84: Technology VS Cultivation 3

"Very well. Now, begin the preparations for the final phase. In five years, we will not just be on the defensive."

"We are going to attack, to counterattack, and to let Overlord know—some flowers have thorns,"

"and some gardens need to be watered with the blood of invaders."

The Cultivation World planet was drawing closer, now visible to the naked eye in the night sky—a scarlet speck of light, like an ominous blood-red eye staring at the Solar System.

Humanity had completed its final tasks:

1. The God-Demon Engine reached 100% completion; this was a device capable of briefly simulating a 'Creation' level event, allowing for the local rewriting of the Laws of the Universe.

2. All causality law weapons were in position, locking onto the key Karma nodes of the Cultivation World planet.

3. Twelve 'Reality Anchors' were deployed at the edge of the Solar System; these devices could stabilize local reality and resist the Law distortions of Cultivators.

4. The consciousness of all humanity had completed its final backup, stored in hidden servers scattered throughout the Galaxy—even if Blue Star were destroyed, the spark of civilization would survive.

Qin Jiuge checked all the Systems and nodded with satisfaction:

"Better than I expected. You are truly qualified to carry out this 'counterattack'."

"Teacher,"

Li Zhenguo used this title; during the past ninety-nine years of time acceleration, Qin Jiuge had indeed become the mentor to all of humanity,

"Can we really win?"

"There are many kinds of victory."

Qin Jiuge said meaningfully,

"Sometimes, making those who think they are gods fall to the mortal realm is a victory in itself."

The day the Cultivation World planet arrived at the edge of the Solar System was later known as 'Judgment Day'.

That planet was too massive; when it stopped outside the Kuiper Belt, its gravity already affected the orbits of all the planets in the Solar System.

On the planet's surface, mountains, rivers, palaces, and pavilions were visible, and billions of Cultivators hovered in the air, forming a Formation that blotted out the sky.

Overlord stood on the highest peak, with Chu Xinger nestled by his side.

He looked down at the tiny Blue Star, like a deity looking down at an anthill.

"Is this the little thing that caused Qingming to fall?"

Chu Xinger asked curiously.

"Beneath the surface, it is not so small."

A trace of solemnity flashed in Overlord's eyes.

He could feel that the entire Solar System was shrouded in a strange power; this power was different from spiritual energy, yet equally powerful.

He spoke, his voice spreading throughout the entire Solar System like thunder:

"Blue Star civilization, I will give you one last chance."

"Surrender voluntarily and become a part of the garden; I can preserve a portion of your consciousness to serve as the garden's spiritual intelligence."

"Otherwise, you will be annihilated, body and soul."

The direction of Blue Star was silent for three minutes.

Then, a calm broadcast rang out:

"Overlord, you act in the name of love, but commit acts of extinction. Three hundred and twenty-seven civilizations have perished because of you, and billions of lives have been extinguished by you."

"Today, we represent those who have died, and we judge you."

"Judge me?"

Overlord seemed to hear the funniest joke,

"Just by relying on you technological ants?"

He stopped wasting words and raised a finger.

This finger appeared simple, but it actually contained thirty percent of his cultivation base.

A torrent of spiritual energy spanning a million miles surged forth; wherever it passed, the asteroid belt instantly evaporated, and several of Jupiter's moons were shattered directly.

This was a strike capable of destroying a star!

The Blue Star side finally made a move.

Twelve Reality Anchors activated simultaneously, constructing an invisible wall in front of the torrent of spiritual energy.

The torrent crashed into the wall, erupting with light brighter than a supernova, but it ultimately failed to break through.

"Oh?"

True surprise appeared in Overlord's eyes,

"A bit interesting."

He no longer held back, formed a seal with his hands, and unleashed his Lifebound Treasure—the World-Suppressing Tower.

This tower had accompanied him in battle for ten thousand years, having suppressed countless civilizations; the body of the tower was stained with the wails of billions of lives.

