by <unknown>
Near the space gate, the daily battle of attrition was underway.
However, the space pirates and the Immortal Cultivators were suddenly ten times more aggressive than before, to the point that they seemed to have suddenly lost the fear of death.
While the Cultivators were baffled, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers who were fighting side by side with them came to a standstill simultaneously. They were like silent, iron tombs floating in the deep, dark universe, except for the rhythmic brilliance that was shining deep inside their eyes.
"The Flying Star Sector is peaceful tonight."
…
In half hour, the entire Heavenly Saints City, or rather, almost the entire Flying Star Sector, was burning.
However, in the debris in the northwest district of the tenth space ring of Heavenly Saints City, the four Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators who were well respected in the six sects of Heavenly Saints City, the leader of the Star Fighters' Alliance and the second in command in the world of Cultivators, and the young man who could command most of the resources of the Glorious Sunlight Group and Iron Plateau knew absolutely nothing about it.
Xiao Xuance did not want them to send messages to the outside world. Therefore, he had imposed special barriers to block all the waves entering and exiting the Complex Star Plaza.
The soundwaves, vibration waves, and spiritual waves were all blocked.
In the meantime, Li Yao and the rest of the Cultivators thought that they were hunting Xiao Xuance and did not wish for Xiao Xuance to contact his accomplices. Therefore, they had imposed an even larger barrier outside of Xiao Xuance's.
Blocked by the double barriers, all the waves and telepathic thoughts inside could not be sent out, but no information of the outside world could be transmitted in, either.
Therefore, while Xiao Xuance initiated the 'New Era Plan' flagrantly and commanded his subordinates to take action, Li Yao, Si Koulie, and the other people who had the capability to influence the situation wasted almost half an hour for nothing!
It was not until the barrier was removed and the communication was restored that they learned of everything that had happened in the central area from the thousands of new messages.
After he learned the truth, even Li Yao wanted to slap his face hard.
"Xiao! Xuan! Ce!"
Li Yao burst into such a fury that he almost jumped into the air and pluck his hair to vent his anger.
Ever since he had gotten the nickname 'Vulture', he had never been fooled so humiliatingly!
However, Li Yao could not bear to waste a single second in outrage or frustration. He compressed his anger into a spark and buried it in his heart, while he began thinking calmly.
Xiao Xuance has won the first round, but the game is not over yet!
Xiao Xuance has played all his trump cards and is in an overwhelming advantage right now, but I have three trump cards that are yet to be revealed!
Firstly, after Li Yao reached out to Professor Mo Xuan half a month ago, he had spoken to Xiong Wuji, chief of the Furious Bears Tribe on Iron Plateau, through Mo Xuan. With the help of Xiong Wuji, he had mobilized the elites of the six tribes of Iron Plateau and formed an expedition army whose number was much larger than previously expected.
The expedition army was in Heavenly Saints City right now. They had left their crystal warships and moved into Heavenly Saints City under the pretext that the carriers of the Glorious Sunlight Group were too seriously damaged in the cosmic storm.
With everything in chaos right now, such a well-trained army would definitely be a pillar to stabilize the situation!
More importantly, the Iron Plateau natives never liked magical equipment that was too precise, and they simply despised the Grand Illusionary Soldiers.
Therefore, there were no Grand Illusionary Soldiers in the army of the qi-trainers at all!
Secondly, Xiao Xuance was not aware yet that Li Yao was not the recently reincarnated Bai Xinghe whose soul was unstable. The truth was that he was not scared of soul attacks at all. On the contrary, soul attacks were his favorite, and he could take however many there were!
Right now, the only people who knew his real identity were the five spectral Cultivators, Xiong Wuji, Lei Dalu, and Bai Kaixin. None of them were likely to be Immortal Cultivators.
Li Yao had planned to unveil his real identity after Xiao Xuance was captured, but it seemed to him now that playing 'Bai Xinghe' a while longer had many merits and no harms.
Thirdly, and most importantly, he still had the 'Brain Concussion Plan'!
The Brain Concussion Plan, which had begun five years ago, had yielded fruits. The five star spirits, including Professor Mo Xuan, had cracked the deeper structure of the star brain and programmed a few viruses that specially targeted the star brain. As soon as they hacked the star brain, they would be able to take control over part of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!
Xiao Xuance, Li Yao's face is not something that you can slap easily!
Very soon, I'm going to make you pay an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a face for a face!
Chapter 793: The Brave Will Win! |
Anxious discussions were echoing inside the communication channel. Many experts in the Core Formation Stage and Nascent Soul Stage were somehow confused by the situation right now and did not know what to do.
"Don't panic. We still have our chance!" Li Yao bellowed.
Veins bulged out of his temples as his computational ability surged out from the depths of his brain cells like a volcano eruption. He sorted through the progress of the battle so far.
"Our plan to lure the enemy did not completely fail. Instead, it has obviously disrupted Xiao Xuance's plan!
"Xiao Xuance's best plan must've been to annihilate the available warriors of the Cultivators together with the space pirates after the Grand Illusionary Soldiers and the elites jumped to the Spider Den Space Zone.
