52: When disaster strikes, everyone flees

The battle in the Small Valley concluded, and the Great Ancestor's screams alarmed everyone.

The Third Ancestor and Fifth Elder, having just broken through the last Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array, hadn't even had time to be happy when they heard the Great Ancestor's anguished cries, their faces instantly turning pale.

They abruptly turned their heads to look.

They saw the Great Ancestor's face alternate between red and white, his arms bloody, both arms gone, and dozens of bloody flesh fragments scattered on the ground, clearly the remnants of his arms, shredded by the Divine Sense Void Annihilation Array's wind blades.

The two of them immediately felt their scalps tingle, filled with lingering fear.

"Big Brother!"

With expressions of grief, indignation, and worry, they rushed to the Great Ancestor's side, quickly applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Otherwise, with both arms severed, the Great Ancestor could have bled to death from the wounds alone.

"Quick, go support Second Brother and the others!"

At this moment, the Great Ancestor's face was flushed with anger, his neck thick, and he was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, looking deathly pale. The red and white colors on his face intermingled, as if he had suffered Qi Deviation during cultivation.

However, the towering hatred did not make him completely lose his mind. The opponent's target was the Protectors and Elders, and what he could do now was to prevent the opponent's objective from succeeding.

"I'll stay to protect Big Brother. Third Brother, you go support Second Brother and the others!"

"...Alright!"

The Third Ancestor felt a little apprehensive.

Even a strong person like Big Brother had lost both arms in this strange killing array. And he was supposed to go support Second Brother and the others?

Fifth Elder's intentions were truly not small!

He could only blame himself for not thinking of this, allowing Fifth Elder to gain the upper hand verbally.

The Third Ancestor reluctantly left.

"..."

The Great Ancestor had wanted to tell the Fifth Elder, 'You go too, I don't need protection,' but he opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing.

Could he still put on a brave front now?

He had lost both arms without even knowing who the enemy was. Now, his greatest regret was his impulsive actions, his carelessness, his underestimation of the enemy, and his desire to show off.

But regret was already too late!

"I should take advantage of your illness to take your life!"

Seeing that the Shi Family's Great Ancestor had indeed been tricked into losing both arms, Long Aotian immediately had an idea, recognizing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eliminate him.

The killing array is used up?

It can be inscribed at any time!

Inscribing a large Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array takes a bit of time, but now the Shi Family's Great Ancestor was merely a sick cat. He could inscribe a smaller Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array, one with a radius of fifty meters, or even twenty to thirty meters.

He could inscribe a Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array with a twenty-meter radius in a single breath.

Today, the Shi Family's Great Ancestor must die!

"Big Brother, it's very unsafe outside right now. Why don't you return to the defensive array first?

I want to go back to the Family and ask the Clan God and the others to return."

"...That's fine!"

"Not good!"

"..."

As the two spoke, Long Aotian had already inscribed a small Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array, activated it immediately, and then raced against time to inscribe the next Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array.

While planning to kill the Great Ancestor, Long Aotian had another idea: to see if he could trap, or even kill, the Fifth Elder using a small Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array.

If he could, consecutively slaying the Shi Family's Great Ancestor and Fifth Elder, and also harvesting a group of Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians from the Shi Family, that would truly be a Heaven-Defying achievement.

"Bang—"

As he spoke, the Fifth Elder suddenly felt himself trapped in a killing array again, his face instantly changing dramatically. Filled with shock and anger, he unleashed a full-power strike at the killing array.

He had never imagined that there would still be such a strange killing array here. The thought of Big Brother losing both arms here, and Third Brother going to support Second Brother and the others, leaving only himself, sent shivers down his spine.

This place is perilous!

It is not advisable to stay long!

"Crack!"

Fortunately, the smaller killing array could be shattered with a single punch, and he was not injured.

However, after this fright, he truly dared not stay here any longer. Who knew how many more of these strange killing arrays there were here? If one were to suddenly appear, no matter how profound his cultivation, a moment of carelessness could be his downfall.

"Big Brother, we can't stay here much longer... What, again?!"

The Fifth Elder had just broken through the killing array and hadn't even finished speaking when he felt a new killing array activate, and the Divine Sense Void Annihilation Array's wind blades poured down.

"Bang—"

Another furious strike, and the killing array was shattered with a punch.

