In midair, the Great Cave Master and Ou Ji were still locked in an indistinguishable battle. However, because Blood Battle had ceased participating, the pressure on the Great Cave Master had drastically decreased. Yet under Ou Ji's calculated offensives, he couldn't break free in a short time.
On Biluo Cave's square, the Green Flow Circulation Array, under the control of the Second Cave Master, was defending against the relentless attacks from the Dawn Alliance. At the same time, all disciples were vigilantly on guard to prevent any surprise teleportation attacks from the opposition.
For a moment, both sides were at a stalemate.
The disciples of the Biluo Cave side slightly relaxed, as this steady situation was advantageous for them.
Many firmly believed that everything would be no problem once the Great Elder emerged from seclusion.
Yuan Ming stood near Wu Luo, scanning his surroundings and pretending to be on guard like everyone else, but he was actually looking for a chance to escape.
He didn't believe that the Dawn Alliance would allow the situation to continue in a deadlock. The temporary calm might be brewing a stronger storm.
"You, you, and you two, go to where the Second Cave Master is and be vigilant!" At this moment, Wu Luo's voice rang out. He designated a third of the people from the surrounding protectors. Among them, shockingly, was Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming walked toward the center of the square, where the Second Elder was stationed, while observing his surroundings. The other seven array eyes also had people assigned, continuously adjusting the allocation of personnel.
Although the situation was unfavorable, the Second Cave Master conducted himself in an orderly manner, completely unflustered.
In the center of the Green Flow Circulation Array, nearly one hundred and fifty cultivators had gathered around the Second Cave Master, including about ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators who fortified his defense impermeably.
The Second Cave Master would also whisper occasionally to the Foundation Establishment elders, who knew that it was time to fight with all they had.
While operating the array, he anxiously hoped for the Great Elder to come out of seclusion, knowing that Biluo Cave's situation was now perilously unstable.
Both the Great Cave Master and his own position were merely temporizing measures to delay the enemy's progress. He was somewhat aware of the operational style of the Dawn Alliance. Gathering such a force to attack Biluo Cave surely meant they had further contingencies in place.
They likely had additional preparations even against the Great Elder.
Right then, the Second Cave Master's gaze flickered slightly and he immediately shouted to those around him in an alert tone, "An intruder has breached the array, search for them now!"
His emitted Divine Sense faintly detected the presence of the enemy.
However, the protectors around him, despite frantically scanning to the left and right, failed to see any trace of the invader.
Yuan Ming, who stood at the farthest corner of the crowd from the Second Cave Master, also looked around but didn't see anyone breaching the defenses.
Suddenly, he squinted, instantly spotting a difference in the shadow under the Second Cave Master that was distinctly darker than those of others nearby.
Before he could react, the shadow of the Second Cave Master twisted bizarrely. A blood-red figure burst from it, striking like thunder at the Second Cave Master's chest with a palm.
The cultivators around, including Yuan Ming, never anticipated that the enemy could directly reach the Second Cave Master. They couldn't react in time.
"Blood Battle!" someone exclaimed.
The Second Cave Master, reacting quickly, was immediately enveloped by a layer of light. He also spat out a green light, which enveloped a small ruler about an inch tall.
The little ruler suddenly elongated into a size of about a meter. As the green light increased, it smashed down toward Blood Battle's head.
At this moment, a starkly visible, deep flesh wound was evident on Blood Battle's back. Still, facing the imminent giant ruler, he made no move to dodge, his eyes even showing a hint of madness.
In the palm of his left hand that struck toward the Second Cave Master, a compressing blood cloud formed, with a blazing flame lighting up within it.
Then, a thunderous explosion rocked the air!
A red sun burst forth from the center of the array, with its fierce flames expanding rapidly under the intense heat, instantly blasting everyone within the array, tossing them around chaotically.
The Second Cave Master took a direct hit. His protective body light was immediately breached, his chest and abdomen scorched by the flames, his clothes torn apart, and a shocking wound appeared on his body.
The square stele he was protecting behind him was also shattered by the powerful impact, tumbling to the side.
Within the array, chaos immediately ensued.
Yuan Ming, being farther from the center of the explosion, was only lightly impacted and toppled to the ground. Meanwhile, the elders and disciples near the Second Cave Master suffered catastrophic injuries, their bodies burst open and dead or heavily wounded.
He clearly saw every moment of the attack, even noticing Blood Battle who launched the assault, also blown away by the Second Cave Master's giant green ruler magic treasure. He was blood-soaked, with one of his arms broken, visibly also heavily injured.
Yet, he used the momentum to transform into a blood shadow, racing out of the array.
The core of the array was breached, and the entire Green Flow Circulation Array instantly collapsed, dissipating into specks of green light.
The Female Array Master looked at this scene, her lips curving into a smile.
All of this was within her plans, including the initial kamikaze attacks by the second-level spirit beasts, all aimed to divert attention, setting the stage for teleporting Blood Battle underground for the sneak attack.
"My task is done," said the female Array Master.
"Charge!" a leader from the Dawn Alliance ordered loudly.
