Nameless Zone Arc Chapter Fifty-Four: Control (Part One)
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Today marks the twenty-first day since the opening of the Minor World, and it is also the day with the highest death toll within this realm. The alliance of humans, formed by the forces of the Yin Corpse Sect and the Five Spirit Pill Valley, faces off against the vast army of monster beasts residing in the Minor World.
As soon as both sides meet, there is no reason to avoid the confrontation; the battle erupts instantly. The cries of humans shake the heavens, and the roars of monster beasts are deafening, murderous intent surging and colliding, fusing together. With rising casualties, the baleful energy grows ever denser. The previously dispersed malice in the world now seems to find its home, blanketing the area in thick clouds, pushing humans and beasts into a frenzy, gradually losing their reason. The scene is filled with spiritual and demonic power, a brilliant red blossoming across the grasslands, ever more dazzling.
The battle did not just begin now; it started the moment cultivators entered the Minor World, accumulating more and more baleful energy. The realm itself cannot dissipate this force, nor digest it swiftly, subtly affecting the minds of both cultivators and beasts.
“Die!”
High above the battlefield, Wang Li, eyes bloodshot, has already slain ten monster beasts, two of which possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation. He has just finished off another, breathing heavily.
“Damn it, what’s going on? These beasts have muddled bloodlines, none above mid Foundation Establishment, their intelligence should be low—so how are they working together? What’s happening?”
Though these beasts are weak, their sheer numbers—nearly a thousand—overwhelm. The disciples of Yin Corpse Sect and Five Spirit Pill Valley together barely total a hundred, meaning each cultivator must kill at least ten beasts. For talents like Wang Li, this is not difficult, but most from Five Spirit Pill Valley are pill cultivators whose combat prowess barely surpasses the beasts. The pressure on the human side is immense, a shadow cast over every heart.
On the battlefield where Five Spirit Pill Valley’s cultivators fight, groups of three or five form small teams. Though individually weak, they coordinate well, using pill furnaces for defense and pill fire for offense, holding their ground.
In the sky, four Foundation Establishment cultivators of Five Spirit Pill Valley fight together. The leader, a veiled woman, frowns as she surveys the situation. Though over a hundred beasts have been killed, more than ten Five Spirit Pill Valley disciples have died, while Yin Corpse Sect, with their wealth of battle experience and life-saving tricks, have lost only a few. This bodes ill for Five Spirit Pill Valley.
“Damn it, these Yin Corpse Sect disciples care nothing for our lives. If it were the Form Derivation Sect or Song Mountain Sword Pavilion, we wouldn’t be so wretched!”
A Foundation Establishment cultivator, friendly with Form Derivation Sect, feels conflicted. Indeed, if it were Form Derivation Sect, they would form protective arrays around Five Spirit Pill Valley, requiring only pills and support spells in return, sparing them such heavy casualties. If Song Mountain Sword Pavilion’s sword cultivators were present, they would be the sharpest blade on the battlefield, leaving corpses in their wake and defending with full force, slaughtering any beast that tried to break the line.
But Yin Corpse Sect is different. They are self-serving, never sacrificing themselves for others or offering mutual aid. Their creed is simply to survive themselves. As for Five Spirit Pill Valley? Allies? In the face of mortal danger, step aside!
They would never risk themselves for a brother; they would rather stab a brother for profit, and aim for the heart. Expecting them to protect you is a joke—they’d prefer if all Five Spirit Pill Valley disciples perished to beast hands, so they could reap the spoils when cleaning up the battlefield.
“That’s enough, no more pointless words. They’ve already set up the record stones, so when we leave, we can prove we were killed by the beasts, clearing ourselves. Fight well; victory or defeat is yet uncertain.”
The veiled woman snorted coldly, a fiery pill furnace appearing in her palm as she hesitated, unsure whether to use this treasure.
Her mind drifted back to the day before entering the Minor World, recalling Elder Wei’s instructions:
That day, within Five Spirit Pill Valley’s blessed grounds, Wei Cangyuan handed her the pill treasure with a solemn expression: “Little Yao, your mission in the Form Derivation Sect’s Minor World is threefold. First, unite all disciples and minimize casualties. Second, cooperate with Yin Corpse Sect’s disciples—I've already negotiated with them, and you’ll travel together, but do not trust them blindly. The evil sect is always an evil sect; keep your guard. Do not strike against Form Derivation Sect either, but if you must, leave no survivors. In our pill sect, there are no friends or foes, only interests. Use your talent to observe the Yin Corpse Sect closely.
The third point is most important: this pill treasure is the sub-cauldron of our valley’s guardian treasure, both offensive and defensive. Your task is to place it at the core of the Minor World. I’ve investigated—the Taiyin Corpse Sect refined it into a pearl-like model, the core should be at the center, in the sky. After you break through to Foundation Establishment in the final ten days, team up with the disciple controlling the Five Ghost Transport Talisman from Yin Corpse Sect to send the sub-cauldron through the formation into the Minor World’s core.
If you encounter danger, you may activate the sub-cauldron to protect everyone’s lives, though that shouldn’t happen, unless Yin Corpse Sect betrays you.”
“Oh… alright. Actually, I rather like the Form Derivation Sect people. What a pity.”
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As Wei Cangyuan outlined the mission’s details, he was unaware that, hidden within Wei Cuiyao’s hair, a tiny bloodthirsty insect lay motionless, overhearing everything.
Wei Cuiyao hesitated over whether to use the sub-cauldron. Even Wei Cangyuan could not have foreseen such a situation—a horde of low-intelligence beasts banding together in such numbers.
On the Yin Corpse Sect’s battlefield, their disciples did not fear the multitude of beasts, as corpse cultivators themselves, they controlled numerous corpse puppets.
