The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

"I will keep Cangfeng in check. But you, are you getting ready to go to the observatory?"

The old man stopped what he was doing, put the pendant away, and slowly turned around, his dim yellow eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

"Hmm. The Chi family has gone too far this time, and has already crossed the line. I need to ask those old guys who should take responsibility if the rules are broken?"

The Queen of the Night nodded.

"Alright. By the way... could you check the Observatory's predictions regarding the 'Purple Sun Empire's' fortune? See if there are any new developments recently. After you return, go and see Xia Zhi... She seems to have learned a lot of things she shouldn't know lately, and her emotions are quite strange."

"Old slave, I took note of it."

The old man bowed respectfully, his figure gradually fading and disappearing from the spot.

……

Inside the makeshift command tent on the banks of the Luoxing River.

Du Xingchuan, the man in the straw hat, looked at the order in his hand, which was just brought by Feng Yingyao and was written by Chi Cangmei himself, and a bitter expression appeared on his face.

The order was simple: Continue the operation, at all costs.

However, seven days have passed since the underwater cultivators were completely wiped out last time.

For the past seven days, Jiang Xuan has disappeared without a trace, as if he had vanished into thin air.

They tried every possible method to detect and search, even attempting to disturb the target with sonic artifacts, but to no avail.

However, according to the monitoring of the Wind Shadow Hawk and various signs, Jiang Xuan is definitely still hiding somewhere in this great river and has not left.

Maintaining such a large-scale lockdown and surveillance requires astronomical amounts of supplies every day.

The supplies allocated from the Forbidden City are almost exhausted, and subsequent supply lines are constrained by various factors.

Even more serious is that the high tension and repeated futile searches of the cultivators under their command have brought their morale to an all-time low. Anxiety and unease are spreading, and their fighting spirit is being worn away little by little.

At this moment, in that hidden cave at the bottom of the turbid river, Jiang Xuan is undergoing a transformative change.

He spent seven days in seclusion, relying on the extraordinary effects of elixirs and the Heavenly Water Sacred Pearl.

His injuries had healed, his cultivation at the Earthly Realm was completely stable, and his spiritual energy was abundant and surging.

As it operates, it even faintly emits a warm, jade-like luster, appearing increasingly pure and profound.

What surprised Jiang Xuan even more was that in this environment where water elemental energy was abundant.

The Heavenly Water Sacred Pearl in his arms seemed to be touched by some power and briefly awakened for a moment.

During that time, the Holy Pearl not only accelerated the attraction of the surrounding water elemental power to nourish his body, but also accelerated the healing process.

A cool and vast aura seeped into his limbs and bones, subtly strengthening his physique.

This will make its foundation more solid.

Unfortunately, perhaps it's because the water elemental power here isn't pure and concentrated enough.

After flashing for a moment, the sacred pearl fell silent again, returning to its usual appearance.

Seven days later, Jiang Xuan reached an unprecedented peak in his condition.

He knew that continuing to hide was pointless; it was time to leave.

He silently slithered downstream along the riverbed. The Heavenly Water Sacred Pearl had not yet fully awakened.

However, its basic ability to avoid water remains, allowing it to move freely underwater.

After traveling for about ten miles, the river began to narrow and the current became more rapid.

Steep cliffs appeared on both sides, and this was the canyon area of ​​the lower reaches of the Falling Star River, known as the Silver Frost River.

Jiang Xuan quietly surfaced and looked toward the shore through the murky water.

There were more than a dozen cultivators dressed in black sitting in twos and threes on the riverbank, looking listless.

Some were dozing off, others were chatting idly, their vigilance was extremely lax.

Seven consecutive days of calm had long since made them lose their initial sense of tension.

"It's now!"

Jiang Xuan raised his hand and fired several poisoned crossbow bolts!

"Pfft! Pfft!"

A cultivator who was yawning collapsed to the ground, a crossbow bolt lodged in his throat, unable to even utter a scream.

The other cultivators were terrified by the sudden attack and hurriedly got up to look for weapons.

It's too late!

"Wow!"

Water splashed everywhere as Jiang Xuan leaped out of the river!

The Flowing Light Battle Blade, accompanied by a curtain of icy water and a chilling blade of light, instantly plunged into the enemy ranks!
"Oh no! It's Jiang Xuan!"

"Send a signal quickly!"

Exclamations and screams rang out almost simultaneously!
Jiang Xuan's swordsmanship was ruthless and precise, and these already lax cultivators were unable to mount any effective resistance.

