Qi Ping's current strength had already reached an incredible level, growing at a speed that Han Li and Zhang Daniu could not hope to match.
This battlefield was their best chance to exert and elevate their own combat power. At the same time, they wanted to stand by Qi Ping's side and fight alongside him, just as they had in the past.
Perhaps because of the presence of a true external enemy, the people of the Star-Sea Continent had never experienced such a harmonious relationship. Those who were once disliked or seen as rivals now appeared somewhat endearing; they even wished their rivals' strength could be a bit greater.
Only when facing these terrifying alien races did they truly feel the suffocating pressure of being surrounded by darkness and seemingly invincible enemies. At such a time, every human was like a spark of fire supporting them. It was the feeling of every companion by their side that gave them the strength to face the darkness.
Then there were those powerful underground beasts summoned by the Star Emperor. Previously, they would have found these beasts to be short-tempered and violent, but now they seemed so precious.
However, they also knew deep down that after this war, half—or even more than half—of the people around them would die. It was even possible they would be completely defeated, with not a single survivor.
Upon entering the World-Domain Battlefield—a realm formed by the interlacing of two worlds and the collision of world wills—everyone would be randomly placed within the shifting boundaries.
Inside this battlefield, terrifying natural disasters and extreme environments from both worlds would manifest randomly. These would be accompanied by horrifying explosive impacts; the core regions could even directly claim the lives of Void Refinement cultivators.
Once they randomly entered the World-Domain Battlefield, no one knew how many fierce demons they would encounter or if any of their own kin would be nearby.
Based on the estimated number of demons, it was not impossible for a single person to face a sea of demons that far outnumbered them. In such a situation, the only way to live was to slaughter one's way through and survive.
More importantly, survival was not the only goal in the World-Domain Battlefield. They also had to protect their own world's World Nodes and destroy the enemy's.
World Nodes would form randomly throughout the battlefield. These were the keys to both worlds and the decisive factor in whether a world-class war could be won. If too many World Nodes were destroyed, the entire world would suffer a devastating blow.
Of course, there were benefits as well. The World-Domain Battlefield was the cruelest meat grinder, but it was also an opportunity to soar.
To some extent, a World Node was the manifestation of a world's spiritual essence. If one could help their own world destroy and devour an enemy's World Node, they would inevitably receive a feedback from their world. These rewards could be the purest Fortune Spiritual Power, resources to enhance the physical body and comprehension, powerful techniques and spells, or even Heavenly Treasures.
This was why so many geniuses chose to go, even though they knew it was the most terrifying meat grinder and that no amount of background could guarantee their safety. It was a chance to change their fate against the heavens!
As long as one could slay enemies and destroy enemy World Nodes, a decaying body could find new vitality, incurable hidden wounds could be healed, and even mediocre talent could awaken a powerful physique! Everything was possible, provided one killed enough enemies and destroyed enough World Nodes!
An opportunity of this caliber would tempt even Qi Ping himself, the Earth Immortal of the Star-Sea Nine Domains. Such chances involving the most fundamental essence of heaven and earth absolutely could not appear during normal times, and Qi Ping could not manifest them through his own control. The level and grade involved were simply too high.
Furthermore, in this situation, the stronger the invading world, the more Heaven-Sent Fortune would be born!
With an invasion from an alien world of this scale, the Heaven-Sent Fortune generated would certainly not be weak.
But all of this was predicated on being able to win or hold out against the demonic offensive within the World-Domain Battlefield. If they lost or could not endure, there would be no talk of Heaven-Sent Fortune; they would likely be devoured until not even their bones remained shortly after entering.
To win the war within the World-Domain Battlefield, the strength of one person was not enough. Whether it was Qi Ping or Baili Yun, who had already ascended to the Unity stage as a True Demon, they were merely slightly larger specks of dust in that vast expanse.
The World-Domain Battlefield had a unique characteristic: the World Nodes were not dead objects. They could also attack and provide combat empowerment to the cultivators of their respective sides. If only a single Unity or Mahayana stage cultivator intervened in the battlefield, they would likely be torn to shreds in an instant.
