Chapter 1240: Raising Head to Look at the Bright Moon

Indeed, they were looting corpses!

Over the past three months, Xu Qing and his group had accumulated valuable experience. While live collection was effective, its speed was difficult to improve due to various constraints. Therefore, their primary focus had been on practicing corpse collection—a crucial skill better suited for battlefield acquisition. After all, corpses were the most common sight on the battlefield. Of course, if a more enticing target wasn't already a corpse, they would simply kill it and turn it into one... Consequently, within three months, Xu Qing and his team had vastly improved their corpse collection speed.

Now, on this grand star battlefield, they unveiled their methods unreservedly for the first time, bringing immense shock and impact to everyone. Not only were the other corpse-looting teams on the mountain dumbfounded, but the cultivators on the battlefield also felt their minds stirred, and their pressure relatively eased.

However, a battlefield maintains its balance. The pressure alleviated for the cultivators now entirely fell upon the divine side. This meant that while those deities were locked in life-and-death combat with cultivators, they also had to be wary of surprise attacks and corpse looting. Looking around, Xu Qing and his nineteen companions moved across the battlefield like vultures in form, hungry wolves in heart, yet ghostly in movement. They scattered, resembling nineteen serpentine swords aiming to pierce through the battlefield. Wherever they passed, corpses withered, and weaker deities collapsed. Even powerful deities, with a slight oversight, would face a life-or-death crisis if an opportunity was seized.

Naturally, the attention they garnered grew. Some deities, drawn by this energy, even preferred to abandon their fight with the Scale Army cultivators after being ambushed, turning instead to kill Xu Qing and his group. Yet, it must be said that these Ascendants, having endured various experiences, were no longer weak. Those who had survived were exceptionally skilled in life-saving techniques. Thus, whenever an invincible deity charged at them, they immediately used various methods to escape. In open spaces or one-on-one combat, facing a powerful deity, their survival techniques might not be as effective. But on this battlefield, it was a different story.

Such actions brought a variable to the previously stalemated battlefield situation. Even if this variable was small at first, it gradually snowballed, becoming an increasingly formidable force that demanded immediate attention! However, even when the divine side's commander promptly issued a divine decree, striving to stabilize the battle and arranging for additional forces to strengthen the encirclement, the effect remained ordinary. This was because Xu Qing and his companions were too elusive. Though not weak themselves, they would evade stronger opponents, ambush weaker ones, and collect from corpses.

Xu Qing, in particular, perfected this to the extreme. His targets were exclusively deities in the Divine Flame Realm. With his quasi-immortal cultivation and terrifying Immortal Embryo power, Divine Flame deities often met instant death before him. If there was no time to collect the corpse, he would simply take it away directly. This was treating the battlefield as a jungle and killing as hunting! And this, inherently, was what Xu Qing had been most skilled at since childhood.

Simultaneously, during this offensive and slaughter, Mud Fox was also stimulated. It secretly unleashed divine arts, seizing the shattered divine authority of fallen deities. Even Little Shadow awoke from its slumber, greedily sensing the anomalous essence and the flesh and blood of deities from all directions. All of this made it instinctively emit feelings of hunger and excitement. With Xu Qing's tacit approval, it silently spread across the ground, suddenly emerging from multiple locations to pounce on severely wounded deities.

The commander of the Scale Army also seized this opportune moment, unhesitatingly issuing a command. "All Scale Army soldiers, decisive battle!" His voice echoed, and their morale instantly soared. Utilizing this variable and the ensuing chaos, he launched a full-scale assault. As for himself, he charged forward, attacking the peak Divine Pedestal commander of the divine side. "Kill!"

In an instant, the entire battlefield plunged into an even greater frenzy. From a distant mountaintop, the regular corpse-looting teams watched all of this, their hearts stirring. The elder who had previously taught Xu Qing corpse-looting techniques now wore a fierce expression, finally gritting his teeth and growling, "We're going up too!" With that, he swayed and stepped forward.

But some corpse-looting cultivators hesitated, unable to help but ask, "But the rules..." "To hell with rules! If we don't go now, we'll miss out on everything this time!" the elder roared, accelerating towards the battlefield. Behind him, the other corpse-looting cultivators also threw caution to the wind and charged out. Their participation, though not as incisive as Xu Qing's group, further improved the situation, tilting the balance of the entire battlefield once again.

