930: Chapter 931 All Souls Fill the Grave

Mountain winds howled, and the deafening roar of spell arts pierced through the earth.

Rumble—!

Another round of heavy attacks from the coalition descended.

Tens of thousands of Heaven-Reaching Realm Cultivators joined forces to drive their spell arts, the spiritual light filling the sky surging like a torrent to scour the Restriction of the tomb gate, causing the cracks on the light barrier to expand once more, looking precarious.

The surrounding onlookers suddenly erupted into an uproar, heatedly discussing as they thought breaking the formation was only a matter of time.

But the next instant!

The dead-silent black light curtain abruptly underwent a drastic change.

The tomb-protecting grand formation, which had originally passively endured the bombardments, suddenly lit up with countless dense, pitch-black Supreme killing runes.

Those runes were ancient and desolate, carrying the icy killing intent of eternal annihilation, instantly covering the entire light curtain.

The movements of several thousand Heaven-Reaching Realm Cultivators in the very front row froze at the exact same instant, the expressions on their faces still lingering in the focus and excitement of the previous breath.

Their bodies rapidly shriveled and weathered as if all moisture had been drained from them, turning into withered skeletons that plummeted from the air.

Clatter—

The sound of withered skeletons hitting the ground was exceptionally grating amidst the brief silence.

The entire audience was stunned.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" A Heavenly King Cultivator was the first to react, shouting harshly.

But it was already too late.

That killing intent did not dissipate with the first round of attacks, and after penetrating the bodies of the first batch of Cultivators—

like living creatures, they flexibly made a sharp turn in mid-air and shot fiercely toward the crowds of Cultivators further back.

"Defense! Sacrifice defensive Magic Treasures!"

Someone shouted, while others hurriedly sacrificed shields, precious bells, and protective light barriers.

But that formless killing intent seemed to ignore all defenses, directly piercing through layers of Magic Treasures and protective spiritual light, accurately running through the bodies of the second and third rows of Cultivators.

Another several thousand Cultivators turned into withered skeletons, plummeting from the air like dumplings dropped into a pot.

The pupils of all the onlooker Cultivators shrank violently, their scalps tingling as a chill rushed straight to their crowns.

"Wh-What is going on?!"

"In an instant... several thousand people are gone?!"

The Elder leading the front of the Profound Heaven Holy Land had a pale complexion as he roared in a low, stern voice:

"Retreat! Everyone fall back thirty miles!"

The expressions of the various diviners from the Qingxu Tianyan Pavilion changed drastically as the astrolabes in their hands trembled violently and their runes became disordered.

"Not good! Our deductions are wrong!"

"This is not a Restriction! This is a killing array! Beneath the outer Restriction of this tomb, there is another hidden killing array that will actively backlash against the dao foundation of living beings!"

Until this moment, everyone finally woke up to the realization that this Ancient Tomb was by no means a dead Forbidden Ground.

It was a living eternal killing trap, and the previous cracks, loosening, and weakening were all illusions!

This grand formation looked weak, but in reality, it was luring the enemy deep and absorbing the blood Qi of living beings to build up its momentum!

The formation of the golden-armored battle soldiers of the Zhendyue Celestial Dynasty was in great chaos; after that brainless charge just now, they suffered the heaviest casualties.

Innumerable shattered armors and broken weapons fell onto the flat ground, a truly shocking sight.

The million-strong army formation, which had originally been mighty and possessed a majestic Aura, was now permeated with a dense scent of blood and a sense of terror.

"The Yellow Springs Heaven-Sealing Grand Formation conceals a killing array within, with killings hidden within runes, stacked layer upon layer. Every external bombardment will activate a portion of the slaughter runes!"

Pavilion Master Tianyan had a solemn gaze as he looked into the distance at that light curtain, his voice deep:

"The previous attacks seemed to be breaking the formation, but in reality, we were helping the grand formation unseal its murderous intent!"

As those words fell, everyone in the five-faction coalition felt a chill run down their spines.

This was by no means a Forbidden Ground that human might could easily shake; this was a heaven-burying killing trap that had buried eternal living beings!

Everyone finally understood that to conquer this Supreme Ancient Tomb, they had to pile it up with human lives!

On a distant hilltop, Gu Changge quietly watched the tragic scene below, not a single ripple rising in the depths of his eyes.

On the path of cultivation, wherever a Supreme was buried, it had always been paved with white bones and accompanied by the burial of myriad spirits.

For Mortals to covet a Supreme Dao fruit was fundamentally like an egg striking a stone.

Seeing this, Xiaobai felt a chill in his heart and said in a low voice:

"Master, this grand formation is too ruthless; nearly ten thousand Heaven-Reaching Realm Cultivators vanished just like that!"

"Otherwise, how could it suppress eternity." Gu Changge spoke indifferently.

"Every single Supreme is an existence that fought their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

When they were alive, no one could stop them; after they died, the tomb they left behind is not something any tom, dick, or harry can open just by saying so."

His gaze pierced through layers of light curtains, looking toward the ancient and silent darkness in the deepest part of the Ancient Tomb.

"Those who died now are merely the outermost cannon fodder. The true inner killing array has not truly awakened yet."

Jimie raised his eyes slightly: "The five major factions are going to bleed."

The corners of Gu Changge's lips curved up slightly as he stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering gently in the wind.

"Keep watching."

"Until they die enough people and exhaust the grand foundation of the grand formation, this tomb will not open. Furthermore, inside, it seems there is still a little fellow waiting for them."

Between heaven and earth, the fishy wind grew denser.

The tragic scene of nearly ten thousand Cultivators turning into withered skeletons in the blink of an eye was still vivid before their eyes, and the heavy scent of blood lingered without dispersing.

