Chapter 1241: Looting Without a Corpse

Chapter 1241: Looting Corpses Without Bodies

The battlefield stretched across the starry void, glittering with countless stars. A peculiar drumbeat echoed and reverberated through space, weaving into a resonance imbued with celestial magic, rippling through the emptiness itself.

This was the Spirit-Sealing Drum.

A prized instrument of the Nianlin Army’s patrols, it served as their sharpest tool for rooting out hidden deities. Within its range, every trace of divine presence could be sensed—its sensitivity to foreign essences unmatched.

Now, guided by the drum’s rhythm, five patrol skiffs surged forth like howling comets, locked onto their destination by the low, commanding tones of the drum’s decree.

The rest of the patrol continued onward, probing other sectors while awaiting reports from the dispatched skiffs.

Time passed slowly.

Before the other sectors had even been fully surveyed, an unexpected message arrived early from one of the dispatched vessels.

“Commander, we’ve reached Grey Ling Star—the site where the deities erected their altar—as directed by the drum. But… the place is littered with divine corpses… and yet… utterly clean.”

The cultivator transmitting the message sounded bewildered.

“Someone unknown arrived before us… and exterminated them all.”

Aboard one of the patrol skiffs drifting through the void, the officer in charge of this mission was a stern-faced middle-aged cultivator. Clad in azure scale armor, he radiated the aura of a peak quasi-immortal—extraordinary and imposing.

Seated cross-legged, he absorbed the report. His eyes snapped open, filled with deep contemplation.

This warzone fell entirely under the jurisdiction of the Nianlin Army—and within this region, his was the only patrol unit.

Yet now, someone else had struck before them…

Without hesitation, the middle-aged cultivator issued a decree. In the next instant, all patrol skiffs altered course, vanishing into the void and hurtling toward Grey Ling Star.

Not long after, outside Grey Ling Star—where the squads Xuan, Lin, Mo, Ling, and Feng had just completed their operation—the starry expanse rippled. One by one, patrol skiffs emerged directly from nothingness, materializing out of the void.

At their forefront stood the peak quasi-immortal, flanked by over a hundred figures who burst forth like shooting stars, descending upon the planet in an instant.

And then… every face among them twisted into expressions of bewilderment.

Before their eyes lay shattered altars and fields strewn with divine corpses.

All the bodies were desiccated—not slain in a single strike, but clearly subjected to repeated stimulation, as if their primal essence had been forcibly extracted.

Indeed, the scene was spotless…

Not a single drop of essence remained.

Staring at the carnage, the cultivators exchanged uneasy glances.

This method bore no resemblance to the Nianlin Army’s usual style.

“It looks… like a corpse-looting squad,” murmured one of the commander’s personal guards, his voice low. “Too clean.”

His words echoed what many were thinking.

Everything about the scene screamed that a looting team had passed through.

After all, extracting essence was delicate work. Even they, seasoned warriors, would struggle to leave things this immaculate—it required practiced precision.

“But looters are like vultures,” another objected. “They only appear at large-scale battlefields.”

“A place with merely dozens of deities? They wouldn’t bother.”

Others raised doubts.

“Could it be scouts from another legion? And accompanied by a looting squad? What kind of deployment is that?”

As the group debated, the peak quasi-immortal’s gaze swept over every corpse, then settled on the ruined altar—and finally fixed upon one particular body.

His eyes gleamed with an eerie light as he spoke slowly.

“This deity… was mid-stage Divine Platform!”

“They hid here, constructing an altar—but hadn’t yet reached its activation time. Forced to open it prematurely…”

“Thus, whoever killed them didn’t rely on a Spirit-Sealing Drum like us. They’d been watching them long before.”

“To slay a mid-stage Divine Platform so swiftly, erase all traces, and escape even our notice… these unknowns are no ordinary force.”

His words silenced the crowd instantly.

After a long pause, the middle-aged cultivator withdrew his gaze.

“Report this upward. Most likely, comrades from another legion have crossed sectors.”

With that, he turned and strode into the void. The surrounding cultivators leapt after him, returning to their skiffs.

Yet many glanced back toward the battlefield as they departed, hearts stirred by quiet awe.

“Crossing sectors… and bringing a looting squad along…”

…

Meanwhile, far from Grey Ling Star, Xu Qing and his companions—whom the Nianlin patrol assumed to be inter-sector intruders—were racing stealthily through the void, exchanging thoughts via soul-transmission as they reviewed the recent engagement.

“Our harvesting speed is still too slow.”

