Chapter 91

The improvement of a Cultivation Nation’s level, aside from certain special events, has only one method for nations below Level 5. Cultivators must cultivate alone until they reach the Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation, and Soul Transformation stages. As their realms ascend, the level of the Cultivation Nation they are in will also rise step by step. If a Level 1 Cultivation Nation has a native cultivator reach the Core Formation stage, the nation will automatically ascend to a Level 2 Cultivation Nation.

If there is a Nascent Soul cultivator, it will advance to a Level 3 Cultivation Nation, and so on. If there is a Deity Transformation cultivator, it will rise to a Level 4 Cultivation Nation, and if there is a Soul Transformation cultivator, it will become a Level 5 Cultivation Nation.

Such upgrades require not only time but also great fortune, especially as one ascends higher, the difficulty increases. It is rare for such an event to occur even once in a thousand years. As for advancing from Level 3 to Level 4, or from Level 4 to Level 5, it might not happen even in ten thousand years.

However, although it is difficult, this is the only method. Over time, there will always be some people, whether by chance, natural talent, other opportunities, or assistance from others, who will eventually meet the requirements and help their Cultivation Nation ascend in level.

These people will invariably become the leaders of their Cultivation Nation.

Once a Cultivation Nation reaches Level 4, it gains the qualification to participate in the interstellar battlefield. However, in terms of strength, a Level 4 Cultivation Nation cannot compare to a Level 5 Cultivation Nation.

The gap in realms cannot be compensated by numbers. For example, a top expert at the late Deity Transformation stage from a Level 4 Cultivation Nation would immediately become a second-rate figure in a Level 5 Cultivation Nation. In front of a Soul Transformation expert, they would be like a frail child.

It is not an exaggeration to say that a single Soul Transformation expert could destroy a Level 4 Cultivation Nation. Such events have occurred multiple times in the history of the cultivation world.

Therefore, the interstellar battles of Level 4 Cultivation Nations are, in essence, merely pawns in the conflicts between Level 5 Cultivation Nations.

The decisive interstellar battles are still those between Level 5 Cultivation Nations.

Once a Cultivation Nation reaches Level 5, the most serious problem it faces is resources and materials. With vast national power and countless cultivators, if this issue is not resolved within a certain time, the nation will face disintegration.

Even by plundering lower-level Cultivation Nations, it is impossible to replenish the consumption of materials and spiritual energy. The only solution to this problem is to ascend to Level 6.

Ascending from Level 5 to Level 6 is no longer a simple matter of personal cultivation improvement. The method prescribed by the High-Level Cultivation Alliance is also only one, which involves the interstellar battlefield.

The interstellar battlefield is a space filled with rifts, boundless and filled with various gales and spatial rifts that can easily destroy Deity Transformation experts.

Once caught in the gales, unless one has reached the Soul Transformation stage, they will be instantly incinerated.

Besides the gales, the most unpredictable and dangerous are the spatial rifts that can suddenly appear at any time. Once a cultivator is caught in one, even a Soul Transformation elder will find it hard to escape. Only the experts of a Level 6 Cultivation Nation can move freely in the interstellar battlefield.

Every few hundred years, there is a large interstellar battle, involving Cultivation Nations of Level 4 and above. These battles are allowed and promoted by the entire Cultivation Alliance.

Any nation that wins consecutively over a thousand times will have its level raised to Level 6, receiving a large amount of materials and cultivation techniques. Additionally, the winning nation can send a representative to receive the transmission of cultivation techniques from the Cultivation Alliance, directly elevating their cultivation to beyond the Soul Transformation stage. The most crucial reward, which drives Level 5 Cultivation Nations to madness, is the granting of a planet by the Cultivation Alliance as a base for the winning nation.

Cultivators place great importance on spiritual energy and various treasures, to the point where the foundation of cultivation is spiritual energy and materials.

Possessing a planet is a hallmark of a Level 6 Cultivation Nation. However, the Cultivation Alliance's evaluation of Level 6 Cultivation Nations is extremely strict. The first step is to win consecutively a thousand times in the interstellar battlefield and receive a planet. The second step is to form a cycle within the Level 6 Cultivation Planet, which must include several complete Level 1 to Level 5 Cultivation Nations.