But the next scene made the Fifth Elder truly feel that he was not far from death.

The scale of the killing array was constantly shrinking, from a twenty-meter radius to eighteen meters... sixteen meters... thirteen meters.

When the killing array shrank to a thirteen-meter radius, his speed of breaking the array could no longer keep up with Long Aotian's speed of inscribing arrays.

He was trapped!

All this happened too quickly, in a flash of lightning, no more than three or two breaths. By the time he realized and wanted to abandon the Great Ancestor, to escape even if it meant getting injured, it was already too late.

The Divine Sense Void Annihilation Array's wind blades began to cut everything within the array without interruption.

"Ah!"

"Big Brother!!"

The Great Ancestor, having lost both arms, could not resist the shredding of the Divine Sense Void Annihilation Array's wind blades, and his body was cut, emitting a mournful scream.

Seeing the Great Ancestor perish before his eyes, his body constantly being cut into pieces, dying a tragic death, the Fifth Elder's eyes turned red, and an uncontrollable surge of anger fiercely burned within him.

"No matter who you are, I will tear you to shreds!"

The Fifth Elder roared furiously.

"Hmph, if that's the case, then this young master can even less afford to let you live!"

Inside the Treasure Pagoda, Long Aotian also became ruthless.

A Level 6 Void Maelstrom Array with a thirteen-meter radius still couldn't take the Fifth Elder's life, but during this standoff, Long Aotian would sometimes shrink the killing array to twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, or seven meters, and then use the time difference to set up several more small Level 6 Void Maelstrom Arrays to stack attacks. This completely trapped the Fifth Elder in the killing array, making him struggle to cope.

The two were engaged in a war of attrition; whoever couldn't hold on would lose.

If Long Aotian lost, the Fifth Elder would escape danger and flee.

If the Fifth Elder lost, he would be torn to shreds by the killing array.

Long Aotian could afford to lose, but the Fifth Elder clearly could not.

The Fifth Elder, struggling to hold on, felt incredibly stifled. At the same time, being in danger and unable to escape by his own power, and sinking deeper and deeper, made him feel incredibly panicked and anxious.

Finally, he couldn't help but call for help to the Third Ancestor, who had left not long ago: "Third Brother, quickly come and help me!"

"..."

At this moment, the Third Ancestor couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Just now, he had used petty tricks to scheme against him, and now he was asking for help?

Summoned at will, dismissed at will.

What kind of person was he being treated as to be ordered around like this?

Moreover, in the Small Valley, even someone as strong as Big Brother had perished. He was relieved to have left that place and was far from returning to his death.

"Fifth Elder, you hold on for a bit. I'll go back to the Family and invite the Clan God back; then everyone will be saved!"

After speaking, the Third Ancestor didn't wait for the Fifth Elder to reply. With a "whoosh," his figure had already appeared tens of miles away.

"Damn it!!"

Seeing this, the Fifth Elder was enraged to the point of madness.

He had never imagined that Third Brother, who usually appeared so dignified, would have such poor character at a crucial moment, unwilling to even lift a finger to help him escape danger. What kind of brother was this?!

"Second Brother, Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, Eighth Brother, quickly come and help me."

Anger was anger, but seeing the Third Ancestor leave, the Fifth Elder became anxious, calling out to all the other Old Ancestors by name.

"Retreat!!"

"Everyone, quickly break the array and escape!"

Watching as all twenty-eight Family Elders perished within mere breaths inside the killing array, and several Family Guardians fell, the morale, already severely hit by the Great Ancestor's demise, suffered further with the loss of several more Family Guardians. Everyone else had varying degrees of injuries. The Shi Family's Clan Chief, Shi Tianjing, was also shocked, angry, and anxious.

However, at this very moment, the Fifth Elder still wanted to draw away their main force for breaking the array?

Shi Tianjing didn't care who the other party was, or whether he would offend anyone, and roared in shock, anger, and urgency: "All Old Ancestors, don't worry about the Fifth Elder for now, he won't be in danger immediately. First, combine your strength to break open the killing array and let the Guardians escape, otherwise, they will all perish here!

Nearly a hundred Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians! Our Shi Family's years of planning cannot be destroyed here!"

"Clan Chief, we understand!"

"..."