Shi Chun closed his right eye, and through his left, he could see no strange bird.

He did not know what kind of creature the strange bird was, but he could confirm that it was an entity from an illusory world.

So, the illusory world did have living creatures.

Furthermore, another creature related to the illusory world was the "General," but he could not be sure if the "General" counted as a creature of the illusory world; it seemed capable of freely traveling between the illusory and the real worlds. Could it be an existence superior to creatures from both worlds?

The "General" had granted him the superpower of his right eye, which inevitably led him to wonder—could the strange bird offer him any benefits?

When Shi Chun reopened his right eye, the bird, like flames, was still darting back and forth in the fray, eagerly absorbing a great amount of murderous aura. The swords and blades swung by those in the fight had no effect on it.

Clearly, it was attracted by the murderous aura of this place.

The strange bird was absorbing the murderous aura, and so was he.

The powerful nourishment of the murderous aura was so comforting that he did not want to move. Even though he saw powerful individuals among the attackers causing significant casualties to his side, he still did not intervene, knowing the rarity of this opportunity to absorb and not wanting to miss it.

Suddenly, amidst the chaos, the strange bird seemed to turn its head towards him, its eyes flashing red with a startling intensity.

Shi Chun was not sure if it had seen him; typically, it was not easy for substances from different worlds to observe each other. But he soon realized what was happening—it must have discovered another absorption point for the murderous aura, which was him.

The bird adjusted its flight path, and after a loop, it charged directly towards him, the point of absorption.

The image of the bird smashing head-on was hideous yet majestic, like a fierce blaze rushing toward him, its visual impact enough to make anyone dodge in fright.

But he did not dodge. He knew the strange bird and the people of the real world would not interact. Having seen it collide with so many people without any reaction, he could completely ignore its existence.

Yet the reality brought him a huge shock.

As the strange bird collided into his body, he nearly jumped out of his skin, his eyes suddenly widening.

In that moment, the entire world seemed to halt, time and light appeared to freeze, all sounds from the external world stopped abruptly, and only the heartbeat in his chest boomed like a drum. The scene of the battle seemed to turn into a very slow motion.

In his sight, he seemed to see a seed in the darkness suddenly taking root and sprouting, growing rapidly and robustly, instantly turning into a towering tree. Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting mottled shadows on his face.

It was an understanding of life, witnessing the vigorous process of growth.

A strong aura of murder, perhaps it shouldn't be called a murderous aura but rather a powerful life force, came out in a vaporous form from the bird, furiously sucked into him, wildly entering through every pore.

If absorbing the murderous aura from the battlefield was like inhaling mist, then this moment was like gulping water, every pore feasting, or rather, whaling.

This was hundreds times richer than any murderous or blood aura absorbed from the battlefield.

The transcendent sense of comfort and the explosive fullness of life force were overwhelmingly sudden.

A vast river of life was raging and roaring.

It was a sensation that transcended time and life itself, etching scars deep into his Daoistic heart in that instant.

It was the highest praise of life, he felt so content that he wanted to sing, instantly spreading his arms wide, clenching his fists, gazing up at the sky with his neck veins bulging, his body slightly trembling, his skin flushing red, his throat emitting a raspy sound as he opened his chest in welcome.

Just then, Wu Jinliang nearby immediately noticed his unusual behavior and also felt the majestic life force emanating from his body, and he exclaimed in astonishment, "Chun Tian, what's wrong with you?"

Shi Chun turned his fist, which was clenched towards him, suddenly into an open palm, signaling him not to disturb.

The head of the strange bird slowly emerged from behind Shi Chun's back, seemingly also shocked, its eyes flashing red with a sense of panic, as if its mouth was open in a shocked scream, its body's flame-like mist fiercely surging as Shi Chun absorbed it into his body.

Clearly, the bird could feel the force of extraction and struggled as it flew through Shi Chun's body.

Actually, the entire process was rapid, but to Shi Chun, it felt as long as a painful slow motion.

Once the bird's flight left Shi Chun, it still trailed a long stretch being absorbed until it flew far enough away and the absorption finally ceased completely. Panicked and flapping, it dared not covet the murderous aura from the battleground any longer.

After sweeping up the flame-like bloody mist completely, Shi Chun finally seemed to snap back from the slow-motion world to reality, and he abruptly turned his head towards the retreating figure of the frightened strange bird.

As he turned back, he noticed another smaller bird of the same kind flying from the front, identical to the previous one, once again traversing back and forth across the battlefield and absorbing.

So, there was more than one strange bird in the illusory world.

But it was too late, as the fighting had ended quite swiftly. It had not managed to absorb much before it had to flap away.

Shi Chun watched it go.

He only knew that absorbing the murderous aura enhanced his physical resistance, accelerated his recovery from injuries, and allowed his bodily strength to endure longer. Beyond that, he did not know what continuous absorption of the murderous aura might do to his body, nor if there could be any side effects.

Because no one had told him, because even Uncle Ba, who transmitted the cultivation method to him, did not know.

So he didn't know whether to have any thoughts about the strange bird.

The battle was over, but this scene was a bit tragic, with over a hundred people dead and more than two hundred injured.

The group, with bloodshot eyes, gradually calmed down, but soon their moods were stirred again by successive cries of alarm.

