46 The Sect's Predicamen

Lineir paused after conducting another rendition of this devastating technique.

"Come on kiddo, one more, while I must admit you've improved a lot, and I am not entirely loathe to calling your technique by the same name as mine, you should never stop cultivating!"

Mei commanded Lineir to keep going, she allowed no rest unless it was necessary. However, Lineir simply cocked his head and asked,

"Wait, shhh.... did you hear that?" Both master and disciple were quiet for a moment, and the sounds of battle floated to them, along with faint screams.

"Hmmm, kiddo, that's pretty far off, but I think it's definitely related to those sect members who flew by. I suggest you hurry over and take a look while they're distracted."

Lineir hustled and quickly came up on the scene of a great battle. The air was filled with screams and the rusty smell of blood released by metal. As far as he could see, golems swarmed! Metallic corpses littered the ground like trash, and the sect members of which there were hundreds, elders and Patriarchs all, were releasing torrents of terrifying secret arts into the masses of golems. However, hordes of obsidian golems were launching crackling beams of lightning in return which struck on weakened shields, frequently breaking through, and the poor cultivators would drop dead twitching and smoking. It was as if Heaven's tribulation was being brought to battle against the sects.

As their lines weakened, swarms of regular golems, each as large as a house, would march in, clambering over each other sometimes, and smash the cultivators below into the air. From a few blue golems spread amongst the teeming silver and obsidian, giant plumes of water would shoot up and splash out to rain on the cultivators. The beams of lightning would then fire and follow these plumes, splitting into webs of smaller lightning strands which would wipe out entire groups of tired elders. The patriarchs were frantically screaming to each other, while they had originally been racing each other to reach the top first, they were facing a far more dangerous common enemy now,

"Why can't we fly! Our cultivation bases are suppressed so much on this level, I can't even use the Twin Yin Yang Swords to fly anymore!" One patriarch screamed out, waving his black and white swords around. Another replied equally in horror,

"It's no use, my Three Taloned Dragon Spear is equally suppressed, the Heaven's themselves disapprove of our intrusion! We must retreat, but how?!!" The two Patriarchs were hit by a huge strand of lightning and blasted into the air, their elders next to them were soon crushed by looming silver golems without their support.

"Our sects are finished, the illustrious greater sects which rule the continent will disappear here today if we do not find a way out!" They continued to back up, Lineir watching several kilometers away, felt his madness come on at the sight of so much slaughter. The number of high level cultivators dying in front of his eyes was incredible. In the history of the continent, such a massacre had not happened in generations. But the times had changed, and now the greater sects, once untouchable, would know defeat here today! Suddenly, from above, a massive shriek roared out,

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWRRR!!!!!

The dragon rushed in and all the sects pointed,

"Look, look, if we can simply ride that dragon, we will be saved, somehow that dragon is still flying despite the suppression of the Pillar! Bring it down and we Patriarchs at least will be able to fly on its back and escape!" At these words, the various other sect members went mad! They all ceased fire on the golems and unrelentingly unleashed a torrent of attacks at the dragon. Uncoordinated, and all hoping to be saved, they did not restrain themselves attacked and blasted her out of the sky! However, far more than a few attacks came, the forces of all the greater sects attacked at once! When the combined masses of energy hit, it appeared as if the dragon was literally vaporized, it simply disappeared!

"You fools, you all attacked at once and annihilated it! Screw it, there's no way for all of us to survive this, everyone break ranks and try to retreat individually! if we can reach the first floor, we should stop being suppressed and be able to fly out of here! I don't care about ascension anymore, my life is more important!"

The greater sects abandoned all sense of decorum and turned and fled on foot. Many were trampled as golems, unimpeded, trampled them, and even some weak Patriarchs on the front lines were simply stepped on and crushed. Lineir, was atop a tall tree, and watched as the various dignified members of the greater sects ran by below him. When the golems came, one large one knocked down Lineir's tree in the passing but he simply leaped off to the side, and then proceeded to weave in between the horde of golems. While these golems were larger than any he had seen before, they were not any harder to avoid. Furthermore, they had spread out in the chase, and the passing horde was thus easy to go between for someone of Lineir's skill. He dodged between the golems that went after the easily noticeable sect leaders which were fleeing without any trace of stealth. Soon he found himself in the open field. With a sense of apprehension, he thought he had seen something before the sects had fled, he began to start collecting cores!

"God**** so many cores, I could start my own sect after this gain, there's enough cores here to feed an army!"