Sword Cultivators

The East Sea. Posuo Island. While not among the largest islands in the East Sea, it was the only one within a thousand li of these waters. Occupying this island was practically equivalent to bringing that thousand-li expanse under one's own jurisdiction. And territory had always been something sects fought over. To secure Posuo Island, situated a mere eighteen thousand li from the Jiuxiao Domain, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had initiated routine patrols over the island and its surrounding waters three days ago. Today was no exception. Led by Yun Qing, a speed-oriented sword cultivator trained in the Nine Profound Flowing Light Sword Art, a four-man squad drifted leisurely through the sky at under two thousand li per hour. As they flew, they chatted casually amongst themselves. "Tu Hong, Zhan Yunfei, Zhang Lie—stay in formation. We're beyond the reach of Hall Master Bai's divine mind perception right now." "Wide awake over here." Tu Hong, who was flying on his sword while performing sharp turns and maneuvers, replied, "My Heavenly Slaughter Big Dipper Sword Art feels like it's just shy of minor accomplishment. I figured I'd use this patrol to practice a bit. Besides, with Zhan Yunfei here, nothing's going to catch us off guard." "I might practice the Grand Superior Perception Sword Art, which specializes in sensory capabilities, but how far can high-level cultivators like us really take it? On a clear day, my perception doesn't even reach as far as the naked eye," Zhan Yunfei said. "All right, Posuo Island is just ahead. Let's make a circuit around it," Yun Qing said. "Understood," Zhang Lie replied in a low voice. With that, the four slightly picked up their pace. Right at that moment, Zhan Yunfei stiffened slightly, as if noticing something. The next instant, he formed a sword seal. A clear chime resonated from his flying sword, rippling outward in wave after wave. As the resonance dissipated, Zhan Yunfei's expression changed abruptly. "Divine mind! A sweep of divine mind just brushed past us! Judging by its intensity, it was the fringe of a scan. The source should be eight hundred to a thousand li away..." "Someone from the Xuanming Sect?!" Yun Qing's eyes lit up. "I... my Grand Superior Perception Sword Art hasn't reached minor accomplishment yet... I can't be sure," Zhan Yunfei said with a hint of shame. "Let's check it out. If it's the Xuanming Sect, they must be driven off." Yun Qing followed with a stern tone, "Also, send a message to Hall Master Bai. We need her support." "The Heavenly Palace Origin Spirits aren't passing over this sector right now. We'll have to wait about six minutes, unless we connect to the Wuji Astral Palace's Virtual Spirit Realm," Zhan Yunfei said. "No good. The Xuanming Sect is backed by the Wuji Astral Palace. The higher-ups said to avoid using it if we can..." Yun Qing shook his head. The Nine Cauldrons Sect had no Dharma Idol spirit cultivators stationed in the nine heavens to oversee and monitor the flow of divine mind across the entire Cangwu Great World. They could only rely on a network of Heavenly Palaces manned by Fourth Thunder Tribulation Origin Spirit cultivators to transmit communications. Even though the Nine Cauldrons Sect had aggressively developed spirit cultivators recently, establishing fourteen Heavenly Palaces in the nine heavens manned by fourteen Origin Spirit Great Cultivators, uninterrupted communication at every single moment remained impossible. "Then we have no choice but to wait," Zhan Yunfei said. "Yeah." Yun Qing nodded. Yet a moment later, realization struck him. "Wait, that's not right. Our communication blackouts don't even add up to an hour a day, and during the rest of the time, we have at least a Tier 1 signal. Right now is our most vulnerable window, and a sweep of divine mind just happened to brush past us..." With that thought, he immediately barked an order. "Full combat readiness! Battle formation! Fall back toward Hall Master Bai's position!" Knowing full well that an Origin Spirit Great Cultivator was backing the other side, none of the others tried to play the hero. Less than half a minute after they raised their guard, Zhan Yunfei rapidly sensed something. "To the left! Flying swords incoming!" "Tu Hong!" Yun Qing shouted. In truth, no reminder was needed. Tu Hong formed a hand seal in an instant, and a streak of purple light shot forth with unbelievable speed, intercepting a flying sword that had abruptly emerged from their left and colliding with pinpoint accuracy. The instant the two collided, a visible blast wave of white air swept outward with crushing force, tearing apart a cloud formation a thousand meters across. Tu Hong let out a soft grunt. The incoming flying sword was blasted off course. With a flick of the purple streak, the balance of offense and defense instantly flipped. "Where are they?!" Yun Qing asked. "It's divine mind! An Origin Spirit Great Cultivator is using his divine mind to guide their sword cultivators' attacks! We... we can't see them! But... the further a flying sword is from its master, the weaker its lethality becomes. Judging by how quickly that sword lost punch, they can't be more than fifty li away!" Before Zhan Yunfei could finish, his senses flared again, and he cried out in alarm, "Watch out!" At the edge of the sky, clouds parted as three more flying swords came screaming toward them. Having accelerated over ample distance, each flying sword had reached terminal velocity. Although Tu Hong's Heavenly Slaughter Big Dipper Sword Art excelled at rapid, tight turns, his speed was bound to suffer after executing a strike; he could never block all three. "Their swords aren't fast. Even with a long acceleration run, they're only around Mach 2," Zhang Lie