Chapter 320 320 – The Massacre of the Sixteenth Mountain
During the previous night:
"Do you dare threaten us? Know your place!" Layla's voice commanded everyone's attention. Every elder in the valley followed the blasts of the battle, leaving the place empty of Supremacy Phase cultivators behind them.
However, there was an exception. Many figures dressed in black assembled around the sixteenth-highest mountain. As if they knew it would happen, they all channeled their Qi simultaneously a few seconds before the first blast of Layla's attack, isolating the mountain from the rest of the valley.
The black-hooded cultivators split into two teams. The first team created a human formation as they circled the mountain, covering it with a dome made of Darkness Qi, Wind Qi, Sound Qi, and Light Qi. It was practically one huge combined technique generated by all those cultivators.
Due to the barrier, the sect members residing on that mountain remained unaware of Layla's attack.
The most amazing detail about those dozens of cultivators was their stage. All of them were in the Supremacy Phase. While the first team consisted of cultivators ranging from the seventh stage to the eighth, the second only included eighth and ninth-stage cultivators.
"Who is there?" A ninth-stage cultivator came out of his tent. It was none other than Atad, and his snake was slithering on the ground by his side. The snake only had shallow cuts on its skin, but it was exhausted from the prolonged battle. As for Atad, he was not only exhausted but also still wounded and weakened.
His question was met with silence, and his fellow cultivators came out of their tents, raising their weapons in caution and ready to engage in battle.
"Disciples of the Myriad Beasts Sect, run to the base of the mountain and form a united front to resist the shockwaves!" Atad shouted when he understood there might be a battle.
Disciples rose in surprise, coming out of their tents and casting curious glances toward the mountain summit. They only wasted a single second before they all started running in an organized manner as they were told.
The mysterious newcomers surrounded the elders at the summit, ignoring the younger disciples and letting them run away. First, they were not the targets, and second, they could not leave the mountain. The disciples would eventually face a wall that they would not be able to break.
"Who are you? What are your intentions?" Atad asked. He raised his hand and brought it down, sending a few blades made of Wind Qi that flew at almost unperceivable speed. The attack was meant to probe the strength of his enemies, and the results were unsettling.
One of the shadowy figures stepped forward, arm extended with an open palm facing the oncoming blades. A moment later, the air before the hand warped as if reality itself was bending, a vortex of invisible force pulling at the fabric of the air. The wind blades, caught in the distortion, unraveled into nothingness before they could so much as graze the figure's cloak.
'Their Wind Qi manipulation and control are better than mine!' Atad thought to himself, worried. This demonstration was enough to humble him.
"Your Honor, May I ask who you are? Why are you attacking my sect?" When the man saw the invaders only readied themselves for battle without answering, an idea popped into his mind. "Are you from the Mysterious Mountain Sect? Evil cultivators, do you think you can eliminate competition in the middle of the grand event of the great 20 sects?"
On the Myriad Beasts Sect there were forty humans and forty beasts, the same elders who accepted the challenge earlier that day. Most of them were exhausted, some even heavily wounded.
The snake hissed in anger, and it seemed to be the signal to start the battle.
"Defend and strike back!" Atad commanded, and all the elders on their side used combined techniques with their pets to hurl powerful streams of Qi at their enemies.
On the other side, the hooded figures worked in teams of four, and there were over sixty of them. Each combined technique was so powerful it took a chunk from the mountain, and explosions were loud enough to be heard in a radius of hundreds of kilometers if not for the barrier set around the mountain.
"AHHH!"
Disciples at the base of the mountain screamed in fear as their defenses crumbled. Nobody aimed their attacks at them, but the collateral damage was enough to claim the lives of many of the weaker cultivators despite their efforts to work together.
When the Qi attacks collided, loud roars and shouts cut through the air, mixed with the sounds of the earth cracking open. The sharp smell of burnt things filled the air, and the ground shook hard enough to make everyone unsteady. The energy bursts pushed out waves that shook everything, making even the brave feel their hearts beat against their ribs.
"ARGH!"
The situation was not any better on the elders' side. Their techniques got swallowed by their enemies' attacks, and they took the direct brunt of the assault.
"No! The evil sects should not be that strong! You…" Atad exclaimed in fear as his partner barely raised its head. The snake was riddled with holes and burns; it was on the verge of death.
The dust sunk with the aid of the mysterious cultivators' Qi, and a horrifying scene was revealed. Dozens of cultivators and beasts sprawled on the ground, many of them missing a few limbs or carrying other lethal injuries. They groaned in pain while trying to manipulate their Qi to force their bodies to keep functioning.
"Again," the leader of the invaders said softly, revealing the voice of a man.
"No, wait! Just tell us what you want from us, and we can comply with any demand!" Atad shouted desperately.
"Don't attack! We surrender!" Another grand elder yelled.
However, their window of begging time was rendered short, and another barrage of attacks followed. After the second barrage came the third and fourth before the techniques finally stopped.
Only one man remained on the Myriad Beasts Sect's side. Atad, with the skeleton of his dead snake coiled around him, was kneeling on the ground. His left arm was missing, his face was burnt, and he was bleeding from many other spots.
*Cough* *Cough*
He barely raised his head and looked at the attackers. As Atad saw his allies go down one by one, unease crept in. Memories flickered in his mind: his first day with the sect, the promises made, and the shared ambitions with his snake. Now, as each friend fell, those shared dreams seemed to dim. 'Will our sect survive?' he thought.
The execution of the finishing strike was momentarily delayed. Out of respect to the ninth-stage cultivator, they chose to hear his last words.
"Serene Lotus Sect… you are evil."
The leader of the hooded forces gestured with his arm and Atad's head rolled off his shoulders. The fight was over; none of the elders remained alive.
"Clean the place up and instruct the disciples to call their elders to take them home."
The operation took less than 10 minutes and was over by the time Layla finished distracting the rest of the sects.
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