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Chapter 1172: Chapter 1055: Breeding
The cycle of the sun and moon turns, and time flows by.
Soon, the day of the great battle arrived.
Before it began, all participating cultivators departed the Immortal City and gathered at the frontline outposts.
Between the crimson black earth and the dreary sky, an immortal-grade Great Array had been established, opening up a small haven of serenity where cultivators could rest or heal in peace.
On this vast battlefield, there were a total of five such outposts!
Each was guarded by an Earth Immortal, defended by several Individual Immortals, supported by countless Mortal Realm cultivators, and held formidable defensive strength. If the Demon Cultivators wanted to breach the Mountain and River Great Wall, they would first have to uproot all five outposts.
Yet, achieving this would come at an exorbitant cost. The great powers of the Demonic Tao in the Immortal Realm were naturally reluctant to risk their lives here.
The Demonic Tao also had similar outposts on the frontlines, but their defenses paled in comparison.
Thus, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of Demonic Tao outposts being overrun, whereas Immortal Tao outposts rarely faced such incidents.
Now, to get back to the matter at hand!
Li Zhirui, despite having spent years on the battlefield, was visiting an outpost for the first time.
Previously, he had avoided the outposts to steer clear of potentially reigniting jealousy and pursuits against him. Later, he spent his time cultivating in Taisui Immortal City without the opportunity to join one.
As such, upon entering, Li Zhirui curiously took in his surroundings, but quickly withdrew his gaze.
From what he observed, the outpost wasn’t much different from the Immortal City. If anything, the atmosphere felt much more somber and oppressive, casting an intense weight upon one’s chest.
Perhaps it was due to the outpost’s location. Even though ordinary Demon Cultivators couldn’t break through the Great Array, they still frequently sent harassment parties, ensuring the outpost was never truly at peace.
"Rest well and make sure you are in peak condition. Three days from now, the great battle will erupt. The battlefield will be absolute chaos. You will have only yourselves to rely on; no one else will have time to look after you," the Individual Immortal leading the group warned sternly as he dispersed the cultivators.
This was both a reminder and a warning: avoid stirring trouble in the coming days.
After all, no one knew how many cultivators would come to the outposts. Inevitably, there would be encounters between enemies.
If such confrontations led to fierce skirmishes, unsettling everyone and impacting the crucial battle ahead, then those who caused the disruption would be seen as offenders against the Immortal Tao.
"Understood!"
The crowd replied in unison.
The Individual Immortal cast a cold glance over the group and left without further comment. Having done his part, he knew that if someone violated the rules, it would no longer be his burden to bear.
Seeing this, Li Zhirui was the first to leave the crowd, searching for a secluded area to pass the days undisturbed.
The temporary cave mansions arranged for the cultivators were set among several towering mountains—each thousands of zhang high—located in the southeastern region of the outpost.
These vast mountain bodies had been hollowed out, leaving behind dense clusters of cave residences. From top to bottom, there seemed to be countless caves, more than enough to accommodate everyone comfortably.
Li Zhirui retreated to his cave mansion to focus on recuperating and preparing himself for battle. Yet, outside his dwelling, turmoil began to stir.
By some coincidence—or perhaps by calculated manipulation—two Void Refinement cultivators with bitter life-and-death grudges found themselves crossing paths in the expansive outpost.
As the old saying goes, "When enemies meet, their eyes burn red."
Without hesitation, they ignored previous warnings and engaged in fierce combat right on the streets, pulling in several of their respective factions’ cultivators.
And the most unfortunate bystanders? Those who had gathered to watch the spectacle, only to get dragged into the fray for reasons unknown.
What was oddest of all, however, was the lack of intervention from the stationed Immortal Realm great powers, who seemed completely oblivious—even apathetic—letting the chaotic skirmish continue unchecked.
Not until one side was ultimately defeated and fled in disgrace did the commotion finally die down.
Yet unbeknownst to the cultivators, a group of Individual Immortal Realm great powers had quietly assembled.
As for the Earth Immortal tasked with overseeing the outpost, he would only emerge in the face of imminent destruction—a rarity.
After all, an Earth Immortal’s raw power was devastating. While he might not cause heaven and earth to crumble, the damage inflicted upon the world would still be significant.
Such actions would incur Karmic Force.
This was something every ambitious Earth Immortal seeking further breakthroughs would seek to avoid at all costs.
Obtaining Karmic Force was easy, but acquiring merit was incredibly difficult.
"Hah! As expected, the Demonic Tao loves pulling such petty tricks," one Individual Immortal sneered coldly.
"Have the Demon Cultivators hiding among the ranks of cultivators been identified?" another Individual Immortal inquired.
"We’ve found them, but there’s no telling if others are concealed even deeper," came the reply.
"The next steps will rely on Fellow Daoist Linghai," another commented.
A blind Individual Immortal responded with a calm nod, saying only that they should deliver the culprits to his cave mansion before turning to leave.
For low-level cultivators, losing parts of their body was often catastrophic—it disrupts their meridians and usually prevents further cultivation unless they discover a perfectly suited cultivation technique.
But for someone like Linghai, an Individual Immortal, countless methods existed to restore his body. Yet Linghai chose not to.
According to Linghai himself, losing his eyes had instead enhanced his perception of all things in the heavens and earth, benefiting his cultivation greatly.
The reason the captured Demonic Tao conspirators were handed over to Linghai was due to his innate divine ability, which allowed him to infiltrate a cultivator’s Sea of Consciousness and pry directly into their memories.
Linghai’s objective was to uncover more Demon Cultivators they’d been in contact with—not aiming for complete elimination but targeting as many as possible.
In other words, the skirmish within the outpost wasn’t merely provoked and calculated by Demon Cultivators; it was further exacerbated, possibly even incited, by the silent manipulation of Immortal Realm cultivators present.
To delve into the memories of a few Mortal Realm cultivators through their Seas of Consciousness, Linghai—with his immense capability as an Individual Immortal great power—needed a mere quarter of an hour.
