Seeing Wang Daoxing insist, and knowing he had the ability to protect himself, Wang Daoyuan no longer objected. To be safe, he gave each of the seven acting as meat shields another ten Defense Talismans.
Among them, the high-grade first-order Golden Armor Talisman could withstand three full-force attacks from a Qi Refining Layer Nine cultivator. Even a Qi Refining Peak cultivator could not shatter it with a single strike.
With the pre-battle arrangements complete, the ten took their positions, and the Demon Beasts drew near as well.
The flat ground to the right of the small hill bore the brunt of the attack. More than ninety percent of the Demon Beasts were charging there. The rest scattered apart, searching for weak points through which to slip out.
As for the demon birds, they were tied down by more than twenty Foundation Establishment Cultivators. The moment they approached the human cultivators, over twenty Flying Swords came hurtling toward them. Every attempt to break through left a swath of casualties.
The demon birds were thoroughly suppressed by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators and had little impact on the Qi Refining cultivators. The ones the latter mainly had to face were the Demon Beasts.
It had to be said that Yang Zhiyuan truly deserved his reputation as the patriarch of a Purple Mansion lineage. His command of Earth Element Spells had reached the height of perfection.
With several Earth Wall Techniques, he forcibly raised an earthen wall across the flat ground—twenty zhang long, three chi thick, and five chi high.
He then ordered everyone to hold Formation Flags and set up several defensive formations inside and outside the earthen wall. Wang Daoyuan did not understand formations and could not identify them, but judging from the radiance they emitted alone, it was clear that cultivators below Foundation Establishment would find them difficult to breach.
In less than a hundred breaths, a complete defensive fortification had risen on the flat ground. Yang Zhiyuan's strength far surpassed that of his own clan patriarch, and the Yang family's strength was likewise beyond comparison with the Wang Clan.
The Demon Beasts soon rushed to within two hundred zhang of the earthen wall. The Yang family's thirty Qi Refining cultivators all took out Spirit Crossbows and loaded them with Spirit Stones.
Once the Demon Beasts entered the hundred-zhang range, the Spirit Crossbows fired.
These Spirit Crossbows were exactly the same as those used by the merchant caravan earlier. They were likely standard-issue weapons within the Netherworld Sect.
Wang Daoyuan was exceedingly envious of them.
An ordinary Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator could control a Flying Sword as easily as moving an arm only within a range of one hundred zhang.
Once a Flying Sword was more than one hundred zhang from its owner, it became difficult to control and could only perform simple actions such as thrusting straight ahead or returning. Beyond two hundred zhang, the Flying Sword was practically no longer lethal.
Those who could wield swords to wound enemies beyond a hundred zhang were all outstanding figures among Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators.
Yet these Spirit Crossbows could injure Demon Beasts within a hundred zhang. A Demon Beast's physical body was far stronger than that of a human of the same rank. Used against human cultivators without defensive treasures, these crossbows could easily kill enemies from over a hundred zhang away.
Moreover, these Spirit Crossbows made no sound when fired. They were practically treasures made for sneak attacks and stabbing people in the back.
Still, all he could do was covet them. They belonged to the Netherworld Sect; without the Netherworld Sect's consent, they would be difficult to obtain. Even if he did get them, he could not use them openly.
Less than thirty breaths after the Yang family began fighting the Demon Beasts, three Demon Beasts appeared before the Wang Clan's group.
The three Demon Beasts were a black ape, a black panther, and a striped tiger.
The black ape stood twelve chi tall. Its fur stood erect like steel needles, and its body was covered in knotted muscles, putting the bodybuilders from Wang Daoyuan's previous life to shame by a hundred streets.
The panther measured about one zhang from head to tail, and its tail was thick, nearly as long as its body.
The tiger looked no different from an ordinary tiger in appearance, except that it was somewhat larger.
All three Demon Beasts radiated the aura of the late First-order. The tiger was the strongest, equivalent to a First-order peak cultivator. The black ape was slightly weaker, roughly at Qi Refining Layer Nine. The black panther was the weakest, its aura only comparable to that of a Qi Refining Layer Seven cultivator.
The moment the Wang Clan group saw the Demon Beasts approach, they immediately activated Golden Armor Talismans. A layer of golden light covered their entire bodies.
Only Wang Daoxing, that bullheaded fool, relied on his powerful physical body and did not use a Golden Armor Talisman. How could Wang Daoyuan let him take such a risk? He directly took out two Golden Armor Talismans and stuck them onto him.
