A first-grade spirit battleship cruised through the vast expanse of space, cutting through the void at a speed of three thousand li per second.
The interior of the ship was immense, capable of housing over a thousand individuals. At this moment, the main cabin was filled with ordinary soldiers of the Huo Cang Army, each silently meditating.
Meanwhile, Wu Yuan and his six captains gathered in the battleship’s control center, their faces illuminated by the glow of the holographic displays.
“Commander, isn’t this too dangerous?” Lie Shier asked, his voice low and tinged with concern. “According to the areas mapped, the war zones are typically categorized as Safe, Ordinary, Danger, and Death Zones, with the exception of major wars.”
He paused, glancing at the others before continuing, “The Safe Zones are areas near our war bases or on the fringes of the war zone—no planets, no Fire Ethercrystal veins. In the Ordinary Zones, ore-rich planets are scarce, and relatively few powerhouses venture there.”
“The Danger Zones encompass the central star belt, which has a high density of stars and planets. In these zones, one might encounter a planet every few million or tens of millions of li, increasing the chances of discovering ore veins, which in turn attracts many powerhouses.”
“The planet we just mined was in an Ordinary Zone, not even a Danger Zone,” Lie Shier pointed out, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Wu Yuan. “But the coordinates you’ve set, Commander, are deep within a Danger Zone, bordering on a Death Zone.”
The room fell silent as the others turned their gazes to Wu Yuan, their uncertainty mirrored in their eyes.
Wu Yuan met their stares with a calm smile. He understood their worries—after all, even the strongest among them, Pei He, was not yet at the level of a Void Refiner.
Together, the three hundred soldiers of the Huo Cang Army could barely hold their own against a peerless genius like An Shu. While their combined strength was formidable, it was far from enough to dominate the battlefield.
At the pinnacle of the entire Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield stood a group of monstrous prodigies from each major camp who had comprehended a Dao Field (Lesser Law), some even reaching the second or third-level Dao Field stage!
There was a tacit understanding between the two major camps, especially between the Cang Feng Eldritch World and the Voltari Temple.
Peerless geniuses who had comprehended a Dao Field had to remain at the Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala phase to stay on the battlefield. Even if they were on the verge of breaking through, they had to leave the battlefield before proceeding with the advancement.
In essence, Battlefield 36 was under the supervision of these two major camps, who encouraged countless juniors to compete and undergo tempering in life-or-death battles.
In a sense, it was a normalized, weaker version of the Bloodforge Battle. If one could dominate the entire battlefield and slaughter at will while at the Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala phase, no one would object.
Of course, some ordinary geniuses, those whose Dao comprehension reached the eighth or ninth-level True Intent stages and whose cultivation reached the Void Refiner/Elysian Field phase, could also be incredibly formidable.
As for Wu Yuan’s strength, he was undoubtedly among the pinnacle of powerhouses in the entire Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield. Apart from the top hundred monstrous prodigies at the Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala phase from each major camp, he feared no one.
Combining the eighteen entry-level battlefields, there were tens of thousands of war zones, each spanning over a hundred billion li of space. The chance of encountering such peerless geniuses? Slim to none!
“I understand your concerns,” Wu Yuan finally spoke, his voice steady. “For three years, you may choose to follow me if you’re willing.”
He leaned forward slightly. “But you should know that with my strength, the so-called Ordinary Zones offer no opportunities for me to temper myself.”
Pei He, Lie Shier, and the others exchanged glances, acknowledging the truth in Wu Yuan’s words.
“It will be more dangerous to follow me,” Wu Yuan continued. “The locations I’ve selected are less than three hundred million li from the enemy’s war base.
“As long as we defeat a few waves of enemies, the news will spread. Undoubtedly, a large horde of powerhouses will swarm our way, seeking to besiege and hunt us down.”
Wu Yuan smiled faintly. “It will be extremely dangerous, but the speed at which we’ll acquire treasures and our efficiency of earning ethercrystal laurels will also increase several fold.
“It’s your choice. If you wish to follow, obey my commands. If not, then Pei He will take command, and you can venture into the Ordinary Zones yourselves, where the danger levels are much lower.”
Wu Yuan’s gaze swept over the six captains, waiting for their decision.
To be honest, after half a month, Wu Yuan had grown fond of them. This group of Huo Cang Army soldiers had straightforward personalities, similar to the geniuses of the Eldritch World.
But Wu Yuan had his own path, his own ideas, and he wouldn’t let other factors interfere with his cultivation.
Pei He, Yu Zhuo, and the others exchanged glances.
“Commander, I’ll follow you,” the bald Lie Shier declared, grinning. “Fortune favors the bold. Besides, with your strength, it’ll be hard for you to find a worthy opponent on the battlefield, Commander.”
“I will follow as well,” Pei He added calmly, “but Commander, I’ve decided that once we reach the target location, I’ll break through to the Void Refiner phase first.”
“Alright.” Wu Yuan nodded. Pei He’s Dao comprehension level barely met the criteria for advancing to the Void Refiner phase, but if he could break through, his strength would increase significantly, making him a valuable asset.
“I will follow as well.”
“Follow the Commander.”
In the end, the six captains reached a consensus, all agreeing to follow Wu Yuan to one of the most dangerous areas of this battlefield, an area adjacent to a Death Zone.
Why was it called a Death Zone? It was a place where long-term survival was almost impossible, as evaluated by the Blood Eldritch Temple.
“Haha, don’t worry,” Wu Yuan laughed. “You will not regret the choice you’ve made today.”
“Yes, Commander.” Pei He, Lie Shier, Bing Roushui, Yu Zhuo, and the others smiled.
One could say that this was the moment they truly started to regard Wu Yuan as their commander.
