Even though those insects had been bound by the divine chains of the beautiful woman's technique and had fallen into a deep slumber, the Nascent Soul cultivators—including Han Li—could not help but feel their scalps go numb.
In normal times, such terrifying insects would have to be eradicated. But in these extraordinary times, things were different. If they could be properly controlled, they would become the enemy's greatest nightmare. However, the difficulty of controlling them appeared extremely high. Likely, only the slumbering Star-Emperor had the means to restrain such beings.
Even if they couldn't be controlled, using them as a last resort to perish along with the enemy wouldn't be a bad idea. But if there were a chance for total control, this Hall Master of the Insect Pavilion, who was closely related to the Star-Emperor, might have the chance to become a legendary existence that the Star-Sea world could never surpass.
In the history of the Star-Sea world, there had never been such horrific insects. To be this terrifying in their larval stage... how horrific would they be once fully grown?
Likely, destroying a world would be well within their capabilities. No one doubted whether these forbidden insects had the ability to break through realms; it seemed as though as long as there was enough food, their numbers and level would explode. The only problem now was that no one dared to let them eat the demon corpses on the battlefield.
"Regardless, we have finally won this war!"
"Indeed. When I first saw so many enemies, I was wondering how we could possibly win. We couldn't match their numbers, and we didn't have the advantage in individual strength."
"Our world has been weak for too long. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators could dominate an entire region; we simply couldn't compare to a world like the Demon Realm."
"Fortunately, the Star-Emperor completed the unification of the Star-Sea world. He opened up the exchange rights for techniques, resources, and the treasury, and specifically created super arrays and formation plates. Otherwise, in the torrent of the demon army, we would have been nothing more than prey to be slaughtered at will."
"It is the fortune of the Star-Sea, our fortune, and the fortune of all living beings that such a bold Sovereign was born. Otherwise, we would not only be mired in mutual slaughter and constant fear, but we would have been a pile of loose sand that crumbled at the first strike of an external world."
Amidst the fires of war and upon mountains of corpses, the survivors enjoyed the thrill of life, chatting about their thoughts. A light of hope, the likes of which they had never dared to harbor before, shone in their eyes.
Perhaps this war had brought not only death, but also the hope of "life through death"—a rebirth through nirvana.
These people had mostly been leaders of their own regions or high-level members of sect forces. Their vision was different from that of ordinary people. They had lived long lives and seen much, allowing them to form basic judgments about the current situation and future trends of the Star-Sea world. They could see deeper things that many others could not.
Precisely because of this, what they saw was not just the massive consumption and death brought by this war. They saw a world being completely reborn through blood and fire.
Countless geniuses and warriors from different eras had experienced true baptism through blood and fire. Past conflicts and grudges were being set aside after this battle, replaced by unprecedented unity and cooperation. Everyone truly saw a larger world!
The Star-Sea world was merely a small corner of the vast universe. What was the point of mutual slaughter and self-weakening? Only by huddling together for warmth could they survive in the cruel universe!
They could even go a step further. Now that they knew external worlds could provide more resources, couldn't they find treasures, methods, and techniques that would allow them to continue breaking through? Whether through conquest or trade—especially trade—they could use their own advantages to produce more goods and trade for the things they needed.
This was the most fundamental change in needs and relationships. In the past, the killing in the Star-Sea world was primarily because resources were scarce and there were no other channels to obtain them. Competition had reached a white-hot stage, causing disgusting methods and the inherent evil in human nature to be provoked to the extreme.
But now, the entire logic had changed. The vast universe was the direction they now craved! Even if they temporarily lacked the ability to travel there in person, they could practice a craft to produce goods.
However, the key to all of this was that everything had to be guided by the current Star-Emperor. Aside from him, there was currently no one who could make everyone willingly submit and follow.
When they first merged into the Star-Sea Nine Domains, these leaders and high-level officials had harbored some concerns. They worried about being discarded once their usefulness ended, being marginalized, or having their resources snatched and their income reduced. They worried even more that after entering Qi Ping's control, they would be secretly assassinated and devoured for their essence.
Now, facts had proven that none of this had happened. Instead, they had gained access to techniques and cultivation resources that had been unattainable in the past. They even saw that resources could be vastly increased through efficient production rather than just through fighting! There were so many things that could be developed!
Aside from requiring them to follow the rules and research production technology, Qi Ping, the Star-Emperor, didn't bother them at all. Thus, their freedom had increased, their harvests were greater, and they didn't have to worry about being attacked by other cultivators while breaking through.
Who wouldn't love such a leader?
"This was an unprecedented crisis, but it was also a transformative baptism!"
"As long as we can fight for a path to immortality, then everything will have been worth it!"
An unprecedented light of hope and drive rose in the eyes of these Nascent Soul cultivators.
Soul Transformation—transforming the mortal into the divine. If the Gold Core Dao-Fruit was the first display of one's lifelong achievements, then Soul Transformation was the stage where those achievements were completely reshaped and matured. The gap between different foundations would become even wider.
For this reason, battles between Soul Transformation experts became even more treacherous and complex. Every person's abilities were pushed to their extreme, and fighting became increasingly dangerous; a single slip-up would result in total death.
And at this moment, on the Soul Transformation battlefield, there were not many cultivators from the Star-Sea world. In fact, there were very few!
There was the Golden Marrow Bee, which had merged the attributes of Yin-Yang, Five Elements, Life, and Space.
There was the Eight-Winged Pith-Immortal, which had reincarnated as a mayfly from a Void Refinement-level Time Insect. It had continuously broken through its bloodline limits and had finally awakened its memories. Although it was currently only at the Soul Transformation level, it already possessed most of its previous Void Refinement strength, along with the trait of having "one soul in multiple bodies," making its combat style incredibly diverse.
There was the Little Immortal Tiger, which could predict the future. Born to improve its own luck and increase the misfortune of its opponents, its combat strength under Qi Ping's training was also at the top tier.
However, the strongest among them was the Azure Dragon, Qing He, who had awakened the source bloodline power of the Azure Dragon Sacred Beast! After sacrificing its source Dragon Pearl for Qi Ping, its sacred bloodline power had undergone a second awakening. This was a power that even a Unity-stage Azure Dragon might not necessarily be able to awaken.