Chapter 30: The Void Battlefield

The individual battles among cultivators at the Divine Marshal stage are about to begin!
This news spread rapidly across the Divine Realm. After experiencing the fierce battles among cultivators at the Divine Weapon stage and the group battles among those at the Divine General stage, the cultivators of the Divine Realm were now faced with another exciting conflict.
In the previous two battles, almost all the cultivators at the Divine Weapon and Divine General stages in the Divine Realm had perished.
Naturally, these individual battles among Divine Marshal-level cultivators once again drew great attention from all the cultivators in the Divine Realm. A wave of intense discussion swept through the entire realm, with everyone speculating about the outcome of these battles.
Of course, the hundred cultivators on the Heavenly Ranking were the focus of their discussions.
There was also one person who had suddenly risen to prominence and became the center of attention for all the cultivators—someone whose actions gave rise to countless speculations and fabricated stories that appeared everywhere in public places in the Divine Realm. This person, of course, was Qu Yi.
Qu Yi had ascended to the Divine Realm less than 200 million years ago, yet he had already participated in both the large-scale battles and group battles. Now, he was about to take part in individual battles as well. Such a feat in cultivation had set a new record among the cultivators of the Divine Realm.
What was even more astonishing was that Qu Yi was now challenging the authority of the eight great royal families alone. Such an outrageous act shocked the hearts of all the cultivators in the Divine Realm.
Initially, the discussions among the cultivators covered a wide range of topics, including the hundred cultivators on the Heavenly Ranking. But eventually, all discussions focused solely on Qu Yi.
Everyone aspires to be a hero, but few dare to take heroic actions—especially in a place like the Divine Realm, where power structures are firmly established. Cultivators can only focus on their cultivation and dare not act recklessly. Qu Yi’s deeds ignited the heroic spirit within the cultivators of the Divine Realm, making him their idol and goal to strive for.
Even before the individual battles began, Qu Yi had inadvertently become the focus of the cultivators in the Divine Realm, once again provoking the pride of the eight great royal families.
“Qu Yi, these individual battles will be the day of your death,” someone from one of the eight great royal families swore.
The top ten on the Heavenly Ranking were all members of these eight royal families: Qiu Guanyi, Tian Chaoyi, Bai Feiyi, Sang Yunyi, Gongye Yi, Jin Ziyi, Yan Tianyi, Wu Zhuangyi, Qiu Guanyu, and Gongye Qing. Among them, the Qiu clan from the Shan Gen Divine Domain and the Gongye family from the Ze Dui Divine Domain each had two disciples.
These ten people were aware of their families’ relationships with Qu Yi, and each silently vowed to kill him in their respective cultivation sites.
※※※

Qu Yi was well aware of the hot topics and rumors in the Divine Realm. After all, over the years, Tianfeng Fort had expanded its influence across the eight regions of the Divine Realm, with bases in every town there.
“It’s boring. Everyone in the Divine Realm is talking about me; I dare not show my face anymore,” Qu Yi said helplessly from a mountain peak in Beihuangdao.
Five million years had passed, and Qu Yi had been meditating in Beihuangdao. After fully refining his divine essence, the number of Golden, Wood, Water, Fire spiritual bodies as well as Golden, Wood, Earth, Water spiritual bodies in his body had reached 500 million each.
Wuyuan and Qingwugui had been cultivating overseas and hadn’t returned. Qu Yi could only sit alone in Beihuangdao, watching the scenery, when he heard news that everyone in the Divine Realm was discussing him. He felt extremely helpless.
At that moment, two figures suddenly appeared above Beihuangdao—Divine Kings Xumiao and Qianmao.
Qu Yi stood up, greeted them respectfully, and said with a smile, “A warm welcome to you two Divine Kings.”
Xumiao and Qianmao immediately descended and stared at Qu Yi, then laughed.
“Qu Yi, you’ve become the most talked-about figure in the Divine Realm lately. We Divine Kings have even been forgotten by the cultivators here,” Qianmao said with a smile.
Hearing this, Qu Yi pursed his lips slightly, feeling frustrated, and said calmly, “Enough, stop teasing me. If you have something to say, just say it.”
As Divine Kings, they surely wouldn’t come without reason.
Xumiao nodded and then said, “Qu Yi, a one-on-one battle will take place in a year. By then, all of us Divine Kings will go to the Void Battlefield to observe every move you cultivators at the Divine General stage make. By then, all our secrets about you will be revealed—be prepared.”
Qianmao also spoke anxiously, “Qu Yi, the Boundless Stars in your possession are inferior innate spiritual treasures created by you back then. The cause of the Death God’s demise is likely related to these Boundless Stars. Therefore, we fear that if the secret of your possession of them is exposed, it could lead to an attack by the Divine Kings, and then you truly won’t be able to escape.”
After hearing this, Qu Yi laughed—it turned out the arrival of the two Divine Kings was to inform him of this matter.

