Shi Lang and Amelia left the place with Unity to meet the older generation experts. The role of older people was crucial in their endeavors. While back in the federation, Theseus met with experts from the Citadel and Federal forces.
Theseus said, “Teacher Shi stated that exposure to the demonic energy could only be reversed within five minutes. So, that means the more time spent in exposure, the more casualties on our sides.”
The people heard these words and thought for a second before agreeing. Theseus sighed and said, “You all should know that if the person enters the incurable state, they will be our enemies or supplies to our enemies. We cannot stop all these things completely because we do not have enough time or data. However, we know ways to block the demonic energy temporarily.”
Tex nodded and said, “We will be mass-producing those things and array plates, but where are you going with this, General Theseus?”
The federal commander-in-chief said, “Consider this an act of mercy. If anyone of us gets infected, and by any of us, I mean the entirety of the troops, the infected should go kamikaze.”
His words shocked the people. This was a suicide command. They were to remove as many enemies as possible if the exposure did not save them. This will count as their last act of bravery while they were still sane. The thought was noble, and suddenly a man with a rough temperament stood up and said, “Well, I agree with this suggestion because I am not as capable as Venerable Shi. He can withstand that torture for seven years, and we have all witnessed how much effect it had on him. If there is a chance that I might harm my comrades, then I might as well go to hell and take as many enemies with me as I can.”
The people nodded, and soon everyone agreed. Theseus sighed, “So what if we lose? At least we will lose fighting till the end.”
…
Amelia asked Shi Lang, “Why did you hide the real duration of your rehabilitation?”
Shi Lang replied, “I wanted them to be cautious and not hopeless. They are strong people, and at this moment, we need their strong mental fortitude.”𝒪𝔳𝑙xt.𝗰𝔬𝓜
Amelia sighed, and Unity asked, “What was it that you held back?”
Shi Lang said nothing to her, but Amelia replied, “He spent fifteen years washing away the demonic energy.”
Unity was shocked and looked at Shi Lang, “Have you gone mad? Why did you guys not reach out to anyone?”
Shi Lang smiled faintly and said, “I could not let anyone see me in that situation.”
The sword spirit sighed and said, “Well, what is done is done. We cannot do anything to mend that but do not try to overtake the burden on your own.”
Shi Lang did not reply to her, but he never had the habit of trusting anyone. He has lived his entire life his way. Depending on other people was not him. Soon, the trio arrived in a valley. The place was laced with many small huts. The aura in the region was evidence that strong people were cultivating in silence.
The people inside the huts noticed the sudden disruption but did not come out. As soon as Unity landed, she mumbled, “The juniors these days have no respect for the seniors, and they do not even come out of their nests to welcome the people.”
The next minute the doors of the huts flung open, and twelve of the former high council members. They all bowed to Unity and greeted Shi Lang and Amelia with a nod. The sword spirit asked, “So, what have you thought about what I told you?”
Luna Baley stepped up and said, “Senior, we have decided to proceed with your arrangement. However, we still have a few questions.”
Shi Lang was aware of the context and said, “The timing of array deployment and then comes the timing of activation.”
The people nodded, and Amelia said, “The deployment cannot be predetermined. We all will have to wait for the enemy to show himself. As for the activation, we cannot let it be too obvious.”
Unity sighed and said, “Well, it is what it is. Forget all the discussions and do it when we get there.”
The people glanced at each other and began discussing things. After the issues with the array formation stopped, Unity mentioned the infliction from the demonic energy, and the people nodded. They all knew what it was like when they were fighting with the hell-hounds. The demonic energy affected them slightly, and it took them a few days to get rid of a slight trace of this energy from their body.
Unity said, “It is not that the spirit energy is weaker than the demonic energy. It is just that the nature of the two energies is polar opposite that they struggle so much to push out each other.”
Jianhu nodded and said, “There is an array that might allow us to suppress the condensed demonic energy of that place.”
Shi Lang raised his brow in surprise and asked, “Do you know of this array?”
Jianhu nodded and said, “It was something I read among one of those forbidden records when I was young.”
Shi Lang mumbled in thought, “The forbidden records. I did not read them.”
Amelia and the rest of the people looked at him while guessing what the reason could be if things were forbidden. Jianhu sighed and said, “Well, the array was confiscated from the hands of a few rogue hunters. The materials to create this array were supposedly obtained from centurion spirit beasts.”
Shi Lang sighed and waved his hands as he said, “Since those arrays are forbidden, let us not use them.”
“Bad choice, kiddo.”, suddenly a husky voice sounded.
Shi Lang and the rest were standing in a circle and suddenly looked up at the sky and found a few figures standing in the void. While the spirit beasts bowed down, Shi Lang gulped and said, “Centurion Spirit Beasts.”
Centurion Spirit beasts were unique and said to have a long life. Think of it as a mutation that made these beasts so special. Another thing with these beasts was that as long as a one-of-a-kind centurion exists, the second one of the same kind will not appear.
Five people slowly descended, and Unity asked, “I was thinking who it was, and it turns out to be Old Nightingale and the peanut galore.”
An old lady among the five people chuckled and said, “You still are sharp, Sister Unity.”
The sword spirit shrugged and said, “If not for my sharpness, these young ones here would have ruined the federation to the ground.”
Shi Lang asked, “Seniors, pardon my interruption, but why did you say I made a bad choice? Would you all not be of more value alive?”
The old lady shook her head and said, “We all have reached the end of our lifespans. The time we need to construct the last few bits of our bridge of immortality cannot be done. So rather than have some talented juniors walk through the doors of hell, we decided to let go of our attachment to the path of immortality.”
Another old man said, “It is not necessary for everyone to become immortal and defeat time. One should acknowledge the reality, it helps them move on and improve things for those to follow in their steps.”
Shi Lang could not say anything and just sighed. He knew that none of his words would make a difference, but he still felt upset about how things turned out. Amelia patted his shoulder and Unity said, “Let us go to the library and look at these forbidden records again.”
The terran nodded and followed Unity briskly with Amelia. This was the moment where the past of the spiritual beasts finally passed the baton to the future to come. They all had things to say and things to ask the younger generation and Unity did not want to be a nuisance.
The trio entered the library and began to scour through the journals. Soon they found what they were looking for and then Shi Lang sighed. Amelia asked, “What happened?”
Shi Lan replied, “Tian Long left a note.”
Unity flickered over and asked, “What is it?”
Shi Lang passed the journal to Unity to read it herself. The sword spirit read it and her eyes widened. She mumbled, “How could he have given such a command? This is ridiculous, we need to stop them.”
However, before she could move, Shi Lang said, “As ridiculous as it may sound, you know very well that we need this. If we stop it to play hero and moral, the entire civilizations will vanish.”
Unity took a deep breath and said, “I understand that, but shall we just let them sacrifice themselves because of a stupid instruction?”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “You spent your life looking after the spiritual beasts because of a stupid command too.”
Amelia asked, “What is it?”
Unity sighed and with a sad tone, she said, “Master told the Centurions to self-sacrifice in the face of mortal danger. It was an unstated instruction left for the people to decide when they want to do it.”