Chapter 2297: Countdown

Upon seeing the situation, Zu An didn't hesitate. He quickly took out his formation disk and set up nearly a hundred defensive formations around them.

Back in the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons, he had set up several formations to protect his physical body, which had withstood attacks from the Bloodthirsty Crocodilian Ancestor and the Fear Shadow Demon for many days. The fact that he now deployed twice as many formations clearly demonstrated his extreme caution.

Seeing this, Xie Daoyun rushed over to assist him. Being a genius in formations and talismans, she coordinated perfectly with Zu An almost without needing any words.

The others, witnessing their efforts, also brought out their defensive magic treasures. At this critical moment, no one dared to hold back.

Just then, a sudden cracking sound emanated from outside. The remaining portion of the mountain abruptly split in two from the middle.

The upper half of the peak was hurled into the air and instantly ripped to shreds by the terrifying hurricane.

Immediately afterward, the lower base collapsed with a resounding crash. The mountain, which had stood dozens of meters tall, completely disintegrated and vanished into the hurricane.

The entire process unfolded with astonishing speed. It wasn't a gradual erosion as everyone had imagined, but rather instantaneous destruction once a critical threshold was surpassed.

Simultaneously, a furious roar echoed, and a colossal figure suddenly emerged from the ruins of the great mountain.

"What a terrifying aura!" Jiang Luofu's throat felt dry after just one glance.

It was a colossal demon beast, tens of meters tall. The intense oppressive aura it exuded made her soul tremble, even from within the safety of the fortress.

She had previously confronted Zhao Hao and encountered the True Demon Emissary, but she had never experienced a sensation quite like this.

Zu An, however, clearly understood that the demon beast outside was far more powerful than any invading demon beasts they had previously encountered. Unlike those demons whose cultivation was suppressed by the world barrier, this world offered no such restriction.

This demon beast had clearly been hiding deep within the mountain, though it was unclear if it was for cultivation or to evade the hurricane.

Regardless of its purpose, the ability to conceal itself within the core of the world's tallest mountain proved its extraordinary nature.

It had truly been absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Had it not been for this destructive calamity, its power would likely have grown to an inestimable level, certainly not weaker than that of the legendary Demon Lord.

Yet, this incredibly powerful demon beast was now letting out cries of despair.

Its body was illuminated by glowing lines, patterns naturally formed between heaven and earth, so intricate they almost resembled written characters.

Such an existence bore the mark of the Grand Dao, a testament to the immense power of this demon beast.

It spat out a massive sphere of light from its mouth, attempting to block the surrounding hurricane.

However, that potent sphere of light lasted only for an instant before being completely dispersed by the destructive hurricane.

Immediately after, countless currents of wind slammed into its body.

The demon beast roared incessantly, its bodily patterns growing increasingly bright, vaguely forming a protective layer of armor around it.

Earth-shattering roars reverberated into the fortress, and Suo Lunshi's face turned pale. "This demon beast's power is truly terrifying," she murmured, "its roar alone is enough to make one's soul waver."

Had they not been within the fortress, shielded by various defensive formations, she might have been shattered to death by its roar.

"But I think I heard fear in its voice," Ji Xiaoxi's faint voice drifted through, her clear, bright eyes now filled with sympathy.

Zu An glanced at her, somewhat surprised. Though her cultivation was the lowest, she seemed to possess an innate affinity with all living creatures, allowing her to keenly perceive their emotions.

"You are indeed correct," he said. "This demon beast is almost finished."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the demon beast outside suddenly let out a mournful shriek.

The light around its waist and abdomen suddenly dimmed, and a thin line of blood appeared, from which a wisp of blood mist drifted out.

This seemed to be just the beginning; subsequently, more and more wounds appeared across its body.

Initially, it was just a thin line of blood. Its entire body glowed as its powerful physical form attempted to repair the damage.

Powerful beings typically possess a degree of self-healing and regenerative capabilities.

