Chapter 37

Watching the four capable subordinates he had sent out, their combined strike didn't even make a sound before being blocked by that thin light shield, Wan Hong's originally somewhat calm old face instantly fell, dark enough to drip water.

He never expected that the Wang Family's seemingly insignificant Misty Spirit Gathering Array, after undergoing so-called 'enhancement,' could become this hard! This defensive power—where does it still look like a first‑order array?

"Trash! A bunch of trash! Can't even break a puny array—what good are you? Get lost!"

Wan Hong seethed with anger, harshly berating the four subordinates who had just withdrawn and were still catching their breath.

The four men's faces turned ashen from the scolding, yet they dared not utter a word, hastily bowing in acknowledgment and slinking away to the side, afraid to provoke the family head's wrath. Inside, they were also shocked and horrified—just now, they had put their full strength into that combined strike, yet they couldn't even budge the light shield; the Wang Family's array is truly sinister!

Wan Hong no longer paid attention to those useless subordinates, his gaze darkening as it fell once more upon the still‑shimmering golden light shield.

He slowly raised his right hand, fingers splayed, aiming it at the Wang Family Courtyard below.

Immediately, an indescribable evil aura began to seep from his palm—not merely a Spiritual Energy Fluctuation, but a darker, more violent energy brimming with destruction and ill omen!

Thick black mist that refused to disperse appeared out of thin air, beginning to swirl, condense, and compress in his palm.

As the black energy gathered, the surrounding air instantly turned viscous and sluggish, the temperature plummeting; even the last glimmer of light before dawn grew eerily dim, swallowed and distorted by the ever‑expanding black mass.

Even more, faintly, countless shrill wails and mournful howls seemed to emanate from the depths of that black aura—barely perceptible yet piercingly clear in everyone's ears, making listeners feel a chill run through their bodies, their scalps tingle, and their minds sway.

When this aura appeared, not only did the faces of everyone inside the Wang Family Courtyard change dramatically, but even Chen Tianfeng watching from afar, as well as the ordinary disciples and Offerings of the Wan family, felt a shudder that rose from the depths of their souls.

"Hmph, no matter how hard the turtle shell, I'll smash it myself! Let's see whether your shell is harder or my claw sharper!"

Wan Hong felt the world‑destroying power gathering in his palm, and a cruel, ferocious smile crept across his face.

"【Black Fiend Claw】!"

Accompanied by a low, repressed roar brimming with killing intent, Wan Hong's right hand, shrouded in thick black aura and carrying the terrifying force to rend all, suddenly slammed down onto the golden light shield below.

In an instant, the winds and clouds changed color!

A colossal form rapidly took shape in mid‑air—a giant claw spanning several zhang in width!

The entire claw was composed of viscous, jet‑black, condensed demon qi that had nearly solidified, its surface even showing twisting black patterns slowly flowing.

Its five thick, curved claws tipped with flickering, eerie dark light made the air emit a strained, violent tearing sound wherever they passed, as if even space itself might be ripped apart!

This claw bore no earth‑shaking light, only pure, utter darkness and destruction!

It carried a violent power intent on crushing, blasting, and dragging every living thing below into an endless hell, descending like Mount Tai upon the wavering light curtain of the Misty Spirit Gathering Array!

The power contained in this strike is simply horrifying to hear!

This is the furious strike of a Body Refining Ninth Layer Peak expert—Wan Hong's famed signature technique! Never mind a mere strengthened first‑order array; even a genuine second‑order great defensive array placed before him might not withstand this blow unscathed! If a small earthen hill stood in its path, it would likely be flattened to bare ground in an instant, leaving not a trace!

All of Luo Bay County fell utterly silent at that moment.

Whether ordinary folk trembling in their homes or martial artists watching from afar, all were struck soul‑less by this sudden, soul‑crushing, thought‑freezing terrifying pressure; countless people jerked their heads up, gazing at the sky‑obscuring black giant claw above the Wang Family Courtyard, their faces etched with despair.

It's over! The Wang Family is truly finished this time!

At the Array Core, Wang Shan's heart nearly stopped beating!

The oppressive pressure from that black giant claw almost made him suffocate!

"Not good!"

He didn't even have time to think, acting purely on instinct, he frantically poured his remaining Spiritual Power and his full command of the array into the array eye!

Hum—!

The 【Array Core Enhancement Module】 embedded in the very core sensed an unprecedented deadly threat, instantly bursting forth with blinding light, humming loudly, its runes racing at an unprecedented speed as it was thoroughly, completely activated!

The golden light curtain enveloping the entire Wang Family Courtyard suddenly flared bright, its radiance surging!

The golden runes on its surface, which had been merely drifting slowly, now became nothing but blurred golden afterimages, interlinking and weaving, making the whole curtain abnormally thick and solid; the golden light blazed forth, boldly meeting the black giant claw descending from the sky!

This is the strongest defensive posture of the enhanced Misty Spirit Gathering Array!

The next instant!

Under the horrified gaze of countless people in Luo Bay County!

