Chapter 130: Battle, Return Point

"We don't need to go and watch the spectacle."

No sooner had Xu Chen finished speaking than two rays of light—one white, one gray—swept across the area where they stood. In an instant, the world shifted, and the three of them found themselves at the boundary line between the white and gray zones.

It seemed as if all the humans and alien races from the entire Ancient Battlefield had gathered in this world. At the core of these two realms, a white gate and a gray gate towered in the center of their respective domains. Before each gate stood a giant beast over twenty zhang tall, radiating a terrifying aura.

"ROAR!!"

Both giant beasts let out a simultaneous roar and began to hunt down the humans and aliens within their respective worlds.

"Damn it!! They're at the limit of the Qi-Blood Realm!"

"Run! This is a physical teleportation—if you die here, you stay dead!" someone shouted upon seeing the beasts.

Just then, Xiao Wanshi's voice echoed throughout the realm.

"Holy Spirit Heavenly Court, the inheritance of the Holy Spirit race in the white world belongs to you, and you are responsible for dealing with the giant beast there."

"The River Styx race inheritance belongs to us humans."

"Agreed. It would be best if we don't interfere with each other!" Tong Xuanyi's voice replied, causing Xu Chen to clench his fists in silence.

The three of them immediately moved into the gray world.

"Everyone with a Qi-Blood strength of Nine Dragons or higher, come to me and hold back the beast."

"As for the rest, get as far away as you can."

Following Xiao Wanshi's command, the nearly 30,000 humans in the gray world began to divide themselves. Xu Chen looked at the nearly 600 individuals with strength above Nine Dragons, thinking that no single person at the limit of the Qi-Blood Realm could possibly block the beast alone.

"Damn, this beast is incredibly strong. I can't hold it off for two hours by myself."

"Everyone, form three battle formations and hold it back together."

"Battle Formation: Black Tortoise!"

"Battle Formation: Feathered Phoenix!"

"Battle Formation: Transformation of the Three Pure Ones!"

In an instant, something buried deep within the souls of all those with Nine Dragons of Qi-Blood strength began to awaken. Feeling the vibration in his soul, Xu Chen couldn't help but join the Feathered Phoenix formation.

Xiao Wanshi, leading a team of disciples from the Human Emperor's Avenue Palace and the Young Grandmaster, held the beast at bay. When they couldn't hold on any longer, they retreated behind the battle formations, and the Black Tortoise and Feathered Phoenix squads stepped up.

Although Xu Chen had learned the Feathered Phoenix formation as a child, this was his first time using it in combat. Even so, he merged into the formation naturally, as if it were carved into the very DNA of his soul.

"Heavenly Fire, strike!"

Xu Chen and several others transformed into the fiery wings of a phoenix, slamming into the giant beast.

"BOOM!!"

The entire battle formation absorbed the beast's violent force, stumbling back dozens of steps. The Black Tortoise formation immediately moved to the front, while the Three Pure Ones formation seized the opportunity to attack the beast.

The spectators in the distance were stirred to excitement, itching to join the fray.

"Don't get excited. With our weak bodies, a single hit from that violent force would shatter us if we tried to form a formation."

"Our greatest contribution right now is not to add to the chaos."

"Don't lose your heads!" one of the people in the front shouted to the riled-up crowd.

The elite human Qi-Blood prodigies took turns using the three battle formations to withstand the beast's attacks. The Holy Spirit Heavenly Court, relying on their superior numbers, used cannon-fodder tactics to pin the beast down from the sides, only having their own top-tier prodigies strike at the crucial moments.

As the battle dragged on, the people in the various formations began to falter, retreating one by one. In the end, due to the severe lack of manpower, the three formations merged into two.

"Hold on! Only half an hour left!"

Xiao Wanshi delivered a full-power strike, causing the beast to stagger.

"ROAR!!"

The beast’s eyes, as large as millstones, stared fixedly at Xiao Wanshi.

"I'll maneuver for a while; everyone else, hurry and recover your Qi-Blood energy."

Xiao Wanshi fought the beast alone, giving everyone a moment to catch their breath. The combatants took a brief pause, hurriedly consuming medicinal pills. Within less than two cups of tea, Xiao Wanshi was swiped away by a claw, and the two battle formations and other elite prodigies immediately stepped in.

"This is over six hundred people at the Nine Dragons Qi-Blood level, and yet this beast at the limit of the Qi-Blood Realm is still so terrifying," Xu Chen couldn't help but lament while in the midst of the battle.

The fight continued. Because the battle was so grueling, many reached their limits, and those who retreated were almost all in a near-death state. Finally, the two remaining battle formations merged into one large Black Tortoise formation.

Xu Chen persisted. His Qi-Blood energy was consumed rapidly, but it also replenished quickly, allowing him to maintain a substantial level of combat power. The others in his squad were not so fortunate, their faces already showing signs of exhaustion.

"Half a quarter of an hour left! Hold it!"

The primary attacker was now the Young Grandmaster, behind whom the phantom of a Candle Dragon appeared, rising like a dragon surging from the sea. But this only held the beast for a few more cups of tea.

"Step up!"

Without realizing it, Xu Chen had become the core of the Black Tortoise formation. The strength of everyone was joined together to resist the beast's attacks.

"BOOM!!"

The beast slammed a claw into the Black Tortoise formation. Everyone shuddered, but they only bore the force that Xu Chen distributed to them.

"Pfft—"

Xu Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, and the abundant vitality within his body immediately began to repair his internal injuries.

"Fellow Daoist, pull back. If you keep fighting, your heart and internal organs will be shattered," a tall man next to Xu Chen said with admiration; this was a life-risking playstyle.

