Chapter 87: The Meeting

Life Force Field was similar to the stellar magnetic fields involved in the ninth realm of God-Fiend Body Refinement, yet it remained fundamentally different.

This type of field leaned more toward a power forged from the fusion of a cultivator's essence, qi, and psyche. It could only act upon the user themselves, extending at most to the surface of the body. It was far from being like a stellar magnetic field, which could cause the clouds to churn and the winds to howl with its vast and majestic power.

After carefully sensing the mysteries of the Life Force Field, Yaoguang stood up and activated it. Immediately, he felt an indescribable connection between himself and the outside world.

This link was different from the heaven-and-earth furnace forged through the union of heaven and man, nor did it belong to the Heaven-and-Earth Domain evolved from that furnace; at best, it was merely similar. The difference lay in the fact that the power of the heaven-and-earth furnace and the Heaven-and-Earth Domain essentially originated from the world itself. A martial artist used their own psychic will to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to create various phenomena.

However, the core of Life Force Field originated from the cultivators themselves. One worked from the outside in to interfere with heaven and earth, while the other worked from the inside out to protect the self.

As he quietly experienced the wonders of the Life Force Field, he walked forward step by step into the Longyou Stream. The stream was not large, but the water where Yaoguang stood was still a meter deep. Yet, at that moment, the water felt like solid ground beneath him. It supported his weight, allowing him to stand upon the surface without any sign of sinking.

Ripples spread out from where his feet touched the water. This was the Life Force Field, a formless substance formed by essence, qi, and psyche, contending against the gravitational energy of the planet itself. Or rather, he was using his own Life Force Field to counter the planet's force.

"Life Force Field," Yaoguang murmured the term.

At this stage, his field was still very weak, so weak that he could only rely on surface tension to barely stay afloat on the stream. But he understood in his heart that as his Life Force Field continued to grow stronger, the day would come when he could use it to lift himself. In doing so, he would master the first basic skill on the path to becoming a human immortal: flight!

"Beyond just flight, as a martial artist grows stronger, the destruction caused by their battles increases. Sooner or later, a combat suit will no longer be able to withstand the aftershocks of a fight. With the Life Force Field covering my body, at least I won't face the embarrassment of having my clothes shredded and ending up naked mid-battle." Yaoguang chuckled softly.

While the Life Force Field would have little effect for as long as he was weak, this secret technique, or rather, this talent, possessed potential many times higher than other techniques. It was a secret technique that could benefit him for a lifetime.

"It isn't completely useless, either. My field is weak, but the opponents I face now aren't high-tier practitioners at the seventh or eighth realm of God-Fiend Body Refinement. Since the Life Force Field radiates from within, internally, it can protect my internal organs from penetrating jin. Externally, it adds a layer of defense and improves my damage resistance," he said.

Yaoguang took a step and walked across the stream. Then, he allowed himself to be immersed in the force of the earth veins.

During this process, he had a sudden thought and applied the Life Force Field to his own body. Immediately, the tempering effect of the earth veins of the mountains and rivers was guided by the field, permeating his body through every possible opening. It was as if the process bypassed the physical form and directly tempered his essence, qi, and psyche. Without the "middleman" of the physical body, the improvement in efficiency was instantaneous.

A look of joy appeared in Yaoguang’s eyes.

It was somewhat unexpected, yet it made perfect sense. The Dao Fruits produced by his Martial Dao branch shared the same source, so they naturally possessed a degree of synergy. This was true for Heavenly Fiend Disintegration and the Great Earth Furnace, and it was equally true for the Life Force Field.

In fact, because the field was forged from his entire essence, qi, and psyche, it gave him a deeper command and understanding of techniques like Heavenly Fiend Disintegration, Psychic Descent, the Great Solar Psyche-Suppressing Diagram, and Star Ignition. This, in turn, reduced the burden and damage these secret techniques inflicted on his body.

"The Life Force Field might not look like much, but it acts as a passive state that provides all-around amplification. It essentially serves as a synthesis for the entire God-Fiend Body Refinement. Theoretically, such a technique should only appear at the perfection of the ninth tier of God-Fiend Body Refinement." Yaoguang pondered.

However, considering it was impossible for anyone else to use the Myriad-World Information Search Engine to obtain information on the eighth tier of the Martial Dao branch in the world, it was reasonable that he had derived this technique at the eighth tier. He expected that when he derived another technique at the ninth tier, it would likely no longer focus on cultivation or passive buffs, but rather on breaking through realms or killing enemies above his level.

***

While Yaoguang cultivated diligently on Yuhuang Mountain, the World-Saving Society discovered something terrifying based on the clues he had provided.

Ji Pingtian looked at the news brought by the intelligence officers, his eyes filled with disbelief. "There hasn't been any news at all?!"

"Yes! No word has surfaced regarding the most recent groups of martial paragons. Furthermore, our moles risked entering the interior of the Crimson Star Empire and reached a startling conclusion. The light of the Star Gate inside the Crimson Star Empire is dim; it looks like it hasn't been opened in recent years at all." The intelligence officer spoke in a low voice.