The black giant claw and the golden light curtain collided with a thunderous crash!

"Boom——!!!"

A terrifying, unprecedented, earth‑shaking roar exploded suddenly!

The sound was so immense it seemed about to shatter eardrums entirely; many low‑level cultivators and ordinary folk were instantly shaken until blood poured from their seven orifices, collapsing unconscious!

The point of impact erupted with an indescribably destructive energy storm!

Black demon qi and golden spiritual light frenziedly tangled, collided, and annihilated! Blazing light and deep darkness intertwined, forming an apocalyptic scene!

The terrifying energy shockwave, like a tsunami, surged outward from the impact point in all directions!

Crack! Crack!

First to bear the brunt were the civilian homes near the Wang Family Courtyard; their roofs, as flimsy as paper, were instantly lifted and torn apart by the shockwave, while fragile earthen walls collapsed in sheets, raising clouds of dust!

Even the hard bluestone slabs underfoot could not withstand this terrifying force, being torn open into deep, bottomless, spider‑web‑like giant cracks that spread outward!

The entire Luo Bay County seat seemed to shudder violently under this earth‑shaking blow!

However, this was only the beginning!

People watched in horror as the enormous black claw shadow, though greatly depleted and dimmed by its collision with the golden light curtain, still managed to dig its five talons inch by inch into the thick golden shield!

A piercing 'squeak—squeak—' rang out incessantly, making listeners' teeth ache and hearts pound!

Black demon qi, like a bone‑eating maggot, frenziedly corroded the golden array energy; where the golden light and black qi met, continual sizzling sounds of dissolution arose, accompanied by puffs of green smoke!

The once sturdy and heavy array light curtain now violently oscillated and trembled at an alarming frequency, as if it might collapse completely at any moment!

Even more despairing, fine cracks began to appear clearly on the surface of the light curtain where the black claw had embedded!

These cracks started out tiny, but soon, like a spiderweb, they spread rapidly across the light curtain in all directions!

The speed grew ever faster; the cracks became ever denser!

One could see that the 'tortoise shell' in which Wang Shan had placed his hopes was about to give way entirely!

"Pfft——!"

Within the Array Core, Wang Shan felt an overwhelming, unstoppable terrifying force surge back along his connection to the array, slamming into him with a violent recoil!

His chest felt as if struck hard by an invisible huge hammer, he let out a muffled groan, could no longer hold back, a surge of fishy sweetness rose in his throat, a mouthful of blood uncontrollably spurted out, splashing onto the ground before him!

His complexion also turned deathly pale as paper in that instant, without a trace of blood!

His five viscera and six bowels felt as if displaced, waves of tearing pain surged, making his vision go dark repeatedly, almost causing him to faint right there!

This was only because the 【Array Core Enhancement Module】 had dissipated most of the force; otherwise, this recoil alone would be enough to shatter this Body Refining seventh-layer martial artist into a puddle of flesh!

But the bodily pain was secondary; what truly shattered Wang Shan's heart and gall was that he could clearly feel the energy sustaining the entire array's operation being consumed at an terrifyingly rapid pace!

The lower-grade spirit stones embedded at each array eye, serving as the energy source, were rapidly dimming, almost visibly turning into grayish-white waste stone!

Especially that Middle-Grade Spirit Stone serving as the core of the entire enhanced array and also as the Energy Core—its originally warm, bright luster was now sharply fading, flickering on and off, clearly about to be completely depleted of energy!

Once the Middle-Grade Spirit Stone is depleted, this enhanced array will collapse on its own due to loss of core energy, even if not broken by external force!

Time! He needs time!

"Hold on! Damn it… hold on hard!!!"

Wang Shan's eyes were bloodshot, filled with red veins; his teeth clenched so hard from overexertion they made a grating sound, veins bulging on his forehead and neck, looking incredibly ferocious!

He almost instinctively squeezed out every last trace of spiritual power from his dantian qi sea, recklessly pouring it all into the array core beneath him, trying to slow the array's collapse, even if only to gain an extra breath of time!

At the same time, his entire focus was locked tightly onto the system interface in his mind—

【Spirit Plant Points: 3982/4000】!

Just a little more! Just missing those damned 18 Spirit Plant Points!

As long as he gathers 4000 points, he can immediately exchange for that 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】!

He could feel that his internal bottleneck had been loosened to the utmost; with the aid of a pill, he had absolute confidence to break through the barrier in an extremely short time and advance to Body Refining eighth layer!

By then, even if the Array were broken, he would not be utterly without means to fight back!

But now! He must hold on!

He knew better than anyone that Old Dog Wan Hong's 【Black Fiend Claw】 had boundless power; this enhanced array could barely withstand one hit, already at its limit, absolutely unable to endure a second strike!

Must! Must obtain the 【Obstacle-Breaking Pill】 before the array completely collapses, to complete this life-or-death breakthrough!

"Come on! Damn Clear Heart Grass, grow fast for me!" Wang Shan roared frenziedly in his mind, urging it on.