The wind ship continued forward, having already broken through the enemy’s coastal defense line. Under the alternating bombardment of artillery on both sides, there was no place to stand on the beach at all. When the fleet sailed over the islands, the ground was littered with the corpses of mutant demon fiends and shattered machine parts.

Aside from six large ships maintaining aerial superiority, the other vessels began to slowly descend.

Clearly, the Alliance Army was about to launch an island invasion, using ground forces to occupy the beachhead and establish a cross-sea stronghold.

"They don’t think they can use hot air balloons to contest air supremacy, do they?" Lin Qing sneered at the sight of a large flock of red cross balloons drifting leisurely toward them, "Aren’t those just sitting ducks?"

If the wind ship was an evolution into another dimension, then the hot air balloon was still stuck in ancient methods—slightly improved from the firing squad era, but far from being a match for spell-enhanced floating battleships. They could almost only rely on natural wind to fly, with a pitifully slow speed, and the basket below didn’t look bulletproof at all.

However, Lin Qing soon realized she was missing the point.

When the hot air balloon rose slightly higher than the fleet, people sitting in the basket suddenly jumped out! To be precise, two people and a demon!

The demon resembled a manta, with a wide and flat body and two flesh wings like fans, stretching out four or five meters, surprisingly able to glide in the air. On its back were two British Army soldiers, one controlling the manta demon, the other operating a multi-barreled rotary gun mounted on the demon’s back, aggressively charging toward the wind ship.

"Is this for real!?" Lin Qing was stunned.

The hot air balloon was merely a vehicle to provide altitude.

The enemy was using their signature boarding fight tactic, just setting the battlefield 400 to 500 meters above ground!

Seeing those British outfits, Chen Xuan also felt a sense of temporal confusion. Black tricorn hats and bright red coats, wasn’t that the classic attire of the lobster soldiers?

"Fellow comrades, follow me to fight the enemy!"

A loud shout from Ji Yun came from within the clouds.

The flagship Red Feather was also among the ones kept in the sky, and cultivators who had long been waiting on the deck all donned wing suits and soared into the sky to meet the incoming lobster soldiers.

An aerial battle both novel and classical broke out!

"Wow..." Lin Qing couldn’t help but let out a low exclamation.

Liu Shuyue watched without blinking.

The protagonists of the aerial battle were no longer high-performance machines but pure flesh and blood. Although neither side had wings, they found ways to solve the flight problem—at least for short flights.

The cultivators wore wing suits, not the kind often seen in extreme sports but literally "artificial wings": a pair of movable folding wings, seemingly made of bamboo for the frame, covered in oiled paper with talismans, looking like tail-less and headless kites. Cultivators used ropes to bind the wing suits to their backs and rose into the wind.

This device seemed to be an improvement on the Wind Riding Talisman.

Unlike the Wind Riding Talisman, which required precious materials, this device only needed to summon a gust of wind to lift a person easily. Its drawback was the inability to fly continuously, requiring frequent returns to the ship to replenish talisman paper.

Fortunately, the enemy’s maneuverability was also quite limited, as any sharp turn resulted in an unrecoverable loss of altitude, forcing them to slide back into artillery range. This was why the enemy had to fight using hot air balloons; after all, demon fiends, at home in the sea, couldn’t adapt to the sky like birds. Being able to glide was already impressive.

Intense fighting unfolded around the wind ship... batches of enemies dove down, reminiscent of Hell Knights. Meanwhile, cultivators unfolded their wings and battled fiercely with these vicious enemies, resembling angels guarding the world.

Witches were also busy, standing on the edge of the deck, using various magic to support the Alliance Army warriors... the explosions of fireballs and the gunfire from machine guns were continuous.

Chen Xuan spotted Ji Yun and Ji Lian among the group of cultivators.

Their flight paths were always more agile than others, frequently ducking into the blind spots of the rotary guns, then using the Thousand Thoughts Sword to kill the enemy. One focused on offense, the other on defense, complementing each other seamlessly; even if the enemy found shooting angles, the bullets would be blocked by the Qi Sword summoned by Ji Lian.

If anyone could rival them, it would be Xu Xuanling.

