Chapter 613: Strong head-on

In the Void Realm battlefield, Shen Shuibi was currently fighting five fifth-rank Cultivators.

However, the rabbit was a bit puzzled.

What's going on?

Why hasn't the Lord of Pestilence come?

When she first probed the human Dao, she wanted to figure out its hidden cards, and that time, she saw the Lord of Pestilence.

But until now, the Lord of Pestilence has not come.

As she thought this, she slightly tilted her head to dodge an arrow, then lightly tapped a few times, breaking through her opponent's spell.

The surrounding Yin Qi became even heavier, and her Lunar Corona Domain suppressed the five fifth-rank Cultivators opposite her, making them gasp for breath.

They had already discovered that as the battle progressed, Shen Shuibi was growing stronger.

It wasn't that her cultivation was increasing, but rather that she was becoming more skilled at dancing on the edge of a knife.

She... was learning.

Learning how to fight, learning how to engage in life-and-death battles, and her progress was incredibly fast.

At the same time, she still had a hidden card she hadn't played.

She was saving it for the Lord of Pestilence.

After losing to the Lord of Pestilence that time, she realized how tricky the human Dao was and devised many ways to deal with him.

Otherwise, if the other side sent the Lord of Pestilence again, wouldn't she be throwing her life away? So, she had to prepare a complete backup plan.

Therefore, she waited until now, even when truly facing mortal danger, with her Physical Body already damaged and her Yang Spirit severely injured, truly caught in a life-and-death struggle, she still didn't use that trump card.

But the Lord of Pestilence had not appeared until now...

Shen Shuibi believed that the human Dao must be very eager to stop what was happening here, which could be seen from the combat power invested.

More than a dozen fifth-rank Cultivators had already been sent from the Golden Dais, which was no small number.

This made a thought pop into Shen Shuibi's mind.

Could it be... that the Lord of Pestilence really won't come? Is it not that the human Dao is holding back a trump card, but that they truly cannot command the Lord of Pestilence?

If that's the case, there's no need to hold back, right?

Because she could also see that the People of No Return were already unable to fight further; pinning down a hundred thousand strong army plus five fifth-rank Cultivators was already the limit for the People of No Return.

There was just one problem that hadn't been dealt with.

The human Dao didn't have the Lord of Pestilence, but Liu Junyi should also know about Shen Shuibi's situation.

Did he really have no other means?

Although Li Qi's offensive tied down Liu Junyi, honestly, Liu Junyi should have more power than this.

He could have instantly committed all his reserve forces, forcefully crushed Shen Shuibi, and then redeployed those forces to the front lines.

This way, he could perfectly counter this offensive, instead of fighting a war of attrition, slowly feeding in more people, as he was doing now.

In Li Qi's words, this was like 'Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa,' always keeping Shen Shuibi in a state where she had the strength to resist.

Liu Junyi couldn't be that foolish, which means his choice of action must have a reason.

Either he anticipated that Shen Shuibi still had cards hidden, or... he felt that maintaining this war of attrition would be more beneficial for some other action of his.

Just as Shen Shuibi was pondering these things, suddenly—

She sensed that her five opponents suddenly lost their footing.

Opportunity!

Shen Shuibi didn't know why her opponents lost their footing, but it didn't stop her from reacting immediately!

The rabbit immediately forced herself to gather Qi, and the Lunar Corona that had accumulated around her for a long time suddenly erupted!

The setup that had been laid out since the beginning of the battle burst forth at this moment, with Yin Qi transforming into a New Moon.

The moon, when it dies, turns to ash, and moonlight is like it, but it dies without perishing, instead entering a cycle of Reincarnation, hence the terms Crescent Moon, Full Moon, and New Moon.

Crescent Moon is the name for a half-moon, its shape curved on one side and straight on the other, like a drawn bowstring.

Full Moon is the name for a complete moon, also called a Harvest Moon.

Waning Moon is the name for a diminishing moon, also called a Slender Eyebrow Moon.

New Moon is the name for a new moon, '朔' (Shuo) means 'to revive,' referring to the moon's death and Rebirth.

The Huainanzi says: The moon is the cold Qi of accumulated Yin; the larger part becomes water, and the essence of water Qi, like this, becomes the moon.

Born of water, then emerging through the moon, aligning with the time of the New Moon, to Rebirth!

This was the power Shen Shuibi had accumulated!

She gathered the power that had dissipated from her due to her injuries, forming this Lunar Corona, taking the meaning of the New Moon's Rebirth, and using the power of the 'Yin Cycle of Regeneration' to prepare a second life for herself!

Then, the Lunar Corona enveloped Shen Shuibi's body.

Lunar Corona descends upon her body, and the night's stillness dispels the dust.

