Cultivation Begins From The Desert -
Chapter 219 - 217: Expanding Territory (Part 2) [Subscription Requested]
Chapter 219: Chapter 217: Expanding Territory (Part 2) [Subscription Requested]
If you want to expand territories, sacrifices are inevitable.
Zhouyang and their group are all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, making it less likely for casualties to occur.
However, the other two groups of Zhou Family Cultivators weren’t so fortunate.
Those two groups, while not encountering Tier Three Demon Beast enemies, and having Foundation Establishment Cultivators Xiao Ying and Zhou Guangxiang leading and protecting them, still faced casualties when attacked by demon beasts several times their number.
Xiao Ying’s group was better off; although she doesn’t enjoy magical combat, she didn’t hesitate to kill low-tier demon beasts.
Moreover, while her combat skills are lacking, her healing abilities are quite impressive. As long as Zhou Family Cultivators following her weren’t fatally injured, she could quickly suppress their injuries, even directly cure them.
So the Zhou Family Cultivators with her, though some were injured, none died.
Zhou Guangxiang’s group was different. Though they had him, a Tier Two Middle Grade Array Master, they could deploy arrays to clear attacking demon beasts.
Yet the demon beasts’ number was so large that the arrays couldn’t protect everyone from injury.
Especially for some battlefield novices lacking magical combat experience, once surprised, they easily panicked, getting injured or killed by demon beasts.
"You idiots, are you all pig-headed? How do the elders teach you in the school? Is your daily magical combat practice child’s play? Don’t you know panicking is a major taboo in magical combat?"
Zhou Guangxiang, though clever and alert, lacked true combat experience. Seeing some under his command killed by demon beasts, he was both angry and furious, scolding his clan brothers, juniors, and even some same-age clan uncles.
He possessed Top-grade Spiritual Root, loved by clan elders since childhood, thus had high ambitions, aspiring to be a leader like Zhouyang guiding the Zhou family to strength.
Now, leading as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, seeing low-tier demon beasts kill some under his command, how could he not be angry?
"Guangxiang, don’t just blame the clansmen. Instead, slow down the advance. Use your skills as an Array Master and Foundation Establishment Cultivator to lead a strong defense. Our goal is to clear out all demon beasts from the oasis, whether killing or expelling them. Completing this equates to mission success!"
While Zhou Guangxiang was furiously upset, Zhou Family Grand Elder Zhou Xuanhe spoke sternly to advise him, offering his suggestion.
Though his cultivation wasn’t as high as Zhou Guangxiang’s, his seniority was like Guangxiang’s grandfather’s, having watched him grow up. His advice had the intended effect.
"Fourteenth uncle is right; the nephew understands what to do!"
Zhou Guangxiang dropped his anger and nodded calmly, immediately setting up a defense array with some array deployment tools.
He knew Zhou Xuanhe’s words were sparing him face.
In reality, Xuanhe’s true meaning was that the fatal casualties earlier were due to Guangxiang’s arrogance and rush to complete the task of clearing low-tier demon beasts and join the battle with the Three-tailed Demon Fox.
Zhouyang and Zhou Minghan arranged the experienced Zhou Xuanhe in Guangxiang’s team for this reason.
They understood that temperament training of the clan members was permissible, even isolated casualties were acceptable, but large-scale fatalities were not.
Although the Zhou Family now had a fair population of cultivators, those above mid-stage Qi Cultivation were the backbone force. Losing one or two, the clan could bear; losing seven or eight or even a dozen would be a heavy blow.
Fortunately, adopting Zhou Xuanhe’s defensive counterattack proposal, Zhou Guangxiang’s team finally stabilized, with no more demon beast kills.
Meanwhile, under joint attacks from Zhouyang and the Eagle Lion Beast, the intercepting Flying Fire Bat swarm was either killed or scattered. Seeing the unfavorable situation, the Flying Fire Bat King screeched, activating its talent sonic attack technique, momentarily stalling Zhouyang and his follower’s assault before transforming into a beam of fire and escaping.
"Deal with that big rat and remember to bring its corpse back to me!"
Recovering from the sonic attack, Zhouyang looked at the retreating Flying Fire Bat King, commanding the Eagle Lion Beast to pursue, then leapt from the lion’s back, flying with his sword toward the Three-tailed Demon Fox battling old clan leader Zhou Minghan.
The flying sword Zhouyang used in sword flight was the discarded Tier Three Lower Grade Flying Sword "Crane Beak Sword," not hindering his ability to deploy sword arrays against enemies.
The Three-tailed Demon Fox’s three tails each had unique uses: the blue tail not only allowed "Wind Technique" for flight but also unleashed wind blade attacks or created wind walls for defense.
The red tail represented the Fire Element, releasing flame arrows and continuous fireballs.
