Reversal

Breaking through to the Origin Spirit realm had never been difficult for Yaoguang. Had it not been to hold his level back, he would have broken through months ago when he first obtained that Spirit Transformation Pill. No! If he had truly wanted to advance, after completing the orders for the Zixiao Type 12 flying swords, the Merchant experience he earned would have been sufficient to max out the Divine Path and achieve a breakthrough. He had merely wanted to take advantage of the window before his "labor costs" skyrocketed to grind as much experience as possible using the Merchant profession. Lately, however, his fame had grown greater by the day. His standing as a Grandmaster of Artifact Refining was steadily nearing that of an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, and the rising labor costs were already approaching the changes brought about by a realm breakthrough. He had planned to finish the export orders for the Golden Divine Temple, elevate his Artifact Refining progress from Grandmaster to an entirely new domain, and accumulate enough progress to push either the Martial Path from Star Lord straight to Star God or the Divine Path from Origin Spirit straight to Dharma Idol in one go before breaking through. Yet plans could never keep pace with change. The high-end artifact refining market had always been monopolized by the Wuji Astral Palace. The high-grade spirit swords he crafted—whose performance rivaled fourth-generation models—had severely encroached upon the Wuji Astral Palace's market share of spirit artifacts. Moreover, having swallowed the Liusha Sect, the Wuji Astral Palace was already scouring for fresh prey to hunt down. Naturally... ...their eyes had turned toward the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Yaoguang was a target, yet not their sole target. The deadly oppression brought by the sky-patrol warship bearing down on their borders had forced Yaoguang to finally make his choice. To pour all of his "experience" into the Divine Path branch in one breath. Though he would have preferred the Martial Path branch, which offered a greater sense of personal safety. Yet under the present circumstances... ...if he wanted to break the deadlock, he could only rely on the power of the Origin Spirit forged through the Divine Path. ... "It should work." Yaoguang sensed the myriad profundities derived from his newly broken-through Origin Spirit. The Taiyuan Spirit Refining Art. It was fundamentally a spirit refining technique capable of multitasking, boasting immense stability and formidable resistance to interference. Perhaps unlike other spirit refining arts that allowed one to perceive hundreds of li away right upon breakthrough or granted potent jamming capabilities, the Taiyuan Spirit Refining Art leaned toward defense... However, when paired with his talent "God King," its efficacy was even more extraordinary. ... Several minutes later. At the west gate formation node of Longxiang City, facing the sky-patrol warship directly. Streaks of sword light swept across the sky in unison, appearing outside this formation node. Three figures descended directly among them. "I am Zhao He. Sword cultivators, follow my command." "I am Fang Jie. Spell cultivators, fall under my direction." "I am Xu Kong. Spirit cultivators, report to my coordination." "Good." Yaoguang's gaze swept over the three of them. Including his acquaintance, Zhao He. "Time is tight, so I won't waste words. Everyone, launch another round of attacks! But for this round, everyone's divine mind, divine sense, and subsequent strikes must submit to my guidance and command." Before the sword cultivators, spell cultivators, and spirit cultivators had time to question him, Yaoguang manifested his Origin Spirit. A mighty divine mind instantly enveloped the hundreds of Great Cultivators on the field, guiding their divine senses and divine minds into a cohesive whole. This visceral, tangible shift instantly astonished the Great Cultivators who had harbored doubts, resentment, or the belief that Zhao Siliang had issued reckless orders. "This is..." "It feels like some mysterious force has linked our divine minds together, making our strength act as one?!" "Senior Brother, I seem to be able to sense your power effortlessly!" Various thoughts laden with astonishment rippled through the minds of the Great Cultivators. Including Zhao He, Fang Jie, and Xu Kong. Without exception, every one of them was among the most powerful cultivators in the Jiuxiao Domain. Zhao He went without saying; not only had he established his Dao Foundation, but his cultivation had reached the peak of the Dao Foundation realm and ignited True Fire. Moreover, he had cultivated two powerful sword arts to perfection, embodying both the speed and lethality quintessential to a sword cultivator. Fang Jie had mastered a sixth-rank divine ability; the Annihilation Purple Light earlier that had torn a trench thousands of li long across the earth had been channeled and unleashed under his lead. The remaining one, Xu Kong, was an Origin Spirit realm cultivator even stronger than Bailu. Not only had he ventured deep into the Zixiao Divine Lightning layer, but he had also tempered himself in Zixiao Divine Lightning multiple times—a powerhouse of a spirit cultivator who needed only a moment of sudden enlightenment to touch the Dharma Idol realm. Yet at this moment, the gazes of all three landed on Yaoguang simultaneously, their eyes filled with pleasant surprise. "First Seat Yaoguang, this is—?!" "I need your coordination!" Yaoguang said swiftly. "Understood!" Zhao He said resolutely, sending out his divine sense. "Members of the Sword Cultivator Division, follow First Seat Yaoguang's lead!" "Truly incredible! Fellow spell cultivators, our chance to counterattack has arrived!" "Our earlier defeat stemmed from the failure of us Origin Spirit cultivators! We were supposed to guide our brothers of the Sword Cultivator Division to breach the sky-patrol warship, yet