Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 460 Fierce Battle

"quack--"

A sharp yet long cry of an eagle echoed through the sky.

The Thunder Crimson Ghost Eagle swooped down, as fast as lightning, and was almost upon Li Xiangming in the blink of an eye.

Li Xiangming ignored him and continued forward.

"Gah!"

The Thunder Crimson Demon Eagle's eyes were bloodshot, and its shrieks became shorter, revealing a hint of excitement, as if it was determined to obtain the Clear Mind Fruit.

However, just as their claws were about to extend, two scalding flames erupted from the side, like a flying dragon breaking through the air with unstoppable momentum.

The flying dragons collided, sparks flew everywhere, and the entire sky turned red.

The Thunder Crimson Ghost Eagle couldn't dodge in time and plunged headfirst into it, turning into ashes almost instantly.

The other flying beasts, which were slower, reacted quickly and cried out in alarm, shooting themselves into the sky like bamboo shoots rising from the ground, no longer daring to approach.

Gradually, the dragon's form dissipated, and the flames merged into one, forming an insurmountable wall of fire.

Li Xiangyu stood tall and straight under the fire wall, his bright red robe fluttering in the wind, making him exceptionally conspicuous.

"This is the Li family's Foundation Establishment!"

On the path east of Jinlinpo, Zhou Miao leaned on the railing of the arrow tower, excitedly babbling incoherently.

He was also a fire mage, and Li Xiangyu's cultivation and skills were exactly what he had been pursuing all his life.

Even before engaging in battle, Zhou Miao was already like this.

Ironhead, who was controlling the rune-inscribed crossbow, was flushed and felt hot all over.

At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: Shoot his mother to death!
The entire Jinlinpo seemed to be encouraged by Li Xiangyu's sudden move. Although there were no noisy shouts, everyone's frequency of attacking increased unconsciously.

The demonic beasts had suffered heavy losses in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn after rushing up Golden Scale Slope. They were only a step away from Li Xiangming, but that distance seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

"Slow down, brothers, slow down!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Li Jihu's forehead.

He was naturally happy to see the monster suffer a severe blow!
However, as the leader of the Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Squad, he had to consider the subsequent battle situation.

The monsters that surged up at this moment were only a small part of the beast tide due to the terrain.

Nevertheless, it is impossible for human cultivators to fight it head-on.

Using magical artifacts, talismans, and other external objects is the best way to effectively kill monsters and reduce one's own casualties.

The problem is that the Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Group received limited supplies.

Take the rune crossbow as an example. The rune crossbow that the Li family brought over has a resounding name - the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow!

This thing is inscribed with more than ten runes, making it extremely powerful. Whether for attacking or defending a city, it is a formidable weapon.

Such a valuable asset is simply not something that can be bought.

The reason the Li family possessed the rune-inscribed crossbow was thanks to the Hengyue Sect and the Shen family.

When Hengyue Sect withdrew its troops from Puxian County, it abandoned a batch of damaged crossbow carts. Li Huinan personally bribed a steward of Hengyue Sect with a large sum of money to obtain one of them.

Of course, the broken rune crossbow is no longer usable.

Li Huinan searched far and wide for weapon refiners before he was able to replicate one. Then he inscribed runes himself and produced the first rune-inscribed crossbow of the Li family—the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow.

Unfortunately, neither the imitation crossbow carts nor the runes carved by Li Huinan himself were satisfactory, resulting in the first generation of the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow being completely unusable.

But at that time, the Li family also had the Shen family, their in-laws, who were in the honeymoon period.

The Shen family has a profound foundation and dominates Fengmo Island. However, due to years of struggles between the Lian family of Ling She Island and the Liu and Kang families of Ruyi Island, which are all Foundation Establishment forces, the family has suffered heavy losses and no one in the family has reached the Golden Core stage for many years.

In order to alleviate the pressure brought by the war and to seize greater benefits from the Misty Immortal Lake, the Shen family coveted the powerful weapon, the Rune-Patterned Crossbow.

