The addition of the Wind Chasers finally allowed the Long family a moment to breathe, yet the situation remained perilous. The five great allied forces possessed a significantly greater power base than the Long family, and three mere fourth-level Spirit Beasts were insufficient to alter the tide of battle; moreover, the Wind Chasers were not inclined to engage in a direct brawl.
The world of Spirit Beasts was straightforward: when Zhang Yang asked for their assistance, they offered assistance, but unless someone deeply offended them, they would not throw their lives away fighting desperately.
The Long family had no inherent connection to them, and even for Long Feng, they would not risk their lives to aid him.
A Spirit Beast’s loyalty was solely directed toward its own master.
Nevertheless, their presence did cause considerable trouble for the strong figures of the five great powers, forcing one mid-fourth-level Elder to specifically deal with them, thereby aiding some companions trapped by the three Spirit Beasts.
Standing on the high platform, Zhang Yang’s brow twitched again.
It had come to this, and the Old Master still hadn't arrived. Where on earth had the Old Master gone? If the opponent’s five Great Perfection experts truly made their move, he would certainly be the one to suffer, perhaps even needing to rely on the Wind Chasers' speed for a desperate retreat.
This was not the outcome Zhang Yang desired. His objective was to safeguard the Long family, but relying solely on himself as a single Great Perfection expert was impossible. The Old Master’s presence was critically important at this juncture.
Only with two Great Perfection experts present would the opposition harbor reservations. With two Great Perfection experts, there was a chance to heavily wound one of them, or perhaps even both. For this alliance, formed purely for mutual benefit, selfishness dictated they would not sacrifice themselves to uphold others.
Once reservations were introduced, this alliance could perhaps be held back. Zhang Yang never intended to defeat or repel them; he merely wished to stall them.
Without gaining anything substantial, they would not remain indefinitely on the Long family plains; important matters awaited them elsewhere.
“Second Brother!”
As he pondered this, Long Yi, currently locked in fierce combat with Di Ao below, suddenly roared in anger. The members of the Long family all looked toward a single direction.
Long Gao, the Second Elder of the Long family, who was battling Yang Laosan of the Demonic Sect, now had white mist rising from his head, and a faint dragon silhouette flickered around his body.
The Long family members were all familiar with this appearance; even those who hadn't witnessed it before held this scene firmly in their minds: this was the manifestation of the Long family utilizing the Dragon Transformation Art.
The Dragon Transformation Art was a closely guarded secret of the Long family, and also their most vicious technique.
Once the Dragon Transformation Art succeeded and the dragon shape appeared, the life of the practitioner using it began a countdown; when the dragon shape vanished, their life would end with it.
Such an overbearing technique, directly burning away all life, naturally yielded immense power. Long Gao’s strength instantly surged from early fourth-level to mid-fourth-level, and moreover, it climbed to the very peak of mid-fourth-level.
Seeing him in this state, Yang Laosan turned and fled without a word.
He had already sensed the change in Long Gao’s aura and understood the situation. To continue fighting an opponent who was fighting to the death and clearly surpassed him in strength was pure foolishness.
Soon, an Elder from the Wudang Sect, also at mid-fourth-level, moved to intercept him.
This Wudang Elder struggled against Long Gao, and Zhang Daofeng, who was currently tying down the Elder from the Zhou family, quickly joined him. Two mid-fourth-level experts together managed to restrain Long Gao, who still bore the dragon’s form.
This display greatly astonished them regarding the Long family’s Dragon Transformation Art. They knew that previously, Long Gao was only an ordinary early-fourth-level cultivator, far from reaching the peak of this level.
The former Long Gao could almost never win against any mid-fourth-level expert, possessing little resistance. Yet, after employing the Dragon Transformation Art, he could forcefully resist two mid-fourth-level experts simultaneously, proving the formidable power of this technique.
Though the Zhou family Elder withdrew, Zhang Daofeng was not freed, as he was immediately entangled by another Elder from the Wudang Sect.
Considering all the fourth-level experts, the five great forces still possessed a greater overall number and superior comprehensive strength.
“What a pity!”
Standing on the high platform, Zhang Yang couldn't help but shake his head.
Long Gao’s use of the Dragon Transformation Art had certainly boosted his strength, but the technique's conclusion meant his death; even Zhang Yang could not save him, for he had completely burned away his vital life essence.
However, Long Gao’s sacrifice was not without gain. Facing two mid-fourth-level experts, fighting with utter disregard for his own life, he managed to severely wound one of them just as he himself was injured.
His time using the Dragon Transformation Art was limited; facing two mid-fourth-level experts, killing them was already difficult, but heavily injuring one was still a meaningful achievement.
His death would not be in vain.
As the chaotic battle expanded, the surrounding palaces were almost completely destroyed, leaving behind only rubble and ruins. The disciples of the Long family from the first and second levels, who were watching from afar without joining the fight, now clenched their fists tightly.
In every one of their eyes resided the same emotion: hatred.
The tranquility of the Long family palace spanning so many years had been shattered by these people. All the losses suffered by the Long family today were caused by these greedy individuals. They coveted the Long family’s wealth and sought to annihilate the clan; these invaders were their sworn enemies.
