Chapter 245
Chapter 245: That Place Above
Wang Jie turned toward the voice. Someone stared fearfully beyond the battleship; the once-deep darkness of space was replaced by a ghastly white.
Not just in that direction—the entire ship was now surrounded by pale white.
Wang Jie glanced out the nearest window, studying that strange white color, then shifted his gaze to the man with twisted humor.
But at this moment, the man was silent, staring blankly into the space outside.
The battleship halted.
“My—my Lord, what is that?” someone asked nervously.
The man didn’t respond, his eyes glued to the window.
The entire battleship sank into eerie silence.
Wang Jie stared at the white shape outside. The more he looked, the more it seemed like bone. Massive bones, enclosing the entire battleship. But whose bones were these? [Could they belong to a cosmic giant beast? Why are they here?]
This was the First Main Battlefield—such things shouldn’t even exist here.
As he thought, the pale whiteness gradually moved upward. Soon, one window revealed the dark starscape again, drawing everyone’s attention. They saw the jagged edges clearly—it truly was bone.
Below the bone, they noticed a thread.
A slender thread pierced the bone, pulling it upward.
From Wang Jie’s own window, the stars returned to view. Pressing close, he looked upward but saw nothing above. Instead, gazing far into the distance, his pupils suddenly narrowed.
These bones weren’t merely surrounding the ship—they covered the entire universe.
As far as his eyes could see, everything was blanketed beneath that endless pale white skeleton.
[How could such an enormous bone exist? And what about that thread above?]
Before these colossal bones, their battleship was as insignificant as an ant. The thread, stretching infinitely far yet always appearing so thin, defied logic. Whether near or far, it maintained that delicate thinness.
The bones pressed against an asteroid belt, causing countless asteroids to explode silently. The explosions were utterly muted, like a giant casually extinguishing sparks with a finger.
In an instant, the bones vanished completely.
It seemed the thin thread had swiftly pulled them away—upward, toward an incomprehensible place above.
[That place above—what could it be?] Was it the Four Great Star Clouds, the Bridge Pillars—or perhaps, the Bridge itself?
Inside the battleship, the lights flickered uncertainly. The vessel resumed movement, and everything returned to normal. But those who had witnessed that eerie spectacle could no longer find peace. All eyes turned to the man, waiting for an explanation.
Without a single word, the man turned silently and left.
From beginning to end, he uttered nothing.
Wang Jie watched his departing figure, then gazed out into space. The vision just now felt like a fleeting dream.
After the bone incident, the man never returned to the group. Silence lasted until the battleship reached Yunxi Domain.
One by one, they descended onto the battlefield. Gazing ahead, an endless ocean stretched before them. Stars drifted faintly upon its surface, bobbing like tiny boats.
“Why so few people? What good can they do?”
“What, Old Mo, you don’t want them? Give them all to me, then.”
“Old Luo, you shameless fool, is that what I meant?”
“Old Mo is right—such a small group won’t even cause a ripple. We should ask Tong Shou to report to the Sect. If that’s no good, ask Lock Path Interval to send more.”
“I say we just increase the number of Slaughter Stone Planets. Forget Lock Path Interval—compared to them, who send only elites, these natives from the Outer Slaughter Stone Planets are the real cannon fodder.”
“Forget you all—I’m taking them.”
“Hey, don’t break the rules!”
“Snatch them!”
A great force swept Wang Jie along. Without resisting, he let it carry him onward. Ahead, a man laughed loudly: “Old Mo, Old Luo, I’ll go first, hahaha!”
“Wu, you bastard!”
“We’ll do the same next time.”
The one who swept Wang Jie and the others away was a Hundred-Star Realm cultivator. His immense star force carried hundreds of thousands straight into Yunxi Domain. Below stretched the endless clouds—falling in would mean certain doom.
Suddenly, Wang Jie recalled the small boat he’d obtained from the Knowledge Repository, [wondering if it could sail on these clouds.]
As they traveled rapidly through the void, he soon saw dozens of stars linked together, floating like a chain of boats within Yunxi. So that’s how it was—stars acted as ships here, similar to the Hanhai Sea battlefield, though there they had only planet fragments.
Unless one reached the Wandering Star Realm, it made no difference whether one traversed stars or clouds.
Upon arriving, Wang Jie quickly realized that the deeper one went into Yunxi, the denser the mist became, obscuring their sight.
The group was unceremoniously thrown onto the surface of these floating stars. Turning around, Elder Wu had already disappeared, leaving behind only one sentence: “Reach the Core, and you’ll earn your freedom.”
They landed atop an icy mountain peak.
Chilly winds howled around them.
Gazing into the distance, Wang Jie could clearly see the star’s surface curve down into Yunxi. Half the planet was submerged in the clouds, while the other half floated above. Gigantic chains linked the stars together, piercing through them one by one, binding dozens of planets tightly into a chain.
Scanning his surroundings briefly, Wang Jie immediately leaped off the mountain peak without hesitation. [This place was far too exposed—best to avoid crowded spots first.]
Before he’d arrived, Xing Xue had explained the conditions on the First Main Battlefield.
Here, there were no formal ranks like ordinary soldiers or commanders, as their enemies wore no identifying badges, making counting impossible.
Survival time—this was the true measure of strength here.
As for counting how many foes they’d slain, or how much merit they’d earned, none of that could be seen right now. To begin accruing achievements, one must first reach the Central Hub of the Cloud Stream Domain. Only there could they receive the specialized tool that tracked their kills.
At the moment, they didn’t even qualify to earn merit.
That was why Elder Wu had said: those who reached the Hub would gain their freedom. Those who did not would forever remain mere cannon fodder, their deeds unrecorded and unnoticed.
And Wang Jie was no exception.