“Though we excel at live extraction, that requires first sealing the deity—far slower than outright killing.”

“And to ensure thoroughness, we must keep stimulating them…”

“In normal times, that’s fine—but on a battlefield, corpse-harvesting is far more practical!”

“We must practice corpse-looting more. The faster we harvest, the better suited we’ll be for war.”

Amid this discussion, Xu Qing spoke decisively, setting their course.

“From now on, aside from group looting missions, we’ll continue as before: seek out suitable small deity bands—harvest while honing our skills!”

His words met with unanimous nods. The group dispersed immediately, each seeking their next target.

Soon, only Xu Qing remained alone in the starry expanse. He watched the ascending figures vanish into the distance, then drifted toward a nearby asteroid, carving out a temporary abode within. There, he sat cross-legged.

He intended to keep absorbing essence, striving to steadily elevate his cultivation.

And as he meditated in the surrounding silence, having journeyed thus far through this war, Xu Qing reflected deeply.

“Viewed as a whole, these drawn-out skirmishes along the left-front warzone are clearly a staged performance—orchestrated by both sides for their own ends.”

“Each has its purpose.”

“Unfortunately, lacking comprehensive intelligence, I can’t discern the central front’s true objective.”

“But one thing is certain… with a conflict of this scale and such immense sacrifice, whatever they aim to achieve must hold extraordinary strategic importance!”

Xu Qing pondered silently.

Only by grasping the grand currents of this war could he best secure what he needed for himself.

“I’m currently early-stage quasi-immortal. To reach peak perfection requires oceans of essence…”

“And time… is running short.”

“Everything must be sped up—somehow!”

Xu Qing murmured to himself, raising his hand to retrieve the Source Essence he’d gathered along the way and began absorbing it.

Time slipped by, slow and steady.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

During those three months, within the warzone under Nianlin Army’s jurisdiction, incidents like the one on Greyling Star occurred several times.

Each time, before patrol squads even arrived, the hidden deities had already been exterminated, their Source Essence harvested.

Moreover, both combat and harvesting grew swifter with every passing encounter.

The cleanup after each battle became increasingly thorough, almost unnervingly pristine.

Gradually, rumors began circulating among multiple patrol units.

They spoke of a mysterious squad from another legion, operating beyond its designated zone, ruthlessly efficient and accompanied by a dedicated corpse-looting team—always striking fast, precise, clean, and brutal.

This stirred deep resentment among the local corpse-looting teams of the region.

It also caught the attention of high command—but just as they prepared to investigate thoroughly, the enigmatic squad vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.

Since similar incidents occasionally happened across various warzones, once this squad disappeared, the Nianlin Army didn’t devote excessive effort to tracking them down.

Another reason was that warfare in this sector had grown increasingly frequent.

At this very moment, on a vast white star, a small-scale clash involving several thousand combatants raged fiercely.

Booms and growls echoed distantly.

Divine arts and immortal techniques flared with dazzling, multicolored radiance, illuminating the battlefield in every direction.

The fighting was ferocious.

On the edge of the battlefield, atop a colossal white mountain, a group of corpse-looting cultivators waited patiently.

Among them was the old man who had guided Xu Qing and his companions months earlier.

Xu Qing and his group were also present, seated cross-legged, senses extended, observing the ongoing battle ahead.

As they watched, unlike the cautious demeanor of other looters, Xu Qing and his fellow ascended cultivators grew visibly restless.

After all, during this period, their repeated forays into the wild had yielded substantial gains, and their harvesting speed had markedly improved.

Each of them had seen noticeable growth in cultivation.

Yet the escalating frequency of battles left them no time to continue hunting independently—they could only join one corpse-looting mission after another.

Now, having waited here for a long while, the battle remained deadlocked, unlikely to conclude anytime soon.

One by one, their eyes gleamed with impatience, most glancing toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing frowned as well. Over these past three months, the influx of Source Essence had boosted his cultivation, and he was eager to reach the next battlefield.

But clearly, this fight wouldn’t end quickly.

After a moment’s contemplation, Xu Qing abruptly stood and took a step forward.

The instant his foot touched the ground, the ascended cultivators around him perked up, rising one after another.

Nearby, other corpse-looting teams looked on in astonishment.

Especially the old man who had once mentored Xu Qing—he turned sharply, about to speak—

But in the next heartbeat, Xu Qing’s speed exploded. With a thunderous roar, he shot forth like a crimson comet, a blade slicing straight into the heart of the battlefield.

