123: Chapter 123 Beast Tide Upgrade and Formation Sharing

Time slipped away amidst the slaughter; in the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

The land outside Qingyan Pass had long been soaked into a dark red by the blood of the Yao Beasts, and the air was thick with an inescapable stench of blood.

Two days and two nights of continuous assaults kept everyone's nerves taut.

The number of Yao Beasts not only failed to decrease but seemed endless.

What made hearts even heavier was that the rank of the Yao Beasts was clearly rising.

On the first day, one could still see a large number of First Grade, Low Rank Yao Beasts acting as cannon fodder. By the second day, these low-rank Yao Beasts had almost vanished. Looking out, one saw only Yao Beasts of first-rank middle-grade and above; their roars were more violent, and their impact stronger.

Relying on sorties and superior Formations, the Lin Family had been the center of attention over the past two days, earning a fortune in merit points.

Lin Cangchen was busy and delighted; while fighting, he was also "looting corpses," harvesting a large number of [Weak Physical Body Strength Cards], [Low Grade Agility Fragment Cards], and various Yao Beast Material Cards.

Although the boost from a single card was negligible, the sheer quantity made up for it!

Lin Cangchen could feel his Physical Body and Mental Energy improving at a slow but steady pace.

Just a day ago, a powerful Foundation Establishment Stage escape light had streaked over from the direction of the Tier A base and landed at Qingyan Pass.

It was a stern-faced, middle-aged Cultivator wearing robes not standard to the Azure Cloud Sect, clearly an outside helper invited by the Azure Cloud Sect from vassal forces or other friendly factions.

This Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who claimed to be surnamed Han, had originally been ordered to garrison the Tier B base and stabilize morale.

But the moment he arrived, he sensed the Clan Leader's undisguised Foundation Establishment Spiritual Pressure.

The two exchanged a few brief words.

"The Luoxia Lin Family, Clan Leader? I did not expect a Fellow Daoist to already be garrisoned here."

The Cultivator surnamed Han was somewhat surprised, his tone still quite polite.

"I also only recently had the fortune to achieve a Breakthrough. In this time of crisis, I should naturally do my utmost."

The Clan Leader replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Sensing that the Clan Leader's Aura was solid and certainly not that of someone who had just entered the Foundation Establishment Stage, the Cultivator surnamed Han nodded: "In that case, with Fellow Daoist Lin here, I can rest easy. The pressure at the Tier A base is greater, and I must return. I will leave this place to you, Fellow Daoist Lin."

After speaking, he transformed into an escape light and hurried away; he had come in a rush and left in a rush.

This left everyone, who had hoped for another Foundation Establishment expert to oversee them, somewhat disappointed, but it also indirectly confirmed the tension of the front-line situation—even Foundation Establishment Cultivators had become firefighters.

The Clan Leader showed no reaction to this, but privately instructed Lin Cangchen and the others: "The Sect is stretched thin in mobilizing forces, which means the situation is not optimistic. We must rely even more on ourselves."

Under the Clan Chief's instruction, Lin Cangchen and Lin Lingtu began a new operation.

They were no longer satisfied with merely setting up small-scale Formations for the Lin Family's exclusive use. Instead, they took every opportunity to set up simple [Foot-Trapping Formations], [Slowing Formations], and even basic [Warning Formation] around the perimeter of the entire great Formation, especially in front of areas defended by Families and Loose Cultivators who lacked Formation capabilities.

At first, those Cultivators dared not use them rashly, fearing the Lin Family was up to some trick.

It wasn't until a team of Loose Cultivators, with a try-it-and-see attitude, relied on a [Small Quicksand Formation] set up by Lin Cangchen to successfully trap a ferocious first-tier high-grade Yao Leopard and easily surround and kill it, that everyone became ecstatic!

"Great Master Lin is benevolent and righteous!"

"This Formation is truly useful! Many thanks, Fellow Daoist of the Lin Family!"

"Quick! There's another empty spot over there, let's move over!"

For a time, the Lin Family's reputation at Qingyan Pass reached its Peak.

The Cultivators who had originally had some complaints about the Lin Family's "showing off" were now left with nothing but gratitude.

Although these simple Formations were not very powerful, they could save lives at critical moments and greatly increase killing efficiency.

