Chương 71: The Black Glass Array Weakened

RUMBLE! Countless beams of radiant energy blazed across the sky. Thousands of Qi Refining Realm spirit beasts, charging fearlessly to their deaths, clawed and bit at the Nine Star Black Glass Array with manic desperation. They were draining the formation's power, bite by bite. On a chaotic battlefield like this, Qi Refining beasts were nothing more than cannon fodder. The entire Blood Lion Mountain shook without end. The ground trembled, the sky quaked, and the great formation shuddered under the onslaught.

The Purple Mansion Realm cultivators from the Zhou and Fang families, seated cross legged, remained utterly calm.

"Issue the order," said a Fang family's Purple Mansion cultivator.

"Use spirit talismans to thin out those Qi Refining Realm beasts. We can't let them keep draining the Nine Star Black Glass Array like this." Then he closed his eyes once more, returning to his meditation as he commanded the formation from within. Moments later, every Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator received the order. Under the organization of the various families, every single Qi Refining disciple now held a stack of talismans. Rank didn't matter. Just throw them! BOOM! CRACKLE!

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of Tier 1 talismans flew out of the formation. The mountain of beasts piled against the barrier instantly became a killing field. A storm of iridescent, rainbow hued energy swept across the sky, then crashed down in all directions like a tidal wave. It was true that each Tier 1 talisman was weak on its own. But tens of thousands exploding at once… even a Purple Mansion Realm beast would feel uneasy.

The human race's physical bodies might be weaker than those of spirit beasts. But their creativity? No other race in the cultivation world could compare. Spirit artifacts. Pills. Talismans. Formations. Humans had invented them all. Squelch! Crack! The sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bones echoed across the battlefield in an unbroken, sickening chorus. Within moments, several thousand beasts were blown to pieces. Bone fragments flew through the air.

Blood gushed and pooled, staining the dark, rotting earth a deep, rusty crimson. The violent trembling of the Nine Star Black Glass Array subsided slightly. Above, the five Purple Mansion Realm spirit beasts showed no reaction at all. They simply let out another furious roar. A fresh wave of Qi Refining beasts surged forward, burying the bodies of their fallen comrades under a living tide. On Blood Lion Mountain, the human cultivators kept throwing talismans, unleashing wave after wave of attacks.

But the Qi Refining beasts, now guided by Foundation Establishment Realm commanders, had learned. They spread out, no longer packed so densely together. They were even beginning to form crude ranks. The human cultivators' talismans grew less effective with each volley. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. At most, they could now kill only seven or eight hundred beasts at a time. Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye.

The spirit vein beneath Blood Lion Mountain had already given up half of its spiritual energy to power the Nine Star Black Glass Array. The human cultivators' stockpile of talismans was completely gone. During those fifteen days, the spirit beast army had suffered over thirty thousand casualties. The light of the Nine Star Black Glass Array had grown dim and weary. Fang Xinjin, the Fang family's Purple Mansion Realm ancestor, dressed in flowing purple robes, his expression forever detached, slowly opened his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou," he said, his voice calm.

"Prepare to engage. We cannot allow the Blood Lion Mountain's spirit vein to be completely drained."

"I know." Zhou Yuezi nodded. He was one of the two Purple Mansion Realm ancestors of the Zhou family. At their command, the tension among the dozens of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators below spiked instantly. So. This was it. Lower the formation. Fight the beasts in bloody, close combat. It was always like this during every beast tide. Once the formation's energy was nearly exhausted, the real battle began.

Over ten thousand Qi Refining Realm cultivators stood waiting, their expressions a mixture of fear and grim resolve. After this fight… how many of them would still be alive? A blue sword materialized in Zhang Huaijin's palm. It was a Tier 2, low grade spirit artifact, the Blue Bamboo Serenity Sword.

After he had broken through to become a Tier 2, low grade artifact forger, he had melted down his two old swords, the blue bamboo and azure Serenity swords, added a chunk of Tier 2, low grade Green Gold, and forged this new blade. He had simply named it the Blue Bamboo Serenity Sword. Truth be told, he didn't care much about it. Not when he already possessed the Blood Dragon Sword. Any sword would do for everyday use.

After all, neither this one nor his old blades could compare in quality or rank to his Blood Spirit Weapon.

"Once we exit the formation, maintain strict formation," Zhang Huaijin commanded, turning to address his Zhang family members.

"Follow my orders. No exceptions."

"Understood!" Zhang Hong and the two other senior Qi Refining members answered for the group. The rest nodded in agreement. None of them were fools. Looking out at that vast, surging tide of blood and fangs, they all understood the same truth, their only chance of survival was to stay close behind their Foundation Establishment Realm leader. —— One hour later. Under the control of the two Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, nine openings appeared in the Nine Star Black Glass Array.

The Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, already in position, led their Qi Refining fighters charging out. The two Purple Mansion Realm ancestors appeared directly above the formation. The formation's core artifact, the Tier 3, low grade Black Glass Mirror, materialized in the air, its power fully awakened. Threads of violent, raging energy began to gather. A pillar of silver white light formed, locking onto the massive, sixth level Purple Mansion Realm Raging Blood Lion.

The Raging Blood Lion was enormous, standing over ten meters tall, its entire body drenched in the crimson aura of bloodlust. Its blood red eyes held only cold, murderous intent. Its long claws flexed, radiating an overwhelming pressure of pure, savage fury. Behind it stood two slightly smaller Raging Blood Lions, still nine or ten meters high. The Blood Jade Spider and the Goldback Mantis flanked the Lions. The appearance of the Black Glass Mirror made the massive Raging Blood Lion hesitate.

It knew that spirit artifact all too well. An attack charged with a century's worth of stored power… that could definitely wound it. Besides, these two human Purple Mansion Realm cultivators were no pushovers. Better to wait. Two groups of Purple Mansion Realm powerhouses faced off in the sky. Below, the battlefield descended into absolute chaos. Zhang Huaijin advanced steadily, taking no unnecessary risks. He led the Zhang family cultivators to a hillside not far from the formation's exit and held his ground.

Spirit beasts charged at them from every direction. Protected by Zhang Huaijin, the Zhang family members fought with surprising ease. Any Qi Refining Realm beast that reached the late stage was killed instantly by a single stroke of his sword. And then, a second level Foundation Establishment Realm Purple Lightning Rabbit locked its gaze onto Zhang Huaijin. It let out a furious roar and charged, its three meter tall body tearing across the battlefield.

How dare this Foundation Establishment human spend all his time slaughtering Qi Refining ants? He had to die. Purple energy pulsed across the rabbit's body, laced with crackling lightning. BOOM! A sphere of purple lightning the size of a human head shot from the rabbit's maw. The air itself ignited in its wake as it hurtled toward Zhang Huaijin. Zhang Huaijin's expression didn't change. The Blue Bamboo Serenity Sword swung down casually. The purple lightning sphere shattered on contact.

A web of dense electric arcs crawled up the blade and onto Zhang Huaijin's right arm. His expression still didn't change. His body was strong enough to rival a mid stage Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast. The Purple Lightning Rabbit's electricity couldn't even faze him. The rabbit screeched and began fighting in earnest, lunging and clawing with desperate fury. Zhang Huaijin fought steadily, never leaving that hillside. He wasn't even using his real strength.

The rabbit could feel it, this white robed man's power was unfathomable. It was completely suppressed. Not far away, another Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, Tian Jianwei, kept glancing sidelong at their fight. A flicker of wariness appeared in his eyes.