If they possessed the capability, they too would step forward, fighting desperately to serve their clan. “Second Brother!”
Long Yi broke free from his foe and finally reached Long Gao’s side, his face contorted with grief.
Long Gao’s time for the Dragon Transformation Art had expired. His entire body had become terribly sallow, his form incredibly withered, completely unrecognizable from before—now resembling a decaying corpse.
Long Gao was the first Elder of the Long family to perish. His death was due to the Dragon Transformation Art, but it was a technique forced upon him, equivalent to dying in battle.
Long Gao’s death enraged the rest of the Long family members, causing each of them to strike with even greater ferocity.
Many no longer cared for their own safety, adopting a mutual destruction approach: even if they died, they would drag an enemy down with them.
The Long family's fighting style inflicted damage on the opposition while simultaneously increasing the enemy's losses.
Not long after, three more members of the Long family died in battle: two were third-level cultivators, and one was a fourth-level cultivator—this last one being Long Shen, whom Zhang Yang had just rescued, restoring sixty to seventy percent of his strength.
Long Shen perished in a mutual kill, finally dragging Yang Laosan down with him. These two enemies who had once hunted him were both slain by his own hand.
He avenged himself with his life. In addition to killing these two foes, before his death, he had also wounded an Elder from the Zhou family and nearly assassinated Li Wenruo in passing.
He was unlike others who disdained attacking third-level cultivators while focusing solely on fourth-level opponents. Li Wenruo happened to be close by, and Long Shen severed one of her arms, forcing her withdrawal from the battle and leaving her permanently disabled.
The deaths of the other two also exacted a heavy price from the five great powers. The two third-level experts died only after killing four opponents each, and their final states were gruesome.
The occupants of the five wooden platforms finally turned their attention to the chaotic battlefield, brows furrowed together.
The resistance and strength displayed by the Long family had exceeded their expectations; the combined five great powers had failed to crush the Long family, and in fact, the allied forces had suffered more casualties than the defenders.
They wouldn't care about one or two deaths, but accumulating too many losses was unacceptable, as the forces brought here were the elites of their respective factions.
If these people died, their own strength would decline by several significant tiers.
The Demonic Sect suffered the heaviest losses so far: the death of two Elders was enough to seriously cripple them, and the Great Perfection expert of the Demonic Sect now wore the deepest frown.
“Di Ao, today I must see you die!”
Long Yi, the Great Elder of the Long family, suddenly roared maniacally. White mist began to rise above his head, and the dragon silhouette gradually manifested upon his body.
The Dragon Transformation Art—following Long Gao, another member of the Long family had invoked this life-ending technique.
Long Yi, the Great Elder, was already at the peak of mid-fourth-level. He had been diligently cultivating, hoping to break through to late-stage so he could inherit the legacy and become the new guardian of the Long family.
Alas, the Long family Ancestor had not lived to see him mature, and his sudden death completely extinguished Long Yi’s possibility of advancing to Great Perfection.
When a person loses their objective and motivation, the result can be terrifying. For the past few days, Long Yi had been barely holding on due to the Long family crisis, but despair had already taken root in his heart.
Long Gao’s death further triggered his negative, violent thoughts. He attributed all the current evil to the five great powers facing him, holding the deepest hatred for his opponent, Di Ao.
He blamed Di Ao’s interference for preventing him from saving Long Gao.
With Long Gao and Long Shen dead, the Long family had instantly lost two Elder-level generals, making the future even more precarious, which deepened his pessimism, leading him to believe hope was lost.
Others might not know, but he was acutely aware that the enemy had Great Perfection experts who had not yet moved.
Since Zhang Pinglu had not arrived, no matter how many Great Perfection experts the enemy possessed, once they acted, the Long family was doomed; no one could stop them.
In this state of complete despair, Long Yi also activated the Dragon Transformation Art, boosting his strength directly to late-fourth-level, and moreover, the very peak of late-fourth-level.
He was now significantly stronger than Di Ao.
As the Great Elder, Long Yi’s divine weapon was naturally not inferior. With his strength suddenly elevated and carrying the resolve to fight to the death, Di Ao did not retreat in time and was struck by Long Yi’s divine weapon, suffering a deep wound.
Di Ao was now also in grave danger.
On the five wooden platforms, finally, someone could not sit still and leaped out first.
Di Wanfang, the Guardian of the Demonic Sect and a Great Perfection expert, shot out from the high platform like an arrow. At this moment, the only one capable of stopping Long Yi was the Great Elder of the Li family, but the Li family Great Elder was currently entangled by a mid-fourth-level expert of the Long family and could not extricate himself.
If he did not intervene now, Di Ao, already significantly weaker than Long Yi, would surely be defeated. If Di Ao did not employ a similar self-harming secret technique, he might perish as a result.
Di Wanfang, the Great Perfection expert of the Demonic Sect, could absolutely not stand by and watch Di Ao fall.
Not only because Di Ao was the Sect Master, but Di Ao was also his great-grandson, the direct heir of his lineage. At this moment, he had no choice but to intervene personally.
“Go back!”
A clear, resonant voice suddenly rang out, and a pale white energy storm moved faster than Di Wanfang, directly blocking his path.