While the two rivals glared at each other, Aotian held himself back from rolling his eyes.

[“This is no time for chatter, follow me!”]

Gu Jian rudely transmitted to his allies, interrupting the exchange of provocations. Time was short, and they could not afford to be surrounded before reaching the core.

Taking a step forward, catching everyone by surprise, he suddenly performed rapid hand seals, making the energy converge around him and his allies, creating a massive tornado of fire that surged forward.

The avatars leapt, positioning themselves within the eye of the tornado and flew inside its center. Aotian did not forget to make one of them grab Mu Luyin by the arm, forcing her to follow along.

The girl in red, Feng Tianfei, clenched her teeth upon seeing the massive fire tornado advancing like a spinning drill toward her, her heart skipping a beat at the power it radiated.

“Don’t just stand there, stop that for me!” she shouted furiously to the others, while she herself formed hand seals and unleashed a phoenix of flames against the tornado.

Several who reacted faster also fired spells, colliding with the vortex of fire, which shook with the impacts and burst with explosions of flame, gradually losing strength.

Even so, it withstood everything until it reached the central rock, where Feng Tianfei was, and relentlessly converged there.

The girl widened her eyes and clenched her teeth, pulling out a talisman and activating it. A fiery red shield emerged around her body.

Even so, her instincts screamed at her, and she dared not stay there. She immediately leapt backward, still enveloped by the shield.

The instant she retreated, the tornado violently struck the central rock, spreading a sea of fire around and raising waves of the Dew of the Dragon’s Lament into the air.

Feng Tianfei was the one hit the hardest by the fiery energy, being thrown several meters back, even while protected by the shield.

Soon after, golden droplets began to rain down from above, falling onto her defense, sizzling and corroding it, opening holes where the liquid touched. Alarmed, she did not hesitate to flee, for her shield could not withstand the dew.

She immediately flew to the nearest rock, narrowly escaping the golden wave raised by Gu Jian’s attack.

The waves crashed against the stones, but were stopped by the formations that lit up, creating circular shields, preventing even a single drop of dew from falling onto those inside.

The girl, now safe, glared furiously through the golden rain and waves at the twelve figures squeezed onto the small central rock, barely two meters in diameter. That was her rock, and they had seized it while simultaneously trying to kill her.

“MU LUYIN!!” she screamed shrilly, clenching her fists inside her long red sleeves. “I knew you were a crazy bitch, but do you really think you’re strong enough to face all of us and seize the central rock with just this bunch of rats? Your arrogance and stupidity are greater than I imagined.” She nearly growled in her rebuke, though deep down, she was also confused by the suicidal actions of the other side.

If they merely wanted to cultivate in the Dragon Lake, they could have chosen a remote place, avoiding attention, instead of rushing directly to their deaths.

As she thought this, throughout the Dragon Lake, cultivators who had abandoned their rocks rushed back in panic and hid within the formations, waiting for the threatening lake to calm down, without taking their eyes off the twelve intruders.

Mu Luyin cast a mocking glance at the girl in red, but did not reply. After all… she too was panicked, and couldn’t help but feel a little stupid. But now, there was no choice but to fight to the death.

The lake slowly returned to calm, and the golden rain ceased after a few seconds. For cultivators capable of flight, the rain was the most dangerous; the low waves did not pose as much of a threat.

The avatars were already at the center, and the countdown to remain there had begun. They needed to hold out for one minute.

Time at the center: 5 seconds.

“Prepare yourselves, when the rain stops, attack!” Feng Tianfei ordered, while staring mockingly at Mu Luyin.

When the droplets fell back into the lake, cultivators on the rocks flew up, with spells already prepared, and immediately bombarded the center mercilessly.

Faced with the offensive of hundreds of spells of every type and element, Mu Luyin’s eyes widened in horror. She immediately pulled out a defensive talisman and activated it, enveloping the group in a barrier.

Lei Yun did not worry about this. He was confident those ten men were not ordinary, and must have strong confidence to enter that lake despite knowing its dangers.

Even so, he wasn’t going to stand idly by this time. He too formed hand seals and cast his gaze on those present. His eyes then gleamed, locking onto certain groups.

It was the elder of the Sword Pavilion who took the decisive step in the face of the torrent of spells rushing at them.

