Chapter 653: The Battle Begins (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Ticket)
The warm-colored sun slowly descended from the west, leaving a swath of crimson red.
On the surface of the sea, a gentle breeze suddenly stirred, and the waves began to shimmer like fish scales—dazzlingly beautiful.
The wind grew stronger, and the waves became increasingly turbulent.
Eventually, the waves surged fiercely and crashed against the island with ferocious force.
On the beach, the continuous rumble seemed to herald the arrival of dusk.
In the sky, the number of crimson birds increased, resembling miniature suns radiating a fiery red glow.
Waves of heat dispersed the gentle breeze, calming the restless waves.
Yet, with the passage of time, even that heat dimmed into pale weakness.
Faint starlight began to emerge in the heavens, as twinkling stars revealed their gazes. Lin Shiming felt the starlight instinctively absorbed into his body, as though his own star power was being replenished.
Still, he knew this minor replenishment couldn't match his expenditure, offering barely any solace. Moreover, he didn't want anyone to witness his use of the Starlight Tempering Body Technique.
He dispersed the energy within his physical acupoint cave heavens and extended his divine sense outward. At the edge of his perception, the long-still Taiqian Mist began to stir once more.
The mist moved with agonizing slowness, advancing step by step. On its surface, the faint outlines of shark fins emerged within the fog, appearing menacing and fierce.
A chilling and murderous aura swept toward him.
When his divine sense tried to penetrate deeper into the Taiqian Mist, it felt as though he were sinking into a quagmire, unable to advance further.
Moreover, an overwhelming and terrifying divine sense seemed to meet his approach. Lin Shiming immediately withdrew, unwilling to endure more harm.
"Everyone, get ready!" Lin Shiming soared into the sky and shouted loudly.
As the commander of this operation, he had to take charge, especially since the Nascent Soul True Monarchs were preoccupied with tasks elsewhere.
As a cultivator in the Golden Core Late Stage, Lin Shiming naturally stepped forward.
This was to be expected—after all, Lin Shiming had already demonstrated his exceptional power by slaying Golden Core Late Stage foes when he was merely in the Golden Core Middle Stage.
Now, as a Golden Core Late Stage cultivator, even many veteran Golden Core Late Stage practitioners were secretly humbled in comparison.
At Lin Shiming's command, the crimson sunset birds in the sky multiplied once more, growing from a dozen to over thirty.
Among them, seven or eight were Fifth Rank crimson birds. This time, Coral Island had spared no effort.
Nearly all the crimson birds had been dispatched.
As the crashing waves echoed alongside Lin Shiming's cry, the spirit formations atop the walls of Biyuan Island activated first, weaving together intricately. In the next moment, a superior-grade Fifth Rank golden gong descended from the sky.
This formation, named the Taibai Golden Gong Formation, was powered by 1,888 formation flags and required the combined operation of five Golden Core True Persons. The resulting golden gong was both offensively and defensively formidable.
As the golden gong appeared, the Taiqian Mist seemed to accelerate, rolling forward like surging waves.
At the forefront of the Taiqian Mist, with several sharp bursts of sound, a dozen Fifth Rank Golden Core Taiqian Shark Kings charged forward.
Their terrifying sword intent had been refined to an extreme degree and could even stack, making this sword intent truly horrifying.
Lin Shiming and the Lin Family widened their eyes in astonishment. The Taiqian Shark Tribe seemed even more adept at using sword arrays than they were.
"This is Water Flow Strike, a sword technique that mimics the momentum of ocean waves. It's somewhat similar to my Barrier-Cleaving Sword Intent!" Lin Zeli murmured to herself, her eyes glowing with excitement.
Unlike in the past, where Lin Shiming's absence forced her to remain cautious and distant, today, with Lin Shiming openly encouraging them to observe, she wouldn't miss the chance.
Boom!
Boom!
…
The reverberations continued endlessly. Even under the barrage of a dozen True Person-level sword strikes of triple-layered sword intent power, the golden gong held firm.
This demonstrated clearly why the Qinghua Sect's formations were renowned as unrivaled under heaven.
