A blast of swirling light shot forth and collided with a large blockade of defensive formations. It looked like a giant snapping turtle with a spiky shell after multiple smaller such formations connected with each other. Even though the creature looked massive it started crumbling under the pressure of the spiritual energy.

“We have to hold!”

“Give it your all, even if it kills you!”

Some of the cultivators inside the formation cried out in pain. Others spit out a copious amount of blood while trying to remain conscious. Nevertheless, none of them relented and even if their bones were broken or cultivation was shattered, they would not let this attack get through to the elder down below.

The man they were trying to protect was shrouded in a sphere of dark purple light. He was the central node of the whole trap formation that was created under the Long Clan’s flying stronghold. If his technique was interrupted then their plan would quickly go up in smoke. The warriors of the sect fighting this war knew the stakes and they were unwilling to give in while victory was at their fingertips.

Yet, it didn’t seem that they would be able to last through this massive blast of energy. This flying fortress was massive and so was the main cannon it wielded. The energy it produced was far outside what a group of cultivators creating defensive formations could combat.

“It won’t hold…”

The nascent soul master that was the focal point of this large turtle caught up some blood while speaking. He and a handful of other early-stage nascent soul masters had recently been able to push into this realm. This was only possible thanks to their sect and mostly the Patriarch who was able to push people through the threshold through a strange cleansing technique.

All of them felt grateful and wished to repay the kindness that was given to them. In their minds, there was no reason for their leader to do such a thing. Other masters in larger sects usually kept such techniques hidden and only aided their closest aids or even took them to the grave. Even if they were in the same faction, it was hard to trust anyone. Only after this sect was established were they able to look past such things, to the point of sacrificing it all.

The crumbling turtle gave out a massive roar as everyone inside of it pushed themselves further. Some were even able to advance through the threshold of their previous cultivation realm in a last-ditch attempt at victory. Their struggle bore fruit as somehow they were able to last through the blast that left a giant gaping hole in the glowing turtle's spiky shell.

“It didn’t go through, the trap persists!”

They cheered when they realized that they had managed to last through the blast of energy without affecting the elder's concentration below. Their voices quickly went quiet as they saw the massive cannon charging up again. It was already a miracle that they managed to block the first one, a second one would cleanly go through the damaged defensive formation.

They turned to the sky to see if some help was coming. Their biggest asset, Huo Qiang, was already being contested by ten nascent soul masters. His soul beast was tussling with a mass of others. It would be impossible for him or any other to make it in time. It would take several minutes to restore the gap in the shell but they only had a few seconds of time before the cannon recharged.

The cannon fire from their own stronghold wasn’t able to get through the flying fortress's defenses. It looked bleak for the people below, if they didn’t move out of the way then their lives would be forfeit. There was not enough energy to block another shot. If they moved from this spot, their elder that was concentrating below them would be hit instead. He was known as a strong man but even he wouldn’t last through it. When he died or got injured their trap would be gone and the counterattack of their enemies would shred them.

A decision was made by the people inside. They would sacrifice themselves for the cause. Even if they saved themselves, the enemy armada would be unleashed and their back would be open while they fled. Either they died, or everyone else would. There was a slight hesitation at first but in the end, they all came to the same conclusion. It was better to die for the sect that treated them well than to live as ants as they did before joining up with them.

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“Remember us!”

“For the sect and for the future!”

“Take care of my family…”

All of them were resolute and gathered their energies for one last blast. Perhaps this would give the other elders enough time to do something about this cannon, each second mattered and they were convinced of this worthwhile sacrifice. However, something threw a big wrench into their plan and it was in the form of a giant beam of light coming from the side of their own fortress.

“Huh?”

They all gasped as they saw something drill itself against the protective barrier of that massive fortress. The beam that was charging up started faltering as the owners of the floating castle needed to reroute all energy toward their own defensive formations. Even with that they were unable to fully counter this massive attack that continued to blast away.

“Is that?”

“Did the Patriarch come to aid us? But he was supposed to remain at the sect…”

“No, it’s not the Patriarch… it’s his soul beast!”

A large golden dragon appeared out of nowhere and passed through the barrier. It was clearly Bahamut, the beast that belonged to the United Element Sect’s leader. The people here didn’t really know that the dragon had become its own being that could act independently. To their knowledge, it would be impossible for these soul beasts to form at such a large distance from their main sect.

Yet, their leader was not there and his spiritual essence was missing. How he was able to control this creature at this distance was unknown to them but now they were saved. The golden dragon tossed itself into the battle as it continued to blast the enemy fortress with forceful ranged attacks. It had more firepower than the average flagship of a grand sect and much more maneuverability.

The course of the battle shifted almost instantly as the dragon arrived. The tired soldiers that almost died while protecting the gravity trap now had enough time to regain their footing. The large turtle that they previously formed was restored. After using some recovery pills on the injured members inside, all was well again and the counter-offensive began.

‘Good that I called Bahamut over, no one said that he couldn’t help out with the cause.’

Zhang Dong was still sitting below in his lotus position. He had predicted that something could go wrong and had his familiar wait in hiding. Thanks to the sudden attack some of the cannon had been damaged. It was time to push through and board the main structure of the Long Clan.

‘I must pull them in a bit closer, those other ships don’t matter, all I have to do is to get into that thing before they run away…’

The battle continued and for the time being he had to remain on the ground. The closer the enemy armada got to the center of the formation, the greater the gravitational pull became. Soon they were forced to move away from their ships that became nothing more than unmoving targets for the spirit cannons.

‘They really don’t care about those branch families, do they?’

To no surprise, the cultivators that belonged to the branching families attempted to retreat into the largest fortress. It at this point in time had not yet fallen and was the only thing that could protect them from the cannon fire. Yet, when they approached it, their bodies were repelled by the defensive formation. It seemed that the only people that could go through it were members of the main Long Clan.

Such behavior was something that he expected but their using their allies as meat shields blatantly was not something that even Zhang Dong expected. The Long Clan leaders probably had their reasons for it but it made them look immoral and instantly lowered everyone's morale.

“T-the main clan has abandoned us!”

“How could this be? After all we sacrificed for them?”

To a lot of people here fighting for the Long Clan was their ticket to immortality. They knew that there were no guarantees given and that the road would be bumpy, but they at least expected them to give them some aid in a situation like this. Now it became clear that the Long Clan only acted tough when they were greatly superior to their opponents. In a case like this where things were more disadvantageous they would retreat.

‘Here they come, time for phase two!’

Zhang Dong watched his people fight for the future of their sect with their lives on the line. On the other side, the Long Clan and their branching families could not be any more divided in their goals. Thanks to such a disbalance he would be able to achieve victory here as now he could activate the true trap.

As he was sitting there the purple light expanded in the form of various shadowy and purple tentacles. These were thicker than trees and numbered in the thousands. They quickly wiggled up to grasp the flying fortress that had arrived before him. Incorporating some techniques from his old enemies was quite handy and even though this made him look like some kind of demonic cultivator, it was needed to disable this flying fortress.

“Just like we planned! Board their fortress!”

Huo Qiang, the acting general shouted out. In both his hands he had a charred corpse of a nascent soul master. After tossing them to the side he turned into a shooting star. To someone like him that liked to battle strong foes, there was almost no greater gift than the Long Clan. His aim was the oldest son of the Emperor whom he considered to be the number two of that faction.

Yet before he could storm the castle a massive surge of azure flames exploded from within this structure. It brought with it a surge of unprecedented spiritual energy that forced even someone like Huo Qiang to back away. Soon the flames were followed by a beastly roar that sounded similar to that of a dragon…