What? You opened a resort on the battlefield of all races?

The darkness closed in behind them, blocking the whistling shadows of the vines.

The impact sound came through the seal, sounding much muffled.

As soon as Xu Tianlin's foot touched the ground, the hand that was gripping his arm slowly loosened its grip.

Shuoyang's shoulders slumped, and he fell straight down.

The halberd struck the stone steps with a clang, startling several nearby demon soldiers who opened their eyes.

"grown ups!"

Some people struggled to get up, but as soon as their knees straightened, they sat back down, leaning on the rubble.

Shuoyang waved his hand, wanting to say he was fine, but only managed to let out a heavy breath.

The strength that had propelled him forward and pulled him back had finally dissipated here.

He leaned against the stone steps, the broken shoulder armor brushing against his wound, causing his temple to twitch slightly in pain. He even had to try twice to pry the armor plate off.

Xu Tianlin sat down next to him and helped him up.

Shuoyang lowered his head and took a while to catch his breath.

The stone steps still held the warmth of the battle, which, when pressed against my back, only made me feel more tired.

The black stone tablet on the altar gleamed eerily.

Wisps of demonic energy seeped from between the rocks, slowly inhaled by the demonic soldiers gathered nearby. Their heavy breathing mingled with occasional, barely audible coughs.

Shuoyang closed his eyes and guided the scattered demonic energy back into his meridians little by little.

As he passed over each damaged spot, he would curl his fingers on the stone surface.

The blood seeped out beneath him, but gradually stopped spreading.

He only opened his eyes and turned to the side when the excruciating pain in his shoulder subsided slightly.

The young man from the same clan was leaning against a broken rock, his long sword had fallen apart, and his hands, hanging by his knees, were covered in blood.

When he looked over, the other person tried to straighten his back, but as soon as he moved, he frowned.

Shuoyang raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling him to stop making a fuss.

"Hey bro, what's your name?"

"Lin Tian".

Xu Tianlin answered quickly.

"Lin Tian?"

Shuoyang repeated it in a low voice, his brows furrowing slightly.

He ran through those familiar names in his mind, but he couldn't match the face in front of him.

Logically speaking, one should have heard some news about the combat strength of the Eternal Realm.

However, in recent years, the anchor points have been lost one after another, and they have been separated into different areas. Even sending a message has to risk being wiped out.

Perhaps this guy only grew up in recent years.

Shuoyang glanced at the other person's young face and quickly made a judgment in his mind.

In recent years, fewer and fewer of our clansmen have been able to come to the altar alive.

Occasionally, someone would escape from the fallen area, but they usually brought only bad news.

Now that there is suddenly another Eternal Realm expert, even though his name is unfamiliar, it is enough to make him feel more at ease.

No wonder they fight so hard in battle.

When I first led troops, I saw the enemy step into my territory and I wished I could grab a halberd and chase them to the ends of the earth.

I later realized that some battles cannot be won with just enthusiasm.

Shuoyang shifted his body and sat down next to Xu Tianlin, raising his still-mobile hand and gently patting his shoulder.

"Brother Lin Tian, ​​I admire your fighting spirit."

His tone softened.

"But the enemy is strong, so you need to change your fighting style."

Xu Tianlin raised his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together, as if he was somewhat unconvinced.

Shuoyang saw it all, but he wasn't angry.

He remembered the kindness shown to him by standing up for him and shielding him from the tree spirit at that moment.

That's why some things need to be made clearer.

"I know you hate these invaders."

Shuoyang looked outside the seal.

A hazy turquoise reflected on the black curtain, the shadows of branches swayed, and the tree-men that had just been cut down were now standing in neat rows again.

"But those treants are just a form of energy transformation of the opposing star lord; they can't be killed off completely."

"You cut off its arms, and it will grow back. You burn the whole body clean, but the roots are still underground, and the life energy still exists in the world."

He raised his blood-stained finger and tapped it against his chest.

"The wounds we sustained remain in our bodies."

Xu Tianlin's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

"What should we do then?"

He braced himself against the broken rock, leaned forward, and the anger he had just suppressed in his eyes resurfaced.

"Are we just going to watch those things run rampant here?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the swaying shadows of branches outside the darkness, his jaw clenching.

"Whose land was this originally? Now we have to be mindful of their attitude even when we go out!"

Shuoyang paused for a moment.

He stared at the young man's hand pointing outwards; the skin on the back of his hand was scraped and covered in mud, but his fingers were clenched tightly.

That sounded harsh.

But who can point out a single mistake?

Suddenly, a heavy blow came from outside the seal.

The darkness trembled slightly, and a wounded soldier behind the altar was awakened. He touched the weapon beside him and slowly relaxed his tense shoulders.

Shuoyang's gaze lingered there for a moment before he looked away.

