Youth must be seized while it is still young; how can one remain forever in youth? Chapter Ninety-Three: A Cornered Beast’s Struggle

A heart-wrenching cry rang out from within the grand defensive formation.

A middle-aged cultivator, snot and tears streaming down his face, was shouting madly, while several others held him back. Had they not restrained him, he would have already charged forward to fight the two Golden Core cultivators to the death.

"Zhang Dog! I will remember this grudge today! One day I will have my revenge!" the middle-aged cultivator roared, pointing at Zhang Zhenyuan.

Blood dripped from the corner of Zhang Zhenyuan's mouth as he laughed wildly. "There will be no one day! Today is the day your Dragon-Tiger Mountain is destroyed! And you, brat, will die without fail!"

His voice rolled out like thunder, shaking the hearts of everyone on Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

When he finished, Zhang Zhenyuan leaned over to say a few words to Zhang Xiao in a low voice, then turned and returned to the spirit vessel.

Clearly, he was going back to heal from his injuries. The battle just now had left him badly wounded.

"All disciples, heed my command!" Zhang Xiao raised one hand high, drawing the gazes of the thousand-plus cultivators present. "The assault on Dragon-Tiger Mountain begins now! Attack according to your assigned positions! The grand undertaking of the Ultimate Unity Alliance begins here!"

With a fierce sweep of his arm, Zhang Xiao shouted, "Kill!"

"Charge!"

"Move, move, move!"

"Haha, I am here!"

At once, the three spirit vessels disgorged dense ranks of cultivators, all of them surging excitedly toward the mountain-protecting formation of Dragon-Tiger Gate.

It was obvious that Zhang Zhenyuan's public killing of Cao Xiong had greatly boosted everyone's confidence.

The people of the Profound Sun Gate also obeyed the order and moved out. Twelve of them swiftly formed up, and the Four Symbols Flame Formation appeared once more. A giant elephant, wreathed in a fiery phantom, materialized above their heads.

"Dragon-Tiger Gate has gathered many Foundation Establishment cultivators. When the formation breaks later, do not scatter. Move in teams!" Nie Fang said with a grave expression.

"Yes!" the disciples hurriedly replied.

Boom!

Just as the disciples answered, thick beams of violet light suddenly shot out from the protective formation ahead.

As the violet light closed in, Nie Fang bellowed, "Move!"

Nie Fang and Han Ao-yu, relying on the reflexes of Foundation Establishment cultivators, quickly took control and pulled everyone sharply aside.

They narrowly avoided the beam of violet light.

"Aah!"

The wandering cultivators behind them were not so fortunate.

Several cultivators were struck by the violet light. After a cry of agony, they exploded instantly from within, torn into bloody fragments and killed on the spot.

The sight sent a chill through Bai Qingzhou.

Only then did everyone realize that Dragon-Tiger Gate's mountain-protecting formation was not merely a dead thing that passively defended itself; it also possessed the power to attack.

"Be careful! This formation can unleash attacks on par with Foundation Establishment cultivators!" Nie Fang warned at the top of his voice.

His shout put everyone on full alert, and they surged forward once more.

The short distance meant nothing to cultivators; it was crossed in an instant.

Though several cultivators had been killed by the violet beams, most arrived at the formation unscathed.

More than forty Foundation Establishment cultivators and over six hundred Qi Refinement cultivators simultaneously unleashed all manner of artifacts and spells. Hundreds of streaks of light slammed into the formation's protective barrier, causing it to tremble violently at once.

The giant elephant formed by the Profound Sun Gate disciples lunged forward, swinging its massive trunk with fire-wreathed force and slamming it into the barrier, lending what little strength it could.

At the same time, the mountain-protecting formation continued to fire off stream after stream of violet light, taking cultivator lives from time to time.

Seeing this, many Foundation Establishment cultivators stopped attacking and instead focused on defending against the violet beams with artifacts or talismans, so as not to injure their own disciples.

A quarter of an hour passed in this way.

"Do not hold back! The longer this drags on, the more dangerous it becomes!" Zhang Xiao shouted from the air, while also fending off attacks from several Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Once the battle began, Dragon-Tiger Mountain had sent out six Foundation Establishment cultivators, who formed a battle array and directly confronted Zhang Xiao, who had only just broken through to the Golden Core stage.

For a time, cries rose all across the battlefield, and the scene grew brutally chaotic.

Not only did the formation keep firing violet beams, but many cultivators also launched talisman and artifact attacks, instantly leaving the attacking members of the Ultimate Unity Alliance badly wounded.

Bai Qingzhou held the Azure Rainbow Sword and knocked aside an incoming artifact strike.

Hum.

The artifact trembled violently. Bai Qingzhou loosened his grip slightly, then infused it once more with spiritual energy to calm the quivering blade.

Their assigned target was the southeast corner of the formation, where the defenders were relatively few and only one Foundation Establishment cultivator stood guard, so the danger was not great.

Ji Heng, Li Xian, and Bai Qingzhou took turns on defense, easily blocking the various attacks from the cultivators of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, and for a time not a single person from the Profound Sun Gate was injured.

Just as Bai Qingzhou had been thinking that arriving here was a stroke of luck...

He suddenly looked up and discovered more than ten cultivators rushing out from behind the formation. A quick glance revealed that several of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A warning flared in Bai Qingzhou's mind, and he faintly sensed danger approaching.

"So this is the trash from the Profound Sun Gate! Fellow Daoists, attack with me!" the leading Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly shouted.

The next instant, more than ten streaks of light of different colors shot rapidly out from within the formation.

"Everyone..." Nie Fang cried out, eyes splitting with rage.

Before he could finish, boom!

The many streaks of light struck the Profound Sun Gate's Four Symbols Flame Formation with a thunderous impact.