Listening to the sounds of thanks coming from above and below the city wall, Lin Cangchen felt wonderful inside. While setting up a Formation, he transmitted his voice to Uncle Lingtu: "Uncle Lingtu, see that? This is called brand effect! Our Lin Family's Great Master of Formations reputation is now established! In the future, we can raise the price of our Formation Plates by a few more Spirit Stones!"

Uncle Lingtu smiled honestly and nimbly laid down the Formation base; he now admired his nephew to the point of prostration.

This "Formation sharing" model effectively reduced the pressure on the Lin Family itself and also increased the defensive resilience of the entire pass significantly.

The more the other Cultivators killed, the fewer Yao Beasts rushed toward the Lin Family's side, allowing the Lin Family members to rotate, rest, and maintain their condition.

However, good times did not last long.

By the morning of the third day, when the first ray of sunlight illuminated the blood-stained earth, everyone's hearts sank.

The composition of the beast tide had undergone a drastic change once again!

As far as the eye could see, one could almost no longer see any first-rank middle-grade Yao Beasts!

Replacing them were densely packed, aggressive first-tier high-grade Yao Beasts!

Among them, the proportion of Yao Beasts at the peak of first tier (equivalent to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining or the tenth layer) had increased significantly; they were larger, had thicker fur, sharper claws and teeth, and their eyes flashed with bloodthirsty and violent light.

"Roar!" "Awoo!"

The deafening beast roars merged into one, and the resulting sound waves impacted the Formation's light shield, causing violent ripples.

The pressure increased abruptly!

Those simple Formations temporarily set up by Lin Cangchen and Uncle Lingtu on the perimeter were like paper under the impact of these generally first-tier high-grade and peak of first tier Yao Beasts; they shattered and were annihilated one after another.

In just one encounter, the buffer zone outside the great Formation was completely lost.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat back into the great Formation!" The Clan Leader ordered decisively.

Without needing him to say more, all the Cultivators who had previously sortied to fight, including the Zhao Family, the Liu Family, and several other Families, retreated in a sorry state back inside the Formation's light shield.

Even the Lin Family had to abandon the outer positions they had managed for two days and retreat in full.

The combat mode instantly switched from active offense to passive defense.

"Hold! Do not stop the Spell!"

"Talisman! Use attack Talisman!"

"Flying Sword aim at weak points like the eyes and throat!"

On the city wall, the sounds of battle cries, Spell explosions, and the dull thuds of Yao Beasts colliding with the Formation were intertwined, more intense than before by several times.

Cultivators, relying on the city wall and the Formation's light shield, desperately poured out firepower.

From time to time, Yao Beasts would break through the firepower net and slam hard into the light shield, causing it to shake violently and making everyone's hearts tremble along with it.

Occasionally, led by several Cultivators at Perfection (such as Liu Hanshan, the Zhao Family Ancestor, and the Great Elder), they would organize a brief counter-assault to clear a batch of Yao Beasts piled up in front of the light shield, but they would soon be filled in by more Yao Beasts and had to retreat quickly.

Everyone's gaze could not help but turn toward the Clan Leader, who stood at the very front, his Aura as steady as a mountain.

He did not strike often, but every time he did, it was earth-shattering.

A single [Gold-Melting Stone-Splitting] fist Aura could blast several peak of first tier Yao Beasts into shredded meat; a powerful Spell that only a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator could cast could clear a small area.

But most of the time, he was conserving his strength, adjusting his breath, and recovering.

Everyone also understood that the Clan Chief (Senior Lin) was conserving his energy.

Although these peak of first tier Yao Beasts were difficult to deal with, relying on the great Formation and everyone's combined efforts, they could still barely hold on.

The true test would be those Second Tier Demonic Beasts that had not yet appeared but were certainly hiding behind the beast tide, waiting for an opportunity!

Once they appeared, could this seemingly sturdy Formation light shield block them?

At that time, the only one who could contend with them would likely be this Foundation Establishment great Cultivator, the Clan Leader.

The hope of the entire Qingyan Pass seemed to rest at this moment on that steady back.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.

Lin Cangchen also put away his previous playfulness, looking at the endless beast tide outside the city with a solemn expression, his palms slightly sweaty.

'Second Tier Demonic Beast... I wonder what good cards I can draw?'

Of course, this thought only flashed by, followed by tension and anticipation for the upcoming fierce battle.