Outside Of Time

Chapter 1717 Farming

Chapter 1717  Farming

This peculiar gleam flickered in the eyes of Xu Qing and his team.

The truth was that this time, their gains from clearing the battlefield were far too meager. Moreover, as per the requirements of the Corpse Looting Team's duties, they still had to hand over a portion of their findings. As a result, what little remained for them in the end was barely a sliver.

It was completely insufficient for cultivation.

Gradually, the gazes of these ascenders landed on Xu Qing.

They were waiting for Xu Qing's decision.

Xu Qing looked at the clean battlefield in the surroundings and then at the distant starry sky. After a long time, he slowly spoke.

"Entering the battlefield in advance is indeed a method. However, it depends on the timing and the combat strength of both sides."

"Moreover, the battlefield is ever-changing. If we make a mistake in our judgment, we will encounter a life-and-death crisis."

"After all, our combat strength hasn't reached the point where we can be unscrupulous."

Xu Qing suppressed the rising thoughts in his mind. Considering the reality of the situation, he ultimately concluded that this matter could not be decided rashly.

As his voice rang out, everyone fell silent. The strange glint in their eyes gradually dissipated.

However, at this moment, Xie Lingzi licked his lips and suddenly spoke.

"Captain… actually, compared to corpse looting, we're better at live harvesting!"

"We can obtain even more origin essence from live materials…"

As soon as Xie Lingzi finished speaking, the strange glint in everyone's eyes that was about to dissipate stirred again. They could hear the meaning in Xie Lingzi's words. He was suggesting that they hunt freely.

At the same time, they also recalled the few god prisons they had been to before.

Being called captain made Xu Qing feel a little dazed.

On this journey, this was the first time he had heard someone call him that.

'I wonder how Senior Brother is now…'

Xu Qing muttered to himself. At the same time, Star Ring, who was at the side, calmly spoke.

"Without rules, there can be no order. Our current duty is no longer that of material procurers but of corpse scavengers."

"Without rules, there can be no order. Our current duty is no longer that of material procurers but of corpse scavengers."

Xie Lingzi's eyes flashed as he let out a cold voice.

"Can you out-scavenge those collection teams? Sixty percent of the god corpses are taken by them! Your order has no weight when it comes to scavenging!"

When Star Ring heard this, he glanced at Xie Lingzi with a cold gaze.

Xie Lingzi wasn't to be outdone. The baleful aura on his body churned and he vaguely emitted Quasi Immortal fluctuations.

During this period, everyone's cultivation base had advanced to different degrees. It was the same for Xie Lingzi. When they were leaving the Spirit Replacement Star, he broke through and stepped into the Quasi Immortal Realm.

Seeing that the two sides were at daggers drawn, Xu Qing's gaze landed on Zhou Zhengli.

Zhou Zhengli coughed and took a step forward. He stood between Star Ring and Xie Lingzi, and bowed to Xu Qing.

"Lord, we understand that you worry about our lives and make decisions for our well-being. But since we've come to the battlefield and gone through so much, who among us doesn't understand the truth that fortune comes with risk?"

"As long as the rewards are sufficient, there's nothing we wouldn't risk. The key is figuring out how to maximize our gains."

"So, what Daoist Xie Lingzi said about excelling at live harvesting is correct, and what Daoist Star Ring said about following the rules is also reasonable."

"In that case, we can find a balance."

Zhou Zhengli licked his lips and said softly.

"Indeed, we are a Corpse Looting Team, but going out to hunt and harvest live creatures, causing the death of gods, and then looting Their corpses—this, in essence, doesn't conflict."

"If there's no battlefield, we create one. If there are no corpses, we make them ourselves."

With that, Zhou Zhengli bowed to Xu Qing.

There was a dark glint in Xie Lingzi's eyes as he also bowed.

The other ascenders fell silent. After that, the strange glint in their eyes intensified and they all bowed to Xu Qing.

Even Star Ring nodded after some thought and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing looked at these people in front of him and knew that each of them actually had their own thoughts. They weren't greenhouse flowers either. They had all walked through a bloody storm.

Now, the lack of origin essence caused them to have a strong urge to devour gods.

Since that was the case…

Determination appeared in Xu Qing's eyes as he nodded.

The instant he nodded, these ascenders all laughed. They were like a pack of wolves that had been released from their cages. Under Zhou Zhengli's arrangement, they flew out and scattered in all directions.

They used all means to find the target and transmit the information back. Zhou Zhengli and Star Ring took the duty of inspecting the information.

As for Xu Qing, he chose a meteorite and sat down cross-legged, waiting for everyone to finish scouting.

Just like that, half a month passed.

Numerous pieces of information were transmitted from these ascenders who had scattered in all directions.

They were all related to the movements of the gods.

However, Xu Qing judged that the vast majority of them weren't suitable. There were either too many of them or the danger was greater.

Seven to eight days later, an ascender named Daoist Blood Cloud finally sent an information that Xu Qing felt was suitable.

"Captain, I've detected a team of god scouts here. There are about 30 of them and the strongest among Them is at the middle stage of the Divine Platform. They appear to belong to a god race. I've been tracking Them in secret for two days now. Their varied heights and physiques make Them absolutely perfect targets for our live harvesting!"

Accompanying this information was Star Ring and Zhou Zhengli's review of this.

