Once he had completely adapted to this ultimate Calamity Battlefield, he began his search. Now his goals were clear: the primary target was to destroy the enemy's world node, and the secondary target was to find a way to kill the demon Saint Demons.
However, the primary goal was far more important. As long as he could destroy the enemy's world node, whether he killed the Saint Demons was not that important.
But after searching for a long time, Qi Ping truly realized how vast this World-Domain Battlefield was. After traversing for so long with his strength, he hadn't even reached the boundary of this Calamity Battlefield!
"Just how big is this place?" Qi Ping grew more shocked as he went. "How much energy would it take to form such a terrifying battlefield?"
This was a point that confused him greatly. Based on the current state of the Star-Sea Continent, even if it were several levels stronger, it likely wouldn't have enough power to form such a massive Calamity Battlefield. To have such a vast area where nearly every corner was filled with natural disasters capable of threatening Body Integration existences was simply absurd.
Qi Ping had even experienced Heart-Demon Tribulations in a few spots! It was preposterous. He couldn't imagine anyone other than an absolute all-around warrior surviving in such a terrifying place. Forget fighting; just staying alive would be a feat for the strong.
The only reason he could do it was that he practiced the Dao of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements along with various special abilities, and he also placed great importance on cultivating his state of mind. Now he could freely traverse this battlefield, whereas anyone else would have been consumed by the calamities targeting them. Even staying in one place was useless, as the disasters would descend and appear randomly.
"No matter how I look at it, this doesn't conform to common sense. Although there are many Providential Powers in the Star-Sea Continent I haven't fully explored, and energy can be generated in ways I haven't yet comprehended, it's absolutely impossible to form such a ridiculous Calamity Battlefield!"
Qi Ping was 99% certain. "If that's the case, could it be that a special power of a higher level is controlling this place? Something like that Edict Dao-Rule that instantly annihilated all the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Star-Sea... no, it should be even stronger than that Edict!"
Because that "Immortal" had been heavily wounded by the backlash after descending the Edict. Yet, such World-Domain Battlefields appeared in almost every world-level war! If it truly were the work of some existence or being, the terrifying power they possessed was simply scalp-tingling to contemplate.
"Then what is the purpose of connecting all worlds into battlefields? Is it a game of the gods? Or a special selection and contest?"
While feeling his scalp tingle, Qi Ping also felt a trace of interest. The world seemed to be getting more terrifying, but also more exciting. Qi Ping even felt that it was perhaps not impossible for an existence to destroy ten thousand domains with a single thought.
At the same time, Qi Ping was certain that even if such an existence existed, they could not possibly know everything. This world was too complex—so complex that anyone who wanted to control everything would be instantly assimilated or directly collapse...
"I feel like my state is getting stranger... as if ever since I opened that mysterious box and saw that Black-Thread Treacherous Immortal, my consciousness has undergone some change. Have I discovered the so-called truth? Or have I touched a real Pandora's Box?"
Qi Ping couldn't figure out the reason now. "Forget it, I'll deal with this battlefield first. If nothing goes wrong, there should be some Saint Demons with special attributes who are suffering in this environment. If I encounter them, I must take advantage of this favorable environment and kill them. Otherwise, once we leave here, it won't be easy to slay a Saint Demon!"
Casting aside the extra thoughts, Qi Ping threw all his energy into this battlefield. Whatever the future looked like, or whether there was an unknown Pandora's Box, he had to protect the Star-Sea Continent. Furthermore, encountering such a perfectly suited battlefield meant he had to seize the opportunity.
Thus, Qi Ping sped across the Calamity Battlefield. As he grew more familiar with the various disasters, his speed in resisting, decomposing, and absorbing them increased, and his cultivation rose steadily under the pressure.
Finally, after searching for about half a day, Qi Ping discovered the second living being to enter this battlefield!
It was a demon Saint Demon shaped like a mantis. Its eight legs were composed of incredibly sharp blade-limbs, each emitting an aura stronger than the blade in Bai Liyun's hand. They were covered in countless bloodstains, with terrifying baleful wraiths condensed upon them. With every strike, these wraiths would launch a horrifying spiritual soul attack. Most terrifyingly, there were even Body Integration-level souls among them—and more than one!
An Eight-Armed Mantis!
"It's him!" Qi Ping recognized this late-stage Saint Demon at a glance.
This demon race was a terrifying existence renowned throughout the world. Their attack power was even more frightening than that of sword immortals—a frenzied and bloody race that was the perfect slaughtering species! Legend had it that almost nothing could block the strikes of an Eight-Armed Mantis. The Body Integration baleful souls it stepped upon served as proof.
Before, outside the City of Immortal Slaying, when this Saint Demon appeared, it had even made a throat-slitting and dismembering gesture toward the upper echelon of the Star-Sea Continent. It was the most arrogant among the Saint Demons.
However, its current state was not good. Its originally sharp aura now seemed somewhat withered. This was because the Eight-Armed Mantis had a glaring weakness: while its lethality was peerless, its stamina was much worse. It required a constant supply of fresh blood and corpse essence to ensure absolute endurance. But in this Calamity Battlefield, where the hell was it supposed to find fresh blood and corpse essence? Its ability to resist these Body Integration-level natural disasters was mediocre at best.
The moment Qi Ping discovered it, the Eight-Armed Mantis also discovered him.
"Hey! Were you the one who wanted to kill me just now?" Qi Ping mimicked the throat-slitting gesture toward this arrogant fellow.
