Energy was neither righteous nor evil but only differed in frequency and characteristics. Many people had told Li Yao this simple logic on his path of training so far.

He had considered the nature of energy a lot of times himself, too, and he was not certain that there was such a thing as “evil energy”.

However, the horror of the arrival of extraterrestrial devils, as well as the rapid changes of one’s mind after they were corrupted by the tenebrum energy was also a fact that he had witnessed and experienced multiple times too.

The examples of the former included the arrival of the extraterrestrial devils at the tenth space ring of the Flying Star Sector and the horrible event where the Black Wind Fleet was almost entirely possessed when it attacked the federation.

As for the latter, “Extraterrestrial Devil Mo Xuan” was the best example.

It was exactly because of the invasion of extraterrestrial devils and tenebrum energy that the previously upright Professor Mo Xuan was twisted and changed into an extraterrestrial devil that almost destroyed the federation.

The Blood Stripe Virus could also be counted as an extraterrestrial devil from a distant land. Li Yao knew how tough and tricky it was very clearly. When he was corrupted, his negative emotions were all enlarged, and he almost turned into a fiend that knew nothing except for slaughtering freely.

The tenebrum energy and the spiritual energy were entirely different. To be more exact, the tenebrum energy had a greater influence on human beings’ souls, and the “interaction” was deeper.

Pondering for a moment, Li Yao asked slowly, “What is tenebrum energy exactly?”

With a smile, Long Yangjun asked back instead of answering, “Have you ever considered the essential differences among the ‘prosperous worlds’, the ‘infertile worlds’, and the ‘desolate worlds’? There are infinite space zones and galaxies in the vast universe, and all the galaxies have stars. Among them, a lot are stellar systems where the stars are in the prime years and can radiate light and heat incessantly. They also boast planets of reasonable distance from the stars.

“However, of all the cosmos that mankind has explored, only three thousand Sectors boast spiritual energy and are suitable for the living of intelligent lives. It is almost a drop in the ocean. Why?”

After a slight daze, Li Yao frowned and replied, “Even the most advanced forums on cosmology in the Imperium of True Human Beings do not have a well-acknowledged theory. There are only countless hypotheses. For example, the big bang hypothesis, which believes that the entire universe comes from an unimaginably massive explosion in the primeval times, and the three thousand Sectors were exactly three thousand most heated ‘pieces’ that had the most intense waves. Therefore, they carry the features that regular galaxies do not have.

“There is also the hypothesis of ‘high-dimensional hole’, which believes that there are higher dimensions beyond the three-dimensional universe, and certain gaps or holes exist between those higher dimensions and the three-dimensional universe. The regular energy in the higher dimensions is leaked to the three-dimensional universe through the gaps, turning into spiritual energy that nurtures everything. The regular stellar systems do not boast such ‘high-dimensional holes’. So, it is impossible for them to generate spiritual energy and intelligent lives no matter how excellent the natural conditions are.”

Long Yangjun nodded her head and said, “Exactly. They are two of the most mainstream hypotheses about the origins of spiritual energy. So, you must be aware of the third theory, which believes that it came from prehistoric intelligent lives, right?”

Without any hesitation, Li Yao replied quickly, “On the planets that had creatures, after billions of years, under the tectonic movements and the high temperature and pressure, the dead bodies of the prehistoric creatures could be transformed into energy sources such as coal or oil. Although their utilization efficiency was not very high, they were enough to support a relatively primitive civilization. It’s just that those energy sources alone were hardly enough to let the civilization break out of the stellar system it was at.

“Then, if the dead bodies of the prehistoric creatures can be transformed into energy under certain circumstances, is it possible that the soul and will of the prehistoric intelligent lives can be turned into another kind of energy?

“The vast universe has witnessed the passage of time of at least a hundred billion years. Before the civilization of mankind, there were the Pangu and Nuwa civilizations. Then, how many civilizations were there before the Pangu and the Nuwa civilizations? Theoretically speaking, there could’ve been ten thousand civilizations before us.

“If the individuals in the super civilizations billions of years ago already reached the magnificent levels a hundred times stronger than the human beings in the Divinity Transformation Stage, how overwhelming must their souls and will have been? Would their souls and will be gone forever after those unparalleled experts passed away? Is it possible that their souls and will were transformed into a new, pure-energy form because of the reactions with the cosmic radiations and space waves?

“Therefore, the hypothesis of prehistoric intelligent life holds that the spiritual energy we are using today is exactly the souls and will of countless unparalleled experts from the advanced civilizations billions of years ago, except that it has been too highly compressed and condensed for us to know what it used to be, just like when you see a bucket of oil, it will be impossible for you to imagine that it was a dinosaur at the beginning.

“However, I do not support such a hypothesis personally, because there are two obvious questions.

