I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 265 - 263: Attaining the Dao on the Battlefield
The number of living Star Beasts visibly decreased, while the corpses on the ground piled up thicker and thicker, trampled into meat patties by the Star Beasts from behind.
With fewer Star Beasts, Li Xing no longer frequently changed her hand gestures, allowing the Great Array to operate automatically.
Just as she thought the beast tide was about to end, snow fog rose from the horizon in the distance, and a rumbling tremor came from the ground, as if a large group of Star Beasts were approaching.
Li Xing frowned, extending her Divine Sense to investigate, and the result shocked her immensely.
A new batch of Ice Plain Star Beasts had arrived, no fewer in number than the previous wave, and all were of a particularly fierce and violent species.
The most troublesome for Li Xing was that each of these Star Beasts had blood-red eyes, their auras surging, and even their bodies were much larger than before, clearly parasitized by the three-eyed insect and in a berserk battle state.
The warriors of the Fourth Army also noticed something amiss, drawing their weapons and leaping onto the meat wall, ready for a new round of combat.
The Major General of the Fourth Army, Sun Qing, was the commander of the Star Beast battlefield. Since learning that Li Xing was the one who had saved them, she no longer regarded Li Xing as a student but placed her on par with the Fourth Army’s battlefield commanders, speaking with reverence.
"Master Li, the next wave of the beast tide is about to begin. Please rest while we take over here!"
"You all step back and don’t interfere with me. I’ll speak up when I can’t hold on."
Li Xing’s tone was firm, leaving no room for Sun Qing to argue. Sun Qing hesitated for a while but finally succumbed to Li Xing’s strong presence, continuing to order her men to protect Li Xing, while she led her team to eliminate the Star Beasts scattered within the defensive line.
The berserk Star Beasts moved much faster than ordinary ones, quickly entering the range of the Array. Li Xing changed her hand gestures again, hiding the Killing Array in the fog. Multiple Reflection Arrays were activated, drawing all the Star Beasts into the Thousand Leaf Execution Array’s domain.
Unlike ordinary Star Beasts, berserk Star Beasts defied the instincts of wild animals, fearing neither pain nor death. Even if their heads were shattered by Glazed Pearls, their bodies could still, under the control of the three-eyed insect, launch powerful attacks until the energy in their Crystal Stones was exhausted.
Furthermore, the combat style of berserk Star Beasts was also vastly different from ordinary ones, seemingly controlled by an external force, orderly and unrushed.
When ordinary Star Beasts entered the array, they attacked chaotically out of fear, even killing each other. But berserk Star Beasts did not.
When berserk Star Beasts entered the array, they attacked the array’s edges methodically. The attacks of a few Star Beasts might not have much effect, but when tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands acted simultaneously and the attack was reflected and enhanced by the array, it inevitably hindered the operation of Array Pearls.
Whenever an Array Pearl paused, causing a slight fluctuation in the Great Array, the berserk Star Beasts would seize that weakness and attack frantically.
Fortunately, Li Xing’s Divine Sense was strong enough. After experiencing such incidents a few times, she understood the intention of the berserk Star Beasts and transferred the Array Pearls to a deeper layer of the Illusion Array.
To quickly resolve these berserk Star Beasts, Li Xing manipulated the Glazed Pearls, specifically targeting the Star Beasts’ Crystal Stones. As long as the Crystal Stones were shattered, the three-eyed insects would lose their energy source, and even if the Star Beasts’ bodies were intact, they would collapse immediately.
Upon the host’s death, the three-eyed insects naturally crawled out to escape, but within Li Xing’s Great Array, the invisibility buff of the three-eyed insects was of no advantage at all. They were struck by the Glazed Pearls, their bodies shattered, turning to debris and disappearing amidst the Star Beasts’ corpses.
Li Xing focused entirely on the Great Array, gradually immersing herself in a mysterious, profound state. The two Nascent Soul entities in her Dantian were more active than ever.
Spiritual Energy Balls of various colors swirled into Li Xing’s body, each absorbed by a Nascent Soul, and the aura surrounding Li Xing quickened its growth.