He’d thought he’d receive special treatment upon arriving at the First Main Battlefield, but discovered to his disappointment that no one here even knew who he was. [Was this interference from that so-called cheap master?]
He now had no choice but to find the Central Hub like everyone else.
The middle-aged man he’d met earlier had mentioned on the way here that very few people ever found the Hub. Those who did were true elites of the Cloud Stream Domain.
Many here shared Wang Jie’s goal, nearly all of them Starforce cultivators who had willingly come to fight.
Not long after Wang Jie left the mountain peak, a beam of light swept horizontally across it, instantly shattering the mountain into rubble.
Countless cultivators fell, tumbling helplessly through space.
Immediately afterward, a terrifying roar echoed across the stars, coming closer with frightening speed.
Wang Jie quickly turned to see.
Far away, a creature shaped like a lion, with twin wings upon its back and lightning scales covering its body, flew menacingly toward them. Its horn aimed directly ahead, launching a blast of Heaven Thunder.
A Thunder Roar Hound.
It was an immensely powerful cosmic giant beast—a guardian of the Ancient Sword Pillars.
Without hesitation, Wang Jie bolted toward another planet.
This area was no longer safe. The Ancient Sword Pillar Keeper had clearly targeted this place.
From the other side of the mountain range, a massive shadow approached. More than a hundred stars bound together were hurtling toward them.
Just as Wang Jie stepped onto a star chain, a violent tremor erupted beneath his feet. Huge cracks spread rapidly across the planet behind him, splitting the mountain in half.
The Thunder Roar Hound crashed downward, tearing cultivators apart as it landed.
Without looking back, Wang Jie swiftly traversed the void using Sword Step and quickly reached another planet. Just as he landed, someone urgently shouted: “Over here, quickly! Watch out, or you’ll fall into Cloud Stream!”
A group was watching him closely, their eyes flicking nervously back toward the shattered planet he’d just left behind.
Wang Jie dashed toward them.
Someone immediately asked: “How many planets?”
Wang Jie looked confused.
The man anxiously clarified: “How many planets were bound together?”
“I didn’t see clearly,” Wang Jie admitted.
“Wretch,” the man spat before loudly commanding the others: “Forget it! Avoid the enemy first. There’s a Thunder Roar Hound—these foes are strong.”
Together, they ran toward yet another planet, clearly aiming to regroup.
Wang Jie naturally followed behind them.
They hadn’t gone far before the planet he’d just escaped from completely shattered.
Looking back, Wang Jie wondered how many of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators had survived. Two more star chains led in different directions. Hopefully, more had escaped through those.
For now, the situation was unclear. Wang Jie wouldn’t act rashly, wary of attracting attention from an enemy cultivator at the Hundred Star Realm.
He’d learned enough painful lessons at the Ying Yang Battlefield.
Following the group closely, they navigated skillfully and soon arrived at another planet. From a high vantage point, they could finally see clearly what pursued them.
A formation of over one hundred planets was violently colliding, tearing the area they’d just occupied into pieces.
“This is bad,” someone called. “A force this large must have experts. Quickly, run!”
They fled once more to another planet.
At the same time, survivors from other planets were also gathering toward them.
This was the nature of the battlefield—the more people gathered, the greater the danger. But when crisis struck, the only choice was to unite. Only numbers could bring safety. No one could stand alone.
More Thunder Roar Hounds rose up from below, charging directly toward them.
Wang Jie frowned deeply, asking aloud, “Didn’t Elder Wu see the enemy coming beforehand?”
Someone nearby gritted his teeth in frustration, replying helplessly: “Everywhere is a battlefield—who has time to care about us? Further away, there’s a grand battle involving thousands of linked stars. Elder Wu wouldn’t spare a glance in our direction.”
In fact, they’d originally been stationed here because it was considered relatively safe. Who could’ve expected their luck to be so poor, encountering such fierce enemies?
“Rear ranks, step forward!” someone shouted.
Immediately, a group rushed ahead, raising massive wooden shields against the incoming Heaven Thunder.
Boom!
The Heaven Thunder slammed against the shields, the immense impact forcing the defenders backward.
“Hurry! Replace those at the front! New arrivals, move forward!”
Prompted urgently, Wang Jie stepped up and grasped the wooden shield. [So this is what can withstand Heaven Thunder.]
The cultivator beside him was already drenched in blood, numb from the constant shocks of energy. Wang Jie calmly placed one hand against the shield. When the next bolt of Heaven Thunder struck, he didn’t budge an inch.
The bloodied cultivator stared at him in astonishment, praising: “Brother, you’ve got some strength.”
Wang Jie waved him back.
The man warned quickly: “Be careful if enemy cultivators appear. If someone shouts—”
But before he finished, a loud voice bellowed, “Hide!”
Instantly, all around Wang Jie, shields slammed down toward the ground.
Wang Jie didn’t react in time. He only saw a flash as his wooden shield was neatly split in two.
The bloodied man’s face turned pale in horror.
Another cultivator behind glared angrily at Wang Jie: “Fool! Don’t you know to hide the shield?”
Wang Jie genuinely had no idea. The fighting here had clear tactics.
Wooden shields blocked Heaven Thunder, but enemy swords sliced through wooden shields.
Each move had a specific counter.
Another blast of Heaven Thunder raced toward them.
The bloodied cultivator beside Wang Jie was now utterly despairing.
Wang Jie turned calmly, raising his palm toward the incoming lightning—Thunder Pattern.
Boom!
The Thunder Pattern smoothly absorbed the strike, completely neutralizing the attack.
These Thunder Roar Hounds were mostly at the Full Star Realm, with few at the Wandering Star Realm.
Seeing the Thunder Pattern, the wounded cultivator gaped in amazement. [This man must be rich.]