Lan Wei smiled and said, "Brother Wang, this chaotic battlefield is so vast, and so many timelines have been swallowed by it. Countless beings have fallen here. How could there only be the Emperor's Hall as the sole powerful force?"
"Although the Emperor's Hall is the main force fighting against the dark creatures in the chaotic battlefield, and they are also doing their best to rescue refugees, the number of beings who have fallen into the chaotic battlefield is simply too large. Moreover, quite a few beings have been corrupted by the dark creatures. Now, the Emperor's Hall dares not accept all the refugees."
"If the Emperor's Hall does not accept them, and everyone wants to protect themselves, it is only natural that they would gather together to form one small force after another."
Ye Ling sighed, "I didn't expect such complex relationships to exist even in a place like this."
Lan Wei said, "Wherever there are people, there is a martial world. It's not strange that the chaotic battlefield has developed into this. If it weren't for the fact that the dark creatures would erupt on a large scale every once in a while to 'cleanse' the chaotic battlefield, I'm afraid the chaotic battlefield would have long been occupied by beings from various timelines."
"Brother Wang, I'm serious. Do you want to join our army? The chaotic battlefield is extremely dangerous now, and if we calculate the time, the great cleansing is not far off. If you join us, your chances of survival will be much higher."
Ye Ling smiled at Lan Wei, "General Lan, I thank you for your invitation. However, I still wish to explore this chaotic battlefield thoroughly and do not wish to settle in one corner."
Seeing Ye Ling refuse, Lan Wei didn't say much, only stating, "Is that so... That's truly a pity. However, I must remind Brother Wang that the outside of the chaotic battlefield is extremely dangerous. If you encounter danger, you are welcome to return at any time. The gates of our military camp are always open to you."
As she spoke, Lan Wei handed Ye Ling a jade token. "This is our military token. With this, if you encounter my soldiers outside, they will not trouble you."
Ye Ling took Lan Wei's jade token, clasped his hands in thanks, and smiled, "Thank you. Brother Wang will take his leave now!"
With that, Ye Ling did not linger in the military camp. He soared into the sky and flew towards the distance.
After Ye Ling left, a yellow-haired man walked up to Lan Wei and bowed respectfully, asking, "General, what should we do next?"
Lan Wei gazed in the direction Ye Ling had left, her eyes gradually turning cold. She said faintly, "The great cleansing is coming, and all factions are actively preparing. We still owe a considerable number of sacrificial offerings. That Wang Liren appears to have decent strength and should be able to account for many. Since he is unwilling to join us, let's capture him for sacrifice."
Killing intent flashed in the yellow-haired man's eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Yes! Your subordinate will attend to it immediately!"
As the yellow-haired man left, Lan Wei looked again in the direction Ye Ling had departed and murmured to herself, "Brother Wang, everyone is living quite a difficult life in the chaotic battlefield. Since we are not friends, we can only be enemies."
With that, Lan Wei put on her helmet and entered the military tent.
Ye Ling, unaware that Lan Wei had already decided to make a move against him, found a place with a wide field of vision after leaving the military camp. He released his divine soul to search for the Emperor's Hall's strongholds.
The Emperor's Hall could be considered the oldest force in the chaotic battlefield, and it was under the command of the Demon Emperor. It was possible that someone within the Emperor's Hall knew information about the Origin Upper Realm.
Regardless, coming to the chaotic battlefield to find the Emperor's Hall and starting the search for the Origin Upper Realm from there was a sound strategy.
"Within a radius of fifty thousand miles, there are no less than ten forces similar to Lan Wei's army. I wonder which of these armies belongs to the Emperor's Hall..."
After scanning an area of fifty thousand miles and finding no effective information, Ye Ling expanded his divine soul's search area again. He discovered a solitary city standing more than fifty thousand miles away from him.
"There are cities in this chaotic battlefield?"
Ye Ling's eyes flashed with curiosity upon discovering the solitary city standing within the chaotic battlefield. He immediately teleported towards the city.