The surviving Cultivators felt their minds tremble, their palms gripping their weapons shaking slightly. The people in the front row unconsciously shrank backward, and no one dared to face that pitch-black light curtain directly again.

The entire army was terrified, and no one dared to fight.

Yet in the eyes of the higher-ups of the five major factions, there was only greed without a shred of compassion.

With the eternal Supreme Opportunity right before them, they had no intention of retreating whatsoever!

The Profound Heaven Holy Lord stepped into the air, a mighty Dao domain spreading for a thousand miles to stabilize the restless Disciples:

"Although the Supreme killing array is fierce, its power is ultimately limited. Under continuous attacks, its foundation will be exhausted sooner or later!"

Heavenly Lord Qingming followed closely behind, his voice shaking the sky: "Those who fear death in battle will be beheaded! Deserters will implicate their master's sect, have their dao foundation completely crippled, and be barred from cultivation for all eternity!"

Before his voice faded, Dao might crashed down with a roar, and several Disciples who intended to flee in panic were instantly ground into bloody mud.

Old Ancestor Zhendyue was even more direct: "The vanguard death squad formation, all members press forward! Anyone who dares to take a step back, the entire team will be executed!"

The five major factions rearranged their formations, using the golden-armored Cultivators of the Zhendyue Celestial Dynasty as a wall of flesh and blood, and the Dao domains of the four Heavenly Lords of the Qingming Heavenly Palace as barriers.

The Qingxu Tianyan Pavilion exerted all its effort to deduce the patterns of the slaughter runes, the Profound Heaven Holy Land coordinated from the center, and the Northern Chen Jiang Family shrank to the flanks to provide support.

A new round of assault broke out once more.

Spiritual light surged like a river and sea crashing against the cliffs, and the cracks on the light curtain continued to expand.

But with every fraction of an inch it expanded, batches of annihilation slaughter runes would light up, taking hundreds or thousands of lives.

Gaps continuously appeared in the frontline array, and the Cultivators in the rear were driven by high authority to fill them, forcibly consuming the foundation of the grand formation with bodies of flesh and blood.

In a mere two hours, the fallen Cultivators of the coalition had already exceeded fifty thousand. Countless remnants of weapons and broken armor were scattered across the earth.

However, although the light of that layer of light curtain was one or two shades dimmer than at first, it still solidly enveloped the entire solitary mountain without the slightest sign of imminent collapse.

Pavilion Master Tianyan of Qingxu stared at the slowly changing rune data on the astrolabe, his expression solemn as he said in a deep voice:

"At this speed, we will need to throw in nearly one million people before it is possible to completely exhaust the foundation of the grand formation."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several Heavenly Lords sank.

Nearly a million Heaven-Reaching Realm Disciples at the very least—even with their profound foundations, they could not withstand such consumption.

"We cannot continue to consume ourselves like this."

Old Ancestor Zhendyue's eyes burned with intense Battle Intent as he spoke in a deep voice.

"Relying solely on the Disciples to launch heavy attacks, the consumption far outweighs the harvest. It is time for us to make a move!"

Before his voice fell, his figure soared into the air, and the Law of Weaponry soared into the sky, condensing a golden battle spear that spanned heaven and earth.

The Profound Heaven Holy Lord nodded slightly: "Exert our strength together."

The Auras of over a dozen Heavenly Lords rose together, shrouding ten thousand miles of the great wilderness.

The Dao power of the four Heavenly Lords of the Qingming Heavenly Palace merged into one, transforming into a giant palm that struck toward the light curtain.

The Haoran Dao sword of the Profound Heaven Holy Lord tore through the clouds; Old Ancestor Zhendyue's battle spear howled, the power of slaughter crushing all directions.

Pavilion Master Tianyan drove the astrolabe to interfere with the operation of the grand formation's runes; the two Old Ancestors of the Northern Chen Jiang Family also clenched their teeth, two Early Stage Heavenly Lord powers supporting them together.

A joint strike from over a dozen Heavenly Lords!

Rumble—!!

The firmament trembled violently, and the brilliance of the sun and moon seemed to dim for an instant.

Endless mighty power smashed fiercely against the tomb-protecting light curtain, causing it to undulate violently. The Supreme killing runes all over the sky lit up frantically, and countless streams of pitch-black light flowed backward to directly face the group of Heavenly Lords.

Puh!

An Old Ancestor who was a Heavenly Lord from the Northern Chen Jiang Family groaned softly as his sleeves exploded, several pitch-black scars appearing on his arm, and his dao foundation faintly suffering damage.

The remaining Heavenly Lords did not have it easy either; their Dao domains continuously shook, their blood Qi surged, and they were shaken back repeatedly by the backlash power of the Supreme killing runes.

But after paying a price, the results finally appeared.

Crack—

A crisp sound rang out. On the black light curtain, a crack about a zhang long unexpectedly appeared.

And at the edge of that crack, countless dense Supreme killing runes were slowly writhing like living things, squeezing the crack toward the center little by little.

According to this speed, if continuous pressure was not applied, this crack would completely close within the time it takes to burn an incense stick at most.

"It's effective!" Old Ancestor Zhendyue wiped away a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth, his eyes instead lighting up with sharp light.

"Come a few more times, and this tortoise shell will shatter sooner or later!"

The remaining Heavenly Lords also saw hope.

Although the backlash power was indeed astonishing, as long as a gap could be punched open, it proved that this grand formation was not unshakable.

However, just as they were preparing to launch the second round of attacks—

A powerful, ferocious Aura overflowed from that crack.

Everyone's movements paused.

In the darkness deep within the crack, a pair of crimson eyes, like burning blood moons, slowly lit up.