The decisive battle had fully erupted. Roaring sounds and screams filled the heavens and earth. Everywhere one looked, there was only slaughter and corpse looting. Amidst this extensive chaos, Xu Qing's figure remained ghost-like, traversing the battlefield. Wherever he went, his attacks were ruthless, leaving no one alive. As Mud Fox became invigorated and Little Shadow excited, Xu Qing took a step and appeared beside a peak Divine Flame deity. The deity's face instantly changed drastically, its body poised to retreat. But in the next second, Xu Qing's right hand pressed down on its head. Immortal Embryo power erupted, Mud Fox's divine art seized its authority, and Little Shadow seized the opportunity to rise and devour its flesh and blood. In an instant, this deity, who on the vast Wanggu Continent would be worshipped by numerous races, had its divine flame extinguished, its divine authority seized, and nearly half of its corpse devoured by Little Shadow. The remainder was collected by Xu Qing, to be processed later.

Having done all this, Xu Qing licked his lips. This harvest, he could say, was substantial, but Xu Qing was still not satisfied. The essence from the Divine Flame Realm was far from enough for his cultivation needs. So, he looked up, his gaze sweeping to a distant battle, a cold glint in his eyes. It was a battle between a peak Divine Pedestal deity and a peak quasi-immortal. It was a life-or-death struggle between the two commanders.

The peak Divine Pedestal deity fighting the Scale Army commander radiated an overwhelming divine aura. Its divine arts could alter heaven and earth, changing the color of winds and clouds, and its oppressive power was intense. The essence it exuded... was extremely tempting. So, Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, transmitted a message to Mud Fox and Little Shadow, then swayed and charged in the opposite direction, disappearing into the chaotic battlefield.

Then... Mud Fox released anomalous essence, enveloping Xu Qing and gradually dissipating his immortal aura, replacing it with the anomalous essence. This was the concealment of aura. Next, Little Shadow rapidly returned, using itself to conceal his physical body. This was the concealment of the body. Simultaneously, Xu Qing's Spacetime Constitution rippled, covering his entire body. This was the concealment of the soul. Through these various methods, he gradually diminished his presence. Until finally, on this battlefield, he imperceptibly... vanished.

Meanwhile, the battle between the two commanders reached a critical juncture. Both the peak quasi-immortal and the peak Divine Pedestal deity fought in the most desperate manner. The peak Divine Pedestal deity's goal was to escape. If successful, whether by altering the battle situation itself or fleeing the battlefield, it would serve its interests. But the Scale Army's quasi-immortal commander's goal was to forcefully contain it. The battlefield situation currently favored the cultivators, so as long as he tied down this peak Divine Pedestal deity commander, persisting would completely tip the scales of victory.

As such, the battle between them was naturally tragic. They almost exchanged wounds for wounds. Amidst deafening roars, dazzling and piercing light from spells and divine arts, and world-shaking storms, their injuries deepened, becoming more severe, and the struggle to kill each other intensified. They even employed their respective ultimate moves.

The peak Divine Pedestal deity's ultimate move was the extreme eruption of its divine authority, forming a white sun. But what it radiated was not heat, but extreme cold and death. Looking closely, one could even see countless agonizing faces on that sun, emitting chilling screams, their expressions utterly distorted.

As both sides fought to the death, a hidden figure silently approached their location within the battlefield. Closer and closer. Soon, the distance between them was a thousand feet. But just then, the peak Divine Pedestal commander, whose upper body was human and lower body was composed of black mist, suddenly turned its head, its eyes revealing cold indifference. As it raised its right hand, it actually split its unfolding ultimate move in two, transforming it into two pale suns. One blocked the Scale Army commander, while the other changed direction, suddenly falling towards a section of the battlefield a thousand feet away.

All this happened too quickly. In an instant, that terrifying white sun appeared directly a thousand feet away and suddenly erupted. White light swept across, shattering emptiness, collapsing laws, and distorting everything. This also included the figure that was forcefully exposed from its concealment in that area—it was Xu Qing. He tried to resist, but it was futile. This eruption of divine authority from a peak Divine Pedestal deity was incredibly terrifying; the white light pulverized everything it touched. Thus, Xu Qing's revealed figure rapidly twisted, becoming a bloody mess in the blink of an eye, actually beginning to break apart.

At that critical moment, Xu Qing's eyes showed determination. His soul left his body, rapidly retreating, trying to avoid the crisis. But almost the instant he retreated, multiple deities charged from his surroundings, heading straight for Xu Qing, attacking with full force. Roaring sounds soared to the heavens, echoing in all directions and attracting numerous gazes. Thus, under the direct observation of both sides, Xu Qing's soul, like his physical body, shattered and disintegrated!

