Chapter 828

Chapter 828: Buddha Seed

In the year 7820 of the Blue Star Xia calendar, Blue Star

The invasion and retreat of the Buddhist cultivators happened in a very short time, just a few days. Yet, these few days of fighting brought unprecedented damage to Blue Star, possibly exceeding the total war damages of thousands of years combined.

In the first week after the war stopped, the disasters caused by the war, such as volcanoes and fires on Blue Star, finally came to a complete end.

In the second week, armies, cultivators, and officials from all over Blue Star began to search through the ruins for survivors, although it was merely a way to fix things after the fact.

In the third week, order in Blue Star started to settle down. Huaxia began to provide disaster relief, offering countless resources like food, medicine, and clothing, whereas before, Huaxia was just taking care of itself.

A month later, Huaxia began to count the number of casualties and started to rebuild after the disaster. No matter what, ordinary life must go on, and social order must be maintained.

Three months later, Lin Jiang received an initial loss report. The report showed that in this battle, more than four billion people were directly killed or injured, and over five hundred million people went missing. They might be buried under the ruins or directly crushed by the aftermath of the battle.

Among them, the number of cultivators from Huaxia suffered a loss of over thirty million. Especially at the beginning of the war on Blue Star, countless cultivators rushed to the battlefield, and most of them fell. The Spiritual Energy Research Institute, the Cultivation Academy, and the official personnel suffered heavy casualties. Just the number of cultivators at the golden core level and above that were recorded exceeded five hundred thousand, almost wiping out the first-level population of Blue Star.

"The losses of the experts have also come out. There were a total of fifty-two who were Tao Achieving (Demon Emperor) level or higher on Blue Star. Only Li Qing and Zheng Yi are left from Ying Continent. There were twenty-six losses on the Demon Queen’s side. Here, Zhou Yuan and the others have fallen. Kong Yan the monk took the remaining soldiers from Cape III Planet’s territory, and Shiyi’s group suffered heavy damage. Shiyi’s body was completely destroyed…"

"After one battle, did Blue Star’s high-end combat power lose half?"

"A little more than half, many are injured, and many people’s foundations have been damaged, including Lin Ying’s."

Cao Ying looked at Lin Jiang and said. Upon hearing Lin Ying’s name, Lin Jiang’s face turned pale.

At that time, Lin Ying was hit by the statue, and it was Lin Jiang’s pill that saved her life. However, it could not restore Lin Ying’s foundation, making it almost impossible for her to break through the Transmigration Stage in this lifetime.

"What about the new generation of cultivators?"

"They suffered a loss of fifty percent. Your Lin family’s Lin Liyan’s body was also destroyed, only his soul was saved. He is now trying to find a way to rebuild his body. His path has reached its end, and Ning Li is left with only half a body, not knowing if he can recover…"

"More than a thousand years of accumulation, all gone?"

"Almost all of the old brothers who survived in the Immortal Cultivation Era are no more than sixty; over a hundred have already died."

"Little Ying, my heart hurts a lot."

Lin Jiang could hardly speak; in this battle, who knows how many familiar faces were lost, never to return.

"I know, don’t be too sad."

Cao Ying reached out her hand and hugged Lin Jiang’s head. She understood how he felt and deeply sympathized with him. She knew that at this moment, what he needed was silent, unconditional support.

········

A year after the war, the data on losses kept updating from all sides. Blue Star lost over five billion people due to this battle. During this year, many severely injured individuals died, and many ordinary people perished from diseases, hunger, and other hardships caused by the war. Even the number of suicides exceeded five million; they could not accept the current situation, as most had lost loved ones in this war. With no hope of survival left, they ultimately took their own lives.

As for the property losses suffered, they are beyond calculation and surely exceed trillions of Huaxia coins. It’s unclear how long it will take for Blue Star to return to its pre-war state.

The consequences of this war are extremely severe. However, even if Lin Jiang and the other leaders are deeply saddened, they must still maintain their work, enduring the pain to handle various matters.

"This is a message from the Space Battleship. The Buddha Sect has not left; their Sea-crossing Ark has been wandering in the starry sky. The Space Battleship sought combat opportunities several times, but the Buddha Sect refused to engage with us and chose to retreat."

"I know the reason; the Buddha Sect is waiting for the Buddha Seed to erupt."

"Buddha Seed?"

"Yes, in the end, Kong Yan used a secret technique to spread countless Buddha Seeds over Blue Star. We tried our best to stop it, but many Buddha Seeds still fell."

