The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 24: Nine Void Battlefield | Chapter 428: Otherworldly Demon

The leader clearly scrutinized Xu Ziqing, his gaze stern as if he could see right through him. “A lower realm cultivator?”

Xu Ziqing smiled gently, showing no hint of hostility. “Indeed, I’ve come with the War God Token.” After saying this, he took out the War God Token, waved it, and quickly stowed it away again.

Upon seeing the War God Token, the group’s expressions softened slightly.

The leader said, “Follow us!”

The other soldiers quickly divided into two sides, surrounding him in the center.

Xu Ziqing initially felt tense but soon relaxed a little, maintaining his vigilance. He responded, “Alright,” and then walked slowly alongside them, asking, “Who might you gentlemen be?”

The leader glanced at him. “We are under General Qin, stationed here for duty.”

Another soldier provided some clarification for Xu Ziqing.

It turned out that the Nine Void Battlefield was vast, with many shen cultivators arriving every year. Not all of them congregated in the same place, so over time, several large military corps had formed in the battlefield. These corps originally consisted of various shen cultivators sent to confront the initial opposition between shen cultivators and the otherworldly demons when the battlefield first opened, and they gradually expanded their ranks year by year. In addition, many smaller groups were less organized than these corps and not under their protection; they simply exterminated the otherworldly demons on their own. Overall, however, being part of a military corps made survival much easier.

Xu Ziqing pondered this and nodded. He could sense the soldiers’ aloofness, which indicated they had little goodwill toward lower realm cultivators. However, they had their own protocols in dealing with him, and even if they didn’t like him, there was no malice—perhaps because of their heavy killing intent, the interference from their divine aura was somewhat lessened, making it easier for him to distinguish their true feelings.

Cultivators of the wood element were, after all, quite perceptive.

They continued walking for over ten miles, gradually spotting some shen cultivators along the way.

These shen cultivators were dressed differently from the soldiers, each with their own style, but most were gathered in groups of several to a dozen, clearly forming teams to advance and retreat together. Compared to the soldiers, although these cultivators also exuded strong killing intent, their expressions were generally less stable and confident.

It seemed that the military corps provided strong protection for their soldiers, which was indeed the case.

At the same time, Xu Ziqing also noticed some cultivators.

Among these cultivators were not only those from the lower realms but also quite a few local cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage—their auras were mixed yet distinct.

However, it appeared that the two groups received different treatment within these teams.

The lower realm cultivators… always seemed somewhat distant from others, or rather, they appeared to be excluded.

As he contemplated this, Xu Ziqing increasingly understood that his situation in the Nine Void Battlefield might be challenging, and he would have to be more careful in his future actions. However, he was also pondering about his senior brother, Yun Lie, and where he might have ended up.

Before he could think too much, they arrived at the military corps’ stationed area.

Many soldiers guarded the perimeter tightly, and in the center were numerous tents. If not for the robust divine aura emanating from each of them and their high cultivation levels, they looked remarkably similar to soldiers from the mortal realm.

Xu Ziqing even felt that any one of these soldiers would probably be no weaker than Cang Shen, whom he had encountered earlier.

What an enormous force this must be!

The leader finally stopped, turned around with a serious expression, and said, “I will report to General Qin. Please wait here.”

Xu Ziqing understood that this was a routine procedure to verify his identity. He nodded and smiled, saying, “I understand.”

Seeing his cooperation, the leader’s attitude softened slightly as he quickly walked into the camp and soon lifted the flap of the largest tent, striding inside.

Before long, he emerged again, followed by a handsome shen cultivator.

The leader pointed at the shen cultivator and said, “This is Master He, who would like to speak with you.”

Xu Ziqing smiled and replied, “I’ve met Master He.”

Master He stepped forward and led Xu Ziqing to one side, asking, “What is your name? How did you come here?”

Xu Ziqing naturally answered, explaining that he had come with his shixiong, Yun Lie, but they had become separated, and later he had been ambushed by Cang Shen during the War God Token dispute. He felt that since Master He had been sent to question him, he must have his own methods, so there was no need to lie. Moreover, there was nothing he needed to conceal, so he spoke candidly.

After hearing his account, Master He’s expression remained unchanged as he asked a few more questions, mostly about their experiences after arriving in the Nine Void Realm and the reasons for coming to the Nine Void Battlefield. As Xu Ziqing answered each question without any impatience, Master He’s demeanor improved significantly.

Finally, Master He said, “Your identity poses no issue; you may stay near the camp. If you wish to join the Qin family army, you will need to bring back two heads of otherworldly demons to qualify for the assessment. If not, you can come and go as you please.”

Xu Ziqing nodded again, his demeanor calm and unhurried.

Master He seemed satisfied and left.

Xu Ziqing let out a sigh of relief. Having just arrived at the Nine Void Battlefield, he was still unfamiliar with many things and certainly wouldn’t rush into joining a military corps or making any hasty decisions. It was essential to find ways to gather information first.

