Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 837: Siege

"There is an agreement between the island masters. With us trapped for so long, the others should have noticed something was wrong by now and sent support. Yet there has been no word at all. We do not know what has happened outside. The island master senses danger. If things become hopeless, he will abandon the island..."

Jin Ying had learned the details from the merchant alliance. All the major factions were racing to make preparations.

"When the array was built, the island master poured a great deal of effort into it. Yuheng Island’s protective array can not only protect but also be shifted into a pure killing array with terrifying power. Unfortunately, once it transforms, the array can only be used that one time, bursting forth in a final blaze. When the island lord activates it to slaughter the demonic beasts, that will be the best moment for us to break out..."

After all, no one could predict what the situation would be like then.

Once the two women had left, Qin Sang sat cross-legged in his cave dwelling, lost in thought.

He did not know how powerful the protective array truly was. If it could annihilate the demonic beasts in one strike, that would be best, allowing them to escape directly.

More likely, they would face a fierce battle. Staying with the merchant alliance’s experts meant strong allies, but also greater visibility, making them an easy target for the great demonic beasts.

Ever since cultivating the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement, Qin Sang had an idea. This time might be the chance to test it.

The next few days passed without change. While carrying out routine patrols, Qin Sang paid close attention to the demonic beasts and noticed they were indeed more active than before.

Day by day, they kept in contact. Jin Ying sent frequent updates, yet the situation never improved.

Half a month later, the cultivators were jolted awake in the middle of the night. Rushing from their caves, they saw a skyful of black clouds pressing down in the darkness.

Anger, fear, resolve, despair...

All these emotions were written on the cultivators’ faces.

The roars of beasts rolled like thunder across Yuheng Island. The deep, resonant bell of warning could still be heard clearly.

Suddenly, the sky lit up.

A massive light dome appeared, covering the entire main city and the area immediately around it.

The protective array had been activated.

The array could not cover the whole island. The areas outside were abandoned, and everyone had retreated into the city. Verdant mountains were quickly flattened under the tide of demonic beasts. The cultivators could feel the ground shaking beneath them, just like the pounding of their own hearts.

Boom!

The first collision came as a beast crashed into the dome and was instantly torn apart by the array’s power, its body bursting into pieces and blood raining down from the sky.

Almost at once, more clumps of flesh exploded against the dome, painting it red. The bloody shield was a shocking sight.

Beyond the roar of the beasts and the crash of impact, there was no other sound. The dome pulsed with powerful spiritual power, and every time a beast was shredded, another would take its place without pause.

In such a situation, the dome appeared thin, yet it was immensely strong.

Without anyone needing to call for it, the lower-level cultivators inside the city summoned their artifacts, rising into the air to send beams of light beyond the dome, cutting down the beasts outside.

The dome glimmered, and the multicolored lights from artifacts and astras shone like stars.

Sheltered by the array, the cultivators could fight without fear for the moment.

Qin Sang was on patrol when he first noticed the stirrings among the demon race.

The island had long been prepared for the beast tide. Qin Sang had his own assigned duties. Giving a sharp order, he led his squad down to the ground, where they joined forces to activate an array disk, supporting the island master in maintaining the great formation.

Qin Sang was stationed to guard one section of the dome, a heavy responsibility.

He dared not relax in the slightest. Any slip could open a breach for the beasts to pour through, and his position would be the first to bear the brunt.

The array disk hovered above, linking with the main array and other disks to project the barrier and hold the defense steady.

The first waves were only small demonic beasts. The assault looked fierce, but the pressure was still manageable. Qin Sang organized his subordinates carefully, reminding them to pace themselves and be ready for the moment of greatest danger.

Meanwhile, the city’s guards were either doing as he did, holding the array together, or seizing chances to strike out and kill beasts outside the dome. It was little more than a drop in the ocean, but every blow mattered.

Everyone knew the truth that when one side prospered, all prospered; when one side suffered, all suffered.

Before long, the real threat arrived. Demonic Core Realm great demonic beasts pushed forward.

These demonic beasts had hides and flesh so tough that they could fight astras with their bodies alone, shrugging off direct blows. They held off the strongest human cultivators, allowing the lesser beasts to hurl themselves against the dome, and the battle ground into stalemate.

Qin Sang kept his attention sharp, watching both the array’s condition and the demon race’s movements.

From time to time, his gaze drifted toward a large mansion in the north of the city. Jin Ying had told him earlier that the merchant alliance’s people were gathered there, ready to break out from that point once the island was abandoned.

If he hurried there as soon as the order came, he should still make it in time.

Qin Sang did not know that while he wielded his ebony sword in a relentless slaughter, several figures in the beast horde were circling near the dome. They rarely struck, instead scanning the area and probing for traces of a certain aura.

In the end, they found nothing and regrouped.

"We have not sensed the man’s aura, nor seen that unique astra. He must be hiding and not fighting, or else maintaining the array with his aura concealed. Unless he acts, we will not detect him."

The demonic beasts exchanged thoughts.

"He is probably maintaining the array," the panther demon growled. Standing atop a mountain and looking down at the city, it paced back and forth. "This man’s cultivation is not weak. They would not let him go unused. It seems we will only find him once the array is broken. Keep attacking. Once the array is down, I will see where he runs. And he had a companion that day. Find her, and it will be the same."

The panther demon was determined. It would not rest until the city fell, ordering the other demonic beasts to rotate their forces in endless waves until the array was broken.

The demonic beasts left with worry in their hearts to carry out the command.

***

Qin Sang emerged from meditation. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Looking down at his hands, he saw the two middle-grade spirit stones in his palms had turned pale and lifeless. Their spiritual power was gone. Rubbing them lightly between his fingers, he crushed them into powder that trickled away.

Lifting his gaze to the world beyond the dome, he saw the beast tide still blotted out the sky.

"It's been five days!" he murmured, counting in his head.

For five full days, the corpses of demonic beasts had piled into mountains, rivers of blood running through the battlefield, yet the tide had shown no sign of stopping.

Stationed at the very front, he could feel it more clearly than anyone. The tide appeared chaotic, but there was order in it. There had to be great demons directing the assault.

The mood in the city was growing heavier by the hour. Everyone sensed this beast tide was unlike any before, and worry gnawed at them. Those who knew the inside story felt it even more keenly.

Cut off from the outside and with no reinforcements arriving, hope from beyond was nearly gone. Yuheng Island’s fate now rested on the island master's decision.