MTLNOVEL Chapter 186: Sudden Rain
Fangyuan Island.
The strategic center established by the Nine Cauldrons Sect for defending against the Great Sun Sword Sect.
It was equipped with numerous formations, including the Sixth Level formation—the Nine Heavens Vast Sea Formation.
This island had originally been presided over by Elder Cang Hai, who had undergone more than ten Purple Cloud Divine Thunder Temperings.
However, as the situation in the Eastern Sea deteriorated, this elder had no choice but to abandon the island and lead the Nine Cauldrons Sect members back to their sect.
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Eventually...
The large island fell into the hands of the Xuanming Sect.
And while the Nine Cauldrons Sect was adjusting its troops and preparing a posture to retake the East Sea Archipelago, the entire Xuanming Sect had become tense; for this reason, Song You, Song Ming, Lv Xuan, and other high-ranking sect members had held countless meetings.
However, according to their discussions, most believed it was just a show of force by the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Having just been taught a lesson by the Limitless Star Palace, even their Golden Core ancestors had been forced to act, and now...
Perhaps that ancestor's Golden Core had not yet stabilized, had it?
In such circumstances, the possibility of the Nine Cauldrons Sect starting a full-scale war was unlikely.
Of course, to display their own tough stance, the Xuanming Sect also deployed a significant number of troops around Fangyuan Island.
Especially across the whole Eastern Sea, the Xuanming Sect, though not exactly pouring out all their resources, had still committed over half of their sect's strength.
The number of Great Cultivators alone exceeded six hundred.
When the Nine Cauldrons Sect marshaled their troops in the Nine Heavens Domain and seemed truly intent on pressing deep into the Eastern Sea, the pressure on the Xuanming Sect became even greater, leading to almost daily meetings.
Luckily, at that time, a message from the Limitless Star Palace delivered a much-needed boost—the Nine Cauldrons Sect was internally divided over whether to fully advance into the East Sea Archipelago.
The forces they dispatched, though formidable in appearance, were merely probing in their attacks.
As long as the Xuanming Sect could withstand the first wave of attacks from the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the nearby sects would inevitably take action.
By then, the Great Sun Sword Sect, Primordial Yang Sect, Star Sea Sect, Dayue Dynasty, and Ancient Immortal Sect would definitely enter the fray. If the Xuanming Sect managed to perform exceptionally and break through the seemingly strong exterior of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, they could even create a situation where many attack one, pushing into the homeland of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Moreover, the Limitless Star Palace had also made a promise.
If the Xuanming Sect really could advance to the homeland of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the Limitless Star Palace was willing to sell a retired Patrol Heaven Warship at "cost price" to the Xuanming Sect.
Of course, the higher-ups of the Xuanming Sect were still sensible enough to take this promise lightly.
Being able to unite the sects of the Eastern Sea and occupy thousands of miles of territory was already the limit for the Xuanming Sect.
Advance into the homeland of the Nine Cauldrons Sect?
Unless the Limitless Star Palace, Great Sun Sword Sect, or Primordial Yang Sect took the lead, if they dared to do so, under the strong counterattack of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, the Xuanming Sect would definitely suffer heavy losses.
By then, forget about occupying numerous islands in the Eastern Sea; even maintaining their sect's interests in the Eastern Sea would be problematic.
In such a situation, they chose a relatively safe tactic.
Firmly defend Fangyuan Island.
As long as they could make the Nine Cauldrons Sect suffer a major setback on Fangyuan Island and make them realize the difficulty of returning to the Eastern Sea, just as the information provided by the Limitless Star Palace suggested, another faction within the Nine Cauldrons Sect would naturally abandon the idea of re-entering the East Sea Archipelago.
...
"Hall Master, we've just received the latest news. The Nine Cauldrons Sect has mobilized from the Nine Heavens Domain and is heading straight for us. According to the information from our informants, their first dispatch includes one hundred and eight Great Sword Cultivators, along with a small number of Technique Cultivators and Divine Cultivators following them. Without exception, all these people are Third Rank elites!"