Upon arriving above the solitary city, Ye Ling realized that there were no beings from the lower realms within the city. The beings wandering inside were mostly dark creatures.
"This is a city of dark creatures?"
Seeing the dark creatures wandering below, Ye Ling had a sudden inspiration. He used runes to simulate dark energy, disguising himself as a dark creature, and descended into the city.
After Ye Ling entered the city disguised as a dark creature, the surrounding dark creatures merely glanced at him before paying him no further attention and continued with their own affairs.
Ye Ling scanned the city and muttered, "It would be great if the World Annihilation Spirit Fire woke up. He should be more familiar with this place..."
As he spoke, Ye Ling glanced at his wrist again and sighed, "I wonder when this fellow will awaken? It was clearly me who took the hits in the 'Wrath of the Ruins,' so why is this fellow sleeping so soundly?"
While Ye Ling was complaining, the city suddenly became lively. The city gates were opened, and carriages of prisoners were being pulled in.
And within those prisoner carriages were beings from the lower realms who had fallen into the chaotic battlefield.
What shocked Ye Ling even more was that the ones escorting the prisoner carriages into the city were also beings from the lower realms!
"What in the world is going on?"
Seeing a group of beings from the lower realms escorting another group of beings from the lower realms into this city inhabited by dark creatures, Ye Ling's eyes showed a trace of confusion. He immediately blended into the crowd of dark creatures and squeezed towards the city gate, trying to figure out the situation.
Ye Ling found a dark creature that looked somewhat foolish and asked him, "Brother, what's going on?"
The fat-headed and big-eared dark creature glanced at Ye Ling with disdain and said dismissively, "Are you an idiot? You don't even know about sacrifices?"
Ye Ling: "Sacrifices?"
The dark creature replied, "The chaotic battlefield has swallowed too many timelines, and now there are too many beings gathered in the chaotic battlefield. We can't kill them all. To control the number of beings in the chaotic battlefield, Lord Tian Xing came up with this method: making them kill each other."
"As long as each faction sacrifices ten people to us before the great cleansing, they can live for one person."
"Now that the great cleansing is approaching, the nearby armies, in order to survive, naturally have to make sacrifices to us."
Ye Ling frowned, "Such a thing exists?"
He hadn't expected that the dark creatures would come up with such a poisonous scheme to divide the beings within the chaotic battlefield.
More importantly, sentient beings are inherently selfish, and this poisonous scheme of the dark creatures precisely targeted the weakness of human nature, achieving excellent results!
Seeing Ye Ling's expression, the dark creature assumed Ye Ling was even more foolish than himself. Pity flashed in his eyes. He patted Ye Ling's shoulder and said, "Brother... don't be discouraged. It's normal that you can't understand Lord Tian Xing's strategy. After all, there are always mistakes when the Master creates us. It's not your fault for having intellectual deficiencies."
Ye Ling came back to his senses and asked the dark creature again, "Where will these prisoners be sent?"
The dark creature replied, "They'll be locked up in the city's dungeons. Prisoners have been sent here all these days. When the time comes, Lord Tian Xing will come to take them away."
Ye Ling's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked the dark creature, "You mean Tian Xing will come here?"
Judging by the dark creature's tone, Tian Xing should be a high-level existence similar to the Seven Pillar Stars or the Pillar of Shadows, a high-ranking figure among the dark creatures.
If he could capture Tian Xing, he might find clues to the Origin Upper Realm.
At the very least, Tian Xing would definitely know the location of the Emperor's Hall!
The dark creature said proudly, "Of course. Lord Tian Xing visits every city. Ours is a small city, but she will definitely come!"
"Judging by your tone, brother, you must have been newly created by the Master, right? You should get a good look at Lord Tian Xing then! She is a great beauty!"
Having obtained the information he wanted, Ye Ling was satisfied. He patted the dark creature's shoulder and smiled, "That's great... I will definitely meet her properly!"