"Two thousand nine hundred ninety-two, two bags totaling two thousand nine hundred ninety-two!"

The cheers after the count caused a sensation, dissolving the bloodiness of the battlefield.

Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were somewhat speechless, as this was quite a bit more than yesterday's total, which means that despite the high casualties, they had indeed managed to snatch some.

Night had fallen, the day's battle had ended, and after cleaning up the battlefield, the troops quickly regrouped and moved to avoid an attack by the enemy's main force.

Tonight they rested in a different location, giving the impression that these thousands of people would rest wherever they fought.

Before everyone dispersed to rest, Chu Jingtang once again accounted for today's gains, announcing loudly, "Today we have collected a total of five thousand five hundred seventy-one, and we now possess a total of seven thousand nine hundred fifty-eight Insect Extreme Crystals!"

The amount, Chu felt guilty in his heart; he knew very well that the supposed five thousand were not true, as the final battle of the day had resulted in the current total number of Insect Extreme Crystals.

The announcement did not surprise everyone, as they could calculate it themselves based on the gains from the three battles.

This time, they didn't count everything again in front of everyone; Shi Chun's idea was that the number was too large, and counting again would be too troublesome, suggesting that everyone carefully clarifies the gains from each battle from now on.

By now, Chu Jingtang had probably realized why the Master had insisted on counting all the Insect Extreme Crystals in public yesterday — it was to prove to everyone that the number of Insect Extreme Crystals gained each time was accurate and reliable, to lull everyone into complacency, and to facilitate cheating in later rounds.

The new resting cave was excavated, and after a busy period, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang found Chu Jingtang again.

"Brother Chu," Wu Jinliang said cheerfully, pushing a bunch of bulging black cloth bags towards him.

Chu Jingtang knew what this meant at a glance, quickly instructed his junior brother to keep watch at the cave entrance, and then handed over a pile of genuine Insect Extreme Crystals for Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang to take.

When the junior brother keeping watch returned, seeing the diligently guarded pile of black cloth bags, he couldn't help but whisper, "Chu, why do I feel like we're even more cautious than if they were genuine?"

Chu Jingtang cursed, "Isn't that obvious?"

It wasn't just them being cautious; Shi Chun's side was also very cautious, drawing in four other sects who had also boarded the same 'pirate ship' to protect Chu Jingtang and his group, under the pretext of precaution against evil intentions due to the increasing number of Insect Extreme Crystals, a sentiment deeply agreed upon by everyone.

The next day, as dawn broke, under Shi Chun's leadership, a new journey began for the more than three thousand troops.

It was also the beginning of daily battles.

Every day there were battles, guaranteeing at least two each day, with as many as five on some days.

The more than three thousand people, encircling the Moon Sea in their expedition, regardless of casualties, emerged victorious in every battle, invincible, boosting their morale tremendously.

As they kept fighting, their numbers began to dwindle, even picking weaker targets, until one day their numbers fell below three thousand.

But it must be admitted, their coordination had become increasingly tacit, and the combat power of the troop clusters had also increased, even developing innovative tactics among small groups.

In actual combat, they discovered the compatibility between different Cultivation Methods, capable of producing powerful lethal effects, and they proactively suggested rearrangements among the teams.

Their aggressiveness grew stronger, and the entire troop's demeanor became increasingly fierce, with crossed marks on their fronts and backs and powder smeared on their foreheads, yet the fierce aura they exuded made onlookers take them seriously.

Anytime an order was given, no matter how strong the opponent, a group would rush forward and fight; encountering powerful enemies, Shi Chun would also draw his sword and join the fray.

The morale kept rising, but Shi Chun was increasingly feeling the strain internally. Xiang Laner had twelve troops, and he had cycled through all the auxiliary branches of his twelve troops twice; continuing like this, he would have to engage the main forces of those twelve troops.

And the number of fake Insect Extreme Crystals he held had reached a terrifying sixty thousand.

Fortunately, the Sky Rain Meteor Conference was coming to an end, and he had reduced the frequency of attacks, preparing to endure until the end of the conference, as he felt the number of Insect Extreme Crystals he had was sufficient.

As a result, a group of proud and ambitious warriors blocked the entrance to Shi Chun's cave, some wounded also arrived, even those missing an arm came wielding swords.

Everyone had splattered blood on them, with hardly anyone unwounded—a sight like a group of veterans.

Their aura was menacing, almost like a "military remonstration."

Having sensed the wrong momentum the previous two days, and having fought only one battle today, everyone suddenly could not hold back their dissatisfaction, collectively blocking the entrance after some discussion.

It wasn't that everyone was warlike, but with over sixty thousand Insect Extreme Crystals laid out there, maintaining this growth rate meant not just the top three, but even the top five or ten could potentially be secured by them.

This was something they had never even dreamed of before.

Once unimaginable, now it was entirely conceivable—to bring such a ranking back to their sect would mean "bringing honor to the ancestors." Upon return, they would definitely be promoted, and in which group isn't merit the benchmark?

How often in life does one truly have the opportunity to gamble for one's future?

Now, when you, the Master, actually want to stand down, how can that be? The other half of Xuan State's forces has not even begun to exert their strength yet. We cannot allow the opponent to outdo us; otherwise, how can everyone's hard work be accounted for? Just being made dressmakers for others—no one will stand for this, we cannot tolerate it!

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