asked, "Is Big Brother going to lecture me?"

"So-called injustice is, beyond the natural laws of hunting and feeding, the violation and destruction of other living beings' right to survive."

Pale-blue flames appeared around Wang Jixuan, and that Lone Soul began to burn slowly.

"Remember this, Ye Zi. Those who commit many injustices will bring about their own destruction. If heaven will not take you, I will."

Bang!

Wang Jixuan's Lone Soul exploded into a ring-shaped Shockwave.

Ye Zi stood there in a daze.

At some point, she suddenly drew in a sharp breath as though waking from a dream, then Raised Hand to cover her flushed cheeks.

"Big Brother said he would take me..."

She smiled obsessively, spun in a circle, and went to the bath, once more throwing herself Into Arms of the Stone Sculpture.

The Pseudo Spirit Slaves kneeling in the corner secretly glanced over, then each lowered their heads, not daring to utter a word.

While waiting for everyone to gather for the meeting, Wang Jixuan had Peony prepare an iron barrel, fill it with hot water, and soak in it for a while.

The loss of a Lone Soul was not worth mentioning. He only needed to consume a few Remnant Souls of Blade Beast to replenish it.

The foreign soul and the Second War Puppet had not been exposed, which would make it easier to continue monitoring that Cloning Laboratory.

This time, it was not entirely without gains.

Many of his previous guesses had been confirmed.

A conspiracy—or rather, a chain of events—was gradually becoming clear before him. Though much remained shrouded in fog, he had roughly identified several key issues.

Ye Zi, the Sixth Spiritual Practitioner, had begun building a human trafficking organization sixty years ago, targeting the Scavenger Camp and continually supplying materials to the Blade Beasts and the Psionic Capital.

At the same time, Ye Zi had an organization behind her similar to the Bright Wings Council.

This group of Spiritual Practitioners had begun trying to bring down the Spiritual Cultivation Civilization tens of thousands of years ago, destroy the existing order, and establish a new one. Yet they had made little progress until they obtained the Blissful Sky Curtain technology—though it was still unclear how they acquired it, and the Ancient Civilization might have had more than one ruin on Earth. They gave this technology to the War God Council, indirectly causing the Blade Beast disaster.

Furthermore, the Six Spiritual Practitioners such as Sabrina and Amina breaking through to Earth had also been enabled by intelligence provided by Ye Zi, the Sixth Spiritual Practitioner.

Taken together, Ye Zi could be considered one of the masterminds behind Earth's series of disasters.

The Blade Beast Civilization seemed to have some secret cooperation with Ye Zi's faction of Spiritual Practitioners.

The Pseudo Spirit Slaves were also a product they had created.

The Pseudo Spirit Slaves apparently seemed perfect to them, combining human thought with the power of Blade Beasts. Unlike cultivators, they did not depend on aptitude or talent, and unlike Spiritual Practitioners, they were not limited by Core Circuits.

Pseudo Spirit Slaves were not merely expendable battlefield materials.

A new civilization was developing rapidly under the protection of the Blade Beast Civilization.

"Ah, what a headache..."

Daoist Wang Raised Hand and rubbed his brow.

The intelligence he most wanted to know was the very thing Ye Zi stubbornly refused to give him.

And now, he had to consider how to deal with the Ancient Civilization.

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door. Wang Jixuan had long since sensed it with his spiritual awareness and called out, "Just come in."

The side door of the container room was pushed open. The female officer with a Ponytail poked her head in, saw Wang Jixuan comfortably soaking in there, and smilingly closed the door.

The visitor was naturally Ling Tong.

Otherwise, Wang Jixuan would have crossed his arms over his chest instead of spreading his legs apart.

Ling Tong took off her military uniform. The makeup on her face concealed the fatigue of her journey. In a white shirt, military trousers, and leather boots, she perfectly blended competence with charm.

"You called everyone here for a meeting?"

"Mm. Wu Man and Red Snake are still in class, so there's no rush."

Ling Tong's soft hands Pressed onto Wang Jixuan's shoulders, gently kneading them while also guiding threads of magical power and aura to nourish the muscles there.

The Daoist let out a comfortable low moan.

Ling Tong saw the writing board ahead covered in dense notes and asked softly:

"Did you run into trouble?"

"It's still those two matters. No matter how I go around it, I cannot get around this Ancient Civilization."

