168: Blood Mist Swamp

"Was that person you just spoke to very close to you?"

Watching the three figures as they gradually walked away, Lu Tao asked with curiosity.

Su Ling shrugged, his tone indifferent. "Not particularly close. Back when the National War first began, he took the lead in gathering over fifty people to infiltrate the intersection area between the Yangquan Faction and the Five Aggregates... Luo Xuanxiao and I were in that team at the time."

"Oh, I see."

Lu Tao nodded in realization, his eyes showing a bit more understanding. "Of that group of yours, how many are still alive today?"

He already knew about the life-and-death experiences Su Ling and Luo Xuanxiao had shared.

But he hadn't expected that the Nascent Soul Cultivator who practiced fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques just now was actually the leader from back then.

Su Ling's eyes dimmed suddenly, and his voice softened slightly. "Apart from the three of us, there is only one Fellow Daoist left, named Fu Yongnian... It is a pity that after more than twenty years, he still hasn't succeeded in Nascent Soul Condensation."

"Out of over fifty people, to have three Nascent Soul combatants emerge, that's quite impressive."

Lu Tao reached out and put his arm around his shoulder, chuckling. "Forget about him, let's hurry up and finish exchanging our supplies so we can head back!"

"Mm."

Su Ling nodded in agreement and walked toward the Logistics Hall.

In his heart, he sighed secretly. If it hadn't been for the scheme and sabotage by Huo Linchuan and Qi Xiuran back then, which caused the squad to suffer heavy casualties...

...otherwise, at least two or three more people from that group would have successfully condensed their Nascent Soul.

Unfortunately, the path of cultivation is inherently rugged and uneven.

No one can say for sure which misstep will lead to a tragic end where one's body dies and their Dao dissipates.

...

Half a year later, Su Ling and his group, having finished their rest, gathered once again and set off fully prepared.

This time, their target was the Shadow Soul Crystal Mine in the Wuwang Bone Forest.

That was a key resource point concerning the balance between the two factions.

At this moment, both sides had committed a total of over sixty Nascent Soul Cultivators to this frontline, with nearly one-third of their respective core combat strength concentrated here.

Now that the situation of the National War was becoming increasingly clear, seeking a Breakthrough was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The Wuwang Bone Forest was originally the inherent territory of the Bitao Faction, but it was taken away by the Qingming Faction through a scheme over a decade ago.

Afterward, Wu Yuanpeng had led his forces to try and take it back several times, but he had never been able to find a way to break the deadlock.

Instead, because the Qingming Faction army was pressing down on the border, the Bitao Faction had to commit a massive amount of troops to maintain the balance of the front line.

Over these years, both sides had been attacking and defending, unable to determine a winner.

The operation by Su Ling and his group was precisely to find a Breakthrough point to break this deadlock.

More importantly, this was also Lu Tao's direct response to Luo Qianjie's challenge.

After years of fighting, Lu Tao's mindset had already transformed; the sharp, peerless edge of a Sword Cultivator was already beginning to show its prowess.

Even the life-bound Flying Sword that he nourished day and night had made significant progress, slowly approaching the level of a supreme grade Flying Sword.

In just a few hours, the group of eight arrived at the Blood Mist Swamp resource point.

Within the team, besides Song Moting, Qi Yunling, Luo Xuanxiao, and Chen Miaoyin...

...the other two were the Peak Core Formation Cultivators who had survived after following Su Ling and the others in the surprise attack on the Pain Forest and the Demon Iron Mine area back then.

Qin Jueying practiced dark-attribute Cultivation Techniques and was skilled in concealment and assassination. He also raised a strange raven capable of turning its form ethereal, making him an expert in intelligence gathering and covert assassinations.

Lu Chenzhou was a Body Refining Cultivator. The 《Indestructible Vajra Body》 he practiced was quite extraordinary, with blood and Qi as full as boiling water, and his defense was peerlessly formidable. It shared a similar effect to Lu Tao's Immortal Golden Body Art.

Both were originally Loose Cultivators. After the operation ten years ago, relying on the rich spoils of war they had obtained, they exchanged for a large amount of cultivation resources and immediately went into closed-door cultivation.