The reason why the Artifact God was besieged could also be roughly deduced by Qu Yi from the Artifact God’s own words—it was surely the ability of the Boundless Stars to travel to the lower realms that caught the attention of the God Emperors behind the Ze Dui Divine Realm and the Tian Qian Divine Realm. As a result, the divine kings of these two realms joined forces to deal with the Artifact God, ultimately causing his physical body to disappear and him to live in the Inch Realm Sphere in the form of a soul.

“Two divine kings, how do you manage to detect the hidden artifacts within the bodies of our cultivators at the Divine General stage?” Qu Yi asked with a smile, unshaken by their words and seemingly without any concern.

Xu Miao blinked curiously. How could Qu Yi, who had the fastest cultivation speed in this divine realm, not even know such basic knowledge?

“Artifacts hidden within a cultivator’s body are usually in two places: either the physical body or the soul space. Our divine senses can instantly scan your physical bodies and quickly enter your soul spaces, so naturally, we know everything about the number and grade of artifacts you possess,” Xu Miao replied indifferently.

At that moment, Qu Yi also blinked and said with a smile, “Then, two divine kings, use your divine senses to examine my soul space now and see if you can locate the Boundless Stars and the Star Luo Ding.”

Xu Miao and Qian Mao were surprised, not understanding Qu Yi’s intention, but they quickly sent their divine senses to scan his soul space.

“It’s impossible…”

“This…”

Xu Miao and Qian Mao were immediately terrified. They found no soul orbs in Qu Yi’s soul space, meaning they couldn’t locate his soul. When they scanned his physical body as well, they found no artifacts at all.

The two divine kings stared at Qu Yi as if he were a ghost, remaining silent for a long time.

“Qu Yi, do you have no soul?” Xu Miao asked.

“Qu Yi, isn’t this body yours?” Qian Mao asked in confusion.

Clearly, the two divine kings were utterly baffled by Qu Yi’s strangeness, which was far beyond their understanding, leaving them to guess wildly.

Qu Yi smiled faintly, waved his hand, and said confidently, “Two divine kings, stop asking too many questions. All you need to know is that the secrets on me aren’t something anyone can simply uncover just by trying.”

Xu Miao and Qian Mao clicked their tongues in frustration and reluctantly closed their mouths, though their confusion grew even deeper.

“By the way, two divine kings, how are Wu Qing and Wu Yuan doing in their cultivation overseas?” Qu Yi suddenly asked.

Over the years, to avoid interfering with their cultivation, Qu Yi had refrained from going to the overseas regions to see them, so he wasn’t aware of their progress.

