Chapter 326: Unlucky Thunderlight Sect

At Zhao Li's command, the Grand Heaven Sect's large ship charged straight ahead.

The enemy had clearly noticed the commotion. A group of cultivators on their deck peered over, observing, and quickly grew restless. They couldn't understand why the Grand Heaven Sect's ship was moving so fast, nor had they ever experienced anything like this before. But seeing such a massive flying spiritual artifact hurtling towards them, their hearts were still filled with panic.

Shouts and commands rang out from the deck. It was the cultivators in charge of that large ship, ordering their disciples to change course and avoid the collision. But after attempting for a moment, they realized it was useless. The opponent's speed was too great.

On the Grand Heaven Sect's towering ship, a cultivator came to report: “Senior Brother Zhao, that's not Scarlet Blood Valley; it's Thunderlight Sect.”

“Doesn't matter who they are,” Zhao Li replied, “ram them first.”

“Understood.”

They had initially thought these were reinforcements from Scarlet Blood Valley coming to aid Clearwind Gate, but it turned out to be Thunderlight Sect. Regardless, they were all enemies to be dealt with, and whether it was sooner or later wouldn't affect the overall strategy.

At this moment, the Thunderlight Sect's garrison deputy envoy felt a bitterness in his mouth stronger than eating bitter coptis. They had gone to support Clearwind Gate, but before they even arrived, Clearwind Gate's stronghold was captured. While retreating, Scarlet Blood Valley urgently called for aid, so they changed course again to support Scarlet Blood Valley. Now, they had been caught by the Grand Heaven Sect midway. He racked his brain but couldn't understand how the Grand Heaven Sect's large spiritual artifact ship could be so fast.

As he watched anxiously, the two large ships drew closer and closer. The Thunderlight Sect's towering ship was the first to project a defensive light barrier. The defensive power of this light barrier was naturally not as strong as a stronghold's defensive array, but it still offered some protection. In contrast, the Grand Heaven Sect did not immediately activate their defensive light barrier. Instead, streaks of magical light blasted out from their deck, striking the enemy sect's large ship. It wasn't until they were about twenty zhang away that the Grand Heaven Sect's large ship's defensive light barrier hastily illuminated.

Witnessing this scene, the Thunderlight Sect's garrison deputy envoy's heart grew cold. All their towering ships were purchased from the Heavenly Machine Treasury, meaning their quality and various capabilities were nearly identical. For the opponent to first weaken their defenses with several rounds of magical attacks before colliding clearly gave them an advantage. He cursed the Grand Heaven Sect as despicable and shameless in his mind, yet he also knew this was due to his own lack of combat experience. But could he be blamed for this? Thunderlight Sect had never encountered anything like this before. Not just Thunderlight Sect, but no one on the entire Spirit Stream battlefield had ever experienced such a thing.

Under the gaze of many eyes, the bow of the Grand Heaven Sect's large ship slammed forcefully into the stern of the Thunderlight Sect's large ship. When a deafening roar echoed, all cultivators from both sects lost their footing, stumbling and swaying, with some even falling onto the deck. The defensive light barriers of both towering ships shattered one after another, dissipating into tiny specks of light.

On the deck, Lu Ye clutched the ship's rail tightly. A groaning sound, as if the ship was struggling, reached his ears. Immediately after, a massive shadow loomed overhead. He looked up, only to see the underside of the Thunderlight Sect's large ship. At the moment of impact, due to the excessive speed, the Grand Heaven Sect's bow obliquely pierced beneath the Thunderlight Sect's stern, lifting the Thunderlight Sect's large ship directly upwards.

Another arduous friction and tremor followed. The Thunderlight Sect's large ship rolled away, flying out and falling diagonally towards the ground. A continuous chorus of screams emanated from that side. Immediately after, numerous figures shot out, hastily activating their flying spiritual artifacts to stabilize themselves. Some cultivators lacked sufficient strength or had insufficient control over their spiritual power. Even if they activated their flying spiritual artifacts, they found them difficult to control for a time.

There were over three hundred people on the Thunderlight Sect's large ship, but after the ship was knocked away, only just over a hundred cultivators managed to fly out. Without exception, all these cultivators swiftly fled in the direction of the Scarlet Blood Valley stronghold. In contrast, on the Grand Heaven Sect's side, although their large ship violently vibrated for a moment, there were no signs of it falling. The Grand Heaven Sect cultivators soared into the air, turning to pursue and kill the Thunderlight Sect cultivators.

Lu Ye charged at the forefront. He was the first to act, and his speed was the fastest.

Before cultivators transcended to Heaven-tier cultivation techniques, they generally wouldn't fight in the air with others, because of their insufficient control over their spiritual power. Fighting while flying on spiritual artifacts could easily lead to accidents. It could be said that cultivators flying on spiritual artifacts would have their overall strength greatly reduced. This situation would only improve after transcending to Heaven-tier cultivation techniques, which is why aerial combat among cultivators was frequently seen in the core region. Lu Ye, however, was unaffected. He could easily control four spiritual artifacts simultaneously with ample room to spare; what difference would it make to add flying on a spiritual artifact to that?

Under the blessing of the Wind-Striding Spirit Mark, his figure transformed into a streak of light. He shot straight through the fleeing Thunderlight Sect cultivators, his four spiritual artifacts weaving and darting around him, reaping enemy lives amidst a chorus of screams. After more than ten breaths, he halted, turned, and looked back, blocking the path of the fleeing Thunderlight Sect cultivators.

