Chapter 1237: 摸尸队

Warfare on the left flank is becoming increasingly frequent.

At every moment, outbreaks occur in different locations, like flickering sparks.

Although the scale of each engagement isn't large, typically involving around a thousand individuals, their widespread occurrence indicates a spreading trend.

War, as a whole, serves a purpose.

Therefore, whether it's a large-scale battle or a small-scale conflict on the left flank, each has its own objective.

If most of these individual objectives are achieved, they will collectively form the final trajectory, leading to the fulfillment of the ultimate goal.

This is the essence, and also the game.

Just as Xu Qing and others surmised after gathering all the information: the deployment in the central part of the left flank is complete.

So, while the deployment in the central left flank combat zone is complete, the increasingly frequent small-scale battles between deities and cultivators on this front line... the underlying purpose is already quite clear.

Both deities and cultivators are using these frequent small-scale battles as a cover!

For instance, among the many sparks of war between the Fourth and Fifth Star Rings, one location is an asteroid-strewn area.

There, a bloody battle between two sides was underway.

From a distance, the area echoed with roars, destruction, and fragmentation, constantly assailed by alien and immortal spiritual energies.

One side sought to invade.

The other was blocking them.

The conflict was extremely fierce.

On the scattered asteroids in the outer periphery, a group of people gazed at the distant battlefield.

Mostly dressed in grey and black, numbering nearly a hundred, they watched like vultures, their gazes sharp, observing their surroundings and closely monitoring the battle's progression, seemingly ready to retreat if things went awry.

Among them, an elder spoke in a low voice to a nearby cultivator.

“I was right, wasn't I? The battle upfront couldn't possibly end so quickly. By my estimate, it will last at least another half an hour.”

“Had I not seen you a few months ago, known your origins, and sensed your tokens earlier, I wouldn't have called you over after your arrival.”

As the elder spoke, he scanned the dozen or so individuals before him. Feeling the ominous aura emanating from them, he was inwardly startled, especially when his gaze fell upon their leader, where the sensation of that aura was even more intense.

“Speaking of which, you're quite renowned now, having managed to cross the central combat zone to reach the front line. However, since you've chosen to join the scavenger corps, there are some things you need to understand.”

These dozen or so individuals were, of course, Xu Qing and his group.

After volunteering for the mission, they arrived here two hours ago as per their assignment, but before they could even approach the battlefield, they were stopped by the elder guarding the periphery.

They recognized each other's identities: they were all part of corpse scavenging teams.

The elder, having recognized Xu Qing and his group's origins, extended goodwill and invited them to join him.

Listening to the elder's words, Xu Qing, Xing Huanzi, and the others exchanged glances, then cupped their fists towards the elder, humbly seeking his guidance.

The elder nodded slightly and continued.

“Although our official title is 'collectors,' since you've chosen to join, I assume you have some understanding. To put it nicely, we clear battlefields; to put it bluntly, we are essentially corpse scavengers!”

“And to clear a battlefield, naturally, you must wait until the fighting has ended before you can go in.”

“Otherwise, you wouldn't be scavenging corpses; you'd be participating in the battle.”

“You must remember, fighting is something for the military cultivators to do. We generally don't get involved. What we do is go in *after* they've finished fighting!”

“Because... our participation could potentially interfere with our military cultivators' formations. Additionally, we have another mission: to ensure a retreat path for the military cultivators upfront if they suffer a defeat!”

At this point, the elder's expression grew much more solemn.

Xu Qing and the others nodded slightly upon hearing this, their expressions also turning solemn.

In reality, they had no intention of truly entering the battlefield; they merely wanted to get closer to facilitate immediate collection of source essence.

After all, their group considered themselves skilled at collecting source essence.

Ever since they became members of the Resource Bureau, they had frequently undertaken such tasks, not only completing collection assignments but also secretly retaining a significant amount each.

However, their previous collections were always from living sources; collecting from the corpses of deities was a first.

Seeing that Xu Qing and the others were listening intently, the elder's solemn expression faded, and he let out a cough.

“Those things I just said, just listen to them. In reality, we don't need to guard the retreat path, and entering the battlefield is unlikely to affect military formations.

Those words are for outsiders. What we need to know ourselves is this: remember, you mustn't go in too early, because if you go too early, your life or death will be unpredictable.”

“Wait until the battle is over before going in; that's when it's safe. Also, in war, the outcome is uncertain, so we must be prepared to swiftly withdraw ourselves if those military cultivators are defeated.”

“You lot are still too young. If I hadn't stopped you just now, and you'd gotten too close, who knows how many of you would be dead by now.”

“There's one more thing you should know: do not clash with the military cultivators...”

Before the elder could finish his sentence, Xu Qing's expression suddenly shifted. He and Xing Huanzi, along with the others, successively looked up towards the distant battlefield. The elder also paused mid-sentence and abruptly turned his head.

