Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1701 - 897: The Trap

Within the Cultivation World, Jian Wuwei, the master of Li Yuanba, remained the only one aware of the assault on the Yuqing Sect. He had stretched his influence inside the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion to include the Intelligence Department, fully recognizing Li Yuanba's keen interest in the Yuqing Sect.

Additionally, Li Yuanba ranked among the scarce individuals capable of eliminating six Great Cultivators and annihilating the Yuqing Sect.

Yet Jian Wuwei refrained from meddling in Li Yuanba's pursuits. Sword Cultivators from the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion were notorious for their brazen independence, frequently looting resources with their flying swords.

Jian Wuwei gathered the Intelligence Department's reports into a cohesive summary, then forwarded the Yuqing Sect details to Li Yuanba as usual.

After grasping the intel's contents, he quietly lamented the fate of the Yuqing Sect’s long-distance flying boat. This vessel from the Yuqing Sect was poised to cross the Central State Continent for partial resource trades before returning to the West Yan Continent.

The intelligence revealed zero Great Cultivators aboard the long-distance flying boat, with just five Nascent Soul Middle Stage Practitioners providing protection.

Frankly, assigning five Nascent Soul Middle Stage Practitioners to safeguard a long-distance flying boat represented serious protection for average sects, yet the Yuqing Sect as a superpower boasted riches on board that dwarfed those of ordinary groups.

In typical scenarios, superpowers dispatched Great Cultivators to escort long-distance flying boats, barring cases where the cargo held negligible value.

Nevertheless, this shipment carried substantial worth, compelling Jian Wuwei to question if the Yuqing Sect faced a deficit of Great Cultivators.

Jian Wuwei wasn't the sole observer of this; countless factions had detected the issue.

Despite its immense scale, the Yuqing Sect had endured repeated losses of Great Cultivators, including the demise of a peak one, rendering a scarcity of such powerhouses entirely predictable.

Thus, numerous powers across West Yan fixed their ambitions on the Yuqing Sect.

The Yuqing Sect and White Emperor Sect reigned as West Yan Continent's twin superpowers, though lesser forces persisted. These rivals lagged mainly from lacking powerful beings.

With the Yuqing Sect vulnerable, rival groups hungered to snatch portions from it.

Even its ally, the White Emperor Sect, covertly invaded the Yuqing Sect's domains.

Though equipped with powerful beings, the Yuqing Sect couldn't deploy them universally. Powerful beings lacked freedom to act; rivals kept them under vigilant eyes.

Were powerful beings to dive into every sect skirmish, superpower rivalries would surge straight to their tier—a catastrophe none desired.

Besides, any powerful being eyeing mundane matters had to weigh the perils, for their involvement exacted a tremendous toll.

Li Yuanba embarked once more. Departing the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, he activated ’One Step to Reach’.

Eight thousand miles distant, his silhouette materialized, undetected by the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion save for the forewarned Jian Wuwei.

Bolstered by precise intelligence, he smoothly mounted a flying boat en route to a specific island.

Following the slaughter of Yuqing Sect’s Central State division practitioners, absent any replacement contingent from the sect, that outpost was compelled to cease operations.

Consequently, the Yuqing Sect’s long-distance flying boat this time halted at Changshui Island.

Changshui Island thrived as a key hub for oceanic commerce, where diverse powers executed vast resource swaps.

The booming sea trade drew even superpowers for sporadic exchanges.

On this voyage, the Yuqing Sect’s long-distance flying boat detoured through Changshui Island to barter resources with Central State Continent entities.

Li Yuanba drew close to Changshui Island, scrutinizing the data from the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion’s Intelligence Department.

As the Yuqing Sect’s long-distance flying boat trade with Central State Continent powers was openly announced, trade schedule and site evaded secrecy, granting Li Yuanba's intel the precise arrival hour.

Regrettably, the flying boat’s trajectory escaped the Intelligence Department's grasp.

That left him with no option but to linger on Changshui Island, though the intel he possessed proved more than enough, given how that route stayed a tightly guarded secret beyond any faction's reach for outsiders.

Cultivators swarmed the vicinity of Changshui Island, filling the area with vibrant energy. Li Yuanba made no attempt to conceal his presence, simply mooring the flying boat aloft without drawing undue notice.

As the appointed time drew near, he withdrew the flying boat and unleashed the complete might of his ’Divine Eye Skill’ from a lofty vantage, scanning the far horizon.

Before long, a long-range flying boat approached Changshui Island, clearly marked with the insignia of the Yuqing Sect.

Joy flickered in his gaze; his silhouette blurred in an instant as he triggered ’One Step to Reach,’ manifesting right above the long-range flying boat.

Precisely as he readied himself to shatter the flying boat’s protective formation and infiltrate within, a wave of spatial energy suddenly erupted from the vessel, sealing the entire zone with an overwhelming rush of spatial power.

"This is a trap!" The shocking truth dawned on him in a flash—he grasped that this was an ambush meticulously prepared for him.

Still, he kept his cool without a hint of panic. With no trace of a supreme powerhouse in the vicinity, he held no fears unless one stepped in personally.

Even deprived of the Divine Foot Skill, his Sword Escape velocity vastly outstripped that of fellow Great Cultivators.

The Xingyi Sword reigned supreme in velocity, and empowered by the ’Speed Rule Imprint,’ his Sword Escape pace eclipsed all Great Cultivators who failed to grasp the ’Speed Rule.’