Attrition

Zuo Chuan issued orders in swift succession. Aboard the sky-patrol warship, the divine mind amplification formation and defensive formations were fully activated; the entire vessel maintained utmost vigilance. As a qualified captain, he would never underestimate any opponent—even if intelligence suggested the enemy was clearly inferior to them. Bolstered by the divine mind amplification formation, the Origin Spirit realm cultivators aboard the sky-patrol warship continuously projected their divine minds, probing toward the interfered area. Compared to Heavenly Palace cultivators perched high in the nine heavens—whose sweeps covered vast areas but lacked precision—the warship's own Origin Spirit cultivators provided far more accurate reconnaissance. Under the formation's amplification, these strands of divine mind traversed ten thousand li in advance. They even swept past the numerous sword cultivators flying toward them at full speed, reaching straight into the deep rear of this ten-thousand-li battlefield, and then... Like waves crashing against a shore, they were directly smashed to pieces by the twelve Origin Spirit cultivators led by Yaoguang. The distance separating the two sides was simply too great—over ten thousand li. Even with the formation's boost, the strength of divine minds extending into this area was reduced to less than half. Under such circumstances, how could the Origin Spirit cultivators aboard the sky-patrol warship Chunyu possibly pry into an area the Zhenhai Institute was deliberately concealing? Not to mention that the one presiding over the area's concealment was in fact a powerful spirit cultivator whose cultivation had reached the Dharma Idol realm. Before long, the Chunyu's Origin Spirit cultivators reported this problem to Zuo Chuan. With no better alternative, Zuo Chuan could only order the sky-patrol warship to close in rapidly on the target. Under these conditions, the two sides drew closer and closer... Finally, when the sky-patrol warship Chunyu was still eight thousand li from Yaoguang's position, the Zhenhai Institute sword cultivators, led by Tang Fenghua, pressed forward to within three thousand li of the Chunyu. "First Seat, we have arrived at the designated location," Tang Fenghua's divine sense sounded. "Good! Form the Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Formation! Strike with all your might. Leave the rest to me!" "Understood." Having received the order, Tang Fenghua and the Great Sword Cultivators, totaling seventy-two in all, attacked without hesitation. Flying swords broke through the air and formed a formation, resembling a whirling tornado forged from seventy-two life-bound flying swords. This tornado took Tang Fenghua's modified Zixiao-15 flying sword as its dragon head, sweeping along the other flying swords in a furious spin. As it rotated, astral winds surged wild and lightning crackled, truly like a colossal dragon of wind and thunder wrought from flying swords hurtling straight toward the sky-patrol warship Chunyu. ... The moment the Zhenhai Institute made their move, the Origin Spirit cultivators aboard the Chunyu detected it. Upon receiving the report, Zuo Chuan was taken aback. "How is that possible?!" Three thousand li! Launching an attack from three thousand li away?! Did they think they had a city's range-amplification array? Or did they believe they were riding a sky-patrol warship too?! Even though he did not believe for a moment that the Zhenhai Institute's sword formation could strike across such a distance, he swiftly barked orders: "Have the sword cultivators prepare for interception! Route the flying sword data detected by the spirit cultivators to the primary console!" With that, he turned his gaze above the console. A cluster of light points was already projected there. Beside the points of light was a numeric marker indicating seventy-two. On the other side of the console was their own sky-patrol warship. Although the distance between them was closing rapidly, two thousand li still separated them. "Without formation amplification, even a Great Sword Cultivator specializing in attack range can at best guarantee lethality within a thousand li. Beyond a thousand li, never mind maintaining a formation, even adjusting attack trajectories becomes difficult. Past two thousand li, whether they can even sense their life-bound flying swords accurately is a serious question..." As Zuo Chuan spoke, his gaze remained glued to the console. Soon... The flying swords had closed to within twenty-two hundred li of their vessel. At this stage, as expected... The formation grew somewhat disordered. Yet this disarray lasted only a fleeting moment before it restabilized. Such a development... "Origin Spirits! The assistance and guidance of Origin Spirit cultivators!" He barked an immediate order: "Ignore those charlatans in the rear and shatter the divine minds guiding the flying swords! Sword cultivators, prepare to strike... wait until they close to within three hundred li of the warship before engaging. I want you to sever their life-bound flying swords at the first opportunity and deal them a devastating blow!" His expression was frigid. For sword cultivators to execute an attack so far beyond their limits, sending their life-bound flying swords across three thousand li? How was that any different from serving up their life-bound flying swords on a platter to be battered? *Buzz! Buzz!* Empowered by the amplification formation, powerful surges of divine mind surged forth like an invisible tsunami, hurtling toward the sword formation of seventy-two flying swords. Yet... Just as when they had tried to spy on the area where Yaoguang and the others were preparing the Yin-Yang Dissociation Art ten thousand li away, this wave of divine mind crashed against the shore and shattered to pieces, utterly failing to disrupt the sword formation. This result caused Zuo Chuan's expression to change instantly. The deputy captain responsible for dispatching the Origin Spirit cultivators transmitted via divine mind at once: "The other side definitely has Great Cultivators who have survived the Zixiao Lightning Tribulation! And more than one! Furthermore, they seem to possess a new technique capable of integrating all their spirit cultivators' divine minds into a single cohesive whole. Even with our amplification formations, our Origin Spirit cultivators can do nothing against them!" "A new technique... integrating all spirit cultivators' divine minds