555: Chapter 555 The man was killed, the woman was used as a furnace.

The Grand Array's light screen cracked for the first time in the southwest corner.

The crack wasn't large, only about the width of an arm, but the silver-white light surging from within hissed out like a punctured ball.

But soon, a second crack appeared, then a third, a fourth...

The fractures spread in all directions like a spiderweb, each one leaking spiritual energy with a pungent, choking scent like scorched resin.

Xu Ruyu stood at the very front, his grip tight on his sword.

He didn't look back, only slightly tilting his head to listen to the breathing of the Disciples behind him.

The breathing of over three hundred people was soft yet heavy, like stones pressing against the chest.

"The Grand Array is about to break."

The Grand Elder's voice sounded behind him, deep, as if speaking of a matter of life and death.

Xu Ruyu nodded.

His eyes were fixed on the increasingly excited Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators outside the mountain gate, watching their Magical Artifacts smash repeatedly against the already riddled light screen.

With every strike, the light screen dimmed further.

It turned from silver-white to grayish-white, then to light gray, and finally to a nearly transparent hue.

"Everyone, listen," Xu Ruyu's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear. "The moment the array breaks, I will be the first to charge out.

Do not scatter; follow behind me.

Leng Ningshuang, take the Sword Cultivators and protect the left flank.

Zhao Yan, take the Body Cultivators and protect the right flank.

Qingyan, follow behind me and use your Dao of Compassionate Love to disrupt the enemy's Divine Sense."

Leng Ningshuang nodded, tightening her grip on her longsword.

Zhao Yan clenched his fists as flames erupted from them, the heat distorting the surrounding air.

Qingyan stood among the crowd, her small Face pale, but the hand holding her Butterfly Short Blades did not tremble.

Hua Xunhuan squeezed through the crowd to the front, standing beside Xu Ruyu.

Her short sword was already unsheathed, cold light flowing along the blade.

"Sect Master, let me be the first to charge with you." Her voice was calm. "I, Hua Xunhuan, haven't done anything significant in my life; let me do this today."

Xu Ruyu glanced at her and nodded.

Granny Liu leaned on her cane, standing at the back of the crowd.

Her short dagger was already in her sleeve, the blade pressed against her arm, icy cold.

She didn't push forward; she knew where her place was.

"Boom!"

The light screen took another heavy blow.

This time it wasn't from a Magical Artifact; the white-haired Ancestor Xuan Yin had personally taken action.

He struck the crack in the southwest corner with his palm, causing the entire Grand Array to tremble violently before letting out a dull wail, like the gasping of a dying beast.

Spirit Stones shattered one after another.

High-Grade Spirit Stones crumbled into powder, Mid-Grade Spirit Stones exploded into fragments, and Low-Grade Spirit Stones left not even a trace, turning directly into ash.

Losing the support of spiritual energy, the Array Pattern went from bright to dim, from dim to gray, and finally vanished completely into the mountain wind.

"Rumble!"

The Grand Array was completely broken.

The silver-white light screen shattered like glass, turning into countless tiny specks of light that scattered before the mountain gate.

Those specks of light quickly extinguished, like candles blown out by the wind.

The Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators outside the mountain gate suddenly saw the path clear before them; they saw the halls of the Hehuan Sect, the plaza, and the people of the Hehuan Sect standing at its edge.

"Kill! Kill the male Disciples of the Hehuan Sect, and capture all the females to be used as Cauldrons!"

Facing the fierce assault of the Righteous Path Alliance, Xu Ruyu was the first to charge out.

His speed was as fast as a bolt of lightning, his sword tip pointing directly at the Early Saint Realm Tianxuan Sect Elder standing at the very front.

Before the man could react, the sword had already pierced his throat.

Blood sprayed out, splashing across Xu Ruyu's Face. He didn't wipe it; he pulled out his sword and continued to charge forward.

Hua Xunhuan followed behind him, her short sword accurately piercing the heart of a Nascent Soul Stage Disciple.

The man's eyes widened, unable to believe he had died just like that.

Hua Xunhuan kicked him away and turned to strike another person.

Over three hundred Disciples of the Hehuan Sect surged out of the mountain gate like a tide.

Leng Ningshuang led over thirty Sword Cultivators to protect the left flank, their sword light crisscrossing to block the Tianxuan Sect Disciples trying to attack from the side.

Zhao Yan led over twenty Body Cultivators to protect the right flank, their punches hitting home and forcing the Taihao Sect Disciples to retreat step by step.

Qingyan stood not far behind Xu Ruyu, her hands forming seals as a faint pink light radiated from her body.

The Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators enveloped by the light began to slow down, their eyes becoming glazed.

Someone suddenly stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at the sky as if looking at something.

Someone suddenly turned and swung their blade at a fellow Disciple beside them. Another person spun in circles, muttering something under their breath.

"Her Dao of Compassionate Love!" someone shouted. "Don't look at that pink light!"

But it was already too late.

Several people had already had their Divine Sense controlled by Qingyan and were killing each other.

Xu Ruyu charged forward, every sword strike claiming a life.

He specifically targeted those with high Cultivation, killing one Early Saint Realm with one strike and one Nascent Soul Peak with another.

His swordsmanship had no flashy Moves, only the simplest stabs, parries, cleaves, and slashes, yet every strike was incredibly precise, aiming directly for vital points.

But he found that they couldn't break through.

There were too many people from the Righteous Path Alliance.

Kill one, and two would take their place; kill two, and four would come.

Dark shadows of people surged from all directions like a swarm of locusts, dense and boundless.

"Sect Master!" the Grand Elder's voice came from behind. "There are too many of them; we can't break through!"

Xu Ruyu glanced back. They had charged out less than a hundred yards before being blocked.

The Righteous Path Alliance had already flanked them from both sides, surrounding them completely. The mountain gate was right behind them, but they couldn't go back.

The people of the Righteous Path Alliance had blocked the way back.

"Hold your ground!" Xu Ruyu shouted. "Don't scatter; stay together!"

The Hehuan Sect members began to contract their formation, standing back-to-back in a circle.

Leng Ningshuang led the Sword Cultivators to hold the southeast corner, Zhao Yan led the Body Cultivators to hold the northwest corner, while the Grand Elder, Hua Xunhuan, and Granny Liu each guarded a side.

Qingyan stood at the center, still channeling the Dao of Compassionate Love; fine beads of sweat had broken out on her forehead, and her Face grew even paler.

The Righteous Path Alliance didn't rush to attack. They formed a larger circle, trapping the Hehuan Sect members in the middle.

Some were panting heavily, some were wiping sweat, and some were whispering to one another.

Ancestor Xuan Yin walked out from the crowd and stood at the very front.

His white hair was loose, fluttering behind his head in the wind.

He looked at the besieged Hehuan Sect members with a faint smile on his lips.

There was no mockery or triumph in that smile, only a high-and-mighty scrutiny.

He was one of the few remaining ancestors of the North Pole Ice Soul Palace, the foremost person below the True Immortal Realm.

After Tian Jianzi died, he had been invited out.

Having lived for nearly ten thousand years, his eyes were incredibly sharp; he had seen the weakness of the Hehuan Sect's Grand Array at a single glance—a lack of Spirit Stones.

"Xu Ruyu," his voice wasn't loud but was very clear. "Your array is broken. Your last reliance is gone; why continue the fight?

You might as well surrender and offer these female Disciples of your Hehuan Sect to us as Cauldrons first.

Perhaps, looking at the Face of these female Disciples, we might spare your pathetic lives and let you serve us as sword slaves!"