The young clown, who had been guarding her side, was the first to respond and rushed toward Biluo Cave cultivators, now unprotected by the Array.
"Brother, be careful," the female Array Master shouted loudly, but the cultivator named Xiao Yao had already charged too far away.
The remaining Dawn Cultivators followed closely behind, their battle cries shaking the heavens.
The severely injured Second Cave Master, his expression as dark as water, swallowed several elixirs and yelled to everyone, "The Array is broken! Things have come to this point, you decide whether you want to die honorably or live a life as a dignified mining slave."
His cry was so loud that even Yuan Ming, upon hearing it, felt moved,
and some elder disciples even shed hot tears.
Seeing no way out, the cultivators of Biluo Cave slapped their Spiritual Beast Bags at their waists, summoned their spirit beasts, and pulled out their best Magic Tools and Talismans, ready for the final battle.
Above the square, the last brutal melee finally began.
The Great Cave Master in the distant sky saw what was happening and his eyes almost burst with rage. He realized that when he had repelled Xue Zhan with a single sword strike earlier, the enemy hadn't really retreated but had used the opportunity to escape and attack the Second Cave Master as a part of a feint.
Angry and anxious, the Great Cave Master wanted to come to the aid, but he was suddenly struck by several streaks of black thunder, which were the Kui Water Divine Thunder used by Ou Ji.
The Great Cave Master had no choice but to focus and fight, being tightly held back by Ou Ji.
After swallowing the elixirs, the Second Cave Master took a deep breath, forced his body to stand, and lifted a red ring to prepare to face his enemies.
But just as he activated the ring and sent two nearby men in black flying, he suddenly grimaced in pain, vomited a mouthful of dark blood, and fell to the ground again, his skin turning a purplish-blue hue as his limbs convulsed uncontrollably, apparently poisoned.
The red ring also fell to the ground with a clanging sound, its spirit light quickly fading away.
Seeing the Second Cave Master exhausted and unable to fight back, and with the Great Cave Master unable to assist, the situation deteriorated rapidly as their comrades fell one by one, and the little morale that the people of Biluo Cave had mustered evaporated instantly. Both the ordinary disciples and the Foundation Establishment elders lost their will to fight and scattered in all directions.
Soon, the collapsed Second Cave Master was controlled by the members of the Dawn Alliance using a magic tool.
The moment the Second Cave Master was attacked, Yuan Ming was the first to break away from the group, fighting and retreating to the edge of the square leading towards the back mountain.
The Dawn members had already fiercely invaded Biluo Cave, blocking all paths to the front mountain, and only the road leading further into Biluo Cave remained unguarded.
Yuan Ming didn't think twice, his body swiftly flickering as he sped in that direction.
Several Dawn Alliance members approached rapidly from the side, one of whom was the tall, thin man who had previously fought him at the gate of Biluo Cave.
Yuan Ming immediately used the Wind Swift Skill to accelerate, quickly creating distance between himself and the pursuers.
The tall, thin man, seeing that he couldn't catch up, took out the red crossbow he had used earlier to attack the Sect Protection Array.
A shrill shriek sounded, and a red arrow flew straight toward Yuan Ming's heart.
Yuan Ming quickly activated the Jade Belt at his waist, his figure instantly becoming blurred as he dashed several meters to the side.
The red crossbow bolt struck his former position, exploding with a loud blast and creating a large crater in the ground, dust billowing.
Without looking back, Yuan Ming continued to spur the Jade Belt, speeding forward with several shadows trailing behind him. Visit My Virtual Library Empire (*) for more.
By the time the tall, thin man and his companions arrived, Yuan Ming had already disappeared.
Several roads appeared ahead, and they could not tell where Yuan Ming had gone.
The men stopped reluctantly, turned, and chased after other Biluo Cave disciples.
Yuan Ming pushed his speed to the limit and quickly completely lost the Dawn Alliance pursuers.
He ran to a hidden area below Fire Refining Peak and controlled two soul crows to scout the situation outside.
The disciples of Biluo Cave had completely dispersed. For those who chose to surrender, whether they were Foundation Establishment elders or Qi Refining disciples, the Dawn Alliance did not trouble them, merely confiscating their storage magic tools and fitting them with a circular magic tool around their necks, gathering them in one place for supervision.
But for the few cultivators who stubbornly resisted, the outcome was grim; outnumbered, almost all were either killed or seriously injured.
The Dawn Alliance had obviously prepared thoroughly for their attack on Biluo Cave, quickly stationing personnel at strategic posts throughout the cave, leaving no stone unturned.
"At such a critical time, what exactly is Xi Ying doing? It's really worrying!"
Yuan Ming hid in a secluded corner, concealing his breath and hardly daring to breathe at all, monitoring every movement on the battlefield through the soul crows, while anxiously searching for any sign of Xi Ying.
In the current chaos, if he could find a loophole through the Dawn's defenses using the soul crows and use the remaining Earth Travel Talisman to try to escape, he figured he still had a ninety percent chance of success, but he was unsure if Xi Ying had accomplished her important task and was now unreachable.