Reinforcements

An all-out war erupted between the Star Slayer Alliance and the three combat squads of the Xingri Sect. To be precise, it was an all-out ambush orchestrated by the Star Slayer Alliance against the Xingri Sect. The Xingri Sect appeared to have already mentally prepared for such an ambush. The moment the Star Slayer Alliance's semi-immortal battleship showed itself, they immediately switched from offense to defense. Relying on pinnacle Dao artifacts and even formation implements capable of rapid deployment, they swiftly erected a formidable defensive perimeter. For a time, even though the Star Slayer Alliance fielded over forty Dao Lords, they were still unable to do anything to them in the short term. If this trend continued, the Xingri Sect needed only to hold out until reinforcements from their sect arrived, and they might even seize the opportunity to utterly scatter the Star Slayer Alliance. At the very least, they could dampen the Star Slayer Alliance's morale through this battle. Given the Star Slayer Alliance's nature as an alliance of Dao Lords, the moment the other Dao Lords felt the alliance could achieve nothing, they would naturally scatter like birds and beasts, no longer placing any faith in them. The Star Slayer Alliance's leadership understood this just as well. And since they had dared to make their move... They naturally possessed ample confidence. The already formidable Star Slayer Alliance Leader went so far as to unleash an offensive semi-immortal artifact. Aided by the other Dao Lords, he completed a cycle of gathering momentum and unleashed an attack comparable to an immortal art! This Alliance Leader primarily cultivated the Grand Dao of Yin and Yang—the transition of yin and yang, the cycle of life and death. With a single strike, he tore apart the defensive formation of the Xingri Sect's Dao Lords, truly demonstrating the might of an invincible Dao Lord. "Impressive," Yaoguang murmured from the bottom of his heart. Such methods... Even Dao Lord Penglai would likely be inferior by a notch. After all, Dao Lord Penglai was too young, and his foundation remained too shallow. "With this blow, the Xingri Sect's side won't be able to hold out. Even if they manage to hang on until reinforcements arrive, the Star Slayer Alliance can completely rely on the power of that semi-immortal battleship to withdraw from the battlefield before the Xingri Sect's reinforcements get here. In the end, they might not wipe out all three squads of the Xingri Sect, but slaying eight or ten of them would still deal a massive blow to the Xingri Sect's prestige. With this victory, the Star Slayer Alliance's confidence is bound to soar..." Yaoguang was still analyzing the situation when he suddenly found himself rendered speechless. "The Xingri Sect's three squads are breaking out!?" Breaking out... That was also an admission of defeat. However, their losses would undoubtedly be much lighter. If the Star Slayer Alliance pursued them and scattered across the void, they would not be able to withdraw in time using that semi-immortal battleship. If they did not pursue... Relying on the strength of several leaders and vice leaders, they could at most slay a few Dao Lords. Although that was still a minor victory, it would fail to crush the Xingri Sect's morale. Since this was considered an ambush, it might even ignite a shared hatred within the Xingri Sect, spurring them to strike at the Star Slayer Alliance with all their might and causing the alliance to suffer heavier losses and collapse prematurely. "The squad leaders heading the Xingri Sect's side are quite decisive," Yaoguang remarked. However... He could not let the Xingri Sect's people simply withdraw like this. If they withdrew, would the Xingri Sect's reinforcements still show up? Would that Time Dao Lord still reveal himself? He was still waiting for both sides to fight to the death so he could reap the benefits in the chaos. At once, his figure leapt out from the Ten Directions Heavenly Realm. With a few flickers through the void, he materialized beside that semi-immortal battleship. As he reached out with an ethereal grasp, the void surrounding that semi-immortal artifact seemed to rapidly shrink and collapse, as if intent on condensing several hundred li of space and all matter within it into a void pearl to be held in his palm. Yaoguang's sudden emergence caught both the Star Slayer Alliance and the Xingri Sect completely off guard. Upon seeing