To win this war, the strength of every single person had to be relied upon.
The outcome within the World-Domain Battlefield would also have a significant impact on the final result of this world-class war.
Precisely because of this, the gazes people cast at one another contained an unprecedented level of goodwill—one of the many facets of human nature.
This unique degree of unity when facing an alien race was one of humanity's advantages. Under Qi Ping's rule, this unity reached a height never before seen in history.
"Father, do you think we can return alive this time to see Mother and my younger siblings?" a young man spoke while gently wiping his precious sword, conversing with a middle-aged man who shared seventy percent of his appearance.
"With the Star Emperor leading us, we will surely win. Once we enter the World-Domain Battlefield, remember what I told you: focus primarily on staying alive. I will handle the contributions. I have a hidden trump card..." the middle-aged man said with absolute confidence.
But what hidden trump card did he truly have? At most, it was just some life-risking techniques. From the moment he arrived, he had never intended to return alive. He had long since practiced the best technique for burning his life force to enhance his strength.
As long as his wife and children lived, the massive amount of contribution points he earned would be enough to change their lives, ensuring they would never worry about resources for the rest of their days.
He believed the Star Emperor would surely deliver the resources into the hands of his family. He also believed the Star Emperor would protect the families of these death-sworn soldiers. Although he had not known the Star Emperor for long, he trusted him from the bottom of his heart.
So, all that remained was...
"Yes, I understand, Father. I will definitely work hard to live!" the man wiping the sword replied with extreme obedience.
But how could he not know that his father likely had no powerful trump card? Given his father's personality, if he had one, he would have handed it over long ago; how could he keep it for himself?
However, he chose not to expose the lie. He did not want his father to worry about him until the very end.
He himself did not have enough confidence to survive this battle, but no matter what, he would exert every ounce of his strength to win this war for the Star-Sea Continent.
His younger brother and sister, born not long ago, both had excellent talent. As long as this war could be won, the future path for his mother and siblings would be much easier to walk.
Of course, if possible, using the Fortune within the World-Domain Battlefield to change his fate, becoming a truly world-shaking genius, winning the war, and bringing his father home with their contributions was the best possible outcome...
As for a world without this war, that was merely an extravagant hope.
Having experienced enough, he had long known that this cultivation world was a place where you either ate or were eaten. To survive, one had to be strong enough or have a powerful enough backer. If it wasn't this war today, it would be some other war tomorrow. Plunder was the eternal theme, unless only one person remained in the world...
This father and son enjoyed their final moments of warmth and tranquility while harboring their respective thoughts, using communication talismans to report the news of their initial victory to their families.
They cherished this moment deeply. Even their past conflicts and arguments seemed so ridiculous now. It turned out that people only realized the value of certain things at the very end.
"Father..."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to call out to you..."
At this moment, both seemed to realize that the other understood everything. Neither broke the thin veil of pretense, instead choosing to enjoy the final warmth. This was likely the last time... but as long as there was hope for the future, it was enough.
Similar scenes were playing out continuously throughout the Immortal-Slaying City.
Some were fathers and daughters, some were brothers and sisters, and some were life-and-death friends or companions.
Except for a few lone wolves, most people had their own bonds. These bonds shone brilliantly in this final moment, even surpassing the attraction of breakthroughs or Spiritual Treasures in some respects...
Of course, bonds were not everything. Some people yearned even more for the Fortune within the World-Domain Battlefield. In their hearts, the Path to Immortality and walking among the heavens were more important than anything. Their only thought now was to slaughter all enemies and forge their own throne of bones!
Others took this final opportunity to confess to those they admired. In a situation where they might soon be eternally separated by life and death, things that could not be said in the past were finally voiced.
Some shared buried secrets or guilt with their companions—some concerning feelings, some concerning unspeakable secrets, and some concerning past betrayals.
The myriad facets of life were displayed without concealment at this moment.
Facing life and death, the things each person treasured most, their greatest pursuits, and their truest selves were all revealed.