"I don’t quite understand. Blue Star lost more than one-tenth of its population; it would not be an exaggeration to say that every family hung up white banners. Why do they believe the Buddha Seeds can take root and grow, instead of adopting a hostile attitude?"

Cao Ying said, confused. Just like herself, in this battle, over thirty thousand disciples of Zhonghang Sect died, almost to the point of being wiped out. She felt nothing but countless resentments toward the Buddha Sect. Why would there still be a desire to turn to Buddha?

"The human heart is complex. When faced with a murderer, some people feel anger, some feel fear, some rise up to resist, while others surrender. The Buddha Sect are masters at playing with human emotions; this is their innate ability. Some will believe that the calamity of Blue Star is due to their lack of good deeds, so some will accept the Buddha Sect’s doctrine. The power of the Buddha Sect may indeed take root and grow."

"Then, what can we do?"

"We must prevent problems from arising. First, we need to expose the Buddha Sect in public opinion, labeling their statues as evil and calling them terrorists. We should continuously promote this war and various war memorials. Moreover, we must thoroughly deal with those who feel a desire to turn to Buddha."

"Of course, the most important point is to completely destroy Lingjing Star, to let them know that the Buddhist faith they believe in is nothing but a pile of rotten garbage…"

Lin Jiang said that for more than a year, Xia Qingshan had whispered about Buddha Seed countless times in his ear. He already had a plan and was slowly putting it into action.

"How do you see the situation in Blue Star in the future? There will be changes after the war."

"I know, I have already ordered aid for various countries, all of it is free. The next batch of resources from Jiang Star will arrive soon, and we will allocate them then. As for the future, we need to strengthen the role of the Blue Star Alliance, creating an organization that can unify their voices above all countries."

"Do you want to turn Blue Star into a unified official entity?"

"That’s difficult for now, but we can try. The war with the Buddhist sect is not going to end soon. We need to gather all available forces."

Lin Jiang said that in this battle, the Buddhist sect of Lingjing Star also suffered heavy losses. The Bodhisattvas and arhats they lost should be more than those of Blue Star. It’s hard to say whether this counts as a major blow to them, but Lingjing Star is just a small world for the Buddhist sect, and there may be connections between Lingjing Star and the Buddhist sects of other small worlds. There is still a long way to go in this war.

Cao Ying nodded. She knew these things but didn’t know what to say for a moment. The course of Blue Star’s history had become strange after the spiritual energy recovery; she could no longer predict its path.

·······

At the Huaxia Spiritual Energy Research Institute, Liang Long is leading the regular meeting. In this battle, the old director was killed, and Cao Wang has taken over as the new director. However, Cao Wang is also seriously injured and is still in seclusion recovering, so Liang Long has been promoted to vice director, responsible for managing the daily affairs of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute.

In this battle, the losses for the Spiritual Energy Research Institute were also severe, with one-third of the key researchers lost, and many well-known scientists died in the battlefield.

The laboratories and institutions of the Spiritual Energy Research Institute also suffered more than half of their losses, and many pieces of equipment are extremely difficult to rebuild.

Furthermore, the crucial point is that Blue Star’s resources are all focused on disaster relief and reconstruction, so the resources available to them are reduced by eighty percent compared to usual, making recovery very challenging.

"Now, I will announce a few technologies. The first one is the technique to extract starch from carbon dioxide. Currently, Blue Star has lost more than fifty percent of its industrial capacity, leading to a food shortage. It will take over twenty years to recover, so this technology is very important…"

Liang Long continued to discuss today’s meeting. There are many technologies at the Spiritual Energy Research Institute that have not been promoted because there have usually been better alternatives. For example, the technique to convert starch from carbon dioxide has existed for a long time but was never promoted or mass-produced. Now, it is needed.

After arranging the daily affairs, Liang Long returned to his office with a tired body and plunged back into his research work.

Liang Long has always been a model worker at the Spiritual Energy Research Institute, competing intensely with others. Now he continues to maintain his high standards.

"Huh?"

At work, Liang Long suddenly looked up and exclaimed, then glanced around, finding everything quiet.

Then, Liang Long activated the office’s protective magic, and once he felt completely safe, he focused deeply within himself, where his spirit appeared in his sea of consciousness.

At that moment, in Liang Long’s sea of consciousness, a tiny statue of Buddha appeared, radiating an aura of peace.

"Is this the Buddha Seed?"

Liang Long knew about the Buddha Seed, but he didn’t know when he had been affected by it. However, instead of being afraid, Liang Long was curious. He was very interested in the world of Buddhist cultivation, especially the various secret techniques that were not part of the Blue Star training system.