The battlefield around those two sects was literally taking fire. After the elders saw their sect masters killing each other, they went crazy and bared their fangs against their opponents, battling until death. The hatred between those two sects fueled their fight until the last man standing, a badly injured Dark Flame Sect Elder that wouldn't resist much longer.
On another front of this huge battlefield, Zhao Yaozu led four of the strongest Zhao family elders in a struggle against the Tao family. Zhao Yaozu was a Mana Perception middle-stage cultivator, while the elders of his family were all Qi Transformation peak-stage practitioners.
The Tao family was fighting with only three people right now, since Tao Zhong and Tao Changming hadn't showed up until now. Tao Shing was a Mana Perception middle-stage cultivator and his two companions were at the Mana Perception initial-stage realm.
Five people battling against three. If someone did not look closely, he would certainly guess that the Zhao family would be at an advantageous position on this battle, but quantity rarely surmounts quality.
The Zhao family has been utterly suppressed all this time. The only way that they were able to survive until now, was because the brilliant decisions Zhao Yaozu have been taking.
Since the beginning of the fight, just as he sensed the stages of cultivation his arch-enemies had, he opted to fight using a battle formation that his family specially trained for these occasions.
The elders stood behind while channeling their Qi into some talismans, as it was converted into mana, suppling their family leader. Zhao Yaozu used the mana he acquired from them to use a multitude of different abilities.
However, for some reason he wasn't even able to finish off one of those Mana Perception initial-stage elders. Their flames were tinged with purple, giving off a hellish and uncontrollable feeling, making those flames wilder and stronger than usual.
Tao Shing was the one pressuring Zhao Yaozu the most. He seemed to actually be able to keep up with his stamina and huge quantity of energy, not letting any of his powerful skills kill one of his companions.
After all this time that they have battled, Zhao Yaozu felt for the first time that the quantity of mana he was receiving from his elders was decreasing. The mana was so thin that it would take a lot of time for him to be able to use it for an attack.
Zhao Yaozu looked back and saw that the elders were sweating profusely, having a hard time as they squeezed even the last drop of Qi they had, to transform it into mana. But for their misfortune, the rate of consumption while transforming the energy was tremendously high, after all, the gap between Qi and Mana was not only quantity but quality as well.
Tao Shing saw that his opponents were on their last straw and decided to put an end to this. The power they have obtained from that person, had raised their overall battle efficiency by a lot. He could feel the uncontrollable blood inside his veins, powering his flames.
"Yaozu, I see that the elders from your family can't even hold the formation for a bit longer. Let's put an end to this farce, you are not a worthy opponent for my hellish flames any longer." Tao Shing was already showing some contempt.
"Tao Shing, you are too full of yourself while you can't even injure any of us after fighting for more than twenty minutes ahaha."
Tao Shing felt a bit of anger after being mocked, and the blood essence inside his body powered those emotions. He bellowed for his companions to advance: "Attack those useless elders, I will hold Zhao Yaozu."
Two figures wrapped with hellish flames shot towards the formation of elders behind Zhao Yaozu, while Tao Shing started to throw multiple fire attacks towards him.
Zhao Yaozu defended against every incoming attack, however his skin finally started to feel the scorching and corrosive sensation from those strange flames. He was not receiving extra power from the elders, so now he was fighting using his own Mana.
Yaozu looked at his companions and saw that they would not be able to defend against the enemies heading towards them. They would be slaughtered like lambs.
"As if I would let you!"
He took more than fifty percent or the remaining mana he still had and launched himself towards one of those two figures. His speed was increased after using all that energy and he was able to reach the person wrapped in hellish flames in just some seconds.
That person tried to defend against Yaozu with all his might, but the difference of a stage between their cultivations, was a gap that even his enhanced fire could not surpass.
Zhao Yaozu used his sword that was reinforced with that huge quantity of mana to cut the body of that practitioner in two halves, ending his pitiful life, however, he spent too much energy in order to stop a single opponent.
For the misfortune of the elders of the Zhao family, the other figure wrapped with hellish flames arrived before them, starting to slaughter them with his corrosive flames. Those flames would burn their flesh really fast and expose their bones before turning them to dust.
It didn't take more than a minute and they were all dead. The only thing left behind was a lingering flame with a purple hue that didn't want to vanish.
"Tao Shing!!! AHHHHH!!!"
Zhao Yaozu threw caution to the wind and used the rest of his mana to attack Tao Shing.
"Ahaha, how foolish." Tao Shing saw the foolish choice of a family master, that was acting brilliantly until a while before.
"Did the scene of your family elders burning alive turned you into a fool?" Even when they were really close to each other, Tao Shing kept mocking his enemy.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
They were locked into a sword fight as their strength were very similar. The only difference was that the hellish flames kept pressuring Zhao Yaozu. However, when Zhao Yaozu was focused in destroying the enemy in front of him, he was caught off guard by a hellish fire ball, that struck his back.
"Argh!" Zhao Yaozu flew thirty meters from the place he stood and crashed on the ground. He lost the grip of his sword and there was no more mana within his body.
At this time when he had lost all hope, his face involuntarily turned towards Sect Master Huo Shihong that was looking towards him from a great distance.
"Sur...vive." He said his last words before closing his eyes.
Huo Shihong saw the entire battle and he made sure to brand every single person and power that betrayed or helped him inside his mind. If he left this place alive, he would eradicate those that owned him a blood debt and nurture those that stood loyal.
He turned to look at the last part of the battlefield. A place that was so calm that it seemed that nothing was happening at all.
There were fifteen people standing there. They observed the entire show that was happening without moving a single muscle. They were the people from the Hunter Alliance, the Blood-boil Mercenary Group and the alchemists from the Alchemist Tower.
Huo Shihong had already guessed why they were not doing anything, but he still made sure to ask.
"Won't you help my Blazing Phoenix Sect now that we are facing destruction? Will you betray us as well?"
"Sect Master Huo is wrong, we are not betraying the Blazing Phoenix Sect, we just chose to follow lord Shikai words." A man with white beard was the first to reply, he was a reputed alchemist from the Alchemist Tower.
"Senior alchemist is right. We are not helping them, so it is not a betrayal." The leader of the Hunter Alliance spoke.
"Tch, we are mercenaries that were paid to stand for Huo Shikai, so it is unfortunate." A fierce looking man replied.
Huo Shihong engraved their words and actions inside his mind too.
"AHAHAHA, are you enjoying the show I prepared for you Sect Master Huo?" Wu Shuhui started to laugh at the predicament he put Huo Shihong in.
Shihong breathed slowly, all the hatred and anger disappeared from his countenance. He had put them all at the depths of his heart. Just by thinking straight, would he be able to leave this situation alive.
After having witnessed what was happening, he knew that even if he tried to run with all his might, there were enemies at all sides that would try to stop him. He decided that he would fight until the end and kill the maximum number of these dirty dogs.
His mana started to circulate in a really mild pattern, but for some reason the people around him felt a bit of unease.
Huo Shikai was already feeling scared after being targeted by a really ingenious attack, so he was actually the first to make a move.
"Those of you standing there, I order you to encircle him! Don't let him escape from here!" Hu Shikai's voice was a bit shaky.
The people he bribed to defect towards his side followed his command, approaching Ho Shihong, encircling him and destroying whatever possibility he had to escape.
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