As soon as the World-Suppressing Tower appeared, the space of the entire Solar System began to tremble, the Laws became chaotic, and even the flow of time became unstable.

"causality law weapons, fire!"

The human commander gave the order.

Twelve invisible waves shot toward the World-Suppressing Tower.

These waves did not attack the tower itself, but rather its 'Karma'.

Theoretically, the World-Suppressing Tower should have been immediately erased from existence.

However, the tower only swayed slightly, and countless mysterious runes appeared on its surface, actually resisting the Karma attack!

"Foolish."

Overlord sneered,

"My Magic Treasure has long since transcended Karma; how could it be something you can understand?"

He drove the World-Suppressing Tower to press down toward Blue Star.

For every inch the tower descended, space compressed; the oceans on Blue Star's surface began to boil, and the continents developed cracks.

"Activate the God-Demon Engine! Rewrite the Laws of reality locally!"

Qin Jiuge finally intervened personally.

At the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, the gigantic device that had taken humanity a hundred years to build was activated.

In an instant, with Blue Star as the center, the physical Laws within a radius of one light-year were briefly rewritten.

The gravitational constant became one-tenth of its original value, the speed of light increased threefold, and the strong nuclear force weakened...

The World-Suppressing Tower lost its stability amidst these chaotic Laws, and cracks appeared on its body.

"What?!"

Overlord finally changed color,

"This is... the power of Creation? Impossible! How could a technological civilization touch this kind of power!"

He looked sharply at Blue Star, his Divine Thought piercing through layers of defense, and finally 'saw' Qin Jiuge standing in the main control room.

Their gazes collided across the Void Realm.

"It's you!"

Overlord gritted his teeth,

"I knew a low-level civilization couldn't possibly have such means! Who are you? Why interfere with my affairs?"

Qin Jiuge took a step and appeared directly in space, facing Overlord from a distance.

"The dead don't need to know too much."

"You're courting death!"

Overlord was furious and finally attacked with all his might.

He no longer cared about preserving Blue Star intact and directly used his strongest Divine Ability—Myriad Heavens Annihilation!

The power of the entire Cultivation World planet was mobilized by him; the spiritual energy of billions of Cultivators converged into one, turning into a beam of destruction that traversed the galaxy, shooting directly at Qin Jiuge and Blue Star.

This was an ultimate attack capable of destroying all matter within a range of dozens of light-years!

"Now!"

Qin Jiuge shouted,

"All human consciousness, connect to the God-Demon Engine! Let Overlord see what kind of power can be unleashed when a civilization is united as one!"

In an instant, ten billion human consciousnesses connected to the God-Demon Engine simultaneously.

Their thoughts, will, memories, and emotions were all converted into pure computing power and creativity.

The output power of the God-Demon Engine instantly broke through its limits, reaching 1000% of its theoretical value!

A beam of light that also traversed the galaxy shot out from Blue Star, colliding with Overlord's Myriad Heavens Annihilation.

Time seemed to stand still.

Two forces capable of reshaping the galaxy stalemated in the Void Realm; the energy they released caused dozens of surrounding stars to extinguish simultaneously,

space was torn open with countless fissures, revealing the colorful dimensional gaps behind it.

"No... impossible!"

Overlord felt something contained within the opponent's power—it was not simple technological power, but the resonance of ten billion wills,

it was a civilization's thirst for survival, its insistence on justice, and its mourning and promises to those destroyed civilizations.

This power transcended simple spiritual energy or technology, touching upon a certain Law at the very Origin of the Universe—the Will of Existence.

"What... what exactly are you?"

Overlord roared.

"We are the civilization you called ants."

The voices of ten billion humans resonated through the God-Demon Engine, sounding like the whisper of the Universe itself,

"We are the echoes of the worlds you destroyed. Today, we represent all the lives that passed because of you, and we judge you."

The power of the God-Demon Engine finally overwhelmed Myriad Heavens Annihilation.

The beam of light, fused with ten billion wills, pierced through Overlord's defense and struck the World-Suppressing Tower.

