Chapter 248
Chapter 248: The Heart of Yunxi
On the journey back, they saw countless battles, large and small. The smallest spanned only a handful of planets, involving tens of thousands of people, while the largest battles surpassed even the war they had just left, involving millions.
The First Main Battlefield had existed for countless years.
The death rate was terrifyingly high, and new fighters were continuously brought in to replenish the ranks.
The woman explained calmly: “The primary battle belongs to Black White Heaven, but many lock-force cultivators are sent by the Four Great Star Clouds. It isn’t just our sect that sustains such a vast battlefield. Without their support, we couldn’t possibly bear the burden alone.”
“Stop,” Wang Jie suddenly said.
“What’s wrong?” the woman asked, startled.
“Just wait a bit. I need to do my exercises.”
The woman: ??
High above Yunxi, the woman stared in confusion as Wang Jie began his strange exercises mid-air, while she held him up awkwardly.
[What is going on?] she wondered, dying to ask, yet the words wouldn’t come.
Once Wang Jie finished his exercise, he calmly grabbed hold of her again. “Alright, we can continue now.”
The woman’s face remained blank. Wang Jie gave no explanation, leaving her completely baffled.
Several days later, the woman suddenly paused, her expression uncertain.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Jie asked, puzzled.
The woman’s face turned grim. “It’s too quiet.”
Wang Jie looked around, noticing the endless mist of Yunxi blocking their sight.
“Normally,” she continued nervously, “we should’ve found connected planets in three days at most. But now, five days have passed without a single planet. Something isn’t right. Unless…”
Before she could finish, the fog suddenly split, sending forth an unimaginable chill.
Wang Jie quickly grabbed her, spinning to narrowly avoid a deadly strike.
It was an attack from a Hundred-Star Realm expert.
Through the parted mist, in the far distance lay an immense battlefield.
The woman’s voice shook with dread: “A thousand planets at war, commanded by Hundred-Star Realm cultivators. We need to run!”
Wang Jie stopped her immediately. “We can’t run. Go toward the battlefield.”
“Are you insane? Even Wandering-Star cultivators easily die there!”
Wang Jie pointed behind them, at the direction they wished to retreat.
She turned, stunned. The attack they’d just avoided had shattered and was spreading swiftly around them, sealing off any escape.
She had no choice but to fly directly toward the battlefield with Wang Jie. Staying meant certain death from the spreading attack.
At Hundred-Star Realm, battles covered vast areas. That strike had been mere collateral damage—not even aimed at them.
On solid ground, Wang Jie might have charged through alone, but in the skies of Yunxi, he couldn’t risk the woman’s life. If she died, he’d plummet.
The closer they got, the louder the clash of combat became.
Battle skills collided violently, and beneath them, hundreds of thousands of cultivators fought desperately, creating a shocking scene.
The moment they landed, they drew attention, yet Wandering-Star cultivators were among the stronger forces here. Unless extremely unlucky, encountering ruthless foes was unlikely.
Neither Wang Jie nor the woman wished to stand out—they just needed to avoid becoming targets.
The Yin Yang Battlefield taught Wang Jie clearly: the more you attracted attention, the faster you died.
Yet despite their caution, luck abandoned them.
High above, residual attacks from the Hundred-Star battles descended, instantly killing the woman beside him.
Wang Jie stared blankly, then looked upward. Above, numerous Hundred-Star cultivators battled fiercely—not just two or three.
He quickly changed position, but everywhere the battlefield shook beneath the fury of Hundred-Star attacks. Cultivators from Black White Heaven and Edge Sect dodged frantically even as they continued fighting relentlessly, the bloodlust blinding many.
The roars of Thunder Roar Hounds echoed through the sky.
Chaos made it impossible to choose where to run.
Focused solely on avoiding the Hundred-Star attacks, Wang Jie hadn’t noticed when he’d stumbled into an Edge Sect encirclement. Hostile cultivators rushed at him from all sides.
Clutching his sword with both hands, Wang Jie looked exactly like a sword cultivator. He couldn’t understand how these Edge Sect fighters knew he was an enemy. Clang after clang, sword met sword, the sickening sounds of tearing flesh soon replacing the battle cries. Blood painted everything red.
He swiftly swallowed pills—a Revive Pill, a Body Protection Pill, a Swift Movement Pill.
His outer robe shredded, revealing the Cloud Thread Armor beneath. From afar, a fierce sword qi suddenly pierced into his back, causing him to spit out blood. It was Cheng Clan’s Sword Ridge technique, wielded by a Wandering-Star expert.
Occasionally, more Wandering-Star attacks swept in from either side.
Gritting his teeth, Wang Jie fought desperately.
He didn’t know how long he fought. Suddenly, an overwhelming force pressed down from above.
Everyone around panicked, fleeing desperately, but most couldn’t escape, crushed instantly by the overwhelming pressure from Hundred-Star strikes.
Wang Jie narrowly dodged using Armor Eight Steps, yet his Thunder Pattern shattered from the force of the impact.
He escaped the encirclement at last, running furiously in a single direction.
After a long while, the battle finally ceased. Hundred-Star Realm cultivators from both sides retreated. Wang Jie quickly identified the direction of Black White Heaven and followed the withdrawing troops.
As he distanced himself from the bloody battlefield, Wang Jie finally released a deep breath. He’d barely survived being surrounded.
He was strong, yes, but no strength could hold forever against endless strikes raining down upon him. Especially with the Cheng Clan expert sneak-attacking him three times, each strike wounding him.
[Such despicable tactics.]
