'A Ying has truly brought a supreme expert to the Tianli Clan this time. The three great poison bodies of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, although I don't know which one this Li Yan cultivates.'
'But once any of the poison bodies is cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, with a wave of the hand, they can make a thousand li devoid of life, a ten-thousand-li land of absolute death.'
'It seems we have still underestimated the importance of this person. The title of 'Qing A Wang' must be his!'
'If the Second Elder proposes any more demands, so what if we fall out with him? For the sake of the Great Sacrificial Priest, we have tolerated him for long enough.'
Only at this moment did the Great Elder truly make his final decision in his heart.
"Since Fellow Daoist Li has such methods, when shall we begin?"
At this point, the Second Elder no longer mentioned the matter of the Snow Mosquitoes.
"This matter should not be delayed. Let's start today. However, we will still need your help here."
Li Yan glanced at the three of them.
"Fellow Daoist Li, please speak!"
The peerlessly beautiful Third Elder looked at Li Yan with a smile. What Li Yan was doing now was too important. As long as this defensive line was established, the endless attacks of the Wind Beasts over the past ten years could finally be stopped.
After eliminating these countless low-rank Wind Beasts, the combined mid- to high-end combat power of the three clans would no longer be able to overwhelm them, and their clan's mortals could get some rest.
Under such circumstances, the Wind Beasts would certainly not resort to "adding oil tactics" again, pulling out their mid- to high-end forces to fight to the death. That would be a true mutual destruction.
Three months of rest and recuperation, now even a single day of full rest was extremely precious to the Tianli Clan. They had been dragged into this protracted war for too long.
Just then, Li Yan's voice came over, interrupting the Third Elder's thoughts.
"The situation in the basin just now, the other side must have realized that it was not an ordinary poison trap. Perhaps later, third- and fourth-rank Wind Beasts will come to investigate."
"So, next, you will need to keep an eye on their fourth-rank Wind Beasts and not let them destroy it. Otherwise, I can't guarantee a three-month defense. Also, I can't be disturbed by fourth-rank Wind Beasts when I'm setting up the formations..."
At this point, Li Yan's words paused, and his gaze swept over the faces of the three.
"No problem! After the last battle, apart from Yan San, they only have three fourth-rank Wind Beasts that can be deployed. The Great Elder can definitely keep an eye on Yan San. It should be no problem for me and the Second Elder to watch the other three Wind Beasts."
The Third Elder's beautiful eyes shimmered, and she stared back at Li Yan without any courtesy. The women of the Tianli Clan had always been bold. Constantly in a state of crisis, each of them had a fiery personality.
After hearing this, the Second Elder's eyes just flickered slightly, and he did not speak again, a look of tacit approval on his face. The Great Elder also nodded.
"Alright, this can be done! Fellow Daoist Li, just do as you please."
Li Yan was right. After such an event, high-rank Wind Beasts would definitely appear later. Li Yan could not be disturbed then. The Tianli Clan attached more importance to this matter than Li Yan did.
Li Yan, however, was stunned by the Third Elder's returning gaze and quickly looked away.
"Ahem, and also... although there are only three attack points, the horizontal battle line is not short. The Tianli Clan needs to bring out as many formation tools as possible."
"Although I have such formation tools in my possession, I don't have that many. I assume this won't be a problem!"
"No problem. The Tianli Clan still has this much in its coffers!"
The Great Elder still nodded.
"Alright, that's all you need to do. As for the other matters, leave them to me! Hehehe, speak of the devil, they're here..."
Just as Li Yan's voice fell, several towering auras shot up into the sky in the distance.
"Hmph, old ghost Gong, you've all come out, and you've even brought out your old capital. Are you preparing for a final battle?"
Yan San's cold voice rolled in from the sky. He had received news that the other side had actually set up a poison formation, obstructing one of their attack directions.
And the attacking "Wind Iron Beasts" had also suffered heavy casualties. What he found most unacceptable was that the attack in that direction had not even harmed a single hair on the other side. All the deaths were on their side.
Yan San and the others immediately released their Divine Sense to investigate, and thus they sensed the auras of the Great Elder and the others, all appearing several thousand li behind the battlefield. This made Yan San and the others take it seriously.
"Hehehe... Yan San, what are you so nervous about? It's just a few clumsy wild beasts that died!"
The Great Elder chuckled and soared into the sky. The other two elders also followed closely...
