I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

After several hours of rapid march, the seven allied forces arrived at a very wide plain in the heart of Jingu Plain.

This place offers a wide view and is indefensible, making it ideal for large-scale battles between cultivator legions.

Almost at the same time that the allied forces finished lining up, a dark mass of figures appeared on the opposite horizon.

The demonic cultivators' ranks were equally large, numbering no less than the allied forces, and they marched in with overwhelming force.

Unlike the relatively uniform attire of the seven factions (though there are differences, they are still distinguishable), the attire of the demonic path is colorful and bizarre.

Besides the distinctive attire of the disciples of the six major demonic sects—Ghost Spirit Sect, Joyful Union Sect, Spirit Control Sect, Heavenly Fiend Sect, Demon Flame Sect, and Thousand Illusions Sect—there were also many demonic cultivators who clearly came from numerous smaller sects, families, or even independent cultivators affiliated with the six major demonic sects.

Clearly, taking advantage of the invasion of the six major demonic sects, these forces have also joined in, intending to get a share of the spoils in this feast of dividing up the resources of the Yue Kingdom.

The two sides faced each other from a distance of several hundred feet. The air was thick with intense killing intent and the hissing sound of colliding spiritual pressure.

Almost simultaneously, the formation mages of both sides activated their formations.

On the side of the seven-faction allied forces, array flags lit up one after another, and a huge defensive light shield covering an area of ​​about one mile in radius, flowing with spiritual light of cyan, gold and blue, quickly rose up.

It enveloped thousands of cultivators.

The opposing demonic forces also shimmered with light, raising a dark red defensive array covered in eerie runes.

In such large-scale battles, the standard procedure is to first activate defensive formations. This not only helps to withstand the enemy's initial concentrated fire but also provides some protection for the cultivators inside, preventing them from being easily killed by the aftershocks of battles between high-level cultivators.

Sure enough, as soon as the formation stabilized, seven or eight Core Formation cultivators in the sky took the lead! With a flash, they broke out of the range of their own formation and engaged in battle in the vast airspace between the two camps!

In an instant, the sky and clouds changed color!

Various magical treasures emitted spiritual light that shot into the sky, accompanied by thunder and lightning, howling winds, and a mix of flames and frost, with faint sounds of ghosts wailing and demons howling.

The power of the battle between Core Formation cultivators was earth-shattering. If it weren't for the light shield of the great array below, the residual energy and terrifying spiritual pressure alone would have been enough to shake the minds of many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Qi Refining disciples might have been seriously injured.

Below, the commanders of both sides issued attack orders almost simultaneously!

"attack!"

Thousands of cultivators shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the surrounding area.

The next moment, thousands of magical artifacts and talismans transformed into a colorful torrent, like two opposing meteor showers, spanning hundreds of feet, and collided violently in the airspace between the two camps!

"Boom! Clang! Snap!"

Deafening explosions, the clattering of magical artifacts, the cracking of protective shields, the activation of talismans... all rang out in a cacophony, mixed with the roars and shouts of the cultivators.

Various colored lights flashed and disappeared wildly, making the sky look bizarre and colorful. The chaotic flow of spiritual energy swept wildly, blowing sand and stones flying from the ground.

From time to time, fragments of magical artifacts, some dimly lit and others broken, fell from the sky, landing on the open ground between the two formations with dull thuds. Some unlucky cultivators, due to poor control or low-grade artifacts, suffered damage during the clashes, groaning and coughing up blood.

Zhou Yuan, standing in the Yellow Maple Valley team, followed orders and summoned an ordinary longsword magic weapon. He mingled with his own attack torrent and bombarded the direction of the opposing demonic formation as if it were a routine task.

He diverted a portion of his consciousness to calmly observe the entire battlefield.

As the fight went on, his initially tense mind gradually relaxed, and he even felt a sense of absurdity.

He discovered that in this kind of "positional warfare" where long-range magical artifacts clash and rely on a large array, as long as he doesn't rush out recklessly and stays inside the array, the actual risk factor is extremely low!

Most of the enemy's attacks were intercepted and neutralized by our own large formation and our own dense array of magical artifacts.

He only needed to deal with the gazes of the supervising monks and make sure his "attack" looked powerful.

"This battle... is like setting off fireworks from a distance," Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

Such large-scale battles are more like both sides flexing their muscles, expending resources, and testing each other's limits; the real life-or-death struggles usually take place elsewhere.

This seemingly fierce "battle" lasted from the afternoon until the sun began to set and the sky gradually darkened.

The Core Formation cultivators on both sides fought fiercely in the air, but neither side was clearly going all out; it was more of a show of force and a check on each other.

The clashes between the magical artifacts below gradually thinned out, and both sides showed signs of fatigue.

Finally, as the sun completely set and night enveloped the wasteland, the signal to retreat rang out simultaneously from both camps.

The Core Formation cultivators in the sky were the first to break away and return to their own formation. The attacks below also quickly ceased.

With tacit understanding, both sides began to slowly retreat, maintaining their formation, and disappeared into the vast night.

The scene left behind only a mess and lingering spiritual energy in the air, proving that a battle involving thousands of people had just taken place here.

Zhou Yuan followed the main force and successfully returned to the Jinguyuan camp.

After this battle, he gained a more intuitive understanding of the patterns of frontline warfare.

The border didn't seem to be as dangerously perilous as he had originally imagined, where he was constantly on the edge of a knife.

At least, this kind of "big battle" relying on the grand formation is more like a war of attrition and a war of intimidation, posing a limited direct threat to individual cultivators.