“Boom…”

A colossal roar came from below. Only then did the capsized Thunderlight Sect's large ship crash to the ground. Accompanying the roar was an eruption of flames, and faintly, continuous screams could be heard emanating from the ship's wreckage. Of the over three hundred people from Thunderlight Sect, only one hundred escaped. Where were the other two hundred-plus? They were, naturally, still inside the ship. Some hadn't had time to run, but more simply lacked the ability to escape. Falling from a height of nearly a hundred zhang, how could they have had a good outcome? It could be said that with just this one impact, Thunderlight Sect lost two hundred cultivators.

“Attack together, kill him!” the Thunderlight Sect's garrison deputy envoy roared angrily. After witnessing Lu Ye's flying speed and combat methods, he knew that if Lu Ye wasn't dealt with, none of them, the survivors, would be able to escape. Other Grand Heaven Sect members might not be able to catch up to them, but this Lu Yi Ye of the Jade Blood Sect was terrifyingly fast. They simply couldn't shake him off. His response was a rapidly expanding fiery-red streak of light in their vision.

If they were on the ground, even if Lu Ye's strength was formidable, he wouldn't dare block nearly a hundred people by himself. That would be no different from seeking death. But in the air, it was different. Everyone present hadn't yet transcended to Heaven-tier cultivation techniques. Lu Ye's strength was unaffected because of his powerful divine soul and strong control over his spiritual power. However, as for the rest of the Grand Heaven Sect members, each one would be fortunate to display even seventy percent of their usual strength. Furthermore, when flying on his spiritual artifact, Lu Ye had greater room for maneuverability and evasion. Simply put, it was virtually impossible for the enemy to hit him, yet his strikes were unerringly precise.

He intercepted and delayed at the front, continuously slaying enemies. Soon, the Grand Heaven Sect cultivators, led by Zhao Li, also caught up. Caught in a pincer attack, these Thunderlight Sect cultivators who had escaped the large ship had no path to survival. Streaks of spiritual artifacts and magical arts intertwined. The Thunderlight Sect cultivators displayed a quality of fearlessness in the face of death.

The fierce battle lasted for a moment, and the spiritual power fluctuations gradually subsided. During the previous assault on Clearwind Gate's stronghold, both sects had sustained some cultivator casualties. However, the casualties were not significant, with fewer than forty deaths in total, so it had no impact on their overall strength.

After the battle, as the battlefield was cleared, Lu Ye, along with some array cultivators, was busy checking the Grand Heaven Sect's large ship. The bow had sustained considerable damage, and the overall performance was slightly affected, but it was nothing serious. They did not continue forward. Instead, they recuperated while waiting for the people from Azure Mountain to rendezvous.

Thunderlight Sect lost over three hundred people in this encounter, suffering extremely heavy casualties. More importantly, with so many people missing, there was no hope of holding their stronghold unless they could promptly call for outside assistance. However, Scarlet Blood Valley, their closest ally, was the next target for attack. Scarlet Blood Valley couldn't possibly reinforce Thunderlight Sect. If they couldn't rely on Scarlet Blood Valley, hoping for more distant allied sects was even less reliable.

At this moment, within the Thunderlight Sect's stronghold, its garrison envoy's face was ashen. Just moments ago, in less than a few dozen breaths, over three hundred marks had vanished from his battle imprint. Each of those marks represented the life of a Thunderlight Sect cultivator. Those three hundred-plus disciples hadn't even managed to send back a single message before their deaths. No one knew what they had truly encountered, to have been utterly annihilated in such a short time, without a single survivor. The garrison envoy suppressed his grief, calmed himself, and sent a message to Scarlet Blood Valley to inquire about the situation.

The Scarlet Blood Valley garrison envoy was utterly bewildered. They were still waiting for Thunderlight Sect's reinforcements to jointly resist the Grand Heaven Sect and Azure Mountain. Yet, it turned out Thunderlight Sect's forces had been completely wiped out? Clearwind Gate was gone, and Thunderlight Sect's reinforcements were also dead. Didn't this mean they would have to fight alone? Instantly, the Scarlet Blood Valley garrison envoy felt an immense pressure, as heavy as a mountain.

Learning from Clearwind Gate's example, and despite knowing that Scarlet Blood Valley's strength alone wouldn't be enough to defend their stronghold, Scarlet Blood Valley still had no intention of retreating. As long as Scarlet Blood Valley was sufficiently prepared, then even if they were at a numerical disadvantage, they might still be able to fight the approaching enemy by relying on their geographical advantage!

In this critical situation, Scarlet Blood Valley began preparations in full swing. Messages flew back and forth between their stronghold and their main sect.

The people from Azure Mountain arrived belatedly and rendezvoused with the Grand Heaven Sect. The cultivators from both sects set off once more, advancing towards the Scarlet Blood Valley stronghold. During the major battle at Clearwind Gate's stronghold previously, both sects had suffered some cultivator casualties. However, the casualties were not significant, with fewer than forty deaths in total, so it had no impact on their overall strength.

When the cultivators from both sects arrived fiercely outside the Scarlet Blood Valley stronghold, Scarlet Blood Valley was already well-prepared. Their troop deployment was the same as when the two allied sects attacked Clearwind Gate previously: sturdy physical cultivators were at the very front, followed by weapon cultivators and ghost cultivators, with magical cultivators positioned at the rear.

The cultivators from both sects disembarked one by one. Having secured great victories in the previous two battles and possessing a numerical advantage, the cultivators of both Grand Heaven Sect and Azure Mountain were brimming with morale. Across the light barrier of the grand array, they glared menacingly at the people of Scarlet Blood Valley, some even openly gestured cutting their throats, brazenly threatening them. In contrast, on Scarlet Blood Valley's side, even though they were well-deployed and resolved to fight to the death against the enemy, their expressions remained tense.

Before the battle even began, cultivators from both sides had already started yelling insults at each other, with many curses involving mothers filling the air.