Chapter 1237: General Lord!

Chapter 1237: The Commander!

At the boundary between the Left Flank Warzone’s front lines and its central region stood an immense barrier, shaped by unfathomable power.

This barrier shimmered with brilliant light, stretching endlessly across countless star systems and universes alike.

It utterly severed the Left Flank Warzone’s central territories from its front lines.

And now, before a certain point along this vast barrier, Xu Qing’s hoarse voice echoed.

His voice carried exhaustion—just like the eighteen figures behind him, who stood with forced composure, suppressing grievous wounds they could barely conceal.

They stood silently as a colossal will emanating from within the barrier enveloped them. They sensed it scrutinizing them—and felt their own identity tokens responding in kind.

Time passed slowly.

From afar, their figures seemed insignificant against the grandeur of the barrier.

After a long while, once their identities had been thoroughly verified, the oppressive will gradually receded. In the next instant, ripples formed upon the barrier ahead of them, parting to reveal a gap—a path forward.

Faintly visible beyond that opening were the blurred silhouettes of over a hundred cultivators, all gazing toward them.

Their expressions seemed... peculiar.

Xu Qing was not surprised. He could guess the reason well enough.

“Perhaps… we are the only ones who have arrived.”

With that thought, Xu Qing hesitated not a moment. The instant the gap opened, he surged forward first, followed immediately by Zhou Zhengli and the others.

Led by Xu Qing, they approached the opening—and stepped through.

Then the gap sealed shut. The barrier returned to its former state, its radiance undiminished, its isolating power unweakened in the slightest.

…

Inside the barrier, starlight glowed softly, and the air brimmed with rich immortal qi.

As Xu Qing and his companions drew near, the hundred waiting cultivators emerged clearly from their earlier blur—their faces, their expressions, all now distinct.

The strange curiosity in their eyes, mingled with something oddly unsettled, made Xu Qing and his group feel as though they themselves were rare curiosities on display.

Thus, Xu Qing’s suspicion deepened. He looked toward those hundred cultivators and spoke in a low voice:

“How might we proceed with handing over the Source Essence we’ve gathered?”

At his words, one of the cultivators stepped forward—a middle-aged man clad in black armor. His gaze swept over Xu Qing’s group before settling on Xu Qing himself.

“The Commander has issued orders: you are summoned.”

“Our squad shall escort you for the remainder of your journey.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing’s mind stirred. Before arriving, he’d studied the organizational structure of the battlefield forces.

He knew that above all stood Lord Zhanlu, who directed the entire war effort. Beneath him were three Grand Marshals, each commanding one of the Left, Center, and Right Warzones.

Each warzone was further divided among several Commanders.

Every Commander governed a portion of their respective warzone.

Here in the Left Flank’s front lines, the highest authority was precisely such a Commander.

Now, their arrival had drawn the attention of the Commander himself.

This only strengthened Xu Qing’s conviction.

Star Ring Zi and the others exchanged glances. Zhou Zhengli, forcing alertness into his weary frame, raced through calculations in his mind.

Finally, after locking eyes with one another, Xu Qing spoke again, his voice low but firm:

“We obey the Commander’s decree!”

The armored cultivator gave a slight nod. After a brief pause, he gestured to a nearby companion, who brought forth healing elixirs and offered them to Xu Qing. Only then did he issue commands to his squad, transforming them into streaks of crimson light that shot ahead as vanguard.

Xu Qing’s group accepted the medicine, expressed their gratitude, and followed swiftly after.

Thus, under the protection of these cultivators, Xu Qing and his companions sped through the Left Flank Frontline Warzone toward the Commander’s domain.

Along the way, they traversed multiple universes, utilizing teleportation arrays—and witnessed scenes that unfolded before them like a grand scroll.

They saw stars relocated en masse, serving as military encampments, countless in number, densely packed together.

Some were even mid-transit, carving vortexes through the void as they moved, their passage so immense it bent starlight itself—an awe-inspiring spectacle.

From within those stellar camps rose towering flames of life force, thick and potent, carrying an aura that even startled Xu Qing and his companions.

Colossal divine avatars strode through the cosmos, bearing banners of Dao, radiating terrifying pressure as they carried out their assigned duties.

Xu Qing also beheld suns—each bearing a massive face upon its surface, seemingly absorbing the fire and heat of the star as nourishment. When saturation was reached, these giant visages would detach, transforming into resplendent butterflies that spread luminous wings and flew toward designated destinations.

Everything exuded readiness—orderly, solemn, imposing.

Yet… had Xu Qing and his group arrived here directly from outside the Left Flank, such sights would have struck them deeply.

But they had crossed the entire central Left Flank—through chaos, through slaughter. Thus, though they observed keenly, they felt no true shock.

Compared to what they’d endured, the grotesque fusion of alien essence and immortal qi—the living, grinding maw they’d left behind—that, perhaps, was the real frontline.

This place felt more like the rear.

During their passage, they encountered many other cultivators—some alone, some in groups—each fulfilling their roles with disciplined order.

Most, however, cast lingering glances upon Xu Qing’s party.

To this, Xu Qing and his companions could only remain silent.

Moreover, as they pressed onward, they began sensing a faint repulsion emanating from this sector of space—as if, to the frontlines, their presence was merely that of visitors, never fully welcomed.