Her Chain Technique had greatly improved over the past twenty-five years, even in the air, with a few casually thrown talisman papers becoming points for her to pivot. One moment she was in front of the enemy, the next she was pulled by the chain to the rear, slicing both rider and manta demon in one swift move. Unlike the flight paths of the Gemini siblings, which could be traced, she moved entirely at will, coming and going without a trace.

Rather than flying, she seemed to be dancing among the enemy ranks.

After about thirty minutes of combat, the situation was gradually favoring the Alliance Army. Fewer hot air balloons were ascending, and the reinforcements of lobster soldiers couldn’t keep up with the attrition rate. Meanwhile, the other ten wind ships smoothly landed, with French Army soldiers and war horses pouring out from the aft cabin, charging into the enemy camp in three directions.

As Ji Yun had assured, Chen Xuan didn’t need to intervene much in this battle.

He only needed to witness his disciples’ victory here.

...

This time Liu Shuyue returned fully loaded.

She not only brought back extensive design diagrams of spiritual energy devices but also an entire box of cultivation insights written by Ji Yun. For cultivators, these experiences and personal insights are the most private and valuable, and if they fell into the wrong hands, someone could figure out the flaws in the spells, even the cultivator’s weaknesses.

Ji Yun was willing to share all of this with Liu Shuyue, which showed his deep respect for the Immortal Master. This bond hadn’t faded over twenty-five years nor was it belittled after he became the sect master.

Liu Shuyue’s emotions were complicated, but since these things were greatly beneficial to her and Hot Pepper Village, she gladly accepted them.

"This is really interesting now." Lin Qing said, lying on the couch and making it creak under her weight, "The disciples taught by Liu Shuyue established the Lotus Cloud Sect, and then the Lotus Cloud Sect cultivated Liu Shuyue... don’t mention her, even I can’t figure out what’s going on."

Chen Xuan opened the store, returning it to business mode, "You now recognize that these two Lotus Cloud Sects are the same sect?"

"Most likely they are." She shrugged, "I bet you thought so too... otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked that question before saying goodbye."

That was indeed true.

Before returning to the store, he asked Ji Yun a seemingly casual question: if he were to establish a sect territory in the future, where would he choose to settle?

Among the current Four Great Sects, only Lotus Cloud Sect didn’t have a fixed mountain gate, with all cultivators camping in the wild like soldiers. This might be okay during wartime, but people can’t remain adrift forever.

Ji Yun didn’t give it much thought, and after pondering for a moment, answered with a smile, "I’d choose a mountain where Spiritual Qi is most abundant as the founding site of Lotus Cloud Sect."

"Why choose a high mountain?"

"Because it’s closest to Xingyu." He paused, "Now we can step into the sky; if one day I could visit Xingyu, that would be great."

The Lotus Cloud Sect that Liu Shuyue hailed from was established on Kunlun Peak.

"Even the chosen location is the same, which makes it very likely." Lin Qing shifted into a comfortable position, placing her long legs on the coffee table, "Also, there’s a somewhat one-sided piece of evidence that could prove they are the same sect."

"What evidence?"

"The same world cannot self-erode." She replied, "You’ve discovered several invasion points both here in Joan and Chang’an City and over there with Shuyue, right? But none of them connect their worlds."

"Does that count?" Chen Xuan snorted, "As if I’ve explored the entire world."

"At least not currently, so assuming so for now is harmless."

He suddenly came up with an idea, "If both sides belong to the same world, can I bury a Time Box in Chang’an and unearth it over at Liu Shuyue’s?"

"Theoretically yes, but you don’t even know where Wanshan Wilderness is, so how would you pinpoint a box..." Lin Qing paused halfway, "Wait a minute! Maybe this method is feasible—if we use fusion cells to power it, paired with a specific channel microwave transmitter, the signal could be picked up across centuries."

"Where am I supposed to find such things?" Chen Xuan rolled his eyes.

"Of course, in New Paris City!" Lin Qing clapped her hands, "They’ve built a city underground, so technology shouldn’t be a problem!"

But the prerequisite is money.

Building a machine still requires cost.

His only means of exchanging New Paris Euros right now is the monthly store manager’s salary.