Battlefields truly had all kinds of people. Still, that attacker was notably weak for a cultivator armed with Bridge Laws and resources. Clearly, even with advantages, not everyone became powerful.
As planets drifted around him, Wang Jie glanced at the other surviving cultivators. They remained silent, somberly drifting along. No one spoke.
He wasn’t sure where the Hundred-Star Realm powerhouses had gone, but he suspected their current movement led toward the central region—the heart of Yunxi.
As for the woman who had accompanied him, he realized with some sadness that he never even learned her name.
The mist in Yunxi was thick, impossible to disperse, likely connected to the place itself.
Half a day passed, and the Central Hub appeared ahead.
Wang Jie stared at the massive battleships looming behind the mist, blotting out the sky, surprised that he hadn’t seen any during his earlier battles. He’d assumed the wars in Yunxi Domain didn’t involve battleships.
Behind the ships rose the enormous Central Hub.
Standing tall atop planets stacked upon one another, it formed an immense structure.
Through the mist, it seemed as if a giant gazed down upon them.
One by one, cultivators stepped forward, entering the Central Hub.
Wang Jie quickly found the place for newcomers to report.
A voice nearby whispered in surprise, “That guy’s a newcomer?”
“Who?” another voice asked.
“The one over there. I saw him fall into an enemy encirclement from far away and thought he was finished for sure. Who knew he’d fight his way out? He’s actually just a new recruit.”
“You must’ve seen wrong. Could he be at Wandering Star Realm?”
“Not sure. Even the sect’s Wandering Star Realm geniuses might not have made it out.”
“A Six Dao Wanderer definitely would.”
“Nonsense, a Six Dao Wanderer wouldn’t need to escape; they’d directly kill their way through instead.”
Wang Jie overheard this distant conversation, surprised his performance had caught their attention.
“Is that it?” he asked.
“It’s done,” replied the attendant, smiling. “From now on, any enemy you kill within a hundred meters on the battlefield will be automatically sensed and counted toward your battle points.”
Wang Jie glanced at the speaker, troubled by the phrase “from now on.” Considering that woman’s experience, it made him feel uneasy.
The attendant smiled again, continuing, “Additionally, resource exchanges are now accessible through orbital dust delivered into your personal terminal. You can check anytime and exchange with your battle points.”
Wang Jie immediately looked it up, full of anticipation.
This First Main Battlefield was different from the Ying Yang Battlefield. Killing enemies here didn’t increase rank but granted points based on battle strength. For instance, killing an enemy with ten thousand battle strength awarded ten thousand points, easy to calculate.
Resource exchanges began at one hundred thousand points.
This was to prevent hunting those below ten seals. Anyone accumulating a hundred thousand points was considered elite, qualified to exchange for resources.
As Wang Jie browsed the rewards, his eyes widened. [There are so many good items, but they’re all so expensive!]
The Fifth Fragrance Wandering Star Shift Pill cost twenty million points. Who’d even exchange for it? True, shift pills could save lives, but they could be bought elsewhere with money. Here, people exchanged for treasures that couldn’t be bought outside at any price.
For example, the Fallen Body Pill.
Exclusive to the Galaxy Combat Equipment Company and provided only to the Armor One Sect, it created a starforce vortex within one’s body, storing extra starforce absorbed during cultivation. The stored energy could be released when breaking through limits or replenished instantly in battle without wasting time swallowing starforce pills.
This was truly priceless.
It was impossible to buy outside.
Equally effective for lock force cultivation.
Thirty million battle points—very expensive but justified, given its rarity.
Next was the Void Capsule, a pill for Wandering Star Realm cultivators. Consuming it allowed partial merging of the body into space. Though merely Wandering Star Realm-level, crafting it required deep understanding of space; even a Heavenly Master unfamiliar with space could not refine it. It allowed users to experience the void—precious for those cultivating spatial techniques.
The outside price was normally one hundred million star stones. Here, it was fifty million battle points.
Another great item.
Wang Jie kept scrolling until he saw the most expensive pill: the Rebirth Pill, priced at an unimaginable one hundred billion battle points. Forget battle points, he couldn’t even dream of having that many star stones.
Too costly.
He turned his gaze to weapons.
Thousand Bamboo Sword, a Five Tribulations Star Artifact—twenty billion battle points.
Heaven Unity Armor, a Six Tribulations Star Artifact—one hundred billion battle points.
Again, too costly.
Then he checked formation books.
Wang Jie’s breathing quickened as he stared at one particular formation book: Withered Tree Rebirth Formation Book, an original formation by Bu Zou Guan, priced at one hundred million battle points.
This formation drew seasonal changes into one’s body, allowing them to experience cycles of decay and rebirth, potentially breaking cultivation bottlenecks. Its effect was powerful, but very few cultivators could truly utilize it for breakthroughs.
Yet, it was incredibly useful for Wang Jie.
Because he needed to break through limits. It perfectly complemented his physical training routine.
He instantly felt it was suitable upon seeing it.
But one hundred million battle points was a tremendous amount—how many enemies would he have to kill?
Why were resources here so expensive?
Wang Jie sighed heavily.
In the distance, the person who had given him orbital dust earlier smiled knowingly. Every newcomer here wore this exact expression upon seeing the resource exchange. They wanted them yet couldn’t afford them, feeling it was too costly. But they didn’t realize one thing: once you came here, you couldn’t leave.
It was normal to stay years—even decades.
Over such long periods, as long as one survived, battle points accumulated to staggering amounts. Enemies were never scarce on this battlefield.
Even those who specifically targeted cultivators below ten seals could steadily gather considerable points over the years.
The only question was whether they could survive. These abundant resources were merely a small comfort amid this endless battlefield.