Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 465
Li Yao did not answer the question. He frowned and said, "Master Ye, it's very likely that assassins of the Temple of Immortals are now lurking in the tenth space ring, pretending to be devilized people. Right now, the devils' flames are burning in the tenth space ring, and the spiritual energy there is an utter mess. We will not be able to notice the assassins even if they show any signs.
"While we are rescuing ordinary people, they will find an opportunity to kill us. I'm afraid that is the real purpose of the Temple of Immortals. We…"
Ye Hongfei smiled bitterly. "At a moment like this, who doesn't know that? But it's not like we have any other choice. We cannot stand by and watch the tenth space ring's destruction.
"When ordinary people are possessed by devils, we can save them within the first day and night.
"If we do not act immediately, the ordinary people in the tenth space ring will either be slain by the devilized people or become slaves of their slaughtering will forever. They will stay as the devils' possessions for the rest of their lives!
"Even though we know clearly that the Temple of Immortals is going to ambush us in the tenth space ring, we have to grit our teeth and try our luck!"
As the two of them were talking, earsplitting metallic noises disturbed them.
Li Yao raised his head, only to find a troop made of almost a hundred metal skeletons, who strode close in a neat battle formation with their heads held high.
The bones of the metal skeletons were all made of the best super alloys, covered by multiple layers of armor. On the surface of the armor were glamorous spiritual stripes that were emitting colorful brilliance and covered the components inside the body, which were as delicate as the parts of a watch.
All the metal skeletons were carrying sharp swords and powerful firearms, with crimson flames burning in their deep, dark eyes.
They were indeed ghostly and fearsome!
Li Yao was somewhat shocked. He subconsciously asked, "Spectral Cultivators?"
"Exactly!" Ye Hongfei said proudly. "This is the 'Spiritual Ghost Legion' of Heavenly Saints City. All the battle-type Cultivators of the six sects of Heavenly Saints City join the 'Spiritual Ghost Legion' and continue making their contributions if they turn into spectral Cultivators after their death.
"The Flying Star Sector is always troubled by the extraterrestrial devils. Extraterrestrial devils are entities of energy, and so are spectral Cultivators. Therefore, spectral Cultivators are the best soldiers to deal with the extraterrestrial devils.
"In every big town of the Flying Star Sector, such troops of spectral Cultivators are stationed. Once the towns are invaded by extraterrestrial devils, they lead the charge!"
Li Yao was dazed for a moment. "Can spectral Cultivators fight, too? As I recall, spectral Cultivators are quite fragile and unstable, are they not?"
A body of flesh and blood was the best container for a soul. Without the body, one's soul would turn extremely vulnerable.
Even though the soul hid itself in an artificial body, it was still prone to the interference of various kinds of light, heat, radiation, and spiritual waves.
After a cosmic storm, it was not unusual to find that the soul of a spectral Cultivator was entirely gone, never to be seen again.
Therefore, most of the spectral Cultivators that Li Yao knew preferred the indoors to the outdoors. They lived in anti-radiation buildings and disliked alfresco activities. The jobs they were occupied with were mostly about pure thinking and far away from the interference of spiritual energy.
Even the five 'star spirits' including Professor Mo Xuan also fitted with the pattern; they spent most of their time in the mainframe crystal processor of Sparkle.
Battle-type Cultivators often took part in the research work, such as creating a new Cultivation art or devising a new skill of martial arts, when they turned into spectral Cultivators after their death. They rarely participated in a real-life battle personally.
In other words, the spectral Cultivators might boast tremendous combat ability, but they were too brittle to endure brutal clashes on a battlefield.
Flames of admiration were flowing inside Ye Hongfei's eyes, as he raised his voice and commented, "They definitely are. The combat style of the spectral Cultivators is often suicidal. After an arrival of extraterrestrial devils, countless spectral Cultivators will perish forever. But next time the catastrophe takes place, they will charge forward without any hesitation again. Maybe—"
Ye Hongfei's eyes suddenly froze half way through his speech. He gazed at Li Yao's back.
As it turned out, the 'Spiritual Ghost Legion' just passed by the two of them. One of the spectral Cultivators overheard their conversation and walked toward them.
"We are Cultivators."
Fire was blossoming like red lotuses inside the spectral Cultivator's eyes, as he clenched his coldly shining fists and touched his breastplate softly.
On his chest, a weird battle emblem was painted. A rusted, lackluster flying sword and a broken saber with countless dents were crossed on a skull that was full of cracks.
"We are still Cultivators even though we are dead."
Maybe it was Li Yao's imagination, but when the spectral Cultivator made that declaration, he felt that it was not a cold metal skeleton standing before him but a handsome young warrior made of flesh and blood.
He blinked, and when he looked at the spectral Cultivator again, he had already turned around and joined the troop.
In front of the team of spectral Cultivators, an iron giant more than four meters tall was carrying a black flag on its shoulder.
That same battle emblem, as well as the words 'Spiritual Ghost', was painted on the flag, which was flapping in the wind.
