174: Terrifying losses

"The National War is over."

Su Ling sighed softly, his fingertips moving slightly to form a spell.

The Soul-Devouring Spider Mother, carrying the remaining thousands of remnant souls, retreated like a tide back into the pitch-black ten thousand souls banner.

Ghostly shadows flickered across the surface of the banner, and residual Evil Qi continued to dissipate in thin wisps.

After several hours of fierce fighting, the heaviest losses were undoubtedly among those third-rank remnant souls.

Not just him; the hundreds of thousands of low-rank remnant souls that Qiu Xuetong had previously controlled now numbered less than ten thousand.

The Soul-Shaking Shriek of the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother was nothing short of a catastrophe for the low-rank remnant souls.

If Qiu Xuetong hadn't deliberately used those low-rank remnant souls as cannon fodder to absorb the power of the shriek, these third-rank remnant souls would likely have already met their end—Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

"Consider yourself lucky."

Qiu Xuetong let out a cold snort, her jade fingers forming a seal, and she withdrew the Nascent Soul remnant soul, whose form had become somewhat illusory, into her soul artifact.

As for those third-rank remnant souls she had summoned earlier, she couldn't take them with her anyway, so she simply let them scatter and hide in the dark depths underground.

Even so, Qiu Xuetong was clear-headed about the situation.

As more and more remnant souls dissipated, the surrounding Power of Lost Souls grew increasingly dense.

And the Divine Soul arrows released by 'Han Yu' could actually actively absorb this Power of Lost Souls to enhance their power.

Even though it was just an instantaneous spell, its power grew stronger the more they fought.

Who knows if the arrows would evolve into even more terrifying might if the battle continued; whether she could withstand them then was unknown.

Thinking of this, Qiu Xuetong felt a chill run down her back.

In the recent battle, she had effectively walked past the gates of death.

Lingering fear aside, the look in her eyes as she gazed in the direction Su Ling had left was filled with growing unwillingness.

"This Han Yu's soul control technique is definitely extraordinary; it's at least a top-tier Legacy from the Body Integration stage or higher."

Qiu Xuetong bit her lower lip, a flash of undisguised greed crossing her eyes, yet she was helpless.

The Golden Immortal decree had spread throughout the Plane; who would dare to act privately now?

The best opportunity to seize this Cultivation Technique had already vanished.

Su Ling couldn't be bothered with her thoughts; cyan light surged around his body, transforming him into a swift bolt of cyan lightning that instantly vanished into the horizon.

On the other side, Lu Tao put away his Flying Sword, the white-gold sharp radiance on the blade gradually receding.

He looked far off in the direction of Luo Qianjie and said loudly, "Luo Qianjie, if there is a chance in the future, I will definitely determine who is superior between us!"

As his voice fell, his body transformed into a brilliant sword radiance, shooting straight toward the black armor mothership floating in the distance.

"I'm ready anytime."

Luo Qianjie's expression was calm as he responded loudly, his tone devoid of any ripples.

However, the only response he received was a cold scoff from Lu Tao in the distance, the lingering sound gradually dissipating in the vast expanse of heaven and earth.

...

"Haha! Congratulations to Senior Brother Lu for ascending to the top of the total points ranking!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Lu! Becoming the number one person in this Seven-Nation melee truly brings glory to the Sect!"

"This is the first time in thousands of years! Our Bitao Sect finally has someone who can take the top spot on the total ranking; this honor is enough to be recorded in the Sect's history!"

"Senior Brother Lu has laid low for many years, shocking everyone with one battle, and then shocking the heavens with the next; it is well-deserved!"

"If not for the sudden decree of the Golden Immortal, I believe that Luo Qianjie would definitely have died under Senior Brother's sword today!"

Inside the main hall of the base city, the place was bustling with voices, and congratulations rose one after another.

Su Ling, Lu Tao, and the others gathered in a corner, surrounded by Nascent Soul Cultivators who had come to offer congratulations, all of them beaming with joy, their eyes filled with envy and awe.

Only Su Ling, Chen Miaoyin, and a few others remained indifferent, a trace of imperceptible impatience flashing in their eyes.

Such insincere flattery really couldn't spark any interest.

Lu Tao laughed, cupped his hands to thank everyone, and then, no longer entertaining them, quickly walked with Su Ling and the others to a quiet corner of the hall.

"What kind of bullshit is that!"