"Even though he had a backup plan, which was to rebel in Heavenly Saints City, I think it should not have been today, but tomorrow in the morale-boosting rally, because that would have been the only time when the leadership of almost five hundred sects was all gathered."
Everybody pondered for a moment and immediately thought the whole thing through after hearing Li Yao's words.
If Xiao Xuance were to activate the 'New Era Plan' in Heavenly Saints City, the available warriors of the other space zones would no longer be his target. His target would be the heads of the five hundred sects. It would be a large-scale 'decapitation operation'.
Only in the morale-boosting rally tomorrow would the heads of the five hundred sects show up simultaneously.
Today, although many of the heads were attending strategical meetings, they were scattered everywhere in the meeting hall. The leadership of many sects were in different space rings, rearranging the crystal warships or checking the inventory of the war assets.
Even if Xiao Xuance took control over the hall of the Meeting of Next Millennium, it was impossible for him to control all the leaders and elders. Those outside the central area of Heavenly Saints City in the space rings could all be temporary commanders and summon the Cultivators nearby to fight with them!
Besides, after the Glorious Sunlight Group and Iron Plateau's accusations against Xiao Xuance, the six sects of Heavenly Saints City had increased the defenses of the hall of the Meeting of Next Millennium, too. Two Exo Societies had been stationed inside the hall in advance. Three thousand qi-trainers from Iron Plateau who had just arrived in Heavenly Saints City were staying in a temporary camp near the No.3 space port in the central area.
The No.3 space port was only several kilometers away from the hall of the Meeting of the Next Millennium.
Should there be anything wrong, the three thousand qi-trainers who were all ready for action could reinforce them immediately.
All the factors guaranteed that Xiao Xuance's decapitation strategy would not work out so easily.
The other twelve thousand qi-trainers were stationed i
n the important locations of the central area, the first space ring, and the second ring. It was very easy for them to reinforce their allies, too.
"Right now, although we have been caught off guard, the situation is not within Xiao Xuance's plan, either. Both sides have weaknesses. Victory and failure have not been decided yet. It all depends on which party stabs into the other party's weakness first!"
The sweat on Li Yao's forehead became bright red. Because of the high-intensity computations, the temperature of his brain had exceeded eighty degrees. His cerebral vessels were all exploding, resulting in serious internal bleeding!
Li Yao's eyes were bloodshot. Trying to hold back the dizziness, he spoke with a higher and higher voice. "The biggest manufacturing base of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers of the Flying Star Sector is in the third space ring. Xiao Xuance is definitely not going to let go of it!
"After seizing all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers in Heavenly Saints City, he will definitely command the Grand Illusionary Soldiers to seize the crystal warships and those inside the third space ring to attack the hall of the Meeting of the Next Millennium as well as the other important warehouses!
"When Xiao Xuance's army breaks into the hall of the Meeting of the Next Millennium and takes over the most important arsenals, the Cultivators will be losing!
"Our only opportunity is to board on Heavenly Phantom, the flagship of the Grand Illusionary Group, and control or destroy the star brain!
"When the star brain is gone, the Grand Illusionary Soldiers will lose 90% of their combat ability. They will be no different than beast puppets. No harm will ever be done.
"Since confidentiality has been the Immortal Cultivators' top priority, and they did not expose themselves after lurking for decades, there cannot be too many of them. They are highly dependent on the Grand Illusionary Soldiers.
"Without the Grand Illusionary Soldiers, the scheme of the Immortal Cultivators will be finished!
"Besides, Xiao Xuance must be protecting the star brain on Heavenly Phantom, too. If we take down Xiao Xuance, the Immortal Cultivators will lose their leader. They will be in a mess, too!
"We have almost ten experts in the Nascent Soul Stage and dozens in the Core Formation Stage here. Such an enormous force is as threatening as a fleet. We must not be stalled in the battlefield outside Heavenly Saints City. We have to penetrate into the central area of Heavenly Saints City, slay Xiao Xuance, and destroy the star brain!
"If things had happened as Xiao Xuance planned, we would've already jumped to the Spider Den Space Zone when he rebelled. In the vast space, Heaven Phantom would have been protected by the crystal warships that were under the control of the Immortal Cultivators. Besides, Heavenly Phantom could move around to avoid the infiltration of the Cultivators. There would have been no way that anybody could get close to the star brain.
"But right now, since Xiao Xuance took action in a hurry, Heavenly Phantom is still parked in the space port of the central area.
"There is only limited room between the central area and the first space ring. It is now packed with hundreds of crystal warships. During the fierce battle, many crystal warships will block the sailing route. Heavenly Phantom won't be able to get away even if it wants to. Because of the intense bombardment, it cannot perform a space jump, either. It is now mired in a swamp, unable to move anywhere!
"In a head-on clash, the brave will be the winner. Breaking into Heavenly Phantom is our only chance!
"This is my opinion. Do you have any suggestions?"
All the Cultivators were staring at Li Yao in silence. Even the sound of their breathing was gone in the communication channel. Everybody seemed to be bewildered by what Li Yao had just said.
Li Yao frowned. "What's wrong?"
