"The Void Refinement battlefield... we actually won so beautifully!"
When Lin Yue received the battle reports, he nearly broke into tears of excitement. He used his cultivation to suppress his emotions, determined not to show any weakness before his subordinates.
Heaven knew how much effort he had put into managing the entire Star-Sea Nine Domains. From the Qingtian Domain, which had been nothing but a mess of ruins, to later building the administrative teams under Qi Ping's support, and ensuring that every system and policy was perfectly executed... the sheer number of matters to handle was beyond imagination. During his busiest periods, he barely had time to rest, relying on pills to keep going.
Later, when Qingtian and the surrounding eight domains were merged into the Star-Sea Nine Domains, Lin Yue—who had only just begun to enjoy a bit of leisure—had to take up the mantle once more. The workload increased exponentially. Fortunately, his experience in building Qingtian and his increasingly mature management team allowed the Star-Sea Nine Domains to develop rapidly to its current state.
The operational mechanisms of a cultivation civilization were complex, and the difficulty of management was high. If a single link failed or someone intentionally sabotaged the system, the entire Star-Sea Nine Domains could quickly descend into chaos.
All of this was a civilized cultivation society he had built with his own heart's blood... No absolute monopoly over techniques and resources... No wanton oppression of low-level cultivators by their seniors... A relatively fair distribution mechanism... Everything could be earned through strength and hard work.
Here, one could work a simple job and cultivate at a leisurely pace, living a relaxed life. One could also choose to train desperately or undertake dangerous missions to earn resources. One could find ways to provide suggestions for the construction of the domains or research new technologies. One could even exchange their contributions for spirit items to change their natural aptitudes.
Currently, the entire civilization aimed to use the power of the masses to research technologies that would completely liberate the productive forces of the cultivation world... to find ways to increase the spiritual density and prosperity of the entire world.
Perhaps one day, they could use these technologies and their unique resources to open the markets of the Ten Thousand Domains of the Heavens... Lin Yue had seen in some records that there were specialized trade routes and merchants for the myriad domains. It was just that the Star-Sea World didn't have any. Perhaps a trading post had been set up nearby in the past, but after the world's decline, no one knew where those trade routes were anymore.
The Star-Emperor had also told him that one day, the Star-Sea World would open the market of the entire Heavens in its own unique way!
This was the Emperor's hope, and Lin Yue hoped to see that day as well. Such a future was one he was willing to give his life to pursue! Following the Emperor in such an endeavor, he was willing to sacrifice everything—even his own cultivation, even his path to immortality!
For the sake of building the Star-Sea Nine Domains, Lin Yue had actually neglected his own training significantly. Had it not been for the massive amount of resources Qi Ping provided, his cultivation would have long been left behind by others.
Including this war, his contribution was among the top few, yet he had not enjoyed a single drop of the Power of Creation that descended. Only those who participated in the World-Domain Battlefield received it.
To Lin Yue, however, this was merely a bit of a pity. As long as they achieved ultimate victory and the world he had poured his soul into could survive and prosper, then everything was worth it.
'As long as the Star-Emperor is here... that world that exists only in dreams... has a chance of becoming reality!'
'Now, as long as we can ensure the Unity stage battlefield doesn't suffer a crushing defeat, with the Star-Sea Nine Domains as our final fortress, there is hope for victory in this war. The Star-Sea Nine Domains might even use this war as a springboard to reach a new level...'
With the results of the Unity stage battlefield still unknown, the Qi Refining and Void Refinement levels had achieved absolute victory. Though the Qi Refining victory had been built upon a mountain of lives, artifacts, and talismans, the Void Refinement victory was a true, solid triumph. The Star-Sea World had even gained three absolute Void Refinement kings, two of whom were qualified to break through to Unity at any moment!
While the other battlefields had suffered heavy casualties, the defeats were not too crushing; some had even managed to break even. Most importantly, each stage had produced its own invincible kings—experts like Wang He the Heart-Core Shura, Qi Ping's Lightning-Tribulation Immortal Bamboo, the Blood-Yu Demonic Insects bred by Sister Nan, and the Demonic Physician Chang Qing. Almost every one of them was a monstrous genius.
