Chapter 1239: No Dead Body Hard Touch

In the starlit battlefield, where stars shimmer brightly, a unique drum sound reverberates, forming a sound imbued with immortal magic that ripples through the void.

This is the God-Suppressing Drum.

It is a potent weapon used by the Scale Army during patrols to sweep away hidden deities.

It can detect all traces of deities within its range and is extremely sensitive to anomalous energies.

The drumbeat now served as a guide, locking onto all directions. Under the directive of its deep resonance, five flying boats from the patrol fleet swiftly departed.

They headed straight for their destination.

The rest of the patrol fleet continued exploring other directions, awaiting updates from the flying boats dispatched on the eradication mission.

Thus, time slowly passed.

The exploration of other areas was still ongoing when, unexpectedly, an early report came in from the dispatched flying boats.

"Sir, we have followed the drum's guidance and reached Greyling Star, the site where the deities established their altars. However, the ground here is covered with deity corpses, and... they are completely clean."

The messenger's tone was peculiar.

"Unknown individuals arrived here before us and eliminated them."

Inside the patrol fleet's flying boat, in the starry sky, sat a stern-faced middle-aged cultivator in charge of the mission.

This cultivator, clad in blue scale armor, exuded the aura of a peak Quasi-Immortal, an undeniably extraordinary presence.

Seated cross-legged, the middle-aged cultivator absorbed the relayed information. His eyes abruptly opened and closed, a thoughtful expression now etched on his face.

This major war zone was under the Scale Army's jurisdiction, and this particular area was assigned solely to his patrol unit.

But now, unknown parties had acted before them...

The middle-aged cultivator quickly issued a command. The next moment, all patrol flying boats changed course, vanishing into the starry void and speeding towards Greyling Star.

Not long after, outside Greyling Star, near the location of the Xuan, Lin, Mo, Ling, and Feng teams, patrol flying boats materialized from the void, rippling through the starry sky.

The moment they appeared, led by the peak Quasi-Immortal middle-aged cultivator, over a hundred figures streaked out like meteors, heading straight for the planet.

They arrived in an instant.

And then... everyone's expressions became strange.

What met their eyes was a collapsed divine altar and deity corpses scattered everywhere.

The corpses were shriveled, none killed by a single blow. Instead, they clearly bore marks of having been stimulated, as if their essence had been forcibly harvested.

And indeed, they were "clean"...

Not a single trace of essence remained.

Seeing this, everyone exchanged glances.

This method simply didn't resemble the style of their Scale Army.

"It looks a bit like a corpse-looting team... too clean," a personal guard beside the middle-aged cultivator, who was in charge of the patrol, murmured.

This sentiment resonated with many.

The scene before them, no matter how one looked at it, strongly suggested that a corpse-looting team had been there.

After all, harvesting essence was a meticulous task. Their own methods would rarely achieve such thoroughness; it required extensive practice.

"However, those corpse-looting teams, like vultures, only appear at large-scale battlefields."

"They usually don't frequent places with only a few dozen deities."

Someone else raised a question.

"Could it be scouts from another military legion who came here, accompanied by a corpse-looting team? What kind of bizarre setup is that?"

As everyone analyzed, the peak Quasi-Immortal middle-aged cultivator's gaze swept over all the corpses, then to the collapsed altar, finally settling on one particular body.

Gazing at the corpse, his eyes gleamed faintly as he slowly spoke.

"This deity was a mid-stage Divine Altar!"

"They were hidden here, setting up a divine altar. It wasn't yet time for it to activate, so they had to hastily initiate it."

"Therefore, whoever killed them didn't detect them with a God-Suppressing Drum like us. Instead, they had already been targeting them."

"To kill a mid-stage Divine Altar in such a short time, and then erase all traces so that we couldn't detect them, these unknown individuals are far from simple."

As the middle-aged cultivator finished speaking, silence instantly fell around them.

After a while, the middle-aged cultivator withdrew his gaze.

"Report this matter up the chain," he said. "It seems comrades from another military legion have crossed into our zone."

With that, he turned and stepped into the starry sky, and the cultivators beside him also ascended, returning to their flying boats.

Many, however, turned back as they returned, gazing at the battlefield with a sense of awe.

"They crossed zones, and they even brought a corpse-looting team..."

Meanwhile, in the starry sky some distance from Greyling Star, Xu Qing and his group — whom the Scale Army patrol had mistakenly identified as cross-zone visitors — were speeding onward while concealed, telepathically discussing and summarizing the battle.

"The harvesting speed is still too slow."

