Translator: CinderTL
Elsewhere in the Star Abyss, Primordial True Martial led a group of ten people through the treacherous landscape at full speed.
As he moved, his team grew steadily larger.
Ten, fifteen, twenty...
Yet even so, when he received the news from the front lines, his brow furrowed in disbelief.
"How could they fail to stop him? How could they fail to trap him?"
The Void Refining cultivator's eyes held a mixture of confusion and cold fury.
"They truly couldn't stop him," the elder beside him, who maintained constant communication with Gui Xing, Mo He, and others, said gravely. "Mo He led thirteen Void Refining cultivators to ambush Li Chunjun and suffered a crushing defeat. Gui Xing then led nineteen more Void Refining cultivators to intercept Li Chunjun, but they suffered even heavier losses, with nearly the entire force wiped out. Mo He and Gui Xing are now desperately calling for reinforcements. If no reinforcements arrive soon, all thirty-two of their Void Refining cultivators will be slaughtered."
"Impossible! Thirty-two Void Refining cultivators! Thirty-two elite Void Refining cultivators, no less—the kind who dare to venture into the Star Abyss! That force could easily hold its own against a hundred newly advanced Void Refining cultivators, and even against Venerables who had just cultivated Supreme Dharma Aspects, they could quickly surround and kill them. How could such a large group be completely wiped out?"
Primordial True Martial could hardly believe it.
"It was a tactical error, but Li Chunjun's ferocity was also to blame. He and Mo He, along with thirteen others, had already inflicted mutual casualties in their battle. Gui Xing, eager to claim credit, split their forces in two, giving Li Chunjun the opportunity to use the True Spirit Incineration Secret Art to pick them off one by one..."
The elder paused, glancing at the distress signal from Mo He's group. "Based on the current trend, it seems Li Chunjun... might break through their encirclement before the True Spirit Incineration runs out."
"The True Spirit Incineration Secret Art!"
Primordial True Martial knew this technique.
It was far more extreme than simply burning Qi.
But it had a major drawback: the more thoroughly the True Spirit was incinerated, the shorter its duration.
The reason Gui Xing, Mo He, and their thirty-two companions had fallen so quickly wasn't just tactical errors. Another factor was undoubtedly their fighting spirit!
"Faced with a peak Void Refining cultivator willing to risk his life, one who had unleashed the True Spirit Incineration and was fighting with everything he had, pushing his combat power to the next level of Void Refining, who wouldn't be terrified!? They must have scattered in panic, abandoning any sense of unity, each hoping to let others wear down Li Chunjun's strength so they could swoop in and claim the spoils later!"
Primordial True Martial said coldly, "If they had truly united, forming a Battle Formation with ten or twenty Void Refining experts, fearlessly confronting Li Chunjun's True Spirit Incineration Secret Art, perhaps three or five, at most seven or eight, would have fallen. But as it stands, Li Chunjun has already incinerated his own True Spirit, reduced to ashes. How could he have broken through their encirclement and found a chance for Nirvana Rebirth?"
The old man listened to Primordial True Martial's words without rebuttal.
He, too, couldn't imagine any other reason why so many Void Refining experts would have perished at Li Chunjun's hands, aside from Gui Xing, Mo He, and the others' fear of Li Chunjun's True Spirit Incineration, causing them to scatter and giving him the opportunity to pick them off one by one!
It couldn't possibly be that Li Chunjun had single-handedly slain thirty-two Void Refining experts, could it?
Especially considering that four out of those thirty-two were Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation Void Refining experts!
Such a feat...
Even Primordial True Martial, Wu Ji Sect's carefully cultivated seed, couldn't achieve it!
Li Chunjun had only been cultivating for such a short time. Even with the Profound Yellow Sect's training, he couldn't possibly have become this strong.
"Li Chunjun must die! Even if Mo He, Gui Xing, and the others can't kill him, they must pursue him relentlessly, giving him no respite and preventing him from joining forces with the Profound Yellow Sect. Otherwise, all our efforts will be wasted, and the dozens of Void Refining cultivators who sacrificed themselves earlier will have died in vain!"
Primordial True Martial calmly ordered, "Issue a mobilization order! Everyone, converge to surround and kill Li Chunjun! Simultaneously, have the Elders closest to the Profound Yellow Sect's Void Refining cultivators engage them, preventing them from joining Li Chunjun and providing him with support!"
"Understood!"
The old man nodded. "The Star Abyss has always been under our Wu Ji Sect's control. We have several times more Void Refining cultivators risking their lives here than the Profound Yellow Sect. This shouldn't be difficult."
"Mere numerical superiority isn't enough. The key is that these cultivators must have the courage to fight to the death! Otherwise, even if they surround Li Chunjun, he can still break through their ranks using the True Spirit Incineration Secret Art, scattering them like chaff. Such a lack of fighting spirit renders their numbers meaningless."
Primordial True Martial spoke coldly, "Issue my order! All Void Refining Elders from every sect must do their utmost to surround and kill Li Chunjun! Anyone who disrupts morale, feigns compliance, or flees in battle will be charged with treason and executed without mercy!"
"Treason?!"
The old man was deeply shaken by Primordial True Martial's words.
If this charge were confirmed, it wouldn't just mean execution without mercy!
Even the families, powers, and factions behind them would be implicated!
While not as severe as exterminating nine generations, the impact would be scarcely less devastating.
