Posuo Island was not among the largest islands of the East Sea, but there was no other island to be found within a radius of five hundred kilometers. Occupying this island was equivalent to bringing all of the surrounding region under one’s jurisdiction. Territory had always been something sects fought over. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

To secure Posuo Island, which lay only nine thousand kilometers from the Nine Heavens Domain, the Nine Cauldrons Sect had begun routine patrols of the island and the surrounding waters three days earlier.

This time was no exception. Led by Yun Qing, a speed-oriented sword cultivator who practiced the Nine Heavens Streaming Light Sword Art, a four-man team cruised leisurely through the air at a speed of just under one thousand kilometers per hour. Even while flying, the group was able to chat casually.

"Tu Hong, Zhan Yunfei, and Zhang Lie, do not break formation. We are currently outside Hall Master Bai Lu’s psychic thought perception zone."

"We are staying alert," Tu Hong replied while flying on his sword and executing rapid turns and maneuvers. "My Heaven-Slaying Big Dipper Sword Art still feels just a bit short of the proficient stage, so I wanted to take this chance to practice more. Besides, with Zhan Yunfei here, nothing should go wrong."

"Although the Supreme Perception Sword Art I cultivate focuses on perception, how far can we high-tier cultivators really take it?" Zhan Yunfei said. "When visibility is good, its sensing range is not even as far as what the naked eye can see."

"Alright, Posuo Island is just ahead. Let us circle it once," Yun Qing said.

"Understood," Zhang Lie responded in a deep voice.

The four of them slightly increased their speed. Zhan Yunfei, who practiced the Supreme Perception Sword Art, suddenly froze, as if he had sensed something. In the next instant, he formed a sword seal. A sharp sword hum rang out from his flying sword, spreading outward in concentric ripples.

As the sword hum dissipated, Zhan Yunfei’s expression changed drastically. "Psychic thought! A strand of psychic thought just swept over us. Judging by its intensity, it was only the outer edge of its range. The source should be four to five hundred kilometers away."

"The Xuanming Sect!?" Yun Qing’s eyes lit up.

"M-My Supreme Perception Sword Art has not reached the proficient stage. I can't be certain," Zhan Yunfei said with some shame.

"Let's go take a look. If it is the Xuanming Sect, they must be driven away," Yun Qing said, then added in a low voice, "Send a message to Hall Master Bai Lu. We will need her support."

"The primordial psyche of the Heavenly Palace's cultivators does not pass through this region right now. We would have to wait about six minutes, unless we connect to the Infinite Star Palace’s Void Psychic World," Zhan Yunfei replied.

"No, we can't. The Xuanming Sect is backed by the Infinite Star Palace. The higher-ups already said that it is best not to use it unless absolutely necessary," Yun Qing said, shaking his head.

The Nine Cauldrons Sect did not have a Dharma Form psyche cultivator stationed in the nine heavens to oversee and coordinate psychic thought flows across the entire Great Cangwu World. Instead, it relied on Heavenly Palaces guarded by primordial psyche cultivators who had passed four lightning tribulations to relay information.

Even though the Nine Cauldrons Sect had recently invested heavily in developing psyche cultivators and now maintained fourteen Heavenly Palaces in the nine heavens, each with a primordial psyche great cultivator stationed within, it still could not guarantee uninterrupted communication at all times.

"Then we can only wait for now," Zhan Yunfei said.

"Mhmm." Yun Qing nodded. But the next moment, something seemed to occur to him. "Wait, no. Over the course of a full day, our sect’s communication blackout lasts less than an hour. At other times, there is at least a level 1 signal. This time window is the most dangerous, and yet we were just swept by psychic thought..."

With that realization, he immediately barked, "Full alert. Battle formation. Fall back toward Hall Master Bai Lu’s position."

Knowing full well that the enemy had a primordial psyche great cultivator backing them, none of the others tried to show off. Less than half a minute after they raised their guard, Zhan Yunfei suddenly sensed something again. "Left side. Flying sword incoming!"

"Tu Hong!" Yun Qing shouted.

In truth, he did not need the reminder. Tu Hong instantly formed a sword seal, and a streak of purple light shot out at astonishing speed, colliding head-on with a flying sword that had appeared abruptly on their left.

At the moment of impact, a visible shockwave erupted, carrying overwhelming force as it tore a hole in the clouds over a thousand meters wide.

Tu Hong let out a muffled grunt. The attacking flying sword was blasted away, and as the purple sword light twisted mid-air, offense and defense instantly reversed.

"Where is the enemy!?" Yun Qing demanded.

"It's psychic thought!" Zhan Yunfei said rapidly. "Their primordial psyche cultivator is using psychic thought to guide their sword cultivators in launching attacks. We can't see them. However, the farther a flying sword is from its sword cultivator, the weaker its damage becomes. Based on the speed at which the damage from those swords dropped off just now, they can't be more than twenty-five kilometers away."

As soon as he finished speaking, he sensed something again and cried out, "Watch out!"

At the horizon, clouds split apart as three more flying swords shot toward them. Each of these swords had been accelerating over a long distance and had reached top speed. Tu Hong’s Heaven-Slaying Big Dipper Sword Art excelled at tight turns and rapid directional changes, but after unleashing a strike, his speed inevitably dropped. There was no way he could block all three swords.

"Their flying swords are not that fast. Even now, at their top speed, they are only around Mach 2," Zhang Lie suddenly said.

"This is a carefully planned ambush. No wonder we didn't see a single Xuanming Sect cultivator over the past three days. They were waiting for us here!" Yun Qing said, his confidence settling in as he let out a light laugh. "Draw out the distance!"

