Chapter 430: What Audacity

"Tao Xi, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Although they did not know if what Tao Xi said was true or false, seeing his solemn expression made everyone subconsciously realize the danger.

But it was already a bit too late to stop it; fresh blood was trickling into the floor, seeping into the soil beneath.

The last bit of cultivation power remaining in Tao Xi's body seeped in along with his blood, as if touching something in the dark unknown.

Instantly, a force surged upward, and the entire Tao Family was enveloped by Golden Runes; upon the ground, wrapped in layers of runes, a massive Suppression Array was constructed.

And the power naturally radiating from everyone in the Tao Family was being continuously drawn into the array.

Right where Tao Yi's blood had seeped in, one of the emerging runes appeared stained and tarnished by the blood, its radiance dim.

It was as if a small gap had been broken in the interconnected Golden Runes, causing the once-perfect array to become flawed.

At the same time, a terrifying force was constantly battering against something. With these repeated impacts, the Golden Runes trembled incessantly, and the entire Tao Family began to shake violently along with them.

It was as if the Tao Family had suddenly begun to experience a violent earthquake, catching everyone in the Tao Family off guard.

Although the terrifying force within was still being suppressed, even the tiny bit that leaked out was enough to make everyone here tremble in terror.

They were all experts, and their senses were naturally extremely keen. Even though it was just such a tiny wisp of aura, if it had been aimed at them, a single touch would have been enough to shatter them all to pieces.

Even the strongest among them, Tao Yi, had a look of panic on his face at this moment, the sense of crisis in his heart urging him to flee in a panic.

The existence suppressed beneath the ground was truly so strong it was despair-inducing; he had an illusion that if he stayed for even a moment longer, even surviving would become out of reach.

He had never known that such a terrifying existence was actually being suppressed beneath the Tao Family.

The main line of the Tao Family had been passed down through a single heir for generations; this secret was likely known only to them.

And after he became the Family Head, that little bastard Tao Xi had never mentioned it to him.

Tao Xi had just said that the Tao Family's existence was for the sake of suppressing the one inside. And his father, the previous Family Head, had also suffered severe damage to his Original Qi for the sake of this suppression, which was how they had been able to seize their opportunity.

No wonder they hadn't known why the Tao Family Head had been so severely injured when they first made their move; they had thought it was a mishap in his cultivation, but it turned out it was to suppress this existence in the Tao Family.

Tao Xi had deliberately not told him, likely waiting for the existence inside to strike at the place of suppression again. And he himself did not understand the method of suppression at all, and his strength was slightly inferior to the old Family Head.

In this situation, even if they exhausted all their strength, they might not be able to maintain the suppression. The most likely result was being killed by the backlash of the suppressed existence.

When that time came, as long as he died, Tao Xi could swagger back to suppress the existence beneath his feet and thereby gain the support of the clansmen.

If not for today's situation, Tao Xi would probably have kept enduring; what a vicious little bastard, this was clearly a case of using a borrowed knife to kill.

If he didn't die today, he would definitely make sure to destroy this little bastard Tao Xi.

"Pfft!" Before Tao Yi could even begin to act viciously, a powerful force had already surged over, leaking out along the somewhat dim runes.

Tao Yi, who bore the brunt of it, was immediately affected; even the tiny bit of aftershock left him without any room to resist, and he was sent flying directly.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Tao Yi didn't even have time to wipe the corner of his mouth before hurriedly ordering, "Quick, quickly find a way to remedy this!"

"It's useless!" Supported by Xiaodie, Tao Xi had already walked to the side.

"Tao Yi, can't you see it yet? The entire Tao Family is an Array, and everyone in the Tao Family is a source of power for the suppression."

"Aren't you curious why the Tao Family would allow you branch families to exist so openly, living in this Tao Manor just like the main line?"

"Even as you branched out and your numbers grew, forcing the Tao Family to expand again and again, they never once thought of letting you move out."

Stepping back quietly, a mocking smile appeared on Tao Xi's face, the coldness in that smile enough to make one's heart tremble.

"Tao Yi, I think you should be very clear about it now. Every day you live in the Tao Family, you are actually continuously supplying energy to the Suppression Array."

"Perhaps even you yourselves don't realize that when you stay in the Tao Family, your consumption of power is actually much faster than outside."

"Your every breath has been deeply remembered by him; once the person inside breaks the seal, he will tear you all to shreds!"

