Chapter 1718: Looting Corpses Even Without Any (1)
Editor: Atlas Studios

In the battlefield’s starry sky, where the brilliance of countless stars shimmered, a distinct drumbeat resonated and echoed, infused with the sound of immortal arts, rippling through the void.

This was the Divine Suppression Drum.

It was a powerful tool of the Nianlin Army during their patrols, used to sweep away hidden divine presences.

The drum was capable of detecting any traces of gods within its range and was especially sensitive to anomalous substances.

At this moment, the drum’s sound transformed into a guiding force, locking onto all directions. Under the decree of its low, resonant tone, five of the patrol fleet’s flying boats shot forward, heading directly toward their designated destinations.

The remaining patrol fleet continued advancing, sweeping through other regions as they probed for hidden threats. They awaited feedback from the dispatched flying boats, which had embarked on their extermination missions.

Just like that, time slowly passed.

The exploration of other directions was still incomplete, but unexpectedly, a message arrived early from the dispatched flying boats.

“Sir, we have followed the drum’s guidance and reached the divine altar site at Gray Ridge Star. However, the area is covered with the corpses of gods, and… it is completely spotless.”

The cultivator who sent the message had a strange tone.

“Some unknown people came here before us and destroyed Them.”

In the starry void, aboard one of the patrol fleet’s flying boats, the commander of this mission was a middle-aged cultivator with a stern expression.

Dressed in blue-scaled armor, his entire being exuded the aura of a peak Quasi Immortal, radiating extraordinary power.

Upon receiving this feedback while meditating, his eyes abruptly opened, glimmering with deep contemplation.

This war zone was under the jurisdiction of the Nianlin Army, and this specific area fell solely within the patrol range of his unit.

Yet now, someone unknown had acted before them…

Without hesitation, the middle-aged cultivator issued a command. The next moment, all the patrol boats shifted direction, vanishing into the void, rushing toward Gray Ridge Star.

Not long after, outside Gray Ridge Star, where the Xuan, Lin, Mo, Ling, and Feng squads were stationed, the rippling starry sky revealed ships emerging from nothingness.

As the patrol boats materialized from the void, led by the peak Quasi Immortal middle-aged cultivator, over a hundred figures shot forth like meteors, heading straight toward the star.

They instantly descended.

After that… everyone’s expressions became strange.

What greeted their eyes were the collapsed altar and the corpses of gods everywhere.

Those corpses were all dried out, and none of Them appeared to have been killed in a single blow. Instead, there were clear signs of agitation and stimulation, as if Their origin essence had been forcibly extracted.

It was done thoroughly…

There was no longer any origin essence left in Them.

Looking at this, everyone looked at each other.

This method didn’t seem like their Nianlin Army’s style.

“This style resembles the behavior of the Corpse Looting Team… It’s too clean,” one of the guards beside the middle-aged cultivator in charge of this patrol mission remarked in a low voice.

This sentence voiced the thoughts of many people.

No matter how one looked at it, the scene in front of them looked like the Corpse Looting Team had been here before.

After all, collecting origin essence was a delicate job. If it was them, it would be very difficult for them to do it so cleanly. This required them to be familiar with the action.

“However, those people from the Corpse Looting Team are like vultures. They will only appear on large-scale battlefields.”

“They usually don’t appear in places with dozens of gods.”

Some people questioned it.

“Could it be that scouts from the other armies have come here? Moreover, they have the Corpse Looting Team by their side? What kind of arrangement is this?”

While everyone was analyzing, the peak Quasi Immortal middle-aged cultivator swept his gaze across all the corpses and then looked at the collapsed altar. Finally, his gaze landed on a corpse.

Looking at the corpse, his eyes revealed a dark glint as he slowly spoke.

“This god is at the middle stage of the Divine Platform!”

“They hid here and set up the altar, but it wasn’t time for it to be activated yet. In the end, They had no choice but to activate it in a hurry.”

“So, the people who killed Them didn’t use the Divine Suppression Drum’s perception like us, but… had their eyes on Them long ago.”

“To be able to kill a mid-stage Divine Platform expert in such a short time, erase all traces, and do so without us noticing… this group of unknown individuals is no ordinary force.”

As soon as the middle-aged cultivator finished speaking, the surroundings instantly fell silent.

A while later, the middle-aged cultivator retracted his gaze.

“Report this matter to the higher-ups. It seems that comrades from another corps have crossed into our sector.”

With that, he turned and took a step into the starry sky. The cultivators beside him also flew up and returned to the flying boats.

However, many of them turned their heads and looked at the battlefield as they returned, sighing with emotion.

“They even brought the Corpse Looting Team with them…”

…

At the same time, in a region of space some distance away from Gray Ridge Star, Xu Qing and his group–mistaken by the Nianlin Army patrol as interlopers from another sector–were currently moving swiftly in concealment. While they sped through the void, they exchanged transmissions among themselves, reviewing and summarizing the details of their recent battle.

“The collection speed is still too slow.”

“Although we are good at live harvesting, we need to seal the gods first. It’s not as fast as killing Them.”

“And in order to be more thorough and continuously stimulate…”

“It’s fine usually, but on the battlefield, corpse harvesting is actually more suitable!”

“We have to practice corpse harvesting more. The faster we can collect, the more suited we’ll be for the battlefield.”

Amidst the discussion and conclusion, Xu Qing spoke and decided on a direction.

“Next, other than the group corpse looting mission, we’ll follow the previous method and find a suitable team of gods. On one hand, we’ll harvest Them and on the other hand, we’ll get some practice as well!”

As Xu Qing’s voice rang out, everyone nodded one after another. After that, they spread out and searched for their next target.

Very soon, Xu Qing was the only one left in the starry sky. He looked at the departing ascenders. A while later, he found a meteorite and used it as his temporary cave abode.

He was prepared to continue absorbing the origin essence, striving to improve his cultivation.

Xu Qing sat cross-legged in the silence around him, lost in thought, reflecting on this war and journey.