Li Huinan then signed an agreement with the Shen family, whereby the Li family would produce the crossbow carts and the Shen family would inscribe the runes. The final result was the rune-inscribed crossbow cart, also known as the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow, with a 6:4 profit split.

Judging from the agreement, the Li family did not suffer a loss, after all, they took the lion's share of the production of the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow.

However, the reality is quite different.

The Shen family always used the excuse of failing to inscribe runes to keep a portion of the rune-carving crossbows, which led to the Shen family's Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbows once surpassing the Li family's.

Moreover, if the Li family could spare no expense to find a weapon refiner who could replicate the Hengyue Sect's talisman crossbow cart, the Shen family could certainly do the same.

To put it simply, the core technology of the rune-inscribed ballista lies in the runes, not the ballista itself.

In just ten years, the Shen family began to ignore the blank crossbow carts sent by the Li family.

Every year, the Li family had to send someone to the Shen family to urge them to deliver two or three talisman crossbow carts, just to get by.

Needless to say, the Shen family has already secretly mastered the manufacturing process of the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow.

The Li family was furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Why couldn't the Li family decipher the runes on the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow?
After suffering such a huge loss, the Li family, including Li Qianxiong and others, had a very negative impression of the Shen family.

With Li Xiangyu's mother being summoned back by the Shen family, the relationship between the two families was strained, and they rarely interacted afterward.

Regardless, after negotiating with the Shen family, the Li family, which originally only had the first-generation Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow, also acquired its own powerful weapon.

In particular, in order to guard against the Li family, the Shen family continuously upgraded the Po Jun Lie Kong crossbow, eventually resulting in the fourth generation Po Jun Lie Kong crossbow having more than a dozen runes, which was no less than the original rune crossbow cart of the Heng Yue Sect.

One arrow from this thing would be fatal, let alone a late-stage Spirit Awakening demon beast, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would die from it.

Of course, while the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow is powerful, it's not very realistic to use it against Foundation Establishment cultivators who possess divine sense and quick reflexes.

Moreover, due to the numerous runes inscribed on it, the Po Jun Rift Crossbow is very unstable. It usually breaks down after firing two or three hundred shots. Its exclusive silver-plated Rift Arrow is also very expensive to manufacture.

Due to a combination of factors, the Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow did not have widespread applicability.

More than 30 years later, the Li family's Breaking Army Sky-Splitting Crossbow made its first appearance on the battlefield.

After deciding to defend Monkey Valley, Li Qianxiong allocated twenty Broken Army Sky-Splitting Crossbows to Li Xiangming, who then sent eight of them to the Jinlinpo battlefield.

But what actually ended up in the hands of the Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Team was only one vehicle and fifty silver-plated Sky-Splitting Arrows. If it weren't for Tie Tou saying that his ancestors had been hunters for four generations and that his aim was innate, Li Jihu wouldn't have been willing to let the kid touch them.

Besides the scarcity of heavy weapons like the Breaking Sky Crossbow, there are also not many explosive runes, which are the main force on the battlefield.

These days, Li Xiangming, under the guise of the Demon Suppression Camp, has been buying up Fireball Talismans on a large scale, almost completely emptying the stock of the traveling merchants in the Puyin Mountain Guild.

However, with hundreds of demon-hunting cultivators vying for these explosive talismans, how could they possibly share them all?
The Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Team only managed to obtain two hundred talismans, plus one hundred other lethal talismans, bringing the total to a mere three hundred.

Three hundred talismans sound like a lot, but when spread out among everyone, each person has less than ten. Fortunately, the Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Team deliberately stockpiles talismans to improve their demon hunting efficiency, which gives them a fighting chance.

Nevertheless, the scarcity of supplies remains a reality that the Crimson Flame Demon Hunting Group, and indeed all the cultivators stationed at Golden Scale Slope, have to face.

Seeing his men relentlessly bombarding the demonic beasts, Li Jihu panicked. He pulled over a man next to him and kicked Tie Tou, yelling, "Save your breath, all of you, save your breath!"

