“Your Highness Feng Sheng,” an elderly man in red robes spoke with deep respect. Among the six Void Refiner and Elysian Field powerhouses present, he was the smallest in stature, yet his aura was the most formidable.
“According to the intelligence gathered by our war base, Ming Jian’s team has likely distanced themselves from our Immortal Court’s war base,” the red-robed elder continued, his tone steady. “For the past two days, we’ve found no trace of them. Based on our analysis, it seems Ming Jian has temporarily retreated and is now in hiding.”
“Hiding?” The black-armored youth, addressed as His Highness Feng Sheng, frowned slightly, a glint of irritation in his eyes. “I rushed here from the Immortal Hall specifically to take care of him. Could it be that my arrival was leaked, and he’s avoiding a confrontation with me?”
“The news of Your Highness’s arrival is top secret and could not have been leaked,” the elderly man replied confidently. “However, Ming Jian has been engaged in continuous combat for two consecutive years. Judging by the intensity and frequency of his battles, it’s unlikely he has returned to the Eldritch Court’s war base.”
“There are two possibilities. One, he has returned to his camp’s war base to recuperate. The other is that he realizes he’s been too reckless and is now avoiding confrontation with our Immortal Court, waiting for the storm to pass before emerging again.” The elderly man stated.
The other Void Refiner and Elysian Field powerhouses nodded in agreement.
“Continue,” His Highness Feng Sheng commanded, his voice cold but composed.
“Please observe, Your Highness.” The elderly man, Yin Hou, waved his hand, conjuring a giant projection of a map displaying the war bases of both camps.
The projection was marked with numerous light points, red lines, and purple regions.
“These light points indicate the locations where our cultivators have recently clashed with Ming Jian,” Yin Hou explained. “They form a line, showing the path he took in retreat.”
“If Ming Jian hasn’t returned to his camp’s war base, there’s a seventy percent chance he’s still hiding in this purple region,” Yin Hou pointed to the shaded area.
The edge of this purple region coincided precisely with where Wu Yuan was currently meditating.
“There’s a twenty percent chance he followed this red line,” Yin Hou continued, “and a ten percent chance he followed the second red line.”
“If he has indeed escaped back to the Eldritch Court’s war base, we’ll have no choice but to wait for him to reappear,” Yin Hou concluded, his tone respectful.
“What’s your name? You seem very familiar with the situation of this battlefield. How long have you been stationed here?” His Highness Feng Sheng’s sharp gaze fell on the elderly man.
“My name is Yin Hou. Including the time before I broke through to the Void Refiner phase, I’ve been operating around this war base for nearly two hundred years,” Yin Hou said, a hint of pride swelling in his chest.
Two hundred years was a considerable amount of time to spend on an entry-level battlefield, especially at the same war base.
“Good. I believe you know the environment of this battlefield like the back of your hand. You will lead the tracking team,” His Highness Feng Sheng declared. “If you can locate Ming Jian and slay him, the credit will be yours.”
Though Feng Sheng’s strength was formidable, he wasn’t adept at tracking targets in this new environment. To find and kill Ming Jian, he needed someone who knew the intricacies of the region.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Yin Hou’s excitement was evident in his voice. “I will give it my all.”
“You five,” His Highness Feng Sheng said, stepping out of the teleportation array and sweeping his gaze over the five other Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses. “If this mission is a success, each of you will receive a reward of two million ethercrystal laurels. This is a reward directly granted by the Immortal Hall.”
“Additionally, once we slay Ming Jian, the spoils of war will be divided, with each of you getting half a percent.” His Highness Feng Sheng’s words hung in the air.
In an instant, the eyes of the six Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses, including Yin Hou, gleamed with greed.
Half a percent of the spoils? Two million ethercrystal laurels?
It might not sound like much at first, but they all knew that killing a fellow Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouse typically yielded only about a million ethercrystal laurels.
Over the past two years, Ming Jian’s team had slain dozens of Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses and tens of thousands of Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators, amassing treasures beyond imagination.
Half a percent? That could exceed their entire fortunes!
Initially, they were simply acting on orders, but now they were driven by interest.
As for whether they would succeed? None of them doubted their victory.
After all, besides the six Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses, they had a peerless genius from the Immortal Hall, Feng Sheng. The Immortal Hall wouldn’t send him if they weren’t certain of his success.
With these incentives, I don’t have to worry about them slacking off. His Highness Feng Sheng thought, his confidence unwavering.
Among the tens of thousands of geniuses at the Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala phase, his strength ranked in the top hundred.
Ming Jian? He’d never heard of him, but if sharing some spoils could make his task easier, Feng Sheng wouldn’t mind.
…
Shortly after, His Highness Feng Sheng led the six Void Refiner/Elysian Field powerhouses onto a battleship, silently departing the war base.
They headed in the direction Wu Yuan had taken, quickly beginning their hunt.
Time passed.
“It’s been eight days. We’ve found nothing despite thoroughly searching this area, though we’ve killed many immortal cultivators from the Eldritch Court,” Feng Sheng mused, his voice devoid of anger as he turned to Yin Hou.
The Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield was vast, making pursuit a daunting task. Besides tracking skills, luck played an even greater role.
“Yin Hou, what’s your assessment?” His Highness Feng Sheng asked, his tone expectant but calm.
“Ming Jian’s past actions suggest that even if he returned to the war base, he wouldn’t avoid battles along the way. He would fight his way back,” Yin Hou responded respectfully, his voice steady.
