Chapter 0388 – One Night

In the blink of an eye, a massive number of beast corpses had vanished. Even though countless fierce beasts fell with every passing moment, the number of corpses on the battlefield showed no sign of increasing. On the contrary, they were rapidly disappearing.

Even the blood that had soaked the battlefield was vanishing along with them.

Fierce beasts collapsed one after another, yet their corpses simply failed to accumulate. Instead, they kept disappearing without a trace. In just moments, it became clear that a large number of corpses were being absorbed—sucked into the earth.

Some even witnessed it with their own eyes: the body of a fierce beast had barely hit the ground before it eerily sank into the earth, as if the ground itself were some kind of demonic entity capable of devouring all things, including the dead.

Of course, it wasn't the earth that was devouring the corpses.

It was the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower, which had just burrowed underground.

After fusing with that mysterious spiritual pearl, the Hongmeng Heavenly Emperor Tower had naturally developed a chaotic space, a chaotic world within it. Although this made further evolution and advancement more difficult, it also granted the tower the terrifying ability to devour all things, with no exceptions. Mountains, rivers, plants, even the sun and moon could be swallowed and broken down into primordial chaos energy, returning everything to its origin.

This chaotic energy would then be used to nourish the internal world of the tower, giving birth to new forms within it.

The corpses on the battlefield naturally fell within the scope of things that could be refined. The vitality, blood essence, and power contained within the flesh of these beasts were incredibly nourishing for the tower and its inner world.

That said, Yi Tianxing didn't devour the corpses in their entirety.

Any usable materials—fur, bones, or anything suitable for crafting—were separated out first, untouched by the chaos energy. These were stored directly in the tower's inner space for future use.

The chaotic space acted like a primordial smelting furnace, capable of refining all things from heaven and earth and separating out anything useful to the user.

In no time at all, countless precious materials piled up like mountains within the tower.

Even with the blood and flesh being refined, one could still see the chaos energy surging wildly, continuously expanding outward at a frightening pace. With every breath, it grew.

Not just the chaotic space—the fourteen internal worlds of the tower were expanding as well.

At the edges of the internal world, one could see new land forming out of thin air, hills turning into mountains, streams into rivers. It was a process of instant evolution and transformation.

Every breath saw thousands upon thousands of beast corpses being refined.

These beasts were brimming with blood essence and power, their flesh filled with energy. The amount of energy involved was staggering—equivalent to refining tens of thousands of cultivators.

"My Lord's life-bound treasure is truly extraordinary, capable of devouring the remains of tens of thousands of fierce beasts. But I imagine my Lord does not wish to reveal too much about this treasure. There must be profound mysteries involved."

Jia Xu had witnessed with his own eyes Yi Tianxing bury the tower underground. Coupled with the sudden disappearance of countless corpses, it was obvious what was happening. Though it was his first time seeing this treasure, he could feel the terrifying depth of its aura.

But Jia Xu understood well: a monarch must never reveal all his cards. Especially not such a foundational secret.

These are a monarch's true reserves, their trump cards. In critical moments, they must unleash world-shaking power to determine the fate of kingdoms.

The more cards a monarch holds, the greater their chances of survival. If a ruler could be fully understood, inside and out, they would become vulnerable to targeted attacks—and die without even knowing why.

A true emperor must be unfathomable, impossible to predict.

Even though Jia Xu suspected the tower's role, he made no effort to probe further. His gaze remained steady, his expression calm, keeping his thoughts strictly to himself.

"Kill!!"

"Fire!!"

"Quick! Bring up more bolts and arrows to the walls! The soldiers are waiting for fresh ammunition—we can't afford a single mistake!"

Crates of arrows and bolts were being rapidly hauled up the walls. Empty crates were brought down to ensure a steady supply of war materials to the frontline.

