First Battle with Demonic Beasts

Seeing Wang Daoxing's persistence and ability to protect himself, Wang Daoyuan no longer objected. For safety, he gave the seven people acting as meat shields ten defensive talismans each.

The first-tier high-grade Golden Armor Talisman could withstand three full-power attacks from a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Even a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining couldn't break it with a single strike.

With the pre-battle arrangements complete, the ten people took their positions, and the Demonic Beasts were approaching.

The brunt of the attack was on the flat ground to the right of the small hill, where over ninety percent of the Demonic Beasts were heading. The remaining Demonic Beasts scattered, searching for weaknesses to slip through.

As for the demonic birds, they were engaged by over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators. The moment they got close to the human cultivators, over twenty flying swords would attack. Each attempt to break through resulted in heavy casualties.

The demonic birds were completely suppressed by the Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they didn't have much impact on the Qi Refining cultivators. They mainly had to face the Demonic Beasts.

It had to be said that Yang Zhiyuan, as the patriarch of the Violet Mansion family, played earth-element spells with masterful skill.

With a few Earth Wall Spells, he created an earth wall on the flat ground that was twenty zhang long, three feet thick, and five feet high.

He then ordered everyone to hold formation flags and set up several defensive formations both inside and outside the earth wall. Wang Daoyuan, not understanding formations, couldn't identify them. However, just by looking at the light emitted by the formations, he knew that it would be difficult for anyone below Foundation Establishment to break through.

In less than a hundred breaths, a complete defensive fortification was established on the flat ground. Yang Zhiyuan's strength far surpassed that of his own family's patriarch, and the Yang Family's strength was not something the Wang Family could compare to.

The Demonic Beasts quickly reached within two hundred zhang of the earth wall. The thirty Qi Refining cultivators of the Yang Family all took out their Spirit Crossbows and loaded them with Spirit Stones.

When the Demonic Beasts entered the hundred-zhang range, the Spirit Crossbows fired.

These Spirit Crossbows were exactly the same as those used by the caravan, and they were likely standard issue weapons from within the Netherworld Sect.

Wang Daoyuan was extremely envious of these Spirit Crossbows.

A typical early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could control their flying sword with ease within a hundred zhang, meaning within a hundred zhang.

If the flying sword was more than a hundred zhang away from its owner, it would be difficult to control, and only simple actions like thrusting or retracting could be performed. If it was more than two hundred zhang away, the flying sword would have virtually no lethality.

Those who could use their swords to injure others from over a hundred zhang away were the cream of the crop among early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

And these Spirit Crossbows could kill Demonic Beasts within a hundred zhang. Demonic Beasts' physical bodies were far stronger than humans of the same level. Using these Spirit Crossbows to shoot at humans without defensive magical treasures would allow them to kill enemies from beyond a hundred zhang.

Moreover, these Spirit Crossbows made no sound when fired, making them perfect tools for sneak attacks and ambushes.

However, he could only be envious. These were items from the Netherworld Sect, and it would be difficult to obtain them without the Netherworld Sect's consent. Even if he obtained them, he couldn't use them openly.

After the battle between the Yang Family and the Demonic Beasts began, within thirty breaths, three Demonic Beasts appeared before the Wang Family members.

These three Demonic Beasts were a black ape, a black panther, and a ferocious tiger.

The black ape was about twelve feet tall, its fur standing on end like steel needles, and its muscles were so well-defined that it could put bodybuilders from its previous life to shame.

The panther was about ten feet long from head to tail, with a thick tail almost as long as its body.

The ferocious tiger looked no different from an ordinary tiger in appearance, only larger.

All three Demonic Beasts exuded the aura of a late-stage first-tier Demonic Beast. The tiger was the strongest, equivalent to a peak first-tier cultivator; the black ape was slightly weaker than the tiger, roughly at the ninth level of Qi Refining; the black panther was the weakest, emitting an aura similar to a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator.

Upon seeing the Demonic Beasts approach, the Wang Family members immediately activated their Golden Armor Talismans, and a golden barrier enveloped their entire bodies.

Only the hotheaded Wang Daoxing, relying on his strong physique, did not use the Golden Armor Talisman. How could Wang Daoyuan let him take such a risk? He directly took out two Golden Armor Talismans and affixed them to him.

