553: Chapter 553 When the formation breaks, battle begins; there's nothing to fear.

"Right! Not afraid to die!"

"Kill them!"

"Let them know our Hehuan Sect isn't easy to bully!"

The waves of sound traveled from the square to the high platform, from the platform to the mountain gate, and from the mountain gate to the light barrier...

The Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators outside the light barrier heard bursts of muffled roars, but they couldn't make out what was being shouted.

They only saw the silver-white light barrier vibrating slightly, as if something was hammering it from the inside.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.

He didn't care what the people inside were shouting.

He only knew that this grand array wouldn't hold for much longer.

His Divine Sense had already captured the weak point in the southwest corner.

Those Low-Grade Spirit Stones were like eggs about to crack, ready to burst at any moment.

"Second team, concentrate your attacks on the southwest corner."

His voice was very flat, as if he were speaking about something trivial.

The second team began to adjust their direction, and all attacks converged on the node in the southwest corner.

The light barrier flickered violently there, the silver-white radiance pulsing irregularly like a patient on the verge of death.

Inside the Hehuan Sect, Xu Ruyu felt it too.

Tiny cracks began to appear in the Array Pattern at the southwest corner, and wisps of spiritual energy leaked out from the fissures. A faint scent permeated the air, like the smell of scorched metal.

The Grand Elder's expression changed.

He walked quickly to Xu Ruyu's side and whispered, "Sect Master, the Array Pattern in the southwest corner have cracked, and the Spirit Stones are about to shatter.

It can hold for the time of an incense stick at most."

Xu Ruyu nodded, still remaining silent.

He stepped off the high platform and walked onto the square.

His steps were slow, but each one was steady.

His gaze moved from one face to another; he didn't linger, but everyone could feel him looking at them.

"Is everyone ready?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear.

"Ready!"

The voices of over three hundred people merged into a torrent, exploding in the mountain wind.

Xu Ruyu wanted to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he felt there was nothing left to say.

He turned around, walked back to the high platform, and stood beside the Grand Elder.

"In the time of an incense stick, the Array Pattern in the southwest corner will shatter," his voice was calm, as if discussing something that had nothing to do with him. "Then spiritual energy will leak out in massive amounts from the cracks, and the Spirit Stones at other nodes won't be able to withstand the pressure and will shatter one by one.

The entire grand array will completely collapse within half the time of an incense stick."

The Grand Elder's face paled further.

He didn't speak, but simply gripped the Magical Artifact in his hand tighter.

Hua Xunhuan walked back from the edge of the high platform and stood on Xu Ruyu's other side.

Her short sword swayed at her waist, but she didn't reach for it.

Granny Liu leaned on her cane and slowly walked from the crowd to the foot of the high platform.

She looked up at Xu Ruyu; there was no fear in her cloudy old eyes, only a calm that had seen through life and death.

"Sect Master, this old woman has a request."

Her voice was raspy but clear.

Xu Ruyu looked down at her.

"Speak."

"This old woman has lived for so many years; it's been enough," Granny Liu said. "When the array breaks, please let this old woman lead the charge.

These old bones of mine can still take a few down with me."

Xu Ruyu's eyes reddened slightly, but he said nothing.

He nodded.

"I want to lead the charge too."

Zhao Yan squeezed out from the crowd, stood below the high platform, and shouted, "I, Zhao Yan, am thick-skinned and not afraid of being cut. Let

me lead the charge; I can kill a few more."

"I'll go too!"

"Me too!"

Voices rose one after another as more and more people crowded beneath the high platform.

Some held Magical Artifacts, some clenched their fists, and some were bare-chested.

There was fear in their eyes, but even more of the desperation that only comes when one is driven to a dead end.

Xu Ruyu raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet.

The area below the high platform gradually went silent, but it wasn't a peaceful silence; it was the silence before a storm.

"Don't argue," Xu Ruyu said. "When the time comes, everyone will go. It's not a matter of leading the charge; no one can stay behind.

Once the array breaks, everyone must face the army of the Righteous Path Alliance. So—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "None of you should think about dying for someone else. We die together."

These words were like a stone thrown into water.

There was no sound below the platform, but everyone simultaneously straightened their backs.

No one cried, no one laughed, and no one even spoke. They just stood there, standing together.

Outside the mountain gate, the Righteous Path Alliance's attacks grew more ferocious. Several

cracks had already opened in the Array Pattern of the southwest corner, and silver-white light surged from the fissures as if being squeezed out by something.

Those Spirit Stones vibrated violently within the nodes, emitting sharp, thin hums like final wails of agony.

Ancestor Xuan Yin stood not far away, watching the crack that was growing brighter and brighter, the smile on the corners of his mouth deepening.

He could already smell the spiritual energy leaking from the cracks; it was the scent of burning Spirit Stones, like rosin mixed with rust.

"Put in more effort," his voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a poison-dipped blade, "this array won't hold for much longer."

The third team also joined the attack.

More and more attacks converged on the southwest corner; the light barrier flickered violently, its silver-white radiance so piercing it was hard to keep one's eyes open.

The crack continued to expand, widening from the width of a hair to a finger, and then from a finger to the width of a palm.

More and more spiritual energy leaked out, and the air was filled with a thick, scorched smell.