Blackfield Valley was a stretch of valley a hundred li across, embraced on all sides by mountains. The Blackwater River flowed through it, and its fertile soil and abundant spirit fields yielded many varieties of spirit rice.
The Lin Household's ancestral grounds stood on a rise in the middle of the valley, beneath which lay an upper-grade first-tier spirit vein.
The Lin Household had built Black Field Town atop the spirit vein. Its walls were tall, and water diverted from the Blackwater River filled a moat dug outside them. An upper-grade first-tier Blackwater Formation had also been laid out.
Unlike the Liu Household of Peach Blossom Mountain, the Lin Household's mortals and cultivators all lived in Black Field Town, so the town had a large population and covered a considerable area.
Dusk was approaching, and the sky had begun to darken. Several hundred first-tier demon beasts gathered around Black Field Town were unleashing demon arts against the Blackwater Formation, while the Lin Household's cultivators controlled the formation to strike back.
The demon beasts attacked with ferocious force. Countless streaks of golden light, Wind Blades, Fireballs, Boulders, and Water Arrows battered the Blackwater Formation relentlessly, sending out thunderous booms. The flames from their spells lit the entire sky crimson.
Eleven peak first-tier demon beasts led the horde: three Azure Wind Wolves, two Black Mountain Bears, two Blackwater Snakes, two Diamond Apes, and two Golden-Feathered Eagles.
These demon beast packs had all migrated south after being caught in the war between the Red-Feathered Crane Tribe and the Ironback Crocodile Tribe.
Under the Demon Beasts' fierce assault, the Blackwater Formation was already teetering on the brink of collapse! Had help arrived any later, the beasts might well have broken through it.
When the Demon Beast horde spotted Liu Shihao approaching aboard the Green