In the flash of the blade, severed limbs flew everywhere, and blood stained the riverbank red.

In just a short while, more than ten cultivators had all fallen into pools of blood, none of them surviving.

Without pausing, Jiang Xuan stretched out his body and rushed towards a steep mountain peak next to him.

He remembered that he had vaguely seen shadow harriers circling in the area just now.

He was incredibly fast, and in just a few leaps he reached the summit.

Sure enough, a small, dark gray hawk landed on a rock.

His sharp eyes scanned the area below.

Without hesitation, Jiang Xuan took out the Boundless Spirit Bow, nocked a specially made Qi-breaking arrow, and gently vibrated the bowstring!
"call out!"

The arrow flew silently through the air and pierced the head of the Wind Shadow Hawk with precision!
The Shadow Harrier didn't even have time to sound an alarm before it plummeted off the rock.

Jiang Xuan quickly stepped forward and took out a bead the size of a pigeon egg from the body of the Wind Shadow Hawk—the Wind Shadow Bead.

He infused it with spiritual energy, and clear, dynamic images immediately appeared on the surface of the Wind Shadow Pearl.

It was through the perspective of other Wind Shadow Harriers that the situation in various parts of the Falling Star River Basin was monitored!
The footage shows teams of cultivators guarding several key points along the upper and lower reaches of the river.

Five Ziying warships patrolled at low altitudes, while several Wind Shadow Harriers flew in different airspaces, making the monitoring network virtually impenetrable.

"As expected, they've laid a trap..."

Jiang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Just as he was checking the screen, he caught a glimpse of the distant horizon out of the corner of his eye.

Another small black dot was rapidly flapping its wings and flying away—that was another Shadow Harrier responsible for monitoring this area!
It had clearly discovered that its companion had been killed and was fleeing to report the news!

"Our whereabouts have been exposed!"

Jiang Xuan immediately realized.

Without further hesitation, he quickly looted all the useful items, such as crossbow bolts and pills, from the corpses of the cultivators on the ground.

Without hesitation, he plunged into the raging Silver Frost River again, his figure instantly swallowed by the rapids.

Almost ten breaths after Jiang Xuan entered the water, a huge roar came from afar.

Two Ziying warships arrived at the scene first, hovering at low altitude, their powerful pressure descending upon the area.

Immediately afterward, Du Xingchuan, Xiao Mu, and a large number of cultivators arrived at the riverbank, panting heavily.

Looking at the corpses strewn all over the ground and the empty river, Du Xingchuan's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"He got away again!" one of the leaders said through gritted teeth.

Xiao Mu crouched down, examined the body and the surrounding traces, and said in a deep voice.

"He just left! And... he killed one of our Wind Shadow Hawks and took the Wind Shadow Pearl!"

Upon hearing this, Du Xingchuan's heart sank.

"Wind Shadow Pearl?! He...he saw our defenses?!"

Xiao Mu nodded solemnly.

"I'm afraid so. He knows our troop deployment and surveillance network... This is troublesome! He will never show himself easily again, but will lurk like a venomous snake, looking for our weaknesses and waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack!"

Du Xingchuan's worries soon became a reality.

Shortly after he ordered heightened security, a liaison officer rushed into the tent with devastating news.

About 37 miles from their main base, there was a small surveillance post downstream.

The stronghold was silently destroyed in the dead of night, and all nineteen cultivators inside perished in a gruesome manner!

The news spread, and the camp was immediately thrown into an uproar and panic!

The enemy, right under their noses, stealthily advanced more than thirty miles and precisely eliminated a stronghold!
This means that the enemy has a complete grasp of their defensive weaknesses and is capable of launching a deadly surprise attack at any time!
"Bastard!"

Du Xingchuan was both shocked and furious, and immediately gave the order.

The forces scattered along the river were to abandon their original strongholds and quickly converge on the main camp to consolidate the defensive line and avoid being defeated one by one.

Late at night, the remaining forces gradually gathered at the main camp.

Standing on the high ground, Du Xingchuan counted the sparse, weary, and fearful men below, feeling a chill in his heart.

The once formidable force of three thousand elite soldiers has now dwindled to just over four hundred!

Moreover, their morale was low, and they were like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow.

A surge of grief and helplessness welled up in Du Xingchuan's heart.

He paid such a heavy price for this mission, yet he couldn't even catch a glimpse of his target.

Instead, they were manipulated by the other party.

