Yuan’s Ascension

Inside the hall.

"Authority this, authority that! Is that all you know?" The black-robed youth spat, his teeth clenched in frustration. "Give me two teams, and I'll take this Fire Ethercrystal vein. You’ll still get your precious merits."

The white-robed middle-aged man frowned, his voice calm but firm. "An Shu, you lack the authority to mobilize more soldiers. You should understand that. I can only arrange a standard patrol."

"Hm?" An Shu’s gaze shifted across the vast plaza below. His eyes brightened as he pointed. "What about that team down there? They look like elite troops."

Whoosh! The white-robed middle-aged man flew over in an instant, glancing down. "Hold on, let me check."

He closed his eyes slightly, sending a thread of consciousness into the voidrealm. After a moment, he opened them again. "I’ve got it. That team is from the Eternal Sun Immortal Nation. They're a seventh-rank unit," the man said, opening his eyes. "I believe they meet your requirements."

"In my experience overseeing Plaza 54, no more than two elite teams show up here each day."

"Your vein can't wait that long, can it?" the white-robed man asked with a chuckle.

An Shu shot him a sharp glare.

Normally, finding a vein was difficult, but once discovered, excavation was straightforward.

"This is a foreign military team with high authority. If you can persuade them, I’ll arrange for their transfer to the war base where you’re stationed," the white-robed man offered.

"Alright. I’ll be relying on you, then." An Shu nodded before darting out of the hall, heading towards the distant plaza.

…

Following two white-robed Void Refiner cultivators, Wu Yuan and his group entered another massive plaza that stretched for nearly a thousand li.

Immortal cultivators were scattered across the plaza, numbering well into the tens of thousands, all in the Amethyst Cradle or Shambhala phases.

Most were in the early or mid-stage Amethyst Cradle phase, with late-stage cultivators making up less than one percent. In Wu Yuan’s group, however, nearly a hundred were late-stage Amethyst Cradle/Shambhala cultivators—a terrifyingly high ratio.

As Wu Yuan’s group arrived, they immediately drew the attention of countless cultivators in the plaza. One could tell they were an elite force at a glance.

Wu Yuan, Pei He, Lie Shier, and the rest landed one after another, gathering in low-voiced discussions.

"Commander Ming, please wait here. There are many war bases on this battlefield, and combatants are only teleported once a day," the lead Void Refiner Eminence said in a low voice. "The next teleportation will commence in four hours."

"There will be a detailed briefing about the battlefield soon. Pay close attention," he added.

The other Void Refiner Eminence waved his hand, and numerous voidrealm jades flew out, landing in front of each immortal cultivator.

"These are voidrealm jades from our Cang Feng Eldritch World. Imprint your aura onto them and keep them activated during battles," the Eminence instructed solemnly. "This is the only way to verify your kill count and battle achievements, which will determine your ethercrystal laurels after the battle."

"The voidrealm jade is a single-use item. Only with it can you return here via the teleportation array at the war base."

Wu Yuan, Pei He, and hundreds of their soldiers received the voidrealm jades, each imprinting their aura upon it.

With that, the two Void Refiner Eminences swiftly departed.

"Commander, there are so many people here," Lie Shier, the bald young man, remarked, his voice carrying a hint of awe. "This is just one waiting area, yet there are already tens of thousands of Amethyst Cradle and Shambhala cultivators. I've heard there are thousands of these waiting areas."

"Does that mean tens of millions of Amethyst Cradle cultivators enter Battlefield 36 every day? That's terrifying," Lie Shier added, shaking his head slightly.

Wu Yuan smiled faintly, casting a glance at him. After spending a little more than a day together, Wu Yuan had earned the acceptance of the six captains, at least superficially, by demonstrating a glimpse of his capabilities.

Lie Shier, in particular, seemed eager to cozy up to him, always taking the initiative to ask questions.

"It isn’t much," Pei He responded in a low voice. "You have to understand, for any eldritch or immortal continent, it’s not difficult to muster tens of millions—perhaps even a hundred million—Amethyst Cradle cultivators."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly, acknowledging the truth of Pei He's words.

The Dragon Star Immortal Sect alone boasted one to two hundred thousand Amethyst Cradle disciples. And the Redmoon Immortal Continent, with its dozens of first-rate sects, countless smaller ones, the powerful Redmoon Immortal Hall, and numerous worldlets, could easily gather tens of millions of Amethyst Cradle cultivators.

"A single battlefield sees tens of millions of new Amethyst Cradle participants each day. Over the course of a year, that’s billions of cultivators," Pei He continued in a low voice.

