30: Chapter 30 Technological Cleansing, Sword Piercing the Sky

The allied forces had no intention of testing the waters.

Or perhaps, once the four factions had combined their strengths, they no longer felt it necessary to test anything.

Ten large warships pressed down on the waves. The three at the front were responsible for breaking the formation, while the seven at the rear stretched out in a long column. Spirit Stone giant cannons, formation-breaking cones, and ship-protecting spirit shields lit up layer by layer, illuminating half the night sea with a ghostly white light. The clan emblems of the Chen family, Chi Luo Island, Wu She Island, and Black Tide Islet fluttered in the wind like four gaping maws.

The outermost ring of the alert water formation barely held on for long.

The three formation-breaking ships of the allied forces fired simultaneously. Columns of spirit light as thick as pillars slammed into the sea surface, and the water curtain, originally maintained by backflow and spirit-gathering lines, shattered on the spot. The waves seemed to be torn open, and the entire outer sea trembled.

The island lords on the bows of the ships burst into laughter.

"Is this the foundation of Blue Moon Island?"

"To think the Chen family could fall in such a trivial situation; they truly have regressed with age."

"Stop the nonsense. Charge in first. We can divide the treasures after we break the island!"

The more they laughed, the quieter Lu Changyuan became.

The outer water formation was never intended to stop this entire allied force.

Its purpose was merely to make the opponent feel confident enough to press in.

Soon, the first batch of warships followed the gap blasted open and charged into the Inner Sea.

The sea breeze softened, and the waves were largely absorbed by the reefs and island arcs on both sides. For the allied forces, this meant more stable firing positions and closer bombardment range; for those who had run the outer seas for years, once warships pressed into this area, it was almost as if a blade had already been placed against the throat of Blue Moon Island.

On the flagship at the very front, Chen Chengyue's sleeves billowed as he personally inserted a formation-breaking token into the Formation Plate on the bow, sneering as he looked toward the coastal stone ramparts.

"Playing god."

"After tonight, this place, along with that mine, will belong to our four factions."

Before the words even faded, Lu Changyuan's hand finally dropped.

"Fire the crossbows."

In the next instant, behind the coastal stone ramparts, twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows raised their heads in unison.

A uniform, hair-raising sound of metal clashing rang out. The mystic ice jade guides on the crossbow arms lit up all at once, and cold light raced rapidly along the Array Patterns, bathing the entire coastline in an icy blue hue.

The laughter on the allied flagship froze for a split second.

But before they could truly react, the first volley had already arrived.

Twenty giant ice-blue arrows left their strings almost simultaneously. The sharp screech they emitted as they tore through the night wind sounded like twenty bolts of cold thunder striking into the sea from the shore. The ship-protecting spirit shields of the three foremost warships had just fully lit up when they were first pierced with large cracks by the mystic ice's chilling power; the following explosive fire-pattern force then detonated along the cracks, shattering the entire spirit shield on the spot.

The bow of the first formation-breaking ship was pierced directly through.

A giant crater exploded on the deck of the second warship. The three Foundation Establishment Cultivators responsible for operating the cannons didn't even finish their screams before they were pinned to the deck, along with their armor.

The third ship suffered the worst.

It had intended to veer sideways by borrowing the cover of the shattered shields of the neighboring two ships, but the moment it turned even half an inch, it was struck by two giant mystic ice arrows that crossed and hit its main mast. The entire main mast snapped with a roar, collapsing onto the Cultivators and cannon positions on the deck, filling the ship with exploding frost and waves of fire.

The wild laughter that had originally belonged to the allied forces on the sea surface was instantly and abruptly cut off.

Replacing it was a chorus of terrified roars.

"What is that!"

"The shield is broken!"

"Retreat! Retreat outside the firing range first!"

But it was already too late.

Behind the stone ramparts, the Mortal gunners did not give them any time to regroup. Shi Jian and a group of workers from the Workshop ran between the crossbow positions like madmen, changing arrows, drawing strings, pressing slots, and turning directions, all practiced until it was nothing but instinct.

This was the result of Lu Changyuan forcing out the lives of five thousand people, several Workshops, and the entire island during this period.

The second volley came even faster than the first.

This time, the twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows did not just target the front row, but instead followed the firing range calculated in advance by Su Qingli, pressing toward the middle section of the allied forces and the flagship.

The giant ice-blue arrows tore through the wind. A Wu She Island warship preparing to accelerate and retreat was pierced through the hull on the spot. The spirit power furnace exploded, and the entire ship split in half in the middle of the Inner Sea. On the other side, the secondary ship of Chi Luo Island was pierced through the broadside by two arrows. Over a dozen high-level Cultivators on board didn't even have time to fully activate their body-protecting spirit light before they were blasted into a mist of blood amidst the intermingling ice and fire.

The four island lords who had been standing high on the bows, as if everything was within their grasp, finally had their complexions change completely.

They had never seen such a heavy crossbow that could pierce through three layers of shields and Foundation Establishment Cultivators alike, nor had they ever seen such a heavy weapon controlled by Mortals that was sufficient to completely overturn the situation of a naval battle in a single volley.

Chen Chengyue was the first to regain his senses and barked sharply: "Spirit Stone giant cannons, fire at the shore for me! Blast those twenty crossbow positions flat!"

But just as several warships were hurriedly adjusting their cannons, the secondary Formation Plate that Su Qingli had buried on the edge of the Inner Sea finally lit up.