With over a hundred thousand troops fighting simultaneously, the arrows and bolts fired each second numbered in the thousands. Without the Universal Printing Machine, this level of consumption would have emptied their entire arsenal long ago. But thanks to it, arrows continued to be delivered without pause.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Some fierce beasts, wielding unique abilities, managed to charge through the rain of arrows and reach the walls. But they caused little chaos—soldiers struck them down with swords and spears, powerful weapons forged from the black scorpion blades once used by the Scorpion Tribe.

These long, deadly weapons could cleave horses in two. Now mass-produced by the Universal Printer and named Demonic Scorpion Warblades, they were devastatingly sharp and brutally effective.

Most beasts couldn't even reach the wall. Those few that did never made it far.

Although Xuanhuang Town did suffer casualties, the number was far lower than expected.

The battle raged on, from nightfall until sunrise. As the eastern sun began to rise, daylight finally broke across the battlefield.

They had fought for an entire night.

The beast tide seemed endless, their numbers overwhelming. So many had died or been slain that no one could count anymore. Yet no matter how many waves were cut down, another always followed—like endless fields of wheat regrowing after each harvest.

At first, the soldiers on the walls shouted orders and gave directions to the civilians.

But over time, no more words were needed. A glance, a gesture—that was enough for them to work together in perfect rhythm.

Soldiers rotated in pairs: one group fought while the other rested. As soon as one group pulled back, another stepped in without pause, firing arrows without ceasing.

Those who stepped down would immediately take out spirit stones, absorbing the contained energy to replenish their own qi. Every moment was precious.

No one spoke.

They had become cold-blooded instruments of slaughter, shrouded in dense killing intent and murderous aura. If one could see it with the naked eye, the blood-red aura would have cloaked their entire bodies.

To ordinary people, this might seem overwhelming. Even cultivators often avoided such mass slaughter for fear of karmic entanglement. But this was the beginning of the Eternal Continent, an age of struggle between races and beasts. Here, such killing did not attract karma.

In fact, soldiers in the army received great benefits from it—the heavier their killing aura, the faster their cultivation advanced. This was the essence of the military cultivation methods.

"It's dawn!" Standing beside Yi Tianxing, Cai Yan softly whispered as she looked eastward. A red sun was rising.

This night had felt endless.

"Yes, it's dawn. But I fear the true danger is only beginning. Only a few second-tier King-rank beasts appeared throughout the night. That's clearly abnormal." Yi Tianxing took a deep breath, nodding.

Though the beast tide continued, there was a subtle shift—the number of beasts seemed to thin.

But this wasn't a sign of retreat. It was the calm before the storm—the feeling of an imminent catastrophe.

"Lai He!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

Lai He quickly appeared at Yi Tianxing's side.

"Take the men of the Gourmet Hall and prepare breakfast immediately. Deliver it to the walls. After fighting all night, the soldiers and civilians are at their limit. A good meal will help them recover. We can't let them go hungry while fighting."

"You are absolutely right, my lord! We'll start at once. If I can't feed our warriors after a night of slaughter, then I don't deserve my position!"

Lai He slapped his chest proudly.

"Gourmet Hall brothers, follow me!"

With a shout, the Gourmet Hall's chefs withdrew from the walls. Don't be fooled by their role as cooks—they'd been fighting on the walls all night alongside everyone else. Now, hearing the call, they laid down their bows, picked up their kitchen knives, and got to work.

Huge cauldrons were lit.

The meat of the fierce beasts served as excellent ingredients. No one cared about flavor now—they chopped it, boiled it, and made porridge. The goal was speed first, taste second.

Food was cooked rapidly and packed into bamboo lunchboxes—meat porridge, rice, side dishes. Mountains of lunchboxes quickly formed, resembling ancient battlefield rations—only far tastier and far more nourishing, especially with fierce beast meat as the main ingredient.

Soon, the lunchboxes were being delivered to the walls.

Many of the town's women stepped up to help distribute the food, voluntarily and without being asked.