Chapter 284: Ancient Battlefield

There was only one Star Demon at the Early Star Constellation Stage here, yet Jiang Changkong had actually killed two.

Killing two Early Star Constellation Stage demons at once made him once again suspect that the person from the Immortal Palace who proposed the infiltration plan had a hole in their brain.

It would have been better to send someone at the Star Late Stage, or even the peak level, to directly suppress Jiang Changkong.

Of course, he also knew that was impossible.

Due to Huo Qinglan’s influence and the three families as allies, the Immortal Palace still didn’t dare to come directly to his doorstep.

Many people were watching Jiang Changkong closely, so directly moving against him was the least wise choice.

“I’m going to check out the Ancient Ruins. If there’s nothing else, you can level the territory. There aren’t any Star Demons here that are a match for you now.

Oh, and keep a close watch on this area. If any Star Demons dare to approach again, kill them all.”

After giving his instructions, Jiang Changkong transformed into an intangible ball of light and headed toward the sensed location.

Although it was a mediocre Ancient Ruins, there were still good things inside.

Then there was the matter of the Star Crystal Vein—he couldn’t feel the slightest bit of joy about it now.

A major harvest, three martial arts reaching perfection—that was something to celebrate.

But this was his territory, and the Star Stones in the Star Demons’ hands had been dug out from his mineral vein.

The Star Demons had also used an unknown amount of Star Crystals. Thinking about it this way, he couldn’t feel happy at all.

Even a Small Star Crystal Vein could yield tens of thousands of Star Crystals.

As for a large one… forget it, better not think about it. The more he thought, the more it pained him.

One day, he would flatten this place, and all the Star Crystals would be his!

He flew through the air, occasionally encountering Star Demons and killing them directly.

The Star Constellation-level Star Demons were already dead, and the other high-level Star Demons had all been killed. The remaining Star Demons nearby were all below high-level.

Lin Nanfeng dealing with the remaining Star Demons was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito—overkill.

Once Professor Yun and the others arrived, this place would basically be leveled.

Before long, Jiang Changkong arrived at his destination—a small hill that looked no different from any other.

He channeled Star Power into the stone again, and suddenly, the Void ahead rippled, emitting a faint golden light.

The golden light condensed into a gate. Holding the golden stone, Jiang Changkong flew into the golden gate.

After he entered, the golden gate dissipated.

As soon as he passed through the Star Gate, multicolored starlight transformed into various attacks, raining down upon him.

These attacks weren’t powerful and couldn’t even break his defense. The moment they touched him, they all scattered.

“Is this… an ancient battlefield?”

Jiang Changkong looked ahead—a vast expanse of land piled with various bones, some human-shaped, others beast-like. Multicolored starlight flew out from the bones, transforming into attacks.

Using the Divine Control Art, he separated the bones, only to find more skeletons beneath.

But these skeletons were somewhat different. Some parts were of different colors, emitting starlight.

“Is this Star Power dissipating? Pity, the spirit has already scattered completely. There’s only a bit of Star Power left, no ‘Essence, Qi, and Spirit’ anymore.”

Jiang Changkong felt a bit regretful. These skeletons, when alive, probably couldn’t compare to the corpses beside the Taiyin Star Stele in the Twisted Lands.

The entire battlefield was filled with corpses, stretching as far as the eye could see, forming a sea of bones.

Jiang Changkong flew through the air, sweeping the area with the Divine Control Art to investigate.

Hum—

Suddenly, a sharp sword light shot toward him, making Jiang Changkong take notice.

Star Power swept over it, dispersing the sword light. Using the Divine Control Art, Jiang Changkong separated the bones, revealing a broken sword.

“This broken sword is only a low-grade ninth-tier weapon, yet it can unleash a sword light that even I feel a slight threat from.”

Jiang Changkong pondered for a moment, then continued delving deeper with the Divine Control Art. He discovered that beneath the sea of bones lay the patterns of a Star Array.

With the Star Array’s enhancement, this sword light was the only thing that made him feel a hint of threat.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Jiang Changkong’s Star Power surged, striking the lines of the Star Array.

