145: On the eve of the great battle
"Depart! Target: Earth!" The cold voice of omega echoed in the command module.
The massive spaceship suddenly accelerated, its speed skyrocketing crazily:
10,000 km/h, 100,000 km/h... finally settling at a breathtaking 5,000,000 km/h!
This scene was successfully observed by Earth's optical telescopes.
Earth, Observation Station.
A piercing alarm tore through the silence!
"Alarm! Alarm! Target spaceship activated! Approaching Earth at an extremely high speed!"
The observation station instantly fell into a flurry of activity.
The vanguard reconnaissance team led by Song Xian had already assembled outside the observation station.
Three hundred and twenty-one warriors, each carrying a massive specially-made alloy backpack stuffed with Rank 2 Talisman—Explosive Flame Talismans, Lightning Arrow Talismans, and so on.
Song Xian's Clone did not carry a storage ring, but the other team members were all fighting with their true bodies; they had all left behind suicide notes before departing.
They were all elites of the "Sword of Order," and the "Heavenly Circulation Method" they Cultivated had reached at least the Realm of "First Refinement Ten Spirits."
At this moment, everyone held their breath, their gazes penetrating through the telescopes, locked tightly onto the increasingly large silver giant shadow deep in the starry sky.
The moment to strike had not yet arrived.
Earth had entered a state of full combat readiness.
Hundreds of thousands of Divine Breath Realm powerhouses who had birthed Divine Sense stood ready in battle formation, with only a very small number remaining to deal with the Secret Realm descending.
The further from Earth, the thinner the Spiritual Qi. There is no oxygen in space, and most Cultivators still cannot survive in space for long periods.
The battlefield must be chosen in a vacuum zone neither too far nor too close to Earth!
Inside the observation station, the tense and heavy air was almost solidified, so heavy it could be wrung out like water.
Suddenly, Zhang Sheng, who had been Alchemy in the corner with his eyes closed, opened his eyes.
The flames of the Pill Furnace in front of him receded, and dozens of cold, gleaming Spiritual Artifact spears floated in mid-air, shimmering with light, the sharp metallic Qi overflowing, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
These spears were all products born during the process of Zhang Sheng refining the supreme-grade "dragon horn crushing gold spear."
Song Xian's pupils constricted—every spear Zhang Sheng produced so casually was actually of High Grade quality!
A steady voice of Divine Sense clearly transmitted into the minds of every vanguard team member:
"Everyone, these are the Spiritual Artifact spears I have refined. Those in need, please take one."
Everyone could hardly believe their ears. But this was the voice transmission of the "War God" Zhang Sheng!
"I want one!" Song Xian's Clone responded first.
Before his words had even faded, a spear flew to him like a swimming Dragon.
"Since the War God is gifting them, how could I refuse? I will take one too!"
"Count me in!"
In the blink of an eye, dozens of spears were claimed and gone.
Seeing this, Zhang Sheng smiled slightly, waved his robe sleeve again, and another two hundred-plus Spiritual Artifact spears of the same quality appeared in the Void Realm.
"Brothers, there are enough Spiritual Artifact spears for everyone!" He said loudly, his voice carrying unquestionable power, "Also, you must—come back alive!"
In the end, all three hundred-plus vanguard members each held a High Grade Spiritual Artifact spear!
Even those who were not skilled with spears understood the value of a top-tier Spiritual Artifact.
And those warriors who originally used spears were even more ecstatic, gripping the Sharp Weapon in their hands, adding several points of confidence for the upcoming battle.
Immediately after, six streams of light flew out from Zhang Sheng, precisely landing in front of the three observers—Song Haidong and two others—who had remained steadfast at the telescopes without distraction, turning into two Jade Slips each.
"Accept them, two for each of you." Zhang Sheng's voice transmission sounded separately in their minds.
Possessing Divine Sense, there was no need to stare constantly, but he appreciated this focus and sense of duty.