“Heh heh heh, trying to compete with us in numbers? Come, let’s show them who’s got more!”
Corpse puppets were released from the sect disciples’ storage bags, meeting beasts with puppet force, while the disciples themselves lingered nearby, seeking opportunities for a deadly strike.
Soon, more Yin Corpse Sect disciples unleashed their corpse puppets, having realized these beasts’ intelligence was low and their combat instincts poor, even mistaking puppets for cultivators, paying no heed to the disciples lurking on the periphery.
“Thud, thud, thud…!”
Many beasts fell quickly, with reinforcements following from behind. For a while, the beasts gained nothing against Yin Corpse Sect, suffering heavy losses.
“Heh heh heh, I thought these beasts were clever, working together. Turns out they’re so weak—kill them! With these corpses, my power will skyrocket!”
In the skies above the rear, a nondescript corner, a blue-scaled eagle of mid Qi Condensation cultivation watched the battlefield coldly. Seeing the tide turn against the beasts on the Yin Corpse Sect front, it sent a strange message from its mind out to all directions, instantly affecting every beast.
Qi Condensation cultivators couldn’t perceive the message; Foundation Establishment only felt something odd, unable to grasp its nature.
But the beasts received it, instantly growing more ferocious. Crucially, they now realized that corpse puppets were unimportant and targeted the Yin Corpse Sect disciples themselves.
The situation reversed again; several careless Yin Corpse Sect disciples were gutted by the beasts, torn to shreds, their puppets falling lifeless without masters.
“Roar, roar, roar!”
Monster morale soared, launching renewed assaults. The Yin Corpse Sect disciples now revealed their weakness: lack of unity. One running set off a chain reaction, quickly shattering their formation under hundreds of beasts.
Yet the direction of their escape was not to the rear, but toward the Five Spirit Pill Valley, each smirking knowingly.
Already struggling with the beasts, Five Spirit Pill Valley could not withstand both the beast threat and Yin Corpse Sect’s sabotage, soon forced to retreat.
Wei Cuiyao’s gaze darkened. She knew she must not flee, especially not alongside Yin Corpse Sect, or she’d die not to beasts but to their treacherous blades.
“Fellow Daoist, I’ve discovered a secret about the beast horde!”
The leading Yin Corpse Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator, Bian Luxing, waved and shouted to Wei Cuiyao, as if he’d truly uncovered a secret, but in reality, he and his disciples were fleeing, a huge beast horde at their heels.
Wei Cuiyao conjured searing flames in her palm, threatening, “Bian Luxing, get away from me! Are you trying to get us all killed? Isn’t it obvious the beast horde is being manipulated? You think I don’t know?”
Bian Luxing laughed, “Since you already know, why not make a plan? We Foundation Establishment cultivators could join forces to kill the mastermind behind the beasts—what do you think?”
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Wei Cuiyao gritted her teeth. “I’ll say it again: get away from me, or don’t blame me for acting!”
Seeing her resolve, Bian Luxing shrugged, “Fine, no cooperation then. Why so fierce? Let’s go!”
He led several Foundation Establishment cultivators and a crowd of Qi Condensation disciples away, drawing off most of the beast horde, but some still joined the battle on Five Spirit Pill Valley’s front, increasing their pressure.
Wang Li, nearby, asked, “What are you wary of?”
Bian Luxing shook his head, “She has a good treasure; otherwise, I’d have taken her long ago and enjoyed her company.”
“What treasure?”
Bian Luxing glanced at Wang Li, “That’s not for you to know. Once the beast tide is dealt with, leave. I see darkness on your brow—you may be in mortal danger.”
“Heh.”
Just as another five Five Spirit Pill Valley cultivators died in battle, Wei Cuiyao, biting her silver teeth, was about to activate the sub-cauldron when sudden change occurred.
Nearly a hundred beasts in the fight suddenly froze, then emitted heart-wrenching roars, ignoring their opponents.
Five Spirit Pill Valley’s cultivators paused, but quickly reacted, striking back and slaughtering the defenseless beasts. A barrage of fiery spells and treasures turned the battlefield into a sea of flames.
Within the inferno, the beasts endured excruciating pain while fending off the cultivators’ attacks, suffering grievous losses—seventy or eighty wiped out outright.
Bian Luxing and Wang Li, who had been preparing to flee, exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other’s thoughts. They led the Yin Corpse Sect back into the battle.
At the rear of the beast horde, the blue-scaled eagle’s eyes were full of confusion. It could not comprehend why nearly a hundred beasts suddenly suffered such intense agony. Though the losses were heavy, it did not matter much. If the Yin Corpse Sect truly spent ten days fleeing within the Minor World, the beasts might not catch them, which suited it better.
Not far from the battlefield, a bloodthirsty insect lounged atop a tree canopy, watching the war unfold. The beast horde’s sudden anomaly had been orchestrated by Zhou Xuanhong’s arm, commanding the bloodthirsty insect lurking in the beasts’ hearts to devour their vital blood. The process was slow, giving Five Spirit Pill Valley time to counterattack, faking the beasts’ agony without killing them outright.
“This Wei Cuiyao girl has a commendable temperament, but she won’t expect that her every move is within my grasp.”
“Gu Zhen, your technique for manipulating beast tides is truly eye-opening, but all you do serves only me.”
“Wang Li, you’ll never understand the consequences of opposing me. This Minor World will be your grave.”
“Five Spirit Pill Valley, Yin Corpse Sect—you all must die. Otherwise, how will my cheap master mend his Dao heart, ascend to Nascent Soul? Without that, how can the Grand Elder grow anxious? Without urgency, how can war erupt?”
“Hm? Strange, where is Wang Hu? As a talented array master with ambition, could he also be scheming to control the Minor World? I’d better keep an eye on him.”