Chapter 218

Chapter 218: News of Old Friends

After arriving, Wang Jie rested for two days.

With the help of a Revival Pill, he crawled back from the brink. He still couldn’t move much, but he could at least wait and do exercises.

Over those two days, he and Xia Xiao Nian caught up constantly.

Wang Jie learned a lot about old acquaintances.

When Frost Hua Sect fell, besides Elder Yan and Cold Domain Lord Zhu Cheng—both traitors—there had been another traitor.

Snow Domain Lord.

Xia Zhen Zhen’s grandfather.

Wang Jie never would have guessed that.

He also learned that Master Xu had originally come from Xuan Gate.

And Tao Er, disciple of Master Que Yi, was a traitor too.

Among the disciples, the number one true inheritance disciple, Xia Zhong, had also betrayed them. Xia Bei Yi had turned on the sect as well—on the battlefield.

As for Xia Xiao Nian, he’d been captured along with Master Luan.

Xia Zhen Zhen didn’t even need to be mentioned. Her grandfather was a traitor, so of course she’d been taken to Xuan Gate.

By that count, there were plenty of familiar faces inside Xuan Gate now.

“Back when the sect went to war, too many disciples died,” Xia Xiao Nian said quietly. “Xuan Gate prepared for far too long. Frost Hua Sect never had a chance to avoid being swallowed.”

“They want to seize Third Nebula and become a second Nan family.”

He rubbed his brow. “Life in Xuan Gate hasn’t been good for us.”

“Zhen Zhen is doing fine. Her grandfather has a decent status in Xuan Gate.”

“Master Luan could have lived well too, but he wasn’t willing to refine pills for Xuan Gate. That made people unhappy, so I was exiled to the Star-Cloud Battlefield.”

“It was a warning.”

He gave a bitter laugh. “But Xia Bei Yi is thriving. Together with Xia Zhong, he’s gotten close to Xuan Gate disciples.”

Xia Xiao Nian sighed.

He didn’t ask how Wang Jie had been doing in Black-White Heaven.

There was no need.

Even a lockforce cultivator had been exiled to the Star-Cloud Battlefield.

The only thing he couldn’t understand was why even a Chen Refiner would be sent here.

Wang Jie let out a breath. “Chen Refiners rank high in Frost Hua Sect, but in Black-White Heaven it’s only so-so.”

“That makes sense,” Xia Xiao Nian said. “A Star-Refining Realm doesn’t need help from a Chen Refiner. Black-White Heaven controls Fourth Nebula absolutely. It definitely has more than one or two Chen Refiners under it.”

An alarm rang in the distance.

Xia Xiao Nian’s face changed. “Switch positions. Run.”

In the next instant, everyone at the foot of the mountain sprinted in one direction, disciplined and silent.

After they left, countless beams swept through and bombarded the area. Then a single sound extinguished an entire region—it was the power of the Singing Phoenix Hall.

With Wang Jie moving beside Xia Xiao Nian, no one suspected anything.

Even if Xia Xiao Nian wasn’t welcomed inside Xuan Gate, he was still a master alchemist of the Pill Path. His status remained, and he had even broken into Roaming-Star Realm.

Among this group, his strength ranked near the top.

“What do you think?” Xia Xiao Nian asked in a low voice. “Do you want to come with me to Xuan Gate?”

Wang Jie looked at him without speaking.

Xia Xiao Nian coughed, embarrassed. “I’m not doing well, but Zhen Zhen is. Let her take you.”

“And you’re a Chen Refiner.”

Halfway through, he paused, then shook his head. “Forget it. Don’t go. That big scallion is there too, and you won’t have it easy.”

“The big scallion” was Master Xu—the one who had targeted Wang Jie back in Frost Hua Sect.

“I don’t get along with Xia Bei Yi either,” Wang Jie said.

Xia Xiao Nian sighed. “Honestly, if it weren’t for those reasons, joining Xuan Gate wouldn’t be bad.”

“Xuan Gate is about to unify Third Nebula. With the foundation the Nan family left behind, it might match—maybe even surpass—Black-White Heaven in a short time.”