“I’m ninety percent sure he’s hiding in this region,” Yin Hou pointed to a specific area on the star map.
“A hundred million li radius? It would take half a day just to cross this distance,” His Highness Feng Sheng muttered, shaking his head. “Searching this way won’t work.”
“We’ll wait. If he’s hiding to avoid the heat, he will eventually resurface,” His Highness Feng Sheng decided, his voice firm. “Once he acts, we’ll receive a message from the war base and make our way over.”
“Understood.”
The hunting team quietly assumed their positions in space on the edge of a cluster of ore-rich planets, biding their time.
They were like predators lurking in the shadows, their fangs hidden, ready to strike the moment their prey revealed itself.
…
About sixty million li from the hunting team led by His Highness Feng Sheng, three battleships were docked on an inconspicuous rogue planet.
Whoosh! A powerful vital aura erupted, spreading over a hundred thousand li before quickly receding.
Fortunately, this expanse of outer space was desolate, and apart from the Huo Cang Army team, no one sensed the fluctuation.
Whoosh! The vital aura surged again as Bing Roushui emerged from the hall, her demeanor colder and more focused than before. “I’ve finally stepped into the Void Refiner phase.”
“Congratulations on your breakthrough,” Pei He smiled, his eyes warm.
The captains were close, having sworn to break through together. They had endured countless trials, and seeing a friend succeed brought genuine joy to their hearts.
“Advancing to the Void Refiner phase is no small feat,” Lie Shier chuckled, though a hint of envy colored his tone.
“No need to envy Sister Bing. Our Dao comprehension is already at the sixth-level True Intent stage,” Yu Zhuo chimed in. “With time, we all have the potential to break through.” Yu Zhuo was the most reserved among the captains.
“Where’s the commander? Is he still in seclusion?” Bing Roushui asked.
“No,” Pei He shook his head. “The commander sent a message asking for our patience for a few more days.”
“Alright,” Bing Roushui nodded. “As for the trial mission, we completed it long ago. Waiting a few more days won’t hurt.”
Their trial mission required them to meet the ethercrystal laurel quota and survive on the battlefield for three years.
“Alright, Roushui, since you’ve succeeded, I’ll resume my watch,” Pei He said with a smile, leaving the battleship in a streak of light.
As Void Refiner Eminences, their Soul Wills could scan vast regions, ideal for routine patrols.
…
The captains continued their conversation.
Meanwhile, in a meditation chamber deep within the battleship, Wu Yuan sat in lotus position, his eyes closed, a mixture of surprise and confusion across his features.
A blood droplet? Wu Yuan muttered to himself.
In his upper dantian lobe, more than ninety percent of the dense, ocean-like blood mist had dissipated.
Wu Yuan’s soul essence gazed in astonishment at a blood-red, crystal-clear drop of blood suspended before the black pagoda pillar.
The blood droplet was small, only the size of a fist, yet it emitted an incredibly dense soul aura. Wu Yuan’s soul essence instinctively yearned to devour it!
This single drop of blood was the result Wu Yuan had been waiting for all these days.
He had initially thought that in six or seven days, the black pagoda’s stone column would absorb all the blood mist, but as the days passed, the rate of absorption slowed.
In the end, it did not completely devour the blood mist.
When the stone column reached its limit of absorption, its entire body turned almost blood-red, and then, just a few breaths, the blood-red color converged into a single point and flew out, forming this single drop of blood.
Origin Blood Droplet, nourishes the soul? Wu Yuan’s gaze lingered on the drop of blood as a message was conveyed to him.
The message only stated its name and effects, with no further details.
Truly bizarre. Wu Yuan frowned slightly. When the blood mist of my body refiner self reached saturation, I encountered that mysterious Origin Spirit, leading to a transformation of my Dao comprehension aptitude, laying the foundation for quickly grasping the True Intent of the Celestial Body Dao.
But when the blood mist reached its saturation point in my qi refiner self, the black pagoda didn’t show any abnormalities, and the base of the pagoda remained closed. Instead, this mysterious Origin Blood Droplet appeared. Wu Yuan shook his head slightly, perplexed.
The results were completely different. Was this due to the different cultivation systems of his true selves, or due to differences in cultivation levels? There was no way to know.
In the future, before my body refiner self breaks through to the Elysian Field phase, I must enter the Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield. Wu Yuan mused inwardly. I must accumulate the blood mist to its limit and try again.
Ever since his body refiner self had broken through to the Shambhala phase, the blood mist had never been accumulated to its limit.
Time passed.
Wu Yuan did not act rashly; instead, he continued to experiment and soon discovered that he could move the so-called Origin Blood Droplet freely within his upper dantian lobe. It responded to his thoughts effortlessly.
Having separated from the black pagoda’s stone column, this Origin Blood Droplet is now under my control, just like the blood mist? Wu Yuan pondered.
The message from the Origin Blood Droplet suggested it would likely be greatly beneficial to his soul.
Let’s try it. So far, the black pagoda has yet to harm me. Wu Yuan decided.
His soul essence remained in a lotus position as he maneuvered the Origin Blood Droplet until it hovered above his soul essence’s head. Then, with a steady breath, Wu Yuan released his control. To his surprise, the Origin Blood Droplet was drawn by an invisible force.
Drip! It directly fell onto Wu Yuan’s soul essence.