Wang Jixuan closed his eyes and Sighed:

"I can sense it. That Old Hag is luring me down there.

"Whether it was what happened last time or what Ye Zi said, they all point toward one thing—I have not encountered the Ancient Civilization for the first time.

"Something must have happened here."

Ling Tong said softly, "Don't be too anxious. Haven't we opened up a new situation now? The Heavenly Demon Soldier Plan is progressing Very Smoothly. I just made a round of the military camp and talked with everyone. They can all remain clear-headed. The collective demonic corruption we were worried about has not happened at all."

Wang Jixuan could not help laughing.

"With a great demon like me around, the little demons naturally can remain clear-headed."

"Don't call yourself that," Ling Tong Sighed Lightly. "You are a righteous person. You fell into the demonic path for Human Civilization... yet there is nothing I can do to help you."

"Hm? There's far too much you can help me with. For example..."

Wang Jixuan suddenly Raised Hand and pulled. Ling Tong's clothes shattered on their own, and she abruptly fell into the horizontally cut iron barrel.

Soft fragrance fell Into Arms. The Daoist showed no courtesy, lowering his head and beginning his conquest.

Before Ling Tong was swept into his blazing passion, she also let out a helpless sigh.

Outside, she was now a figure with war-zone-level influence and a star within the military. But before Wang Jixuan...

Recently, they did not even need dual cultivation anymore, because her strength had also reached a bottleneck.

Desire was heating up.

Ling Tong quickly cast her scattered thoughts aside and joined Wang Jixuan in their wild revelry.

More than an hour later.

Wang Jixuan appeared in the makeshift Conference Room as though nothing had happened. Ling Tong had already gone back to the room to rest.

Everyone exchanged knowing smiles and began compiling and analyzing all the intelligence they currently possessed.

In truth, they could not reach any conclusion through discussion.

Zheng Shiduo said helplessly, "What matters now is time. After going in circles, we're back to the same problem... we have to open the Planetary Barrier left behind by the Ancient Civilization."

Red Snake raised her hand. "There isn't much time left, Teacher. I suggest we first send a Task Force. Wu Man, Old Zheng, Ji Xiao, Ji Yale, and I can go over and scout the way."

Amina immediately said, "I can take you down there."

"Hey," Wang Jixuan replied indifferently, "what kind of sense does it make to send my disciples into danger while I hide behind them?"

"They clearly want to lure you down there."

Zheng Shiduo said quickly:

"It's not that I'm criticizing you, Brother Wang, but that Ancient Civilization is basically treating us like idiots.

"How could she not know how Little Hua Ting feels about you? Little Hua Ting definitely would not follow her wishes and harm you by costing you half your cultivation. This is practically a damned Open Scheme, using this matter to send you signals.

"Sister Amina also brought back hidden information about your identity.

"One layer after another, all of it is meant to lead you underground."

Wang Jixuan Knocked on the tabletop with his fingers.

Amina Tsked beside him. "Why do I get goosebumps all over when you call me Sister?"

Zheng Shiduo sang, "Once the lights are off, we're all the same..."

Ji Xiao pretended he was about to kick him, and Zheng Shiduo wisely shut up.

Red Snake insisted, "Then how about Ji Xiao and I go? Ji Xiao can run."

"The mass of spiritual energy enveloping the Ancient Civilization lies extremely deep underground." Wang Jixuan shook his head. "The temperature and pressure there are extreme. The energy released by the planetary core is not easy to withstand. Your strength is not enough to survive in that kind of environment."

Everyone fell silent, each lost in thought.

"If it's a blessing, it isn't a disaster. If it's a disaster, it cannot be avoided."

Wang Jixuan said bluntly:

"There's no point hiding from this. We can only face it.

"If the Planetary Barrier cannot be opened, we'll still be finished in a few months. If we can buy a few more years, things may yet turn around.

"It's Settled!

"We'll prepare for half a month. Amina, Little Hua Ting, Old Zheng, and I will go visit the Ancient Civilization and see whether we can negotiate terms with that fellow.

"If anything happens to me, Wu Man and Red Snake, the two of you will be responsible for the subsequent training and strengthening of the Heavenly Demon Soldiers."

Wu Man hurriedly said, "Teacher, I'm more suited to Buddhist teachings, and I don't know the later techniques for Heavenly Demon Soldiers either."