“Firstly, if the so-called ‘spiritual energy’ is the souls and will left by the super experts from the advanced civilizations in the past, there is bound to be an ‘initial civilization’ at the beginning of everything. Where exactly did the experts of the first-generation civilization absorb spiritual energy for their training? Without spiritual energy, how were they capable of breaking out of the mother planet and the stellar system, creating the first glory?

“Secondly, an important method of training is to absorb the natural essence. The radiations of stars are one of the biggest sources of spiritual energy too. How can such a hypothesis explain that?”

“It’s very simple.”

Long Yangjun said with a smile, “The three hypotheses on the origins of spiritual energy are not necessarily independent and separated. They can totally support and enhance each other.

“First of all, the entire universe came from the big bang billions of years ago. During the big bang, countless ‘pieces’ that were extremely hot and sharp were blown out and ripped out thousands of cracks in the three-dimensional universe. Those gaps led to the four-dimensional universe or even higher dimensions, introducing the energy that was not supposed to belong to the three-dimensional universe from the higher dimensions. The energy then irrigated the prosperous worlds.

“With the nutrition of the energy of the higher dimensions, the first civilizations gradually appeared in those worlds. The experts of the first civilizations studied the energy from the higher dimensions and slowly melted their feelings, will, and souls into the high-dimensional energy, which was the prototype of spiritual energy.

“There used to be countless advanced intelligent lives in the billions of years in the history of the universe. After the best experts of the super civilizations perished, they were all melted into the ‘ocean of energy’ that flowed all over the universe in a certain form as the spiritual energy that mankind uses today. Therefore, you can consider the spiritual energy as a gift from the ‘ancestral civilizations’ for their offspring!

“As for the spiritual energy that radiates from stars, it is even simpler. You should know that not the radiations from all stars are beneficial for training. The radiations of most stars are just the most fundamental light and heat.

“So, is it possible that certain super intelligent lives used to live inside the stars, or that the stars were themselves some kind of super-intelligent life forms but are already dead?”

Li Yao was astounded. “Wait, wait, wait. What are you trying to say? How is it related to the tenebrum energy?”

“It is related in every way.”

Long Yangjun said solemnly, “If the spiritual energy originated from the feelings, will. and souls of countless intelligent lives billions of years ago, do you not think that it is too much of a waste to just use it as an energy source? It’s just like after you have excavated oil of the best quality from below the ground, you simply light it with fire. That is not the way to completely unleash its real power!

“What I’m saying is that the so-called spiritual energy is the feelings, will, and souls of the prehistoric intelligent lives, except that they gradually entered the hibernation state in the billions of years of changes of the universe. 99% of their power has been sealed.

“The way that human beings make use of spiritual energy is too primitive to activate its real power. You are sitting on a mountain of treasures, and yet you regard the gold and the diamonds as rocks. This is exactly how it feels.

“In short, the tenebrum energy is not the opposite of the spiritual energy but the advanced form of the spiritual energy. The tenebrum energy is exactly the spiritual energy that has been fully activated, while the spiritual energy is the tenebrum energy in the hibernation state!”

Li Yao found it hard to believe. “It does sound more or less reasonable, but do you have any evidence?”

“I don’t have any direct evidence. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a ‘hypothesis’ at all.”

Long Yangjun said with a smile, “However, isn’t it the best evidence that I can make use of the tenebrum energy freely at will? Not just me, you can do the same too. Just free your mind, make your soul travel to billions of years ago so that you can feel the power deep inside the spiritual energy and hear the roars of the prehistoric civilizations during their conquests of the universe and the moans when they passed away. You can inherit the spirits and will of the prehistoric civilizations and unlock the ‘seals’ that cover the spiritual energy, transforming it into the tenebrum energy that is a hundred times more powerful!”

Blinking his eyes for a long time, Li Yao asked, “If the tenebrum energy is really an advanced form of the spiritual energy, why are the extraterrestrial devils such a hazard? Tremendous ordinary people and even trainers who were corrupted by the tenebrum energy were possessed and deranged!”

“That was because the tenebrum was too powerful for regular people to handle! If you ask a three-year-old to rein a disobedient stallion or wave a saber weighing a hundred kilograms, how can they not fall over and hurt themselves? If an indigent man who has not a single coin in his pocket suddenly inherits tremendous wealth, how can they not be lost in the extravagance?”

Long Yangjun replied casually, “Think about it. The feelings, will, and souls of the best experts of countless super civilizations in the past billions of years all flooded into the brain of an ordinary person. How could the ordinary person contain themselves and not be lost?

“Also, the living form of the prehistoric super civilizations was clearly different from mankind today. They must’ve had some moral codes that human beings cannot accept or understand. When the ‘prehistoric morals’ all flooded into the head of an ordinary person, is it strange that they are turned into a mentally deranged person and something entirely different?”