Two weeks later, the Commander’s star of the Left Flank Frontline finally came into view.

It was a red sun—blindingly bright.

Larger than any sun Xu Qing had ever seen, it dwarfed even the sun of his home Mo Yang Universe, which now seemed no more than dust by comparison.

This star felt profoundly unstable—as though constantly inhaling and exhaling the void, ceaselessly ejecting vast quantities of matter that swirled around it as luminous clouds.

Its pressure warped the surrounding starfield, bending starlight into arcs, as if space itself struggled to bear its weight—as if the star might detonate at any moment, unleashing cataclysmic force.

Yet strangely, its heat was not overwhelming.

“This is a dying sun,” Zhou Zhengli murmured beside him. “It has passed its main sequence phase—it is now a red giant!”

The others stared in silence, hearts churning.

Meanwhile, the escort squad that had accompanied them thus far now exchanged meaningful glances with Xu Qing, clasped fists in salute, and withdrew—leaving Xu Qing’s group alone before the colossal red star.

Feeling the star’s oppressive aura, Xu Qing’s expression turned grave. Together with Star Ring Zi and the others, he bowed deeply toward the crimson sun.

“We of the Provisioning Bureau Squad pay our respects to the Commander!”

Scarcely had Xu Qing finished speaking when the massive red sun before them suddenly roared—a terrifying surge of energy erupting from within, churning the surrounding clouds into violent tempests.

A black palace rose slowly from within the red star, breaking through the sudden eruption of mist and cosmic aura.

The moment it appeared, a biting chill instantly enveloped the starry sky, and a series of divine consciousnesses swept out from inside, washing over Xu Qing and the others.

It felt like a cold scrutiny.

Every single one of these consciousnesses caused a violent tremor in their hearts.

Those were immortal minds.

The final one was so dominant that it made the other immortal minds dim in comparison, as though it were the apex of power.

As it spread across the void, a calm voice echoed from within the palace.

"You are the first batch, and perhaps the only one, to truly deliver the Source Matter as a logistical transport squad."

"Thus, I do not wish to use my mind to forcefully pry into the past of your souls; tell me then, how did you escape from that flesh-and-blood grindstone?"

At those words, Xing Huanzi and the others grew tense, the word escape raising an uneasy feeling in their hearts, causing them to turn their eyes toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's mind raced, yet in the end, he chose to speak honestly, recounting their entire journey and the deductions they had made along the way.

He omitted the minor details, focusing only on the core process.

Listening to Xu Qing's words, the divine mind of the commanding general within the palace remained silent, but among the other immortal minds, a strand of will resonated meaningfully.

"That you endured such hardships and worked with one heart to deliver the Source Matter is truly no easy feat and should be counted as a great merit; since the commander is unwilling to probe you, then your claim of encountering the peak of the Divine Platform... do you have proof?"

Hearing this, Xu Qing's mind stirred; the words seemed to hold a trace of doubt at the end, but having experienced so much, he naturally caught the hidden implication.

This was an affirmation of their arrival and their contribution, a subtle hint to produce proof to solidify this military achievement.

As for the reason behind it, Xu Qing cast a sidelong glance at those around him.

Ascenders all possessed backing, and having made it this far, the value of any single one of them to their respective factions was clearly far greater than before.

"So the phrase 'worked with one heart' is the true point."

After a moment of thought, Xu Qing waved his hand, and the ripples of his own Laws spread out instantly, causing the body of the peak Divine Platform deity he had imprisoned to manifest directly ahead.

The branding marks of everyone's Laws left all over its form, along with the suppressive fluctuations radiating from the iron skewer embedded in its brow, spoke volumes.

Xu Qing spoke up at that exact moment.

"Capturing a peak Divine Platform deity alive was not done by my strength alone; it was through everyone's collective efforts that this deity was subdued!"

And then, Xu Qing heard laughter.

It came from the commanding general inside the red star's palace.

"You little fellows are quite interesting."

"To have crossed the war zone through such a treacherous path and delivered the Source Matter amidst a myriad of perils, fulfilling your mission, counts as one merit."

"Slaying numerous deities and capturing a peak Divine Platform alive is yet another merit."

"In that case... you shall remain within my Left Wing Army."

As the general's voice echoed from the palace, the red star rumbled, and the black palace slowly sank back into the interior of the celestial body.

Only a single token flew out from the red star, hovering before Xu Qing and his companions.

A final divine message drifted out.

"You shall rest and recuperate at the Substitute Spirit Star while awaiting further arrangements."

Hearing the decree and looking at the token, Xu Qing and the others immediately bowed their heads.

"We obey the general's command!"

Xu Qing then reached out and took the token; the moment he grasped it, the faint sense of rejection from this starry sky that had lingered throughout their journey vanished.

They were no longer mere visitors.

A sense of relief washed over Xu Qing, and beside him, Zhou Zhengli, Xing Huanzi, and the others relaxed their minds as well.

They looked at one another, recalling the experiences of their journey, and their hearts filled with deep emotion.

They understood that from being logistics officers and transport emissaries entering the battlefield to arriving here, they had successfully passed this trial.

However, the price paid was immense.

When they had set out, there were over a hundred of them.

Now... fewer than twenty remained.

"This is the trial of the Ascenders; only by reaching the very end and surviving the calamity can one be called a seed of the Dao."

Zhou Zhengli spoke in a soft voice.