Bloody Mettle!

Han Tiange's aura was likewise somewhat weakened at this moment, his feet treading the void as he hovered in the sky. His eyes were filled with shock and ruthless fury. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Lu Kangnian would organize the Great Xia Sword Sect to launch an overnight offensive! If not for having sensed an intense surge of origin energy... "Quick! Raise the sect-protecting grand formation! Everyone up, meet the enemy!" Han Tiange's composure was thoroughly shattered as he roared in panic. Yet it was already too late for Han Tiange to react. The six hundred array cannons scraped together from the Great Xia Sword Sect's entire fortune let loose a collective roar, instantly unleashing hundreds of multicolored beams of light! Boom! Boom, boom, boom! Yet under this single volley from the hundreds of array cannons, all of the Great Xia Sword Sect's cloud boats were blown to pieces by the explosive backfire. Amidst the flames of the explosions, hundreds of array cannon beams tore violently through the air! Rumble! In an instant, the skies above Ziyang Palace were illuminated as bright as day. At mere contact, Ziyang Palace's outermost, fragile barrier shattered with a deafening roar! Countless purple-robed figures were engulfed by the multicolored beams before they could even react. "Ahhh!" "Aaargh!" Agonized screams rang out without end. His eyes practically splitting at the sight, Han Tiange raised his sword and charged furiously toward Lu Kangnian! Yet an elder had long been waiting on standby. Enveloped in swirling flames, he instantly intercepted Han Tiange! A glint of cold light flashed through Han Tiange's eyes. He reached into his robes, pulled out several jade slips, and crushed them violently! Lu Kangnian's expression shifted slightly at this sight. Brandishing his sword, he bellowed, "Kill them all!" Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! In an instant, countless Great Xia Sword Sect disciples roared as they charged into Ziyang Palace's territory! Yet the shattered formation barrier was merely Ziyang Palace's outer boundary. The true sect-protecting grand formation was currently closing together at astonishing speed. War drums beat relentlessly. Several Great Xia Sword Sect disciples stared intently at the battlefield as they struck the drums in a frantic rhythm! Tangled in combat with Ling Daoyan, Han Tiange inadvertently glanced downward and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had not expected that with Great Xia Sword Sect's disciples still so far off, the sect-protecting grand formation would close up without further mishap! Han Tiange's heart steadied slightly. As long as the grand formation was raised, Ziyang Palace's disciples could attack or retreat at will—after all, the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect would not be able to break in. Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh! Several figures teleported into view—surprisingly, a few late Nascent Soul elders concealed within Ziyang Palace. Their eyes were icy cold as they fixed their gazes upon Lu Kangnian. The four elderly men lunged at Lu Kangnian without hesitation. After all, only they could hold back the heavily injured Lu Kangnian now. As long as they stalled him for another half an hour, the tables would instantly turn! Suddenly! The beat of the war drums in the sky grew markedly deeper and more somber. Figures concealed among the crowd silently dove down from the sky! Li Guanqi and the others had changed into night-black clothes, melting into the darkness in an instant as they darted frantically through the mountain ranges! A total of eight squads, comprising twenty-four Core Formation cultivators, fanned out in eight directions. The original plan called for five people per squad, but before setting out, Li Guanqi had remarked that a squad of five was a bit too conspicuous and easily spotted. Thus, it was changed to three people per squad. Ahead, Xu Zhengjie silently led the two toward the rear mountain of Ziyang Palace. Li Guanqi glanced up at the fierce clash in the sky, fighting down the impulse in his heart as he kept his head down and followed the elder. Roars of battle and explosions rang ceaselessly in the sky. A magnificent barrier spanning a thousand zhang was propped up over Ziyang Palace! The barrier was exceedingly thick and shimmered with purple light. Stray attacks and spells struck against it without raising even a ripple. Amidst the storm of spells and flying streaks of light in the air, many figures fell from the sky into the mountain valleys! Suddenly! A purple-robed figure crashed down from above. Tearing through tree branches as he fell, the man slammed down, landing a hundred zhang directly in front of the trio. The man was just about to rise and take to the air once more when, by misfortune, he glanced around him. The moment he spotted the three black-clad figures, his pupils contracted sharply. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a purple jade slip and opened his mouth to shout— Suddenly! A purple glow flashed beneath Xu Zhengjie's feet. Just as he was about to accelerate, a violent gust whipped up beside him. The youth bearing the sword casket shot forward like a bolt of purple lightning. A strike of Rushing Thunder slashed out in an instant! To the eyes of the other Great Xia Sword Sect disciple accompanying them, a beam of sword light glowing with an eerie crimson hue flashed through the air and vanished! In that split second, the arm and head of the Ziyang Palace disciple flew into the air! Blood sprayed everywhere as the jade slip burst apart. To his death, the man failed to send out the message. Kicking the corpse of the Ziyang Palace disciple aside, Xu Zhengjie said in a hushed voice, "Keep moving!" Li Guanqi and the other disciple nodded slightly, concealing their figures as they pressed forward toward their designated position at the rear mountain. In the sky, the clash between the disciples of both sects grew even fiercer. When enemies come face to face, their eyes burn with hatred. Not to mention both sides had already suffered heavy casualties. Among the dead were many of their close friends. Whenever this thought crossed their minds, the disciples on both sides swung their swords with even sharper momentum. Not to mention, the two sects had already been locked in bloody slaughter since daytime. Counting this nighttime counterattack launched by the Great Xia Sword Sect against Ziyang Palace, this was already their third battle. With the fighting escalated to this stage, there was no room for wasted words or verbal spars. All they wanted was to bury their swords deep into the enemy's flesh. Surrounded in the center of the sky, Lu Kangnian was under immense pressure as well. Though he had stepped into the Soul Formation realm, he was exceedingly weak after invoking an immortal's name. Facing four late Nascent Soul cultivators at the peak of their prowess, Lu Kangnian could only barely fend them off, escaping death by a hair's breadth on multiple occasions! Lu Kangnian held a purplish-red pill in his mouth, hesitating over whether to swallow it! His origin energy was currently depleted; even though he was rapidly drawing in spiritual energy from his surroundings, there was no time to refine it. In his weakened state, he could not maintain his origin energy domain at all... For a time, the top combatants of both sects were locked in a stalemate in the sky. Down below, the battle between the disciples of both sects grew even more agonizingly fierce. Clearly, Ziyang Palace had more Core Formation cultivators among its ranks and far better resources. Logically, Ziyang Palace's disciples should have overwhelmingly suppressed the Great Xia Sword Sect. Yet at this moment, an edge of self-doubt crept into the eyes of the Ziyang Palace disciples. The first drumbeat rouses morale like a tiger; the second causes it to flag; by the third, it is exhausted! Two prior battles had failed to crush the Great Xia Sword Sect completely, and now the enemy had counterattacked right up to their mountain gate! Confronting the tiger-like ferocity of the Great Xia Sword Sect disciples, much of the pride in their hearts had already withered away. By contrast, the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect fought like butchers, burning with fierce mettle. Even when grievously wounded, they would drag down a Ziyang Palace disciple with them to deliver one final sword strike! Scenes like this unfolded constantly across the battlefield.