"Master, what treasures are in this Star River that caused two major advanced star domains to open a star battlefield here and fight for hundreds of thousands of years without stopping?" Nan Zun asked with some curiosity.
Zhang Fan did not answer Nan Zun's question directly. Instead, he pointed to the upstream of the Star River and said, "Look over there."
Nan Zun followed Zhang Fan's finger. At the upstream of the central Star River branch, there was a black mass, like a black hole, suspended in the cosmic starry sky. It seemed to be the source of the central Star River branch, and the central Star River flowed out of it.
It possessed a powerful gravitational force. When Nan Zun's gaze fell upon it, his heart skipped a beat, drawing him in. Yet, he sensed an immense threat from it.
This made Nan Zun confused. He asked, "Didn't you say this Star River is a branch of the central Star River? How can it flow out from there?"
"That is a dangerous place in this star zone, called the Dark Forest. It has similarities to black holes in celestial bodies, but it is countless times larger than a black hole. Inside, spacetime is chaotic, and it swallows countless substances from the universe. This Star River indeed flows from it, but this is not its origin."
Nan Zun finally understood. The chaotic spacetime in the Dark Forest connected to the central Star River of the universe at a certain point in space, thus a branch flowed out from the Dark Forest.
The Dark Forest devoured a large amount of cosmic matter. Scattered rare treasures in the starry sky, or battle weapons left behind by powerful cultivators, even corpses, were swallowed by the Dark Forest. Some remained within the Dark Forest, while others were washed out through this branch of the central Star River. To cultivators of the Nascent Soul stage, these were all treasures.
"For some reason, this Dark Forest gives me a feeling of extreme unease," Nan Zun said, staring at the black mass.
"Of course, it's dangerous," Zhang Fan chuckled. "The Dark Forest has condensed a large amount of dark matter from the universe, nurturing countless dark creatures within. Even powerful cultivators at the Void Return stage must tread carefully, as one wrong step could cost them their lives."
"Otherwise, why would a mere branch of the central Star River cause such a fierce war between two major advanced star domains? They are not fighting over this river, but over the treasures washed out from the Dark Forest by the river."
Zhang Fan, along with Nan Zun and the Blood Demon Flood Dragon, flew upstream along the central Star River to the war base where Nascent Soul stage cultivators gathered.
"Stop!"
About a million miles away from the war base, Zhang Fan and the other two were stopped.
They were intercepted by a team of ten Nascent Soul stage cultivators led by a Refinement God stage expert. The leader was a rather tall cultivator, his eyes fixed on the three of them with a calm coldness. He boomed, "Who are you and what business do you have?"
"We are from the Savage Star Domain and wish to join the Purple Cloud Star Domain and participate in the star battlefield," Nan Zun stepped forward and replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
"Savage Star Domain?" A flicker of surprise flashed in the leader's eyes. He could sense that all three were at the Nascent Soul stage, and one of them, a young man, had a cultivation base no weaker than his own, reaching the Refinement God stage. To possess such strength and hail from the Savage Star Domain was indeed unexpected.
It was known that many low-level star domains could not even gather three Nascent Soul stage cultivators. For instance, the Shattered Star Domain had only True Immortal Dongji as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator after Zhang Fan left.
"We naturally welcome those who wish to join the star battlefield. However, the first condition for entering the war base is to swear a Heavenly Dao oath as required," the leader stated.
"Naturally," Zhang Fan said. He had already known this. He promptly and readily swore the Heavenly Dao oath. The Blood Demon Flood Dragon and Nan Zun followed suit.
The content of the oath was simple, mainly to ensure the safety of the war base, the cultivators within, and to prevent enemy spies from infiltrating.
After all, this place gathered a large number of Nascent Soul stage cultivators from the Purple Cloud Star Domain. If enemy spies were to infiltrate, it would cause immense losses to the Purple Cloud Star Domain.
After swearing the oath, the team of Nascent Soul stage cultivators looked at Zhang Fan and his companions with increased warmth. Led by their leader, Zhang Fan and his group successfully entered the war base's territory.
The space within a million-mile radius of the war base was suppressed and frozen. Even cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage could not tear space here and had to fly slowly. Zhang Fan's gaze fell upon the massive war base, and he silently marveled. It seemed the Purple Cloud Star Domain truly attached great importance to this battlefield.
To be able to suppress such a vast expanse of space, this war base must be at least a treasure of the Great Dao level. This also suggested that there might be a Void Return stage expert stationed here.
Although called a war base, its area was larger than the entire Earth. Tens of thousands of Nascent Soul stage cultivators lived here, though over ninety-nine percent of them were only at the Primordial Spirit stage.
Along the way, Zhang Fan chatted with their leader and learned a great deal of information. The leader's name was Mu Shan, a cultivator in the middle stage of the Refinement God realm. He was directly under the Purple Cloud Star Domain and thus undertook patrol duties.
Among those who joined the star battlefield, cultivators were mainly divided into three categories. The first category was like Mu Shan, cultivators who emerged from within the Purple Cloud Star Domain to join the star battlefield. In Earth's terms, they were like established personnel. This category of cultivators received the best treatment and could earn military merits through relatively easy missions.
The second category comprised cultivators from the nine intermediate star domains under the jurisdiction of the Purple Cloud Star Domain. Although they did not belong to the Purple Cloud Star Domain, they were within its purview. These cultivators often banded together with those from their own star domains and were generally exclusive.
The last category was like Zhang Fan and his group, cultivators from the Savage Star Domain or low-level star domains. Of course, cultivators born in the Savage Star Domain were extremely rare. After all, it was incredibly difficult for the Savage Star Domain to produce even one Nascent Soul True Immortal, and they tended to cherish their lives, rarely joining the star battlefield.
"After entering the war base, you three will undergo a strength test to be registered in your profiles," Mu Shan told Zhang Fan. "With fellow Daoist Zhang Fan's strength, you will surely be granted the position of squad leader after passing the test. Then you will have the authority to recruit teammates and form your own squad."
Zhang Fan nodded. He was already aware of this information. After all, True Immortal Zi Yue had planned to hone himself in the star battlefield if he couldn't break through to the Nascent Soul stage on his own, so he had gathered quite a bit of related information.
However, fate had brought him to Zhang Fan, and the end was decided before it even began.
...