Chapter 848 Fading Old Friends

The great battle had now reached a point where fewer than a 100 demonic cultivators at the Nascent Soul realm remained.

Among the 4 heavenly demons at the ninth-level Nascent Soul realm, the Primordial Flame Demon fell in battle, while the Nether Phoenix had its physical form destroyed, rendering it incapable of combat for hundreds of years.

The 9 Netherfiend Sovereign's physical form was shattered, and he fought Lin Tianqi to a stalemate, leaving both gravely wounded. Though their current whereabouts are unknown, it is estimated that neither will possess the strength to battle again for at least 5 100 years.

Only the Purpleblood Celestial Demon retained most of his combat power, yet even he had sustained severe injuries, being in no better condition than the master of the Endless Sky Pavilion.

Of the remaining Primordial Spirit, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) cultivators, only 7 or 8 remained. 2 had their physical bodies destroyed, while 2 others were severely wounded—likely incapable of continuing the battle.

Overall, of these 100 or so Outer Demons, only about 60 to 70 still possessed combat capability.

The rest were either severely injured and unable to fight, or had their physical bodies destroyed, requiring many years to rebuild their cultivation.

"This battle is worth a try!"

The 1 who spoke was Daoist Haoyuan, a disciple of Riverlord Chang (Person Name), who had recently broken through to the mid-stage of Nascent Soul Dao Lord.

In this battle, Riverlord Chang (Person Name) sacrificed everything to seal the Abyssal Demonic Rift, leaving the entire Violet Realm's cultivators indebted to him.

Since it was Daoist Master Haoyuan who had spoken, the others naturally showed some respect and refrained from further discussion.

Seeing this, the Lord of the Endless Sea Pavilion nodded before speaking, "We shall immediately return to the Endless Sanctuary and summon fellow cultivators stationed across the continents to join the battle."

"Esteemed fellow Daoists, please tend to your wounds properly and prepare for the arduous battle ahead."

At this point, the master of the Edgewater Pavilion cast a glance at Eldrin (Person Name) and spoke, "I've heard your magical power is profoundly extraordinary, young friend. Would you kindly treat our injuries to some extent?"

"Can't afford to hesitate!"

Eldrin nodded slightly. His life force magic was infinitely beneficial to himself, and when used on others, it could heal a dozen or so injuries. Thus, he accepted the task.

In the days that followed, Eldrin began healing the others using his life essence mana.

His life force magic was profoundly mysterious, offering significant benefits even to cultivators at the Primordial Spirit, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm). After receiving his treatment, those whose injuries weren't particularly severe had recovered most of their strength.

The Lord of Tianya Pavilion was also severely wounded, but after he healed him with his life force, the man recovered 70 to 80 percent in no time, and his combat power was actually restored to 90-5 percent.

This filled him with immense joy, yet he spoke with profound sorrow: "Had we possessed this secret life force, neither Brother Guanhai nor Sister Xuanhu would have perished."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin's eyes darkened slightly, a heavy feeling settling in his heart.

This battle was truly fought with devastating ferocity, far too many of his old comrades had fallen amidst the strife.

Take the End of the World Pavilion as an example. Of the 3 Primal Spirits in this lineage, only the Pavilion Master of the End of the World remains alive today.

Among those familiar to Eldrin, many had also attained nirvana in this great battle.

The Enchantress Yao Xi (Person Name) fell in battle. Among the 4 Primordial Spirit Dao Lords of the Astral Palace, including the Astral Palace Lord himself, 2 were utterly annihilated in physical form, 1 was forced to undergo Soul Transmigration, leaving only Xuan Yue the Celestial Enchantress (Person Name) with any remaining combat prowess.

Among the top immortal clans of Eastern Wasteland, the Lin Clan had 2 Nascent Soul experts dead and 1 severely wounded. Lin Tianqi had vanished without a trace, leaving only Grand Elder Zixiao Daojun (Cultivator) capable of battle.

Huantian Ji of the Longhe Sacred Land, who had only broken through to the Nascent Soul stage 2 100 years ago, had his physical body destroyed. It is feared he no longer possesses the strength to fight again.

After the great battle, Dao Lord Lu Jiuyuan of the Southern Wastelands met his end—both form and spirit utterly annihilated—by the hand of Demon Lord Nalou.

The Daoist Li Huo had his physical form destroyed and was nearly forced to undergo kalpic rebirth to restart his cultivation.