He turned around and walked a bit further away from the camp, retracing his steps.

Nearby, there were many stone mounds, beneath which were some tents with shen cultivators coming and going, presumably their temporary residences.

The Nine Void Battlefield was quite harsh; there were no permanent buildings, only these tents.

After walking for a while, Xu Ziqing noticed a large tent with its flap open, where a long table was set up, seemingly for selling something. He approached and saw that the seller was a junior soldier at the Gathering Origin stage, looking quite serious.

The tent contained various goods and resources, all presumably useful on the battlefield.

After a moment of thought, Xu Ziqing asked, “How do we exchange items here?”

On the table were many neatly stacked tent covers, several bottles and jars, and some dusty leather-bound books. At a glance, he could tell what their purposes might be.

The junior soldier replied, “If you exchange with high-quality spirit stones, it’s three spirit stones for one divine stone, priced in divine stones.”

Xu Ziqing was taken aback.

For them, as lower realm cultivators, the prices here were actually three times higher? It seemed that they were indeed unwelcome in this place.

He sighed for a moment.

Xu Ziqing didn’t make things difficult for the junior soldier. He simply took out the corresponding spirit stones and exchanged them for a leather-bound book, which contained a wealth of knowledge about the battlefield. Compared to the superficial information he had heard from the Qian Er Workshop, this was much more detailed. It was no wonder they had been reluctant to share much; there was trading happening here. Without further conversation, he opened the book and quickly found a stone mound to sit on, flipping through the pages rapidly. Given that nothing unusual had occurred yet, the sooner he understood the situation here, the more beneficial it would be for him. The book didn’t contain too much information, and with a Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense, he quickly scanned through it and committed it to memory.

The main points clarify that the Nine Void Battlefield is home to five major military corps: the Qin Family Army, the Song Family Army, the He Family Army, the Li Family Army, and the Zhao Family Army. Each of these corps has 100,000 soldiers, in addition to many smaller corps that often consist of only 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers or even fewer, fighting against otherworldly demons. Smaller teams are not officially recorded.

In addition, the text introduces the otherworldly demons. These demons have bizarre forms, varying in size, but overall, they tend to have a slender and elongated appearance, with scythe-shaped tumors on their heads that differ in size and color—these are their critical vulnerabilities. They often have a single eye, flesh spikes, and sharp teeth protruding from their mouths, with skin impervious to blades and firearms. They have four fingers and toes and can run on all fours like beasts. These demons feed on humans; the higher the level, the larger the size, and they can even extend wings from their backs, increasing their speed tenfold, making them even more difficult to deal with.

Shen cultivators have been stationed on the battlefield for countless years and have experience fighting these otherworldly demons.

Besides the tumors being a crucial vulnerability, the concave area on the left chest of the demons is also a weak point. The demons are classified into seven levels based on factors such as size, skin toughness, and speed, which include low-level demons, mid-level demons, high-level demons, great demons, xing-level demons, chen-level demons, and yue-level demons. The xing-level, chen-level, and yue-level demons possess flesh wings, flapping with the speed of lightning and the power of roaring winds and thunder.

Generally, the first four levels of demons appear more frequently, with the lower levels being more numerous.

The requirement mentioned by Master He for joining the military was to bring back two demon heads, referring specifically to low-level demons.

There are also illustrations of the seven types of demons. After carefully examining them, Xu Ziqing realized that the legendary moon-level demon might reach a height of a hundred zhang, truly a terrifying creature!

If he were to encounter such a demon… it would only lead to a dead end.

As for why these demons are called “otherworldly demons”… it relates to their origin.

They were originally birthed from a spatial storm, terrible monsters from the vast universe, but their nature is to feast on flesh and blood, leading them to the nearest world, which is the Nine Void Realm within the storm.

However, the Nine Void Realm is protected by Dao; the defenses in the sky are strong, preventing external entities from invading. The only weak point is at the location of the Nine Void Battlefield, where the demons can tear through the space and enter.

If the many shen cultivators cannot hold them back, the demons will invade in droves, and the Nine Void Realm will become a hunting ground for the demons, causing suffering for all its inhabitants.

Fortunately, the Dao of this world restrict external entities; the stronger the demon, the less likely it can pass through the cracks, especially the chen-level and yue-level demons, which cannot breach the laws at all. However, if the demons are not killed, they will inevitably become a significant threat. Thus, many brave individuals will venture through the cracks into the storm to fight the demons, cutting down any dangers outside their realm! Therefore, over the countless years, many shen cultivators have fallen!

After reading this, Xu Ziqing was deeply shocked. He briefly considered the abilities of these otherworldly demons and discovered that even a shen cultivator at the Gathering Origin stage could only kill low-level and mid-level demons at most. If they encountered a high-level demon alone, they would often have to flee, unless many joined forces to encircle and eliminate it. As for great demons… Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but smile bitterly. By that time, even if hundreds of Gathering Origin stage cultivators banded together, they would only face the misfortune of being devoured.

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

Support me on ko-fi if you like what I do^^