After firming its Dao Heart, the Eight-Winged Ant Immortal—now an Age-Demonic Insect—charged into the fray. Having once been a time-type spirit insect at the Void Refinement Stage and having survived for eons by relying on the power of time, it was intimately familiar with the application and might of such forces. Consequently, upon awakening its past memories, its overall combat strength surged. A terrifying Age Domain instantly manifested amidst the swarming insects.
"We won!"
"The Soul Transformation battlefield... we won!"
When the final results of the Soul Transformation battlefield emerged, every cultivator of that rank and the staff at the Star-Sea Command Center felt an impulse to weep with joy. It had been too difficult! It was truly an ordeal. To achieve such a result despite the staggering disparity in combat power was beyond everyone's expectations.
The Soul Transformation cultivators, in particular, could hardly believe they had survived before such horrific enemies, let alone slain so many of them. Before joining the Star-Sea Nine Domains and becoming Qi Ping's subordinates, they were indeed Soul Transformation experts, but their cultivation manuals, spiritual techniques, foundations, and paths all suffered from significant flaws. Their overall combat strength was quite limited.
Since joining the Nine Domains, however, they had not only obtained the powerful manuals and techniques best suited for them, but they had also exchanged valuable experiences with numerous peers. Resources, opportunities, and spirit tools had followed in succession. Now, through the Power of Good Fortune, they had awakened various special talents, granting them the qualifications to advance further on the path of immortality. Slating numerous powerful demons felt like a dream.
To put it bluntly, their current selves could easily crush their former selves before they joined Qi Ping's command with a single hand. The difference was as vast as the distance between heaven and earth. This realization made them understand even more clearly that choosing to join Qi Ping was the best decision they had ever made in their lives.
However, their greatest excitement in the present moment came from using their newly acquired power to slay many formidable demons. This victory established an invincible belief in their hearts, giving them even more confidence for the upcoming final showdown!
Furthermore, the Soul Transformation battlefield's ability to secure a fifty-percent survival rate was inseparable from the efforts of the Star-Sea Command Center. From the start of the World-Domain War, the Command Center had continuously collected information, simulating and testing various combat modes to determine how to preserve strength while killing as many enemies as possible. They researched the demons' weaknesses and traits to develop targeted tactics and assassination strikes.
It was precisely because of such an information aggregation and research body that they could constantly provide feedback on the demons' tactics and optimize through experimentation. It could be said that the vast majority of demon races—their basic constitutions, talents, characteristics, weaknesses, and counter-methods—were recorded in great detail at the Command Center. Research into spells and spoils of war that could counter various demons was ongoing even now.
The existence of this information was of immense value to the war effort, especially through such an exceptionally efficient institution. The fact that the World-Domain Battlefield could yield such surprising results was largely due to the Command Center's existence.
In truth, before the war began, aside from the Qi Condensation suicide squads—who possessed an overwhelming number of talismans and spirit tools—the worst-case estimate for the other levels was a survival rate of only ten percent, or even total annihilation! The disparity in combat power was simply too great.
How could they fight such strong enemies? From top to bottom, almost no one believed the Star-Sea Continent could achieve true victory within the battlefield. Most placed their final hopes within the Star-Sea Nine Domains, where Qi Ping could control the Earth-Immortal Domain. What they had done previously was merely perform every task and every battle to the best of their ability with a resolve to die, not daring to harbor strong expectations for the outcome. Some were even unwilling to face the "luxury" of hope in their hearts.
But now, nearly all reports from the front were exceeding expectations. In the early stages of the battle, the losses were indeed heavy. However, starting from the mid-early to the middle stages, the Star-Sea world fought better and better, pushing its advantages and capabilities to their absolute limits. It was only after the survivors obtained the Power of Good Fortune and completed their final breakthroughs that the tide truly turned.
Although the win rates across the levels from Qi Condensation to Soul Transformation were not particularly high—some still below fifty percent—it was enough to let everyone see a glimmer of hope. A mortality rate of only thirty to forty percent, though staggering in terms of raw numbers, was a great blessing for the Star-Sea Continent. It was already a stunning victory!
Looking back, every link in the chain had played its role to the extreme. Had any part failed to achieve such startling results, the Star-Sea world would likely have been crushed into near-extinction. This moment also allowed people to see just how much influence Qi Ping wielded over every aspect of the world. His presence had permeated every facet of the Star-Sea.
Yet, despite the surprising results in the lower ranks, the most decisive impact on the war still rested on the Void Refinement and the peak Body Integration battlefields. This would be the true nightmare for the Star-Sea world.
The peak existences of the Demon Realm were almost entirely concentrated in these two stages. Aside from the Mahayana Stage powerhouses who could not enter the Star-Sea world, the demons with the strongest bloodlines, the longest lifespans, and the highest combat power were all here. King-level Void Refinement demons and Body Integration Saint Demons!
Any one of those powerful existences could be called a nightmare for human cultivators. For instance, consider the Thousand-Eyed Colossus from before; if not for Bai Liyun's specific counter-abilities, no one in the Star-Sea world might have been able to slay it smoothly—even Qi Ping would have found it extremely difficult. Or take the mysterious Black Hole Demonic God; almost no one's attacks could cause a ripple against it, save for Qi Ping's.
And those formidable representatives were only a fraction of the Demon Realm's strength. One could only imagine how terrifying the Void Refinement and the higher Body Integration battlefields would be. These tiers could not be swayed by mere talismans, especially since the Star-Sea Continent lacked talisman masters of that caliber. Everyone only possessed a few trump cards left over from ancient times, which were like trying to douse a forest fire with a cup of water.