It wasn't until a year ago that the two of them broke through together, advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Immediately after leaving seclusion, they returned to Yangyuan Cave to pay their respects to Lu Tao.

Bringing them along this time was also intended to let them accumulate more points, paving the way for their subsequent cultivation.

Entering the resource point area, Song Moting looked at the heavily fortified camp in the center of the swamp, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "This guy Wu Yuanpeng has been guarding this place for ten years. Although he hasn't made any remarkable achievements, he has steadily held this front line, not letting the Qingming Faction advance a single step further."

"His strength is inherently slightly inferior to Su Wangchen's."

Chen Miaoyin's skirt fluttered slightly, her voice gentle. "Being able to hold the front line without losing it under the offensive of the Qingming Faction is already quite commendable."

Over these years, Wu Yuanpeng's point growth had been very slow, relying mainly on the stable output of the various resource points under his command.

It was almost impossible for him to obtain a massive amount of points like Lu Tao and his group.

Being able to guard the existing resource points well and ensure a continuous income of points was already no easy feat.

"Senior Brother Song, I really can't be bothered to go around in circles with all those polite pleasantries. I'll leave the communication and coordination to you!"

Lu Tao pursed his lips and spread his hands, looking like he didn't care at all.

"Alright, alright, do you think I don't know you?"

Song Moting rolled his eyes. Without refusing, he immediately soared into the air with Chen Miaoyin and flew toward the center of the camp.

If they wanted to break the deadlock of the war this time, they would inevitably need the various resource points to cooperate with each other to maximize their benefits; otherwise, it would all be a waste of effort.

Communicating relevant matters with Wu Yuanpeng, who managed the nearby resource points, became a necessity.

Su Ling and the others exchanged smiles. They were not in a hurry and began to stroll around the resource point on their own.

The Blood Mist Swamp was rich in 'Blood-Veined Purple Ganoderma'. Unfortunately, most of those that reached maturity had already been picked in advance, and now they could only be seen on the exchange list in the Logistics Hall.

It is said that since the start of the National War, only about twenty stalks of Blood-Veined Purple Ganoderma had matured here.

However, each one submitted could be exchanged for millions of points, which were then divided equally among the Cultivators stationed here, which was considered a significant gain.

"This Blood Fiend Qi certainly has some unique properties."

Smelling the faint scent of blood permeating the air, Lu Chenzhou stopped and said in a low voice, "Although inhaling too much will disturb one's mind, if one can refine it with Cultivation Techniques, it can actually be used to strengthen the Physical Body and supplement Qi and blood. It's good stuff for Body Refining."

Qin Jueying nodded slightly and agreed, "During the first two years of the National War, I came here. At that time, there were a large number of Blood Ants entrenched here... This Blood Fiend Qi is actually a special aura condensed by the Blood Ants after devouring flesh and blood. Unfortunately, after all these years, there are very few Blood Ants left, and there are no longer enough Demon Species for them to devour. The current Blood Fiend Qi is much thinner than it was back then."

"According to what you say, it's a pity for this natural Body Refining environment."

Lu Chenzhou shook his head with a laugh. "If the Blood Fiend Qi could be twice as dense as it is now, I would only need to Cultivate here for a hundred years, and my Indestructible Vajra Body might be able to advance further and reach the realm of Major Achievement."

"Why go to all that trouble?"

Lu Tao rolled his eyes and said nonchalantly, "After the National War ends, just exchange for more Spirit Marrow Pills to supplement it. Wouldn't that be faster?"

"Senior Brother Lu is absolutely right."

Lu Chenzhou and Qin Jueying exchanged smiles, both feeling deeply emotional.

The Spirit Marrow Pill was a fourth-tier Body Refining Medicinal Pill, and one pill required 500,000 Low-Grade Spirit Stones to exchange.

For Lu Chenzhou to use this pill to advance his 《Indestructible Vajra Body》, he would need at least over a hundred pills.

In the past, as a Loose Cultivator, he wouldn't have even dared to think about such a luxurious way of cultivation.

But now, he didn't feel it was an unreachable difficulty anymore.