The giant elephant phantom above their heads barely lasted two breaths under the attacks of several Foundation Establishment cultivators before shattering and dispersing.

Bai Qingzhou did not hesitate in the slightest. Relying on the bodily reflexes he had honed through countless battles in the forest of demon beasts, he suddenly darted left.

He narrowly avoided a beam of dark light with terrifying power.

Bai Qingzhou fell to the ground, his heart still pounding. He quickly turned his head to look, and his expression changed drastically.

Yu Ying in the rear had been torn away for more than half her body; even her head had been struck, leaving a chunk missing.

Her beautiful face was filled with disbelief. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but before she could utter a word, her body dropped lifelessly to the ground.

"Yu Ying!" came Ruan Xiuqi's anguished cry.

"Junior Sister Yu!"

Everyone was shocked and horrified.

"Aah!"

Another cry of pain rang out.

Bai Qingzhou turned his head and saw that not far away, Xie Zhongjian had lost an entire arm, and his chest had been grievously wounded as well. Clearly, he too had been hit by the attack just now.

"Withdraw! Withdraw first!" Nie Fang roared angrily.

"Retreat!" Han Ao-yu also shouted in haste.

At the elders' cries, everyone was jolted awake at once and hurriedly fell back.

They withdrew out of range of those cultivators' attacks.

Fortunately, the cultivators of Dragon-Tiger Mountain did not pursue them out of the formation. They merely watched coldly as the Profound Sun Gate people retreated, then turned to reinforce other areas.

Once they were safe, Han Ao-yu immediately took out a pill for Xie Zhongjian to swallow, then sprinkled some medicinal powder over his wounds to help stop the bleeding.

Xie Zhongjian's face was pale, and he had already fallen unconscious.

"Is anyone else injured?" Nie Fang asked loudly.

Everyone looked at one another, all of them silent.

"Only Yu Ying..." Ruan Xiuqi's trembling voice came out.

Tears streamed down Ruan Xiuqi's face; he was clearly in great sorrow.

Ruan Xiuqi and Yu Ying had always been close. In the past, when they attended classes in the sect together, Ruan Xiuqi would often talk and joke with Yu Ying in the classroom. The two of them were frequently punished together, and in daily life they had much contact. No one had expected that she would die here instead...

Everyone looked toward Yu Ying's body, which still lay in front of the formation, and their hearts grew heavy.

The situation had been urgent just now, and they had not had time to retrieve her body. Seeing her lying there alone now, everyone felt a bitterness they could not put into words.

"Pull yourselves together!" Nie Fang looked around and barked at them. "Dragon-Tiger Mountain owes us another life now! We must avenge Yu Ying! We must avenge the sect master!"

"That's right!" Han Ao-yu continued. "The formation is close to breaking. We have to keep moving forward!"

Everyone looked up and saw that under the united assault of hundreds of cultivators, the protective formation was beginning to buckle. It trembled constantly, its color growing dimmer by the moment.

The words of the two elders stirred everyone again. Leaving the heavily injured Xie Zhongjian to rest where he was, the remaining ten once more formed up and surged ahead.

Their formation attack smashed violently into the barrier.

Very soon, under the relentless bombardment of everyone present...

Crack!

The mountain-protecting formation, which had held for nearly an hour, finally vanished like a soap bubble.

"Kill!"

"Everyone, die for me!"

"Charge, charge, charge!"

The shattering of the formation triggered cries from the cultivators of the Ultimate Unity Alliance. Like madmen, each of them brandished an artifact and rushed through the mountain gate, plunging into close combat with the cultivators of Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

The people of the Profound Sun Gate were just as fierce, charging at the front. Led by Nie Fang and Han Ao-yu, the ten of them rushed into the mountain gate.

Right in their path was a small Foundation Establishment squad from Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

"Don't be afraid! All of us, strike together!" Nie Fang said in a low voice.

Everyone nodded in unison.

The opposing squad also numbered ten, and at its head was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a sullen face.

The two sides closed in.

There was no time for words. Both sides immediately cast out all manner of artifacts and talismans, hurling them violently at one another.

Blades clashed, talismans struck!

Ssshh!

Under the combined efforts of Nie Fang and Han Ao-yu, the sullen Foundation Establishment cultivator had no strength to resist. The deep red barrier around him shattered in an instant, and his entire body was directly severed into several pieces by the artifact, dying on the spot.

"Ah! Elder Zhang..."

Seeing their leader instantly slain, the remaining Qi Refinement cultivators were stunned. Some shouted and rushed toward the attackers, while others turned to flee in fear.

But none escaped death.

Because Yu Ying had been killed on the spot by Dragon-Tiger Mountain, everyone was cold-eyed and ruthless. They showed no mercy in slaughtering the cultivators, and in less than a few breaths the ten-odd enemies had been wiped out.

In this battle, the Profound Sun Gate paid only the price of two lightly injured people.

Han Ao-yu waved a hand, sweeping up both the storage pouches from the corpses on the ground and the fallen artifacts, taking them all for himself.

"Go!" Han Ao-yu ordered, and the group pressed onward.

Everywhere within the mountain gate, slaughter raged.

Either you died, or I lived.

Cries of pain and angry shouts rose and fell without cease.

Even the air was thick with a pale red mist of blood.

The entire mountain was in utter chaos. Some fought with their lives on the line, looking as if they had gone mad; some stood rooted in place, weeping bitterly; and many more, with morale shattered, seized the opportunity to break out in all directions. Countless cultivators from Dragon-Tiger Mountain fled to the four winds.

The people of the Profound Sun Gate stayed tightly grouped together, huddling close for warmth, and under the lead of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, they continued fighting as they advanced...