"Whether Li Chunjun broke through the encirclement of over thirty Void Refining Elders, including Mo He and Gui Xing, through sheer reckless courage, or whether Mo He and Gui Xing made a tactical blunder, it cannot conceal the fact that Li Chunjun's strength is nearly equal to mine! And considering his youth... and the fact that he hasn't yet advanced..."
Primordial True Martial's voice grew heavier, "He's aiming for the Supreme Dharma Aspect!"
"Supreme Dharma Aspect!"
Those four words made the old man's pupils contract.
"Once he masters the Supreme Dharma Aspect, coupled with their association with the Profound Yellow Supreme banner... he might even emulate our Wu Ji Sect and become a disciple of a Dao Venerable, completely transforming the Profound Yellow Sect's status!"
Primordial True Martial paused, his voice deepening. "The Profound Yellow Great World is vast, encompassing hundreds of thousands of Realm Regions and countless Spirit Refining and Void Refining cultivators. Yet, it's also too small, barely able to accommodate another Council-level Power besides the Wu Ji Sect and the Taixu Sword Sect."
The old man's expression darkened as he listened. He slammed his fist on the table and declared, "I understand. Li Chunjun must die."
"Of course, we can't neglect the necessary incentives! I'll petition the sect to offer resources for forging a Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation to anyone who kills Li Chunjun!"
"Resources for forging a Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation!?"
At those words, even the old man's eyes brightened.
Primordial True Martial's command was highly effective.
Even a Void Refining cultivator, no matter how powerful, would see their status plummet if they didn't join a major power.
They might still reign supreme in some Lesser Domains, wreaking havoc as they pleased, but they would completely lose their foothold in the Profound Yellow Great World. Moreover, they could forget about gathering enough resources to forge a Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation, let alone accumulating enough Dao Pills to comprehend the Dao and transform into a Law-Born Life.
Therefore, when Primordial True Martial's order reached all Void Refining cultivators in the surrounding areas, even those who were reluctant had no choice but to race towards the Void Refining cultivators led by Mo He and Gui Xing.
Of course, many Void Refining cultivators had learned that Li Chunjun had been forced into True Spirit Incineration mode. Coupled with the sect's promise of top-tier Dharma Manifestation materials as a reward for delivering the final blow, their travel speed naturally reached its peak.
They raced to the battlefield as if their lives depended on it, eager to land the final blow on Li Chunjun, become heroes of the Wu Ji Sect, and enjoy the status of a Top-Tier Dharma Manifestation Elder!
This created two distinct groups of Void Refining cultivators: the eager and the reluctant. Their differing speeds further divided the encirclement.
Though each group numbered thirty to forty cultivators, even within these groups, there were gaps.
A distance of a dozen or several dozen breaths' travel time between the two groups was perfectly normal.
A dozen breaths, a few dozen breaths—how fleeting!
But Li Chunjun's combat strength now was far greater than when he fought Mo He.
Before his upgrade, a dozen or two Void Refining cultivators could barely trade blows with him.
After his upgrade...
Killing a dozen or two Void Refining cultivators wasn't much harder than killing ten or eight.
As a result, the first wave of Void Refining cultivators were dead within a few dozen breaths of arriving. By then, the second wave had just arrived, assuming that Li Chunjun, in his True Spirit Incineration state, was now at the end of his rope. They charged forward fearlessly, only to...
be annihilated!
When the next wave of Void Refining cultivators arrived and witnessed the scene—Li Chunjun surrounded by Mental Power Fire—they had similar thoughts.
Coupled with Primordial True Martial's death order...
Whether they liked it or not, these Void Refining cultivators charged forward again, only to follow in the footsteps of the previous two waves.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty...
In the short span of a quarter of an hour, numerous Void Refining cultivators fell.
This scene left the disciples guarding the Hall of Everlasting Life Lamps in the Wu Ji Sect's Great Camp pale with fear.
"Extinguished! Extinguished! Elder Zhou's Life Lamp has been extinguished!"
"Elder Chi's Life Lamp has also been extinguished!? So fast! The row of Life Lamps I'm watching is extinguishing at an alarming rate!"
"Can you be faster than me? I've already extinguished six lamps!"
"Six lamps? That's nothing! The side hall I'm guarding has extinguished eleven lamps! We've broken double digits!"
One after another, Primordial Spirit Realm disciples guarding the life lamps exchanged Divine Sense.
After their Divine Sense converged, an uncontrollable wave of fear surged through their hearts.
Each life lamp represented a Void Refining Elder!
But now...
Too many lamps had been extinguished!
Compared to the current rate of extinguished lamps, the previous incident of nineteen Void Refining Elders falling in battle was utterly insignificant.
After the initial shock and terror, these Primordial Spirit disciples quickly reported the news to the Elder in charge of the Hall of Everlasting Life Lamps.
The Elder already knew that the sect was concentrating its elite forces to hunt down Li Chunjun.
Since Li Chunjun was no weakling, he had mentally prepared for the possibility of Elders dying in the process.
Even when the news of the tenth extinguished life lamp reached him, he merely sighed, cursing the Profound Yellow Sect and Li Chunjun.
But as the disciples continued to report, pushing the number of extinguished lamps to thirty, then forty, and as the rate of extinction showed no signs of slowing, even the Elder in charge of the Hall of Everlasting Life Lamps grew alarmed.
The news quickly reached Sect Master Yuan Taiji of the Wu Ji Sect.
Immediately...
The Sect Master of the Wu Ji Sect erupted in fury once more.
(End of the Chapter)
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