we couldn't even get close to it! Instead, our fellow sword cultivators suffered heavy casualties under the strikes guided by their Origin Spirit cultivators. But this time, we will show them that the spirit cultivators of the Nine Cauldrons Sect are second to none in this world!" Xu Kong also rallied morale. "Everyone, merge your divine minds into First Seat Yaoguang's divine mind!" As Yaoguang's ability earned everyone's recognition, and with orders given by the hall masters and division heads of the three divisions, everyone responded in kind, blending their power with Yaoguang's. Even though Yaoguang only coordinated a small fraction of their power to avoid hindering their combat capability, his divine mind and divine sense still soared to unprecedented heights. With such power, had any of Zhao He, Fang Jie, or Xu Kong faced him, Yaoguang could have crushed them effortlessly. Yet right now, all he needed to do was use this power for coordination... To forge the strength of everyone into a single cohesive force. "Attention!" Yaoguang's divine mind resonated out, instantly harmonizing with the divine minds and senses of the hundreds of Great Cultivators on the field. "Spirit cultivators, pave the way! Prepare the Divine Mind Storm!" "Sword cultivators, prepare! Charge the Jiuxiao Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation!" "Spell cultivators, cast your spells! Oppose yin and yang, ignite the Annihilation Purple Light..." With the orders issued, the divine senses and divine minds of the sword cultivators, spell cultivators, and spirit cultivators were coordinated once more, functioning as a single entity. The moment each sword cultivator drew their sword, they could clearly sense where their life-bound flying sword fell out of alignment with the others'. Every spell cultivator could detect whether any internal friction existed between their spells and those of their comrades. Every Origin Spirit realm cultivator could gauge with absolute precision how to overlay their divine minds with one another, allowing this storm of divine mind stirred up by so many distinct individuals to peak at its maximum potency. Perfection! At this moment, the coordination among hundreds of cultivators reached unprecedented perfection. It was as though the strength of hundreds of Great Cultivators had been stacked and layered onto a single person... Such amplification... Such enhancement... Such evolution... Never mind the Great Cultivators; even Yaoguang himself felt a pang of shock. "Heavens, I'm so strong!" "It's not that you're strong—it's that we are strong!" "So when our powers are coordinated in seamless harmony, we can actually... reach this level?!" "Junior brothers, I feel like slaying a Golden Core! Anyone with me?!" "Hell no! Get lost!" Strength! Unprecedented strength! A power so great that everyone's morale and confidence surged to an unprecedented pinnacle in an instant. Right at that moment, at the edge of the horizon, the Wuji Astral Palace's sky-patrol warship—over a thousand meters across and enveloped in countless formations—burst through the clouds. Moving at supersonic speed, it whipped up a violent, visible shockwave as it tore through the air, entering everyone's awareness. Aboard the warship. A playful smirk appeared on the face of Captain Qiao Man. "Looks like they plan to turtle behind Longxiang City's formations?" "According to our intel, Longxiang City's formations seem to be of the same tier as those in the provincial capital, Jiuxiao City. Furthermore, because this formation was established earlier, its operation is more mature than Jiuxiao City's," the first officer replied. "No matter how mature it is, it's nothing more than a first-generation formation. We've already given them our warning. Since they've chosen to be stubborn..." Qiao Man rose from his captain's chair, gazing through the bridge at the shimmering city in the distance. He barked an order directly: "Pass down the command: launch the assault and crush them!" ... Almost simultaneously. "Everyone, hear my command!" Through this coordinated link, Yaoguang's divine mind echoed across the minds of all the Great Cultivators in an instant. "We're listening, First Seat Yaoguang! Give the order!" "My greatsword is thirsting for battle!" "Ready at all times!" Amidst the interweaving of divine minds and senses, the cultivators responded instantly. Each was brimming with high morale, their fighting spirit soaring to the heavens. "Good! Spirit cultivators, pave the way! Divine Mind Storm! Strike!" "Sword cultivators, attack! Jiuxiao Lightning Tribulation Sword Formation! Break their lines!" "Spell cultivators, bring up the rear! Clash yin and yang, Annihilation Purple Light! Slay the enemy!" All three orders were relayed to every Great Cultivator almost simultaneously. In the next breath, a storm of divine mind—its raw volume unchanged, yet organized with unprecedented precision—crossed the three hundred li separating them from the sky-patrol warship in a flash. Having also received the attack command, the sky-patrol warship unleashed a storm of divine mind of equivalent magnitude almost at the exact same instant, crashing head-on into this surging mental force. Yet unlike the previous clash where the two forces had canceled each other out, this time... The divine mind erupting from the Wuji Astral Palace's sky-patrol warship was like a wave slamming into a reef, shattering instantly into sprayed froth and mist. Having crushed the interfering and opposing divine mind bursting from the sky-patrol warship, the storm of divine mind crashed directly into the warship itself. In that split second, countless formations on the sky-patrol warship stuttered and lagged, while countless sword and spell cultivators suffered psychic disruption, hallucinations flickering before their eyes. The entire sky-patrol warship seemed to miss a beat, completely stunned and disoriented by this sudden impact that far surpassed anything they had faced before.