"Are you certain?!" Ji Pingtian asked.

"The method to operate the Star Gate is held by the Crimson Star Empire. No one else has that authority. We could only reach this conclusion based on ancient records, so we cannot be one hundred percent sure the information is accurate," the intelligence officer said.

"What exactly are those Crimson Star people doing...?" Ji Pingtian took a deep breath.

He immediately turned to his subordinate and gave an order. "Contact President Hong Chuan and President Zhao Xuanbing. Open a secret channel. We will hold an online meeting in half an hour!"

As he spoke, he fiddled with his phone to send the data to the two presidents' private numbers.

"Keep investigating. I want to know where those martial paragons actually went," Ji Pingtian commanded.

"Understood." The officer quickly withdrew.

Ji Pingtian stood up and headed toward a completely sealed conference room where no light could penetrate. He ordered his subordinates to guard the door, entered the room, and personally activated the equipment to log in with his credentials.

Soon, the room lit up as the system initialized, projecting a virtual conference room. Currently, Ji Pingtian was the only one in the room.

However, he did not have to wait long. Because the news was so appalling, the other two presidents of the World-Saving Society, Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing, came online one after another in less than twenty minutes.

Upon seeing Ji Pingtian, the two immediately asked, "Is the news true?"

"I cannot say for certain. However, various pieces of information corroborate one another, forming a complete chain of inference that suggests something has indeed gone wrong with the Crimson Star Empire and the Star Gate. No news has been heard from any martial paragon in recent decades, has there?" Ji Pingtian said.

"Are you suggesting... that the Crimson Star Empire has lost contact with the Artifact Sect?" Hong Chuan asked.

"Not just the Crimson Star Empire; it is likely the same for the Snowdragon Empire. However, our intelligence strength in the Snowdragon Empire is somewhat weaker, so it might take some time to get specific details," Ji Pingtian explained.

His words caused both Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing to knit their brows tightly. The World-Saving Society was established for the purpose of countering the Crimson Star martial paragons in the World Martial Assembly. Their goal was to secure a spot to travel to the sacred cultivation lands of the Artifact Sect, thereby achieving great breakthroughs and gaining the qualification to pursue higher realms. But if the Crimson Star Empire had lost contact with the Artifact Sect, then what was the point of competing for those so-called slots?

"The reason I investigated this matter was that I received a piece of rumor..." Ji Pingtian sent the information to the two presidents.

The two studied it for a moment, their brows furrowing.

"Absurd," Hong Chuan said flatly. "It makes no sense. If the Crimson Star Empire truly used the slots to lure martial paragons from other countries to a certain location only to secretly eliminate them, then why have all those who secured slots to the Artifact Sect over the last few decades been the Crimson Star Empire's own martial paragons? They couldn't possibly be eliminating their own experts and sending them to their deaths for nothing,"

Zhao Xuanbing said, "This speculation is far too much of a conspiracy theory. Besides, would we not know whether the Artifact Sect slots were real? Where did this rumor come from?"

"It came from Su Yaoguang," Ji Pingtian said, then added, "He likely heard it from somewhere else as well."

"Su Yaoguang." Hong Chuan and Zhao Xuanbing exchanged a glance. Recently, they had heard that name more than once. Especially after the reports brought by Ji Pingtian confirmed Yaoguang's excellence, the two had placed great hopes on him. Since he was the one who mentioned this, they had no choice but to take it seriously.

"I will have people verify this with the Snowdragon Empire to see if they have also lost contact with the Artifact Sect, and to find out what exactly the people of the Crimson Star Empire are up to," Zhao Xuanbing said.

Hong Chuan nodded. Then, he seemed to think of something. "Is everything alright on Su Yaoguang's end? They caused such a massive disturbance in Dayu that they must have drawn the attention of the Crimson Star Empire. By now, they should be facing pressure from them, right?"

"They are already facing it. According to the latest intelligence I received, Shangguan Xiong, the commander of the overseas base stationed in Dayu, has guessed that there is an agreement between Yaoguang and our World-Saving Society. He has already gathered many remnants of the Liao family and is rapidly contacting surrounding countries to mobilize troops. It is estimated that he will soon move against Yaoguang under the banner of restoring the Liao family."

Ji Pingtian paused for a moment before continuing. "However, while they take Yaoguang seriously, they clearly have not reached the point of extreme caution yet. At most, they can only invite five or six martial paragons to act. That lineup might not necessarily be enough to deal with him."

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"You seem to have forgotten the fear others have for the Crimson Star Empire. Shangguan Xiong is from the main lineage of the Shangguan family, a great noble family of the Crimson Star Empire. If he takes action, the martial paragons of the Lyu family and Jiang family won't dare oppose him. The same goes for Zhang Jian. They simply don't have the courage to resist the people of the Crimson Star Empire. In other words, Su Yaoguang will have to face a siege by five or six martial paragons alone," Zhao Xuanbing reminded him.

"I have not forgotten. I never considered that the martial paragons of the Lyu family or Jiang family would step in," Ji Pingtian said calmly. "Yaoguang alone is enough."