A Sky Patrol Warship was a true sect-conquering divine artifact! It was a pinnacle creation, born from the perfect harmony of artifact refinement and array arts.

A faction’s headquarters was usually guarded by a sect-protecting array. By refining said array onto a Sky Patrol Warship, transforming it into a single astra, a major sect could project unrivaled dominance across all domains.

A sect’s strength lay not in raw power, but in its ability to strike effectively and destroy its enemies outright. No amount of strength mattered if they couldn’t eliminate their opponent.

The Sky Patrol Warship was the key to long-range war projection and the annihilation of sects and nations. Most sects were separated by tens or even hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Some distant sects, such as the Nine-Cauldron Sect and the Infinite Star Palace, were separated by tens of millions of kilometers.

If great cultivators with treasured artifacts flew over, the spiritual energy consumed by the journey alone would be exorbitant. If over a thousand people were mobilized, a single trip could cost tens of millions of spirit stones.

And that was before even reaching the opponent’s territory. Once there, every area would be covered by arrays. How long would it take to break through by force? How long would their resources last?

Moreover, in a life-or-death combat, a cultivator’s true origin would be rapidly depleted. Some spell cultivators would be worn out after casting only one or two spells. That was when the difference between having a base and not became obvious.

The enemy stationed within arrays could recover in peace. Meanwhile, those forced to retreat and recover had to remain constantly vigilant against ambushes by enemy sword cultivators.

Even if the stellar force fields provided by body cultivators could offer a certain degree of protection, how could they ever compare to the arrays built into cities and sect strongholds?

Unless the power gap was overwhelming, any cultivator would lose a war of attrition against a defender on their home ground.

Under such circumstances, a Sky Patrol Warship that had its own arrays became critically important. Wherever the warship halted became an equivalent of a city or a sect’s estate.

Coupled with the Sky Patrol Warship’s inherent transport capacity, the enemy couldn’t possibly drag out or exhaust the attackers by relying on local array advantages.

Thus, a war between two sects would turn into a true war of annihilation.

***

Li Qingshan repeated the words under his breath, "Sky Patrol Warship..."

The Nine-Cauldron Sect didn’t even need that many. Just two or three. Then forces like the Xuanming Sect, the Great Yue Dynasty, the Star Sea Sect, the Ancient Immortal Sect, and the White Jade Sect—as well as all medium and small powers—would fall silent. After all, if they dared provoke the Nine-Cauldron Sect, the outcome would no longer be mere defeat, but utter annihilation.

"We should wait a bit longer!" Li Qingshan said, "Our industries are still lacking that final polish. Besides, we don’t know if Chief Yaoguang has the ability to refine a Sky Patrol Warship..."

Zhao Siliang asked. "Should we bring over the relevant materials for Sky Patrol Warships and let him look through them?”

Over the years, the Nine-Cauldron Sect had also been trying to manufacture Sky Patrol Warships. Unfortunately, to this day, they had not managed to produce even a single first-generation warship.

The vessel was immensely complex, with countless arrays, offensive, defensive, auxiliary, and more. Even ignoring that, arranging them to operate at peak efficiency without interference had already driven many array masters astray. To top it off, different arrays had to be engraved on different materials. They also had to keep in mind whether those materials would affect the stability of others.

In short, refining a Sky Patrol Warship required not only peak-level mastery in both artifact refinement and array arts, but also comprehensive expertise across every facet of those two fields.

"Let him take a look, but don’t pressure him. Since he shows no interest in Sky Patrol Warships right now, there’s no need to force it. He’s done more than enough," Li Qingshan said.

Zhao Siliang nodded. "I understand."

Li Qingshan seemed to recall something. "The Sky Patrol Warship from the Thousand-Beast Sect is already being transported to us. When it arrives, place it at Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3."

"Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3?"

Within their sect, there were four institutes dedicated to researching the Sky Patrol Warships. The most advanced one was Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 1 in Crimson City. Meanwhile, Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3 was progressing more slowly, but was the closest to the Nine-Heaven Domain.

Located in the Big Dipper Domain right next to the Nine-Heaven Domain, the two were separated by no more than 40 thousand kilometers. It was far closer than Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 1, which lay 150 thousand kilometers away. The journey would take only four or five hours by flying vessel. For third-tier great sword cultivators skilled in sword flight, a round trip would take only forty to fifty minutes.

Zhao Siliang immediately understood the sect master’s intent and nodded. "That works. Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3 is not along the coast, and is closer to the heart of our territory. We can also deploy it in battle once the captain becomes familiar with the Sky Patrol Warship. If the East Sea ever changes, that is."

"It’s a pity we only bought one from the Thousand-Beast Sect. We could’ve dismantled one if we had two. That way, we’d be contributing immensely to the sect’s research," Tang Fenghua said.