As he spoke, he surged forward and grabbed Zhan Yunfei. "I will carry you."

Zhan Yunfei did not refuse. As someone who cultivated the Supreme Perception Sword Art, he was not strong in pure flight speed. Even with an excellent flying sword like the Purple Firmament Type 12, breaking past Mach 2 was difficult for him.

The Nine Heavens Streaming Light Sword Art cultivated by Yun Qing was famous for its flight speed. Even while carrying Zhan Yunfei, he accelerated rapidly, reaching his peak speed in less than five kilometers.

Such terrifying acceleration fully demonstrated Yun Qing’s deep mastery of the Nine Heavens Streaming Light Sword Art. In theory, the Purple Firmament Type 12 could reach Mach 2.8 at full potential. However, carrying an extra person inevitably reduced performance. Under normal circumstances, that reduction would not matter much, but at extreme speeds, even minor factors became decisive.

At his best, Yun Qing had surpassed 2.7 times the speed of sound. Dragged down by Zhan Yunfei, he was now left with only about 2.1. Even so, it was still enough to leave the enemy’s flying swords helplessly trailing behind.

As Yun Qing accelerated with Zhan Yunfei, Tu Hong and Zhang Lie did not hesitate either. Their sword flight speed could not match Yun Qing’s, but relying on the life-bound flying sword traits of the Purple Firmament Type 12, both still maintained speeds above Mach 2. Evading the enemy’s flying sword attacks posed no problem at all.

Unfortunately, dodging was useless. The enemy had a primordial psyche cultivator coordinating their forces and providing guidance. Even if they evaded the initial strike, the enemy’s flying swords could simply change direction and continue the pursuit.

"Can you handle the psychic thought interference from that primordial psyche cultivator?" Yun Qing asked.

"Yes!" Zhan Yunfei replied without hesitation. "That primordial psyche cultivator is four to five hundred kilometers away. This is already the limit of his psychic thought detection range. He can sense and lock onto our positions and guide the attacks of other sword cultivators’ flying swords, but his interference strength is less than ten percent. I can handle it."

"Good. Then this will be easy." Yun Qing sneered. "Come on. Let's go have some fun with them!"

He turned, seemingly fusing with the sword. In an instant, he became a sword light that seemed to tear through the heavens, splitting the clouds as he charged straight toward the direction from which the three flying swords had come.

Behind him, Tu Hong and Zhang Lie followed at nearly the same speed. Three sword lights formed a trident-like formation, patrolling the skies as they hunted, crossing more than ten kilometers in just a few breaths.

The enemy seemed to sense their intent and hurriedly tried to draw their flying swords back to provide support. But their flying swords were still slower than Yun Qing and the others’. After only a brief moment...

"I sensed it! Ten kilometers to the left. That cloud layer over there!" Zhan Yunfei suddenly said.

Yun Qing slightly adjusted his sword’s trajectory. Maintaining their terrifying speed, the three of them continued to tear through the air, leaving white stripes in their trail as they slammed directly into the clouds. The massive cloud layer was instantly blasted open, leaving a huge hole.

The enemy seemed to realize the situation had turned unfavorable. One after another, they broke free from the clouds they had been hiding in and fled on their swords toward the direction of their primordial psyche great cultivator.

"That is the Black Cloud Sword Art! They are from the Xuanming Sect!" Zhan Yunfei said quickly as he watched the six figures burst out of the clouds.

"Which one was controlling the flying sword that was chasing us?" Yun Qing asked.

"The second one from the left," Zhan Yunfei replied.

"The second..." Yun Qing quickly calculated the distance between himself, the flying sword locked onto him, and that sword cultivator.

"Be careful!" In the next instant, after giving that brief warning, he directly released Zhan Yunfei.

Perfectly in sync, Zhan Yunfei immediately stabilized his own flying sword. At the same time, he pushed the Supreme Perception Sword Art to its absolute limit. A terrifying sword will shot straight into the sky, as if planning to shatter all the clouds within a radius of a dozen kilometers.

Yet when that sword will surged into the clouds, it caused no physical damage at all. Instead, the psychic thought of the primordial psyche cultivator enveloping the battlefield reacted as though it had been stabbed, rippling outward in wave after wave and momentarily losing control over the area.

Meanwhile, Yun Qing, having just cast off Zhan Yunfei, accelerated as much as he could. His speed jumped instantly from Mach 2.1 to Mach 2.4, then Mach 2.6, until it reached the upper limit of Mach 2.7. At such terrifying speed, the distance between him and the Xuanming Sect sword cultivators shrank rapidly. It went from 5 kilometers to 2.5, then 1.5 kilometers, and finally 500 meters...

"How dare you!" An enraged roar from the primordial psyche cultivator seemed to echo through the void.

Terrifying psychic thought surged, shaking the connection between Yun Qing and his flying sword, even attempting to suppress his ability to think. But the distance was far too great. Moreover, that psychic thought had just been cut once by Zhan Yunfei’s Supreme Perception Sword Art.

After only a brief moment, Yun Qing broke free from the suppression. His sword light, which had dipped to around Mach 2.5, surged once more to Mach 2.7, and in an instant, he slammed into the sword cultivator he had locked onto.

That sword cultivator swung his longsword, unleashing streak after streak of sword light. But it was not his strongest flying sword, nor was he prepared. That rushed counterattack was completely incapable of stopping Yun Qing.

As Yun Qing, fused with his sword, flashed past him, sword qi erupted. The high-tier sword cultivator was shredded on the spot, torn apart by sword qi as blood scattered across the sky.