Spectral Cultivators did not have real bodies. The artificial bodies they chose were of various forms and shapes. Some of the giants in the team were almost five meters tall, while some other spectral Cultivators had multiple heads and numerous limbs, making them look like crazy demons.
However, whatever the artificial bodies looked like, the burning fighting will in them was exactly the same as the fighting will in the Cultivators who were alive.
Li Yao took a deep breath and clenched his fists.
"Extraterrestrial devils!
"Alright. Let's have a great battle together with the fellow Cultivators both alive and deceased!"
In the next hour, countless shuttles, carriers, and crystal warships lunged at the tenth space ring from the central area of Heavenly Saints City!
On one of the carriers, Cai Qi was briefing the situation on the battlefield to the Cultivators who were temporarily under his command.
In fact, most of the Cultivators there had abundant experience in dealing with extraterrestrial devils. His introduction was meant for Li Yao, who was 'from Iron Plateau' and had never witnessed the horror of the extraterrestrial devils in person.
"Remember, there are three kinds of enemy that we need to cope with!
"Firstly, the extraterrestrial devils!
"Extraterrestrial devils are entities of pure energy. They are invisible and hard to locate. Mental attacks are their specialty. They are also able to manipulate items from afar and condense them into a certain object!
"However, if we spray the secret 'Devil Revealing Powder' on them, the extraterrestrial devils will immediately be separated from the air.
"Once the extraterrestrial devils are found, try to use weapons of spiritual energy and avoid using physical bullets.
"As for melee weapons, the auras of your blades will deal fatal damage to the extraterrestrial devils, but the edges of the blades will be not so helpful!
"Secondly, the ordinary people who are possessed by extraterrestrial devils, or devilized people, if you will.
"Since the arrival of extraterrestrial devils just took place, the ordinary people who are possessed by the extraterrestrial devils are not bewildered too much yet. Our most important task is to restore the consciousness of these people and bring them back to the safe area.
"Just now, everybody has received a large number of Mind Clearing Spells, Soul Pacifying Spells, and Exorcising Drugs. Such runes and magical equipment are very effective in driving the extraterrestrial devils away. As long as they are not possessed by the devil kings, the ordinary people will recover shortly.
"However, do remember that, if blue gas or black gas is popping up from the heads of people who are possessed, they are too deeply affected to be saved. Do not hesitate to do what you must do when you see them!
"Thirdly, assassins from the Temple of Immortals!
"The riot in the tenth space ring is apparently not the Temple of Immortals' purpose. Their real goal is to attract us to the tenth space ring where they can assassinate us. Therefore, not only will the top assassins such as the Eight Blades of Black Spider be lurking there, Hellsword, who just got away, might also have retreated to the tenth space ring, waiting for his victims there!
"Chances are that a second or a third Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator of the Temple of Immortals will show up!
"Danger looms ahead, but we have to go on undeterred. We have no other options except to try our best! Remember, stay close to me, and do not act recklessly. Report to me if you find any traces of the Immortal Cultivators!
"Your duties, the area we are responsible for, the hostiles' strength, our allies nearby, the distribution of devilized people, as well as any other useful information has all been sent into your crystal processors. Seize the last few minutes and absorb as much as you can!
"We are about to reach the tenth space ring. Any questions?"
Cai Qi looked at Li Yao.
Li Yao shook his head.
A hasty shriek came from the broadcast rune array. "We are now in the tenth space ring!"
Chapter 694: Battlefield of Extraterrestrial Devils |
Cai Qi's crystal processor projected almost a hundred light beams that displayed the situation of the battle in the sea of stars.
The space between the ninth space ring and the tenth had turned into a weird ocean of flames.
The tenth space ring was the most enormous circular town furthest from Heavenly Saints City. It was like a giant serpent that had bitten its own tail.
Compared to the tenth space ring, even the biggest starship looked like a speck of dust.
Explosions were taking place everywhere on the 'giant serpent'. Gas along with colorful fire was jetting out at a high speed from the fractures.
The giant serpent seemed to have been stabbed multiple times, with hot blood spurting everywhere!
Broken remnants were scattered everywhere in space. Most of them were the pieces resulting from the explosions. They were mixed with broken bodies that were floating in the cold universe like hideous, miserable statues.
Around ten thousand carriers had originally been docked at the tenth space ring. When news that extraterrestrial devils had shown up inside the space ring arrived, they all broke off from the space ring and fled in a hurry.
However, even the most solid plate was not able to resist the extraterrestrial devils. Many starships fell victim to the extraterrestrial devils. After being possessed by them, the crew members immediately turned mad and attacked other crew members to gain control over the starship.
Many starships deviated from their routes and collided into each other. Some of them sailed out of the port, only to turn around and crash into the tenth space at a high speed, leading to gory serial explosions!
The sounds of the horrific explosions could not travel in space, a vacuum.
Without oxygen, the flames resulting from the explosions could not last long, either.
However, the flames in space right now were in a green color. They were savaging and spreading as if they were alive. Dancing a strange dance, they swept across even more starships.