With these individuals as the foundation and seeds of the Star-Sea, and the Nine Domains as the final fortress, the dawn of hope had begun to shine!
The only uncertainty now was the Unity stage battlefield.
A short while ago, Qi Ping's main body had entered a state of silence. Bai Liyun, who had become a True Demon Realm Unity stage cultivator, had not sent back any information since the beginning. Every bit of information regarding that battlefield remained a mystery!
Yet the Unity battlefield was precisely the most critical. Qi Ping's importance to the Star-Sea required no explanation. As the only Unity stage cultivator—and a practitioner of the ancient True Demon Realm—Bai Liyun could not be allowed any mishap.
Originally, as the two strongest combatants, their safety should have been the least of anyone's concerns. But they were facing an unknown number of demonic Saint-grade demons! Every single Saint-grade demon was one of the most terrifying monsters in the Demon Realm. Their physical bodies, vitality, combat methods, and innate abilities were all horrific. Some were at the late or even peak of the Unity stage. Faced with such enemies, Lin Yue and the others simply couldn't imagine how Qi Ping and Bai Liyun could win.
Even the brief glimpse they had caught before the battlefield opened allowed them to sense the terror of those Saint-grade demons. Those were existences that could suppress an entire region of the world just by standing there.
The Unity Stage World-Domain Battlefield...
On a shattered land, immortal bones were scattered, and immortal weapons lay corroded. The entire world held no sign of life; all things had decayed and withered, leaving only a world-enveloping aura of slaughter and the vengeful souls formed from endless resentment. These vengeful souls possessed no consciousness, yet a few of them possessed the strength of the Unity stage!
This was actually a specialized battlefield left behind from the Primordial Era.
Currently, on this withered battlefield, a figure shrouded in dense demonic energy was walking alone. On his back hung a pitch-black great-blade stained with countless bloodstains. Drops of red and green liquid slid down the blade's edge, suggesting he had just slain something.
Terrifyingly, the mere residual power within a single drop of blood falling from the blade's tip was enough to blast deep craters into the reinforced battlefield. The blood itself continued to sink into the ground, as if there were no end to it.
For a single drop of blood to possess such power! One could only imagine how horrific the figure who slew the blood's owner must be!
However, this figure shrouded in demonic energy seemed to have lost all consciousness. He was simply moving rapidly across the battlefield as if searching for something. Simultaneously, his body was frantically absorbing the surrounding resentment and slaughter-intent, converting it into the purest and most extreme True Demonic Power!
But this resentment and slaughter-intent were extremely violent. Not only was the conversion process difficult, but the resulting True Demonic Power was also exceptionally hard to control. They swirled around the blade-bearing figure, forming a force even more terrifying than the individual himself!
It was likely for this reason that the figure's aura was extremely unstable, like an uncontrolled super-beast that would tear apart anything that dared approach him!
The blade-bearing figure had traveled through this primordial battlefield for an unknown amount of time. He simply moved at high speed, his terrifying velocity enough to shatter space as he flickered through the battlefield—until he encountered another figure who was equally horrific!
It was a colossal figure eight thousand zhang tall, resembling a tortoise. It was encased in a savage, blood-colored shell that radiated an endless pressure. On the top of the shell were rows of spikes as sharp as divine weapons; the sharpness they emitted seemed no inferior to that of immortal artifacts.
Yet the most macabre part was the pitch-black snake head. From a row of savage fangs dripped a bizarre liquid that corroded the earth into countless craters. The snake head was covered in red spots that would cause an ordinary cultivator to fall into an illusion with a single glance.
With every breath, it whipped up a storm of immense lethality, causing space itself to shatter within the gale.
This was a late-stage Unity demon... a Saint-grade demon!
The Black Tortoise Demonic Crocodile!
Legend had it that this creature was born when a demonic tide devoured the corpse of a Black Tortoise, one of the four Saint Beasts. It possessed the tortoise's horrific defense and staggering strength, combined with the bloodthirst and eeriness of the demons. This was a Saint-grade demon that would make countless Unity stage cultivators turn and flee in terror!