These Jade Slips were an extra reward for them.
Song Haidong touched the characters engraved on the Jade Slips with trembling hands:
"'Spirit Condensing Art'... 'Primordial Chaos Heavenly Art'..."
His heart raced wildly, and he was almost suffocated.
A regular Cultivator like him who had never had an Awakening of Talent never dreamed he could obtain a top-tier Rank 2 Cultivation Technique Jade Slip personally crafted by the War God!
Everyone in the world knew that only the Jade Slips made by the War God Zhang Sheng were of the highest quality in the world!
"Thank... thank you, War God!" The voices of Song Haidong and the other two choked up, unable to express their excitement.
The other observers around them cast envious and even regretful gazes.
"This is all I can do for now," Zhang Sheng thought to himself, then composed his mind, relit the Pill Furnace, and continued Alchemy for the blood essence pills.
Time was of the essence!
In the following days, camps stood all around the observation station.
The warriors Cultivated while making final preparations.
Batches of Rank 2 Talismans were continuously delivered.
Three days passed in a flash.
In the telescopes, the silhouette of the silver giant warship was clearly visible, its cold mechanical patterns chilling to the heart.
"Commander! The spaceship has started to decelerate!"
When the spaceship was about 100 million kilometers from Earth, its terrifying speed finally slowed down.
Everyone held their breath.
It did not stop and was still moving toward Earth.
Until the distance shortened to 10 million kilometers, this 800-kilometer-long cosmic beast finally came to a complete stop in the deep space.
"I see it!" Song Xian looked up at the starry sky, his tone low.
Even separated by tens of millions of kilometers, in the vision of the "Penetrating Spiritual Eye" he had Cultivated, the giant warship was still like a floating speck of dust.
Several warriors in the team who had also Cultivated Eye Technique also captured this "speck of dust."
Inside the spaceship, the cold electronic eye of the Intelligent Machine "omega" was also scanning Earth.
Several silver reconnaissance ships, hundreds of meters long, like a swarm of metal bees leaving their nest, silently slid out from the belly of the mothership and swiftly pounced toward the blue planet.
"They are here!" Song Xian's eyes sharpened, his Battle Intent soaring to the heavens,
"Warriors—depart!"
The order rang out like Startling Thunder, and over three hundred figures turned into streams of light, rushing into the sky!
Zhang Sheng also looked up at the firmament.
His gaze was far sharper than others; with just his naked eyes, he clearly captured the cold warship with its strong sense of technology.
Without a doubt, the opponent possessed powerful technological weapons; the key was... just how strong were they?
For these past three days, Zhang Sheng had almost never stopped.
At this moment, more than 30,000 refined blood essence pills were lying quietly in his storage ring, in preparation for the bloody battle.
In the starry sky, one of Song Xian's Clones took the lead, instantly breaking ten times the speed of sound; after tearing through the atmosphere, the speed was still skyrocketing crazily!
Another Clone followed closely behind the main force, guarding the side.
He had already made a decision: his Clones could be destroyed, but he would do his utmost to protect these brothers-in-arms who were risking their true bodies to die!
Unlike the solitary Zhang Sheng, he had long regarded these warriors who lived and died together as his own flesh and blood.
Zhang Sheng looked up expressionlessly, the light of his deep blue Penetrating Spiritual Eye piercing through the Void Realm, looking at the spaceship that was as small as a hair.
In the perception of others, his Spiritual Qi aura was not particularly overbearing, only about twice as thick as an ordinary Divine Breath Realm Cultivator. This was intentional.
Could Intelligent Machine lifeforms detect the true strength of a Cultivator? It was not yet known.
If he completely concealed his aura, it might instead arouse the opponent's vigilance.
Under the gaze of countless prayers and worries, the warriors of the vanguard team, like over three hundred arrows off the string, shot unhesitatingly toward the cold silver giant shadow in deep space!