Boom!

The sea of bones trembled, skeletons shattered, revealing more of the Star Array’s pathways, crisscrossing and interwoven.

Yet, where the Star Power had struck, the Star Array’s pathways remained unchanged, showing no signs of damage.

“A Star Array like this has definitely surpassed the stellar level, and it’s only operating with a fraction of its power, barely functioning.”

Jiang Changkong’s gaze sharpened. Even without fully activating, his attack had been unable to shake it.

If it were to fully activate, he estimated he would have no way to deal with such a Star Array.

He refrained from recklessly testing it with his full strength—if it truly erupted, things would turn ugly.

Jiang Changkong continued to sweep the area with his Divine Control Art, occasionally deflecting sword lights, blade auras, and spear glints that flew toward him.

The white bones stretched endlessly, and as he ventured deeper, more and more colored bones appeared, while the attacks grew increasingly powerful.

After advancing for a few more minutes, still less than halfway through, a blade aura flew toward him, actually piercing his defenses.

Watching drops of blood roll down, Jiang Changkong’s expression grew grave.

His gaze shifted forward. Though the horizon remained out of sight, he spotted a gleaming golden skeleton.

Its entire body was golden, not faded to white, and no Star Power leaked from it.

“This skeleton—who knows what level its owner reached in life.”

Based solely on the color of the bones, Jiang Changkong couldn’t determine.

But to remain here, with the skeleton intact and the power within the bones undispersed, its owner must have been a Top-Rank Martial Artist in life.

Moreover, even after sweeping with his Divine Control Art, he still hadn’t found the endpoint of the Star Array.

This was a massive Star Array!

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Changkong shifted his scanning direction. This place was boundless—if the path ahead was blocked, there were still the left and right sides.

He believed the old Star Demon had done the same.

It was normal to find nothing here. The old Star Demon had come more than once, and any good items would have long been taken.

Still, he hadn’t found anything particularly valuable in the old Star Demon’s Spatial Equipment either.

Blade auras continued to fly toward him. After deflecting them, Jiang Changkong collected the fragments beneath.

Though they were only broken pieces, they were still of ninth-tier low-grade quality.

If he took them all out, perhaps they could be reforged into ninth-tier weapons or something similar.

And so, Jiang Changkong continued his search. After half an hour, he finally stopped.

Using his Divine Control Art to part the bones, he uncovered a skeleton inscribed with Star Script.

Jiang Changkong’s expression shifted slightly as he read the Star Script. “Could this be related to the War Palace?”

The Star Script described how a Power Runes cultivator had set up a devastating killing array, devouring the flesh and blood of countless cultivators to enhance themselves.

This was a battlefield, or rather, a slaughterhouse. The Power Runes cultivator absorbed the flesh and blood of these cultivators to refine their Power Pattern War Body.

Jiang Changkong glanced at the endless battlefield, his emotions complex.

He admired the strength of this person, who had managed to trap and kill so many Martial Artists—at least at the stellar level.

But if it were solely for the sake of improvement, slaughtering others without reason—he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

Setting the skeleton aside, Jiang Changkong continued his search. Before long, he found more skeletons inscribed with Star Script.

Retrieving the bones, he found this time they contained nothing but vicious curses—wishing the Power Pattern War Body cultivator a miserable death.

Discarding the bones, Jiang Changkong saw no reason to argue with a skeleton.

“Hmm? What is that? How could it survive here?”

Jiang Changkong’s gaze sharpened as he looked ahead. A gray sapling was rooted in the sea of bones, absorbing starlight.

Soaring through the air, Jiang Changkong had just touched the sapling when a powerful recoil force abruptly pushed him back several steps.

Slightly startled, he used the Divine Control Art to separate the bones beneath, revealing a corpse still bearing flesh and blood—the sapling had grown from it.

A surge of vibrant life force emanated outward, causing Jiang Changkong’s expression to shift. He watched the corpse warily, instantly channeling his internal energy to its peak.

There was still life force within it!