observed suddenly. "This is an ambush planned down to the minute. I was wondering why we didn't see a single trace of Xuanming Sect rats over the past three days—they were waiting for us here all along!" With a clear picture of the situation, Yun Qing gave a faint smile. "Open the distance!" With that, he dashed in front of Zhan Yunfei. "I'll carry you!" Zhan Yunfei did not object. Practicing the Grand Superior Perception Sword Art meant he was not particularly skilled at high-speed flight. Even with a fine sword like the Zixiao Type 12, reaching speeds above Mach 2 was difficult for him. Yun Qing's Nine Profound Flowing Light Sword Art was renowned for sheer speed. Even burdened with Zhan Yunfei, he accelerated furiously, reaching top speed in under ten li. Such astonishing acceleration demonstrated just how deep Yun Qing's mastery of the Nine Profound Flowing Light Sword Art ran. Theoretically, the Zixiao Type 12 sword could reach Mach 2.8 at full throttle, but carrying a passenger inevitably took a toll. Under normal circumstances, that difference mattered little, but at extreme speeds, minor drag became the deciding factor in speed loss. Right now, Yun Qing's personal record was Mach 2.7, but weighed down by Zhan Yunfei, he hovered at roughly Mach 2.1. Even so, the enemy's flying swords were left helplessly trailing in their wake. As Yun Qing surged forward with Zhan Yunfei, Tu Hong and Zhang Lie were not slacking either. While their flight speed could not match Yun Qing's, the life-bound flying sword traits of their Zixiao Type 12s allowed both to exceed Mach 2. Evading the incoming swords was no trouble at all. Unfortunately, evasion alone solved nothing. An Origin Spirit Great Cultivator was coordinating and guiding the enemy forces; even if the squad dodged, the flying swords could simply bank around and resume the chase. "Can you endure the Great Cultivator's divine mind interference?" "I can!" Zhan Yunfei answered without hesitation. "That Origin Spirit Great Cultivator is eight hundred to a thousand li away, which is the absolute limit of his detection range. He can perceive and lock onto our position, and guide their swords, but his ability to disrupt us directly is less than one percent of its normal strength. I can handle it." "Then this is simple." Yun Qing sneered. "Come on, let's go play with them!" He wheeled around, uniting man and sword into a dazzling streak of sword light that rent the sky, tearing through the cloud cover and rocketing straight toward the trajectory from which the three flying swords had originated. Behind him, Tu Hong and Zhang Lie kept pace closely. The three streaks of sword light formed a trident of aerial hunters, traversing more than twenty li in mere breaths. The enemy seemed to realize their intent, hastily attempting to call back their flying swords to cover themselves. However... The speed of their flying swords could not even match the flight speed of Yun Qing's trio. In just moments... "I've found them! Twenty li to the left! That bank of clouds!" Zhan Yunfei shouted suddenly. Yun Qing tilted his sword slightly. Maintaining their incredible speed, the three pierced the air before them, trailing rings of white condensation as they plunged headlong into the cloud mass. The massive formation was blasted through with a gaping hole. By this point, the enemies had realized their disadvantage. One after another, they broke from the concealing clouds and fled on their flying swords toward the Origin Spirit Great Cultivator's direction. "That's the Black Cloud Sword Art! They're Xuanming Sect!" Zhan Yunfei said rapidly as he took in the six figures fleeing the cloud cover. "Which one owns the sword chasing us?" "Second from the left." "The second..." Yun Qing calculated the distance to the flying sword locked onto his tail, and the gap between himself and that sword cultivator... "Be careful!" With that warning, Yun Qing released Zhan Yunfei. Displaying sharp coordination, Zhan Yunfei immediately took control of his sword, simultaneously pushing his Grand Superior Perception Sword Art to the limit. A terrifying burst of sword intent soared into the sky, threatening to shred every cloud within a dozen li. Yet as this sword intent plunged into the clouds, it caused no physical disruption. Instead, the divine mind of the Origin Spirit Great Cultivator blanketing the battlefield seemed pricked by the intent; ripples spread across it, momentarily loosening his grip over the area. Meanwhile, freed from Zhan Yunfei's weight, Yun Qing accelerated with everything he had. Mach 2.1 spiked instantly to 2.4, then 2.6, until reaching his ceiling of Mach 2.7. Under this horrifying burst of speed, the distance between him and the Xuanming Sect sword cultivators shrank rapidly. Ten li, five li, three li, one li... "Insolence!" An enraged roar from the Origin Spirit Great Cultivator seemed to boom through the empty sky. A terrifying wave of divine mind jarred the connection between Yun Qing and his sword, threatening to paralyze his very thoughts. Yet the cultivator was ultimately too far away, and his divine mind had just taken a direct slash from Zhan Yunfei's Grand Superior Perception Sword Art. In a mere instant, Yun Qing broke free from the suppression. His sword light, having dipped briefly to Mach 2.5, flared anew, rocketing back to 2.7 as he slammed into the targeted sword cultivator. The cultivator slashed his longsword frantically, bursts of sword light erupting from his frame. However... It was not his primary, most formidable flying sword, and this hurried counterattack was entirely powerless against Yun Qing. As Yun Qing swept past him in a union of man and sword, sword qi erupted. The high-level sword cultivator was torn to shreds on the spot, his blood showering the open sky.