Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

Ten minutes ago, at Xiaoqingshan Villa.

Spiritual energy poured into the study from all directions; Shen Bai's breakthrough had reached its final stage.

The blood and energy in the body merge and are refined into strands of more solid and sharp true energy, which circulates throughout the body's meridians.

The mist-like spiritual energy in the dantian was compressed and condensed under the pressure of the cyclone. A drop of liquid spiritual energy formed at the center of the vortex, followed by a second and a third drop, like dew gathering into a stream.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the scattered spiritual power grew to its limit, and a certain attribute imprinted deep within the soul awakened. The spiritual power, mixed with the supernatural, left the body and merged into the surrounding space.

The three barriers broke through simultaneously, and then converged at the same time.

Shen Bai opened his eyes, and all three paths had already crossed the threshold of the second stage.

In the path of body refinement, true qi is released outwards, blood and qi flow like smoke, and the body becomes as hard as iron; this is the acquired realm.

The path of Qi Refining involves condensing spiritual energy into liquid, transforming it into a swirling sea, and the initial emergence of divine consciousness—this is the Foundation Establishment Realm.

The path of refining the spirit leads to spiritual perfection, a mind that reaches the spiritual platform, and supernatural powers that naturally manifest—this is the awakening realm.

The three forces within him operated independently yet resonated with each other, giving him a foundation far deeper than that of a single cultivator.

  

Shen Bai glanced at the time. More than an hour had passed since the spiritual energy concentration level was increased. Last time, it only took half an hour to break through to the first level, but this time it took even longer.

He saw the red dot with the crack on the big screen, and an idea struck him.

"Xiao Cheng, report on the crack situation."

Xiao Cheng's voice rang in his mind, carrying an urgency he had never heard before:

"Master, all of the tens of thousands of rifts around the world have been opened. A total of 273,000 apprentice-level monsters, 51,000 first-tier monsters, and 1,200 second-tier monsters have been discovered."

"Currently, there are more than a dozen battlefields where mid-tier Tier 2 monsters have appeared, with the highest being Tier 2 Level 6 in two locations—the western suburban mine where Instructor Liu Feng is located, and the Hecheng field battlefield where Fang Yan is located."

Shen Bai remained silent, the data swirling in his mind, quickly transforming into a judgment: the casualty rate of this invasion would be very high.

"How are the evolution points boosted?"

"As per your instructions, we have temporarily boosted the combat power of regular members in near-death states on hundreds of battlefields. Reserve members do not have Apostle panels and cannot be covered. A total of 46120 evolution points have been consumed. We are currently still monitoring the dynamics of various battlefields, and our computing power has reached its limit."

Shen Bai remained silent for a moment.

The battlefield is ever-changing, and Xiao Cheng's computing power alone cannot simulate all possibilities. The current situation is still far from optimistic.

"Little Orange, prioritize supplying evolution points to the second-tier battlefield. Under no circumstances can we allow high-level monsters to collapse more battle lines."

"I will personally go to the battlefield in Hecheng."

Liu Feng is at the western suburbs mine; he can be trusted. The other second-tier, sixth-level demon is in He City; he'll handle that.

Shen Bai glanced at the teleportation function in the corner of the panel. When this function was added, besides logistics, another major purpose was wartime teleportation.

However, teleporting living beings requires locking spatial coordinates in advance, and the cost is more than ten times that of teleporting inanimate objects. It is not necessary to activate it unless it is absolutely necessary.

He glanced at his balance and didn't hesitate.

"Activate biological teleportation, teleportation destination: Hecheng Field Battlefield."

The system deducted evolution points, and a ring of pale golden light appeared beneath his feet, spreading outwards from where he stood, like a drop of ink falling into still water, quickly covering the entire study. The moment the golden light reached the edge, his figure abruptly contracted into a thin line and disappeared from the spot.

Hecheng, a battlefield in the fields.

The dark red light from the rifts dyed the entire battlefield an eerie crimson, and the smell of gunpowder and burning flesh mingled together and assaulted the senses.

The moment Shen Bai landed, he glanced at the battlefield.

Dozens of monsters were scattered in front of the rift, and two Dawn team members were fighting alongside seven Bureau combatants in turns, while the outer emergency forces provided long-range fire support to seal it off.

In the distance, a boy in a gray combat uniform lay in the mud, his body pierced through, and he was no longer breathing.

He looked at Meng Xing, his jaw slightly clenched.

Further away, several seriously wounded team members lay on the ground. A Tier 2, Level 6 Sky-Splitting Demon Bat was raising its claws to pounce on one of the Dawn team members.

He was late.

But it's not too late yet.

Shen Bai's gaze locked onto the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat, and he raised his hand to grasp the dragon-patterned battle halberd on his back, his five fingers clenching tightly.

Blood, spiritual energy, and mental energy surged into the halberd, converging into a pale golden wave that circled the gilded dragon pattern.

The halberd suddenly flew out of his hand, tearing through the night sky with a shockwave, tracing a straight line in the dark red light of the rift, and piercing into the root of the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat's left wing.

The halberd tip pierced the wing membrane and wedged into the bone. With its remaining force, it dragged the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat's body back half a foot before pinning it into the mud.

The Sky-Splitting Demon Bat's eyes narrowed abruptly, shifting away from Sun Chen and locking onto the figure emerging from the night.

As Shen Bai approached, the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat became increasingly agitated. It used its remaining wings to pound the ground, and with both legs working together, it forcefully pulled the bat wing out of the halberd. Black blood dripped from the broken wing root onto the ground.

Before the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat could even stand still, Shen Bai's figure had already swept from a distance to his front.

The Divine Meteor Technique operated silently, and an invisible mental shock entered the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat's sea of ​​consciousness. Its movements suddenly froze, and its dark golden pupils instantly blurred.

Shen Bai didn't give it time to react. A scorching wave of energy surged around him, and he slammed a fist wrapped in pale golden spiritual power into the head of the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat.

A dull cracking sound rang out, and the massive body of the Sky-Splitting Demon Bat was slammed away by the force, barely managing to stop after leaving a long trail in the mud.

Shen Bai reached out and grasped the halberd nailed to the ground. With a slight pull of his wrist, he pulled the halberd shaft out of the mud.

The Sky-Splitting Demon Bat rolled over in the distance, its feet supporting its weight, its eyes filled with a dark red bloodshot hue, and a dent appeared on the top of its head.

It let out a hoarse growl, raised its forelimbs, and its claws, coated in dark red demonic energy, slashed horizontally towards Shen Bai. The speed was still fast; the force of its attack tore through the night wind, bringing with it a foul, whistling sound.

Shen Bai turned to the side, his halberd held horizontally, the shaft colliding with the claws, sending sparks flying.

His heart sank slightly.

Even with such severe injuries, the monster still possesses such power; its foundation at the sixth level of the second tier is indeed far stronger than that of the first tier.

But he confirmed one thing.

This thing's explosive power is much weaker than before; it's only holding on by its remaining ferocity.

The Sky-Splitter Bat's throat swelled up again, and a dark red light gathered deep inside its mouth, growing brighter and brighter than ever before.

Demonic energy surged forth, and a dark red beam of light, enveloped in scorching and corrosive energy, crashed head-on into him.

Shen Bai did not dodge.

True energy surged from his meridians, rapidly covering his body—a thick, solid, and clearly patterned dark red armor took shape all over his body, from his shoulders to his chest to his waist and abdomen. Each armor plate was perfectly stacked together, gleaming with a metallic luster, fitting his contours like real battle armor.