*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
As the shell of blood-soul fireballs rained on the barrier, deafening blast upon deafening blast shook the White Immortal Sect. The foundations holding the various buildings up weakened. Dust and rubble rolled on the streets. Outer disciples, over 7,000 in total, puked blood, the 3,000 inners tumbled down their flying swords, the 600 elite disciples spiraled backward, and the elders stared slack-jawed, horrified by this firepower.
"What type of...artifact is that?"
"A heaven-grade Treasure at the very least. And judging from the perfect synchronization between Treasure and owner, it's most likely his...Life Treasure!" Various elders appraised Xinzi's Thousand Soul Immolation Flag, all coming to the same conclusion. Clearly, they'd underestimated the threat they faced. But though the defensive formation threatened to rupture, and their juniors flew left and right like disarticulated rag dolls, they didn't lose their confidence!
A pity that in his Spiritual Cave, Lord Hanxing, whom their confidence stemmed from, didn't look so optimistic.
"This is bad. How did a patriarch of the heretical path get news of our gains? Traitors? Does my White Immortal Sect still have moles planted by enemy factions? That, or he is one of our disciples...which makes absolutely no sense.
Assuming that enemy factions still have moles hidden among our disciples, depending on cultivation level and numbers, they can cooperate with the enemy to strike us from inside and out.
So just to be safe, we need to separate those that would never betray us from the rest. But who are those? If even Zi Huamei can harbor treasonous thoughts, who can we say with confidence would never betray the sect for personal gains? Zi Yao's Purple Veils aside, no disciple can escape suspicion. That being the case...how do we fight back?" Hanxing spoke his thoughts, and Zi Yao's were about the same.
"All disciples gather at the Core Zone's plaza to activate the Big Dipper Sword Array! All elders should go back to lead the troops! This is your only chance to safely resist the shockwaves while Lord Hanxing and us sect masters face the enemy!" Zi Yao's voice boomed throughout the White Immortal Sect, and following a moment of delay, outers, inners, elites and elders all scrambled to assemble at the Core Zone.
"Yao'e'r, I didn't raise you in vain!" Immediately, Hanxing saw through Zi Yao's plan. The Big Dipper Sword Array was an integral part of the White Immortal Sect's defensive protocol, with the eye and array nodes of that formation connected to Hanxing and the late Ziyun's tokens. So, just like Lord Hanxing had full control of the defensive formation, he could control the lives and deaths of all experts within the Big Dipper Sword Array.
All disciples knew this as well, so either the spies attempted to make a run for it, or they obediently became the White Immortal Sect's battle tools. Hanxing and Zi Yao weren't incorrect. Although Xinzi didn't rely on any spy to get the news, 99% of the White Immortal Sect's outer and inner disciples had been subjugated by his Klesha haze during the Soaring Crane Mountain incident. So, whenever necessary, Xinzi could make them defect.
But due to Zi Yao's prompt reaction, if Xinzi made them turn coats now, Hanxing would execute them all before they reached the border of the defensive formation. Likewise, once they became part of the Big Dipper Sword Array, their lives fell into the palm of Hanxing's hands.
What a pity that this only mattered if Xinzi needed to rely on his pawns to bring down the sect—he didn't. The large sanguine flag swayed in the air—a hurricane of blood-soul flames erupted, dying the world in a spine-chilling red.
"My soul...my soul!" The barrier had yet to fully break down, and yet, from outers to elders, all felt their blood turn against them, and their souls burn as if the flames of Hell had summoned them for summary judgment.
"Lord Hanxing...Lord Hanxing, help!" Like a flight of birds trapped to death by noxious fumes, the disciples fell in droves, writhing on the ground as the barrier gave way under Xinzi's brutal means.
In his Spiritual Cave, Lord Hanxing's hands flashed in arcane gestures. Runic characters formed in large chunks, sinking into the ground, and repairing the barrier several kilometers away from Hanxing.
Two energy constructs appeared outside the White Immortal Sect: a pair of male and female Daoists that seemed crafted in black and white energies. Both aimed their hands at Xinzi, conjuring a tide of black and white sword bolts that raced towards him—another futile show of resistance.
A barrier of blood flames formed around our monk, effortlessly withstanding an attack that could easily rip through the average early-stage Divine Transformation powerhouse.
"Break!" Underneath the Blood Mask, seven-colored energies flashed in Xinzi's eyes, a single palm-sized taiji diagram formed at his chest, flying into the Daoist couple—they broke down instantly, reduced to collapsing particles of light.
"Impossible! Impossible! We are the White Immortal Sect! The masters of the Nine Paths of Yin and Yang! How...how can his understanding of Yin-Yang Harmony surpass our ancestors'!" Zi Yao couldn't believe her eyes. The sect elders felt even worse, Hanxing floundered in his cave, and before any could recover from shock, the flaming hurricane barreled through the barrier, obliterating it entirely.
The Blood Beast roared once more, making the eardrums of thousands burst on the spot. Any belief that Xinzi had co-conspirators in the sect vanished here, or if he did, he sure as hell didn't care for their wellbeing. A barrage of jagged fangs shot out of the Blood Beast's open maw, raining upon the White Immortal Sect!
"Purple Veils!" Before the words even left Zi Yao's mouth, tides of purple sand rose from all sect corners, forming a grand barrier that sheltered Zi Yao first, and a large chunk of the White Immortal Sect. The fangs failed to break through. Zi Yao avoided their venom, but her sect disciples couldn't say the same.
"Aaargh...arghh...aaaargh!" Hundreds got stabbed by at least one fang—and in screams of agony, shrank into atrophied mummies, before drawing their last breaths. Purple sand fell on all disciples, rejuvenating them with heretical energies.
"Quick, force your way back to the core zone and execute the formation to support me!" Zi Yao needn't say it twice. The disciples raced back to the Core Zone, aligning as the seven stars of the Big Dipper while Hanxing triggered the array nodes.
"Dong Wei! Do you have to see my corpse before you make your move?!" Zi Yao barked in frustration, and as if to echo her words, from a secluded cave of the Core Zone, bright golden flames surged upward, erupting at the sky. The flames morphed into a blazing sword, grabbing the attention of all White Immortal Sect disciples.
Xinzi's lips curled up, and he watched with rapt interest as Aa sword box flew up the great blazing blade, unleashing a cluster of flying swords that formed murderous arcs and oozed formidable momentum.
A middle-aged Daoist came into view, standing at the center of these murderous arcs. Guang Fanghu and his Sweltering Heaven Sword Formation appeared—riding awe-inspiring momentum. His hands moved in arcane gestures. Swords and flames moved alongside him, merging into a brand-new cluster of burning blades that swirled around his great flaming sword.
Searing dancing blades and great sword dropped on Xinzi—directly aiming at the Thousand Soul Immolation Flag.