It illuminates the jade steps, bright and clear, shrouded in a misty frost, its flowing light shimmering broadly, its ripples reflecting the waves.

Shen Shuibi's Yang Spirit directly dispersed, merging into the surrounding Lunar Corona, then condensed into a mass, and a brand new, undamaged Yang Spirit flew out from it.

She had no Physical Body, because her Physical Body and blood Qi had already been sacrificed.

This method of Rebirth was not omnipotent; otherwise, she wouldn't have been beaten so badly back then, losing all her cultivation, only to be picked up by Li Qi.

But it was enough to deal with these people.

For this battle, Shen Shuibi had exerted all her wisdom, all her strength, even exploding a Golden Core.

How could she not have considered everything thoroughly?

It's just... correspondingly, her enemies would also consider everything thoroughly, and also had an unknown number of trump cards.

So, she couldn't let her guard down.

The moment she recovered all her injuries and her Yang Spirit was reshaped, she realized why her opponents had lost their footing.

It was the People of No Return; they were coming!

— — — — — — — —

Just a few minutes ago.

In the Void Realm battlefield, at the People of No Return's position.

Cha Xike was gasping for breath, his armor was scarred, and the accumulated Divine Ability orbs were almost exhausted.

His armor was extremely reliant on external power, requiring constant use of orbs to provide Dao blessings.

But after this battle, his reserves were basically depleted, including many precious orbs left from his home world, now extinct with the destruction of his world.

He used up the last one, and there would never be such orbs in this Universe again.

On the other side, Gou Lou, as a Martial Artist, was much purer, but he too had exhausted his strength and retreated to the back to catch his breath, otherwise he would truly die of exhaustion.

The two of them rested and recovered their strength in the back, trying to quickly regain combat ability, so they could rejoin the rotating attacks against the human Dao generals.

The People of No Return also had more than a dozen fifth-rank Cultivators of varying skill levels.

A dozen or so people围攻 the five opponents, including strong fifth-rank Cultivators like Gou Lou and Cha Xike, allowing them to conduct a war of attrition and pin down the other side.

As for winning... it would probably take some more time.

While recovering, the two also conversed.

"Over there, it seems Madam alone can't hold them back," Gou Lou noticed that in the distance, at the phased array's location, Shen Shuibi was no longer able to hold them back.

A Mohist Cultivator of the fifth-rank was leading a hundred thousand strong army to dismantle the array.

"No choice, we can't manage it," Cha Xike replied, "The two of us combined can barely fight that Mohist Cultivator, let alone the hundred thousand strong army over there.

Just those hundred thousand alone could encircle and annihilate the two of us."

"Withdraw half of the People of No Return, and together with the two of us, hold off the enemy.

We cannot let the phased array be dismantled," Gou Lou said coldly.

Cha Xike shook his head, "That's suicide.

Fighting here now, we have a chance to win, and it's a good one.

But if we really split our forces, then we're truly going to die.

Not just the two of us, but all the People of No Return will be buried here."

Gou Lou, however, wiggled his tentacles, easing his tense muscles, and replied, "What's the use of all of us surviving? If we can't protect the detector, what meaning does our survival have?

Sacrificing our lives to ensure the human Dao's vanguard battle fails, how much do you think we'd gain from that?"

This made Cha Xike pause slightly.

Yes, how much could they gain?

A few fifth-rank Cultivators like them could sway the entire situation.

If the human Dao lost... how many would die?

It's possible a few second-rank Cultivators might even come to be buried with them.

In this lifetime, how many chances are there to have a second-rank Cultivator die with you?

Only this once!

However, he still said with some concern, "It might be difficult.

Now that there's a chance to win, everyone is united.

Sending people to fight a certain death battle, even if it's profitable, will still make some people grumble."

At such a time, once morale wavers and spirit declines, it's likely to directly collapse.

The People of No Return were originally a motley crew, and the Formation they were currently using was even temporarily developed by Shen Shuibi.

Driven by hatred, they could sacrifice their lives to fight difficult battles, but asking them to go to their deaths, to do something that is bound to lead to death, is not simple.

At least Cha Xike felt it wasn't very realistic.

But unexpectedly, Gou Lou shook his head, "I believe in them."

"Believe in them? This is gambling with lives!" Cha Xike's voice showed some dissatisfaction.

Just as Cha Xike didn't believe Shen Shuibi, he also didn't believe most of the People of No Return.

His world being destroyed had made him somewhat neurotic.

Besides, even if his world hadn't been destroyed, he would absolutely not believe that the People of No Return would remain steadfast under such circumstances.

That was something only the human Dao would do; there were many selfish people among the People of No Return.

"We are gambling with our lives right now," Gou Lou said pointedly.

"Even if we all survive, if the objective isn't achieved, what's the point? Besides... I don't think anyone will survive if we lose," Gou Lou said.