Of course, he also understood.

The real danger often lies hidden beneath the surface of a "major fight".

After returning to the stone house, Zhou Yuan inquired about some "common sense" about the front lines from a fellow disciple who seemed more mature.

Sure enough, the other party told him that a "big fight" like today, where both sides set up their formations, is actually rare; more often, it's a "small fight."

The term "small-scale fighting" refers to the fact that neither side assembles on a large scale, but instead sends out small groups of cultivators to penetrate deep into the central area of ​​Jingu Plain to carry out tasks such as reconnaissance, harassment, hunting, and vying for resource points.

These small-scale skirmishes, breaking free from the protection of the main formation, are the primary source of casualties on the front lines.

There, without the absolute protection of formations, the terrain is complex, and encounters are frequent. Even if your cultivation level is significantly higher, you may still be surrounded by multiple enemies or fall into a trap. Life and death often hang in the balance in an instant.

"Small battles" are usually divided into two periods. During the day, it is mainly the stage for Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators. To avoid the battle from spreading too much and becoming too obvious a target, Core Formation cultivators on both sides often tacitly choose to move out at night to conduct higher-level contests or hunts.

Having learned all this, Zhou Yuan felt even more at ease.

For him, if he were really sent out to participate in "small battles", he would be able to rely on his divine sense far exceeding that of his peers, his instantaneous Thousand Blade Technique, his powerful single-target attacks (Golden Sword Breaker, Black Dragon Steal), his strange divine sense attacks (Twelve Divine Court Strikes), and the almost unlimited continuous combat ability brought by his equipment slots.

Even if he encountered four or five demonic cultivators of the same level, he was confident that he could protect himself.

They even managed to turn the tables and win.

While dangers exist, they are not uncontrollable.

……

The next morning.

Zhou Yuan did not receive any specific patrol or attack missions.

He left the stone house and decided to take advantage of this rare free time to visit a special place within the camp—the front-line market.

After making inquiries, he arrived at a relatively open, spontaneously formed area in the northwest corner of the camp.

There are no fixed shops here, only rows of simple stalls, or simply a piece of animal skin or a piece of cloth spread on the ground with various items on it.

The monks moved among them, their voices constantly mingling as they bargained.

Although the environment was simple and far less orderly than the market in Huangfeng Valley or Tianxing Sect of Yuanwu Kingdom, the "goods" here caught Zhou Yuan's eye. The variety of goods was even more surprising.

That makes sense when you think about it.

The Golden Drum Plain camp gathered thousands of cultivators from the seven sects of the Yue Kingdom, from different sects and regions. Each of them may have obtained some spoils, materials, pills, magic weapon fragments, etc. that they could not use or urgently needed to convert into cash in previous battles, explorations or missions.

In addition, being on the front lines and facing difficulties in resupply, these temporary markets came into being, a mixed bag of people, but also hiding hidden talents.

Zhou Yuan strolled leisurely among the stalls with the mindset of treasure hunting and information gathering. His eyes swept over various ores, herbs, monster materials, broken magical artifacts, jade slips, talismans...

Suddenly, he stopped in front of an inconspicuous stall.

The stall owner was a burly, resolute-looking young male cultivator carrying a sheathless giant sword. Judging from his attire, he was a disciple of the Giant Sword Sect, and his cultivation level was also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

The stall didn't have much on it: a few pieces of ore, some monster bones, and a few bottles of pills. It looked quite ordinary.

But Zhou Yuan's gaze was firmly fixed on a strange mineral, about the size of a fist, placed in a corner, shimmering with tiny silver specks, as if a miniature starry sky had been frozen within it!

Starry sky sand!

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he almost cried out!

This is precisely a crucial and relatively rare auxiliary spiritual material needed to repair the ancient teleportation array!

Zhou Yuan had checked the information on teleportation array repair and found that this object was clearly recorded. It was mainly used to stabilize and guide the spatial coordinates during teleportation to prevent teleportation deviations.

Although the amount in front of him wasn't very large, according to Zhou Yuan's judgment, it should be more than enough to repair the slightly damaged ancient teleportation array!

It's really hard to find a place to break through the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it!

He was worried about how to collect these rare materials, but he didn't expect to encounter one of them on his first visit to the front-line market!

"What a pleasant surprise!"

Zhou Yuanqiang suppressed his excitement, maintaining a calm expression. He squatted down, casually picked up a piece of ordinary iron ore, examined it, and then "casually" pointed to the piece of starry sand, asking:

"Senior brother, this stone is quite peculiar. May I ask what it is and how much it is valued?"

The young man from the Giant Sword Sect glanced at Zhou Yuan, and seeing that he was also a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, his attitude was relatively calm: "This is called 'Starshine Stone,' produced from certain special mineral veins in the far west. It is said to be somewhat useful for certain special formations or weapon refining."

I acquired it by chance, and I'm not entirely sure of its exact value. If you're interested, please give me a price.

He clearly didn't fully understand the true value and name of "Starry Sky Sand," only regarding it as a somewhat special refining material.

Zhou Yuan was secretly pleased, but he didn't want to appear too eager, lest the other party raise the price on the spot.

He picked up the "Starshine Stone," examined it carefully, weighed it in his hand, and pondered for a moment before saying, "This stone does indeed contain a trace of spatial attribute, which is quite rare. However, its quantity is limited, and its use is rather unorthodox. How about this, I happen to be researching an ancient formation, which might come in handy. 1300 spirit stones, what do you think, Senior Brother?"

The young cultivator frowned.

He clearly felt that the price was lower than he had expected.

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