On Fangyuan Island, Lv Ming, the Campaign Hall Master of the Xuanming Sect, had received this troublesome news.
Although he had anticipated it, he still felt a heaviness in his heart when the news actually arrived.
"Is it finally starting?"
Lv Ming took a deep breath.
His gaze swept over the people behind him.
The force of the Xuanming Sect stationed on Fangyuan Island was not weak, with more than one hundred and sixty Great Cultivators, including around a hundred Sword Cultivators.
But among these hundreds of Sword Cultivators, those at the Second Rank Foundation Establishment made up the majority, and in terms of quality, they could not compare to the Nine Cauldrons Sect.
Moreover...
Like the Nine Cauldrons Sect, their Sword Cultivators' Flying Swords were primarily first-generation, with a few second-generation Flying Swords bought at a high price from other sects mixed in.
As for those with third-generation Flying Swords...
They could be counted on one hand.
"What did the Sect Master say?"
He glanced at the Vice Hall Master of the Heavenly Palace.
Of course, the Xuanming Sect did not have Heavenly Palace Cultivators, but that did not stop them from establishing this department.
And this department served essentially as an intelligence agency.
"Over a hundred Great Cultivators, such a force is indeed strong, but not so powerful that we can't resist," said the Vice Hall Master of the Heavenly Palace solemnly. "The Sect Master's directive is for you to rely on the advantage of our formations here to entangle this troop. The Great Elder will then gather other Great Cultivators stationed on surrounding islands to come for reinforcement. When the time comes, with a coordinated effort from inside and outside, we can severely damage this elite enemy force! Just by capturing half of them, we can subdue the Nine Cauldrons Sect! When the surrounding sects see our achievement, they will definitely seize the opportunity to pressure the Nine Cauldrons Sect, preventing them from daring to step into the Eastern Sea ever again!"
"Coordinated effort from inside and outside..."
Lv Ming pondered slightly, "It's a good plan, but what if the Nine Cauldrons Sect doesn't fall for it? Or if they have other arrangements?"
"Even better then, their first attack would be forced to stop due to our perfect deployment, and this will greatly demoralize them. Additionally, it will let the nearby sects see through their facade of strength..."
The Hall Master of the Heavenly Palace Hall sneered, "As for the other deployments… the movements of the Great Sun Sword Sect, Primordial Yang Sect, Star Sea Sect, Ancient Immortal Sect, and Dayue Dynasty are frequent. They couldn't guarantee that these Sects wouldn't reach their homeland at any time. Under such circumstances, they must leave enough strength to defend, so the forces they can deploy on our side are not substantial."
Upon hearing this, Lv Ming was skeptical.
But one thing he understood very well was that since the Nine Cauldrons Sect had chosen their Xuanming Sect as the first target, a battle between the two sects was inevitable.
Therefore, the battle was unavoidable.
The only thing they could do was to make use of the currently favorable situation to show the might of the Xuanming Sect as much as possible.
Thinking of this, the Hall Master of the Campaign Hall nodded, "Let's follow the Sect Master's instructions. I hope the actions of the Great Elder on that front can be covert and swift."
...
"Let's follow the Sect Master's instructions. I hope the actions of the Great Elder on that front can be covert and swift."
Disguised within the Void Divine Realm of the Divine Nation.
Every high-ranking official of Nine Cauldrons Sect captured this piece of information clearly.
"They haven't a clue," one remarked.
"Heh, as expected. They would never imagine that we've acquired abilities akin to a Dharma Phase," another chuckled.
"All the enemy's arrangements are under our watch… If we can't eliminate a mere Xuanming Sect with this, then I, Lou Yuyu, will write my name backward!" another declared.
The mood among the high-ranking officials was very relaxed.
"The situation among Great Sun Sword Sect, Primordial Yang Sect, Star Sea Sect, Ancient Immortal Sect, and Dayue Dynasty is under surveillance. They are merely bluffing to share some of Xuanming Sect's pressure… Of course, if the opportunity arises, their bluffing might instantly translate into action, trying to take a bite out of us, Nine Cauldrons Sect," one explained.
