Chapter 986

Chapter 986: Adventuring in the Demon Domain

Unknown Star Domain

In the laboratory of the Space Mother Ship, petri dishes are soaking dozens of different demon beasts, all in fetal form. Each demon beast is not an ordinary creature; they are either low-level divine beasts or stronger demon beasts.

In another cage, there are more than ten demon beasts that have already been born. Liang Long looks at them gently, feeding them with specially prepared food, which includes the essence of a tree demon’s Tree Star. For demon beasts, this is a priceless treasure, so each of them emits a powerful aura.

These demon beasts are not exactly Liang Long’s children. To be more precise, they are Liang Long’s clones. Liang Long originally began his career as a biologist, and he is an evil biologist with many forbidden methods. If he were on Blue Star, he would need to consider the consequences, but here, he has no such worries.

These demon beasts are artificially synthesized from genes and cultivated by Liang Long, with Liang Long’s differentiated soul controlling them. They are not possessed or taken over. As a result, even a Demon Immortal would find it difficult to notice anything unusual, provided that these demon beasts remain low-key.

"I’ve reached the late stage of the third level; soon, I will undergo Transmigration and take form. It’s time to send them out."

Liang Long murmurs to himself that the essence of the tree demon is too powerful. Even with a small amount, these little ones have already reached the late stage of the third level.

This cannot wait any longer; they must be sent into the Demon Domain. He created so many for the purpose of investigating the situation in the Demon Domain, but since each planet in the Demon Domain has its own owner, Liang Long needs a different plan.

Currently, what Liang Long has thought of is a very powerful method. These demon beasts are not puppets; they have their own lives and independent thoughts, yet they are still controlled by Liang Long.

They may even become Liang Long’s nutrients in the future. When the day comes that these demon beasts face Liang Long, he only needs to give a command, and they will be devoured by him, unless they can grow stronger than Liang Long.

Ten Blue Star days later, Liang Long completed the disguise of these demon beast cubs. They had fallen into a deep sleep and were placed inside meteors. With the powerful calculations of artificial intelligence, there was a ninety-eight percent chance that these meteors would land on a life planet controlled by a demon race, where they would awaken in several months to a few years.

The Star Chart of the Demon Domain was finally in hand, obtained by Liang Long through coercing the tree demon. Liang Long had enough leverage against the tree demon, and if it were revealed, the tree demon would face dire consequences.

"In the Demon Domain, there are thirty-six stars, of which eighteen are known. By sending ten demon beasts to each planet, there is a high likelihood that these demon beasts will grow to the seventh or eighth level, which is sufficient."

Liang Long thought about the thirty-six life planets in the Demon Domain known to the tree demon. This number was much fewer than the Heavenly Court, which had nearly thirty life planets combined in Tiannan and the northern sky. The tree demon only knew the locations of eighteen planets, but that was enough for Liang Long to gain a rough understanding of the demon race’s strength.

Liang Long believed that when it came to deploying spies, his methods were not worse than Lin Jiang’s, although Lin Jiang’s arrangements on Mahayana Star were truly impressive.

·······

On Qiyuan Star, Hui Ming had just finished receiving a scolding from the True Buddha.

In front of the True Buddha, he bowed low, but once the True Buddha left, he became the proud leader of the Buddha’s gate.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the battle in the Tianbei Star Domain, and Hui Ming had faced a lot of reprimands due to his defeat; however, aside from the scolding, he did not face any punishment.

Because the true Buddhas in the Buddhist world understand very well that Hui Ming’s strategies and tactics are completely correct, even very precise. If it weren’t for a slight lack of strength, they would have gained a lot from this battle, and might even have taken over the entire Tianbei Star Domain.

Now that they have lost, the Heavenly Court is also suffering. It may be said that every family is mourning, and indeed, every family has suffered great losses.

Hui Ming returned to Sanbao Temple, and many high-ranking members of the Buddhist order were already waiting in the meeting room. Hui Ming cheerfully sat in the main seat.

"Senior Brother Hui Ming, what did our Master say?"

"Not much, just dragged me in and scolded me."

"Senior Brother, this…"

"Ah, it’s nothing. I’ve been used to being scolded since I was little. Let’s start the meeting."

Hui Ming waved his hand to indicate it was not a big deal; he was used to being scolded.

Hui Ming did not come from a family of Buddhist cultivators; he was once a small troublemaker. He entered the Buddhist world in a rebellious way, and being scolded and punished was a daily routine for him. His teacher and master were very understanding; no matter what mistakes Hui Ming made, they would just scold him and that was it. They would not truly punish him, which allowed Hui Ming to have the chance to grow.