“You should know this: Third Nebula’s overall strength is actually greater than Black-White Heaven’s. If the Nan family hadn’t disappeared, would Black-White Heaven dare plunder Third Nebula like this?”

Wang Jie frowned. “Nan family foundation?”

“Did Xuan Gate find the Nan family?”

“No,” Xia Xiao Nian said. “I mean the Nan family’s layout—built over countless years.”

“Have you noticed what’s special about Third Nebula?”

Wang Jie hadn’t.

Xia Xiao Nian explained, “The Third Star Chain—Tech-Mech City. It blends technology and cultivation, but its true specialty is transport. They have countless warships.”

“The Fourth Star Chain—the Falling Bow Hall. Strong offense, ideal for covering fire.”

“The Fifth Star Chain—Shield Mountain Peak. Unmatched defense.”

“The Sixth Star Chain—Luo Kingdom. Endless breeding, which means endless soldiers.”

“The Seventh Star Chain—the Puppeteer Sect. The Eighth Star Chain—Frost Hua Sect. And the Ninth Star Chain—Eight Prisons Mad Clan.”

He looked at Wang Jie. “If you stop dividing them by star chain and integrate them all, what do you get?”

Wang Jie’s eyes widened. “A war configuration.”

Xia Xiao Nian nodded, expression heavy. “Only after joining Xuan Gate did we realize how high the sky really is.”

“The Nan family prepared far too thoroughly.”

“When they controlled Third Nebula, what each star chain cultivated was decided long ago. Their coordination was designed specifically to strike enemies on the battlefield.”

“Don’t be fooled by how scattered Third Nebula looks now. On the Han Hai Battlefield, Black-White Heaven won’t find it easy to take us down.”

Wang Jie remembered the patterns: arrow rain for cover, shield walls charging, Luo Kingdom used as cannon fodder.

Black-White Heaven didn’t have coordination like that.

So that was the Nan family’s plan.

“Xuan Gate already rules most of Third Nebula,” Xia Xiao Nian continued. “The fiercer the Star-Cloud Battlefield becomes, the more Third Nebula’s internal affairs get ignored. That’s their window.”

“It won’t be long before Third Nebula is unified. When that happens, Xuan Gate will become a second Nan family.”

“We live poorly inside Xuan Gate, but outwardly our status still isn’t lower than Black-White Heaven disciples.”

He spoke slowly, as if weighing each word. “This is what countless Xuan Gate disciples crave.”

“Their hearts are united.”

“No one can stop it.”

Wang Jie’s gaze flickered as he thought of the Silver Radiance Empire.

Right now, Black-White Heaven could occupy that region only because Third Nebula held back, afraid to open another front.

But once Xuan Gate unified Third Nebula…

It would be different.

His chest felt heavy.

“But most people only see the outcome,” Xia Xiao Nian said. “No one knows the process.”

“I learned Xuan Gate’s plan by chance, after overhearing that big scallion talking to a master.”

“You mean reinforcing the battlefield to cover up unifying Third Nebula?” Wang Jie asked.

Xia Xiao Nian nodded.

Another day passed. They moved again.

There was no truly safe place on the Han Hai Battlefield.

During that time, more Third Nebula cultivators joined them.

Wang Jie feared being recognized, so he disguised himself slightly—not a drastic change, but enough that no one would recognize him at a glance.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“That Shield Mountain Peak thing.”

“You mean Yue Bai?”

Wang Jie’s eyes snapped open.

“It’s spread throughout Shield Mountain Peak. They say Yue Bai went into qi deviation and started digging into people’s private lives.”

“Seriously?”

Someone leaned in, eager. “I heard it too. They said Yue Bai stole someone’s wife.”

“No, I heard he confessed and got rejected.”

“I heard he forced himself on a junior sister.”

“No, no, I heard—”

Wang Jie closed his eyes.

Expose three secret admirers—maybe that kind of nonsense would make sense inside a sect.

But this was a battlefield.

Where would he even find three secret admirers here?

On a battlefield, all anyone cared about was life and death. The moment you stepped in, you went mad.

Secret admirers?

Who had time?

This was the card he’d chosen on purpose.

Yue Bai had nearly killed him.

He deserved a lesson.