Such a terrifying demon Saint Demon had to be dealt with here. Otherwise, once this fellow left, the entire Star-Sea Continent—except for the Nine Domains—would be slaughtered. Even Qi Ping wasn't confident he could block this guy outside. So, now was the best chance to kill him!
However, while Qi Ping talked big, his body honestly activated all his defensive means: Domain of All Living Beings, Five-Colored Immortal Light (Extinction), Yin-Yang Five Elements Shield... Facing this guy, Qi Ping was truly afraid he might accidentally be sliced into sixteen pieces!
"Blood-food!"
The Eight-Armed Mantis was no longer as arrogant as before. It was currently driven to madness by the calamities ravaging the battlefield. Who could have expected to end up in such a shitty battlefield! It hadn't seen an enemy yet, nor had it attacked the Star-Sea Continent to find food, and it was already almost worn down to death by these ubiquitous disasters.
But finally, food had arrived! Seeing Qi Ping, the mantis's eyes instantly turned crimson. Its body appeared before Qi Ping almost instantly—or rather, faster than an instant!
Advance, swing!
With an incredibly simple movement, the entire world was instantly sliced into sixteen pieces! Everything before it—space and natural disasters—was split in two! The legend of "Eight Blades Slicing All Things" was exactly this.
As the target, the pressure this attack brought to Qi Ping was terrifying. In this moment, Qi Ping suspected he had already been cut open. Facing such an attack, with his consciousness and combat power, he barely had time to react.
"Bloody hell, that's fierce! Is this the terror of a demon Saint Demon?" This race had a reason for throwing the myriad worlds into panic. They were incredibly powerful! In just a single exchange, Qi Ping's Yin-Yang Five Elements Shield was sliced open like tofu...
While Qi Ping was caught in the mantis's attack, other parts of the World-Domain Battlefield had already turned into seas of blood and mountains of corpses. Wretched bodies lay in every corner—some were demons, others were warriors of the Star-Sea Continent.
In every battlefield, once the two sides met, a slaughter with no retreat or compromise would begin until one side completely fell! Every breath since entering the battlefield saw countless lives lost.
At this moment, in the Qi Condensation battlefields. These battlefields had the lowest cultivation, but the largest numbers! Because the sub-battlefields for the Qi Condensation level were smaller, once the fighting started, bodies fell like wheat.
In the strategy for the Qi Condensation battlefields, because items exceeding that level could not be carried in, every warrior carried only items of that rank. The Star-Sea Continent had chosen a cruel strategy:
Sacrifice!
Following the recent development of the Nine Domains, many infants with exceptionally special and powerful talents and physiques had been born because of the environment. These highly gifted children, having grown up under the cultivation path best suited for them as researched by the Star-Sea Academy, had become the strongest Qi Condensation cultivators in the continent's history. Some were even very powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators.
With the best manuals and cultivation systems, their overall foundation surpassed any era of the Star-Sea Continent's past! Combined with their weapons, they would have no problem sweeping through demons of the same level.
But in the end, all of them were forbidden from fighting! Because the number of Qi Condensation demons was simply too vast, and there would be a even more cruel final battle after this. If these highly talented cultivators joined, they would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties! These people could not be allowed to die. If they did, the Star-Sea Continent would suffer a severe generational gap in talent.
To protect this group, the Academy ultimately decided to hire the Star-Sea Mercenaries to fight. These people's talent and combat power might be very ordinary, and their foundations might even have great flaws. But none of that mattered, because they only needed to possess one thing: the determination to face death with equanimity!
The Talisman Pavilion would provide them with a massive quantity of lethal talismans. Their goal was simple: wear the thickest armor, carry the most talismans, and kill as many demons as possible! And then... return alive, if possible.
The Academy would provide the most generous rewards based on each person's kill count. Their families or other designated relatives would also be included in the Academy's special cultivation program.
Before announcing this plan, there were worries about whether enough Qi Condensation cultivators would step forward. But the number of volunteers was unexpected; even Qi Ping had underestimated the attraction of these resources.
It was, in a way, a tragedy. Resources that were now... insignificant to Qi Ping could buy the lives of so many cultivators! Crucially, they were even competing for the chance! Because this was far better than the situation they previously faced. To die with such value was almost a luxury.
Qi Ping sympathized but said nothing, only increasing the rewards further. Someone had to be sacrificed in the process; all he could do was make their departure more composed and valuable.
What Qi Ping didn't know was that a significant portion of them didn't do it for profit, but out of support for him. They had long since had no expectations for the future, but because of the Star Emperor, this cultivation world seemed to have gained something different. They were willing to go completely mad once for the sake of that difference. Or perhaps, by killing enough enemies, they might change their fate.
In short, this strange army of mercenaries, with little individual combat power, became the main force of the Qi Condensation battlefields. And the Talisman Pavilion, which gathered all the talent and knowledge of the continent, provided the greatest assistance. The pavilion's annual output of Qi Condensation talismans far exceeded the total output of the previous ten years, because the number of talisman experts, the production processes, and the success rates were now incomparable. Even the quality was much higher.
It was because of them that the death-defying charge of the mercenaries became possible. With the addition of talismans, this bizarre Qi Condensation army might be the strongest of its kind in the entire cultivation world! Faced with this army, even the most brilliant genius or stunning talent, as long as they were at the Qi Condensation level, would be torn to shreds!
The current situation on the battlefield thoroughly demonstrated the combat power of the Star-Sea Mercenaries...