Chapter 378: 352 Sea of Clouds

The sun rose once again, as it always does.

As the morning light brightened and the red sun ascended in the east, the valley at the end of the examination grounds had already transformed into a sea of clouds.

Just last night, this place had still been a valley of undulating hills, with steep cliffs and narrow paths. The entire region was extremely arid; the rocks were a deep crimson, the land could barely sustain a blade of grass, and rain was a rarity throughout the year. Yet, overnight, it was as if a ten-thousand-mile sea of clouds from the blue heavens had descended out of thin air, covering the valley in a thick, moist white blanket of clouds.

This was naturally not the great power of heaven and earth, but a trick of swords and talismans.

In the Human World, these two things are essentially the only means by which people can manipulate celestial phenomena and all things.

The cloud layer was extremely thick, with layers upon layers of white mist already submerging most of the mountain walls. Only the slight peaks of a few towering cliffs remained, looking like a few reefs exposed above the water in the midst of a vast lake.

On the highest peak, a high platform had already been erected. On the platform stood four large mirrors and several metal instruments, with a fake mountain made of clouds piled in the center. It was a Cloud Sand Table, a bonsai unique to Moyun City, displaying a panoramic view of the sea of clouds.

At this moment, the Cloud Sand Table looked like a large sponge; most of it was a thick, velvety layer, but the surroundings were covered in tiny holes. In the illusion, these voids were as thick as a finger at their largest, and only as small as a needle tip at their smallest, barely distinguishable to the naked eye. But when magnified according to the scale of the illusion, it showed that the sea of clouds hid countless massive voids several zhang wide.

In the very center of the Cloud Sea Illusion, there was the largest void, the size of a fist in the illusion, piercing through the entire sea of clouds and becoming a conspicuous scar.

The opening was slightly flattened, its surrounding contours sloppy and chaotic, expanding and contracting as if being torn, resembling the mouthparts of an insect opening and closing.

In front of the bonsai illusion, a young man dressed as a Personal Guard was spreading out paper, lighting a small Artifice Lamp, and hunched over the desk writing furiously, recording the changes above one by one.

Directly in front of the high platform stood a general in silver armor and a silver helmet. His body was like a sturdy pine, his armor bright, and most strangely, he wore a metal beast-shaped Mask on his face, giving him a ferocious appearance.

Beside him crouched a divine beast, one person tall, with a dragon's head, a tiger's body, and a single horn on its head.

This was none other than the de facto lord of Moyun City, the number one person on the Yunzhou front line, the Pixiu Sword bearer with the title of Moyun General, Cui Yinsheng.

His gaze, sharp as lightning, pierced through the Mask and looked into the depths of the sea of clouds. There, wind and clouds surged, and countless cloud vapors poured toward the center, just like a hole chiseled into a large basin of water; the water flowed in incessantly, yet it could never be filled.

That was the eye of the tidal storm, the place where the Suiyu was rupturing, known as the Boundary Gap.

The Boundary Gap was originally difficult to observe with the naked eye, but because the clouds filled the space as a medium, observing the flow of the clouds was equivalent to observing the fluctuations of space.

This was the standard observation method for both Moyun City and Qianjin City.

Just then, a floating object like a small boat sailed out from the sea of clouds, leaving a trail of cloud waves in its wake.

Looking closely, it was actually a small Fire Seed Carriage with its roof opened. The sea of clouds submerged its wheels, making it look as if it were floating on the clouds.

The Fire Seed Carriage arrived beneath the high platform. A person stood up on the boat, also dressed as a military officer, leaped onto the high platform, and cupped his hands, saying, "Subordinate pays respects to General Cui."

Cui Yinsheng's expression did not change as he said, "Yijian, how is it?"

The person who arrived was none other than Li Yijian, a Colonel of the New Sharp Battalion. He said in a deep voice, "Another void has been detected at the Ren position. There are also signs at the Gen position; there are already fourteen small ruptures. The Boundary Gap in the very center has expanded outward by more than five zhang within the last hour. Its diameter has now reached sixty-two zhang."

Cui Yinsheng's brows locked tightly as he said, "Expanding so quickly. Once it exceeds one hundred and twenty zhang, we will have no choice but to cut off the Suiyu."

At this moment, the young man recording in front of the illusion straightened up and said, "Father, according to Zhang Xiansheng's calculations, the first round of expansion for this void will stop within two hours, expanding to around eighty-four zhang, which is still manageable."

Cui Yinsheng barked, "Silence! I am speaking with Colonel Li; how dare you interrupt?"

The young man lowered his head and truly said no more.

Cui Yinsheng said, "Zhang... Xiansheng may be able to calculate, but how can we be sure it is foolproof? To be precise down to the number of zhang and the number of hours—it is truly unheard of. I have said before, do not trust it entirely; we must prepare for both outcomes."

He swept a glance at Li Yijian.

Although Li Yijian also believed in Zhang Rong, he had long known the General's temper. He bowed and said, "I have already ordered men to carry the Shatter-Extinguishing Stakes to blockade a radius of ten miles. With one word from you, we can sink the Boundary Gap along with the entire valley, completely severing this piece of Suiyu."

Cui Yinsheng's son revealed a pained expression upon hearing this. Cui Yinsheng remained expressionless and said, "This is the final move. If it were not absolutely necessary, I would not want to do this. It is easy to shatter the Suiyu, but difficult to make it whole. If it truly shatters beyond repair, will we still have a place to stand?"

This was a piece of common knowledge, yet it still sounded sorrowful and desperate.

Li Yijian lowered his head. Cui Yinsheng said, "So, the priority remains rescue. Has Ouye Fuhu arrived?"