They saw that on the distant battlefield, immortal spiritual energy surged dramatically, and cheers echoed in all directions.

A Daoist banner could be vaguely seen being erected there.

“Victory!”

The elder's eyes lit up. Disregarding the rules he was about to tell Xu Qing and the others, he abruptly swayed and shouted to those around him.

“Everyone, let's get to work!”

As his voice echoed, the elder had already charged forward. His subordinate teams also flew out, each licking their lips, like vultures spreading their wings, whistling forward at full speed.

Xu Qing and the others also immediately stepped forward, moving together.

In this way, within a short period, everyone, like sharp blades, plunged directly into the asteroid belt, getting a close view of the battlefield.

In this vast area, divine corpses lay scattered, divine blood stained everything, and severed limbs, broken artifacts were visible everywhere.

There were also a fair number of cultivator corpses.

The main cultivator army had already departed, but some military cultivators remained behind, also clearing the battlefield and collecting source essence.

The elder and his subordinates seemed accustomed to this; they didn't even glance at them, heading straight for the corpses that no one had yet collected from.

Some were cutting, some collecting, some storing...

They coordinated perfectly and moved with astonishing speed.

Their proficiency was extreme.

In just a dozen breaths, they had cleared a significant portion; everywhere they passed was spotless.

The divine essences were harvested, while the cultivators' corpses were laid to rest, not desecrated in the slightest.

Witnessing this, Xu Qing and his group's pupils contracted. Zhou Zhengli and the others, in particular, felt a sense of solemnity.

The elder and his subordinates were truly more skilled at collecting than they were!

Especially their speed; it was astonishingly fast.

“These people specialize in corpse harvesting; they're different from us!”

Xu Qing and the others exchanged glances and immediately rushed into the battlefield to begin collecting.

It must be said, however, that even though they hailed from the Resource Bureau, their collection speed was still considerably slower compared to the elder's group, and their work wasn't as meticulous.

Furthermore, when harvesting from corpses, the source essence left by deceased deities was not as active, and the quantity was significantly less than when they were alive. Thus, even after laborious collection, the amount of source essence obtained was often negligible.

Fortunately, there were many corpses.

Therefore, to obtain a sufficient quantity, they needed to process more divine corpses.

The corpse scavenging teams, it seemed, had their own rules: once a divine corpse was being collected by someone, even if the process was ongoing, others would not contend for it.

Xu Qing and his group quickly discovered this and adhered to the rule.

However, there were still those who tried to seize things.

These were not other scavenging cultivators, but the military cultivators who had remained there.

They were often very overbearing, arriving rudely regardless of whether a corpse was already being collected. Their expressions, to varying degrees, showed annoyance and helplessness.

This was understandable, as these were, after all, killed by their own military.

However, all war materials, including spoils of war, were subject to unified management, so they had nothing to say about it.

Nevertheless, to appease them, after a battle, while the main army withdrew, each military corps would leave some individuals behind to collect.

This was also tacitly allowed.

The corpse scavenging team led by the elder was clearly accustomed to this; they would immediately abandon a target upon encountering such individuals and rely on their speed to find the next one.

However, Xu Qing and his group, being new to corpse scavenging, were clearly slower, thus becoming prime targets for those military cultivators to seize from.

Thus, several hours later, this previously vast battlefield area had become almost unrecognizable.

All cultivator corpses were respectfully laid out.

And taken away by their respective military cultivators.

As for the collection from divine corpses, the elder's scavenging team took nearly sixty percent.

The military cultivators took thirty percent.

The final ten percent... was obtained by Xu Qing's group.

So, after the clearing concluded and the military cultivators departed, Xu Qing and the others found themselves pondering somewhat.

Seeing this, the elder, whose harvest was plentiful, walked over with a smile.

“Gentlemen, are you feeling a bit helpless, perhaps a little irritated from being robbed? You need to get used to it. After all, they were the ones who killed them, so it's normal for them to take things.”

“You'll be fine once you practice your collection speed more.”

Having said that, the elder bade farewell, turned, waved his hand, and led his subordinate scavenging team away from the battlefield area.

Even after everyone had left the central asteroid belt, Xu Qing and his group continued their deliberation.

The elder's judgment was clearly mistaken.

Xu Qing and the others' contemplation was not due to helplessness or irritation.

After all, the deities here were killed by the military cultivators, so it was only right for them to take the spoils. Even putting themselves in their shoes, if others came to collect from the deities *they* had killed, they wouldn't agree either.

Therefore, what they were pondering was...

“Our speed isn't as good as the scavenging team's, and we have no justifiable reason to compete with the military cultivators...”

“So, since the scavenging teams only go in after the battle ends...”

“What if we enter the battlefield beforehand...”

As Xu Qing and the others pondered, they each looked up and exchanged glances.

They all saw a strange gleam in each other's eyes.