Yaoguang move to seize the Star Slayer Alliance's headquarters—the Xuanguang Boat—Dao Lord Jiugong, who was both master of the Xuanguang Boat and leader of the Star Slayer Alliance, roared in fury, "Audacious!" At the same time, from within the Xuanguang Boat, a Dao Lord cultivating the Grand Dao of Flowing Light stepped forth. Reaching out with the flowing light of the Grand Dao, he sought to shatter Yaoguang's spatial restriction. "Fellow Daoists, hold off Jiugong for me! As long as I can capture this battleship, the Star Slayer Alliance will have nowhere left to hide, and the Xingri Sect wiping them out will be only a matter of time!" Yaoguang pressed down with his ethereal hand, shattering the Grand Dao of Flowing Light invoked by that Dao Lord, while simultaneously sending a divine sense transmission to the pinnacle Dao Lords leading the Xingri Sect's forces. "It's you!" Among the pinnacle Dao Lords, one of them was Qianjie. He was also the commander of the Dark Moon Guard. The moment he sensed Yaoguang's divine sense fluctuation, he recognized that this was the very person who had left them the coordinates. Stepping forward to deal with the Star Slayer Alliance at such a juncture... He truly was an ally, not a foe. Moreover, with a single palm strike, he had suppressed Dao Lord Xingliu, who was specifically responsible for piloting the Xuanguang Boat. His combat prowess was at least that of a pinnacle Dao Lord. He was likely among the very best even among pinnacle Dao Lords, and probably not inferior in the slightest compared to Dao Lord Jiugong. With such a powerhouse joining their ranks, they no longer needed to retreat at all. Holding out until headquarters' reinforcements arrived would pose no problem whatsoever. "Very well! Thank you for your assistance, Fellow Daoist! Once this battle concludes, I will surely petition the sect to reward your merit! Even if you wish to ascend to the Immortal Realm through our Xingri Sect's Gate of the Immortal Realm, that is not out of the question!" Dao Lord Qianjie's spirits lifted immensely. Of course, the Xuanguang Boat would have to be handed over. Otherwise, if it fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, another Star Slayer Alliance would inevitably rise in its place. However, that was a matter to be dealt with after the reinforcements arrived. Surely this Dao Lord was a reasonable man who understood the bigger picture. The other two commanders also breathed sighs of relief. If they were defeated today, even with minimal losses, they would still face the sect's reprimand. But if they could hold their ground, persevere until the sect's reinforcements arrived, and enable the sect to crush the Star Slayer Alliance in one fell swoop, then their merit would be immense, and they would undoubtedly secure a spot for ascension to the Immortal Realm. Instantly, the two pinnacle Dao Lords and the third commander, whose strength was virtually on par with a pinnacle Dao Lord, struck simultaneously, moving with all their might to intercept Dao Lord Jiugong. Although Dao Lord Jiugong's combat prowess was formidable—bordering on invincible—he was brought to a dead halt under the combined interception of Dark Moon Guard Commander Qianjie, Star Brilliance Guard Commander Wanjie, and Sky Patrol Guard Commander Tianyan, unable to extricate himself. Seeing his headquarters on the verge of being seized, Dao Lord Jiugong's divine sense erupted like a howling tempest. "You are... courting death!" In the next instant, an even more terrifying might, reinforced by secret treasures, exploded outward. "Hahaha! Jiugong, you have trump cards, but do you think I, Qianjie, have none? Don't forget that the resources our Xingri Sect commands are far richer than what you wandering strays could ever dream of!" Dao Lord Qianjie let out a long roar. "Today, the Star Slayer Alliance becomes history!" Dao Lord Wanjie likewise unleashed a desperate trump card. Terrifying waves of energy erupted across the battlefield, directly shattering hundreds of millions of li of starry space. Without exception, every single clash of energy bordered on the level of an immortal art, not at all inferior to the Flames of Dao Extinction that Dao Lord Penglai had once used to instantly slay Dao Lord Yuanxu. In this manner of life-and-death struggle between pinnacle Dao Lords, any ordinary Dao Lord who dared enter would easily end up reduced to ash. Catching sight of the dawn of victory, the Xingri Sect squads and