Li Xing’s body felt very tired. Since she began cultivating the Eternal Green Technique, she seldom experienced this level of fatigue. But at this moment, her spirit was remarkably good, with her Divine Sense more active and powerful than ever.
Unconsciously, Li Xing delved into this peculiar sensation. Her body continued to operate the Great Array, but her consciousness grew lighter and lighter, gradually detaching from her body and floating into the air.
She saw the teachers of Harssas, Qingtian, Ah Xiao, Qi Ming, the bustling people within the fortress, the distant glacial mountains, and even further, the forests and deserts, the gobi and oceans.
She saw a mother beast licking its newly born cub in the forest, a mother in a town cradling her infant... the life, old age, illness, and death of all creatures on the Qianyuan Continent played out before her eyes like countless fast-forward silent films.
Whether Star Beasts or humans, all were living creatures in this world. The instinct to survive had no right or wrong.
Looking at the countless Star Beast corpses, a sense of regret inexplicably rose in Li Xing’s heart. Her always determined gaze showed confusion and weakness, and the hand gestures controlling the Great Array slowed down.
The berserk Star Beasts within the array sensed Li Xing’s change and intensified their attacks, showing signs of the Great Array’s collapse.
As Li Xing was about to be overwhelmed by negative emotions such as compassion and guilt, the colorful Nascent Soul suddenly emitted a mesmerizing light, a stream of cool Spiritual Energy piercing into her spiritual platform, startling her chaotic consciousness wide awake.
Upon regaining her senses, Li Xing felt a burst of fear, nearly losing herself in the Heart Demon’s illusion and disturbing her Dao heart.
For the first time experiencing a beast tide personally, with millions of Star Beasts dying by her hand, it was impossible for Li Xing to feel nothing.
Unexpectedly, that slight compassion and reluctance were magnified by the Heart Demon, almost causing her to lose control and be devoured by beasts.
All life in the world is equal; good and evil originate from the same source. Where there is good, there is evil. As long as one side exists, the other side will never disappear.
Good is Dao, evil is also Dao. Saving is Dao, killing is also Dao. Killing one side means saving the other. Good and evil cycle, never-ending. All things are devoid of self; even here is chaos.
Since not killing means not saving, today, she will use killing to prove the Dao and return to selflessness!
After breaking through her Heart Demon’s barrier, Li Xing’s gaze became incredibly determined, with her aura surging. The power of the Thousand Leaf Execution Array increased significantly.
The Star Beasts that had been ready to counter-attack were completely subdued by the suddenly increased Glazed Leaves, dying in the Great Array like toppled crops.
————-
Meditating in the Immortal Mansion, Immortal Monarch Li Zhan suddenly opened his eyes, his face showing barely concealed delight.
"Merely at the Nascent Soul stage, yet she’s already touched the threshold of the Great Dao? Not bad, not bad—truly a descendant of the Li Family!"
If all goes as expected, this little girl will soon ascend to the upper realm and thank him, her ancestor.
Two hours later, when the last Ice and Snow Fierce Bear was pierced through the Crystal Stone by its own ice cone and fell dead, the beast tide at the Northern Fortress finally ended with a complete victory for humanity.
As the dense fog dissipated, Li Xing reappeared before everyone. Sun Qing ran excitedly towards her but suddenly stopped ten meters away.
This person still looked slender and frail, but the aura she exuded was terrifyingly sharp. For a moment, Sun Qing felt as if she were facing a Divine Beast from the Primordial times, and any slight movement from her would lead to being devoured.
Noticing Sun Qing’s fear, Li Xing quickly reined in her aura, returning to her usual gentle and harmless demeanor, smiling at Sun Qing, "Lieutenant General Sun, please instruct someone to clean the battlefield."
"Oh, oh, okay! Master Li, you’ve worked hard. Rest assured, the Fourth Army will not forget your contributions. Once the tally is completed, the Crystal Stones that belong to you will be delivered by a dedicated individual."
Sun Qing’s attitude toward Li Xing was one of utmost respect, not only her but all the warriors who witnessed Li Xing’s magnificence looked at her with admiration, clearing a path for her as if parting the sea for Moses.
Li Xing calmly retracted her gaze from another place, as if she hadn’t seen anything, and walked towards the gathering location.