"Although we excel at live harvesting, that method requires sealing the deities first, which isn't as quick as outright killing them."

"And to be more thorough, we also need to continuously stimulate them..."

"It's fine normally, but on the battlefield, corpse harvesting is actually more suitable!"

"We need to practice corpse harvesting more. The faster we can harvest, the more effective we'll be on the battlefield."

Amidst this discussion and summary, Xu Qing spoke, setting the direction.

"So, moving forward," Xu Qing declared, "besides our collective corpse-looting missions, we'll continue our previous method: find suitable small deity teams, both to harvest and to practice!"

As Xu Qing's words spread, everyone nodded in agreement, then dispersed to find their next target.

Soon, only Xu Qing remained in the starry sky. He watched the departing ascendants, and after a moment, found a meteorite to use as his temporary dwelling, where he sat cross-legged.

He prepared to continue absorbing essence, striving to constantly improve his cultivation.

Simultaneously, after what he had experienced on this journey, Xu Qing sat cross-legged in the surrounding silence, pondering the war.

"Overall," he mused, "the delays happening in the left-wing frontline war zone are clearly a coordinated trick played by both sides."

"Each has its own objectives."

"Unfortunately, due to a lack of comprehensive information, it's impossible to discern the true objective of the central war zone."

"But one thing is certain: with a war of this scale and such immense sacrifice, what is to be achieved must be of extremely significant strategic importance!"

Xu Qing mused.

Only by understanding the overall trends of the war could he better acquire what he needed.

"I am currently at the early stage of Quasi-Immortal cultivation; to reach Grand Perfection, I need a massive amount of essence..."

"And time is running out."

"Everything needs to be expedited!"

Xu Qing murmured, then raised his hand to take out the essence he had harvested along the way and began to absorb it.

Time, just like that, slowly passed.

Three months flew by in a flash.

Over these three months, within the war zone supervised by the Scale Army, incidents similar to the one on Greyling Star occurred multiple times.

Each time, before the patrol team arrived, the hidden deities were eliminated and their essence harvested.

Moreover, the speed of both combat and harvesting became increasingly faster.

The thoroughness with which battlefields were cleared also became increasingly neat.

Gradually, rumors began to spread among various patrol teams.

Rumor had it that a cross-zone squad from another legion was active within the Scale Army's war zone, described as ruthlessly efficient and equipped with a corpse-looting team, making every action swift, precise, thorough, and decisive.

This matter gradually provoked strong dissatisfaction among the local corpse-looting teams in the war zone.

It also caught the attention of the military's high command, but just as they prepared to investigate thoroughly, this mysterious squad vanished without a trace, no longer appearing.

Since similar incidents occasionally occurred in various war zones, the Scale Army didn't overly divert their attention to investigate after the squad disappeared.

Another reason was that the warfare in this war zone was becoming increasingly frequent.

At this moment, a small-scale battle involving thousands of troops from both sides was erupting on a giant white planet.

Roaring and low growling sounds echoed from afar.

Divine arts and immortal techniques unleashed multicolored lights, dazzling in all directions.

Both sides were engaged in fierce combat.

At the edge of the battlefield, on a giant white mountain, a group of corpse-looting cultivators were waiting.

Among them was the elder who had instructed Xu Qing and his group a few months prior.

Xu Qing and his group were also present, currently seated cross-legged, extending their senses to observe the battle ahead.

As they watched, unlike the reserved demeanor of the other corpse-looting cultivators, Xu Qing and the other ascendants grew increasingly impatient.

Their frequent "wild hunts" during this period had yielded substantial gains, and their harvesting speed had significantly improved.

Their respective cultivations had all increased.

However, the frequent outbreaks of war in the zone meant they had no time to continue their wild hunts, forcing them into repeated corpse-looting missions.

They had been waiting here for a long time, but the battle was deadlocked, with no quick resolution in sight.

One by one, their eyes gleamed with a faint light, mostly turning towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing also frowned. Over these three months, the essence gains had improved his cultivation, and he was now in a hurry to get to the next battlefield.

But clearly, the battle here wouldn't end anytime soon.

After pondering, Xu Qing suddenly stood up and took a step forward.

The moment his foot landed, the surrounding ascendants became excited and stood up one after another.

The other corpse-looting teams nearby, however, were surprised.

Especially the elder who had previously instructed Xu Qing; he looked over, just about to speak.

The next instant, Xu Qing's speed suddenly surged. Amidst a roaring sound, he transformed into a long rainbow, like a sharp blade, heading straight for the battlefield.

