53: The war ended

At the defensive Grand Array, thanks to the calm and collected Clan Chief Shi Tianjing and the wise and experienced Second Elder working together, they gathered effective forces, minimizing losses.

But even so, the casualties were heavy.

Fortunately, none of the Old Ancestors perished, nor were they even injured, which was much better compared to the Great Ancestor, Third Ancestor, and Fifth Elder, who either died, fled, or were trapped.

There were sixty Level 6 Void Maelstrom Arrays near the defensive Grand Array, and by the time Long Aotian and the Fifth Elder were locked in battle in the Small Valley, thirty-two of them had been breached.

The terrifying destructive power unleashed by the concerted effort of the Second, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Stone Family Old Ancestors in breaking the arrays also left Long Aotian speechless.

Especially with the addition of Shi Tianjing, a Genius at the Ninth Revolution Peak Stage of the Out-of-Body Realm, whose combat power was comparable to a First Revolution Stage of the Spirit Division Realm, it was equivalent to six Ancestors of the Distraction Realm working together.

If this continued, the Stone Family's Family Guardians would not even be completely eliminated before all sixty Level 6 Void Maelstrom Arrays were destroyed.

Gritting his teeth, Long Aotian decided to adopt the Small Valley tactic and hit Shi Tianjing and the others hard.

Long Aotian directly launched a combined attack of eight Level 6 Void Maelstrom Arrays against the six Spirit Division Realm combatants, followed by two consecutive combined attacks of eleven Level 6 Annihilation Arrays.

Three waves of stacked attacks in a mere six seconds.

At this point, twenty-seven of the twenty-eight Level 6 Void Maelstrom Arrays were directly scrapped, leaving only the largest one, spanning thirty miles.

Shi Tianjing and the others had never expected Long Aotian to be so insane; they managed to block the first wave of eight stacked arrays, but eight Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians perished directly, which made Shi Tianjing and the others feel as if their hearts were bleeding.

These were the backbone of their Stone Family, cultivated with such difficulty, just like that, they died.

However, what made their scalps tingle even more was yet to come.

A combined attack of eleven Annihilation Arrays struck less than two seconds later, instantly taking twenty-three Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians, while the remaining forty-two Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians were all significantly injured, and the situation was extremely critical.

Not only that, even Shi Tianjing and the relatively weaker Eighth Ancestor and Seventh Ancestor suffered several wounds from the Divine Sense Void Annihilation Wind Blades.

And what was truly fatal was the third wave of stacked attacks.

It was still a combined attack of eleven Annihilation Arrays; at this point, their morale was greatly diminished, and many were at the end of their strength or had not had time to recover, so how could they resist?

Eleven Annihilation Arrays stacked together, and the Divine Sense Void Annihilation Wind Blades engulfed them like a roaring tsunami; the six Spirit Division Realm combatants resisted desperately, and violent power exploded within the Annihilation Array.

It was only an instant!

Screams erupted almost simultaneously.

Blood mist permeated the air!

Scattered limbs and severed arms were continuously cut into pieces in the air.

Blood stained the earth red.

The entire Annihilation Array was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

Thirty-seven Family Guardians perished directly!

The Sixth Ancestor and Eighth Ancestor perished!

Hell itself would be no more terrifying than this.

Furthermore!

Shi Tianjing, the Fourth Ancestor, and the Seventh Ancestor were all severely wounded, with both Shi Tianjing and the Seventh Ancestor having an arm severed.

Even the Second Elder, whose Spirit Division Realm Eighth Revolution Stage cultivation and strength were in no way inferior to the Great Ancestor at the Spirit Division Realm Ninth Revolution Peak Stage, was now covered in wounds from the wind blade cuts, his tattered clothes soaked in blood, looking extremely disheveled.

"Damn it!!"

At this moment, the Second Elder's eyes were also red; the casualties of the Stone Family in this battle were truly terrifying.

The Great Ancestor died!

The Third Ancestor fled!

The Fifth Elder was in his death throes!

The Sixth Ancestor and Eighth Ancestor died!

The Ninth Ancestor and Tenth Ancestor, who went out to gather information, were the first to die!

Excluding Shi Tianjing and Shi Xiaodan, in less than a day, ninety-three of the Stone Family's ninety-eight Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians perished directly.

