At a peripheral battlefield.
A squad of spirit cultivators clashed with a group of demonic cultivators.
Both sides possessed nearly identical cultivation levels, which was precisely why these two forces had engaged in combat.
"Die, demonic cultivators!"
A spirit cultivator roared angrily, swinging his massive sword downward toward his opponent.
The enormous blade traversed hundreds of miles in an instant as it came slashing down.
"Child's play!"
The demonic cultivator responded calmly, raising his giant hammer to meet the attack.
With a resounding clang—
The hammer developed a fine crack from the impact, and the demonic cultivator's body was sent flying several miles backward!Staring in shock at his opponent's massive sword, the demonic cultivator grimaced and said, "To think a mere late-stage Heavenly Immortal like you could wield a supreme-grade immortal artifact!"
"There's more you don't know!" The Heavenly Immortal spirit cultivator sneered, charging forward with his sword again.
The two immediately exchanged thousands of blows in midair. As the battle progressed, the demonic cultivator grew increasingly anxious—he suddenly realized his spirit cultivator opponent not only possessed a supreme-grade immortal artifact as a weapon, but also wore supreme-grade armor and had several other combat-enhancing supreme-grade artifacts. This overwhelming wealth made the fight increasingly frustrating.
He noticed all his opponent's immortal artifacts bore a seven-star emblem, suggesting they came from the same source, but this observation proved useless.
However, what he failed to notice was that the moment he mentally noted the "seven stars," an ethereal mental avatar silently manifested in his consciousness sea!
This mental avatar, after its formation, remained quietly at the center of his consciousness sea, silently observing the demonic cultivator's battle.
The demonic cultivator immediately shouted to his comrades, "Hurry up and finish your opponents! My target here is ridiculously wealthy—multiple supreme-grade artifacts! Killing him would be hugely profitable!"
Yet no response came. When he diverted a sliver of attention to check on others, he discovered all his fellow demonic cultivators were similarly being overwhelmed by their spirit cultivator opponents!
"What the hell is going on?" The demonic cultivator's heart shook with shock.
"Daring to lose focus during our battle? Seeking death!"
Seizing this moment of distraction, his spirit cultivator opponent knocked away his weapon with a sword stroke and then slashed across his body.
The demonic cultivator's face paled as he forcibly refocused. No wonder no one had responded—they were all too busy themselves.
Though anxious, the demonic cultivator knew retreat wasn't an option on the battlefield. Gritting his teeth, he persevered, hoping someone might eventually break free to assist him.
Alas, under the spirit cultivator's relentless assault, he was ultimately slain by a final sword strike.
In that fleeting moment before death, the mental avatar dwelling in his consciousness sea instantly inherited 80% of his power and 90% of his law comprehension before vanishing with these gains.
The Heavenly Immortal spirit cultivator promptly looted the demonic cultivator's possessions, briefly noting how unusually withered the corpse appeared before incinerating it with a spell and moving to support other cultivators.
Across the battlefield, countless soldiers fell.
Most casualties, whether directly or indirectly, became aware of the "seven stars," spawning mental avatars that, upon their hosts' deaths, offered up a lifetime of cultivation achievements.
Su Yuan wielded an invisible scythe, continuously harvesting these matured mental avatars.
At his main body's location, since the harvested demonic energy was incompatible with his primary cultivation, Su Yuan manifested a third Nascent Soul specifically to receive these posthumous gifts from fallen demonic cultivators.
Vast quantities of demonic energy converged into this third Nascent Soul, elevating it to peak Xuan Immortal level within days, then swiftly advancing it to Golden Immortal tier.
Even Su Yuan was surprised by the Mind Echo's harvesting efficiency—his third Nascent Soul was catching up to his second at an astonishing rate.
As for deceased spirit cultivators' energy, it flowed into Su Yuan's main body's dantian, merging with the nine major Golden Cores and three thousand minor ones that had transformed into stars, gradually advancing his cultivation.
Unfortunately, while he harvested abundant law comprehensions, most were too shallow to significantly boost his power beyond expanding his repertoire of understood laws.
Su Yuan muttered, "I'll need some fallen Golden Immortals for rapid progress. This battlefield needs more intensity!"
After glancing at the distant fierce battles, he returned to his artifact forging.
From an aerial view, Immortal Legion 789's growing advantage became evident.
At the border regions, spirit cultivators steadily encroached upon demonic cultivator territory, tilting the battle in Legion 789's favor.