"No, perhaps he won't even need to break the array; just a tiny bit of power is enough to leave you without even bones remaining."

"You madman, Tao Xi! If we can't escape, do you think you can?" The Tao Family experts blocked Tao Xi's path; even if they died here, they could not let this culprit escape.

This bastard was going to let the entire Tao Family be wiped out; did he not have even a shred of affection for the Tao Family?

Then again, he was the main line, the main line that had been a single heir for generations.

To put it bluntly, the closest relationship between them had probably exceeded five generations of kinship, and with the dirty deeds they had done these days, what affection was there to speak of?

"Sorry to disappoint you!" Grabbing Xiaodie's hand, Tao Xi stumbled as he prepared to run outside.

And the Tao Family experts blocking his path felt their bodies go limp involuntarily, as if all their strength had been sucked dry in an instant.

"Xiaodie, let's go. Those who block me die!"

"Stop him, stop him!"

Under Tao Yi's orders, several more figures rushed out, preparing to seize Tao Xi. But when they got close to Tao Xi, they, like the person before, had the power in their bodies sucked dry.

After losing all their power, they didn't even have the last bit of strength to protect themselves. If anything happened, they would be left at the mercy of others.

In this situation, the others also hesitated, fearing they would follow in the others' footsteps.

"Tao Yi, you didn't expect this, did you? We have suppressed this place for generations, and through the accumulation of experience generation after generation, we have long since figured some things out."

"The power of everyone in the Tao Family is supplied to the needs of the array, and I can now freely control your power to fill the array; as long as I am willing, I can easily strip away all your cultivation!"

"That's impossible! Why didn't you do that just now? He must be bluffing, take him down!"

Seeing Tao Xi trying to escape, Tao Yi completely tore off his mask of hypocrisy, his ferocious face full of hatred.

"Only by taking him down and torturing the method of controlling the array out of him can we survive."

"Tao Yi, if you want to take me down, why don't you come yourself? You hypocritical coward who only knows how to send others to their deaths!"

Supported by Xiaodie, Tao Xi walked outward step by step, but no one around dared to block him easily. Although they didn't want to offend Tao Yi, they didn't want to die either.

"Tao Yi, I didn't use this method before simply because I didn't want to destroy this set of arrays and break the mission of our Tao Family through the ages. What did you think our Tao Family was? We are just caretakers, not the masters of the array."

"Our line can only forcibly plunder the power of others to fill and stabilize the array when it encounters an absolute crisis or is on the verge of shattering."

"If not for that, if I could control the array at will, did you think you would still be alive?"

"So that's why you had to use your own blood to damage the array? You did it just to make the array unstable, so that you could gain the authority to control it?"

Seeming to suddenly understand something, someone in the Tao Family couldn't help but angrily rebuke, "Tao Xi, you should know the horror of the person suppressed inside! Do you want the Tao Family, and everyone in the entire Dongming, to die because of your own selfishness?"

"Hahaha, what a joke!" Looking at everyone, Tao Xi said coldly, "The life and death of the Tao Family, what does it have to do with me now? Get lost! I'll say it again: those who block me die!"

"Rest assured, the Tao Family has suppressed the person inside for so many years without incident; nothing will happen today either."

"You only need to inject all of your cultivation power into the Array and mobilize the entire Tao Family; that will be enough to forcibly stabilize the Array."

"But if anyone dares to lay a hand on me again, I wouldn't mind sending them on their way!"

After saying this, Tao Xi left step by step with Xiaodie's support, while the entire Tao Family could only watch him, yet no one dared to easily stop him.

The violent tremors continued, and even the light on the Golden Runes began to flicker, leaving the Tao Family with no choice but to prioritize stabilizing the Great Array.

"Xiaodie, hurry, let's go!"

After walking for some time, Tao Xi gripped Xiaodie's hand; even though he was severely wounded and stumbling as he walked, he was trying his best to escape.

"Young Master, you are severely injured right now, please slow down!"

"Hurry, there is no time left; I was almost crippled by Tao Yi. The strength I have left is nowhere near enough to control the Array; I was just bluffing them earlier. Hurry, we cannot let them see the flaw."

"Besides, this Array cannot be maintained for much longer. Once the person inside comes out, they will surely go on a killing spree. Go, we must leave this place, leave Dongming City, hurry!"

"Young Master, didn't you say they could stabilize the situation?"

"Stabilize my foot! You actually believed the words I used to trick them? Hurry, let's go!"