75: vigilance

The Qianshan Island Chain, as its name suggests, is a chain of islands.

The main island, Qianshan Island, stands majestically, its mountain ranges undulating and covered in deep green vegetation, serving as the absolute core and barrier of this sea area.

Surrounding it are dozens of black reef islands of varying sizes and shapes, like chess pieces scattered by a giant, dotting the surging dark green sea.

They are isolated from each other, with even the closest being tens of miles apart, appearing and disappearing in the raging waves and mist, together forming a defensive chain that guards the main island yet appears isolated and fragile.

The Third Watchtower, where Lin Feng is located, hangs precariously about one hundred and fifty miles northeast of the main island, at the highest point of a black, rugged, and dangerous reef island shaped like a broken tusk—Duan Ya Reef.

The watchtower itself is a sturdy, three-story stone fort, constructed from hard reef rock called “Black Adamantine Rock.” Its body is covered with pits and scorch marks from wind erosion, wave impact, and various spells, with repair runes crisscrossing like scars.

Suspended at the top of the tower is a “Sea-Scouting Pearl” the size of a human head, emitting a faint blue light. Its penetrating power is impressive, serving as the “eye” of the watchtower.

The entire watchtower, relying on the terrain, is inscribed with a defensive Formation called the “Xuan Shui Guarding Spirit Array.” A faint blue light curtain, like an inverted bowl, barely covers the core area of the mountaintop.

This Formation can warn of intruding Devilish Qi and Demonic Qi. Its defensive power can barely withstand the fierce attacks of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator, but it appears precarious when facing Purple Mansion-level power.

The space inside the tower is cramped.

The ground floor serves as both a meeting hall and a public area for Qi Refining Cultivators to take turns resting, with a rough stone table in the center and a spirit screen on the wall displaying a simplified dynamic map of Duan Ya Reef and the surrounding hundred-mile sea area.

The second floor is divided into six small, cramped quiet rooms, just enough to turn around in, serving as the living quarters for Lin Feng and the other six Foundation Establishment Cultivators, with only a meditation cushion and a stone couch.

The top floor is the core control room for the Formation and the commander's residence.

The personnel allocation on the island is clear yet worryingly thin:

A Purple Mansion Initial Stage Sword Cultivator, Iron Sword Shangren.

He is not permanently stationed at Duan Ya Reef but rotates every three days among three outer watchtowers: the Adamantine Watchtower (West), the Raging Waves Watchtower (South), and the Misty Watchtower (Northeast).

Currently, he is stationed on the top floor of the Misty Watchtower, his aura as profound as an abyss.

There are six Foundation Establishment Cultivators in total: Lin Feng, Zhao Tieshan (Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, Great Axe Body Cultivator), Wu Ming (Foundation Establishment, Insect Controller), Situ Ying (Foundation Establishment Peak, Cold Sword Cultivator), Chen Yao (Foundation Establishment, Water Spell Healer), and Liu Qing霜 (Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, Ice Element Sword Cultivator).

There are twelve Qi Refining Cultivators.

They are responsible for the most basic and dangerous tasks such as vigilance and lookout, daily Formation maintenance, information transmission, and material transportation. They are the cornerstone of the watchtower's operation and also the group with the highest casualty rate.

The entire defensive system of the Qianshan Island Chain relies on only two core individuals:

Lord Rock Immortal, a Purple Mansion Late Stage Great Cultivator, is stationed at the heart of the main island, Qianshan Island. He controls the overall situation and is the stabilizing force of the entire island chain's defense, rarely leaving the main island.

The rotating Purple Mansion Cultivator position is held by Iron Sword Shangren, Splitting Wind Shangren (permanently stationed at the Adamantine Watchtower), and Raging Waves Shangren (permanently stationed at the Raging Waves Watchtower), three Purple Mansion Initial Stage Cultivators.

They rotate every three days, traveling between the three isolated offshore watchtowers. They are like firefighters, rushing to wherever an emergency arises, constantly on the move and under immense pressure.

The three outer watchtowers are like three solitary boats in the raging sea, unable to easily support each other. Aid from the main island, across the vast and dangerous sea, is too far to be of immediate help.