Behind him, Zhou Zhengli and the others also sped off without hesitation.

Looking at them, these dozens of people, like both vultures and a pack of wolves, deeply shook the other corpse-looting cultivators on the mountain.

The elder's eyes widened even further.

"They're going in early? This..."

The elder exclaimed.

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Qing and his group had already forcefully entered the battlefield in the distance.

Bursting into the fray!

Instantly, deafening roars filled their ears, and the ripples of magical arts surged against their bodies.

Xu Qing took the lead, his speed fully unleashed. He transformed into an afterimage, darting through the battlefield, appearing directly beside the corpse of a peak Divine Flame deity.

He raised his right hand and pressed it onto the corpse's chest, beginning to harvest essence right there on the battlefield, in full view of the many combatants from both sides!

As large quantities of essence were harvested, the deity's corpse rapidly withered.

The nearby combatants, both cultivators and deities, were stunned after their peripheral vision and divine sense detected this scene.

They had never witnessed such a thing.

Soon, it wasn't just the combatants around Xu Qing who were stunned. With the arrival of Zhou Zhengli and the others, these ascendants had already dispersed, each heading directly for a corpse.

Harvesting frantically!

Their movements were skilled and extremely fast; after finishing one, they swiftly pounced on another.

Thus, more and more combatants from both sides witnessed these incredibly bizarre scenes unfolding on the battlefield.

Both sides were clearly fighting to the death, yet a group of people suddenly appeared, harvesting corpses right in front of them.

For the cultivators, though they found it bizarre, they were human after all. But for the deities, it was clearly highly provocative, and those nearby immediately took action.

However, these corpse-looting teams that had burst into the battlefield had clear objectives: if they encountered resistance, they immediately abandoned it, swiftly departed without lingering to fight, and sought other deity corpses.

On the battlefield, both sides were already deadlocked, with life and death hanging in the balance. If they diverted their attention to these corpse-looting teams or pursued them, the Scale Army cultivators fighting them would immediately seize the opportunity.

Thus, the deities had no choice but to hold back. Furthermore, since these corpse-looting cultivators were not weak themselves, they thrived on the battlefield like fish in water.

Frantically harvesting deity corpses one after another.

But if it were just that, it would have been fine. After all, there were only dozens of these incoming corpse-looting cultivators, having very little overall impact on the battlefield.

But... soon, a different scene unfolded where Xu Qing was.

While pouncing towards a deity's corpse, Xu Qing came across a peak Divine Flame realm deity in front of him, locked in a life-or-death battle with a Scale Army cultivator.

The deity's eyes were cold, their divine arts were erupting, and the essence within their body was surging, emitting an enticing aura.

The Scale Army cultivator, with bloodshot eyes, was about to fight desperately.

But the next instant, both the cultivator and the deity saw a blur.

Xu Qing's figure abruptly appeared in their sight.

Before they could react, Xu Qing, who had just arrived, raised his right hand and grabbed the deity's neck. The power of his Immortal Embryo surged forth like a monstrous flood, pouring into the deity's body.

A piercing wail instantly erupted from the deity's mouth. Its life force extinguished in an instant, and its neck exploded with a bang, completely collapsing.

It became a corpse.

Xu Qing squatted down, harvesting while it was still "warm."

The Scale Army cultivator, who had originally been about to fight desperately, paused in a daze, then his eyes showed gratitude.

This scene was noticed by Xie Lingzi. He licked his lips and also made a move, attacking a deity that was battling a cultivator.

Forcibly "collecting" the corpse.

Soon, other ascendants also followed suit, each of them, like wolves and tigers, making their moves.

If there were corpses nearby, they harvested them; if they encountered a tempting target along the way, they forcibly "collected" the corpse.

If they could fight, they fought; if they could ambush, they ambushed. If they couldn't win, they immediately and unhesitatingly used life-saving methods to escape.

Thus, a ripple gradually began to spread across the battlefield.

Although the ripple was small at first, as time passed and Xu Qing and his group became more frenzied, they slowly began to draw attention.

The commanders of both sides in this battle also noticed.

Compared to the deities' side, who frowned, the peak Quasi-Immortal commander on the cultivators' side, however, had a strange gleam in his eyes.

As for the other corpse-looting teams on the distant mountain, including the elder, their minds were already reeling intensely, and they were utterly dumbfounded.

"Is this corpse-looting?"

"It is corpse-looting, I saw it very clearly," a teammate beside him murmured. "They all loot immediately after killing..."