Attack formations were much easier to arrange than defensive formations. After Ling Yu and the others left the Small World, they could attack immediately and adjust their formation as they went. Defensive formations were different: the cultivators needed to take specific positions and join forces to form an energy shield, which took much longer.
What made it harder still was that Ling Tian's group had launched their attack first.
Unable to form a battle formation, those cultivators were left exposed to Ling Tian and the others' attacks. The result was obvious: in just one volley, more than ten thousand were killed.
As they attacked, Ling Tian's group slowly adjusted their formation. They began using powerful arrow techniques and the secret art of the Golden Buddha Image, making their attacks even more fierce and killing even more enemies. A single energy arrow could pierce through several cultivators, since so many of them were packed together. With those numbers, it was hardly surprising that one arrow could pass through several at once.
The cultivators from the Profound Realm had spread out across a long front. Ling Tian's group had only fifty thousand men, so they could attack only one section. The cultivators on the other two flanks quickly reacted, forming energy-shield formations and moving toward them to protect the people behind.
By then, Ling Tian's group had also used the Golden Buddha Image secret art. They began firing arrows that struck their targets, then exploded on impact. Their attacks grew much more powerful, killing more people and even shattering quite a few energy shields. This greatly slowed the enemy formations from closing ranks, allowing them to kill a few more.
Of course, they could only delay the enemy a little. After less than half an incense stick's time, the energy-shield formations formed