As soon as he broke away from the crowd, with only his own people around, the smile on Lu Tao's face instantly collapsed, and he grumbled irritably, "That Luo Qianjie's Calamity Sword Technique is simply wicked. The residual Yin Wind Evil Qi in my body hasn't been completely purged even now, and they still want me to cut him down? It's a miracle I wasn't done in by him!"

"Yo, I thought Junior Brother Lu was going to get lost in all this flattery!"

Chen Miaoyin covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes teasing, "Fortunately, fortunately, you still have some self-awareness."

"Senior Sister!"

Lu Tao looked annoyed and retorted in a muffled voice, "I might be a bit reckless, but I'm not brainless!"

Everyone heard this and smiled.

Everyone knew that the final clash between Lu Tao and Luo Qianjie, which seemed evenly matched, was actually Lu Tao giving it his all.

If they had really kept fighting, at most half an hour later, he probably would have had to flee in defeat.

The Qingming Sword Sect's Calamity Sword Technique was renowned; how could it be so easy to deal with?

"Alright, regardless of how you put it, our Bitao Sect has really stolen the spotlight this time."

Song Moting smiled and waved his hand, unable to hide the joy in his tone, "In the top ten of the total points ranking, we occupy seven spots. Such a grand occasion was something we wouldn't even dare to imagine in the past!"

"Senior Brother Song, don't forget that Han Yu, Yun Ling, and Xuan Xiao may not necessarily be willing to join our Sect."

Chen Miaoyin reminded him with a faint smile, her gaze sweeping over Su Ling and the other two, filled with deep goodwill and expectation.

"Whether Brother Qi and Brother Luo are willing, I don't care."

Lu Tao gave a cold snort, suddenly reaching out to wrap his arm around Su Ling's neck, his tone filled with undeniable dominance, "As for Han... Yu, even if I have to tie you up, I'm dragging you into the Bitao Sect!"

"That's only if your Sect's elders think highly of me!"

Su Ling muttered, feeling helpless and amused.

"Tch!"

Lu Tao scoffed, looking completely certain, "A Prodigy who is second on the total points ranking—if the elders dared to let you go to another Sect, they would truly have water in their brains!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone simultaneously gave Su Ling the middle finger.

Having spent many years together, they had long grown accustomed to the strange gestures Su Ling would occasionally make, and unknowingly, they had developed a tacit understanding.

Unlike the laughter and joy here, the atmosphere in another corner of the hall seemed quite quiet.

Liu Muyao watched the direction of Lu Tao and the others, her brows filled with unwillingness.

For the past two years, she had racked her brains to recruit quite a few Nascent Soul Cultivators, intending to imitate the battle tactics of Su Ling and his group in raiding resource points, to chew on the hard bone that was the Wuyun Sect and take the opportunity to reap a large amount of points.

But who would have thought that the Wuyun Sect was inherently skilled in Formation defense, and by defending with all their might, she couldn't find a single opportunity to exploit.

By the time she wanted to switch to other battlefronts, the Golden Immortal decree had already descended, and the National War came to an abrupt halt.

Fortunately, she ultimately managed to stabilize her position in tenth place on the total ranking, otherwise she would have been furious to the point of exploding.

Just as everyone was discussing, several figures suddenly appeared in the air of the main hall.

They were actually several Integration Stage Cultivators from the Bitao Sect.

The leader was dressed in a Bitao Daoist robe, his aura as heavy and steady as a mountain, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall, his voice dignified and powerful:

"Those within the top one thousand in the camp ranking, stay here and wait for arrangements."

"The rest, board the ships immediately and return with us to the Canglang Plane!"

As his voice fell, he waved his large sleeve lightly, and an invisible ripple swept across the hall.

Everyone looked down and saw that the Cultivators whose tokens were glowing were all the outstanding ones ranked in the top one thousand of this National War.

Although the Cultivators who were not selected were full of envy, they dared not delay and walked orderly toward the Flying Boats already prepared outside the city.

Su Ling silently watched those Flying Boats slowly ascending into the sky, sighing slightly in his heart.

When they arrived, the Bitao Sect had dispatched nearly two hundred thousand Core Formation Cultivators.

But now, those returning alive were less than forty percent.

If the National War had continued for fifty years as originally planned, perhaps less than twenty percent would have survived in the end.

Only a place like the Canglang Plane, with its large foundation and vast base of Cultivators, could withstand such losses.

If it were one of those smaller cultivation Planes, the sudden loss of so many Core Formation Cultivators would likely cause the entire Plane's immortal path heritage to wither away.