Chapter 34: I! I surrender!

Meanwhile, the city lord and his companions atop the city gate were gasping for air, utterly exhausted. Hearing the dense, rhythmic gunfire erupting from below, the lord braced himself and peered down, his face etched with confusion. When he finally witnessed the scene unfolding before him, a complex surge of emotions washed over him.

He had never imagined that the White Sword Sect could possibly hold its own against the Yangsheng Sect. Yet, looking at the current situation, the Yangsheng Sect had been forced to deploy the Nine-Lock Ten-Thousand Sun Formation, and even then, they could not fight back, trapped in a one-sided barrage from the White Sword Sect.

"What is happening here? When did the White Sword Sect acquire so many Foundation Establishment cultivators?!"

One had to understand that even if the four major sects of Lingyun Peak were to pool their resources, it would be difficult to gather such a large number of Foundation Establishment disciples. Only a short time had passed, yet the White Sword Sect had developed into something monstrous. These were Foundation Establishment cultivators—even he was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Honestly, when he had first seen the White Sword Sect recruiting disciples, he had felt a measure of disdain. Now, it was clear that he was the true joke.

The three disciples stationed there wore equally bizarre expressions. "Isn't that Ah Gou? Since when did that kid reach the Foundation Establishment stage?!"

"My heavens! They are holding artifacts that only sect leaders should possess!"

"I thought we were done for, but I never expected the White Sword Sect to be this powerful!"

They were intimately familiar with their fellow disciples, yet in just a few days, they had all reached the Foundation Establishment stage—a level they had previously dared not even dream of. Furthermore, they realized that even a Golden Core cultivator was no match for their sect leader.

"Damn it! The spiritual energy depletion is too fast!" Lu Kang’s neck veins bulged, and his face turned beet red. If he hadn't been constantly consuming spirit stones to replenish his energy, the Nine-Lock Ten-Thousand Sun Formation would have shattered long ago. Even so, they couldn't hold out much longer.

The other Yangsheng Sect disciples were in no better condition. A few, desperate to keep the formation alive despite their energy being completely drained, were already oozing blood from their pores. This only made their crimson robes appear even more vividly stained with red.

"My spiritual energy is gone. Are we going to die here?"

"Hold on! As long as Senior Brother Shi recovers, we will be saved!"

"Why does such a small sect possess such terrifying weapons of mass destruction?"

They had deployed the strongest defensive formation of the Yangsheng Sect, yet it could not withstand the relentless, storm-like assault of the enemy. What made it even harder to accept was that this attack seemed endless; in such a short time, their spiritual energy had been nearly drained dry.

"Hold the line, everyone!" Lu Kang’s eyes were wide, his teeth clenched in a furious roar. If the formation broke, they would have no chance of survival. They only needed to hold out for another half-stick of incense, and they would be able to escape.

"I can't do it anymore!" One disciple rolled his eyes back and collapsed, his body going limp on the ground.

"Damn it!" Lu Kang whipped his head toward Shi Rongxuan. "Shi Rongxuan, move your ass! We can't hold them back anymore!" In this life-or-death moment, he didn't even bother with honorifics. If not for this guy’s stubbornness, they never would have ended up in this predicament.

"Shut up! I am going as fast as I can!" Shi Rongxuan gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling. He could not fathom why their pride and joy, the Nine-Lock Ten-Thousand Sun Formation, couldn't even last the duration of a single stick of incense. Under the threat of death, he ignored the damage to his cultivation foundation, accelerating the flow of his energy to force the toxins out of his wounds.

"Just accept your deaths like good boys," Liang Chuan said, keeping his distance and watching them with cold, detached eyes.

The spiritual power of modern weaponry could not be compared to traditional combat methods. If physical spiritual power was 1, it could barely exert a force of 2. However, modern weaponry could use that 1 to activate 100 or 1,000 times the power. The firing mechanism of a gun was more than just a firing pin; while the user had to release spiritual energy, the amount required was negligible.

"You cowardly cur! If not for this damn Seven-Step Poison Python, how could you be barking so wildly in front of me!" Shi Rongxuan could feel his end approaching. His eyes were bloodshot as he raised his head and let out a howl of frustration. He still couldn't understand how the enemy had so many artifacts, and how they could possibly be wielded by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Keep holding! Even if you die, you hold that line!" Shi Rongxuan roared, commanding the disciples to persist. It was almost there! If he just had a little more time, he could at least escape on his own!

"Do you think we aren't trying?!" Lu Kang felt his internal reserves hitting rock bottom. He tossed aside the spirit stones that had crumbled into ash and grabbed more to absorb, but even if his supply were infinite, the rate of conversion could not keep up with the rate of consumption.

"We can't stop it," Lu Kang clenched his fists. "Even though I have a few hundred spirit stones left, without medicinal pills to restore spiritual energy, there is no way to keep going." He had thought this mission would be an easy way to line his pockets, but instead, it was going to cost him his life. He had cultivated for so long to reach the late Foundation Establishment stage; with just two more years, he would surely have reached the Golden Core stage. He had been so cautious, yet he had been dragged into this abyss by this incompetent teammate.

The other Yangsheng Sect disciples felt their hope wither upon hearing this. Aside from Shi Rongxuan, Lu Kang was the strongest among them. If even he couldn't hold on, what hope did they have?

"Death is certain if we continue like this. I’m not resigned to this!"

"Senior Brother, let's drop the formation! At least we can take one or two of them down with us!"

"How did this happen? They are supposed to be such a small, insignificant sect!"

Before leaving, they had intended to requisition recovery pills, but thinking the enemy was just a minor sect with barely any Foundation Establishment disciples, they had skipped the pills to maximize their own mission points. Now, that single decision had led them to the brink of total annihilation. Despite their resentment, there was nothing they could do about the reality unfolding before them.

The shimmering crimson ripples of the formation grew dim and lackluster, on the verge of shattering.

The next second. *Crack.*

The Nine-Lock Ten-Thousand Sun Formation could no longer hold; it dissipated into nothingness. A few bullets pierced through the vanishing barrier, striking the leading Foundation Establishment disciples. The gruesome spray of blood and flesh made Shi Rongxuan, who was still trying to purge the toxins, freeze in his tracks.

He looked up, his pupils trembling violently. It was broken.

Facing the murderous intent in Liang Chuan’s eyes, he suddenly dropped to his knees. "Don't kill me! I surrender... I am willing to join the White Sword Sect!"

As those words left his lips, the other Yangsheng Sect disciples turned to look at him in utter disbelief. The once high and mighty Senior Brother Shi, the one with the fifth-highest talent in the entire sect—he had actually surrendered?