"What the hell is going on?" Elder Harold Hong was full of shock—nervous, completely at a loss, and honestly on the verge of collapse. Arthur Shentu was obviously already captured; no matter how unstoppable he was, even he couldn't withstand the combined assault of Nine-Dragon Gate's two Supreme Elders and their whole Vault-elder squad!
"Elder Hong, this can't go on! Ruins Sect is about to collapse!"
"Exactly! No matter what, we have to report to the Sect Master right now. There's no way we can hold off these maniacs with just our strength!"
Right then, the people around Elder Hong started yelling. With the pitiful forces left at the sect gate, there was no way they'd last even a single round. They had to rely on the upper echelon, and logically the top brass should've already reacted by now!
"Damn it, what the hell happened!" Elder Hong gritted his teeth. With things like this, even if Arthur Shentu had sky-high skills, there was no way he could hold out much longer—the total collapse was just minutes away!
Without hesitating, Elder Hong shot out like a cannonball. He had to go straight to the deepest core of Ruins Sect and see for himself what the upper echelon was doing—because the whole sect was now at its most dangerous moment, and there was no way he'd waste time on anything else!
But just as he broke through the seal and was about to reach the sect's inner core, something happened that almost made him lose it completely—fivefold heavenly thunder came crashing down, blasting straight onto Ruins Ridge! Ruins Ridge was the most exalted place in the sect, where Sect Master Ethan Yue and several top Supreme Elders had been in seclusion, totally cut off from the outside world and even hiding their auras!
Elder Hong knew exactly what they were doing—they were cultivating the sect's strongest and most mysterious technique, which was also Ruins Sect's biggest hope and trump card!
If they succeeded, the impact would be absolutely massive!
But right now, that one last hope was utterly shattered under the thunder's wrath!
Up in midair, several unbelievably powerful forces were swirling and clashing—any one of them could've flipped the entire Ruins Sect upside down!
Screams of agony stabbed straight into Elder Hong's ears. He was on the verge of collapse—it was obviously the voices of the Ruins Sect upper echelon, and this insane bombardment had left them totally crippled!
No need to say it—the situation right now was beyond terrible!
Elder Hong had thought Nine-Dragon Gate was just attacking head-on, but now it was clear things were way worse than he'd imagined—this was a full-on, premeditated sect-extermination op!
Outside, Nine-Dragon Gate's elder squad was going wild with their assault; inside, their top-tier core forces were doing a full-on demolition sweep. Hell, the Nine-Dragon Gate Sect Master himself might've joined in! Both waves of top power attacked from front and back—and both hit their mark!
With that, Ruins Sect was basically wiped out!
"Is it... is it over?" Elder Hong stared at the scene, his whole body shaking. He couldn't believe it—the sect's core strength, inside and out, was totally locked down. All the top cultivators had become fish on the chopping block, just waiting to be butchered!
Just then, two trusted followers rushed in from the perimeter. Arthur Shentu had been completely captured, and the whole outer territory of the sect had basically been taken over by Nine-Dragon Gate. Even the old Ruins City families that used to be loyal to Ruins Sect all switched sides at that moment—now they were pledging allegiance to Nine-Dragon Gate!
You could say the tide had completely turned!
Inside the sect, the crisis was only getting worse. Nine-Dragon Gate had nailed the timing of their attack—this whole blitz was aimed straight at Sect Master Ethan Yue. He was in the middle of charging toward Profound Immortal Realm, probably right at the most crucial moment, when suddenly he got slammed by an absolutely monstrous bombardment. It was like the sky was falling and the earth was cracking!
Not only did Ethan Yue fail his breakthrough—he got massively injured, collapsing almost totally!
And all the other Supreme Elders, inside and out, were locked down too. The enemy's top-tier forces were already stronger than Ruins Sect, and this was a sneak attack—total steamroll!
"Elder Hong, what do we—what do we do now?" A bunch of people crowded around Elder Hong; some were his trusted followers, some were just retreating from all over. Every single one of them was panicking, totally clueless!
"Find a way to escape!" Elder Hong clenched his fists. The sect was basically on the brink of collapse, but at least Nine-Dragon Gate's strongest forces were still tangled up with Ruins Sect—it wouldn't be easy to wipe out the whole top team in one go!
"Got it!" The crowd understood—surrounded inside and out, trying to flip the situation was pure wishful thinking. There was only one way: break out! Only by breaking out could they survive!
In that instant, every surviving disciple clenched their teeth and charged straight for the weakest breakthrough point.
No matter what, this was still their turf—they knew the lay of the land. Elder Hong had a pretty good idea where they might break through.
But just as they made their crazy dash, several voices erupted all around: "Hahaha, these losers still wanna run? Not a chance—no one gets out! Today I'm leading the charge to wipe out Ruins Sect for good!"
The one shouting was none other than Elder Zack "Ghosthide" Zhang's crew!
Clearly, they'd locked down the whole situation outside the sect. Arthur Shentu was totally spent, so Nine-Dragon Gate's elder warband was charging in like a tidal wave—it looked like the very day Ruins Sect would be wiped off the map!
"Go! I'll hold them here!" Elder Hong gritted his teeth, shouting. He had to step up—Ruins Sect had strong fighters, but also the weak and elderly. Elder Hong had to protect them!
Now, besides him, a few burly men joined his side—they were basically the sect's last line of defense. But that line was so fragile, even if Elder Hong and the rest fought to the death, they probably couldn't hold for more than a few seconds!
"Ha! The mighty Ruins Sect, rival to us—and this is all you've got left? Still think you can fight us? What a joke!" Ghosthide was riding high, never expecting the sect to fall so easily. After this battle, his status and influence would skyrocket. Just thinking about it, he was thrilled—he lunged straight for Elder Hong!
The two sides smashed right into each other. Elder Hong wasn't as strong as Arthur Shentu, but even a cornered rabbit will bite. This was do-or-die—he didn't hesitate, unleashing everything he had. For a moment, it was like heaven and earth were collapsing, sun and moon going dark. Even Ghosthide, with all his power, got forced back two steps!
"Old man, everyone here has already surrendered. You really think you alone can take us on?" Ghosthide brushed off the dust, and top-tier elders appeared around him—they were even stronger than Ghosthide. Their cold glares were like hawks eyeing a rabbit. Elder Hong was doomed!
"Kill!" Even so, Elder Hong didn't hesitate—his killing intent erupted, and his power spiked. He was forcing out every last bit of his potential, ready for a life-or-death fight. He didn't care if it cost him his life!
"Elder Hong!" The others saw his state and were stunned—some even burst into tears. They never should've mocked Elder Hong; if they'd listened to him earlier, maybe things wouldn't have spiraled out of control!
"What are you waiting for—go! All of you, run! Staying alive is what matters most!" Elder Hong didn't have time for talk. He knew one thing: whatever happened, he couldn't let Ruins Sect get wiped out...