"No time to waste. Throw the talismans in a staggered fashion. A few that slip through the net are nothing to worry about. Don't waste the talismans!"

"Iron Head, are you fucking on drugs?"

Did you aim before firing?

Li Jihu's tense and rapid cursing continued.

The same scene also appeared at the main base of the Xuanmao Demon Hunting Team.

Hu Qidao was sweating profusely, running around everywhere, ordering his men to follow the predetermined tactics.

Although most people scoffed at Hu Qidao's cultivation level and experience, quite a few were still willing to cooperate with him on the battlefield.
In a chaotic situation, the importance of a commander is self-evident. "Things have stabilized."

Standing atop the slope, Li Qianshi's expression was grave. He was quite satisfied with Li Jihu and Hu Qidao's ability to adjust, but the slowdown in the offensive of the two demon-hunting teams would inevitably make the demons think they had sensed an opportunity.

The upcoming beast tide offensive will be the real test.

Li Qianshi made a decisive decision and ordered in a deep voice, "Xiangxin, pass down the order: I will blow up the second gate to stop the advance of the large group of demonic beasts, allowing Luo Silin and the others to break through the third gate and wipe out the vanguard of the demonic beasts. Remember, I will only give them half an incense stick's time."

"Yes!"

A resolute-looking young man bowed and took his leave.
-
Jinlinpo has never been as long as it is now.

Li Xiangming walked up the steep slope, his ears filled with the frenzied roars of beasts and deafening explosions, and his breathing became heavy.

For a fleeting moment, he desperately wanted to turn around and join the fight.

He found himself becoming calmer in dangerous situations, a fact he had already verified more than a decade ago on the Pu River, proving that he actually craved a thrilling battlefield.

But in the end, he suppressed the impulse.

Having wandered around the perimeter several times, his magical power was already exhausted. Even if he were to actually make a move, he could only cause minor casualties to the beast tide.

Perhaps this would alleviate the pressure on the lower-level cultivators of the Demon Suppression Camp, but as the backbone of the more than one hundred cultivators present, his every move affected everyone's hearts.

Even if it's just casting a small spell, in the eyes of everyone, it will be more shocking and have a greater impact on the battle than Li Xiangyu's full-force attack.

Therefore, he cannot limit himself to the role of a "foot soldier".

He should have turned the tide.

After passing Li Xiangyu, Li Xiangming did not stop and continued walking towards the top of the slope.

The beast tide behind them encountered resistance and became even more aggressive. A demonic beast with deer antlers and a bull's body roared to the sky, its demonic power stirring up the wind and clouds. The surrounding rain gathered on its head, forming a tornado that roared towards the wall of fire.

Another giant elephant, covered in brown fur, suddenly raised its front hooves and stomped heavily on the ground.

With a loud "bang," the slope cracked instantly, and countless monsters were plunged into the fissure, letting out mournful howls.

The fissure in the ground spread like lightning, heading straight for Li Xiangyu's feet.

Li Xiangyu's gaze was cold and stern as he lightly leaped into the air. The instant he took off, layers of sharp stone spikes suddenly emerged from the crack in the ground, like the fangs of a giant beast, menacingly piercing the sky.

Li Xiangyu's gaze sharpened, he raised a finger, and his lips moved slightly.

Hundreds and thousands of fire crows soared into the sky behind them, then swooped down and crashed into the stone spikes.

"boom!"

The stone spikes shattered with an explosion.

With a flick of his two fingers, Li Xiangyu sent the remaining fire crows swarming toward the brown-haired giant elephant.

The giant elephant glared angrily, its massive trunk suddenly lashing out in an attempt to knock down the fire crow.

However, the fire crow split in two in an instant, circled around to the elephant's flanks, and rained down on its limbs.

Explosions rang out one after another, and the ground was burned red-hot.

The brown-haired elephant finally gave way and collapsed with a crash.