A large wall of fog suddenly rose from the originally calm, shallow water surface. Several pre-buried anti-cavalry spikes and reef lines flipped out of the sea, firmly jamming the heaviest of the allied forces' large ships. Just as the cannon muzzles turned halfway, the third volley whistled in.

This round was not just for the ships.

Even the few Foundation Establishment island lords who were the most conspicuous and steady on the bows were forcibly dragged into the firing range.

As the Black Tide Islet lord just raised his body-protecting Magic Treasure, a giant ice-blue arrow tore in along the thinnest line of his spirit light. His entire body was knocked flying backward from the bow, and a large mist of blood exploded from his chest. The Chi Luo Island lord roared and took to the air, wanting to gain altitude to dodge, but the moment he left the ship by three zhang, another arrow pierced in from the side and rear, shattering his body-protecting spirit light along with his left shoulder.

At this moment, everyone still alive on the sea finally understood one thing.

Blue Moon Island never intended to just hold this one line of coastline from the very beginning.

It intended to leave everyone who charged into the Inner Sea right here.

And at the very moment when the allied forces' formation was brutally scattered by the twenty mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows, a very faint sound of a sword hum came from the clouds.

Young Master Lu Qingshan had arrived.

There was no command, no warning.

Only a flash of snow-white sword light, so faint it was almost invisible, flashed down from the deepest part of the night sky. Immediately following, twenty figures clad in purple-patterned light armor plunged into the sea battlefield like blades falling from the clouds.

The Zixiao Sword Guards.

They did not advance head-on like Dao soldiers; instead, they specialized in cutting people, specifically the core nodes who were still trying to hold the fleet together by relying on cultivation and commands. The ship commanders, cannon operators, the island lords' personal guards, and the shield maintainers were cut to pieces within a few breaths.

Young Master Lu Qingshan himself was even more direct.

He didn't even bother to form any extra sword techniques; he simply raised his hand and pointed his fingers. A moon-white Sword Qi streaked from his fingertips like a thread flicked away casually, yet the moment it touched the throat of the Wu She Island lord, it cleanly and neatly sent his head flying.

On the other side, the Black Tide Islet lord had just climbed up from the ruins of the deck, not even seeing who had attacked, when a thin, long line of blood appeared across his chest, piercing through from front to back. In the next breath, that line ripped open violently, and his entire body collapsed into two halves.

This was no longer a naval battle in the ordinary sense.

Once Young Master Lu Qingshan and the Zixiao Sword Guards descended, those in the allied forces who could barely maintain command and formation were cut clean in one go.

The allied forces, which could barely hold on by relying on numbers and ship formations, completely collapsed with the official entry of Young Master Lu Qingshan and the Zixiao Sword Guards.

The ships at the very front wanted to flee but were jammed by anti-cavalry spikes, shallows, and broken reefs; the ships behind wanted to turn around but had their routes blocked by sunken ships and broken masts; some abandoned their ships and soared into the air, only to collide head-on with the next round of mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows and the sword light falling from the Zixiao Sword Guards.

The entire Inner Sea was like a slaughterhouse pre-arranged by Blue Moon Island.

Shi Jian stood behind the crossbow position, blood and ice chips of unknown origin splattered on his face, yet he continued to roar.

"Load the arrows!"

"Number three position, half an inch to the left!"

"Don't stop! Another volley!"

Those Mortal gunners, who originally only knew how to move stones, carry wood, and dig trenches, were now gritting their teeth one by one, like veteran soldiers truly wielding weapons of slaughter. Every time they released a volley, another mist of blood and shattered shield would appear on the sea.

This scene was more capable of driving people mad than any slogan.

In the end, the remaining allied Cultivators finally lost all Battle Intent.

Some knelt on the deck kowtowing, some threw down their Magical Artifacts and wanted to jump into the sea to escape, and others shouted directly toward the coast, willing to surrender. But no one on the Blue Moon Island side listened to their nonsense anymore; the Dao soldiers, Sword Guards, and crossbow positions continued to close in layer by layer.

By the time the night was completely stained by blood and fire, the only flags still standing in the Inner Sea were those of Blue Moon Island.

Of the ten large warships, some sank, some split apart; the floating wreckage and corpses almost covered half the sea surface. The four island lords were either dead or crippled, and the centuries of foundation and armaments brought with the ships were dragged back to the shore, ship by ship.

Young Master Lu Qingshan stood on the highest piece of the broken mast, looking down at the chaotic sea surface below, then turned his head to look at Lu Changyuan on the distant coast, a bit of genuine approval finally appearing in the depths of his eyes.

"This place of yours is starting to look like something."

Lu Changyuan did not respond to this sentence, only stepping across the broken deck step by step, finally standing on the half-section of the Chen family flagship's bow.

The sea breeze blew, and the seawater under his feet had already been darkened by blood.

He looked down at the aftermath of this great victory, but his heart did not have the slightest bit of relaxation.

At this very moment, the heavenly secret jade slip at his waist suddenly grew hot without any warning.

It was more urgent and more vicious than when he first saw the scarlet warning characters.

Lu Changyuan's gaze sank suddenly. The moment his Divine Sense pressed into it, the ancient Jade Slip expanded violently, and a line of small characters, scarlet as blood, was reflected directly in the center of his Sea of Consciousness.

[Warning! The Scarlet Beast Tide has broken through the outer sea defense line, expected to arrive in three months!]

Three months.

The sea breeze seemed to suddenly turn cold at this moment.

Lu Changyuan raised his head and looked toward the pitch-black, further outer sea.

Nothing could be seen there yet.