"There are thirty-six battlefields in total, so that’s around a hundred billion Amethyst Cradle cultivators. That's equivalent to the total number of Amethyst Cradle cultivators from thousands of eldritch continents."

"And how many eldritch continents does the Cang Feng Eldritch World have? Millions." Pei He shook his head slightly. "This rate of participation doesn’t even match the production of new Amethyst Cradle cultivators."

"Plus, those who participate aren’t just from Cang Feng Eldritch World. At least ten percent are immortal cultivators from other major factions."

The group was left awestruck by this revelation. Some of the regular Amethyst Cradle soldiers appeared dumbfounded.

Billions of Amethyst Cradle cultivators entering a single battlefield each year? The number, when combining both camps, likely approached ten billion. The brutal slaughter that unfolded in such numbers was almost unimaginable.

"Remember, our mission is to survive for three years!" Pei He’s deep voice rang out, snapping everyone back to attention. "At the same time, everyone must obtain at least ten thousand ethercrystal laurels."

The soldiers of the Huo Cang Army listened intently, absorbing his words.

Over the past day, Wu Yuan had learned that Pei He was originally appointed as the commander of this team before Wu Yuan's arrival. His strength was impressive, and among ninth-stage Amethyst Cradle cultivators, Pei He was considered very powerful, fully capable of stepping into the Void Refiner phase.

Only Wu Yuan’s arrival had demoted Pei He to the role of a captain.

Though Pei He's actions could be seen as an attempt to usurp power, Wu Yuan didn’t mind. According to his own plans, once he grew more familiar with the battlefield, he would strike out on his own.

After all, Wu Yuan wasn’t just here for the slaughter; he sought to temper himself in this harsh environment.

Time passed, and the number of immortal cultivators arriving in the plaza steadily increased, eventually nearing twenty thousand.

Several fully formed teams appeared, but the Huo Cang Army unit led by Wu Yuan remained the most eye-catching. Clearly, the higher echelons of the Huo Cang Army had assigned Wu Yuan the real elites.

…

Soon, there were only two hours left till teleportation.

"Everyone!" A thunderous voice suddenly echoed through the air, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

A burly man in black armor soared into the sky, his imposing presence commanding the entire plaza. His aura rippled out, enveloping the space like a storm. He was an Elysian Field cultivator.

"First of all, welcome to Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield 36, the most brutal entry-level Battlefield," the black-armored man declared, his deep voice resonating. "I’m here to explain the situation on the battlefield."

"Our Cang Feng Eldritch World calls Battlefield 36 the Blood Eldritch Battlefield. Both sides have a main base."

"The scope of the battlefield includes the Blood Eldritch-Immortal Continent at its core and the surrounding space—a total distance of dozens of light years."

He waved his hand, and above the plaza, light points converged, forming a colossal battlefield projection. The entire map of the battlefield materialized before their eyes.

The immortal continent, with a diameter of over a hundred billion li, appeared tiny on this map, like a small island adrift in a vast lake.

Thousands of light points dotted the map, densely concentrated on the continent.

"What are those light points?" a cultivator asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

Rumors about Eldritch-Immortal Battlefield swirled outside, but few secrets were ever revealed.

"Those are war bases. They will be your main focus," the black-armored man said solemnly.

"As you can see, countless red and white points intersect. The red points are our eldritch world's war bases. The white points belong to Voltari Temple."

"Both sides have three thousand war bases each, with a thousand located on the continent. In this confined region, large numbers of immortal cultivators fight to the death each day. It’s the most contested area of the battlefield."

"In the vast expanse of outer space, along the sections where galaxies converge, lie the remaining two thousand war bases of each camp."

"Each war base is equipped with defensive arrays and teleportation arrays. Every day, batches of immortal cultivators are transported to their respective war bases through these teleportation arrays," the black-armored man continued, his tone grave.

"Your task is to defend the war bases, search for Fire Ethercrystal veins, and hunt down enemies. If you gain a significant advantage, destroy the enemy’s war bases."

The immortal cultivators listened attentively, their expressions thoughtful.

Meanwhile, Wu Yuan remained calm.

Utilizing his authority in the Origin Eldritch Field, his body refiner self had already gathered far more detailed intelligence than what the black-armored man was sharing.

To put it simply, both sides deployed vast numbers of immortal cultivators to different war bases without end. Intense battles broke out around these bases.

For the two major factions, this isn’t a true war, but for countless Amethyst Cradle cultivators, it is the cruelest hell. Wu Yuan thought somberly

Over endless years, countless lives had ended here.

But for me, perhaps it's a cultivation paradise. Wu Yuan mused silently.