"I'm not afraid of death, I'm just afraid of the mission failing," Cha Xike frowned.

"If the phased array is broken, then that's when the mission truly fails," Gou Lou finally persuaded.

Cha Xike still felt it was very risky, but he also had no choice.

He also knew that if the phased array were destroyed, things would indeed be very difficult.

Even if they managed to clean up the mess and retreat, it would still mean the failure of the operation, and the human Dao would become even more vigilant afterward.

Although, the human Dao was already vigilant to begin with.

Then let's do it!

Cha Xike hardened his heart, clenched his fist, and said, "Alright, then let it be so!"

The internal decision of the People of No Return was completed.

Gou Lou immediately sent out a message, informing them that a portion of their forces would be withdrawn to participate in an even more difficult battle.

As Cha Xike had expected, this caused a huge uproar among the People of No Return.

The People of No Return, who had been fighting fiercely, saw their morale momentarily stall.

Under the blessing of the Formation, they were able to transmit their messages to their commanders, who in turn could transmit the information to the next level up, finally reaching Gou Lou and Cha Xike.

However, the answer they received exceeded Cha Xike's expectations.

The will of the People of No Return surpassed Cha Xike's expectations; almost ninety percent of the teams agreed to such an action.

Another fifth-rank Cultivator who was currently fighting sent back a message: "Half of us here deserve to die, and the vast majority of the other half deserve to die several times over, with the remaining few being beyond redemption.

Now... we should have died long ago."

This was all within Gou Lou's expectations, however.

He wiggled his gray-blue tentacles and said, "How many people can witness the destruction of their own world like us?

If the two of us can die, why should we look down on the resolve of others?"

Cha Xike, however, burst into laughter, then stood up: "Hahaha! I was wrong, I accept the punishment, I accept the punishment.

Later, I'll be the vanguard!"

And so, a few minutes later, two fifth-rank Cultivators broke into Shen Shuibi's battlefield.

Along with them came half of the withdrawn People of No Return, approximately 1.5 million people.

From this number, it could be seen that the People of No Return had suffered heavy casualties earlier; four to five million had participated in the battle, and now half of them only amounted to 1.5 million.

These people quickly disrupted the Formation of the five fifth-rank Cultivators, allowing Shen Shuibi to easily turn the tide.

Then, the People of No Return's battle Qi quickly enveloped the battlefield, suppressing the Qi of the fifth-rank Cultivators within it.

Their Divine Abilities and spells were weakened by the battle Qi, unable to cause large-scale casualties.

This was the most important aspect of an army's encirclement and annihilation.

The power of these spells was reduced, but their consumption was not, thus creating the possibility of being worn down by the army.

The five fifth-rank Cultivators immediately struck, preparing to break up the military Formation!

Once the military Formation dispersed, they would be a motley crowd, merely over a million people, whom they could easily destroy.

Terrifying Qi blasts surged forth, but they were enveloped by the battle Qi and began to be rapidly weakened.

On the other side, the People of No Return also immediately set up defenses; layers of barriers flickered within the battle Qi.

Even the mentally challenged wouldn't slack off at this moment, because fighting a fifth-rank Cultivator could easily lead to death, so they had to be fully focused and give their all for their own lives.

However, not a single layer could hold; all were shattered, and the spells landed squarely within the military Formation.

Nevertheless, under the defense of the battle Qi, the power of all spells was evenly distributed among everyone, and also spread across their protective Magic Treasures.

Even spells powerful enough to tear the world apart still couldn't damage the overall integrity of the military Formation.

However, if the five fifth-rank Cultivators were allowed to attack so wildly for a few more minutes, any military Formation would collapse.

Therefore, Gou Lou, empowered by battle Qi, instantly rushed to the opponent's face.

A Martial Artist in close combat!

Almost simultaneously, Shen Shuibi also attacked alongside Gou Lou.

With so many advantages combined, even if the human Dao's fifth-rank Cultivators unleashed their final trump cards, they found it difficult to resist and were quickly annihilated.

However, their final resistance also injured Gou Lou.

Without hesitation, Shen Shuibi quickly landed beside Gou Lou: "Over at the phased array, I'll handle that fifth-rank Cultivator; the rest of the army is yours."

There was no time for idle talk.

Although Gou Lou was injured, he was at least freed up.

Gou Lou and Cha Xike hadn't expected Shen Shuibi to still be able to maintain this state, which suddenly made their plan much more realistic.

They didn't delay, simply nodded, and then led their team away.

Shen Shuibi flashed and followed, rushing towards that Mohist Cultivator.

But all of this was built upon the People of No Return splitting their forces.

At the original battlefield, the human Dao army, commanded by five deputy generals, began to turn the tide.

Monthly pass...