Some of the green flames were twisting and wriggling into vivid facial organs and limbs. Ugly and rampant, they collected a lot of debris and absorbed it into their bodies, turning themselves into giants dozens of meters tall!
"Devils! Thousands of devils!"
The devils that were wandering outside of the tenth space ring, noticing that the main troops of Cultivators arrived, immediately screamed and charged at them.
Nothing was audible in the space, but the shrieks of the devils were not sound but a special vibration of the magnetic field that could take effect on the Cultivators' soul directly.
Therefore, despite the distance of tens of thousands of meters in between, all the Cultivators felt that their head becoming dizzy and their breath unsteady, as if a lot of cold talons were scratching their head softly!
Due to the emergency, most of the Cultivators had not boarded crystal warships but shuttles and carriers whose defense abilities were much weaker.
It would be terrible if such vehicles were harassed by the devils.
Right then, countless metal skeletons dispersed from the carriers and flew toward the devils!
The Spiritual Ghost Legion!
The weapons of the spectral Cultivators were all specially made for the extraterrestrial devils. It was not bullets that were shot out of the barrels but flashing electric arcs. Their blades were extremely narrow, too, and yet they could trigger auras almost twenty meters long because of the special design.
The spectral Cultivators were extremely fast and were soon engaged with thousands of devils.
For a moment, sparks and electric arcs were spluttering everywhere. The auras of the blades formed a shining gold dragnet that minced countless devils into pieces.
The green fire raised by the devils lost support after the flashing of the sabers, and it collapsed, turning back into chaotic fireballs. The fireballs soon dispersed into thousands of shivering flickers, which struggled for a moment before vanishing amid miserable screams.
However, there were simply too many devils. It was often the case that around ten devils would battle against one spectral Cultivator. They formed sharp claws and teeth with the debris of starships and tore the spectral Cultivators into pieces!
The spectral Cultivators, whose artificial bodies broke apart, did not disperse immediately. Instead, dazzling brilliance beamed out of their souls as they marched toward the giants controlled by the devils and rushed into them.
The souls and the devils competed for the control over the 'debris giants'!
The giants were like puppets that were manipulated by two puppet masters and dragged in opposite directions simultaneously. One moment, they were dancing, but the next, they were attacking the other side of their body. Some of them were even torn in half by brute force.
The two broken halves of the giants continued crashing into each other instead of repairing their body with replacements first. The souls and devils hiding inside the giants also clashed and mauled each other. Their energy was completely released during the high-speed collisions.
The battle between the spectral Cultivators and the extraterrestrial devils was indeed scary!
"The Spiritual Ghost Legion is trying to buy us more time and open a channel for us!
"We are now on a carrier that cannot break into the tenth space ring directly. Fellow Cultivators, prepare to get off!"
Red lights were flashing inside the carrier. "Chi" sounds were echoing nonstop inside the cabin as the atmospheric pressure inside the carrier was being adjusted in order to open all the gates.
"Slay the devils to serve the great Dao. Cultivators, let's go!"
Cai Qi, a sword Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage, was the first to dash out of the carrier.
Behind him, hundreds of Cultivators lined up and dived into space like golden scales!
From the countless starships nearby, thousands of Cultivators surged out and moved toward various zones of the tenth space ring according to the instructions on their crystal processors.
Every squad of Cultivators was led by a Core Formation Stage Cultivator or a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. Those above the Building Foundation Stage were in the vanguard or covered the back. The Refinement Stage Cultivators, who were the largest in number, were in the middle. All the squads were oval-shaped.
Cai Qi truly deserved to be a renowned professor of the Flying Sword Department of Flying Star University. Faced with the harassment of thousands of devils, the intimidating aura of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator was fully revealed.
The dozens of crescent flying swords around him instantly phantomized into thousands of blade auras, which raised a silver storm in the sea of stars!
The storm seemed to boast an uncanny attraction force. Not only were all the devils within the coverage of the auras minced to pieces immediately, all the other devils nearby were drawn close to it like broken boats that had fallen into a swirl. They struggled and screamed, only to be ripped apart by the storm of swords, perishing on the spot.
The surround square kilometer became peaceful once more.
A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator's wrath is indeed not to be underestimated!
Li Yao secretly complimented Cai Qi. If he tried his best, he might be able to clear all the devils within a square kilometer, too. But he would have to be engaged in a fierce battle that was in no away as simple or straightforward as Cai Qi's attack!
"All the devils in front of us have been cleared. Let's rush inside together!"
Hundreds of Cultivators congregated into a torrent of iron under the lead of Cai Qi. Thousands of light flames burst out of their backs and pushed them through a damaged gate into the inside of the space ring!
All the space towns attached great importance to explosions and damage to the shell. Every large space town had thousands of airtight gates. Even if explosions took place in 70% of the area, the gates would still remain sealed and turn the area into vacuum so that the remaining 30% would be safe.
But right now, Cultivators had gained access to the switches of all the airtight gates and emergency exits on the tenth space ring.
After taking various turns and passing through seven airtight gates, they finally found that the air was breathable again.