What were "all living beings"? This was exactly it!
It was worth mentioning that under these circumstances, quite a few people attained enlightenment regarding their true hearts, breaking through their bottlenecks and achieving breakthroughs.
"Sigh..."
Qi Ping felt the incomparably active Path of All Living Beings within his body, sensing every individual emotion. His heart was a complex mixture of feelings.
Ultimately, all these interlaced emotions transformed into a single sigh.
How many of these living, breathing cultivators would remain after this war? Twenty percent? Thirty percent? Or perhaps less than one in ten?
If that were the case, it would mean the shattering of hundreds of millions of families.
This war had ultimately been triggered because of him.
But if there were no war, the "hellish survival mode" and the continuous decline of the Star-Sea Continent were also unavoidable.
Or, if he had not become the Earth Immortal of the Star-Sea Continent, someone else would have.
Of course, it was also possible that without him, the Star-Sea Continent would have been destroyed even faster, without even a sliver of hope, harvested to death by the upper layers of other places.
'I must persist in my own path and do my best; that will be enough!'
Life, death, fame, and the survival of the world—who could truly predict how much would remain?
Even the Little Immortal Tiger, who had awakened most of its Bai-Ze bloodline, could only deduce individual fates. To dare involve oneself in a world-class war, even touching upon a sliver of it, would result in death; even Qi Ping could not protect it.
Under such terrifying power, the resurrection ability of the Beastwarden Messenger—the advanced form of the Beast King Druid—might not even be able to revive someone. Qi Ping now knew that many powers were ultimately limited. Some forces were even more terrifying than the Druid powers he mastered. Maintaining reverence for the world was one of the laws of survival here.
Even a Mahayana stage cultivator, who appeared to stand at the peak, was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the vast myriad realms.
Qi Ping himself was not omnipotent. He was merely a seeker of the Dao who wanted to live well in this world.
He was not one for "hearing the Dao in the morning and dying in the evening"; he simply wanted to explore the essence of power and cultivation, and then live a good life.
'Furthermore, I have always agreed that this is the path I want to take. No regrets in the move!'
That was enough!
"Lord Star Emperor, what are you thinking about?" a gentle female voice rang out near Qi Ping's ear.
Qi Ping turned his head and met a pair of eyes that were gentle to the extreme.
But behind that gentleness, Qi Ping sensed even more determination and a competitive spirit.
"Sister Nan, are you blaming me for never formally telling you my identity?"
The title "Lord Star Emperor" caused a helpless smile to appear on his face.
"How would I dare? If I did, the people below wouldn't even need you to lift a finger; they'd drown me in their spit!"
"There was a reason before. The karma of this identity is too great. Before I truly unified the Star-Sea Continent, being involved even slightly would have meant a certain-death situation for you and Old Man Zhou..."
"I know," Sister Nan replied.
How could she not understand the terrifying enemies and the narrow escapes Qi Ping had faced? Even now, looking back at Qi Ping's experiences, she still felt a lingering fear!
Back then, why hadn't she noticed that the timid and cautious little Qi would have such a daring side? Which of those events could anyone but the most audacious dare to do?
"I just came to talk to you. Perhaps after leaving the World-Domain Battlefield, you won't see me again."
Qi Ping did not refute her words, for even he could not guarantee one hundred percent that this clone of his could survive. Even Baili Yun, the current Unity stage True Demon, might die.
"Sister Nan, how about... you go back instead?"
Facing one of his few remaining relatives, Qi Ping ultimately could not bear to let her take the risk.
However, in the face of this suggestion, Sister Nan shook her head with absolute firmness.
"I am also a part of the Star-Sea Continent. I have received the heritage of the Beast God Sect and the Eight-Winged Ant-Fairy; it wouldn't make sense if I didn't contribute my strength."
"Moreover, I must catch up this time. I will not allow myself to retreat, and Senior Eight-Winged Ant-Fairy would not agree either..."
As Sister Nan's voice fell, her originally gentle gaze became instantly firm. The terrifying Time-type demonic insect by her side began to stir up a distorted time storm...