"Patriarch Sun, this is the Gongsun Family’s strongest Guardian Battle Technique! We tried just now, but even working together, we couldn’t break it!"
The voice of He Kun, the Supreme Elder of the He Family, rang out. His eyes burned with intense hatred. After all, even the Patriarch of the He Family had died in battle.
Sun Zhenwu glanced up at the Guardian Array above them, his expression turning serious as he spoke.
"Even the immense power of the war machine couldn’t cleave through the Array. This must indeed be the Gongsun Family’s strongest Guardian Array. With so many of us attacking relentlessly with all our might, I’m afraid it would still take five or six days to force it open. The Gongsun Family paid a very high price to set up this Array back in the day."
"Five or six days! But we don’t have that kind of time. There are less than three days left."
"Are we going to fail on the verge of success after so many of our people have died?"
The people from the Four Great Clans were filled with indignation.
Sun Zhenwu suddenly chuckled. "I said that forcing it open might take five or six days, or even longer. But why would we be foolish enough to break the Array with brute force? Juguang... it’s your turn."
Sun Zhenwu abruptly cupped his hands in a respectful salute to the old man beside him. The old man, who sported a long white beard, took a step forward and stroked it before speaking.
"This Array was personally set up a thousand years ago by an Elder of my Celestial Secret Pavilion. The current Elder has already told me how to break it. Rest assured, with me here, it will be broken in two days at most. Everyone, please wait a moment."
"Grandpa, you’re the best! Just wait to be exterminated by my Sun Family, Gongsun Family! Hahaha," Sun Hang burst into a hearty laugh.
This old man was his grandfather, Sun Juguang of the Celestial Secret Pavilion. As for that war machine, his grandfather was also the one who brought it back.
Although the war machine’s movements were slow, its entire body was forged from refined steel. It was not only incredibly tough, but its Attack Power was also overwhelmingly formidable. No one could withstand its full-force strike. Sun Hang had come here specifically to witness the destruction of the Gongsun Family with his own eyes!
Meanwhile, in the main courtyard.
Gongsun Ancient Formula’s expression changed drastically upon seeing Sun Juguang. He let out a low growl, "This Array was set up by the Celestial Secret Pavilion, so we can’t let Sun Juguang break it! I knew the Sun Family would be the most troublesome."
Gongsun Ancient Formula’s face was extremely grim. Why did the Gongsun Family give the Sun Family any face at all? It was entirely because of Sun Juguang.
From a young age, Sun Juguang had been an eccentric. While others loved practicing martial arts, he enjoyed tinkering with unorthodox pursuits. He had a particularly profound interest in machinery. Eventually, he joined the Celestial Secret Pavilion. The Celestial Secret Pavilion loved taking in prodigies like Sun Juguang.
After joining the Celestial Secret Pavilion, Sun Juguang lived up to expectations. Under his leadership, the Pavilion successfully built the war machine. One must know that the Celestial Secret Pavilion had possessed the ancient blueprints for the war machine for a full three thousand years. Unfortunately, the blueprints were incomplete. Because of this slight imperfection, the Celestial Secret Pavilion hadn’t been able to construct a single war machine in all those three millennia. They had expended a vast amount of resources, only to end up with giant lumps of iron that could barely sustain a run, let alone be deployed in warfare.
However, Sun Juguang was incredibly adept at the principles of machinery and applied them with masterful precision. He had actually managed to patch the flaws and successfully construct the war machine. That was why he had the authority to bring the war machine here.
Over the past few days, the Sun Family had refrained from making a move, not only because they were waiting for experts, but also because they were waiting for Sun Juguang to return.
"My injuries are the lightest. I’ll go kill him!" The Third Elder suddenly spoke up. As soon as his voice fell, he charged out of the main courtyard.
However, just as he emerged and before he even had a chance to strike, two old men blocked his path. These two old men were not members of the Sun Family; rather, they were experts the Sun Family had hired at a great cost. Without a word, the two immediately launched an attack on the Third Elder the moment they appeared.
If it weren’t for the protection of the Guardian Array, the entire main courtyard would have collapsed from the shockwaves of their battle. In just a few exchanges, the Third Elder was beaten to the point of coughing up blood.
"Third Brother!" Gongsun Ancient Formula’s eyes practically split with rage. He stood up, intending to go out and rescue him.
But the Third Elder roared lowly, "Don’t come out! The Guardian Array allows exit but not entry. I... I can’t go back..."
The Third Elder suddenly looked back, his gaze abruptly turning gentle. He looked at his descendants, a faint smile appearing on his aged face.
"You all... live well."
His smile faded, and his expression suddenly turned ice-cold. A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his body. Though massive, this aura was chaotic and disordered.
"He wants to self-destruct!"
"Not good, retreat quickly!"
The experts of the Sun Family rapidly fell back. The self-destruction of an Earth Spirit Realm expert possessed astonishing power.
"No, Grandpa!"
"Father!"
In the courtyard, members of the Direct Lineage dropped to their knees. Once the Self-Destruction Technique was initiated, there was absolutely no way to stop it.
The Third Elder’s body suddenly swelled up, as if inflated with air. Then, cracks appeared all over his body! Thousands of brilliant rays of Spiritual Qi shot out from the fissures. A massive sphere of Spiritual Qi suddenly took form.
Then, it burst apart!
BOOM!
The air detonated with a deafening screech. The earth trembled and shattered inch by inch. A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
After quite a while, the mushroom cloud dissipated.
Sun Zhenwu was still alive. He had instantly hidden behind the war machine. Since the war machine was entirely forged from refined steel, the massive shockwave only left it with a multitude of scratches. But they were merely scratches. Even if a chunk was missing here and there, it didn’t have much of an impact on the war machine. It knew neither pain nor suffering.
Those Cultivators who hadn’t managed to hide behind the war machine in time weren’t so lucky. They were directly blasted to smithereens by the shockwave. Only those who were slightly further away managed to survive.
"Damn it! Another self-destruction." Sun Zhenwu’s expression was unsightly.
Self-destruction required an immense amount of courage. Because the process of blowing oneself up was agonizing. Unless they knew certain death awaited, no one would willingly detonate their Dantian.
"Sun Family, I swear I will slaughter you all."
"Uncle, give the order. Let us go out and fight them to the death."
In the main courtyard, the younger generation roared furiously. Too many of their loved ones had been injured or killed in this battle. They would not be human if they didn’t avenge this blood feud! They were determined to make sure these invaders never returned.
The hot blood of the youths was instantly ignited by fury. How could they allow the territory of their ancestors to be violated! What did death matter when defending one’s homeland?
"Elders, come with me to slaughter the enemy! We will avenge the Fourth Elder, the Third Elder, and the others!" Gongsun Ancient Formula spoke up once again. His eyes were also brimming with thick killing intent.
"Yes, we’ll go together! We can still execute our Combined Martial Techniques! Let’s go." All the Elders stood up.
"No. If you go out, you’ll be playing right into their hands. The Sun Family came prepared. Their current strength isn’t much weaker than ours anymore," Gongsun Xin suddenly interjected.
"If we don’t go out, are we just supposed to stay here and watch Sun Juguang break the Array? If you think the few of us charging out is playing into their hands, then we should all charge out together! We’ll settle this with a decisive, final battle."
"That’s right, let’s charge out together. None of us fear death!"
"Even if I die, I’m taking a few of those Sun Family dogs down with me."
Gongsun Xin’s expression remained stern and cold. "Even if we must fight to the death, it’s better to do it later. The more we delay, the more advantageous it is for us. Don’t forget, as long as we can hold out for seven days, this city will still bear the surname Gongsun!"