Only five remained!

And these five were all severely wounded, missing arms or legs, almost completely losing their combat effectiveness.

However, the Annihilation Array had not yet been completely broken by them.

Their deaths were foreseeable.

The Ancestors of the Distraction Realm, though wishing to protect them, had now suffered three consecutive stacked attacks from the Annihilation Array, becoming like startled birds, deeply feeling that they could barely save themselves, let alone others.

Not to mention the twenty-nine Nascent Soul Realm Family Elders, who had all perished much earlier, including Shi Gandang's second son, Shi Jing.

This fellow also came along to join the fun, but he didn't even finish watching the show before losing his life; he hadn't even had a chance to dote on the beautiful captive, which was truly tragic.

"This Annihilation Array is huge, brothers, let's combine our strength for one strike!"

"Alright!"

"Bang—"

"Again!"

"Bang—"

"Break for me!!"

"Crack!"

Finally!

Under the third combined strike, all Void Annihilation Arrays near the defensive Grand Array were shattered.

And with the breaking of the Annihilation Array, the remaining five Out-of-Body Realm Family Guardians also all perished!

"Old Ancestors, this place is not suitable for prolonged stay; I suggest everyone return to the Family first!"

After the Annihilation Array was broken, Shi Tianjing said quickly, still feeling lingering fear.

"The Clan God is not here; no one knows how many Annihilation Arrays are still here. Staying here is just waiting to die. Retreat!"

The Second Elder retreated without the slightest hesitation, flashing dozens of miles away in the blink of an eye, running faster than a rabbit.

"Swish!"

Immediately after, the Fourth Ancestor also slipped away without a word.

"..."

The Seventh Ancestor and Shi Tianjing exchanged glances, and just as they were about to slip away, the Fifth Elder, trapped in the Small Valley, cried out in despair, "Hey, hey, hey, why are you all running so fast? I'm still trapped here! Someone come and save me!

Seventh Elder, Clan Chief, hurry! As long as you lend me a little help, I can successfully escape the danger.

That bastard is confronting me; I can't escape, and it's hard for him to kill me!"

"...In that case, Fifth Brother, you hold him off for now. We'll go invite the Clan God and the others back, and then we'll settle the score with him properly!"

"Seventh Elder! Are we still brothers?!"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Elder immediately roared with a mix of urgency and anger, "How can you abandon me to die?!"

"..."

The Seventh Ancestor paused slightly at the roar, and just when the Fifth Elder thought there was hope, Shi Tianjing frowned and said, "Could this be a trap by the opponent?

The opponent wants to kill the Fifth Elder, but that's not enough; he also wants to lure us over to save him and kill us all together?

This place is not suitable for prolonged stay!

Seventh Ancestor, whether to save or not is up to you!

I'll go first!"

"Together!"

"...Shi Tianjing! You deserve to die! You are not worthy of being the Clan Chief of the Stone Family!"

The Fifth Elder completely lost his mind.

In fact, Shi Tianjing, as the Clan Chief of the Stone Family, wasn't actually unwilling to save him.

It was just that he felt this was a trap designed by the opponent; even someone as powerful as the Great Ancestor had perished there, and he truly didn't want the Stone Family to lose another Ancestor of the Distraction Realm, let alone his own life.

Too many of the Stone Family's powerhouses had already died today!

So many that he had become numb to it!

And he didn't care about one more, the Fifth Elder!

"Ah!!"

Just as the Fifth Elder lost control and went mad, Long Aotian seized the opportunity, launching a combined attack of three small Annihilation Arrays, successfully severely wounding the Fifth Elder.

Alone and without aid, his severe injuries undoubtedly spelled his death.

"..."

Shi Tianjing and the Seventh Ancestor had originally felt quite guilty about not saving the Fifth Elder, however, after suddenly sensing Long Aotian's stacked attack of three Annihilation Arrays on the Fifth Elder and hearing the Fifth Elder's scream, their hearts tightened, and they all sped up their departure.

There was indeed a trap in the Small Valley!

This place was extremely dangerous!

The two left decisively, completely disregarding Shi Xiaodan, who was still inside the defensive Grand Array.

A few breaths later, with the Annihilation of the Fifth Elder, the world returned to tranquility...