With a wave, dozens of swords emerged from his ring, immediately transforming into streaks of light that spun around them at high speed, creating a barrier. Then, the blades ignited, forming a dome of fire that concealed a sharp sword intent within its ceaseless motion.

The first defense to be struck was Mu Luyin’s talisman barrier, which didn’t last even a second against the storm of attacks that seemed ready to swallow everything.

The second was the sword barrier. It shredded spells as if they were nothing, but even with its terrifying strength, it faltered under the assault of hundreds of cultivators. Blades shattered into fragments and the barrier showed signs of collapse.

For a few seconds, it devoured every spell that struck, until it began to dissolve.

Aotian, controlling the Sword Pavilion elder with a solemn expression, made him cross his hands over his chest and then spread them wide, in a sweeping motion, detonating the barrier outward.

The swords exploded in a wave of energy that contained the offensive, while simultaneously raising another golden wave of the Dew of the Dragon’s Lament.

Under the corrosion of that energy, many spells lost much of their power.

At the same moment, another avatar formed seals and raised a new barrier, this time golden, of the metal element, resisting the remaining attacks.

With the golden rain falling, all enemies immediately retreated to their rocks.

Time at the center: 13 seconds.

Feng Tianfei hurriedly returned to her rock, shielding herself from the rain.

On the same rock was the young master in white robes with a folding fan, Fang Shaotian, who had earlier called everyone dogs at the mountain’s entrance. Strangely, however, he had not moved even a single step since the beginning, and simply watched everything in silence.

On the other hand, as she looked at the waves crashing against the barrier and the golden rain sliding over the dome, the girl was filled with fury.

“Don’t stop! Keep bombarding! Even if the spells weaken in the rain and the waves of the Dew of the Dragon’s Lament, they don’t fully dissipate before hitting the barrier. I don’t believe that, under the attack of hundreds of us, they’ll have the energy to resist for long,” pointing forward, she commanded loudly.

Everyone hesitated for an instant, but soon obeyed and prepared to unleash new spells against the enemy… until a loud shout interrupted them.

“Wait!!”

The voice came from the center, and everyone turned their eyes toward the source of the sound, still preparing to attack nonetheless.

But Lei Yun, the owner of the voice, who had descended from the girl’s back and lowered his hood revealing a bright gaze, didn’t care and pointed at a group of people who were preparing to attack.

“Before attacking, I would look at them if I were you!” he shouted, unleashing a wave of energy toward the people he had pointed at.

Everyone, unconsciously, obeyed, and ended up looking. And what they saw shocked them.

Those ten people, the very ones Lei Yun had mentioned, only stared at him with wide, confused eyes when they were singled out. That was when the wave of energy he had launched passed harmlessly through them.

Their eyes suddenly widened in horror, their bodies shook violently, and in an instant, they collapsed lifeless to the ground, as if they had been switched off.

The scene stunned everyone. It didn’t take long for them to understand what had happened, frightening them and making them murmur among themselves.

“Slave seal…”

“They know the activation code of the slave seal?”

“Impossible, only the higher-ups of our 12 powers who entered the mountain know it.”

“But didn’t they just activate it?”

“There… there must be an explanation.”

Hearing the doubtful murmurs, Feng Tianfei also furrowed her beautiful crimson brows for a moment, until something occurred to her. Then, she smiled carelessly.

“You placed your own slave seal on those men, so what? Still trying to fool us?” she asked, mocking with indifference, while crossing her arms beneath her not-so-modest chest.

Lei Yun, unconcerned, simply pointed at another group of people.

“How about a bet then? Don’t those over there also have your slave seal? How about I activate them to see if it’s true?” He laughed, and those who were pointed at trembled in horror, remembering the fate of the last ones he had indicated.

Feng Tianfei narrowed her eyes, not replying, analyzing the boy with growing rage in her heart.

Aotian observed everything calmly, with a small smile in his main body. Who else would have given the activation codes to the boy, if not himself?

And how had he gotten them? The Nascent Soul men outside the cave, whose minds he had read, perhaps didn’t know, but the ancestors of the 12 powers certainly did. And if they knew, now he knew as well. For more chapters visit NoveI~Fire.net

Smiling in his main body, Aotian simply watched as Lei Yun bought time for himself.