The Qinghua Sect's True Persons took the lead in attacking. The Thunder Strike Woods abruptly began condensing lightning orbs, morphing into heavenly tribulations that struck at the Taiqian Sword Sharks.
In addition to the Thunder Strike Woods, numerous Golden Spear Wood spirits unleashed terrifying golden arrows, creating indiscriminate coverage ahead.
At the same time, the Taiqian Mist pressed closer, revealing even more Taiqian Shark Demon Kings.
This group of Taiqian Shark Demon Kings seemed born for defense. Coming together, they formed a series of sword arrays. These sword arrays not only split the lightning-strike attacks into two but also severed the golden arrows from the Golden Spear Wood.
Their sword arrays were formidable, each sword intent unique.
Those attacking formations wielded a Wave Sword Intent, mirroring the force of ocean waves to overwhelm and break through barriers.
Those shielding against cultivator attacks used a Breaking Army Sword Intent, somewhat resembling Lin Shiming's Grass Heaven Slasher Sword Intent.
In the sea, additional Taiqian Sharks emerged. On the opposing Nine Dragon Island side, Golden Core Demon Kings—Flood Dragons—were unleashed in response.
Lin Shimo, in the meantime, controlled nine dragon corpses, sending them forward. These nine dragon corpses had been seized from Heavenly Corpse True Persons, so Lin Shimo didn't care much about preserving them.
As long as his Five Elements Heavenly Armor Corpse remained intact, his cultivation would not be disrupted.
Each sect unleashed every technique at their disposal, and the defense of the island teetered on the brink of all-out war.
The True Persons of Myriad Buddhas Island wielded three to four Buddha Scrolls each, summoning golden Buddha statues to engage in fierce combat against the Taiqian Shark Tribe.
Yet, the most troublesome aspect of the Taiqian Shark Tribe was not just their matchless sword intent but their physical resilience, rivaling that of body cultivators of the same tier.
Furthermore, their sword-like jaws served as natural longswords. Even the golden Buddha statues of Myriad Buddhas Island found themselves helpless against these formidable sharks.
In stark contrast, the Blood Cultivation Sect relentlessly cut through their foes, securing victory after victory.
"You bald monks of the Buddha Sect! Are your flashy moves just for show?" mocked a Blood Cultivation Sect cultivator amidst the battle.
The mocking tone seemed to invigorate their strength further, enabling them to slay demon kings with greater ferocity.
"Their weak point is their divine sense! Target the Taiqian Sharks that have emerged from the Taiqian Mist!" Lin Shiming commanded.
He had realized why the Blood Cultivation Sect had been so effective—they had exploited the Taiqian Sharks' divine sense vulnerabilities. Once outside the Taiqian Mist, the sharks' divine sense defenses, while not appallingly weak, became their greatest liability.
The sharks honed their swordsmanship to perfection, possessed sturdy physical forms, and demonstrated disciplined tactics.
However, Lin Shiming's warning seemed to come too late. Numerous sword cultivators from the Heavenly Sun Sect flew forward, intent on challenging the Taiqian Shark Demon Kings in direct combat.
Yet, the scenes that followed were anything but encouraging.
Lin Shiming felt an urge to berate the Heavenly Sun Sect cultivators.
At a time like this, they still sought to compete in swordplay against such opponents.
The Taiqian Shark Tribe's fearsome strength lay precisely in its sword arrays.
Fortunately, thanks to Lin Shiming's reminder, the other cultivators began deploying divine soul attacks, forcing the Taiqian Shark Demon Kings to retreat deeper into the Taiqian Mist for safety.
This averted further disaster for the Heavenly Sun Sect, as their losses could have been catastrophic.
Such losses would not only cripple the Heavenly Sun Sect but also deal a devastating blow to the alliance's morale, especially with the battle only just beginning.
Though the Taiqian Shark offensive momentarily abated, the Taiqian Mist thickened and advanced at an accelerated pace, surging forward by dozens of miles in mere breaths—a truly terrifying sight.