Within the 3 Veins Immortal Alliance, the strength of Daoist Feiyu ultimately proved somewhat lacking, causing him to be utterly annihilated by the Extraterrestrial Demons.

Haoran Daojun was also severely wounded, but fortunately he still had the strength to fight.

Maris the Sea Steader's physical body was contaminated by the power of the blood demon, nearly forcing him to abandon his fleshly form. It was only through Eldrin's full rescue effort and his life force magic power that Maris was saved.

Lyra, Qing Ji, Lila, and others were fighting on the periphery. Though Eldrin protected them with every ounce of his strength, they still sustained significant injuries. Only through the nourishing effects of his magical power were their foundations prevented from being damaged.

"Such is the very nature of us cultivators."

Seeing the expression on Eldrin’s face, the master of the Endless Sky Pavilion sighed deeply and remarked with heartfelt emotion, “On the path of contending for the Great Dao, without the protection of the 9 Heavens’ immortals and demons, how could 1 ever tread smoothly?”

"I have lived for over 18 1000 years. Throughout these long years, my Endless Sky Pavilion has produced a dozen or so Primordial Spirit Dao Lords, yet each ultimately departed before this old man."

"The path to immortality is fraught with hardship. Let it go—rather than drowning in inexplicable sorrow, why not treat these 10 1000 tribulations as the heavens' tempering of our souls?"

Eldrin listened quietly, and after a long while, he said calmly, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior understands."

The treasure ark soared through the void, traversing for several months before finally arriving at the Heavenly Horizon Pavilion.

This Endsea Pavilion was known as the World's End, situated at the easternmost reaches of the Eastern Sea cultivation realm. It was protected by a supreme sixth-grade ancestral water vein and nourished by a supreme sixth-grade spiritual meridian.

The master of the Endless Sky Pavilion was so confident that relying solely on this single formation would be sufficient to hold off a dozen or so Nascent Soul Dao Lords.

This greatly boosted everyone's confidence, giving them some assurance in the battle against the Outer Demons.

Moreover, the Outer Fiends dared not bypass the Cliffsea Pavilion recklessly, for if they did, the defenders could immediately launch a counterattack directly toward the Zhou Tian Star Archipelago.

To recover from their injuries and continue replenishing their magic power, the Extraterrestrial Demons had no choice but to rely on the protection of the Zhou Heavenly Star Archipelago.

Once they lost the Zhou Tian Star Islands, they would forfeit their foothold in the Violet Realm.

Within the Violet Realm, aside from the Zhou Heavenly Star Archipelago, no spiritual vein could simultaneously sustain nearly a 100 Great Demons restoring their magic power and healing their wounds.

Even if they seized a few sixth-order spirit veins, they could not sustain so many Nascent Soul demonic cultivators. Instead, it would disperse their strength and increase the risk of being defeated 1 by 1.

Thus, their best strategy was to start from the Sky-Reaching Pavilion, conquering the human territories 1 by 1, transforming vast spiritual mountains and blessed islands into demonic lands, and gradually devouring the entirety of the human domain.

After arriving at the Tianya Holy Land, the group rested within its grounds for half a month before noticing Nascent Soul Dao Lords gradually arriving.

In just 3 short months, 17 Nascent Soul Dao Lords arrived, among them even Seraphina Qu (Person Name).

During this period, Seraphina Qu had been overseeing the family affairs on Eldrin's behalf, yet now was the critical moment in the great war.

To bolster their forces, Eldrin personally penned a letter inviting her to join the battle.

However, even though a total of 17 Primordial Spirit Dao Lords had arrived, the expressions on everyone’s faces were far from pleasant.

That day, everyone gathered in the main hall. The master of the Endless Sky Pavilion cast a solemn gaze over the assembly and sighed heavily. "The black dragon has refused our invitation to join the battle!"

"Bastard!"

At once, a black-robed elder flew into a rage, slamming the table in fury.

This elder was known as Daoist Rong (Person Name), a cultivator whose power had reached the Primordial Spirit, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm). He served as the patriarch of the Rong Immortal Clan of Central Province—a transcendent lineage whose ancestors had once produced true immortals.

"These demonic fiends, the only reason we've kept them alive until now was for this crucial battle. Who would have thought they'd dare to retreat at such a critical juncture!"