into a single whole..." Zuo Chuan recalled the mysterious methods displayed when the Nine Cauldrons Sect crushed the Xuanming Sect... "Is this the Nine Cauldrons Sect's trump card?" "Captain, the enemy's sword formation is only six hundred li away from us..." The deputy's reminder cut in. "Have the sword cultivators prepare to strike... intercept at full strength! At the same time, push the defensive formations to maximum output..." Zuo Chuan promptly changed his orders. His expression, however, grew exceptionally grave. *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* Sword light tore through the void! Bolstered by the Chunyu's formation amplification, thirty-six sword cultivators of the Great Sun Sword Sect struck out decisively. Rays of sword light unleashed ear-piercing shrieks as they formed a sword formation, hurtling straight toward the Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Sword Formation steered by Yaoguang. The two waves of flying swords drew closer, closer, closer... At last! The two sword formations collided in midair. Yet, astoundingly, after crossing a full twenty-six hundred li, the Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Sword Formation still maintained staggering lethality. Amidst the howling wind and thunder, the two formations engaged in a frantic struggle of grinding and clashing. Ultimately... Both formations collapsed simultaneously. However... Thirteen flying swords still pierced through the void, bypassing the blockade of the Great Sun Sword Sect cultivators despite their warship-amplified formation, and shot toward the sky-patrol warship Chunyu. Leading the charge was Tang Fenghua's modified Zixiao-15 flying sword. "Brace for flying sword bombardment..." Zuo Chuan issued the order with an ugly look on his face. *Boom!* Radiant light scattered in all directions. The thirteen flying swords slashed violently against the warship's defensive array, sending visible ripples spreading across it. Still, having crossed nearly three thousand li and broken through the Chunyu sword cultivators' interception, these thirteen flying swords were spent arrows at the end of their flight. Aside from causing the Chunyu's defensive formations to flicker slightly, they inflicted no real damage. Even so, the sight made Zuo Chuan's face darken entirely. The enemy had launched an attack from three thousand li away and still managed to break through their interception?! Since when did the Nine Cauldrons Sect possess such capability?! How could their intelligence department have known nothing about this?! ... Yaoguang could not see Zuo Chuan's darkened expression. At this moment, his mind was completely focused on infiltrating through the ripples undulating across the warship's defensive formation, cross-referencing them against the vast array knowledge stored in his mind. From this single exchange of attacks, he had already analyzed over thirty percent of the defensive and sword-cultivator amplification formations aboard the Chunyu. Still... It was not enough. "Tang Fenghua, advance one thousand li and launch the second round of attacks. When breaking through their interception, let Wang Feng and his group take the lead. Keep your squad in the rear, and I will guide you to strike specific points..." Yaoguang's divine mind quickly reached Tang Fenghua. "Understood!" Tang Fenghua acknowledged. Of the seventy-two flying swords, two had sustained slight damage and required further nurturing; they could not take part in this round of attacks. However, missing two swords would not impede the Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Sword Formation. As the group pressed forward once more, the distance between the two sides shrank to two thousand li. Instantly, the second round of sword formation strikes erupted. The Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Sword Formation stirred up wind and thunder, blasting toward the warship Chunyu. Unwilling to concede defeat, the Chunyu launched its intercepting sword formation immediately afterward, accompanied by spells cast by its spell cultivators. Yet the Chunyu had only thirty-six sword cultivators after all. Facing the Zhenhai Institute, each of them effectively had to fight two opponents at once. Normally, relying on superior equipment made this entirely feasible, but now... The equipment gap between both sides had narrowed somewhat. Coupled with Yaoguang's flawless command of the Eight-Nine Wind-Thunder Sword Formation, the Chunyu's sword cultivators could only muster thirty-three flying swords this time. Evidently, during the first clash, while two Zhenhai Institute members suffered damage to their life-bound flying swords, three flying swords on the Chunyu's side had been damaged as well. *Rumble!* The two sword formations collided once again three hundred li from the Chunyu, unleashing a ferocious burst of violent energy that not only shredded the clouds across the sky but also churned up a massive tsunami across the sea below. This time... Only eleven flying swords breached the defense and struck the warship Chunyu. Yet the power retained by these eleven swords far surpassed that of the previous thirteen, causing the entire sky-patrol warship to shudder. ... "The Heavenly Sword Divine Punishment Formation has sustained minor damage." "One node of the Dragon Cry Sword Formation has been destroyed. Give me ten minutes and I can repair it!" "All twelve defensive formations remain operational!" Reports were continuously conveyed to Zuo Chuan. Looking at the damage to the formations, Zuo Chuan furrowed his brows. The formations that amplified the sword cultivators had both been affected? "What about the Sword Cultivator Department?" he demanded. "Two more members suffered damage to their life-bound flying swords! The damage isn't severe, however. They... seem to be aiming to break the formations," the deputy replied. "Break the formations?!" Zuo Chuan scoffed coldly. "Do they actually think they can bring down our sky-patrol warship? With attacks of this caliber, they wouldn't break through all twelve defensive formations even if we gave them an entire day!" He looked in the direction of the incoming sword formation. "If they want a war of attrition, we'll wear them down. I'd like to see just how many rounds of attacks of this caliber they can muster! Once their true qi is severely depleted, the offensive and defensive dynamics will reverse, and all hundred-plus members of the Zhenhai Institute will become our prisoners."