The Star-Sea world's extreme lack of top-tier combat power and resources directly elevated the difficulty of these battlefields to "nightmare" or "hell" mode. Currently, in terms of Void Refinement combatants, the Star-Sea only possessed the Void-grade Little Stone Spirit, Meng Tianqi (who understood the Laws of Life and Death), the recently ascended Wood Immortal Matriarch, three Void Refinement Void-Aether Fish, and the original number one expert of Star-Sea—the Myriad Law Celestial Physique, Ji Qingyue.
In contrast, the number of Void Refinement demons accumulated by the Demon Realm far exceeded that of the Star-Sea. Facing truly top-tier demons, these human cultivators might not even win in a one-on-one fight, let alone against multiple foes. If Qi Ping and the others hadn't used formations and spirit tools to kill many demons early on, and if Bai Liyun hadn't forcibly broken through to Body Integration and used the Heavenly Tribulation to thin the ranks, the difficulty of the current battlefield would have risen by another two levels.
Even so, reality remained cruel. Shortly after the Void Refinement battles began, the Wood Immortal Matriarch and one of the Void-Aether Fish fell.
Given the spatial talent and powerful spatial techniques of the Void-Aether Fish, it should have been impossible to slay one easily. However, shortly after that fish entered the battlefield, it encountered a demon whose body was composed entirely of blue silken threads. Faced with this, the fish followed Qi Ping's instructions and immediately chose to flee, intending to find the Little Stone Spirit or Meng Tianqi.
Although the fish were strong, they needed five or six of their kind working in unison to form truly formidable combat power. With only three of them at the Void Refinement Stage, they couldn't handle those horrific demons alone. Demons of this level possessed bloodlines that were at least equal to, if not far superior to, the Void-Aether Fish.
Unfortunately, just as the fish tried to escape, the blue demon's eyes erupted with brilliant blue light. Instantly, countless blue, wriggling threads sprouted from the fish's body. The fish was paralyzed almost instantly. Moments later, it was bound tightly by the wriggling blue silk.
Feeling its life force being rapidly devoured, the fish unhesitatingly initiated a sacrifice! In a flash, it was enveloped in a soft white light and vanished without a trace.
The reason the fish was so decisive in its sacrifice was that if it were completely devoured, even Qi Ping, as the Beast Guard Envoy, would be unable to resurrect his companion. Normally, when Qi Ping's animal companions died, the sacrificial power within them would sacrifice the corpse—just as the fallen Golden Marrow Bees had vanished after being enveloped in that light. But now, the fish felt its body, soul, and power being consumed by those blue threads. In just a moment, a quarter of its being had been eaten.
Under such circumstances, the fish could only initiate an active sacrifice. Ultimately, it only managed to save a little over half of its body.
The moment the fish vanished, the brilliant light in the eyes of the bizarre silken demon dimmed. A hint of confusion flashed in its eyes; this was the first time such a little fellow had successfully escaped its innate divine ability.
At the same moment the fish fell, Qi Ping, within the Nine Domains, sensed it.
'It's only just begun, and a Void Refinement fish has already fallen?' Shock rose in Qi Ping's eyes.
He knew the fish's escape capabilities better than anyone. Even Meng Tianqi or Bai Liyun at the Great Perfection of Void Refinement would find it hard to secure a kill if a Void-Aether Fish was determined to flee. Yet, such a creature had died so quickly, making Qi Ping realize that something extraordinary must have appeared in the Void Refinement battlefield.
Qi Ping did not hesitate, immediately using his abilities as the Beast Guard Envoy to resurrect the fish. As a white light shone before him and his soul power and spiritual energy were rapidly consumed, a dreamlike Void-Aether Fish gradually manifested.
Once the fish was fully restored, Qi Ping's brow furrowed tightly. 'It's the same as before. The resurrected companion has lost a portion of its life origin. While this can be slowly recovered over time if it happens once or twice, if it happens too often, the path to advancement might be completely severed.'
Moreover, the fish before him was shockingly weak.
"Boss..." Upon seeing its boss, the fish nearly burst into tears.
"Fubao, what happened?" Qi Ping asked, stroking its head. Fubao was the name of this fish; at Qi Ping's current realm, remembering the name of every companion was no difficult task.
"Boss, I encountered a demon made of wriggling blue threads. With just a look, blue lines started growing all over me..." As the fish spoke, it felt a chill; that bizarre scene was truly too frightening. It had twisted space with all its might, even unleashing spatial storms, but it couldn't shake off the influence of the blue threads. Thus, it had sacrificed itself without hesitation. Had it been any later, it would have been completely extinguished.
After hearing the account, Qi Ping's frown deepened. 'It seems a formidable entity has entered the Void Refinement battlefield.'
However, aside from relaying this news and the demon's attack methods to those in the field, he could do nothing more. The appearance of such unimaginably bizarre demon races was within expectations; the upper echelons of the Demon Realm surely possessed horrific monsters. They had to face them head-on. He could only hope that the powerful foundations of Meng Tianqi and the Little Stone Spirit would allow them to defeat this eerie foe.
Shortly after the fish's "death," the Wood Immortal Matriarch also fell. Unlike the fish, however, her fall was pre-planned.
Having only recently broken through to the Void Refinement Stage, she had no chance of victory against the horrific demons, despite her extraordinary combat power. Thus, from the moment she entered, her goal was to carve out a sub-battlefield for herself to draw away a portion of the enemy. She had already condensed her entire Green-Wood power into a seed and protected her last sliver of True Soul with Qi Ping's help.