Chapter 167: Military Admonition

Shi Chun closed his right eye, and the strange bird was no longer visible in his left eye's field of vision.

He didn't know what kind of strange bird it was, but he was certain it was a creature living in the illusory world.

So, the illusory world did contain living creatures.

Besides that, another living creature connected to the illusory world was the "Female General." However, he couldn't be certain if the "Female General" truly counted as a creature of the illusory world; she seemed capable of freely moving between the illusory and real worlds. Could she be a more advanced existence than beings of both realms?

The benefit granted to him by the "Eagle General" Emperor was the special ability of his right eye. This made him wonder if this strange bird could also bring him some advantage.

He reopened his right eye and saw the flame-like strange bird still darting through the battle, freely absorbing a large amount of killing intent. The swords wielded by the fighting individuals had no effect on it.

Clearly, it had been drawn here by the killing intent. The strange bird was absorbing killing intent, and so was he.

The nourishment from the powerful killing intent made him so comfortable that he didn't want to move. Even seeing strong opponents causing significant casualties among his allies in the siege, he still held back, knowing this absorption opportunity was rare and he didn't want to miss it.

Suddenly, the strange bird darting through the battle seemed to turn its head and look at him, its red, flickering gaze somewhat terrifying.

Thoughts he had previously only dared to dream of now became an inescapable consideration. If he could truly bring that ranking back to the sect, it would bring immense glory to his ancestors! And before returning, if anyone were to diminish his standing, what group would dare to disregard merit?

The strange bird's head slowly emerged from behind Shi Chun, seemingly startled. Its eyes, flashing with charcoal red light, showed signs of panic, as if it were opening its mouth in a shocked cry. The flame-like mist on its body was surging, being absorbed into Shi Chun's body.

Wu Jinliang, standing nearby, immediately noticed Shi Chun's unusual state and also sensed the immense vital energy emanating from his body. He asked in surprise, "Chun Tian, what's wrong?"

This was the ultimate hymn from life, and he was so comfortable he wanted to sing. He instantly spread his arms, clenched his fists, and looked up at the sky, veins bulging on his neck. His whole body trembled slightly, his skin flushed red, and a roaring sound emanated from his throat as he opened his chest to welcome it.

But he didn't dodge. He knew the strange bird wouldn't interact with people from the real world; it had shown no reaction when colliding with so many people just now. He could completely treat it as if it didn't exist.

Dusk had fallen, and the day's battle was over. After clearing the battlefield, their forces quickly gathered and moved, avoiding a potential main enemy attack.

This time, they didn't recount everything in front of everyone. Shi Chun's reasoning was that the quantity was too large, and recounting would be too troublesome. He simply told everyone to carefully keep track of their gains after each future battle.

The strange bird suddenly adjusted its flight path. After a single loop, it flew directly towards his absorption point, which was effectively flying straight towards him.

No one had told him about this; even the fourth uncle who taught him the cultivation method didn't know.

As they continued fighting, their forces grew smaller and smaller. Even by choosing weaker opponents, one day their numbers finally dropped below eighty.

The momentum had clearly shifted in the past two days. After only one battle today, everyone's emotions boiled over. They were all unhappy and, after some discussion, collectively blocked the entrance.

Chen Guanbin, whose hand had been clenched in a fist, suddenly opened it into a pushing palm, signaling for him not to be disturbed.

By this point, their chief, himself, actually wanted to rest. How could that be? The other half of Xuanzhou's forces hadn't even begun to exert themselves. They absolutely couldn't let the opponents surpass them, otherwise, what would become of their collective hard work? To just let it all be in vain, like making a wedding dress for someone else – everyone absolutely refused, absolutely would not tolerate it!

He only knew that absorbing killing intent would enhance his physical combat abilities, accelerate wound recovery, and allow for more prolonged physical exertion. Beyond that, he didn't know what changes his body would undergo if he continued to absorb killing intent, nor if there would be any side effects.

After everyone dispersed to rest, Chen Guanbin again reported the day's gains to them. He announced loudly, "Today, we harvested a total of seven thousand seven hundred and eleven crystals! We now possess a total of fourteen thousand seven hundred and seventy-four Extreme Worm Crystals!"

Fortunately, the Heavenfall Meteorite Grand Assembly was about to begin, so he lowered his attack frequency, preparing to participate after the assembly, as he felt he had accumulated enough Extreme Worm Crystals.

This number made Chu Jingting feel ashamed and flustered. He was very vague; where did these seven thousand-plus crystals come from? It was the total number of Extreme Worm Crystals after the last battle today.

In reality, the entire process was very fast, but to Shi Chun, it felt excruciatingly long, like a slow-motion sequence of tearing.

The next day, at dawn, for the several thousand people, a new journey began under Shi Chun's leadership.

When the junior disciple who was on lookout duty returned, he saw the pile of white cloth bags diligently guarded by everyone and couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Chu, why do I feel like we're guarding these more carefully than real ones?"

Chu Jingting cursed, "Isn't that obvious nonsense?" Chen Guanbin watched him go.