The strength of these three Demonic Beasts was not enough to threaten the Wang Family's team of nine late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and one peak Qi Refining cultivator. Therefore, they did not dare to act rashly, merely watching the Wang Family members warily.

The Demonic Beasts might not make a move, but Wang Daoyuan wouldn't let them stay there peacefully. With only three Demonic Beasts present now, if they weren't dealt with quickly, more would come, causing trouble.

He held a Fire Python Talisman in his palm and transmitted messages to Wang Daoxing and Wang Shouye, asking them to each tie down one Demonic Beast.

After the transmission was complete, he activated the Fire Python Talisman. A three-zhang-long, bowl-thick fiery python lunged towards the weakest Demonic Beast, the black panther.

The Fire Python was very fast, reaching the black panther in less than a breath. Wang Daoyuan, with his foresight and the element of surprise, caught the black panther off guard as it was entangled by the Fire Python.

The Fire Python was entirely composed of flames. While it didn't possess the physical strength of a real python, the burning from the flames was enough for the black panther to contend with.

As the saying goes, "An elder at home is a treasure." The six elders of the Wang Family were not to be trifled with.

The black panther channeled its spiritual power to extinguish the flames. Just as Wang Daoyuan was about to use another talisman and before he could ask his six grand-uncles for help, they seized the opportunity and jointly attacked the black panther.

Seeing this, the black ape and the tiger immediately moved to assist. Wang Shouye and Wang Daoxing, having received Wang Daoyuan's message, were already prepared.

The moment the black ape and the tiger moved, the two immediately stepped forward to block them.

Wang Shouye unleashed a spell, and a mass of water spiritual power transformed into a water dragon, which was the renowned Water Dragon Spell.

The Wang Family's Water Dragon Spell was very different from the Water Dragon Spell circulated in the outside world. It had been modified by Wang Chengzhu.

Wang Chengzhu once had a Spirit Beast, which was the Dragon Fish that served as the Wang Family's emblem. As a descendant of a dragon, the Dragon Fish was adept at water-element divine abilities. Wang Chengzhu, who also cultivated water-element techniques as a Golden Core cultivator, modified the Water Dragon Spell with it. The power of the Water Dragon Spell was greatly enhanced, and the formed water dragon possessed inherent dragon might, which could make Demonic Beasts timid by a third before the spell even reached them.

The original Water Dragon Spell was only a second-tier low-grade spell, but the modified Water Dragon Spell could be advanced. Qi Refining cultivators at the late stage could begin cultivating it, with an unknown upper limit.

The ordinary Water Dragon Spell only had a rough dragon shape, but the Water Dragon Spell used by Wang Shouye had flying whiskers, scales that expanded and contracted, and every part of its body was indistinguishable from the mythical divine dragons.

The five-zhang-long water dragon lunged at the tiger. The tiger, unable to rescue the black panther, engaged in a battle with the water dragon, with roars of dragons and tigers echoing endlessly.

Wang Daoxing, already covered by the golden armor of the Golden Armor Talisman, unleashed the Glassy Golden Body Art, emitting golden light in all directions, like a deity. He stepped forward to intercept the black ape, engaging in close combat.

The members of the Li Family, who were also stationed on the small hill, watched in stunned silence. They had long heard that the Wang Family's Water Dragon Spell was extraordinary, but they never expected it to be this powerful. With just a casually cast spell, Wang Shouye completely dominated a Demonic Beast of the same level.

It should be known that Demonic Beasts had powerful physical bodies and were generally stronger than cultivators of the same level. If they possessed the bloodline of high-tier Demonic Beasts or even divine beasts, it was common for them to kill human cultivators of higher levels.

While tiger-type Demonic Beasts might not necessarily have high-tier bloodlines, as the kings of beasts, their combat capabilities far surpassed those of ordinary Demonic Beasts. However, at this moment, the tiger was being completely overwhelmed by the water dragon. Although no blood was drawn, its movements were very awkward, and it had clearly suffered internal injuries. Moreover, the water dragon showed no signs of weakening in its strength, which naturally astonished everyone.

Wang Daoxing's situation was even more terrifying. Covered in golden light, he was locked in combat with the black ape. Both sides attacked without defending, exchanging punch for punch. Although Wang Daoxing was at a disadvantage, he showed no signs of defeat.