Beyond the Timescape

In response to Yuanshan Su’s words, they all exchanged glances. Everyone had different opinions on the matter.

But in the depths of his heart, Xu Qing knew one thing for certain. He had come here to the Fifth Star Ring to find resources to grow stronger. Therefore... he had to abide by the rules of the Fifth Star Ring. He had become an Acquisitioner and then a Transporter. And here he was on the front lines. He had to accomplish his mission.

Of course, the more he understood about the battlefield, the easier it would be to accomplish his mission. And also... the easier it would be to defend himself.

With that thought in mind, he said, “Everyone, keep your guard up. We’re going to split into smaller squads and advance in a staggered formation. Be ready to back up other squads at any moment. Zhou Zhengli, you handle the particulars.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhou Zhengli said. He knew the individual members of the squadron much better than Xu Qing, so it didn’t take him long to split up the more than eighty people into five smaller squads. Then they split up into a staggered formation. He also arranged for about a dozen of the fastest and stealthiest cultivators to spread out both ahead and behind to keep the main group informed of any sudden developments.

Sir Vilespirit and some of the others with canon treasures used those treasures to surround the group with a powerful concealing aura. At the same time, Xu Qing hoisted a banner that covered the group with an additional layer of concealment. In that way, they hoped to keep their passage as unnoticed as possible.

With those arrangements made, they started moving forward. Their caution was rewarded as their journey went on.

Half a month went by. During that period of travel, which included the use of teleportation portals, things went smoothly. Given the unknowns and the fact that they all felt something strange was going on, they took a more roundabout route toward their destination. Thanks to their efforts at staying concealed, they were able to travel smoothly and consistently.

At a certain point along the way, Xu Qing spotted a dao banner. They were behind the front lines of the eastern theater, which meant they were in cultivator territory. As a result, each universe had a dao flag planted in it.

In terms of appearance, they came in the form of a planet-sized altar, atop which was a silver war banner. The war banners were the dao flags of the Fifth Star Ring, and they emitted a constant stream of very pure immortal energy, as well as a mighty pressure that would cause all living beings to tremble.

With a dao flag in place, a given universe would have a constant supply of immortal energy. Mutagen wouldn’t be able to affect that area, and all things related to gods would be suppressed. It went without saying that large numbers of cultivators always gathered around the dao flags.

Xu Qing and his squadron passed through over a hundred universes, which meant that they saw the same number of dao flags. Some were large, some were small, depending on the size of the area they affected.