This scene caused Zhou Zhengli and the others to instantly turn red-eyed, emitting desperate roars, and they rapidly charged towards that location from different directions. Little Shadow also manifested its shadow, emitting frantic emotional fluctuations, and pounced towards the peak Divine Pedestal deity. Also pouncing was Mud Fox, with a similar frenzy in its eyes. It transformed into a divine light and charged towards the peak Divine Pedestal deity. And the commander of the Scale Army, seizing the opportunity, erupted with immortal arts, forming a red moon that cast a sky-filling red glow, which then transformed into an overwhelming swarm of red moths, carrying strangeness and bleakness, suppressing the peak Divine Pedestal deity.

For a moment, the battlefield was awash in blood, red moths danced, and the heavens and earth shone brightly. A strong sense of life-or-death crisis intensely emerged in the heart of the peak Divine Pedestal deity. It stared fixedly at the Scale Army commander, at the sky full of red moths, its body suddenly retreating. It repeatedly patted its body with both hands, activating a secret art. Its body instantly withered, exuding weakness—this was the price of the secret art. But its potential was stimulated, gathering within its core, causing its entire body to glow with white light, as if it itself was transforming into a sun!

Now was its weakest moment, but it was only brief. It knew that once the transformation into a sun was successful, it was confident it could severely wound the Scale Army commander. And though it would be more exhausted at that point, it could use that to create an opportunity and time for its escape. At this moment, seeing the brilliant white light, the sun within its body was about to replace its divine body.

But just then, a sudden change occurred! The empty void behind it suddenly wrinkled like paper, revealing a ripple. This ripple rapidly spread, enveloping the sky, changing the color of heaven and earth, appearing utterly bizarre and anomalous. That was the ripple of space! That was the flow of time! And it was the superposition of spacetime!

A hand gripping an iron spike suddenly emerged from the overlapping spacetime in an incredibly swift and eerie manner! It appeared directly in front of the neck of the peak Divine Pedestal deity, which was in a state of weakness! With extreme speed, precise angle, and skillful technique, it violently slit its throat. Its sharpness was fully revealed! It cut through divine skin, sliced through flesh and blood, severed divine bone, and then pierced through! The sound of bells echoed, like a funeral dirge.

This scene was extremely abrupt. Even if the peak Divine Pedestal deity commander reacted, it had no chance to counterattack or evade. For the iron spike was extremely sharp, its material extraordinary, and the hand gripping it contained incredibly terrifying power. Most importantly... the person who killed it had equally strong cultivation, even if not superior, it was not far off. They possessed the qualification to openly battle it. And for such a person to ambush... naturally, it was devastatingly effective! So, in the next instant, its eyes widened. As heaven and earth spun, it actually saw its own body being engulfed by the Scale Army commander's immortal art, the red moths. That body, vaguely, seemed to be headless! Divine blood erupted from its neck, shooting skyward and merging with the red glow! Its torn divine soul was also sliced by the iron spike, splitting into two. Until the red glow and eerie moths completely enveloped the divine body, and the red moths drilled into its flesh and blood, destroying everything!

And all of this, including its consciousness, was rapidly fading away in its current perception. Only... what was fading was not its body, but its head! Its head, astonishingly, was being carried by a hand, speeding away! As its consciousness blurred, it finally saw the one holding its head. It was a young man in a black robe, stained with divine blood, with purple hair and a handsome face. His gaze held a chilling coldness. It was... the corpse-looting cultivator whom he had previously destroyed!

"You..." A hoarse voice came from its mouth, just echoing, but in the next second, the seal had already arrived. Its world finally became pitch black.

The battlefield instantly fell silent. In mid-air, Xu Qing's figure, walking away holding the head, seemed frozen, becoming the center of attention. What had been destroyed earlier was Xu Qing's alternate self from another timeline, his concealed body. The one who appeared now was his true form.

Now, in the sky, amidst the horror of the divine side and the shock of the cultivators, Xu Qing's figure paused. He raised the head he had sealed in his hand. He said nothing. Behind him, the red glow was like a moon. Below, on the battlefield, overwhelming cheers soon erupted. Subsequently... the cultivator army, like a raging torrent, with an overwhelming momentum, crushed and swept away the deities.