Seeing the dejected spirits of his subordinates, he felt a wavering in his heart for the first time.

Is there any point in continuing this stalemate?
Will the last few people also perish here?

……

Just as Du Xingchuan was struggling internally, in a secluded bend in the lower reaches of the Silver Frost River...

A massive Purple Ying warship was quietly anchored on the water, undergoing routine spirit crystal replacement and maintenance.

The lights on the ship were much dimmer than usual, and the number of patrol personnel was also relatively reduced.

A ghostly figure emerged silently from the murky river.

Using the shadow cast by the warship, it clung to the cold hull and slowly climbed upwards. It was Jiang Xuan!
He knew the structure of the Ziying warship, which he had helped design, inside and out.

They easily bypassed several regular spirit rune warning points and silently boarded the spacious deck.

Before a cultivator patrolling the edge of the deck could make a sound, Jiang Xuan covered his mouth from behind and snapped his neck cleanly.

Jiang Xuan dragged the corpse into the shadows, then stealthily made his way like a raccoon to a heavy metal door on the superstructure of the warship.

He gently pressed his fingers on several inconspicuous recesses in the door frame in a specific order.

With a soft "click," the complex spiritual energy mechanisms inside the door were temporarily deactivated.

He gently pushed open a crack and slipped into the core area of ​​the warship—the control room.

The control room was dimly lit, with only the central spirit array control panel emitting a faint glow.

To Jiang Xuan's delight, it was perhaps because maintenance was underway.

Perhaps due to overconfidence in its own defenses, the spirit array plate controlling the core of the warship was not completely locked down!

Jiang Xuan did not act immediately, but relied on his memory to continue to sneak deeper into the warship.

He needs to eliminate any potential operators on the ship first.

In the narrow passageways and cabins, he made use of his familiarity with the terrain and his swift movements.

The cultivators who were resting or on duty were dealt with one by one, and the whole process was not very loud.

After clearing the obstacles, Jiang Xuan quickly returned to the control room.

He stood before the complex spirit array plate, placed his hands on it, and slowly poured his powerful Earthly 罡 Realm spiritual energy into it, beginning his attempt to take control of this war behemoth!
……

In the main camp, after painful deliberation, Du Xingchuan looked at his demoralized and exhausted subordinates and finally made up his mind.

He spoke in a hoarse voice to Xiao Mu beside him.

"Pass down the order... After dawn, we... will retreat."

"retreat?!"

Xiao Mu was startled upon hearing this and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"Chief! No! We still have five Purple Ying warships! If we can contain this area, we might still have a chance!"

Du Xingchuan shook his head wearily, pointing to the silhouette of a warship that stood silently in the darkness like a mountain range.

"The warship's spirit crystal reserves are almost exhausted. Maintaining such high-intensity patrols and standby is extremely costly. Moreover... do you think Jiang Xuan will give us a chance for a head-on confrontation? He will only devour us bit by bit like a venomous snake! If we don't leave now, I'm afraid none of us will be able to escape!"

Just as Du Xingchuan finished speaking—

"Boom!!!"

Suddenly, a deep, muffled engine roar came from the dark night sky in the distance!
Suddenly, the spirit patterns on the Purple Ying warship moored in the river bend lit up, and the massive hull began to slowly lift off the water and rise into the air!

Immediately afterwards, another warship not far away was also alerted and began to take off as well!
"what happened?!"

Why is the warship moving?

"Have you found that kid?!"

The cultivators in the camp were startled by the sudden commotion and all looked up.

The once-dead-quiet camp was now in turmoil.

Xiao Mu's eyes lit up, and he said urgently.

"Chief! Look! The warships are responding! They must have spotted Jiang Xuan! Let's wait a bit longer! Maybe our chance will come!"

Du Xingchuan frowned, a faint hope rekindling in his heart.

Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the two enormous ships that were slowly rising into the air, hoping they would lock onto their targets and deliver a fatal blow.

What happened next left everyone speechless!

The first Ziying warship to take off, after reaching a certain altitude, was seen...

The menacing main gun muzzle on the bow of the ship was not pointed at the river or mountains below.

Instead, it slowly turned towards another Ziying warship that had just taken off!

At the muzzle of the cannon, destructive spiritual light began to rapidly condense!
"What...what is it going to do?!"

Xiao Mu's voice was filled with disbelief and terror.

Du Xingchuan's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and a terrifying thought flashed through his mind like lightning!
"Do not--!!!"

In his roar—

"BOOM!!!!!" (End of Chapter)