the Star Slayer Alliance fought with savage fury, exhausting every trump card they possessed. The people of the Star Slayer Alliance grew increasingly frantic. Once the Xuanguang Boat was taken, the foundation of the Star Slayer Alliance's existence would vanish. From then on, unless these Dao Lords left this star domain and fled into the depths of the starry sky, the Xingri Sect would eventually hunt them down one by one to settle the score. Because of this, they gave their absolute all as well. Trump cards they had originally intended to use only when charging through the Gate of the Immortal Realm were now hurled out in succession. Under such circumstances, in merely a few moments, no fewer than five Dao Lords had already fallen. The Xingri Sect lost two, while the Star Slayer Alliance lost three. The sheer brutality was rivaled only by—if not surpassing—the time when the Gate of the Immortal Realm had fully opened. Meanwhile, Yaoguang... He watched the situation unfold, while steadily intensifying his control and refinement of the Xuanguang Boat. The reason he had not yet fully refined it was primarily because the Dao Lords of the Star Slayer Alliance charged fearlessly at him, forcing him to draw back his hand to fend off their attacks. Furthermore, whenever the Xingri Sect Dao Lords tasked with containment fell into danger, he would lend a helping hand within his power, which further slowed his speed in refining and seizing control of the Xuanguang Boat. Seeing this, though the Xingri Sect cultivators grew anxious, they could do nothing about it. After all, during this brief window, even while suppressing that flowing light Dao Lord on the Xuanguang Boat, Yaoguang had managed to divide his attention and help them slay two of the Star Slayer Alliance's Dao Lords. Although it had mostly been through "ambushes," with such achievements to his name, who in the Xingri Sect would dare say a single word against him? ... Finally, when the battle between both sides had reached a state of near-mutual destruction—with the Xingri Sect having suffered eight fallen Dao Lords and the Star Slayer Alliance losing a full ten—Yaoguang seemed to sense something. The Xuanguang Boat, which had perpetually remained a sliver away from being refined and controlled, was at last brought under his preliminary grasp. Even if he could not store it away immediately, he could at least drag the Xuanguang Boat away from the battlefield. Seeing this, Dao Lords Qianjie and Wanjie were overcome with wild joy. "Fellow Daoist Yaoguang, make haste to this sector of space! Our Xingri Sect's first wave of reinforcements has arrived! Under their protection, the Star Slayer Alliance will never take that flying vessel back from your hands!" Dao Lord Qianjie swiftly transmitted a set of coordinates to Yaoguang. "Very well!" Seeing that Qianjie and his companions were indeed nearing their limits, Yaoguang wasted no time. With his ethereal hand lifting the Xuanguang Boat, a Void Flicker carried him away, instantly pulling him clear of the battlefield. "Stop him!" Dao Lord Jiugong roared in fury. "Your opponent is me!" "Haha, Fellow Daoist Yaoguang is a Void Dao Lord, and one whose natal Dao art is Void Flicker! If he wishes to leave, who among you can possibly stop him!?" Qianjie and Wanjie laughed together in triumph. The reason they had not asked Yaoguang to hand over the Xuanguang Boat right then and there was precisely because they had factored this in. As a pinnacle Void Dao Lord wielding Void Flicker as his natal Dao art, he was indeed the best candidate to evade the Star Slayer Alliance with the Xuanguang Boat. "Alliance Leader, I will take the Void Dao Lords to pursue him!" Dao Lord Zhuanhe abandoned his pursuit of finishing off a Xingri Sect Dao Lord and quickly assembled six Dao Lords, rushing directly after Yaoguang. ... On the other side, relying on Void Flicker, Yaoguang swiftly traversed an expanse of space... Of course, because he was hauling the Xuanguang Boat, his speed was not exceptionally fast, enough that Dao Lord Zhuanhe and his companions would not lose sight of him. And as he arrived at the location provided by Dao Lord Qianjie... A battleship emerged through the void right on time. The auras of thirteen Dao Lords manifested simultaneously. Every single aura was vast and majestic. In particular, the foremost aura was half a step superior even when compared to Dao Lord Jiugong. This was... The Xingri Sect Master, Dao Sovereign Jinguang.