The Misty Watchtower on Duan Ya Reef is currently enveloped in this atmosphere of isolation and the oppressive feeling of possibly being swallowed by giant waves at any moment.

The daily routine of the watchtower is a rope woven with monotony and tension.

Iron Sword Shangren divided the six Foundation Establishment Cultivators into three groups, two people per team, to perform the most dangerous long-range sea patrol missions.

The patrol range radiates four hundred miles outwards from Duan Ya Reef! The focus is on monitoring several main deep-water channels that might be used by Devil Cultivators or large sea beasts, complex reef areas, and a few small island reefs that can barely be landed on.

Each group patrols for six hours, and under the unpredictable sea and the potential threat of demonic traces, their minds must remain highly vigilant at all times.

Upon returning from patrol, there are only six hours of rest time, which can be used for Cultivating and recovery, handling personal matters, or assisting in reinforcing the watchtower's defenses—which often means less rest.

Lin Feng was assigned to a group with Liu Qing霜.

It was their first time partnering, and the atmosphere was as cold as the chill surrounding her.

The two simply exchanged names and then silently boarded the standard “Black Scale” flying shuttle issued by the watchtower.

This flying shuttle is shaped like a barracuda, covered in black scale-like runes. Its speed is decent, and its stealth is average, making it the most common means of transport on the front lines.

Liu Qing霜 controlled the flying shuttle, breaking through the dark green wave walls, her gaze sweeping the sea-sky boundary like an ice blade.

Lin Feng stood at the bow, his Divine Sense like the most precise radar, meticulously scanning the surging seawater below, every black reef exposed above the water, and even the most subtle disturbances in the energy of the currents and air.

He wasn't just searching for enemies; he was also rapidly constructing a defensive sand table of this sea area in his mind—where the currents were turbulent, suitable for ambush; where the reefs were rugged and the view was open, good for observation; where undercurrents formed natural barriers…

“Is there something unusual there?”

A cold voice, like ice beads clattering, broke the long silence.

Liu Qing霜 noticed Lin Feng gazing for a long time at a treacherous reef area known as “Ghost Cry Gorge,” where giant waves crashed against the jagged black reefs, emitting roars like wailing ghosts, and mist permeated the air.

She tightened her grip on the icy blue sword hilt at her waist.

Lin Feng withdrew his gaze and pointed to the area churning with pale white waves: “Fellow Daoist Liu, please look at that ‘Ghost Cry Gorge.’ The large reef in the center, surrounded by three undercurrents and shaped like a skull, is encircled by rapid currents on three sides, with a nearly vertical cliff on one side and a flat top. This is a natural lookout post and Formation core.

At its base, there are several large holes eroded by the water, leading deep into the seabed. If a ‘Gui Shui Yin Lei Array’ were laid within them, drawing on the Yin Qi from the seabed, once activated, its power would be enough to severely wound a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator.

To the left, that cluster of reefs, like the ribs of a giant beast, where the currents form a spiral vortex, is an excellent place to set up a ‘Xuan Vortex Spirit Binding Array’ to delay and trap enemy traces. To the front right, those sharp, spear-like ‘Gunlin Reefs,’ polished bright by the seawater, only need a little guidance and the embedding of ‘Sharp Gold Armor Breaking’ Formation patterns to transform the turbulent water into tens of thousands of invisible golden needles…”

His voice was steady, his reasoning clear, as he instantly analyzed a terrifying, deadly sea area into a series of deadly traps at every step.

How to leverage the power of heaven and earth, how to unleash the greatest destructive power with the least Qi consumption, how to turn dead reefs into tools for one's own use... His ideas were so bizarre and his designs so ingenious, far exceeding the scope of ordinary Formation Masters.

In Liu Qing霜’s cold eyes, for the first time, a clear ripple of shock appeared beneath the ice.

The Liu family established itself through the sword, and she had met several Formation Masters revered by her clan, but she had never seen anyone like the man before her. In an instant, he could transform a chaotic and violent sea terrain into something for his own use, effortlessly conjuring several interlocking, murderous Formation diagrams! This was far beyond merely “knowing a bit of Formation”; this was a profound insight into the essence of the Dao of Formation and the power of heaven and earth!

“You… specialize in the Dao of Formation?”