…
“Pei He, Lie Shier and with Shi Ji, take your teams and board a first-grade spirit battleship. Proceed five thousand li to my left.”
“Bing Roushui, Yu Zhuo, and Zhang Shan, take your teams and proceed five thousand li to my right.”
“This way, our search radius will increase significantly.” Wu Yuan quickly issued his first command.
Wu Yuan had acquired numerous treasures from the Elysian Field powerhouses and Immortal Hall geniuses he had killed, including three first-grade spirit battleships. Now, he had Pei He and Bing Roushui each take command of one.
Communication within the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield was inconvenient. The team Wu Yuan commanded only possessed voidrealm jades to enter the Eternal Sun Immortal Voidrealm.
As for the Cang Feng Eldritch Voidrealm, their voidrealm jades were confined to personal halls, limited to viewing intelligence reports from the Blood Eldritch Temple and the fighter ranking leaderboard. Communication and many other functions were restricted.
However, with Wu Yuan’s abilities, crafting a simple messaging artifact to transmit messages over a range of tens of millions of li was easy.
“Search thoroughly, and if you encounter an enemy or ambush, notify the others immediately.
“We’ll stay within a maximum distance of a hundred thousand li. If ambushed, the other two teams can arrive within six seconds.” Wu Yuan had thought through every detail.
Acting alone would slightly reduce search efficiency and make it tricky to conceal his identity.
Each time I kill an opponent, it will be tracked by the Voltari Temple through the voidrealm. If I single-handedly kill all my enemies, I’ll appear too terrifying, too dazzling, and soon draw attention, Wu Yuan thought. They might even send some geniuses to eliminate me.
Although unafraid, Wu Yuan wasn’t eager to clash with the Immortal Court’s geniuses so soon.
I’ll take it slow. First, I should accumulate blood mist to its limit and see if I can unlock a new function of my qi refiner self’s black pagoda, just like my body refiner self. Wu Yuan had a clear plan.
This was the current primary goal. Tempering was secondary. There was no need to court disaster.
…
Traveling about three hundred million li daily, it would take over ten days to reach the target location according to Wu Yuan’s plan.
However, Wu Yuan’s team didn’t avoid the relatively dangerous areas; instead, they actively sought out regions where powerhouses congregated. Naturally, the journey was anything but peaceful. Within a day, they encountered an ambush.
“Kill!”
“Kill!” Pei He and Shi Ji led the charge out of the spirit battleship.
Wu Yuan, Bing Roushui, and their team swiftly followed suit.
“So strong?”
“This! All Amethyst Cradle battle arrays?” The ambushing team was instantly thrown into despair.
In mere seconds, Wu Yuan’s group easily annihilated the team of fewer than twenty Amethyst Cradle cultivators. None were spared.
…
This was only the beginning. As the team gradually entered the star belt in the Danger Zone, nearing the enemy base, the frequency of battles skyrocketed. The strength of the enemy teams also grew increasingly formidable. However, most of these encounters were easily resolved.
Wu Yuan and his team spread out their Soul Force to search for enemy immortal cultivators. Once discovered, Wu Yuan would lead his team in offensive strikes. Through the battles initiated, he accumulated blood mist, and amassed ethercrystal laurels.
In the end, after about fifteen days and seventeen battles, Wu Yuan and his team reached the target location.
The dozen or so battles along the way were mostly easy. Only one was challenging—a clash with a team led by a Void Refiner Eminence. In that battle, Wu Yuan unleashed the full power of the battle array to secure victory.
Overall, the journey was relatively smooth.
…
Under a dark red star, atop a massive rogue planet, three battleships hovered.
Inside one of the ships, a massive light screen displayed a dense map of star markers. A small section was highlighted in blue.
“Next, we will operate within this thirty-million-li area.” Wu Yuan pointed to the blue zone, designating their operational area.
This was just a few hundred million li from the Immortal Court’s war base.
It was one of the main routes taken by countless immortal cultivators of the Immortal Court traveling through the star belt. With enemies aplenty, one could quickly accumulate ethercrystal laurels—as long as one was strong enough.
Of course, this was also extremely dangerous.
…
Time flowed on.
As Wu Yuan’s team operated in this area, they quickly became the target of many Immortal Court teams seeking to surround them.
The reason was simple: in the entry-level battlefields, few truly comprehended a Dao Field.
Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses were often the top elites, and only their teams dared to roam freely in such perilous regions. Peerless geniuses? Most of them had full confidence in their strength, and chose to venture alone.
Thus, to a Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouse’s Soul Force, a team like Wu Yuan’s, consisting of so many Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators without a single Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouse, looked like a fat sheep just waiting to be slaughtered. Naturally, it attracted the attention of many powerhouses.
However, once these powerhouses attempted an ambush or assault, they would soon be plunged into shock and despair once Wu Yuan unleashed his power, leading the Amethyst Cradle battle array. He was too formidable!
When Wu Yuan commanded the Amethyst Cradle battle array, its base strength could rival the first-stage Void Refiner phase. Though it was limited to close combat, unable to unleash lifebound flying swords or a Thousand Swords Array, Wu Yuan’s power was terrifying enough with his profound Dao comprehension.
Void Refiner phase? Elysian Field phase? As long as they hadn’t comprehended a Dao Field, Wu Yuan could defeat them all, and even kill some!
Of course, when encountering the occasional two or three Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses teaming up, some would always manage to escape.
And some Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses who comprehended the Wind Dao were also difficult for Wu Yuan to chase down once they focused solely on fleeing, and he ended up watching them escape.
After each battle, Wu Yuan would lead the team in a swift retreat, restoring their mana and rekindling their battle spirit before seeking enemies and tempting ambushers again.