"I'm fine. I can hold it."

Xu Chen continued to control the Black Tortoise formation to resist the beast. The creature was now in a state of rage, as if it had fixated solely on this shell-like formation. After three consecutive strikes from the beast, Xu Chen couldn't withstand the violent force any longer and swapped the core position of the formation to someone else.

"One cup of tea left!"

"Hold it!"

Xiao Wanshi also joined the Black Tortoise formation. The pressure on the formation instantly lessened, and Xu Chen had a moment to glance at the situation on the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court's side. Nearly eighty percent of the hundreds of thousands of aliens were dead, and Tong Xuanyi on the other side was covered in blood.

"You bastard, don't you dare die!"

"Your life belongs only to me to take!"

Xu Chen couldn't help but scream in his heart. Seeing that the final moment was approaching, the giant beast suddenly went wild, pouring its violent power onto the Black Tortoise formation. Everyone inside the formation vomited blood.

Just then, the two hours ended, and the giant beast suddenly dissolved into a burst of spiritual light. This light was distributed based on the contribution to the battle. A thicker strand of light, like a tadpole, drilled into the center of Xu Chen's forehead.

New knowledge appeared in Xu Chen's mind—several foundational methods, techniques, and divine abilities related to the River Styx race. A gray light swept across the surroundings, and everyone was teleported back to their original positions.

Upon landing, Xu Chen nearly lost his footing, and the two people beside him quickly steadied him.

"Brother Xu, are you alright?" Li Chengfu asked with concern. He had seen Xu Chen spit out blood several times during the fight.

"I suffered some internal injuries. I'll recover in a day or two," Xu Chen said, clutching his chest and slowly channeling his Qi-Blood energy to heal.

"Wait a moment, Brother."

Li Chengfu signaled for the Fantasy-Colored Dragon Horse to lie down, cleared away the small mountain of treasures piled on its back, and had Xu Chen sit on it.

"I can walk slowly, no need for that," Xu Chen waved his hand.

"Brother Xu, just get on. Recovering quickly is more important than anything else," Zong Changshou helped Xu Chen mount the horse.

"Then I'll trouble you both."

"It's a small matter. These two piles of loot aren't heavy at all."

On the subsequent journey, Xu Chen rode the horse to recover, while Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou carried the vast amount of treasure.

"It feels a bit like returning from a pilgrimage," Xu Chen couldn't help but think.

Three days later, Xu Chen had fully recovered, and the three of them reached the small cave where they had first entered the Ancient Battlefield.

"It's fortunate the earthquake didn't collapse it completely, otherwise it would have been hard to find," Zong Changshou said happily as he looked at the partially collapsed cave while holding a map.

The three entered the cave, passed through the dark tunnel, and arrived at the Sea of Storms once more. Xu Chen again used his strength to carve a fifteen-zhang-long stone boat out of the hardest rock he could find on the cliff wall.

Just as they were about to set sail, the Giant Azure Turtle that had brought them here appeared, blinking its eyes at them.

"If you had come out earlier, I wouldn't have gone to such trouble," Xu Chen complained, having even installed a propeller system on the boat to save effort.

They abandoned the stone boat they had worked so hard on, and the three of them—plus the horse—boarded the back of the Azure Turtle. The creature sailed through the Sea of Storms, and wherever it went, the waters remained calm within a radius of a thousand zhang.

Zong Changshou took out a small piece of Time Stone to gauge the duration.

"There are 40 days left until the year is up. It will take about twenty-six or twenty-seven days to return to the original teleportation point, perhaps even faster."

"Just enough time to rest on the ice plains and then return home in glory," Li Chengfu said with a grand wave of his hand, exuding a heroic air.

"Finally, we're going back. Thinking about this past year, it hasn't been easy," Xu Chen said, looking up at the dark sky above the Sea of Storms.

"Thanks to Brother Xu, we managed to earn these contribution points. It's practically a reversal of destiny," Zong Changshou said, looking into the distance with deep eyes.

"Brother Zong, do you have any suggestions regarding these Human Race Contribution Points?" Xu Chen suddenly asked.

"As for advice, other than divine pills or sacred items that can change one's aptitude, don't spend contribution points on anything else."

"Once your Human Race contribution reaches a certain level, if you happen to fall unexpectedly, these points can be used to purchase a chance at reincarnation—provided you have left a wisp of your soul in the Human Emperor's Temple. Or, if a relative of yours dies, you can use them for the same purpose, though if the person themselves has no contributions, the cost will be very high," Zong Changshou explained.

"I will keep that in mind," Xu Chen nodded seriously. In short, other than essentials, he should not trade for anything that could be bought with spirit coins.

"Also, Brother Xu, if anyone tries to use tricks, openly or covertly, to make you spend your contribution points on items in the Human Race treasury, just contact me directly."

"We share a bond forged in life and death. When we get back, I'll have my grandfather adopt you as a godson. Then we'll be brothers, and no one will dare make things difficult for you," Li Chengfu added.

"You're being overly sentimental. With the Young Grandmaster as his backer, who would dare touch Brother Xu?"

"And if that fails, he still has his brothers."

"There's no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

The return journey was swift. Since they were familiar with the route, they reached their destination in just twenty-three days. On the vast, boundless ice plains, at the foot of an iceberg, the three and the horse found the supplies they had buried there.

"Compared to the Ancient Battlefield, this ice plain looks much more comfortable," Xu Chen remarked, looking at the rainbow-colored light belt stretching for thousands of miles across the sky.

"I feel like there should be no other alien races left in this world of ice," Zong Changshou said, scanning the surroundings for a final check.

"They should all be dead by now. Anything left is just weaklings not worth worrying about."