Void War

Void.

The boundless void.

There were no stars, no sun or moon, no mountains or rivers, and nothing that could serve as a point of reference.

There was only endless darkness, dotted with sparsely scattered specks of light.

An aura of decay permeated the void, an aura that made one instinctively uncomfortable, as if they had arrived at a place they shouldn't have.

And ahead, at the end of that darkness—a horde of beasts.

Densely packed, blotting out the sky.

Spatial alien beasts.

They had been waiting here.

It was unknown for how long, perhaps days, perhaps months, perhaps years.

At the forefront were those of the Heavenly Immortal and Golden Immortal Realms; the further back, the stronger the auras became, until at the very rear, several auras even reached the Immortal King level.

And deeper still, in the more distant darkness, hid several even more terrifying auras—the Immortal Emperor level.

They were waiting.

The moment the first batch of cultivators charged into the rift, the beasts moved.

They surged from the darkness like a black tide, sweeping toward the cultivators.

The roars of the beasts shook the heavens and the earth, the dark aura overwhelmed everything, and the entire void trembled slightly.

The cultivators also moved.

Some summoned their immortal swords, sword light sweeping through the enemy like a ribbon; some unleashed spells, causing fireballs, ice blades, and lightning to explode among the horde of beasts; others summoned immortal beasts, puppets, and dharma idols to clash head-on with the beasts.

The clashing of immortal weapons, the explosions of spells, the roars of the beasts, and the battle cries from both sides turned the entire void into a battlefield.

Gu Changyuan and Jun Anshi blended into the crowd of cultivators, pushing forward with the human tide.

Gu Changyuan's gaze pierced through the horde of beasts ahead, looking further into the distance.

There, at the very rear of the beast army, several Immortal Emperor level auras were slowly approaching.

And in front of those Immortal Emperor auras, at the furthest point his eyes could reach, a cyan figure had already taken the lead to charge into the enemy ranks. Boundless sword light erupted, illuminating the entire void.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu had already begun his battle.

Gu Changyuan withdrew his gaze as a long black saber silently appeared in his hand.

Jun Anshi tightened his grip on the purple-gold spear in his hand.

Ahead, the beast tide surged.

Gu Changyuan took a deep breath. In his one thousand one hundred years in the Ruins of Disorder, he had truly seen his fair share of battles of this scale.

He did not turn his head, but his voice was sent directly into Jun Anshi's ears: Stay close to me.

Jun Anshi was slightly taken aback, and then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The black saber was drawn, and the long spear pierced the air.

The figures of the two charged into the beast tide one after another, tearing a small opening in the endless void.

Gu Changyuan swung his saber to slay a beast that lunged at him, black flames extending along the blade, burning the massive corpse to ashes in mid-air.

His gaze passed over the overlapping beast tide, landing on the most terrifying existences hidden deep within the void.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu took the lead, his cyan Daoist robe fluttering loudly in the void, and cyan light flourished around his body.

His speed was pushed to the extreme, leaving behind a long path paved with cyan Dao light.

The beasts that tried to stop him were like paper before him; their protective spiritual light shattered at the first touch, while scales, bone spikes, and flesh were sliced open, chopped off, and pulverized by streaks of cyan sword light.

Four Immortal Emperors followed closely behind, each unleashing immortal power of different attributes, tearing gaps through the hordes of beasts along the way.

Their goal was not to eradicate these low-level beasts, but to break through and strike directly at the enemy's heartland.

The three Immortal Emperor level beasts hiding in the depths finally could no longer hold back.

The first to rush out was the one on the far left. Shaped like a lizard with a body as massive as a mountain, it had thick limbs and claws as sharp as hooks.

It opened its massive maw, letting out a muffled roar, and a wave of scorching air spewed from its mouth.

Carrying endless fire-attribute energy, it burned the void ahead until it slightly distorted, and then fiercely lunged at the two human Immortal Emperors coming to meet it.

Both its front claws slashed down simultaneously with the force of a thunderbolt. The two Immortal Emperors dodged to the left and right, attacking at the same time.

The beast on the right also moved. It was shaped like a giant bird, but without feathers or true wings; its wings were skeletal frames covered with a thin layer of fleshy membrane.

Its speed was astonishing, and when its wings spread out, they looked like the massive scythes of the grim reaper.

It chose the other two Immortal Emperors as its opponents. As its bone wings flapped, bone spikes poured down like a torrential rain, instantly covering the area where the two Immortal Emperors stood.

Only Immortal Emperor Cangwu was left.

And the enemy's final one—the beast king with the strongest power and the most profound aura.

Gu Changyuan's gaze fell upon that figure, his brows furrowing slightly.

The beast king's size was actually much smaller than the other two. It was about thirty feet tall, standing on all fours, shaped like a fierce tiger.

Its entire body was pitch black, and that blackness was not ordinary; it was a black that could swallow light. All light that shone upon it would be completely absorbed.

Its fur was as smooth as satin, without any patterns, decorations, or superfluous organs. It was simple to the extreme, and pure to the extreme.

Its ability was very simple.

Not attack, not defense, not speed—but devouring.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu and the beast king faced each other from afar.

The cyan sword light finally moved.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu raised his hand, and an entirely emerald-green longsword coalesced from the void.

His figure vanished from his spot, and in the next instant, he appeared in front of the beast king, thrusting his longsword straight out.

He did not directly attack the beast king's true body, but instead first attacked the devouring force field surrounding it.

The moment the longsword pierced in, that patch of void seemed to boil. The invisible devouring force and the cyan sword light tore at each other, emitting a sharp whistling sound.

The devouring force tried to suck the sword light into its body, while the sword light attempted to slice open the structure of the devouring force, preventing it from continuing to operate.

The beast king made its move.

It raised its right front claw and gently swiped in the direction of Immortal Emperor Cangwu.

The movement was small, but with that swipe, a powerful devouring force surged from the tips of its claws, transforming into a black blade that slashed toward Immortal Emperor Cangwu.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu stepped aside as cyan sword light wove into an airtight net in front of him, easily blocking the black blade.

Against these three Immortal Emperor level beasts, the five human Immortal Emperors had clearly done deep research and preparation.

Every one of their moves attacked the beasts' weaknesses, and they could easily neutralize many of the enemy's attacks.

The battle clearly favored the human cultivators, giving them the upper hand.

On the outer battlefield, the lower-level cultivators led by Immortal Kings and Immortal Lords were gradually suppressing the beast tide's offensive.

Thirty moves later, Immortal Emperor Cangwu discovered a flaw in the beast king—no, not a flaw, a pattern.

The operation of the beast king's devouring force had a pattern, like breathing: there was inhalation and exhalation, contraction and release.

In the gap when the devouring force contracted, if one attacked fast enough and accurately enough, they could pierce through the barrier of the devouring force field and directly strike its true body.

Immortal Emperor Cangwu was waiting for that gap.

The beast king's devouring force field expanded to its maximum, and then began to contract.

The instant it contracted to its minimum, Immortal Emperor Cangwu moved.