Several thousand people circled the Moon Sea, campaigning and conquering. Regardless of casualties, they won every battle, vanquishing all opposition, and establishing powerful morale.

There were battles every day, ensuring at least two engagements daily, sometimes up to seven in one day. And the number of fake Extreme Worm Crystals in his possession reached a terrifying eighty thousand or more.

If absorbing the killing intent from the battle earlier was like absorbing mist, then this moment was like drinking profusely, with every pore freely imbibing, or rather, whale-like suction.

A great river of life surged and roared within him.

The strange bird had also arrived late because the fighting was over too quickly. It came to absorb but only managed a few sips before there was nothing left to absorb, so it had to flap its wings and fly away.

During actual combat, everyone discovered the compatibility between different cultivation methods, which could produce powerful destructive effects, and actively proposed switching between team formations.

Tonight, they changed their resting place again. These several thousand people seemed to embody the spirit of "rest wherever we fight."

Everyone's morale was soaring, but Chen Guanbin was secretly growing increasingly weary. The seventeen groups of forces under Xiang Lan'er – he had already rotated through all their minor branches twice. If this continued, they would have to directly confront the main forces of those seventeen groups.

However, it couldn't be denied that their coordination was becoming increasingly seamless, and the combat power of their clustered forces was also rising steadily. Even small groups had developed innovative tactics.

A powerful surge of killing intent – or perhaps it should be called a powerful life force – was drawn from the strange bird in a misty form. It was furiously absorbed into his body, entering through every single one of his pores.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to stop. Time and light appeared to stand still, and all external sounds abruptly ceased. Only the thumping of his own heart, like a colossal drum, resonated within his chest, and the battle scene before him seemed to transform into extremely slow-motion action.

The battle began, and this time the scene was quite tragic, with over a hundred dead and more than two hundred seriously wounded.

Chu Jingting immediately understood what he meant. He quickly sent his junior disciple to guard the cave entrance, and then handed over a pile of genuine Extreme Worm Crystals to Shi Chun and the other seven to take away.

"Brother Chu," Wu Jinliang said cheerfully, as he pushed a pile of bulging white cloth bags in front of him.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were speechless. This was considerably more than yesterday's total, meaning that even after so many casualties, they had indeed managed to seize quite a few.

As the strange bird's flight path veered away from Shi Chun, the fiery mist on its body still stretched out over a long distance, continuing to be absorbed. Only after flying a sufficient distance away did the absorption completely cease. It flapped its wings frantically and fled, no longer daring to covet the killing intent of the battleground.

The sight of the strange bird charging head-on was fierce and magnificent, like a surge of flames. Its visual impact was enough to make anyone instinctively dodge.

At this point, Chu Jingting roughly understood why their chief had insisted on forcing him to count all the Extreme Worm Crystals in public yesterday: it was to prove to everyone that each crystal harvest was genuine and reliable, to lull everyone into a false sense of security, and to facilitate deception in later rounds. This was something no one had ever dreamed of before.

It turned out there was more than one strange bird in the illusory world. However, the impact of this reality on him was enormous. In his vision, he seemed to see a seed, inexplicably, suddenly sprout and grow vigorously at an incredibly fast pace, instantly forming a towering tree. Sunlight filtered through its branches, casting dappled light and shadows on his face.

When he looked back again, he found another similar strange bird, albeit larger, flying from behind. It was identical to the previous one and was also moving back and forth through the battle, absorbing.

With just one command, no matter how strong the opponent, the group would charge forward, howling, and engage. If they encountered a formidable foe, Shi Chun would also draw his blade and strike.

The moment the strange bird slammed headfirst into his body, his eyeballs almost popped out. In short, his pupils suddenly dilated.

After all the cloud-like fiery blood qi was completely absorbed, Shi Chun seemed to switch back from the slow-motion world to the real world. He abruptly turned his head to look at the strange bird's figure, which was fleeing in panic.

The strange bird clearly felt the drawing absorption force, flying with a sense of struggle as it passed through Shi Chun's body.

It wasn't that everyone was eager for battle; it was because of the eighty thousand-plus Extreme Worm Crystals accumulated. By maintaining this rate of increase, let alone the top three, even the top seven or ten spots might be guaranteed for them.

Thus, he didn't know what to make of that strange bird.

Shi Chun wasn't sure if it had seen him, as ordinarily, substances from different worlds couldn't easily perceive each other. However, he quickly understood what was happening: the bird must have detected another absorption point for killing intent, and that point was him.

The battle-crazed group gradually calmed down, but soon their emotions were stirred again by waves of exclamations.

The cheers after the count created a sensation, dissipating the bloody atmosphere of the battleground. Life is short; how many truly get a chance to fight for their future?

Everyone bore some injuries, and all had bloodstains from the battle. At first glance, they looked like a group of seasoned veterans.

It was a sensation that transcended time and life itself, instantly imprinting itself deep within his Dao Heart.

As a result, a group of ambitious, battle-hardened soldiers, eyeing him intently, blocked Shi Chun's cave entrance. Some who were injured also came, and even those with missing arms arrived, clutching their swords.