"Circumstances are stronger than people."

He sighed.

"Our main objective now is to guard the anchor point and wait for the Demon Emperor to return."

Xu Tianlin looked at him but did not reply immediately.

Shuoyang braced himself against the stone steps to sit more steadily, and lowered his voice.

"With your strength at the Eternal Realm, the more gaps you hold, the fewer brothers behind you will die."

"If you perish outside, who will defend them the next time they encounter a powerful enemy?"

He spoke slowly, as if afraid that a harsh tone would hurt the still-intense spirit of this man.

Xu Tianlin's lips moved, as if he wanted to argue.

Shuoyang gently pressed down on his wrist, his palm icy cold and his grip light, but his gaze remained fixed on Xu Tianlin's face. Meeting those tired eyes, Xu Tianlin finally swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

At the end, Shuoyang reached out and patted Xu Tianlin on the shoulder again.

"Sometimes, even coming back alive is quite difficult."

Xu Tianlin lowered his eyes, staring at the bloodstains on his hands. After a while, he gave a muffled reply.

Shuoyang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that you're willing to listen.

He was also afraid that once his brother recovered from his injuries, he would grab his knife and rush out again to fight those logs to the death.

"Brother Lin Tian, ​​hurry up and recover from your injuries."

Shuoyang looked up at the stone tablet on the altar.

Demonic energy slowly flowed through the cracks in the monument, converging into the chains suspended above. With each impact, a ghostly light flashed across the chains.

"With the help of the anchor point, the Eternal Magic Domain should be able to hold out for another month."

He paused, and the glimmer of light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

"After that, another bloody battle ensued."

After saying this, he seemed to have used up all his strength to speak, leaned back on the stone steps, and closed his eyes.

Xu Tianlin turned his head to look at him.

The young demon king's face was still stained with blood, his temples were soaked with sweat, and his hand holding the halberd never completely loosened its grip.

Even though he had reached a point where he could catch his breath, he would still subconsciously tense his arms whenever the seal made a striking sound.

That weariness was etched into every movement he made.

He tried to direct the demonic energy to his left shoulder, but his brow suddenly furrowed. He paused for a moment before continuing.

The wisp of black mist lingered at the edge of the wound for a long time before finally seeping into the flesh, only bringing a slightly more even breathing.

He probably couldn't remember how long those days had lasted.

Hold the line, retreat, recover from your injuries, and then go out and fight again.

One after another.

Whenever the Demon Emperor's return is mentioned, he can straighten his back and add a little more strength to the halberd in his hand.

Xu Tianlin looked at it for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"recover?"

Shuoyang opened his eyes, thinking there was something he hadn't understood.

But then the other person slowly turned their head, scanned the area around the altar, and a rather strange expression appeared on their face.

"You're just going to recover on your own like this?"

Shuoyang was stunned.

Xu Tianlin raised his hand and pointed to the abyssal demons behind him who were breathing with their eyes closed.

They sat or lay down, forming a circle around the stone tablet. One demon soldier with a wooden spike embedded in his chest was carefully guiding the demonic energy he had absorbed toward his wound. He managed to gather a little bit of it, but then it mostly dispersed again.

Near the base of the monument, the other end of the demon was shrouded in black mist at the broken point, yet no new flesh and blood were growing back.

Some people hadn't even caught their breath before the pain interrupted them, forcing them to stop and gasp for air while clutching their wounds.

Xu Tianlin's finger paused in mid-air for a moment before finally landing on Shuoyang.

"You do that too?"

Shuoyang looked down at his shoulders.

The bleeding from the wound has barely stopped, but the damaged veins have only just begun to heal. Based on past experience, there's still a long road ahead.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

But Xu Tianlin's expression made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The look in their eyes was like that of a city dweller seeing a country person drinking water with their hands for the first time—surprise mixed with disbelief.

Shuoyang even subconsciously checked his own breathing technique.

Nothing went wrong.

"That's way too slow!!"

Xu Tianlin finally couldn't hold back any longer.

Shuoyang was completely dumbfounded.

He looked at the other person, and after a moment, managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Otherwise what?"

Shuoyang asked very seriously, his gaze even following Xu Tianlin's finger as he looked around again.

They would heal when injured and regenerate when their demonic energy was depleted; this was how everyone had always done it. He really couldn't understand what was so surprising about it.

Xu Tianlin didn't explain further, but instead reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll.

Shuoyang's gaze fell on the scroll, but before he could see the patterns on the surface clearly, he saw the other person stand up, supporting himself on the stone.

"Come with me."

"Where to...?"

Before Shuoyang could finish speaking, his arm was grabbed.

Xu Tianlin pulled him up, grabbed the edge of the roll with his other hand, and tore it cleanly.

The scroll split open, and the two figures vanished from the spot.