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Chapter 812: Chapter 818: Slaughter
"Kill!"
Following Xiaoqing’s command, the Golden Core cultivators behind her all acted in unison, launching various attacks that gleamed with Spirit Light. These merged into a torrential flow of Spirit Light that fell from the sky, smashing into the horde of Devil Beasts up ahead.
The Devil Beast Tribes before them had no Fourth Order Great Devils, and facing the Cultivator Army formed by the Li family, they had no capacity to resist and could only scatter and flee.
Unfortunately, with Xiaoqing and Li Chenghuo—two Nascent Souls present—they had no chance to escape at all and were trapped within this area.
About a quarter of an hour later, all of the Devil Beasts were dead, their flesh and blood scattered everywhere, and a thick stench of blood invaded everyone’s nostrils.
"Those who are injured, return to the cabin to heal; the rest of you, follow me to clean up the battlefield and leave promptly," Li Chenghuo ordered.
This Devil Beast Tribe was average in strength and had not caused much harm to them, but not all tribes were like this.
Not long ago, a group led by Cang and Howling Moon had suffered significant losses when they encircled and attempted to annihilate a group of Devil Beasts. If not for having a Fifth-order puppet in hand, they weren’t sure how many would have survived in the end.
Also because of this incident, their actions to clear the surrounding areas had become more cautious, no longer carrying the arrogance of being invincible just because they had a Fifth-order puppet at their disposal.
The battlefield was quickly cleaned up, leaving only the dark red marks seared onto the earth as a reminder that a great battle had taken place here.
"Let’s go back."
They had been out for many days, and the continuous fighting had exhausted everyone; it was time to return to their base and rest for a while.
"Let’s go," Li Chenghuo nodded. Xiaoqing controlled the Cloud Whale Spirit Ship while he used his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings, vigilant for any Devil Beast ambushes.
Keep in mind, they had been fighting in this Secret Realm for two to three months. With a significant number of Devil Beasts dead, they could no longer continue to stay hidden.
Hence, unlike the beginning when they launched preemptive strikes, often catching the Devil Beasts off guard, they now found the Devil Beast ambushes extremely troublesome.
Some time ago, a group of Devil Beasts even found their base, summoning a Devil Beast Army of nearly ten thousand in number, intent on breaching their defenses and killing everyone inside.
That battle was extremely perilous!
In the base, there were only Li Chenghuo and Cang, along with a little over a hundred clan members, many of whom were Foundation Establishment Cultivators responsible for logistics, with half their combat power out hunting Devil Beasts.
Masses of Devil Beasts surged towards them from all directions like a tide, wave after wave, engulfing the entire base. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
The Devil Beasts seemed fearless in their attacks, the ferocity of which chilled those who witnessed it.
The defensive Array was on the verge of collapse under their relentless barrage, and Li Chenghuo and Cang didn’t even know how many Devil Beasts they had slain. Their Mana was severely depleted, and the other clan members had even replenished their Mana several times.
Moreover, the last High-Grade Spirit Stone needed to activate the Fifth-order puppet, just one remaining in the base, was completely drained of Spiritual Energy after slaughtering a large number of Devil Beasts.
If the situation continued as such, the clan members in the base would either have to fight to the death or abandon the place and use a Boundary-Arranging Device to temporarily escape the Secret Realm.
Fortunately, in the final moments, Xiaoqing and Howling Moon returned with another group of clan members. Their Fifth-order puppets performed miracles, slaughtering the majority of the remaining Devil Beasts, forcing them to retreat.
But after this incident, the base of the Li family was completely exposed!
To properly defend this place, the Li family had sent a large number of clan members, most of whom were Foundation Establishment Cultivators because all the Golden Core Cultivators that could be called upon had already arrived.
In addition, they rang the Knocking Bell for Li Xianxun and Li Mingyao, interrupting their seclusion.
With this, there were now six Nascent Soul cultivators in the Secret Realm, and three teams took turns changing shifts, greatly enhancing the defense strength of the base.
Moreover, various resources had also been abundantly prepared, especially the Spirit Stones required to activate fifth-order puppets. Li Zhirui had specifically given two top-grade Spirit Stones to Xiaoqing and Cang.
With fifth-order puppets that could be activated for a long duration, the safety of the base was no longer a concern, nor was there a need to worry about a siege by Devil Beasts.
And the dangerous situations within the Secret Realm were being reported back to Wanxian Island.
"Clan Leader, why can’t those Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts on the island be utilized?" An Elder asked, puzzled.
The Li family indeed possessed several fourth-order Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts. If they could be brought to the Secret Realm, they would surely greatly alleviate the pressure.
Li Mingzi’s expression remained unchanged as she indifferently said, "Because they are Devil Beasts!"
Despite being called Mountain Guardian Spirit Beasts by the Li family, in reality, they were all untamed Devil Beasts that had simply been forcefully suppressed by Li Zhirui.
Although they had been bound by prohibitions from Li Zhirui and could be controlled and enslaved with Magic Artifacts, there was risk they could break free.
"Why not temporarily withdraw from the Secret Realm? After all, we have already secured control over the Secret Realm with the Boundary Fixing Stones. Once those few ancestors return and our family’s strength has increased, entering the realm again to sweep through it wouldn’t be too late," another Elder suggested.
His idea was simple: wait for Jiang Fengwu, Li Chengsheng, and Li Chengshuo to return.
These three people were not just three Nascent Souls; they also each had their Contracted Spirit Beasts, adding up to seven in total!
Furthermore, they were waiting for the Contracted Spirit Beasts of Li Chenghuo and Li Mingyao to break through to the fourth-order. Then their strength would be tremendous!
Li Mingyao’s delay was because he had just recently broken through, while Li Chenghuo’s delay was due to his Spirit Beast’s lineage being only third-grade; both required time.
If they followed this Elder’s suggestion, by that time, the Li family would have a double-digit number of Nascent Souls, along with two fifth-order puppets as well, making the dangers within the Secret Realm seem insignificant.
This idea was approved by many Elders, for to them, it seemed to be the safest and most secure method!
"But wouldn’t the investment made during this period be in vain?"
Another Elder voiced his opposition, "Moreover, it would damage the family morale."
The other Elders frowned and hesitated; his words were not without reason.
And while they were undecided, unsure of what decision to make, the situation in the Secret Realm changed once again.
In a territory unknown to Xiaoqing and the others, a large congregation of fourth-order Devil Beasts amassed.
"Does anyone know the origins of those cultivators?"
Although they had never seen cultivators before, they had the inherited memories in their bloodlines; how could they not recognize them?
"No one knows. That group of cultivators has a fifth-order puppet, which is very formidable, and their Spirit Boat’s defenses are also very strong. We can’t even capture a live one."
"What’s the use of discussing this now! Let’s think about how to deal with these cultivators!"
"The best way is to gather all the tribes and launch a joint attack on the cultivator’s base! We can’t do it like before; their strength has increased a lot now!"
A group of Great Devils discussed how to deal with the cultivators, but some also considered the possibility of cooperation with them.