Hearing Qu Yi’s question, Xu Miao and Qian Mao both laughed, filled with genuine joy.
“Qing Wu Gui is truly perfect for my assassination style—with just one strike, a sea beast dies. Moreover, he seems to have an innate ability to control the primordial energy of the five elements, which is even more advantageous for assassinations,” Xu Miao said in admiration.
“I really like Wu Yuan. He’s usually carefree, but once battle starts, his fighting spirit never fades. In the outer seas, he’s killed countless sea beasts—probably well over a hundred thousand,” Qian Mao said happily.
It was clear that Xu Miao liked Qing Wu Gui very much, while Qian Mao admired Wu Yuan greatly.
Seeing the two so happy, Qu Yi had a general idea of Qing Wu Gui and Wu Yuan’s cultivation levels, and he felt relieved. All that was left now was to wait for the individual battles among the Divine Marshal-level cultivators.
Xu Miao and Qian Mao laughed for a while before exchanging glances.
Noticing their expressions, Qu Yi’s lips twitched as he thought that the two were finally about to reveal their true purpose for coming to see him.
Qian Mao laughed loudly to liven up the atmosphere and suddenly asked, “Qu Yi, for this individual battle, how many city lord positions does your Tianfeng Camp plan to seize?”
So that’s how it is.
Qu Yi also guessed their intentions and smiled, saying, “My two Divine Kings, I won’t hide from you. There are 108 cities in each of the eight Divine Realms, totaling 864 city lords. Our Tianfeng Camp aims to take control of all of them, except for the eight imperial cities.”
What!
Hearing this, Xu Miao and Qian Mao jumped in shock. They never expected Qu Yi to have such ambitious plans to seize everything.
The eight imperial cities were the headquarters of the eight royal families. Even if Tianfeng Camp’s cultivators took control of those cities, they wouldn’t be able to manage them. Qu Yi certainly wouldn’t let his people hold such troublesome positions. If Tianfeng Camp could seize the other cities, it could expand its influence across the entire Divine Realm, amassing countless riches and allowing it to develop as it wished.
Cultivation hinges on resources.
After Qu Yi planned to seize the cities in the eight Divine Realms, the cultivators from the Immortal Realm, Demon Realm, Monster Realm, and Spirit Realm would ascend, bringing massive amounts of cultivation resources right before them. This would enable them to make rapid progress and quickly become prominent figures in the Divine Realm.
“Qu Yi, you’re truly insane,” Xu Miao said, shocked by Qu Yi’s bold claims despite having seen many storms.
“Qu Yi, I admire you, truly admire you,” Qian Mao said, at a loss for words.
With a chuckle, Qu Yi said nothing more, waiting patiently for them to reveal their intentions.

Qian Mao steadied himself, then stepped closer and smiled warmly. “Qu Yi, look—currently, in the Divine Realm, most cultivators at the Divine Weapon stage and Divine General stage have perished, leaving only those at the Divine Being stage. Among them, most came from the lower realms through ascension, and now most of them are trapped in villages, forced to carry out farming or mining tasks. I and Xu Miao have come here to ask you: after Tianfeng Fort seizes control of a city’s lordship, could you free the cultivators in those villages, allowing them to cultivate freely without having to do such tasks anymore?”

The eight royal families of the eight great divine domains in the Divine Realm established many rules to ensure the continuation of their clans and to strengthen their own power. Those who ascended to the Divine Realm had to complete certain tasks to gain official status there.

Naturally, ascended cultivators had little time to cultivate once they arrived, as they had to give the divine crystals they grew or the minerals they collected to the eight royal families. These families then used those resources for their own clans and the forces that supported them. Under such circumstances, how could ascended cultivators compete with the native forces of the Divine Realm?

In the past, during the fierce battles among cultivators at the Divine Weapon stage or the group battles among those at the Divine General stage, it was usually the ascended cultivators who suffered heavy losses, with few deaths among the native cultivators—this was all due to the rules set by the eight royal families.

It wasn’t until Qu Yi appeared that he wiped out the lower-level forces of the eight royal families during those battles. Now, if Qu Yi could seize many more city lordships, it would essentially weaken the power of the eight royal families.

Hearing Qian Mao’s words, Qu Yi understood immediately.

“No problem!” Qu Yi replied decisively.

Xu Miao and Qian Mao waved their hands excitedly, eager to speak, before calming down after a while.

The three Divine Kings of Nan Yin Island had united to protect the forces of the ascended cultivators. Now, with Qu Yi’s arrival, they had shattered the hopes of the eight royal families. Seeing that Qu Yi could lift the shackles on the ascended cultivators, how could they not be excited?

If the Divine Kings also had obsessions, then the obsession of these three Divine Kings of Nan Yin Island was to allow the forces of the ascended cultivators to move freely in the Divine Realm and compete fairly with the native forces.

“Qu Yi, thank you.”

“Qu Yi, Nan Yin Island will always support you.”

Xu Miao and Qian Mao spoke firmly, their eyes shining with determination, leaving no room for doubt.