On the tenth day, six thousand li away from the battlefield, Yan San's face was terrifyingly gloomy. He had already fought the Tianli Clan's Great Elder for the fourth time today, but still had not gained any advantage.
The other three fourth-rank Wind Beasts behind him also had faint traces of blood on their bodies. They had just retreated from the front.
Although the Tianli Clan's Second and Third Elders were also injured, they had held them back tightly, preventing them from getting close to that damn defensive line that was gradually taking shape.
As that defensive line gradually closed and completed, the Tianli Clan was now able to gather more cultivators and warriors to fill the remaining gaps, concentrating their forces to block their attacks.
As the gaps closed, the remaining areas for attack became narrower and narrower. Even if the three Wind Beast clans wanted to join forces to attack one place, they couldn't deploy too many troops.
"Damn it, that newcomer Nascent Soul cultivator is a poison cultivator who is proficient in refining deadly poison. Where did he get so many raw materials for refining poison!"
Yan San was extremely annoyed in his heart. He had been thinking about this question every day, but no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't figure it out.
Although this defensive line was not too long, it was by no means short. To be able to refine so much deadly poison that could kill the thick-skinned Wind Beasts, the raw materials could not be ordinary goods.
And even the mid- to low-rank "Wind Goose Beasts" with spiritual intelligence would fall to the ground one after another when they flew over those places. But he and the others were being watched closely by old ghost Gong and his group.
"What kind of witch-poison is this, and where did that brat come from? Who... is... he!"
Yan San gritted his teeth, his words spoken one by one, his face so gloomy that water could drip from it.
The last time, a matter that had been a sure thing was ruined by that brat, making them hate Li Yan to the core. And now, it was him again!
He was watching with his own eyes as a defensive line was about to be completely connected. How could his side attack then?
Yan San's heart was filled with frustration. He wanted to find Li Yan and kill him quickly with a thunderous blow, but as soon as he moved, the Great Elder would appear, like a maggot on the bone.
The space around Yan San was constantly twisting and deforming...
Li Yan sat cross-legged in a mountain forest, meditating to recover his magical power. Applying the Fragmented Poison on such a large scale was also very draining on his magical power.
Zi Kun and Qian Ji, leading the Snow Mosquito Clan, were guarding vigilantly in the mountain forest behind, to prevent anyone from disturbing him.
In fact, all of this was unnecessary. With the Tianli Clan providing enough formation tools, and the other side's few fourth-rank Wind Beasts being held back, the deployment was proceeding very smoothly.
With Li Yan's current Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, he could completely deploy this defensive line within five days.
But he didn't do that. It would be unreasonable for him to produce so many "poison pills and substances" at once. So, he told the Great Elder and the others that he would be setting up the defensive line while refining medicinal pills.
Although the Great Elder had basically confirmed that he actually possessed a poison body, he wouldn't be foolish enough to say it out loud, perhaps also to hide it from the Second Elder.
So, Li Yan first deployed in the areas that were most easily attacked by the Wind Beasts, then claimed that his poison pills had run out. Then, he began to "refine pills" while deploying.
But today was also the day he wanted to finish, because Gong Chenying had sent word that she was coming out of seclusion!
On a high slope behind the mountain forest, several thousand Tianli Clan warriors had gathered. This was currently the only gap through which the Wind Beasts could attack.
The gap was about a hundred li wide. Most of the area had been turned into a black, scorched earth from the repeated charges.
A Ling and a dozen other squad leaders stood behind the city wall on the mountainside, curiously staring through the crenels at a remnant of a mountain forest at the foot of the mountain.
A Ling's beautiful eyes would occasionally sweep over the two handsome young men at the edge of the forest. The two sat cross-legged outside the forest, and in the sky above them, seventy to eighty crystalline giant swords emitting a bone-chilling cold air hovered.
Now, A Ling and the others had been arranged on the hillside, ordered to cooperate with the mysterious cultivator at the foot of the mountain to deploy the defenses.
Their few thousand people were only a part of the troops stationed here. The rest had a rare opportunity to return to a position slightly further back to rest. After so many years, such a peaceful time had long become a luxury.
Even when they were on duty, they would sleep like logs. As soon as they opened their eyes, they would quickly finish their meal and then step onto the bloody battlefield again. Many of them never returned.
"News from Black Pig's side. They haven't had a single battle all day. They're just watching the river at the foot of the mountain from the rear."