Unfortunately, its healing rate was nowhere near fast enough to keep pace with the proliferation of new wounds.

Before long, not only were its wounds numerous, but their size also grew increasingly horrific. Blood had even ceased to spurt out, as it had already lost too much; there wasn't enough left within its body.

Soon, the light from its special patterns ceased to flicker. Its head drooped, and its enormous body plunged from the sky.

It was dead.

Its massive corpse never reached the ground. During its descent, it was eroded by countless hurricane winds, sharper than sword qi, its flesh visibly dissolving.

In the blink of an eye, only a colossal skeleton remained. Its bones were pure white and radiated a truly crystalline glow.

The individuals present were all well-informed; they had encountered similar bones in various secret realms. Such bones were known to resist decay for tens of thousands of years.

Such remains often contained powerful energy and were considered top-tier materials for artifact refinement.

Furthermore, the remains they had encountered previously were not as crystalline as these demon bones, clearly indicating their significantly inferior quality.

Yet, even these ten-thousand-year-undecaying remains were utterly pulverized into dust by the relentless hurricane winds before they could even reach the ground.

If the initial view from within the bunker hadn't fully conveyed the hurricane's power, this sight rendered the women completely speechless.

While describing this sequence of events takes time, from the moment the demon beast appeared until it was utterly pulverized into dust by the hurricane, only a dozen breaths had passed.

They realized that if they were to face such a hurricane themselves, they would likely be obliterated in an instant.

"Crack... crack..."

A chilling sound echoed, and upon looking up, everyone discovered cracks appearing all around the fortress.

It was then that everyone recalled the True Demon Emissary's notes, which stated that the fortress relied on the great mountain to block most of the hurricane's power. With the mountain gone, the fortress would now face the hurricane directly.

Before anyone could even process this thought, with a resounding crash, the entire fortress was instantly obliterated, and its original magic formations completely dimmed and became useless.

Fortunately, Zu An and Xie Daoyun had just prepared defensive formations; otherwise, they would likely have been instantly reduced to dust by the hurricane.

Yet, the women found no joy, for they noticed that Zu An's outermost, powerful defensive formation—one they believed to be utterly impenetrable—had been directly shattered and destroyed by the terrifying hurricane in a single breath.

Fortunately, Zu An had managed to set up a full hundred formations.

However, at this rate, it wouldn't be long before every single formation was destroyed, one by one, leaving everyone facing certain death.

Zu An and Xie Daoyun's fingers moved with astonishing speed, leaving afterimages as they continuously reset the formations. Had Zu An not brought a massive quantity of primeval stone resources this time, they would never have been able to sustain the formations' immense consumption.

Even so, their speed in deploying formations was far outmatched by the hurricane's relentless destruction.

Everything they did merely served to delay the inevitable. The women, using their respective skills from all directions to reinforce the formations, found their eyes filled with despair.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Zu An's forehead. He had initially assumed the True Demon Emissary would set the other end of the teleportation array near the True Demon clan, in a relatively safe location. He had never anticipated facing such a life-or-death crisis immediately upon arriving in this world.

Unfortunately, the True Demon Emissary had suddenly died due to a restriction, leaving no time to inquire about further details.

"Ah Zu, what should we do?" Pei Mianman asked anxiously, simultaneously channeling vital energy to reinforce the formations.

Zu An handed the formation disk to Xie Daoyun. "You take over the formations now," he instructed.

"But my speed alone is too slow..." Xie Daoyun murmured, yet instinctively continued to set up the formations.

Zu An stood in the center, clearing his mind, and focused on finding a way out of their predicament.

After a moment, Jiang Luofu finally couldn't help but remind him, "At this rate of consumption, all the formations will completely shatter in thirty breaths' time."

Zu An's mind raced, seemingly oblivious to her words.

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

As Jiang Luofu's countdown neared its end, the women succumbed to complete despair.

Indeed, even with Ah Zu's formidable abilities, what could he possibly do in such a predicament?

Dying together wouldn't be so hard to accept...