Qu Yi smiled and nodded, saying with a faint laugh, “Two Divine Kings, I already know the purpose of your visit. Since I’ve agreed to your request now, I certainly won’t let you down. Let’s meet on the Void Battlefield in a year.”
Xu Miao and Qian Mao laughed heartily for a while before happily leaving Beihai City.
※※※
Suddenly, darkness covered the heavens of the Divine Realm.
None of the cultivators panicked, as they had experience from the fierce battles among Divine Weapon-stage cultivators and the group battles among Divine General-stage cultivators. Everyone understood that individual battles among Divine Marshal-stage cultivators were about to begin.
Indeed, it wasn’t long before the darkness vanished. Above the Divine Realm, an illusionary scene appeared—a battlefield seemingly left from ancient times, floating in the sky.
This was the Void Battlefield.
The Void Battlefield resembled the Bagua diagram. The eight trigrams represented areas where cultivators could rest, while the central Yin-Yang fish area served as the battlefield for combat.
“Individual battles are here!”
When the Void Battlefield appeared, the Divine Marshal-stage cultivators exhaled in awe, each with varying expressions.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
Bright lights rose from various parts of the Divine Realm, resembling ascension. One by one, the Divine Marshal-stage cultivators were enveloped by these white lights before their bodies soared rapidly toward the Void Battlefield.
Qu Yi flew from Beihai City to the area corresponding to the Li trigram.
This area was covered in red soil, with benches formed from condensed flames serving as seats for the cultivators.
“Qu Yi, look here, look here!” As soon as Qu Yi landed, a loud voice called out.
It was Wu Yuan’s voice!
Qu Yi immediately recognized it and turned to see Wu Yuan and Qing Wugui already seated on the flame benches, their seats side by side.
“Okay, I’m coming,” Qu Yi said, then flew over to Wu Yuan and landed on another bench.
Before long, Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wugui noticed that the 19,000 Divine Marshal-stage cultivators from Tianfeng Camp also appeared, all gathering in the Li trigram area.
It seemed that those guided to the Void Battlefield were assigned to corresponding areas based on their original origins.
Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wugui had ascended to the Fire-Li Divine Domain, and the cultivators from Tianfeng Camp also belonged to this domain. Thus, they all ended up in the Li trigram area when entering the Void Battlefield.
“Camp King!”
…
Every cultivator from Tianfeng Camp would first greet Qu Yi before choosing a seat and sitting down.

Thus, Qu Yi, Wu Yuan, and Qing Wu Gui were now surrounded by the cultivators of Tianfeng Fort in the center. All three of them wore purple clothes, while the 19,000 cultivators of Tianfeng Fort wore uniform blue uniforms. As a result, against this sea of blue, the three patches of purple stood out sharply.

When other cultivators at the Divine General level from the Huoli Divine Realm arrived, they immediately noticed this unusual sight and stared in astonishment at Tianfeng Fort’s area.

“When did our Huoli Divine Realm have so many cultivators at the Divine General level?”

“Weren’t there said to be less than 2,000 cultivators at this level in the Divine Realm?”

“Good heavens! Are cultivators at this level everywhere now? Where did these people come from? Why have we never heard of them before?”

“Their clothing suggests they form a group, and they seem to be closely related to Qu Yi.”

……

The cultivators at the Divine General level in the Huoli Divine Realm all looked shocked, filled with doubt, as various thoughts arose in their minds.

Similarly, the cultivators at the Divine General level in the other seven trigram regions, after calming down from their excitement upon arrival, found seats in the air and stared in astonishment at the Li Trigram region.

“What is Qu Yi’s relationship with those people in blue?”

These were the thoughts of each of the cultivators at the Divine General level. Various ideas surfaced, and they reassessed Qu Yi’s strength several times over.

Qiu Guanyi, Tian Chaoyi, Bai Feiyi, Sang Yunyi, Gongye Yi, Jin Ziyi, Yan Tianyi, Wu Zhuangyi, Qiu Guanyu, and Gongye Qing also took their seats, their eyes glowing like flying knives as they fixed their gaze on Qu Yi.

Their intention to challenge him was clear.

Qu Yi felt somewhat helpless about the situation. The people of Tianfeng Fort were too showy—having secretly made uniform clothing and now surrounding him. It was impossible for him to avoid drawing attention now.

However, in response to the challenges from the top ten on the Heavenly Ranking, Qu Yi simply smiled indifferently, then closed his eyes and fell asleep on the flaming seat.

“The Divine Kings have arrived!”

At some point, all the Divine Kings of the Divine Realm suddenly appeared.