Si Koulie coughed and said, "Nothing. I just felt that Boss Bai was quite… a man of honor and integrity when you said that!"
Li Yao blinked. He was not certain whether or not there were Xiao Xuance's spies among the hundreds of Cultivators who reinforced them. Therefore, he simply said, "Just consider it atonement for what I did in the past, alright? Besides, my parents haven't been avenged yet. I won't die a peaceful death unless I kill Xiao Xuance!
"Anyways, don't mind the irrelevant stuff. Our time is limited. We must be fast! Otherwise, if Xiao Xuance really breaks into the hall of the Meeting of the Next Millennium and kills hundreds of leaders and elders, the Flying Star Sector will suffer heavy losses even if the insurrection of the Immortal Cultivators is pacified in the end!"
Si Koulie and the other few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators discussed for a moment and soon agreed on Li Yao's plan.
They all boasted tremendous computational ability and were basically super crystal processors. It took them only a few seconds to realize that what Li Yao had proposed was their only choice.
Xiao Xuance was performing a decapitation operation on the hall of the Meeting of the Next Millennium.
Then, they would perform an even more shocking decapitation operation on Xiao Xuance!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Right then, the tenth space ring started shaking slighting in earsplitting explosions.
The artificial dome thousands of meters above the ground was sparking, as if the night sky was on fire.
"The crystal warships deployed outside the tenth space ring have exploded!
"Many of the crystal warships carried a lot of Grand Illusionary Soldiers. Some of them have already been taken over by the Immortal Cultivators. They are attacking all the space ports in the tenth space ring and trying to block the sailing route.
"It appears that they are planning to blow up all the space ports and seal the sailing route to stop us from going to the central area!"
The battle situation outside the tenth space ring was soon displayed on Luo Xingzi's crystal processor.
"Thousands of Grand Illusionary Soldiers have breached the defense of the tenth space ring and are marching inside!
"Our defense on the tenth space ring is not very strong. To make matters worse, many critical locations are guarded by the Cultivators and the Grand Illusionary Soldiers together. Therefore, many nodes of defense have been broken through instantly!
"We are the targets of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!
"Xiao Xuance knows we are here. He won't let us go away so easily!"
All the Cultivators were wearing grave faces.
In terms of numbers, even counting the reinforcements that would arrive later, there were only hundreds of them, which was insignificant compared to the vastness of Heavenly Saints City.
However, in terms of the combat ability, they had almost ten Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, dozens in the Core Formation Stage, and hundreds in the Building Foundation Stage. They were unquestionably the most influential chess piece in the game.
Whether or not the chess piece could be moved to the hostile king for checkmate would decide the outcome of this chess game with the universe as the board and the stars as the chess pieces!
"Ask all the crystal warships of the Star Fighters' Alliance, the Furious Bears Union, the Silver Moon Clan, and the Heavenly Wolves Fortress in the eighth, ninth, and tenth space rings to reinforce the tenth space ring after they clear out all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers!"
Si Koulie and the few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators quickly issued their commands.
There was quite a long distance between the tenth space ring and the central area.
They could fly over in their crystal suits at the cost of their own spiritual energy.
But after a long journey in the storm of bullets and swirls of spiritual energy, where they might be engaged with countless Immortal Cultivators and Grand Illusionary Soldiers, their crystal suits would have been serious damaged, and their own spiritual energy would run dry, even if they did arrive at Heavenly Phantom in the end. How could they fight 'the best expert of the Flying Star Sector' under such circumstances? They would be committing suicide!
Therefore, they had to
ask one of the crystal warships to fly them to the central area of Heavenly Saints City!
However, Heavenly Saints City was in chaos.
The secret command that the star brain had sent out might not have been enough to control all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers in the other dozens of space zones across the vast space. But at the very least, it was not problem to control all the Grand Illusionary Soldiers inside Heavenly Saints City.
Those Grand Illusionary Soldiers had originally been stored in the crystal warships ready to be shipped to the Spider Den Space Zone.
When there were enough of them, they would break into the bridge together with the lurking Immortal Cultivators and seize control over the crystal warship.
If there were not enough of them to occupy the crystal warship, they would simply cause havoc inside the crystal warship.
The latest model of the Grand Illusionary Soldiers developed by the Grand Illusionary Group was allegedly designed to destroy the crystal warships of the space pirates in the final battle. They were simple in structure and low in cost and essentially walking crystal bombs.
Therefore, many sects had purchased them in bulk.
But right now, they had turned into the most fatal daggers stabbing countless holes in the crystal warships.
Si Koulie and the other Cultivators did not receive any confirmation after they sent out their command.
Li Yao frowned and secretly called Sparkle!
Chapter 794: "Mirror" |
After the 'Brain Concussion Plan' was activated five years ago, Professor Mo Xuan and the other spectral Cultivators had gathered critical data during a full-scale examination of the star brain while running pertinent cracking and research. They had found out methods to hack the crystal processor and paralyze it instantly!
There was short-distance, point-to-point communication between Li Yao and Sparkle via a mechanism that was similar to that of the Great Pagoda VII. It was encrypted seven times and barely monitorable.