The wars in the interstellar battlefield are the only way for Level 5 Cultivation Nations to ascend. Similar scenarios play out on almost every cultivation planet. Generally, Level 6 Cultivation Nations do not interfere in the battles between Level 5 Cultivation Nations, but there are exceptions. If a Level 6 Cultivation Nation suppresses, it is almost impossible for a second Level 6 Cultivation Nation to appear on the same planet. However, such situations are extremely rare. Based on the majority of Level 5 Cultivation Nations, ascending from Level 6 to Level 7 is likely related to the number of Level 6 Cultivation Nations that have appeared on the planet.

The interstellar battlefield is frequently filled with corpses and abandoned materials, which require regular cleaning. The Level 6 Cultivation Nations have strict requirements for the cleaning work, which can only be handled by Level 3 and below Cultivation Nations. Some of these materials are as valuable as treasures to lower-level Cultivation Nations.

Based on the Level 4 Cultivation Nations' respective Level 5 factions, the battlefield is divided into several regions, and so on.

Conflict exists regardless of the level of the Cultivation Nation. Even a Level 3 Cultivation Nation like the Zhao Kingdom is no exception. To gain the right to clean the interstellar battlefield, the Decisive Valley was created.

Outside the Decisive Valley, there is a massive array seal set up by a Deity Transformation expert from a Level 4 Cultivation Nation thousands of years ago. Any cultivator who has reached the Core Formation stage or above but is below the Deity Transformation stage cannot enter.

This is why Feng Huayuan, despite knowing from the heavenly calculation that Wang Lin was inside the valley, could not enter to kill him.

The Decisive Valley is not only a place of contention for the cleaning work of the interstellar battlefield but also the only entrance to the interstellar battlefield in the Zhao Kingdom.

The Level 6 Cultivation Nations have strict requirements for the cleaning work of the interstellar battlefield, including that only Level 3 and below Cultivation Nations can participate, and the cultivators entering must not exceed the Core Formation stage.

Once the qualifications are determined, the Foundation Establishment cultivators left in the valley will be teleported to the interstellar battlefield without leaving the valley. They will only be teleported back after the fifty-year term is complete.

Feng Huayuan knew all this, which is why he slaughtered Wang Lin's entire clan, captured their souls, and forced Wang Lin to leave the Decisive Valley.

Otherwise, if he wanted to kill Wang Lin, he would have to wait fifty years.

At this moment, almost everyone in the Decisive Valley knows about a murderous demon with unfathomable cultivation. Some have analyzed that he has reached the Core Formation stage but entered the valley through unknown means.

Wang Lin has been walking north in the Decisive Valley, with his spiritual energy surging more intensely within him. The killing intent in his heart has not diminished but has grown stronger with each day of killing.

His mind is blank, and he does not know how many people he has killed or that the survivors in the valley are now terrified of him.

A few days later, the emotionally numb Wang Lin reached the northern edge of the Decisive Valley, a steep cliff at the bottom. Climbing up from here would lead out of the Decisive Valley, but due to the array seal, anyone attempting to leave will be teleported back into the valley the moment they touch it.

These days, whenever Wang Lin thinks of his parents, his heart aches so much that he wishes to tear open his chest, and each time, he spits out several mouthfuls of blood.

As time passed, after several such episodes, his body became increasingly weak, but the spiritual energy within him grew closer to its peak.

Standing at the bottom of the cliff, Wang Lin looked up at the sky, then knelt down and bowed heavily, tears of blood streaming down his face. He silently said, "Father, Mother, Tiezhu is unfilial..."

A sigh echoed in Wang Lin's mind.

"When did you wake up?" Wang Lin knelt for a long time, then stood up, his eyes cold, and said in a deep voice.

"Five days ago, Wang Lin. I heard Feng Huayuan's message. The Soul Flag is a magical treasure that can only be made by a Nascent Soul expert. It can seal souls. As long as the souls do not dissipate, I can revive them once I recover my cultivation." Situ Nan comforted him.

Wang Lin was silent for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"The reason Feng Huayuan killed your family is because he was afraid you would run away. This is to force you to show yourself. Wang Lin, I don't have much Nascent Soul essence left, only enough to support you for three instantaneous teleports. Use them cautiously. I need to continue sleeping, but I suggest you go to the interstellar battlefield. There, I can reduce the time needed to recover." Situ Nan's voice grew weaker and finally disappeared.

"Three times..." Wang Lin's mind became clear, and he frowned, muttering to himself.