The white tail represented the Spiritual Element, allowing the fox to use charm magic to enslave other demon beasts or create illusions to confuse cultivators’ Divine Sense, even employing spirit shock akin to Divine Sense attacks.
Besides these three functionally diverse tails, the fox could spit potent crimson demon fire able to easily destroy Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts.
Additionally, the fox’s golden eyes could emit a powerful ray magic, its might exceptional.
It was precisely because it knew that the Three-tailed Demon Fox was extremely tricky and hard to deal with that the Zhou Family had always waited until Zhou Minghan’s cultivation reached the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment to dare to confront it.
However, Zhou Minghan had only recently reached the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, and his true combat power still lagged significantly behind those cultivators who had reached this realm for decades.
Thus, although he relied on the powerful Divine Sense of a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator to block the Three-tailed Demon Fox’s most formidable illusion attacks, he was still overwhelmed by its various methods, barely able to protect himself while launching some restraining attacks on the fox.
Zhouyang’s arrival undoubtedly brought him great relief.
Although this junior of the family had a cultivation far inferior to his, his true combat strength had completely surpassed his own, and he was undoubtedly the strongest in the Zhou Family.
Upon joining the battle, Zhouyang immediately used the "Four Symbols Demon-Slaying Sword Array" to launch a siege attack on the Three-tailed Demon Fox, restricting its movements.
Then, with a gesture, he directly took out the "Thunderfire Gourd" and fired all three "Thunder Fire Bombs" inside.
Boom boom boom!
The combined explosion of the three "Thunder Fire Bombs" equaled the power of a top-grade Tier Three technique, leaving the Three-tailed Demon Fox severely injured, with its crimson fur stained with bright red blood, making it even more striking.
Screech—
The wounded Three-tailed Demon Fox couldn’t help but let out a shrill scream, and its golden fox eyes glared at Zhouyang, swinging its white fox tail to launch a Spirit Shock Spell at him.
The spiritual attack was invisible, undetectable, and undefendable, and Zhouyang, standing on the flying sword, felt a sharp headache and was immediately struck.
However, just as the Three-tailed Demon Fox was preparing to launch a follow-up attack, seeing Zhouyang’s mind in chaos, Zhouyang, who was falling with the flying sword, suddenly steadied himself and instead looked at it with a cold snort.
"Humph!"
The icy drink penetrated the ears of the Three-tailed Demon Fox, causing its body to tremble, its head feeling like it was being pierced through, making it hold its head with both paws and let out a pitiful scream.
Great opportunity!
Seeing this scene from the sky, Zhou Minghan rejoiced, eagerly controlling the flying sword to slash towards the fox’s head.
With the flying sword about to strike its head, the Three-tailed Demon Fox, countered by Zhouyang’s "Godslaying Needle," seemed to sense danger as the three long fox tails behind it suddenly stretched forward and wrapped its body tightly.
Zhou Minghan’s flying sword struck the fox tails, feeling like it was hitting an elastic rubber tire, not only failing to achieve any success but being bounced away.
Fortunately, the flying sword was not Zhou Minghan’s strongest attack. As he wielded the sword, he also flicked his sleeve, tossing a pale purple fireball with silver arcs towards the Three-tailed Demon Fox.
He had used this move before to kill the Tier Three Lower Grade Demon Beast "Poison Fire Scorpion King," but at that time, he had just advanced to the Seventh Layer of Foundation Establishment and was not proficient in this move, needing much preparation.
Now, after decades of practice and research, and having advanced to the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment, he could finally execute the move in regular magical combat.
Boom rumble!
Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, the Three-tailed Demon Fox rushed out from the center of the fiery explosion.
However, at this moment, its three fluffy fox tails were bare, revealing scorched black scars with bloodstains, clearly indicating it had suffered significant injuries.
"Where do you think you’re going, monster!"
In the sky, seeing the Three-tailed Demon Fox attempting to escape, Zhouyang immediately urged his flying sword to intercept.
Understanding the consequences of releasing a tiger back to its mountain, Zhouyang naturally wouldn’t let the Three-tailed Demon Fox escape.
However, he underestimated the Three-tailed Demon Fox’s escape abilities.
Just as the Three-tailed Demon Fox’s three barren fox tails shook, its body split into three, transforming into three differently colored foxes, fleeing in different directions at incredible speeds.
Initially, Zhouyang believed this was an illusion technique from the Three-tailed Demon Fox, thinking two of the foxes were fake, or all three were fake.
But when he concentrated his full Divine Sense, scanning the three foxes, he found their aura, magical power, and demeanor were identical, making them seem real, not an illusion!
It was only after he controlled the flying sword to decapitate one of the crimson foxes, staring at the two severed fox tails on the ground, that he realized what had transpired with the three foxes.
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