This was by far the most intense battle to have occurred in the Great Luo Realm, with more than a handful of Nine Tribulation Realm experts participating.
Nangong Feng of the Flying Immortal Mansion, Fu Tianling of the Black Sand Cave Heaven, and Qin Hao of the Giant Spirit Hall were all leading figures of their respective top forces, far beyond ordinary Nine Tribulation Realm cultivators.
On the side of the Domain Lake, the four beast overlords who guarded its corners also joined the fray. The Desolate Realm Savage Ox, radiating an ancient aura, was immensely powerful. Its pair of slightly curved, pointed horns formed a sharp arc, and each charge caused space itself to become unstable, rippling as if on the verge of being torn apart.
The Four Directions Sacred Spirit Tortoise, with a body as vast as an island, possessed astonishing defensive capabilities. Its shell was like a defensive immortal treasure, unfazed by the relentless pounding of Qin Hao's twin massive hammers, standing as firm as a rock.
Then there was the Nine Profound Whale, its body resembling a leviathan that swallowed the heavens. With every breath, it created a colossal waterspout, with towering columns of water spinning rapidly on the lake's surface, sweeping many cultivators into their vortex.
Under the leadership of the Nine-Patterned Crimson Spirit Snake, with a human head and a serpent's body, hordes of aquatic beasts laid siege to the invading human cultivators.
However, most of these aquatic beasts were only at the Golden Core stage, and while there were many at the Nascent Soul stage, they were predominantly low-level Nascent Soul cultivators, vastly inferior to the experts of the three top forces.
Magical treasures and divine abilities rained down from the sky, resulting in the deaths of countless aquatic beasts every second. The lake water turned increasingly crimson, and a thick scent of blood permeated the air.
The residual shockwaves of the battle spread outwards, and even a thousand miles away, one could feel the ferocity of the conflict. News of the battle at Domain Lake spread rapidly throughout the Great Luo Realm.
The battle raged for a full day. In the vast expanse of Domain Lake, all beasts above the Nascent Soul stage were slain. It was rumored that Qin Hao had used a secret treasure, unleashing an attack comparable to a True Immortal of the Deity Transformation stage, tearing a massive rift in space. The shell of the Four Directions Sacred Spirit Tortoise, like a defensive immortal treasure, was directly pierced. The other three aquatic overlords also perished, unable to withstand the combined assault of the three top forces.
This battle stunned both human cultivators and beasts in the Great Luo Realm, giving them a new understanding of the strength of the top sects in the Wu Shan Starfield.
Although the strongest of the Domain Lake's four overlords, the Nine Profound Whale, was only at the middle stage of the Nine Tribulation Realm, they held the advantage of terrain when fighting in the water, making them difficult to deal with even for ordinary late-stage Nine Tribulation Realm experts.
Even so, they could not resist the combined might of the Flying Immortal Mansion, Black Sand Cave Heaven, and Giant Spirit Hall. From then on, Domain Lake became a mere footnote in the history of the Great Luo Realm.
While the various factions were shocked, they were also immensely envious. The sheer number of beasts in Domain Lake was staggering. Although the three top forces themselves suffered considerable losses, they were negligible compared to their gains.
There were four Nine Tribulation Realm Nascent Souls alone, enough to advance their cultivation realms in a short period. Furthermore, within Domain Lake, which had nurtured countless beasts, there were an abundance of Heavenly Grade spiritual medicines.
However, it was slightly regrettable that although there was a top-grade spirit crystal mine, stretching for hundreds of miles, at the bottom of Domain Lake, its extraction would require vast amounts of manpower and time. They only had three years in the Great Luo Realm and could not possibly excavate much spirit crystal. Compared to other resources, the top-grade spirit crystal mine seemed somewhat redundant at this time.
After clearing out the aquatic beasts, the three top forces scoured Domain Lake for several days, acquiring numerous rare treasures, including even immortal medicines.
However, the news of Domain Lake being plundered by human cultivators also reached some Beast Kings in the core region, who were furious. Earth-shattering roars echoed from various dangerous areas of the core region, and vast numbers of beasts gathered, signaling the prelude to a beast tide.
On the blood-red lake surface, everyone stood on the water, sorting through the spoils of war.
"Four Nine Tribulation Nascent Souls. According to our previous distribution, Brother Qin Hao consumed a secret treasure and gets two. Brother Nangong and I each get one. The remaining spiritual medicine Nascent Souls will also be distributed according to the agreed-upon ratios," Fu Tianling said, waving a hand. A large number of sealed Nascent Souls and spiritual medicines floated before them, emitting a rich medicinal fragrance and powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.
Nangong Feng and Qin Hao both nodded, having no objections. This battle primarily relied on Qin Hao's secret treasure, which could unleash an attack comparable to a Deity Transformation True Immortal. Otherwise, even with the combined strength of the three of them, they could not have broken through the defense of the Four Directions Sacred Spirit Tortoise.
Treasures that allowed Nascent Soul cultivators to unleash Deity Transformation True Immortal level attacks were extremely rare. They were treasures crafted by Deity Transformation stage experts of their Giant Spirit Hall for their juniors. Each use required a significant amount of time to restore the treasure's energy reserves, and they could only be used once in a short period.
Such treasures were somewhat redundant for Deity Transformation stage cultivators but were priceless for Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
It was precisely because of such treasures that their three forces had the confidence to attack Domain Lake, and Qin Hao thus received fifty percent of the Domain Lake spoils, with the remaining fifty percent being split equally between the Flying Immortal Mansion and Black Sand Cave Heaven.
"In the coming time, everyone should focus on quickly increasing their strength. With Domain Lake swept clean and our previous actions, it will undoubtedly trigger a beast tide. There will be another fierce battle once we enter the core region," Nangong Feng said to everyone.
"Heh heh, when countless beasts charge at us desperately, that will be truly exhilarating. Such opportunities are rare outside," Qin Hao said with anticipation instead.
Fu Tianling's eyes flashed with a brilliant light as he said, "Brother Nangong, have you forgotten Zhang Fan?"
Upon hearing this, Nangong Feng couldn't help but smile and said, "Brother Tianling, there's no need to worry. The immortal treasure of your Black Sand Cave Heaven will not run away. With the three of us united, we can even contend against Canglan Mingyue and Canglan Qiuyue. Who can compete with us for the immortal treasure?"
"Perhaps we won't even need to act. The Sixth Prince's Manor and Zhang Fan's group might die in the beast tide. Our primary goal now is to convert the resources we have into strength, so that we can obtain more resources during the beast tide."
Fu Tianling nodded, realizing that his perspective had indeed been too narrow. They had pushed forward relentlessly, acquiring vast resources and rapidly improving their strength. The Sixth Prince's Manor and Zhang Fan should have long since ceased to be on his radar. Why was he still so concerned?
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