Li Qingshan, too, spoke with a smile, calmly narrating.
He finally turned to Lou Yuyu, "What are your thoughts?"
"We are aware of their manpower distribution, but they have no clue about the whereabouts of ours. Since the Great Elder of Xuanming Sect, Song Xuan, plans to gather Eastern Sea forces to attack us, we can also mobilize more forces to strangle their two teams," Lou Yuyu responded decisively.
At the same time, he gestured, and a map of the Eastern Sea projected out, "The Xuanming Sect has deployed a total of six hundred and four Great Cultivators in the Eastern Sea. Apart from the one hundred and sixty-six people at Fangyuan Island, they can only assemble about one hundred and forty to one hundred and fifty people before our arrival. Therefore, we can first erase these one hundred and forty-five people, then attack Fangyuan Island. Once Fangyuan Island is encircled, Xuanming Sect's force in the Eastern Sea will be directly reduced by more than half!"
"Are you confident?"
Li Qingshan asked.
"As long as the Sect Master can provide me with enough information support, I am one hundred percent certain I can swallow these three hundred plus Great Cultivators of Xuanming Sect!"
Lou Yuyu affirmed confidently.
"Excellent!"
Li Qingshan expressed absolute trust, "Then go do it! These more than three hundred Great Cultivators, nearly thirty percent of all Xuanming Sect's Great Cultivators, and since those stationed at the front line are mostly Second and Third Rank Cultivators, this force is almost equivalent to more than half of Xuanming Sect's strength. As long as we can swallow them all, Xuanming Sect won't be able to catch their breath for decades, let alone stir up trouble in our East Sea Archipelago again."
Lou Yuyu nodded firmly.
He promptly went to make arrangements.
Li Qingshan also turned to the other Hall Masters, calling on them to ensure the situation remains stable, absolutely not to allow the rear to catch fire while fighting on the front line.
After instructing them, his Divine Sense entered the deeper spaces of this "Void Divine Realm."
"Alkaid Hall Master, thanks for your effort on the information support,"
Li Qingshan earnestly said, "At the moment, in the Eastern Sea, the only real threat to us is the Great Sun Sword Sect. The rest, like Primordial Yang Sect due to their dispute over Sword Qi, can hardly pay attention to the situation in the Eastern Sea. At most, they make their presence felt from time to time. As long as we can display enough strength in this battle to intimidate forces such as Dayue Dynasty, Star Sea Sect, and Ancient Immortal Sect, making them realize the current strength of Nine Cauldrons Sect, they will naturally retreat, leaving the East Sea Archipelago to us."
Alkaid nodded.
He had been observing the situation in the Void Divine Realm for some time, and his understanding of the current situation in Cangwu was not much less than that of Li Qingshan and other high-ranking Sect officials.
Although some core secrets might still be out of his reach, the situation in the East Sea Archipelago was undoubtedly very clear to him.
"These powers are all taking advantage of the chaos to benefit in the Eastern Sea. They understand very well what the consequences of confronting us would be. In this situation, there is only one way, to strike! Strike hard to prevent the need for a hundred other strikes," Alkaid said, pausing slightly, "I have already reached the frontlines. Leave the rest to me."
"Hmm, this battle is crucial. Put everything else aside for now,"
Li Qingshan said.
"No worries, Gao Shenghan and the others are slow learners. I give them a little to learn, and it takes them a long time, so there's plenty of time,"
Alkaid said.
Li Qingshan found it somewhat amusing.
He wondered what the Hall Master of Mystic Formation Hall would think if he knew what he looked like in Alkaid's eyes.
"In any case, please."
Li Qingshan said earnestly.
"Hmm,"
Alkaid responded.
The next moment, his thoughts shifted.
His focus had already directly descended upon Shen Qinglian, this Fourth Rank Great Sword Cultivator.
He also was one of Li Qingshan's disciples in charge of external campaigns.
"Change direction! Ambush target, east thirteen thousand li! Just keep moving at full speed. They won't receive any advance notice,"