Li Yijian shook his head and said, "He should be coming with the reinforcements from Moyun City..."

That young Young Master Cui interjected again, "I'm afraid not. Today is his day off. According to his usual habits, he should have returned to the Ouye clan grounds."

Cui Yinsheng was furious: "As the Chief Sword Master of Moyun City, how can he just leave his post to visit family? Even if he is resting, he should be on standby in the city."

The other two said nothing—the logic was sound, but the man was an Ouye, the number one Sword Casting force in the Suiyu; how could he be bound by ordinary rules?

It would take at least a day and a night to rush back from the Ouye clan grounds; he definitely wouldn't make it in time. Cui Yinsheng said, "Send him a message and tell him to remotely guide the other Talisman Sword Masters. Have the Talisman Sword Masters arrived yet?"

Li Yijian said, "They are following behind with the main force from Moyun City. It has been exactly six hours since I called for reinforcements."

Cui Yinsheng said, "Then there are at least three to four hours left. It won't be of much use by the time they arrive."

Li Yijian felt deep regret. If he had known, he would have kept Feng Nanming behind, or even Tang Zhao would have sufficed. It was said that Tang Zhao was an excellent Talisman Sword Master; judging by Feng Nanming's high regard for him, he might not be inferior to Ouye Fuhu.

But at this time, both Tang Zhao and Feng Nanming had returned together. Calling them back was impossible, and mentioning it was useless and would only lead to a scolding, so Li Yijian naturally did not bring it up.

Cui Yinsheng asked again, "How many of the other Sword Guests who went on the expedition have returned?"

Besides the garrison of Moyun City, there were many Sword Guest squads from Qianjin City performing missions or even "wild hunting" around the Suiyu. Some of these people were closer and arrived faster than the main force from Moyun City.

Li Yijian turned his head and pointed to the small islands floating in the sea of clouds. Many hilltops were bustling with figures; clearly, people were standing on the islands. One could even see flags planted on some of the islands, with illusory Sword Images flickering above their heads.

Those were all formed Sword Guest squads, five to a team, or even fewer. They drove their own Fire Seed Carriages and carried their own flags, having come in response to the horn of reinforcements.

Anyone capable of manifesting a Sword Image was a standout among the Sword Guest squads, at least at the Captain level, and all had some small reputation. Once the Sword Image was released, one could recognize who it was and which squad was there.

Li Yijian had just finished patrolling the area and had roughly observed the situation; he had already counted them. He said, "Seven combat squads have arrived, totaling twenty-six Sword Guests. Among them, ten are military Sword Guests, and sixteen are Sword Guests commissioned by Moyun City. Including myself, that makes twenty-seven people. There are no Wild Swordsmen. Because your request was urgent, most squads did not carry ordinary soldiers. There are fewer than a hundred soldiers. Eighty-five in total."

Twenty-six Sword Guests—what kind of power is that in the Human World? It would be enough to topple a Prefect's office, yet here, it was just a small, pieced-together force.

Cui Yinsheng said, "More than I imagined. It is good that there are no Wild Swordsmen. Current matters are not something they can interfere with. If they were allowed to intervene, they might even hinder the sealing process in pursuit of their own interests. Those outside who could make it have all arrived; those who couldn't won't be coming. If the Fire Seed Carriages departing from Moyun City can't make it, then not a single one will."

He mused, "Keep the Sword Guests. If this gap continues to tear for a while, the Boundary Membrane will surely break, and Heavenly Demons will certainly take advantage of the void. Everyone must wait to meet the enemy. Withdraw all soldiers to the outside. Each person is to bring one hundred sprout-soldiers to build up momentum."

Li Yijian and Young Master Cui were both startled. Young Master Cui said, "One hundred each? Raise eight thousand sprout-soldiers?"

Cui Yinsheng said, "That's still too few. You fool, what did you see when you just observed the rift?"

Young Master Cui was startled. He looked carefully at the illusion sand table and said, "I saw... a black shadow... the opposite side looks like a city, no..."

He looked up and said, "It is three..."

Before he could finish the word "three," a ray of light pierced through the rolling sea of clouds and drove straight toward the command platform.

Sword Art!

Although the light had no killing power, it was undoubtedly a Sword Art!

Young Master Cui and Li Yijian were simultaneously on guard. What kind of Sword Art would dare appear on the command platform? Was it not a decapitation strike?

Could that light be the prelude to some targeting, with the killing blow hidden behind it?

Cui Yinsheng's son also had his hand on his sword hilt, blocking the way in front of his father. It was not that his strength surpassed his father's, but that as a personal guard, his duty was to protect the commander-in-chief.

Cui Yinsheng's sleeve moved slightly, but he did not move further; instead, he gave a light grunt and waved his hand, stopping Li Yijian, who had also been about to rush forward.

The light stabilized in the air, ultimately failing to strike the commander's platform, instead veering off slightly and plunging into the Yunhai.

Immediately following, a carriage appeared out of thin air at the end of the light.

*Pfft*, the Fire Seed Carriage dove headfirst into the Yunhai, like a person performing a head-first tumble.

That carriage had truly appeared suddenly; no one saw clearly how it had arrived, as if it had broken through the void, and that beam of light was a visual spectacle it brought with it.

Cui Yinsheng was in a slightly better mood and said, "Not bad. It really did come. General Li, this should be an acquaintance of yours, right? Go and welcome them?"

Li Yijian thought to himself: How could it be my acquaintance? He jumped off the commander's platform, looked at the Fire Seed Carriage with its head buried in the Yunhai, and called out loudly, "Who goes there?"

The only door of the Fire Seed Carriage exposed outside the Yunhai opened a crack, and a rough, boisterous voice said, "Holy crap, where is this?"