Behind him, Zhou Zhengli and the others followed without hesitation, dashing forward in unison.

From a distance, their dozens-strong formation resembled both vultures and wolves, sending tremors through the hearts of the other looters still perched on the mountain.

Even the old man’s eyes widened in shock.

“They’re going in early? This…”

He gasped aloud.

Before he could finish, Xu Qing’s group had already forced their way onto the battlefield.

The moment they entered, deafening explosions crashed against their ears, and waves of spellcraft buffeted their bodies.

Xu Qing led the charge, unleashing his full speed, becoming little more than a blur as he darted through the chaos—appearing instantly beside the corpse of a peak Divine Flame deity.

Raising his right hand, he slammed it onto the chest of the fallen god—and right there, before the eyes of countless warring combatants, began harvesting Source Essence!

As torrents of essence poured into him, the divine corpse rapidly withered.

Nearby fighters from both sides, catching sight of this spectacle through peripheral vision or spiritual sense, froze in stunned disbelief.

They had never witnessed anything like it.

And soon, it wasn’t just those near Xu Qing who were dumbfounded. As Zhou Zhengli and the others arrived, the ascended cultivators fanned out, each heading straight for a fresh corpse.

They harvested frantically—movements practiced, speeds blinding—finishing one body before lunging toward the next.

Thus, more and more combatants bore witness to this bizarre scene unfolding amid the battlefield:

While two armies fought tooth and nail for survival, a third party brazenly looted corpses right before their eyes.

To the human cultivators, though strange, it was at least tolerable—they were, after all, fellow humans.

But to the deities, the provocation was unbearable. Those nearby immediately lashed out.

Yet the intruding looters had clear objectives. Upon encountering resistance, they abandoned their target instantly, retreating at breakneck speed without engaging further, seeking other divine corpses instead.

Meanwhile, the battlefield itself remained locked in stalemate, life and death hanging by a thread. Any fighter diverting attention to chase these looters would instantly find themselves exploited by their Nianlin Army opponents.

Consequently, even the deities were forced to hold back. Coupled with the fact that these looters were all formidable in their own right, they moved through the battlefield like fish in water—

Harvesting divine corpses with frenzied efficiency.

But if that were all, it might have been acceptable—their numbers were merely dozens, negligible compared to the scale of the entire conflict.

However… something different soon unfolded around Xu Qing.

While rushing toward another divine corpse, Xu Qing found himself facing a peak Divine Flame deity locked in mortal combat with a Nianlin Army cultivator.

The deity’s eyes were cold, divine arts surging, Source Essence boiling within its body, exuding an almost intoxicating allure.

The Nianlin cultivator’s eyes burned crimson—he was preparing to sacrifice everything.

But in the next instant, both combatants saw only a blur.

Xu Qing’s figure suddenly materialized between them.

Before either could react, Xu Qing’s right hand shot out, seizing the deity by the throat. Immortal Embryo power erupted like a cataclysmic flood, surging into the god’s body.

A shrill, agonized shriek tore from the deity’s mouth—its life force snuffed out in an instant. Its neck exploded with a thunderous crack, collapsing into a lifeless husk.

Xu Qing crouched down and harvested the corpse while it was still warm.

Beside him, the Nianlin cultivator—who had been ready to throw his life away—stared blankly for a moment, then gratitude flickered in his eyes.

This scene caught Xie Lingzi’s attention. He licked his lips, then likewise struck out—charging toward another deity locked in battle with a human cultivator.

Forcibly claiming corpses.

Soon, the other Ascendants followed suit one after another—each as ravenous as wolves or tigers, all leaping into action.

If a corpse lay nearby, they harvested it; if they encountered a tempting one en route, they seized it by force.

If they could win a fight, they fought; if they could ambush, they ambushed; if outmatched, they instantly fled without hesitation, employing every means to preserve their lives.

Thus, ripples gradually stirred across the battlefield.

Though faint at first, these ripples grew with time—and as Xu Qing’s group descended into frenzy, their band slowly drew attention.

The commanders on both sides soon took notice.

While the divine side frowned in disapproval, the cultivator faction’s commander—a quasi-immortal at peak cultivation—gazed on with gleaming eyes.

As for the other corpse-scavenging squads perched on distant peaks, including the old man among them, each stood utterly thunderstruck, mouths agape.

“This… is corpse-scavenging?”

A teammate beside him murmured in disbelief.

“It is corpse-scavenging—I saw it clearly: they kill first, then immediately loot…”