Chapter 122: Strength, Polar Night

"The strength of seven dragons and eight tigers; my essence and blood are as vast as the sea."

"Combined with the secret technique of the Fish-Dragon Transformation, I can maintain an essence and blood strength exceeding nine dragons during battle."

"With my current combat power, I can practically run rampant across the Primordial Battlefield."

"Even the strongest prodigies of the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court are now within my reach for a few rounds."

Xu Chen calmed his mind and left the cultivation chamber.

"I'm ready, senior brothers. When shall we depart?"

At that moment, Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou were playing chess in the small plaza.

"Let's go now." Li Chengfu stood up immediately, ignoring his disadvantageous position on the board, and began to pack.

Zong Changshou sat to the side, looking miserable; he had been playing for an hour and was just about to win.

At the summit of a mountain piled with ruined boulders, the three of them gazed into the distance, debating where to head next.

"That way—it's highly auspicious!"

Just as the three of them settled on a direction, Li Chengfu pointed decisively.

"Auspicious and without danger?" Zong Changshou asked tentatively.

"No danger."

"Then shall we set off?"

The three men and their horse trekked across the mountain range of ruins, following the path indicated by Li Chengfu. After traveling only a few dozen miles, they saw a hazy glow of spiritual light in the distance.

"There's something good ahead." As Xu Chen channeled his essence and blood, a golden light seemed to erupt from his eyes.

The three men and the horse accelerated, sprinting across the ruined peaks. After another hundred miles, they arrived outside a valley.

Within the valley lay an alien encampment, and at its center pulsed that hazy light. Guards were patrolling the perimeter.

"You said there was no danger?" Zong Changshou looked at Li Chengfu.

"The ones below are all from the upper races of the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court."

"Senior Brother Li was right—there is no danger."

As Xu Chen spoke, he drew the Ink Shadow Blade from his back, a killing intent beginning to condense in his eyes. On the outskirts of the alien camp, he had spotted a pit filled with the corpses of humans.

With a sudden burst of air pressure, Xu Chen shot toward the camp like a bolt of lightning. A terrifying aura radiated from him. His essence and blood surged to the nine-dragon level, and the Ink Shadow Blade transformed into a fifteen-zhang-long blade of pure force, appearing almost tangible.

"Ten Thousand Waves!"

A surging river of blade light cascaded toward the enemy camp. The entire encampment was jolted awake. The perimeter guards rushed toward Xu Chen, only to be instantly overwhelmed by the river of light. The aliens inside quickly formed defensive battle formations. Three aliens with essence and blood strength exceeding nine dragons emerged, looking like enraged lions.

"Pest, I'm going to twist your head off and use it as a wine cup." One of the nine-dragon-strength aliens held a skull filled with fine wine.

"It's been a while since I let my senior brother practice his craft."

Sheathing the Ink Shadow Blade, Xu Chen unleashed a terrifying web of force. Any alien that touched the web had their heart and pulse instantly shattered. The three powerful aliens realized something was wrong and attacked in unison, but Xu Chen struck them down with a single, thunderous palm, sending a massive surge of force into their meridians.

Aside from those killed by his initial blade strike, every alien in the camp had their heart and pulse destroyed by his force. Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou, who had been watching from afar, approached once the situation was under control.

At this point, the two noticed the human skull wine cup and the corpse pit in the distance.

"Junior Brother Zong, any new ideas?" Xu Chen asked, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at the aliens lying on the ground with their pulses sealed.

"My art requires further refinement." Zong Changshou’s eyes were also brimming with sharp, murderous intent; he only regretted that his skills were not yet perfect.

"Go ahead. Don't let them die too quickly."

Surveying the camp, there were over forty-eight aliens whose pulses had been shattered. Zong Changshou dragged them one by one into the largest tent. Meanwhile, Li Chengfu, who should have been looting the camp, took the human skull wine cup to the corpse pit.

"My junior brother has already avenged you all. There isn't much else I can do for you."

"Let me at least give you a proper burial."

Li Chengfu dug a new, large pit, recovered the human remains from the waste heap, and laid them out neatly. Xu Chen assisted him. They recovered thirty-four bodies in total, including the headless corpse from which the cup had been fashioned. Once the burial was complete, Xu Chen decapitated several of the dead aliens and placed their heads as offerings before the grave.

From inside the tent, the sounds of horrific, blood-curdling screams began to emanate.

After finishing, the two joined Xu Chen before the hazy glow. A small tree, less than five feet tall, radiated light. Within that aura, it seemed to form a world of its own.

