Over the sky of Yongle Island battlefield, Li Shiming specially added a drone, but it was kept far from Yongle Island.
Ever since he learned that there was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Elder Jin Kai on Yongle Island, he had paid extra attention to it, dedicating a part of his mind to constantly monitor the place.
Recently, he had noticed an odd phenomenon—that the number of Golden Core cultivators on Yongle Island had significantly increased.
These Golden Core cultivators were not outsiders; they were attracted by the superior conditions of Yongle Island.
After being recruited by the Skywalk Trading Company of Yongle Island, some of these Golden Core cultivators joined the Yongle Battlefield, but others entered deeper into the continent.
Since these Golden Core cultivators were originally from the Beishu Continent, they didn’t attract attention from any factions.
If it weren’t for several upgrades to Li Shiming’s unmanned satellite system that greatly enhanced its computational analysis capabilities, he might not have noticed this situation.
Li Shiming had a feeling that the Skywalk Trading Company was not just interested in doing business but had some ulterior motives.
However, these Golden Core cultivators did not seem to have a specific destination; their tracks and directions were scattered, which made him feel that they could be searching for something.
He didn’t pay much attention to it, reasoning that whatever the Golden Core cultivators might find, any major activities on Yongle Island could not escape his notice.
Moreover, his clone Li Yuanba had already rushed to the Yongle Battlefield. Having a first-person perspective allowed him to observe more situations.
This was just as well, as Li Shiming’s identity made it impossible for him to directly participate in such battlefields, not because the sect doubted his strength, but because his value did not lie in combat.
Not just the sect, no Nascent Soul Ancestor from Beishu Continent would agree to him going to the battlefield.
With Beishu Continent unprecedentedly united, as long as Li Yuanba declared his identity at the Jieshan Mountain Pass, he could pass with just a record, without needing any further procedures.
Li Yuanba no longer concealed his strength. Using "Step by Step Lotus" to speed his travel, he reached a stronghold opposite Yongle Island in just several two hours.
The stronghold was still under construction but had already formed an extensive Formation that blocked the direction of Yongle Island.
Yongle Island could only be accessed inland from this direction; islands on either side in the sea each had a medium-sized sect’s Formation, creating an encirclement.
Six major sects also had stationed cultivators in the two medium-sized sects, boosting their power.
Perhaps Yongle Island could secretly let a few particularly powerful Golden Core cultivators slip out, but moving a large group of Golden Core cultivators without being noticed was impossible.
When the decision to hand over Yongle Island to the Skywalk Trading Company was made, the seven Nascent Soul Ancestors had already considered the blockade.
Now, a blockade had indeed been formed; previous tactics had not affected native cultivators, but extreme monitoring had been achieved for foreign cultivators.
"Yuan Ba, come here!" Li Yuanba had just arrived at the stronghold when he heard Ancestor Lu’s transmission.
Li Yuanba flew into the Formation and saw seven mountains laid out in the Formation.
These seven mountains were not originally there; seven mountains and a Nascent Soul Level Spirit Vein had been moved there by the seven Nascent Soul Ancestors for collective use.
When Beishu Continent united against external forces, the resources and energy they could muster were beyond imagination.
Li Yuanba flew into one of the mountains and met Ancestor Lu at the peak.
"Yuan Ba pays respect to the Great Ancestor!" he came forward and bowed respectfully.
"Take a seat. I called you here to join the battle, not just you, but many Great Elders from various major sects and other forces will be called in!" Ancestor Lu said with a wave of his hand.
"Disciple thanks the Great Ancestor for allowing me to join the battle!" Li Yuanba said with a smile.
He was brimming with a battle spirit, having spent the past year listening to Elder Sword’s teachings, accumulating a plethora of experience and insights.
These experiences and insights, if constantly tempered through battle, could be absorbed more quickly.
"You and Wuwei are alike, both particularly fond of battle!" Ancestor Lu laughed and then changed the subject: "I want to explain the current situation to you, so you know what to expect."
Ancestor Lu’s regard for Li Yuanba was not just because he was his disciple, but also because Li Yuanba had become one of the strongest Golden Core Stage cultivators in the Senluo Sect.
His Great Elder-level Body Refining strength, in actual combat, his survivability and close-combat abilities even surpassed those of Magic Cultivation Great Elders.
Great Elder-level Body Refining Practitioners were most suited for such battlefield environments, with their intense defensive power, terrifying offensive capability, and prolonged combat endurance—this was why Ancestor Lu valued him so significantly.
Indeed, the movements of Elder Jin Kai had caught the seven Nascent Soul Ancestors off-guard.
They had not expected the conflict described by Elder Jin Kai—that Nascent Souls would not interfere with the quarrels among lower level cultivators—to escalate to such a degree of battle.
What had started as mere skirmishes among ordinary Golden Core cultivators escalated within a year to fights involving Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators.
Though Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators were not rare in Beishu Continent, each of these had been cultivated over hundreds of years, and each was a figure of immense talent and brilliance.
If too many Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators were to fall, it would impact the overall strength of Beishu Continent’s cultivators.
Even the six major sects would be profoundly grieved by the death of several Late-stage Golden Core Cultivators.