However, Li Qingshan saw the situation clearly. "If we hadn’t confronted the Infinite Star Palace recently, I doubt the Thousand-Beast Sect would even sell us one. Otherwise, we’d have to follow the Quicksand Sect, the Taiyi Cult, and the Black Feather Sect—serving as vanguards against the Infinite Star Palace, or rather, cannon fodder to slow it down."

"Speaking of the Black Feather Sect..." Zhao Siliang seemed to recall something. "Didn't the Infinite Star Palace recently claim that the survivors of the Quicksand Sect are hiding within the Black Feather Sect, and begun mobilizing forces to wage war against it?"

"Yes. The Black Feather Sect is their new chosen prey," Li Qingshan replied. "This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for our sect. With the Infinite Star Palace tied up by the Black Feather Sect, it won’t be able to focus on the Heavenly Star Continent."

Everyone was certain that the Infinite Star Palace would destroy the Black Feather Sect.

Sure, with a strength that rivaled a major sect, the latter was considered a regional hegemon on the Black Flame Continent. Yet over the past decade, the Infinite Star Palace had completely absorbed the Quicksand Sect, a true major power. People only wondered how long it would be before the Black Feather Sect fell.

Li Qingshan instructed, "Make use of this precious time to develop as quickly as possible. Once the war between the two fully erupts, Nine-Heaven Domain has to push toward the East Sea. We must reclaim those lost islands and push outward as best as we can. At the very least, we have to establish a line of defense among the East Sea's islands."

Zhao Siliang nodded heavily. "I understand. We will prepare."

Letting the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship sail over their heads was something they absolutely did not want to experience again

***

The brief report went on for a while. Afterward, Li Qingshan sent all level 4 spirit-gathering array casters to the Nine-Heaven Domain. Under Yaoguang’s guidance, they learned how to set up the fourth-generation spirit-gathering array.

Yaoguang taught them with utmost seriousness. He even went as far as returning to Longxiang City and allowing them to practice on the shut-down level 4 spirit-gathering arrays there.

This process lasted nearly half a year. Over those months, production at the Purple Firmament Institute was indeed affected to some extent. However, with two additional artifact-refining grandmaster teams transferred in to assist, three more rounds of orders were still completed.

Yaoguang kept pouring the profits from the new orders straight into the Array Caster branch. The array casters studying under him could almost feel the benefits every single day. After all, Yaoguang would come up with new ideas daily, gaining a different understanding of array arts every time.

Even the improved fourth-generation level 4 spirit-gathering array seemed to be evolving toward a fifth-generation one. This learning speed, combined with the sheer disparity in progress, struck these array art masters deeply. They realized just how vast the gap between themselves and a true genius. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

During this period, some array art masters suffered a heavy blow. Meanwhile, others achieved breakthroughs after absorbing Yaoguang’s advanced concepts. Some jumped from level 3 to level 4, and several even advanced from level 4 to level 5.

For a time, the closed Energy Department in Longxiang City was filled with an intense, studious atmosphere. In the mind of the spirit-gathering array casters, the area even resembled a sacred ground, drawing them to achieve breakthroughs.

Once most array casters had nearly mastered improvements toward fifth-generation spirit-gathering arrays, Yaoguang sought out Zhao Siliang once again. Huang Wei, Wu Xunzhen, Zi Qiangwei, and Feng Yugong also came. By this point, Feng Yugong had become a level 5 array caster.

Then, Yaoguang took them straight to a level 5 spirit-gathering array. "As everyone knows, this spiritual power node has run dry. The continuous usage of the spirit-gathering array has damaged this region’s original structure, causing the space to compress and fold. Ordinary level 5 spirit-gathering arrays can’t capture the spiritual qi that seeped out through those fissures anymore."

Following that, he pointed ahead. "However, take a look."

"This..." Huang Wei stared at the slowly operating spirit-gathering array. "How is it producing spirit stones again?"

Yaoguang explained, "It’s simple. I modified this level 5 spirit-gathering array so it can embed itself deeper into the space interior. This way, it can still draw out spiritual qi and condense spirit stones even within compressed and folded space.

"According to descriptions from other sects, about the characteristics of third-generation level 5 spirit-gathering arrays, they can draw spiritual qi from space that undergoes slight natural folding.

"My modified array directly draws spiritual qi by embedding itself into the interior of space. Not only is it faster in efficiency, it also has higher stability. That counts as leaping across two generations."

He paused and summarized, "Through this improvement, we’ve managed to overtake on a curve, optimizing a fourth-generation level 5 spirit-gathering array technology! From now on, we can reactivate some abandoned nodes with not too severe folding and compression!"

Zhao Siliang, Huang Wei, and the others were completely stunned.