"It must be a treasure. Why didn't these aliens hide it?"

"Do they really think strength makes them invincible?" Li Chengfu couldn't help but scoff.

"Among these upper-race aliens, three had nine-dragon strength, and the rest were at least seven dragons. This lineup is quite formidable for the Primordial Battlefield. It's just a pity they ran into me."

The agonizing screams from the tent continued, which Xu Chen found to be a somewhat fitting melody. Li Chengfu brought over the Phantom Color Dragon Horse, cleared out the largest crate, and carefully placed the glowing tree—still with its soil—inside.

"I don't know what kind of treasure this is, but it's definitely something good."

Li Chengfu began to loot the rest of the camp. "Thirty-nine divine ability crystals, four damaged primordial artifacts, four manuals on the Mystical Immortal race's foundation-building, and three sets of Mystical Immortal cultivation techniques."

He laid the items before Xu Chen. Among the damaged artifacts, one long spear caught his eye. It weighed a thousand pounds, was dark gold in color, and was carved with mysterious patterns, though several cracks in the shaft marred its beauty. When he tentatively channeled his force into the spear, it held firm.

"This broken primordial artifact isn't bad. I'll use it for now." Xu Chen strapped it to his back.

"If we find more damaged artifacts or inheritances, should we dig another treasure cache?"

"I don't think that's necessary," Li Chengfu said, loading everything onto the dragon horse. "I used to be afraid we couldn't protect these treasures, so I kept a backup. But now that Junior Brother Xu is so strong, even if the horse is fully loaded, we can protect it."

"Fair enough. It saves us the trouble on the way back."

Just as they were speaking, the entire Primordial Battlefield plunged into a polar night. The world turned pitch black, and one could not see their own hand before their face. From the darkness came a strange, viscous, sticky sound.

"Something's wrong. Junior Brother Zong, stay close to me."

"There is something in this darkness."

Xu Chen released his web of force. Though he couldn't detect the entities, he felt them all around. Zong Changshou quickly left the tent to stand by Xu Chen’s side. Soon, creatures resembling a cross between snakes and earthworms touched Xu Chen's force web. More and more began to appear.

"They look like snakes and earthworms. If you cut them in half, they split into independent individuals."

"They aren't strong—only one-dragon power."

Xu Chen’s web of force shredded them frantically, but as their numbers grew, he had to lead the others and the horse to carve out a cave with his force and hide inside.

Inside, Li Chengfu brought out the treasure tree, illuminating the cave. By this light, Xu Chen finally saw the creatures clearly: they had white, slimy skin and mouths filled with sharp teeth at both their head and tail. The others saw them too.

"I've never seen these before. They must be unique to this Primordial Battlefield," Zong Changshou said after careful observation.

As they slaughtered more, the pile of monster corpses outside grew like a mountain. Although cutting them in half created two, they eventually reached a limit and dissolved into a pool of gore. Xu Chen stood guard at the entrance, unable to cultivate, so he chatted with the others.

"With so many monsters, anyone with less than five-dragon strength wouldn't last long," Xu Chen sighed, watching the relentless assault outside.

"If we had entered with only three-dragon strength, we would have certainly died," Li Chengfu remarked, grateful that he had pushed so hard to improve their strength after hearing the rumors.

"The Holy Spirit Heavenly Court has plenty of cannon fodder, but the monsters of the polar night will surely wipe out even more of them."

Zong Changshou took out a small notebook to record the timing of the polar night and the characteristics of the creatures.

"We need to be careful. Any alien that survives this must have some serious tricks up their sleeve."

As the three talked, the mountain of monster corpses began to liquefy, merging into a larger, more powerful entity.

"They don't die; they fuse. This one has at least seven-dragon strength." Zong Changshou noted it down.

Xu Chen sent a strand of astral force through his web and into the giant monster. It was instantly pinned to the ground as if by a thousand mountains, its massive body becoming a blockade that prevented other monsters from entering the cave.

"That’s much quieter."

Xu Chen maintained the pressure on the giant beast. Two days and two nights later, a broken sun suddenly rose over the Primordial Battlefield. The battlefield was bathed in light, and the monsters vanished as if they had never existed, dissolving back into the void.

"Two days and two nights."

"Based on the pattern, it seems a disaster strikes the Primordial Battlefield every half month."

The three emerged from the cave, the scorching sun shining down on them and their horse.

"Is the disaster really over?" Xu Chen asked, looking at the broken sun in the sky, its light stinging his eyes.

"It should be. Last time, it also lasted for two days and two nights," Zong Changshou confirmed.