Chapter 1608 - Too Late

Xue Da’s assault crashed down like a storm. Although the thirty Immortal Platform realm experts of the Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor resisted with all their might and the Eight Gates Golden Light Array dispersed much of the terrifying force, for those only in the first-level Immortal Platform realm, the remaining force was still equivalent to being struck head-on by a peer.

One or two blows could be endured. Five or six were far beyond their limits.

Almost instantly, three or four of the weakest cultivators let out agonized screams before collapsing, blood pouring from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths as consciousness slipped away.

The moment they fell, the Eight Gates Golden Light Array’s defensive power faltered, and its brilliance faded just enough to be unmistakable.

There was no avoiding it.

Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor had always been short on true power. Most of their Immortals were only at the first level. If it weren’t for their numbers, they wouldn’t have survived a single punch from Xue Da.

Without the array’s protection, Xue Da could have wiped them out as effortlessly as chopping vegetables. The disparity between the two sides was overwhelming.

“Hold the fort! We must hold the fort!” Gongsun Jing shouted, his face flushed. Law power surged from him constantly, pouring into the array to stabilize the formation.

“You’re simply trying to do the impossible!” Xue Da’s indifferent voice rang out.

The Eight Gates Golden Light Array was indeed extraordinary. Even fueled by the meager strength of Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor, it had stalled him far longer than expected. That alone was astonishing.

But no matter what, Gongsun Jing and the others were only wasting their efforts.

Boom, boom, boom!

Wave after wave of crushing fist force slammed into the golden barrier, shaking it violently, as though it might shatter at any breath.

Even Gongsun Jing was reaching his limit.

He was the strongest person in the Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor and the heart of the Eight Gates Golden Light Array. Consequently, he bore the brunt of the backlash. Blood spilled continuously from his mouth, yet he clenched his teeth and refused to retreat.

He had to buy time for the elderly, the children, and the women to escape through the underground tunnels.

He had never expected the Eight Gates Golden Light Array to resist Xue Da’s assault. It was only meant to delay the end.

A few more first-level Immortal Platform realm experts collapsed. One of them wasn’t merely injured, but the attack had made him explode, killing him on the spot.

Just as the formation teetered on the edge of collapse, a sudden commotion erupted from within the manor. Figures rushed out. They were the juniors supposed to have escaped.

“You guys...”

Gongsun Jing and the others’ expressions changed at the sight.

They were holding the line here desperately precisely to buy them time, but they actually didn’t leave.

“We’re not leaving, Manor Master. We’re part of the mountain manor, whether alive or dead!”

“Dad, I came to help you.”

The newcomers charged straight into the eight formation nodes. Though none of them had reached the Immortal Platform realm, they were Legends, Void Immortals, and Half-Immortals. With their support, the array flared back to life, golden radiance surging once more.

Xue Da’s expression became somewhat ugly.

He was a great expert in the eighth-level Immortal Platform realm, just a step away from reaching the pinnacle. He had personally taken action. And yet, he was still being stalled by a defensive formation?

This was humiliation.

“So you refuse to accept reality,” Xue Da said icily. “Fine. One strike. I’ll end this farce in a single blow.”

As Xue Da’s voice fell, his aura suddenly boiled over. A halberd appeared in his grasp, emitting a sharp aura as he thrust it forward violently.

The winds and clouds changed colors, and the atmosphere turned somber.

Xue Da had gotten serious with this strike.

He had expected to crush the Eight Gates Golden Light Array with ease. Instead, it had dragged things out far too long. If this continued, he would become a laughingstock.

Rumble!

The terrifying strike slammed into the golden light barrier, causing it to tremble violently and sending ripples spreading in all directions.

Poof, poof, poof!

Several figures within the eight eyes of the formation exploded almost instantly before they could even let out a scream. Not even Immortals were an exception.

“

Uagh, uagh, uagh

!”

Ma Xinglong, Li Mu, and the others at the second and third levels of the Immortal Platform realm staggered as their vision blurred. Cracks spread across them like shattered porcelain, blood spraying violently as they hovered on the brink of collapse.

“Break for me!” Xue Da shouted, his voice shaking heaven and earth. Another terrifying force erupted from his halberd. The Eight Gates Golden Light Array finally exceeded its limit. With a deafening crack, it shattered completely.

“

Ahhh

...”

The formation was broken, and the people in the eight eyes of the formation fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

“It’s over! The Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor is finished this time!”

Immortal wills from across the city had been observing the battle. When the formation shattered, a cold chill ran through them all.

Without the barrier, who could stop the Crimson Lightning Sect?

The Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor had only shone for two years; now, it would vanish, just like the Deng Clan before it.

Desperation crept across Gongsun Jing’s face.

Sure enough, they couldn’t withstand the assault.

Then his eyes hardened.

Since the formation had been broken, even in death, he had to take a few people down with him.

The others also resolved themselves to this cause.

There was no way they could win against the Crimson Lightning Sect. The gap in strength was too great; it was simply insurmountable. However, even if they were to die, they would smash a few of the Crimson Lightning Sect’s teeth in.

Xue Da hovered in the air, halberd in hand, gazing down with utter indifference. To him, Gongsun Jing and the others were already corpses.

“Kill!” Xue Da waved his hand indifferently. He didn’t have to step in personally for what was to follow. The people behind him were enough.

Whoosh, whoosh.

The Crimson Lightning Sect’s people stepped forward. Looking at Gongsun Jing and the others, they did not pity their eyes. Only icy killing intent could be seen.

Ma Xinglong forced himself upright, madness flashing across his face. He charged straight at the nearest fourth-level Immortal Platform expert as a terrifying fluctuation surged from him.

“I’ll fight you to the death!”

Self-detonation!

This was their method to shatter the Crimson Lightning Sect’s teeth.

“Let’s die together!”

Li Mu and the others who could still stand spread their arms wide and rushed into the enemy ranks.

Boom. Boom, boom!

Instantly, several terrifying explosions boomed one after another.

The members of the Crimson Lightning Sect didn’t expect the people of the Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor to be this vicious, choosing to self-detonate without hesitation, resolved to drag them down with them even in death.

In the blink of an eye, close to ten people either died or were crippled from the self-detonations.

“Old Ma, Li Mu...”

Gongsun Jing watched as Ma Xinglong, Li Mu, and the others self-detonated. Two trails of blood tears rolled down his cheeks.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Brothers who had once fought beside him were gone forever.

The spectators within the city fell silent.

“Let’s die together!”

Xue Da’s face turned ashen. This was supposed to be a trivial extermination. They were not meant to suffer losses. Yet now, nearly ten of his people were gone.

The loss itself was not devastating; it was humiliating.

“You’re courting death!”

Xue Da was furious. A terrifying aura swept out from him as he swung his halberd in the air, unleashing streaks of halberd light that swept past several members of the Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor who were about to detonate themselves.

Suddenly, a furious shout came from afar, blowing up the air as the deafening sonic waves streaked across.

“Stop!”

A green figure approached at lightning speed. It was none other than Chen Fan.

He had not expected the Crimson Lightning Sect to track down Rolling Thunder Mountain Manor. The moment his immortal will swept across the battlefield, the carnage struck him like a blade.

Dead. Wounded. Corpses everywhere.

He even saw cultivators about to self-detonate, only to be cut apart by Xue Da’s halberd.

Too late!

He returned too late!