ACC Chapter 21 Interlude; Duality of Ming

(Ming, your civilisation has come a long way.)

(It has.)

As I sat there, in disguise overlooking the bustling crowd, I couldn't help but enter a bit of a daze.

I could still vividly remember the conquests we had started in a bid to gain more cultivation resources for the disciples. The wars we fought, where we were only armed with spirit artifacts like weapons, armors and shields.

They had also served as a sort of tempering for the juniors, introducing them to the cruelty of the cultivation world. Mortals had been numerous at the time, with a cultivator periodically passing over to pick out some outstanding seeds, ones with high-grade spiritual roots, allowing them to absorb spiritual energy faster than the common crop.

We had even used tricks to deceive the mortals that very few had an aptitude for cultivation, thereby instilling the notion that cultivators were scarce and their feats were no less miraculous than those of their fictional gods.

But now, the era had changed. Every single person within this massive ship was a cultivator. From the little babies, to the old middle aged people. People whose bodies showed age beyond the middle ages were nonexistent because of everyone being capable of keeping their bodies in their prime stages.

(Do you still believe that the Sects still have a chance in this era?)

(Of course not! Look at all these people and the way they are dressed, the way their faces are lighting up and many other subtle differences...)

I had changed my mindset long ago! The Sects, if I was being honest, were boring and backward.

(...these people have been given a taste of freedom. The Sects are much too constricting in contrast. During that era, our only goal was to continuously improve our cultivation in search of the fabled immortality. But now, people actually get to enjoy life! They are very lucky. I envy them for being distanced from those tumultous times.)

(... I must say, Ming. I am impressed with your growth. When I had just infiltrated your body after your ascension to the Nascent Soul, you had been a stubborn firecracker. But now, you have become a steady man, capable of acknowledging your shortcomings.)

(I have lived long enough. Besides, if you hadn't given me a glimpse to the true nature of the universe, I would still be a naive frog at the bottom of a well.)

(Though, I must say, your acting is impressive. You even managed to fool that Qin Wentian.)

(Its just a minor parlor trick in the grand scheme of things. Besides, we are lucky that I broke through during those times without the current power that is the Federation. Now, every breakthrough into the Nascent Soul is scrutinized to the point of stifling.)

(That's how all civilisations deal with our presence. Its only natural. And this ruthlessness is mild compared to those advanced ones.)

(Anyway, Mang. We have successfully managed to attract the attention of the public towards the President's breakthrough. But the problem is locating the Demon Emperor.)

(Because of their culture, the Demons are more cunning and ruthless than even you Humans. But, with Human technology, its just a matter of time.)

(Yeah. But his cocoon might be any of those orbiting the Sun. And if I am not mistaken, there must be some dummies thrown into the mix.)

(Ming, you should be patient. Besides, we have that comrade possessing that Lion. He has agreed to help us in our endeavor. Now that he has been exposed, he can help us in the shadows.)

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I started walking, navigating the crowd with ease. This Behemoth was carrying over 100,000 passengers, and all were enjoying the various amenities offered within the ship.

Due to its massive size and gigantic engines, it had been assigned twelve spiritual fusion reactors, capable of producing enough energy to power the energy guzzling engines, with the spare being used to power the ship's various facilities and luxuries.

It was a space ship, and yet, it was as if I was standing on the planet itself. I was walking upon a cobbled stone path, with green grass on either side of it. Multiple entertainment establishments were beyond the grass, attracting the currently bustling crowd.

The Behemoth had been built with combat in mind, but over the years, because of a lack of conflicts, it had been turned into a sort of luxury cruiser, taking trips around the Sun every few months, with its route being the Planets within the star system.

(Won't the Demon Emperor's breakthrough require a massive amount of spiritual energy? How is he masking all that? The Deity Maker is already giving off such potent spiritual fluctuations that they can be detected three planets' orbits away.)

Mang, my possessor, a Devil who had managed to hijack my body during my tribulation of the inner mind because of my insistence in the idea that Sects were greater than any organization that could exist, was a knowledgeable fellow.

(Through cross-referencing my knowledge of many races, I think the Demon Emperor has entered a state akin to slumber. It's the entire reason that he's currently vulnerable to possession. The energy fluctuations will only become prominent when he's on the verge of breaking through.)

(Mang, are you sure that in the process of leaping bodies, you can take my soul with you?)

This was the most crucial piece of information to me. I had gotten old. Unless there was some sort of inspiration involved, me trying to create deity arts at this time in order to advance was a pointless endeavor.

I had been born during a time where each clan, sect or itinerant cultivator, kept their findings about the nature of cultivation as closely guarded secrets. Even with the rise of the Federation, it had taken over a century before Taylor had won against us in debate before such knowledge became widespread. And by then, I only had 200 years left, not to mention the fact that Mang had been inside me. We hadn't yet reached a peaceful arrangement then.

A child, a little girl of about five years, being carried around within the bosom of her mother, smiled at me, and I smiled back. Right now, I had disguised myself, even changing my soul aura with the aid of Mang, making it so that even those at the Nascent Soul stage wouldn't be able to figure out my true identity.

Within this disguise, I could be myself. Not the cunning, stuck up Sect grand elder, or the leader of the Sect radicals.

I smiled at little girl as I imagined my new future as the Demon Emperor. That would allow me to let go of all the baggage I had been carrying.

(I wonder, what kind of chaos is going to happen when your 'body' is discovered.)

Even I couldn't anticipate the chaos that was going to brew. Why? Because the discovery of my death is going to bring chaos. Chaos that would allow any abnormalities within the Demon Empire to go unnoticed.

An aroma, pleasing to my nostrils attracted me, prompting me to take a small detour. When I reached the origin, I found a shop, one of the many little cabins added within the Behemoth for renting. There was a Demon perched upon one of the chairs, enjoying a bowl of noodles, soaked in soup with slices of meat and eggs.

The Demon was dressed up as a human, signifying that he was one of those that had chosen to integrate into human society. He was a rabbit. It was mostly those like him, taken to be prey by those predators, that chose to leave the brutal Demon civilization behind.

(Are you sure, that out there in the vast cosmos, there is a civilization that has already discovered us?)

(You have asked that question multiple times... And the answer will still be the same, Yes!)

I ordered a bowl of noodles and started slurping them with gusto. My gaze wondered into the inside of the shop from my high stool, glimpsing the staff at work.

In this Era, it had become difficult to enjoy food made by hand. Why, because there were 3D food printers, not to mention the myriad array robots capable of cooking sublime flavors far better than us humans.

The small imperfections within human-prepared food is what made it enjoyable. For example, I could feel that somehow, the curry powder had overshot the entire flavor of the soup. Though minute, my taste buds didn't lie. But that's what made this bowl of noodles endearing to me.

Though It was going to cost me quite the sum, I was still satisfied. That was how scarce food with a human touch had become. This, and many other little things, are what made me miss the Era before.

(The world has to go on. Sometimes we might long for time to still, but it will never listen to mere mortals.)

(Why are you melancholic, Mang? Aren't immortals capable of slowing down time?)

I asked in genuine curiosity while licking the bowl clean with a pair of chopsticks, holding some noodles, which I was using as a rug to soak up the last of the soup.

(That depends...)