Chang Lin observed this development and exchanged glances with fellow deputy commanders.
Via voice transmission, Chang Lin proposed: "With our current advantage in mid-to-low level battles, let's jointly restrain their Taiyi Golden Immortals. Prolonged engagement will inevitably deliver us victory!"
"Agreed!"
The other Taiyi Golden Immortals weren't fools—they instantly approved Chang Lin's strategy.
Thanks to Xue Feng's favor, Chang Lin possessed slightly higher authority than his peers for temporary decision-making.
He promptly issued the combat proposal.
Five deputy commanders including Chang Lin charged toward seven enemy Taiyi Golden Immortals, provoking furious reactions.
"How dare five initial-stage Taiyi Golden Immortals attack seven of us? What gives you this audacity?" roared one enraged demonic cultivator.
Chang Lin remained calm as he approached. Upon closing the distance, a banner appeared in his hand!
His four comrades similarly produced banners of different colors.
The seven demonic cultivator Taiyi Golden Immortals froze in surprise.
Instantly, the five spirit cultivators activated the Five Elements Five Directions Suppression Banner Formation!
A colossal formation materialized, its immense suppression force instantly reducing the seven demonic cultivators' power by 35%!
Chang Lin's group then produced mid-grade Postnatal Spiritual Treasures and launched their assault!
Caught off guard by this sudden suppression, the seven demonic cultivators barely managed to summon their lifebound treasures for defense, immediately forced onto the back foot.
"You..." gritted one demonic cultivator through clenched teeth, "...are disgustingly wealthy!"
"Why so many mid-grade Postnatal Spiritual Treasures?"
"Look—they all bear the same peculiar mark! Clearly from the same source!"
"Investigate this thoroughly later! Damn it, we miscalculated!"
Temporarily trapped within the formation, the seven demonic cultivators recalled earlier battlefield observations showing their side's disadvantage—being pinned down now spelled disaster!
As the Taiyi Golden Immortals engaged, Golden Immortals likewise commenced their battles.
Though the high-level cultivators maintained external avatars for command, these projections couldn't reverse the deteriorating situation.
Soon, the entire legion plunged into furious combat.
Deaths blossomed across the battlefield like flowers, each withering into a mental avatar returning to Su Yuan's main body.
This endless cycle continued delightfully.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Immortal Legion 789's overwhelming advantage forced Demon Legion 618 into constant retreat, suffering nearly 30% casualties below Golden Immortal level!
Over three billion demonic cultivators perished, dealing a devastating blow to Legion 618!
Upon receiving reports of this disastrous turn, Legion Commander Chi Ling endured a minor injury from Xue Feng to hastily return to the frontlines.
His first act was tearing an opening in the suppression formation, allowing the seven battered Taiyi Golden Immortals to escape—all wounded, one severely depleted in foundational energy!
Before Chi Ling could reprimand his deputies, Xue Feng arrived in pursuit.
"Retreat!" Chi Ling commanded bitterly, withdrawing with his seven Taiyi Golden Immortals.
Chang Lin's group dared not pursue, merely watching them flee.
Xue Feng taunted, "Chi Ling, wasn't vengeance your aim? Why flee mid-duel?"
Chi Ling retorted, "You've made no progress in all these years, Xue Feng! Next time, I'll finish you!"
After this parting threat, he hurried back to his flagship.
Golden Immortal, Xuan Immortal, and True Immortal battlefields all began withdrawing—though retreat proved far more difficult at these levels.
Countless demonic cultivators fell during the withdrawal, their blood staining the White Leaf Stone Domain's pale stones crimson.
Demon Legion 618 regrouped its remnants and fled the domain in disarray.
Chang Lin inquired, "Commander, shall we pursue?"
Xue Feng shook his head. "No. Chi Ling remains combat-ready, and they still outnumber us in Taiyi Golden Immortals. We've already exceeded Immortal Alliance expectations. Assess our gains."
After reviewing casualties and achievements, Chang Lin reported: "Commander, we lost 3% of our forces while eliminating 39% of theirs—a decisive victory! Moreover, our Golden Immortals slew twenty-three enemies without losing a single comrade—a flawless triumph! This campaign has been overwhelmingly successful!"
Xue Feng nodded. "Now gather all spoils for trade at Seven Stars Market—we'll exchange for better weapons and medicines. This war shall fuel our growing strength!"