The three Demon Beasts were not strong enough to threaten a team of nine Late Stage of Qi Condensation cultivators and one Qi Refining Peak cultivator. Thus, they did not dare act rashly and merely watched the Wang Clan group warily.
The Demon Beasts could refrain from attacking, but Wang Daoyuan was not about to let them stay here comfortably. There were only three Demon Beasts at the moment; if he did not quickly deal with them and several more arrived, things would become troublesome.
He held a Fire Python Talisman in his palm and transmitted his voice to Wang Daoxing and Wang Shouye, telling each of them to hold back one Demon Beast.
After finishing the transmission, he activated the Fire Python Talisman. A flaming giant python three zhang long and as thick as a bowl lunged at the weakest black panther.
The fire python was extremely fast. In less than a breath, it flew before the black panther. Wang Daoyuan had calculated against an unprepared foe and launched a sneak attack. Before the black panther could react, the fire python coiled around it.
The fire python was made entirely of flames and lacked the true physical body strength of an actual python, but the scorching blaze was still enough to make the black panther suffer.
As the saying went, "With an elder in the house, it was like having a treasure." The Wang Clan's six elders were no pushovers.
The black panther circulated its spiritual power, trying to extinguish the flames. Wang Daoyuan was about to use another Talisman, but before he could ask the six granduncles for help, they had already seized the opportunity and joined forces to strike at the black panther.
Seeing this, the black ape and tiger immediately stepped forward to assist. Having received Wang Daoyuan's voice transmission, Wang Shouye and Wang Daoxing had long been prepared.
The instant the black ape and tiger moved, the two immediately attacked to block them.
Wang Shouye unleashed a spell. A mass of Water Spiritual Power transformed into a water dragon—the renowned water-element spell, the Water Dragon Technique.
The Wang Clan's Water Dragon Technique was vastly different from the Water Dragon Technique circulated outside. It had been modified by Wang Chengzhu.
Back then, Wang Chengzhu had possessed a spirit beast: the dragonfish that served as the Wang Clan's emblem. As a dragon-blooded creature, the dragonfish was proficient in water-element divine abilities. Wang Chengzhu had also been a Golden Core Cultivator who specialized in water-element cultivation arts. The Water Dragon Technique modified by their hands had become vastly more powerful, and once the water dragon took form, it carried Dragon Might of its own. Against Demon Beasts, even before the spell arrived, the beasts would already lose three parts of their courage.
The original Water Dragon Technique was merely a Low-grade Second-order spell, but the modified Water Dragon Technique could advance in rank. Late Stage of Qi Condensation cultivators could begin cultivating it, while its upper limit remained unknown.
An ordinary Water Dragon Technique only possessed the rough shape of a dragon. Yet the Water Dragon Technique Wang Shouye used had flying whiskers, opening and closing scales, and every part of its body was no different from the divine dragons of legend.
The five-zhang water dragon pounced upon the tiger. The tiger could no longer spare attention for the black panther and fought the water dragon instead. Dragon roars and tiger howls rang out without end.
Wang Daoxing was already clad in the golden armor of a Golden Armor Talisman. When he activated the Glassy Golden Body Art, golden light burst in all directions, making him seem like a deity. He stepped forward to block the black ape and began fighting it hand-to-hand.
The members of the Li family stationed alongside them on the small hill stared in utter stupefaction. They had long heard that the Wang Clan's Water Dragon Technique was extraordinary, but they had never imagined it would be this powerful. With only a casually cast spell, Wang Shouye utterly crushed a Demon Beast of the same rank.
One had to know that Demon Beasts possessed powerful Physical Bodies and were generally stronger than cultivators of the same rank. If they possessed the bloodline of high-grade Demon Beasts or even divine beasts, killing human cultivators above their own level was as commonplace as eating and drinking.
Tiger-type Demon Beasts might not necessarily possess high-grade bloodlines, but as kings of all beasts, their combat ability far surpassed that of ordinary Demon Beasts. Yet the tiger was now being utterly crushed by the water dragon. Though it had not yet bled, its movements were extremely awkward, clearly indicating internal injuries. Meanwhile, the water dragon showed no sign of weakening. How could the onlookers not be astonished?
Wang Daoxing's side was even more terrifying. Shrouded in golden light, he was locked in combat with the black ape. Neither side defended; they traded punch for punch. Although Wang Daoxing was at a disadvantage, he showed no sign whatsoever of being defeated.
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