Chapter 1: The Reborn Prodigy The biting cold pierced deep into the bones. Chu Yunting's consciousness gradually surfaced from the abyss of darkness. The first thing she felt was this soul-deep chill, followed by waves of excruciating pain assaulting her entire being. She struggled to open her eyes, only to find herself lying in a simple yet elegant bedchamber. The carved wooden window was slightly ajar, allowing the bone-chilling wind to seep inside. "This is... where?" She pressed her throbbing forehead, countless fragmented memories flooding her mind like tidal waves. She was originally the foremost prodigy of the Azure Cloud Sect, on the verge of forming her Golden Core and stepping into the ranks of high-level cultivators. Yet she never expected her trusted junior apprentice sister would poison her spirit root, causing her to fall from the summit into the mortal dust right before her Golden Core formation. Now, she had become the eldest daughter of the Chu family in Luo'an City, sharing the same name but a completely different fate. Just as she was organizing her memories, the chamber door was abruptly pushed open. A maid in green attire strode in, casually tossing a worn-out booklet onto her bedside table. "Eldest Young Lady, the Family Head has ordered that from today onward, you are to practice the basic cultivation technique. In 3 months, if you still haven't reached the first level of Qi Refining, you will be expelled from the main family lineage." The maid's tone was laced with undisguised mockery, her eyes brimming with contempt as she looked at Chu Yunting. Chu Yunting remained silent, merely glancing indifferently at the maid. Though her cultivation was now lost, the aura of a former Golden Core cultivator still made the maid involuntarily shudder. "Y-You..." The maid stammered, "The Family Head also said you only have 3 months of supply. Make the most of it." After saying this, the maid hastily retreated as if fleeing. Chu Yunting picked up the booklet on the bedside table. The cover read "Basic Qi Refining Technique" in 3 faded characters. She casually flipped through it, a cold smirk curling at the corner of her lips. Such a crude cultivation method was nothing compared to the top-tier techniques of the Azure Cloud Sect. But in her current situation, it would have to suffice. She sat cross-legged on the bed, attempting to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth according to the method described in the manual. To her surprise, the instant she began operating the technique, the surrounding spiritual energy surged toward her like a tidal wave, madly pouring into her meridians. In just 1 cycle, she had broken through to the first level of Qi Refining! "This... this is the legendary Innate Dao Body?" Chu Yunting was both shocked and overjoyed. She had never imagined that this body, which seemed utterly useless in cultivation, would actually possess the legendary Innate Dao Body. No wonder the original owner had been unable to cultivate—ordinary techniques simply couldn't activate this supreme constitution. Just as she was immersed in astonishment, a crisp sound echoed in her mind. [Ding! Detected host has awakened the Innate Dao Body, system binding in progress...] [Binding successful. Welcome to the "Immortal Path Assistance System."] A transparent interface appeared before Chu Yunting's eyes, displaying rows of glowing text. [Host: Chu Yunting] [Cultivation: First level of Qi Refining] [Cultivation Technique: Basic Qi Refining Technique (Entry-level)] [Merit Points: 0] "System?" Chu Yunting was slightly taken aback. Having lived 2 lives, this was her first encounter with such a mysterious object. [Newbie Mission: Reach the third level of Qi Refining within 3 days. Reward: 1,000 merit points, 1 random low-grade magical treasure.] Chu Yunting's eyes lit up. Although she didn't know what merit points were, a magical treasure was exactly what she needed most right now. Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and resumed her cultivation. The Innate Dao Body, combined with her past life's experience, allowed her cultivation speed to advance by leaps and bounds. In just 3 short days, she had broken through from the first level of Qi Refining to the third, perfectly completing the system's mission. [Congratulations to the host for completing the newbie mission. Reward: 1,000 merit points, low-grade magical treasure - Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss.] A crimson longsword appeared in Chu Yunting's hand. The blade was engraved with mysterious patterns, faintly exuding a scorching aura. Just as she was about to examine the sword closely, the door to her bedchamber was violently kicked open. "Chu Yunting, get out here! Today is the day for testing your cultivation. If you still haven't reached the first level of Qi Refining, pack your bags and get out of the main family residence!" A arrogant young man stood at the door, hands on his hips, looking at her with a face full of disdain. Chu Yunting slowly stood up, the Li Fire Sword of the Returning Abyss in her hand gleaming with a cold light. "Oh? Is that so?"