They both acknowledged that this news was true.

Hence, after some thought, the baleful aura on Xu Qing's body churned and he immediately issued a command. After that, his body swayed and he stepped into the void.

At the same time, as Xu Qing's decree spread out, all the ascenders who had spread in all directions received it. All of their eyes revealed a strange glint. They were like hunters or vicious wolves as they sped toward the designated place with all their might.

A few days later, Xu Qing and the others gathered outside a star called Gray Ridge.

When they arrived, Daoist Blood Cloud, who was waiting here, immediately greeted Xu Qing on whose sides were Star Ring and Zhou Zhengli.

"Captain, those gods are very hidden. It's because I have a special method that I can sense Them and follow Them all the way. They have been hiding in this star for a few days now.

In order to prevent Them from detecting me, I didn't enter the star. However, I can be sure that They are still here."

Star Ring also nodded.

"This place is indeed chaotic."

Zhou Zhengli licked his lips and smiled as he spoke to Xu Qing.

"Master, my Ordinance also sensed that They are still around."

If it was just Blood Cloud, whether his information could be trusted still needed to be verified. However, with the review and judgment of Star Ring and Zhou Zhengli, the likelihood of this matter being true had become exceedingly high.

Hence, when Xu Qing heard this, he looked at the star in front of him. He circulated the power of his immortal embryo and the Ordinance of Space-Time filled the air. Finally, he confirmed that the gods were there.

Hence, his voice rang out coldly.

"Collect the origin essence as soon as possible. Everyone… attack!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ascenders in the surroundings emitted shocking baleful auras and headed straight for the star below.

They instantly transformed into more than ten rainbows that rushed into this star. They shuttled through the clouds and tore through the barrier, rapidly approaching the location of the group of gods.

Xu Qing was among them. At that moment, his speed erupted completely as he crossed the space barrier and was already close to his destination.

At a glance, he saw the 30-odd gods and what They were doing.

They were building an octagonal altar. The arrangements in the surroundings looked like that of a ritual.

At the center of the ritual, on the octagonal altar, at the highest point, there was a black bowl.

There was blood churning in the bowl.

Dense anomalous substances formed in the bowl as the blood churned. However, they didn't spread out. They were still accumulating, as though they were waiting for a certain moment to erupt completely.

Noticing the appearance of Xu Qing and the others, the gods here all abruptly raised Their heads, as though They were surprised. Among them, the eyes of that Divine Platform narrowed.

"The altar hasn't been completed, the ritual hasn't been activated, the anomalous substances haven't erupted, and the base node hasn't been formed. But why did the cultivators arrive so quickly!"

This Divine Platform was surprised but also decisive. It immediately activated Its divine authority, causing the unfinished altar to burn in advance. The ritual was activated and the black blood bowl inside instantly shattered.

Immediately, a large amount of anomalous substances erupted from within, billowing into the sky like black smoke.

They wanted to taint the surroundings.

However, the density wasn't high enough and the effect of the taint wasn't as good as expected. It was still unknown if it could form a new battlefield here…

However, They had no other choice.

Almost at the instant the auras of these gods fluctuated, the ascenders who had descended from the sky erupted with the greed they had been holding in for a long time.

They were like sharp blades that pierced out directly.

Xu Qing raised his hand and the immortal embryo behind him manifested, blotting out the sky as it slapped down.

This palm strike was imposing and contained an aura that caused the souls of all the gods here to tremble. It even directly enveloped the shattered blood bowl.

It also covered the black smoke formed by the anomalous substances.

It clenched ruthlessly.

With a cracking sound, the anomalous substances' black smoke seemed to materialize and shatter!

Zhou Zhengli's Ordinance Eye opened.

The mountains of Yuanshan Su landed as well.

Xie Lingzi laughed sinisterly. With killing intent, he headed straight for this place.

Li Mengtu's poison lingered and Qianjun and Piyi's sword light towered into the sky.

The massacre had started!

…

Meanwhile, in the starry skies some distance from Gray Ridge Star, a group of military cultivators on patrol was advancing steadily.

They belonged to the Nianlin Army, one of the nine major corps of the Left Wing Frontline. During wartime, they served as the vanguard, and in peacetime, they were tasked with patrolling their designated region, hunting down hidden divine entities, and eliminating any anomalous substance base nodes.

The group consisted of over a thousand members, divided into teams of a hundred, seated cross-legged on massive, cyan-colored flying boats.

Ten such boats, each bearing the banner of the Nianlin Army, sliced through the void, stirring up vast, rippling waves across the cosmos.

At the exact moment when the black blood bowl shattered on Gray Ridge Star, a muffled drumbeat suddenly echoed from the foremost flying boat.

The abrupt sound was deafening, causing ripples to surge through the starry expanse and reverberating in all directions. The seated cultivators immediately opened their eyes, revealing sharp, focused gazes.

Immediately after, a solemn voice echoed.

"Some gods have erected an altar and opened a new battlefield with an anomalous substance base node, activating the Divine Suppression Drum!"

"Xuan, Lin, Mo, Ling, Feng—your five teams are hereby ordered to follow the drum's resonance, fully investigate the area ahead, locate the site of the altar, and annihilate everything!"

As soon as this sound rang out, five flying boats left the team and sped forward in different directions.

They responded in unison with a deep, unified voice:

"As you command!"