"The meeting will now begin. Today’s topic is whether our temple should embrace technology. Technology has been a part of our temple for a thousand years, including in the Tianbei Star Domain, and in our Tianyuan Star Domain, it has been over five hundred years."

Initially, everyone was accepting of this change, but after this recent defeat, many people have lost faith in technology, leading to a strong call to abandon it.

"However, today I want to tell you that, while I am unsure about other places, in my Qiyuan Star and under my Sanbao Temple, we will not abandon technology. In fact, we will strongly support it."

Hui Ming looked at the crowd and spoke gently, maintaining the same honest smile as before, yet his presence was incredibly powerful. It was unclear how such contrasting traits were embodied in him.

The crowd appeared uncertain and did not voice their opinions. After Hui Ming finished speaking, he paused for a moment, took a sip of water, and continued in an even softer tone.

"Of course, I must remind you that technology is already a part of our daily lives and we cannot separate ourselves from its products."

For example, this meeting room—doesn’t the holographic projection technology work better than the previous Image Saving Talisman? Once you get used to this holographic projection, can you really go back?

There are many flying vehicles parked outside. After getting used to computers and self-flying vehicles, can you still manage with traditional boats? Personally, I find it difficult.

"Don’t overlook these habits; many people cannot bear to change. To speak grandly, abandoning technology would be like committing suicide. Over the past few hundred years, on the eighteen planets of the Tianyuan Star Domain, each one has seen a population surge, increasing nearly a hundredfold in some cases and at least tenfold in others. Without modern farming techniques, how can we feed so many people? If we cut off technology, famine will strike. Can our teachings alone sustain all those hungry souls?"

"Senior brother, we already know what you said, but many True Buddhas disagree, and we lost."

"So what if we lost? So what if True Buddhas oppose us? Losing means we are not as skilled. Blue Star’s technology has developed for at least three or four thousand years, while we have only been around for a thousand years. It’s only normal to lose."

"Which True Buddhas are opposed? Are they from our Tianyuan Star Domain? What does their opinion have to do with us?"

"Ahem, even the True Buddhas of the Tianyuan Star Domain have objections."

"Who are they? Are they the True Buddhas of the main planet? The Star Lord hasn’t spoken; what do they count for? Just ignore them."

Hui Ming directly refuted, and everyone felt helpless against Hui Ming’s obstinacy.

"In short, I, Qiyuan Star, and I, Sanbao Temple, firmly support developing technology. We are willing to continue cooperating to explore the market and exchange technology. If you don’t want to, then go play by yourselves. Don’t come to me when something goes wrong; I won’t be a nice person anymore."

Hui Ming continued to clearly support the development of technology, being very assertive. The others didn’t argue with Hui Ming because they knew they couldn’t win the debate; there were already examples of that.

Hui Ming ended the meeting and swiftly went to the secular government of Qiyuan Star, calling for high-ranking officials and those in charge of technology. It is worth mentioning that Hui Ming’s Spiritual Energy Research Institute, also known as the Damo Academy, learned from Mahayana Star.

"I have already shielded you from the pressure of the upper Buddhist order. No one will disturb you. If someone tries, I will step in to resolve it."

"In the future, I will strongly support you. The Damo Academy will raise the pay for all scientists and researchers. The government can issue more bonds. Do not worry about debt; invest fully in the technology industry. Additionally, I will organize a group to challenge the internal interest groups within the Buddhist order. Meanwhile, the major temples will also limit their activities…"

Hui Ming has once again supported them. His reforms in the Buddhist order of the Tianbei Star Domain have made great strides. He has confined the major temples within their mountain gates. Inside the gates is the traditional Buddhist world, while outside is the worldly world. This way, technology can develop widely on the Buddhist Planet.

However, this progress still has great limitations. For example, many temples define their territory to cover thousands of miles, and many worldly interest groups are controlled by the Buddhist order, often above the law, and so on.

After this defeat, Hui Ming realized that to defeat the Heavenly Court, stronger technology than Blue Star is needed. Therefore, the internal issues of the Buddhist order must be cleared up. He no longer wishes to compromise.

"Master Hui Ming, are these measures only being implemented within the Sanbao Temple’s territory?"

"For now, yes. But you must trust us. The higher Buddhist leaders are not outdated or foolish. This defeat has awakened us. Our strategies and tactics are fine; the enemy’s strength is simply greater than ours, particularly their Space Battleship."

"Thank you, Master. Since that’s the case, I also have a surprise for you. We have already decoded most of the technology from the Blue Star warship you brought back."

The chief expert of the Damo Academy’s words filled Hui Ming with joy. This truly is a surprise. His efforts to bring back several Space Battleships, even if they had been destroyed, were not in vain.