Aside from its slightly lower speed, it was among the best in terms of offense, defense, and recovery. An ordinary Unity stage cultivator would have only two choices upon seeing it: turn and run, or die.
However, when the figure shrouded in demonic energy saw this horrific Saint-grade demon, he did not slow down. Instead, he grew excited, as if he had seen something enticing. He charged forward with even more incredible speed!
"What gall!"
"How many years has it been since I met such a reckless cultivator?"
Seeing Bai Liyun—who was the size of an ant compared to itself—daring to charge, the Black Tortoise Demonic Crocodile was nearly moved to laughter by the sheer absurdity of the sight.
It had only remained stationary because the Unity battlefield was too vast and the energy consumption for its movement and combat was too high. It had intended to simply wait for the world to be conquered so it could divide the world's origin essence. Now, while it didn't want to move, an ant had proactively delivered itself to its door.
The ant looked impressive enough, but could it even break its defense? It couldn't remember the last time its defense had been breached. The span of time was so long that even for a Saint-grade demon, the memory was fading.
"I actually feel a bit nostalgic..."
But the crocodile's calm state didn't last long. Its eyes, filled with skepticism, suddenly widened in horror!
The moment Bai Liyun drew near, a terrifying demonic blade capable of cleaving the heavens and earth instantly took form! Most horrific of all, this blade actually linked with the momentum of the primordial battlefield itself. Countless thoughts of slaughter and resentment were gathered onto Bai Liyun's blade.
As the blade that made the world tremble formed, it struck the crocodile with an unstoppable momentum.
The blood-red light rising from the crocodile was instantly shattered. Countless thorns on its shell were snapped! Intense pain surged into the crocodile's brain, instantly driving it into a total rage.
In a flash, its savage head flickered. In the next instant, the crocodile's mouth clamped down on Bai Liyun with unavoidable speed! Immediately after, it unleashed its divine ability—an ultimate lethality that erupted instantly!
Under this violent force, Bai Liyun's body was blown apart. Countless fragments of his body were reduced to nothingness under the crocodile's power.
"An ant with some skill, but that is all!"
"A pity I overestimated his defense. Otherwise, he might have been enough to fill the gaps in my teeth!"
A flash of disappointment crossed the crocodile's face. This was why it hadn't proactively hunted Bai Liyun; such an ant wasn't worth the trouble. And did anyone really think it was slow? Its overall high-speed movement simply consumed too much energy.
But before the crocodile could enjoy its victory, a familiar figure reconsolidated under the power of the World-Domain Battlefield! Following that, a bizarre, twisted laugh erupted from Bai Liyun's mouth...
"He's not dead?"
The crocodile's face showed a look of bewilderment. Its divine ability strike just now had clearly wiped out Bai Liyun's entire true spirit. It had used that strike to kill many Unity stage cultivators; anyone who couldn't escape or block it was dead.
But now, Bai Liyun had been reborn?
"No... he has linked himself to this world, its slaughter-intent, and its aura?"
In this moment, even the Black Tortoise Demonic Crocodile, which had lived through countless ages and seen many wonders, was utterly stunned. How could someone merge with the aura of a primordial battlefield?
If reaching Unity was as difficult as ascending to heaven, then the difficulty of what Bai Liyun was doing—merging with the aura of this specific battlefield—was an order of magnitude higher!
"How is this possible?"
The crocodile's heart was filled with disbelief. Simultaneously, sensing Bai Liyun's current state, a trace of fear began to rise from the depths of its heart.
It knew the terror of this primordial battlefield all too well!
Soon, the crocodile found the memory regarding Bai Liyun's state from its vast archives. "It's the True Demon Realm!"
"He is actually using a True Demon State to merge with the aura of this battlefield? He only just broke through to Unity—how does he dare to do this?"
In the crocodile's memory, a demon even stronger than itself had once encountered a cultivator of the True Demon Realm. That cultivator, by merging with his home world in a True Demon State, had actually reversed the situation and heavily wounded the demonic forces!
But that True Demon cultivator never woke up again. After slaughtering everything in his own world, he was completely assimilated and swallowed by the Great Dao.
"Damn it! Madman! Isn't he afraid he'll never wake up again?"