“Yue Bai has high status in Shield Mountain Peak, right?” Wang Jie asked Xia Xiao Nian.

Xia Xiao Nian nodded. “He’s the top disciple. He once lost to a Black-White Heaven Six-Path Roamer.”

“With his strength, even in Xuan Gate he’d still rank in the top three.”

Wang Jie said blandly, “A battlefield really isn’t a good place. Even Yue Bai can be driven mad.”

Xia Xiao Nian gave him a strange look.

Two more days passed.

That day, Wang Jie did exercises.

Xia Xiao Nian watched, still not understanding, but respecting it. Wang Jie did them underground. Otherwise, it would draw attention.

When he finished, he felt refreshed. He was finally recovered.

He glanced down at his bracer.

It was unbelievable.

With injuries that serious, anyone else would need months to recover, and that was with Revival Pills. With only Recovery Pills, healing on the Han Hai Battlefield was practically a dream.

Yet he’d recovered in just a few days.

Those exercises had brought out the Revival Pill’s effect perfectly.

Wang Jie handed Xia Xiao Nian a bottle of Revival Pills.

If Xia Xiao Nian had any, he wouldn’t have offered only Recovery Pills earlier.

Xia Xiao Nian stared as if he’d been struck. “Where did you get these?”

“Stole them,” Wang Jie said lightly. “Got lucky.”

“Before coming to the battlefield, a master gave me a lot of Revival Pills too,” Xia Xiao Nian murmured, voice rough. “But I used them all.”

Xia Xiao Nian looked genuinely grateful. One bottle of Revival Pills cost at least twenty million starstone. It was priceless.

Wang Jie also pulled out other pills—especially Burststar Pills. The six-scent ones were too eye-catching, so he gave fewer-scent ones instead. Enough to save a life in a pinch.

Burststar Pills were useless to Wang Jie and could only be sold. Giving them to Xia Xiao Nian was better.

He added a few Swiftstep Pills as well.

Xia Xiao Nian hurried to refuse. “No. These are too valuable. I can’t take them.”

Wang Jie shoved them into his hands.

Master Luan’s backing should have meant Xia Xiao Nian once had plenty of pills, but after so long on the battlefield, whatever could be consumed had been consumed.

Xia Xiao Nian had saved his life.

This was nothing.

Wang Jie’s nature was simple: repay hatred, and repay kindness too.

“Take it,” Wang Jie said. “If one day I can’t survive in Black-White Heaven, I’ll come find you. Maybe you can pull me up.”

Xia Xiao Nian stared at him for a long moment. “Thank you.”

A few hours later, a voice rang out across their hidden group.

“All disciples, listen. Suppress your presence. Don’t make a sound. Follow this old man.”

Xia Xiao Nian leaned close. “It’s our turn to go in. If the opponent is Black-White Heaven, slip away in the melee.”

Wang Jie nodded, suppressed his presence, and followed silently.

A Hundred-Star Realm powerhouse pressed down on everyone’s auras with starforce. Then he gathered everyone onto a single planet fragment. Mountains were piled high to block sight, and the fragment was pushed in one direction.

“You can talk now,” Xia Xiao Nian whispered. “Just keep your voice low.”

Wang Jie looked into the distance. “Do the enemies do the same?”

Xia Xiao Nian nodded. “Look at how many planet fragments there are on Han Hai. Don’t you feel like many look similar?”

“They’re stacked. A lot of land has been forcibly reshaped by Hundred-Star Realm. That’s how they hide large numbers of people.”

Wang Jie nodded. It really was like that.

The planet fragment moved slowly—easy to miss unless you knew what to look for.

“Look,” someone snickered. “There’s a bunch of unlucky bastards on the fragment ahead.”

Wang Jie glanced over. On the fragment straight ahead, dozens of people were resting, with others standing guard.

“They have no idea we’re close. When they see us, they’ll piss their pants.”

“Almost there. They won’t get away.”

“Unlucky bastards, hahaha.”

Wang Jie felt bitter amusement rise in his chest.

He thought of how he and Zhi Nan Xing had been sandwiched between two Hundred-Star Realm earlier—and what people on the other side must have called them.