"Isn't that what these next half a month are for?"

Wang Jixuan said with a smile:

"The Blade Beasts are also taking action. They're adding Psionic Energy Circuits capable of restraining demonic energy to the Pseudo Spirit Slaves. This Psionic Energy Circuit came from Number Six.

"And... don't tell anyone about the Soul of Kindness Plan. I find it embarrassing."

Peony, who was recording the minutes, obediently deleted that portion of the record.

Something must have happened here.

Peony guessed.

Otherwise, why would the commander, whose Dao body was already immaculate, take the initiative to ask for a bath?

That night.

Fu Jian, passing through the area, took Half an Hour from his schedule to appear before Wang Jixuan.

The Commander-in-Chief had been extremely busy lately.

Whenever Wang Jixuan proposed a plan, Fu Jian had to coordinate with the other people in the Nine Comprehensive War Zones and the three Space Fortresses. Every day was filled with endless meetings.

"You've decided?" Fu Jian asked.

"Mm." Wang Jixuan said calmly, "If I do not enter hell, who will?"

Fu Jian smiled. "That works too. Since you shared the Heavenly Demon Soldier Cultivation Method, you no longer have much Remaining value to Human Civilization anyway."

He was naturally joking.

Wang Jixuan looked full of resentment. "I was disgusted by the Sixth Spiritual Practitioner—Ye Zi!"

"Uh..." Fu Jian glanced toward the next room.

Ling Tong was meditating there, comprehending the cultivation technique Wang Jixuan had just taught her. It was the foundation of the Sword Control Technique.

Fu Jian asked, "Did your Soul of Kindness Plan fail?"

"It was half successful, I suppose. Ye Zi knew from the start that I was there to gather information, so she did not reveal any crucial intelligence."

Daoist Wang let out a sigh:

"Now, whenever I close my eyes, all I hear is 'Big Brother,' 'Big Brother,' over and over, like someone calling a soul back from the dead!

"And I have to go underground too. There are too many secrets hidden there."

Fu Jian said, "Take more nuclear bombs when you go."

"Do we have any especially powerful ones?"

"No choice. Nuclear materials are limited. The largest-yield nuclear bombs we can make now do not even reach one-tenth the yield of the Tsar Bomba.

"Some related technologies have yet to make breakthroughs. Otherwise, we would have blown them all to pieces long ago."

Fu Jian said:

"I've already placed our most powerful nuclear bombs with the Six Elders."

Wang Jixuan asked, "The Six Elders shouldn't pose much of a threat anymore, right? Their master is cooperating with us now."

"No. Their threat level is higher than before."

Fu Jian shook his head:

"The conflicts within Human Civilization and the conflicts among Human Civilization, the Blade Beast Civilization, and the Spiritual Cultivation Civilization cannot be confused with one another.

"If I let the Six Elders go now, they will inevitably create new disasters within Human Civilization later. At the moment my heartbeat stops, I will do my best to drag them into oblivion with me.

"That is their fate."

Wang Jixuan gave him a thumbs-up. "You're still ruthless enough."

"This is all merely a helpless choice."

Fu Jian opened the little refrigerator in his chest and took out two exquisite alloy boxes:

"Keep the one marked 001 for yourself. Give the one marked 002 to Peony."

Wang Jixuan asked with a smile, "How many times has this been now that you've been arranging your affairs?"

He swept them with his spiritual sense. Box number one contained a medal, while box number two held a sealed chip.

This quasi-Intermediate Mechanic of a Daoist had now completely fallen into disuse.

He did not look any further and put both boxes away.

Fu Jian merely replied calmly, "Only by always being prepared to sacrifice yourself can you keep your will from completely collapsing. The era of greatest pressure has already passed. Rising Sun—the new era belongs to the young people... I'm leaving. Prepare yourself. If the Ancient Civilization's Planetary Barrier can be activated, that would be for the best."

Wang Jixuan waved him off.

Fu Jian turned and took two steps. Just as he was about to leave, he looked back at Wang Jixuan.

"If it can't be activated, that's fine too. Follow your own pace and walk your own path... This was never your responsibility. You owe us nothing."

Wang Jixuan nodded with a smile, a glimmer of light flickering in his eyes.

He had actually already thought of a countermeasure.

With the overall situation remaining calm, half a month swiftly slipped by.