A whole hour passed by and the energy accumulated by the red Skystone kept increasing.
Huo Shihong was already having a hard time on his task to keep the whole formation active. The energy kept increasing, getting so powerful and unstable, that he was almost losing control of the red Skystone.
He decided that it was already enough, since the capacity was already reaching the power a Mana Control late-stage realm expert would release when attacking. If he decided to use this cannon on anyone here, it would be a sure-kill move.
"It's enough! I thank for all the help you guys gave me to activate this formation, but I would recommend that everyone get a bit farther to protect against the impact."
The practitioners could feel the intensity of the energy inside the red Skystone, it was pulsing and emitting a bright crimson light. All of them decided to move to at least a kilometer away from the cannon.
Huo Shihong drew a mini-formation with his phoenix flames, linking it to the red stone, putting it inside the cannon right after. He used his Mana to swiftly move away from that place right after.
The formation he drew served as a fuse, intercepting the fire that itself contained from reaching the energized stone, however, the formation was quickly undoing itself.
Just as Huo Shihong reunited with the other practitioners, everyone heard the sound of the mini-formation releasing the fire.
Click!
The res Skystone started to ignite and the energy contained inside was madly consumed by the fire, serving as fuel. The sturdy cannon contained all that heat while the mechanism inside it redirected the raging fire towards the barrier.
The red Skystone shot like a missile towards the shield. The initial distance of a hundred meters was covered in a blink of an eye.
BOOOOOOM!
The stone collided with the barrier.
The explosion was soul loud that the practitioners had to cover their ears in order to not turn deaf.
The flames kept expanding from the point of the impact at a high speed, almost reaching the people that stood a kilometer away from it. Some practitioners were thrown into the air as their Qi energy wasn't enough to stabilize their bodies before the impact wave.
Dirt and smoke covered the air, hindering the vision of whoever tried to discover what have happened with the shield.
After the dust settled, everyone got amazed to see that the shield was still there! But there were some huge cracks on its surface. How strong that shield had to be to actually handle that huge quantity of energy? Even a Mana Control realm powerhouse would have died if he tried to defend against an attack like that.
"Quickly! Attack the barrier, don't let this chance slip through our hands." Huo Shihong exerted his leadership once more and gathered the attention of the people that were daydreaming in awe.
Many different attacks were shot towards the barrier, some of them made of pure mana, while other were from elemental skills, however most of them were form fire elemental skills.
Crack! Crack!
The cracks on the surface of the barrier kept increasing and somewhere in time the entire protective barrier crumbled, making a sound of glass shattering.
Tinkle!
'That's it, we made it. My Blazing Phoenix sect will be able to get stronger!' Huo Shihong got overjoyed while thinking about the bright future.
"That's it brother, we made it!" Huo Shifen got really happy that they were one step closer to acquire the divine treasure.
While everyone was absorbed on their happiness, already thinking about their incoming bountiful loot, Wu Shuhui approached Huo Shikai with an exquisite box, that seemed to be carved with fine wood. There was an aroma of medicine drifting in the air around the box, however if one observed it real closely, they would find out that it was actually Mana.
"Everything is ready Huo Shikai." Wu Shuhui delivered Huo Shikai that small box and the latter took it with a hideous smile on his face. It was a gift he brought from his kingdom, not something easy to be acquired.
"Hahaha, do not worry brother Shuhui, this is going to be a blast! I hope that after this, our deal will be completed, while you take away the treasure, I will obtain rightful Sect Master position." There was a fierce light glowing inside his eyes.
"Hehe, do not worry brother Shikai, just follow the plan and it's going to be a piece of cake."
"Alright."
Huo Shikai took the box and walked towards his brothers. It was time for his long-awaited plan to start.
"What a fool." A Mana Perception late-stage realm cultivator approached Wu Shuhui and conveyed his disdain about the tool they were using. This person had a hood covering his head, he walked all this time with his head hung low, pulling the minimum attention towards him.
"Indeed. I hope you like the show your highness." Wu Shuhui talked politely.
"Do not be polite with me, you are my teacher, there is no need for that."
"Haha, first prince, you are already as strong as me, furthermore, you have just recently turned sixty. Your talent is way above any one of us here. Our old bones can't compare with you, so at least let me treat you with respect."
"Sigh... do as you please. Hm, maybe after this event, father will finally decide to give me the crown prince position."
"That is for sure. If you gift him the divine treasure, he will be really proud of you."
Huo Shihong was revising the plan their sect would be adopting after entering the chamber, together with Huo Shifen.
Suddenly Huo Shikan approached them with a happy expression stamped on his face.
"Brothers, congratulations, we broke that retarded barrier that bothered us for so long!"
"Shikai! Come closer! Let's review some of our strategies."
"Ah! First brother, I actually have a present for you. I know that you have been working really hard in order to devise this brilliant plan of yours, so I took the liberty to buy a high tier refreshing pill for you."
Huo Shikai took out a really exquisite box and presented it to his first brother, Huo Shihong.
The aroma of freshness and medicine wafted towards their noses.
"There is a really simple pill inside, however, it is a high-tier one. It will relieve you of your stress, recover your Mana and hasten your thought process."
"Oh? Thank you, third brother, this couldn't have been in a better moment than this."
Huo Shihong went forward to grab the box and enjoy his present, however, Huo Shifen intervened, grabbing the box first, really curious to see the pill stored inside.
His action was really fast, rendering both brothers speechless. He quickly opened the lid covering the box to smell that aroma a bit closer after having distanced himself from his brothers. He wanted to be the first person to see it.
After Huo Shifen opened the lid for a bit, Huo Shihong felt that something was off with the energy around the box.
"Shifen, release that box!" Huo Shihong tried to warn him, but was already too late. The only thing he instinctively did, was to release his Mana, protecting his body from whatever it was going to happen.
"No!" Huo Shikai could not reveal his real intentions through a phrase, so he only said a single word and covered his body with his energy as well.
Just as the lid of the box was opened, Huo Shifen felt an uncontrollable flux of mana surging towards him. His body was unprotected, since he was not expecting an attack. The only defensive measure he had, was the reinforced body of a cultivator from the Mana Perception middle-stage realm, but it served for nothing around the whirlwind of mana that crashed on him.
His body was blasted to pieces, as the mana wreaked havoc on the area around him, destroying everything in its path. Luckly, it was a concentrated trap and the destruction didn't reach the Sect Master Huo.
Huo Shifen though, was utterly obliterated. Hid body was shredded and he lost his precious life in a single second.
The attention of every single practitioner was directed towards that scene and some of them felt a chill run down their spines, while the others, recognized that it was the signal they were waiting for so long.
Huo Shihong looked towards his cherished brother that died in an instant and a feeling of sadness washed his entire being.
But the words he heard a second after, made his sadness turn into an ardent rage.
"Tch, to think that that idiot actually stole the 'present' that was for you. What a waste!"
"Shikai! What is the meaning of this?!" Huo Shihong could not control his voice anymore.
"Nothing much brother. Just claiming what should have been mine! The Sect Master position, brother."
"You filthy bastard! What do you think you are doing? You killed your own brother."
"Ha, it is a pity that I wasn't able to kill you with that blast."
"You damn mongrel! I'll make sure you pay for that." Huo Shihong released his entire cultivation, suppressing Huo Shikai that was one stage below him instantly.
"Oops, I can't allow you to do that.." A Mana Perception late-stage realm aura collided with Huo Shihong, releasing the pressure from Huo Shikai.
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