The tower shattered, turning into billions of fragments.

The aftermath did not stop, continuing forward to strike the Cultivation World planet.

The defensive Formation on the planet's surface shattered like paper; mountains collapsed, rivers evaporated, and palaces turned to dust.

Billions of Cultivators dissipated like dust before this power.

Chu Xinger screamed and tried to run, but the aftermath of the beam swept over, and she, along with her cherished garden, turned into the most basic particles in the Universe.

Finally, the beam struck Overlord himself.

This supreme powerhouse who had ruled the Cultivation World for ten thousand years and destroyed countless civilizations,

finally, in the last moment of his life, felt the fear and despair of those lives he had destroyed.

"No... I am... immortal..."

His body began to disintegrate, and his Divine Soul was torn apart in the resonance of ten billion wills.

"Before being immortal, you are first a life."

Qin Jiuge said calmly,

"And no life should trade the extinction of other lives for personal pleasure."

What Overlord saw last were the echoes of the civilizations he had destroyed,

images of countless races flashed in his consciousness, each one watching him, silently judging.

Then, everything returned to nothingness.

When the light dissipated, the Cultivation World planet no longer existed, leaving only a thin nebula, slowly rotating in the Void Realm.

Although Blue Star was severely damaged, its core remained intact. Human civilization had survived.

Qin Jiuge stood in the Void Realm, looking at the nebula before him, silent for a long time.

Li Zhenguo's consciousness appeared beside him:

"Teacher, did we... win?"

"We won."

Qin Jiuge nodded,

"But we also paid a price. The God-Demon Engine overloaded and was destroyed, the twelve causality law weapons are permanently disabled, and all Reality Anchors have collapsed. You will need at least a thousand years to recover."

"It's worth it."

Li Zhenguo said firmly,

"We used a hundred years to trade for the continuation of our civilization, and... the future of countless civilizations in the Universe that might have been destroyed by Overlord."

"Overlord could have been a guardian of the Universe. With his power, he could have completely established a peaceful order."

"But he chose the most selfish path, destroying the worlds of billions for the smile of one person."

"Is that why Teacher chose to help us?"

"That's right. But mainly it was just for the thrill."

Qin Jiuge paused and said:

"I am leaving. Blue Star civilization has passed the test; you no longer need my guidance."

"Where is Teacher going?"

"To see if there are any other interesting 'scripts' in the Universe."

Qin Jiuge's figure began to fade,

"Remember today's lesson. With great power comes great responsibility. Whether it is technology or cultivation, they are all just means."

"A true civilization lies in how these means are used."

"We will."

Li Zhenguo promised solemnly,

"We will build a different civilization, a civilization that respects life and maintains peace."

"Mm, take care."

Qin Jiuge disappeared completely, as if he had never existed.

But in the core database of human civilization, an encrypted file is forever preserved, titled:

《To Our Future Selves—When Technology Reaches the Divine Realm, Please Remember Why We Fight》

A hundred years later, the reconstruction of Blue Star civilization was completed, and it officially entered the ranks of Type III civilizations.

They did not conquer or destroy like Overlord, but instead began a grand project,

finding the survivors of civilizations that had been destroyed by the Cultivation World, helping them rebuild their homes,

establishing a Universal Civilization Alliance, formulating an interstellar peace treaty,

and even beginning to restore those dead, silent planets that had been transformed into gardens, letting life sprout there once again.

Occasionally, in front of the monument at the Alliance headquarters, people would stop and look at the line of text engraved on it:

"We defeated the gods, not to become new gods, but so that all life would never have to bow to gods again."

In the starry sky, in a distant galaxy, Qin Jiuge looked at the latest report on human civilization and smiled slightly.

And on Blue Star, a new garden was being built, but this time, what was planted in the garden were not flowers plucked from destroyed planets,

but seeds of friendship gifted by various civilizations; they grew freely under the sun, blooming in a myriad of colors.

That was the true, greatest garden in the entire Universe.