"Those Wind Beasts can't cross that river at all. Any Wind Beast that tries to cross turns into a pool of blood as soon as it enters the water. Not even a single hair can be seen."
"Even those 'Wind Goose Beasts' can't cross. Once they fly over the river, they also fall straight down one by one..."
A few people nearby were whispering, and A Ling heard one of them.
She also knew the "Black Pig" he mentioned, a short, stocky veteran with dark skin. That squad was about three hundred li away from where they were standing guard today.
She had heard that the defensive line there had been set up the night before last.
'As expected, the Wind Beasts still can't break through. Finally, another attack route has been blocked.'
A Ling thought in her heart. She had also been transferred here from the place she had been guarding. The place she had originally defended, the defensive line in the basin in front, was the first to be formed and had been connected to the adjacent area within a few days.
At that time, she had been inexplicably and pleasantly surprised to find that the Wind Beasts, which she had to face every day, filled with death, had been isolated more than ten li away.
In just a few short days, only ten squads were left to defend the place they had originally defended to the death. The other warriors began to be transferred one after another to the places where the Wind Beasts could attack. And today, this was the last remaining gap.
"Who is that person?"
A Ling's eyes were filled with respect, and like many of her clansmen, her gaze was fixed on the mountain forest at the foot of the mountain...
A Ling and the others had heard from some cultivators that the great battle more than a month ago had ended inexplicably because of the appearance of the person at the foot of the mountain, and that he had also saved A Ying.
"Finally, we don't have to have so many people dying every day!"
A Ling's beautiful eyes looked at the mountain below. This was the sentence she and her clansmen had said the most these past few days. This one sentence contained endless joy, and everyone felt a sense of relief.
Although the Wind Beasts were still there, at least they had a long-lost feeling of relaxation that they hadn't felt in over ten years.
They were warriors, and everything had to be done according to orders. Of course, they couldn't run over to watch. This was also an order personally given by the Great Elder. Everything had to be based on the orders of the person at the foot of the mountain.
A Ling, as agile as a cheetah, retracted her gaze from the crenel. She leaned her slender body against the city wall and looked up at the sky. The sky was so blue, though it looked the same as yesterday, the day before, and even longer ago...
It was just that she hadn't looked at it like this for a long time. A long-lost sense of peace appeared in A Ling's heart. The wind blew through her short hair. A Ling thought that perhaps if she grew her hair long and wore a floral dress, she would be beautiful. The sky was so innocently... blue...
The next day, Gong Chenying, still in her blue robes and arrow sleeves, Li Yan, and the two demons had quietly left the Tianli Clan.
The Great Elder and the other two watched Li Yan's disappearing back for a long time without speaking. The Third Elder's face was somewhat pale, giving her usually stunning beauty a touch of fragility. Her crimson lips parted slightly.
"I hope they are all safe and return peacefully!"
The Second Elder's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Seeing Li Yan leave, he did not say a word, and his figure gradually faded from its original spot.
The Third Elder's words, regardless of what the Second Elder was thinking, they all understood the other deeper meaning in her words.
Li Yan had, as promised, given them a period of rest, but those poisons were also rootless water, used up bit by bit.
When the poisons were used up, those auxiliary formations would not be of much use, and the defensive line would soon be breached by the other side.
They of course hoped that Li Yan would return. Whether he brought back news of Gong Shanhe or the situation here, the returned Li Yan was worth a good talk.
And what the three of them had to do was to keep an eye on Yan San and his group!
In a patch of empty space, a faint green light streaked across the sky. Li Yan and the two demons stood on the "Cloud-Piercing Willow."
Li Yan held a jade slip in his hand. It was a map given to him by the Third Elder, which marked the possible location of Gong Shanhe.
Gong Chenying's injuries had mostly healed. In her anxiety, she could no longer continue to cultivate in seclusion. Li Yan had originally wanted to persuade this senior sister, wanting to go alone.
But Gong Chenying was more familiar with this region, and with her strength, she was by no means a burden.
Although Gong Chenying had not even reached the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, she had already cultivated the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" to the fifth layer and could burst out with the combat strength of an Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivator for a short time.
Especially if they could really meet Gong Shanhe, even if you had a token in hand, when facing a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the same realm, if you said you were Gong Chenying's martial uncle, Gong Shanhe would probably find it hard to believe, and it would be very troublesome to explain.
But Gong Chenying's appearance would save a lot of trouble.
After weighing the pros and cons, Li Yan decided to just do as Gong Chenying wished.