Li Xiangyu unleashed his Fire Crow Spear and charged into the beast tide. Two fiery dragons cleared the way, and wherever they passed, monsters and men were thrown into chaos.

In a short while, Li Xiangyu charged to the first gate, then turned back. His Fire Crow Spear was adorned with a huge elephant head, and all the demonic beasts that came into contact with him trembled with fear.

However, at this moment, an unknown amount of demonic power was bombarding the wall of fire.

In particular, the water tornado unleashed by the antler-bull demon tore a large hole in the wall of fire.

Li Xiangyu frowned, flung the elephant head aside, pointed the spear tip at the ground, and prepared to strike again.

Suddenly, he sensed something.

His gaze lowered slightly, landing on the family jade pendant hanging on his body.

He slowly exhaled and turned to chase after Li Xiangming.

Seeing this, the beast horde thought they had won and cheered with joy.

Without the threat of this hateful yet slightly terrifying human cultivator, the wall of fire was instantly blasted apart by the demonic beasts, and countless beast hooves rushed forward.

Just then, a tremendous roar came from all directions.

The entire ramp shook violently.

No, even the surrounding cliffs are teetering on the brink of collapse!
The antler-horned bull demon suddenly turned around, only to be violently thrown away. Flames scorched its body, and the powerful shockwave shattered its internal organs in an instant.

Firelight was everywhere!

The antlered bull demon's pupils trembled as it stared intently at the green figure in the distance, its eyes filled with resentment.

However, it was all too late.

Its massive body plunged heavily into the bottomless pit, turning into a blurry mass of flesh and blood in some unknown corner.

"it is good!"

Li Jihu, who was hiding in the crevice of the rock, witnessed this scene and shouted excitedly.

To block the beast tide, the Li family had already built three consecutive stone gates on the first section of Jinlinpo, and buried twenty fire-exploding talismans in front of each gate.

Of course, the power of twenty Explosion Talismans alone is far from enough.

The Li family also set up six second-hand magical artifacts, as well as a simple detonation array.

From his perspective, this move was undoubtedly brilliant.

A huge crater was blasted between the second and third gates, completely cutting off the road to Golden Scale Slope. The Xuanmao Demon Hunting Team, lying in ambush on the cliff, continued to smash boulders down, killing and injuring countless demon beasts.

What excited him even more was that the beast tide was cut in half, and the small groups of monsters charging ahead had fallen into chaos.

Just then, more than thirty monks, their heads wrapped in red turbans and wearing leather armor, filed out of the cave in the stone wall.

The young man at the head of the group had a handsome face, but his expression was unusually cold. He opened his palm, and a square array plate rotated and expanded, immediately accompanied by the rumbling sound of war drums.

In addition, the sounds of clashing swords, galloping hooves, and furious shouts of killing were incessant.

"It was the Golden Armor and Iron Cavalry Formation that my Li family sent out!"

Li Xiangming, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped in his tracks, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, the one who obtained this item was Luo Silin, who came in second place in the first Changyang Valley Combat Tournament.

Strictly speaking, the Luo family was not a vassal of the Li family, since no unequal agreement had been signed between them. However, while recruiting vassals, the Li family also proclaimed to Pudong that they should take the example of the martyrs of the human race and lead the resistance against the monsters in Monkey Valley.

The Luo family may disregard the vassal order issued by the Li family, but they cannot ignore their own identity as a human.

Of course, if the Luo family is tough, they can choose not to come.

At most, it will only be criticized.

However, if the criticism comes from the Li family, then it's a different story.

It's not surprising that the Luo family, fearing being squeezed out by the Li family, gritted their teeth and sent cultivators to aid Monkey Valley.

To Li Xiangming's surprise, the Luo family actually sent Luo Silin over.

It should be noted that Luo Silin has always been regarded as a prodigy by the Luo family, and Luo Wantao has placed high hopes on this son, appointing him as the young head of the family at a young age.

The future of our race is tied to the battlefield!
What is the Luo family planning?
(End of this chapter)