Wind and Blades

Fierce winds rushed against their faces. Not only were there wind blades, but the hurricane itself seemed to take on solid form, blotting out the night sky and stars with suffocating pressure that made it difficult to breathe. The raging tempest seemed hell-bent on ripping this expanse of space to shreds. Beside their ears, nothing could be heard except an unbroken howl. The chaotic spiritual energy tugged at everyone's nerves. Faced with such a horrifying scene, the cultivators of the Lesser Cold Domain wore expressions of extreme tension, their gazes grim. Qin Sang did not look toward the Heaven-Traversing Alliance; his eyes remained glued to the qi blade under his control. The hurricane closed in. At that moment, the qi blades finally stirred. All moving as one, the blade formation met the hurricane head-on, bursting with brilliance that spanned tens of thousands of feet. To the naked eye, the qi blades seemed to meld into a single entity, transforming into a slender colossal dragon that, amid shrill screeches, crashed headlong into the hurricane. Rumble... Heaven and earth shook. The terrifying impact caused every cultivator's heart to skip a beat. Even the distant battlefield of the Core Formation stage cultivators was disturbed. The clash paused for a fleeting breath as numerous gazes turned in unison to focus here. The gale devoured the qi blades. Blade light slashed through the wind blades. At the absolute center, the churning spiritual forces collapsed into chaos, forming a dreadful eye of the storm. Within the storm's eye, wind and blades intertwined, tearing the heaven and earth spiritual energy to tatters until nothing could be seen clearly. The aftermath of the collision rippled outward in all directions. A massive pit was blasted straight through the water's surface, almost laying bare the silt and weeds on the lakebed. Surging waves churned with rapid currents, yet for the longest time they failed to fill the gaping hole. As the shockwaves slammed against the two battle formations, the billowing tide of spiritual energy—laced with shattered fragments of qi blades and wind blades—still packed bone-chilling destructive force. A stir rippled through the Lesser Cold Domain's ranks. Without waiting for orders, cultivators raised their magic tools one after another to withstand the shockwaves. Mu Yifeng led several men to shield Qin Sang, raising the Nine Fire Divine Blade. Just then, Qin Sang let out a muffled grunt. A sweet tang welled up in his throat, his face paled slightly, and his body swayed as though losing his footing. Mu Yifeng noticed Qin Sang's distress and quickly looked back amid the chaos. Qin Sang gave a faint shake of his head, signaling he was fine. The qi blade under his control had been destroyed, and its destruction incurred a backlash on its wielder. However, this was not his first time serving as a formation core; he was already well-practiced. Sensing danger, he had severed his connection to the blade immediately, sustaining only a negligible injury that would not impair his combat readiness. Hastily taking a healing pill, Qin Sang glanced at the shockwaves encroaching before him and issued orders without delay. Soon, another qi blade coalesced and, guided by Qin Sang, plunged into the eye of the storm. This exchange raged for nearly the time it took an incense stick to burn. Neither side held anything back. The eye of the storm drifted back and forth, but never veered far, hovering roughly equidistant between the two battle formations. In this contest of strength, neither seemed able to gain the upper hand. Yet as time passed, the destructive ferocity at the storm's center noticeably waned. The clearest sign was that the gaping chasm in the water was on the verge of being filled. All the while, the distance between the opposing forces steadily narrowed. When the qi blade was shredded by the hurricane once more, Qin Sang did not condense another. Watching the encroaching enemy, he caught his breath and said in a low voice, "Prepare for battle!" It was the familiar progression, and this encounter was no exception—hand-to-hand combat was about to begin. When both armies had first deployed here, unexpected variables still cropped up during initial skirmishes. By now, however, the combatants had grown intimately familiar with each other. Petty tricks had long been exhausted, and even if any remained, they were of little use in an open, full-scale battle formation. Several major engagements had all followed a similar pattern. Swish, swish... Countless streaks of escaping light crisscrossed as the formation abruptly shifted. Having fulfilled their roles as formation cores, Qin Sang and his peers saw the cultivators around them return to their respective squads. The radiance of countless magic tools flared across the battle formation, dense and brilliant as a field of stars. The eye of the storm had not yet completely dissipated, but it could no longer impede the advance of either side. Resounding battle cries rose and fell across the firmament as the two expanses of glowing radiance finally began to merge. Yet concealed beneath this magnificent spectacle was pure, deadly malice. At such close quarters, subtle distinctions finally became visible. Though both the Heaven-Traversing Alliance and the Lesser Cold Domain were composed of immortal cultivators, significant differences existed between them. These differences lay not only in their magic tools, but in the cultivators themselves. Though the Lesser Cold Domain's formation had been forged through three years of war, it still appeared somewhat loose compared to that of the Heaven-Traversing Alliance. Individual squads fared well enough, having developed seamless coordination among their members. Taking in the grand formation as a whole, however, the disparity grew ever more obvious. Even so, the overall strength of the Lesser Cold Domain's cultivators was not inferior to the Heaven-Traversing Alliance. While the Heaven-Traversing Alliance possessed far greater numbers and a larger battle formation, the Lesser Cold Domain surprisingly held the advantage in terms of False Core stage and late Foundation Establishment experts. Furthermore, the Lesser Cold Domain cultivators commanded a far wider variety of magic tools. Most cultivators from the Heaven-Traversing Alliance were limited to suits of battle armor, spears, halberds, sabers, and swords, all appearing remarkably uniform. Having clashed with them for so long, Qin Sang held no contempt for their monotonous equipment. To immortal cultivators, magic tools were merely one component of strength, and standardized gear was exceptionally suited for coordinated strikes, allowing them to exert power far beyond each tool's individual quality. "Senior Brother Mu, you take the vanguard; I'll support from the center," Qin Sang instructed via voice transmission. "Understood!" Mu Yifeng gripped the Nine Fire Divine Blade. With fire dragons swirling around his body, he charged at the fore. The squad members deployed their formation around Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng, standing ready. Qin Sang flicked a finger, and the Cold Metal sword that had been circling him shot forward like a lightning bolt, flanking alongside Mu Yifeng. With his free hand, he retrieved the Yin-Yang Compass... "Kill!" Roars of slaughter shook the heavens. Boom! The two battle formations finally collided. In that instant, Qin Sang could not see anything into the distance; before his eyes was only the contingent of enemies driving toward them. Like a sharp sword, this enemy force plunged into their formation, carving through everything before them with irresistible force, charging straight in front of Qin Sang. In other sectors, similar scenes unfolded concurrently. Yet the Lesser Cold Domain's formation, though scattered, was far from broken. Qin Sang had no leeway to worry about other areas. He swept a quick glance across his surroundings, mentally sizing up the balance of strength between both sides, and then barked an order. "Kill!" Whoosh! The Cold Metal sword morphed into a glint of frigid brilliance, advancing abreast with the Nine Fire Divine Blade. At the same time, several squads near Qin Sang caught onto his maneuvers and immediately moved to back him up. All at once, magic tool after magic tool surged out in direct confrontation. Refusing to be outdone, their opponents pressed on relentlessly as sword qi and saber light crisscrossed through the air. Following the clash, the enemy's momentum indeed suffered a momentary stall. Yet Qin Sang made no move to pursue the opening. "Give ground!" As the saying went, courage surged at the first drumbeat, waned at the second, and was exhausted at the third. Qin Sang was not so foolish as to bash against them head-on; blunting the enemy's momentum was all that was required.