The girl in red finally replied after reflecting for a moment, rolling her eyes with disdain.

“You must have placed your own seal on them too. That’s irrelevant. Keep attacking, don’t let them breathe!” she dismissed what he said and shouted her orders, which immediately reassured everyone, who resumed their assault.

Time at the center: 35 seconds.

With the end of the conversation, the waters, which had just calmed down, were once again stirred by hundreds of spells raining down nonstop, blocked with difficulty by the avatars’ shields, which barely lasted a few seconds under the intense bombardment.

And each time one of the elders used a Nascent-Tier spell, their dantians were drained.

Since their arrival, Gu Jian had created a vortex of flames, while two other elders had raised shields. Elder Han of the Formation Pavilion, meanwhile, was analyzing the control points of the matrix, exhausting all his energy on it.

With the creation of a new barrier to withstand the recent bombardment, Aotian had only five avatars left with available energy to block.

During the new wave of attacks, Lei Yun pointed at certain people, and they immediately collapsed without suffering any external damage, like puppets with their strings cut. That was their dantians exploding with the slave seals being activated.

The companions of those victims knew Lei Yun hadn’t placed seals on them, and understood that what the boy had said earlier was true. Somehow, those people had acquired the activation code of the slave seal from the twelve powers.

As more people died, those with seals panicked and halted their attacks.

Aotian observed everything from the side, but did not stop Lei Yun from killing. After all, he could show mercy to good people, even if they were enemies, when he had the power to do so. But if they were trying to kill him and his, even under others’ orders, and posed real risks as they did now, there was no need for mercy, no matter if they were good or bad people.

He still knew how to separate what was important, even with his kindness.

Thus, under Lei Yun’s intimidation, many attacks ceased, easing the burden on the avatars.

Avatars with energy: 4

Time at the center: 40 seconds.

The attacks continued incessantly, even under the golden dew rain, which weakened the spells. The avatars’ shields were lasting, on average, six seconds against the relentless assault, before a new one had to be raised.

Avatars with energy: 3

Time at the center: 46 seconds.

The spell bombardment didn’t stop for even a moment, while some, such as the young masters, ceased their attacks to conserve energy, waiting to deliver the final blow when the enemy was exhausted.

Lei Yun tried to draw attention again to buy time, but under Feng Tianfei’s cold order to continue, the attacks pressed on. She observed everything and had already guessed that, somehow, they had indeed obtained the slave seal’s activation code, but that did not deter her. As long as they died, nothing else mattered, and they could take the combination to their graves.

Avatars with energy: 2

Time at the center: 52 seconds.

Mu Luyin began to sweat coldly upon seeing time running out and the elders exhausted. Even Lei Yun could not help but grow nervous.

Aotian, in his main body, also had a dry throat. The attacks were so numerous that the avatars’ eyes and ears hurt under the show of lights and explosive sounds.

Avatars with energy: 1

Time at the center: 58 seconds.

Everyone in the cave was already terrified by the power of those mysterious men, who resisted hundreds of enemies with only their few numbers. But they also realized they were at their limit and intensified their offensive.

With the activation of the last barrier, Lei Yun, who had been analyzing the matrix beneath his feet from the beginning, felt slightly regretful.

‘Looks like I miscalculated. I still need a few more seconds… but it won’t be possible.’

He thought helplessly, as he tried to accelerate the analysis of the last blind spot in the formation.

Time at the center: 1 minute and 3 seconds.

Before Lei Yun’s helpless gaze, who saw everything in slow motion as the last barrier was about to break, he lamented. He calculated that he only needed twenty more seconds.

‘Will I be lucky enough to try again? A new reincarnation with my memories?’ he thought, as his gaze, in that world suspended by time and death, turned to Mu Luyin’s beautiful, desperate face. ‘I only regret accepting my feelings for you too late…’

At that instant, the barrier shattered completely, and he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

BOOOOMMM!!

The cave shook slightly with the colossal explosion that erupted in the center, where hundreds of five-element spells fiercely crushed everything there.

In the end, the only thing that remained in the center was the small stone, now empty and scorched. Before such a bombardment, not even ashes of those twelve people would remain.

Silence once again fell over the entire cave with the death of the enemy.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep