Let me explain, it's not what you think.

After a long while, the cracks on the Sky-Mending Stone finally stopped seeping out.

The last few drops of celestial milk slid down from the cracks in the rocks and flowed into the shallow pool on the ground. The pool was already filled with a shallow layer of water, exuding a warm and powerful vitality.

Everyone present could feel that the Daoist aura rising from the surface of the pool was more than ten times stronger than before. The spiritual energy inhaled with each breath caused the bottlenecks of many cultivators to loosen slightly.

But no one moved.

More than a dozen figures emerged one after another from the fog surrounding the circular open space.

Leading the group was an old man in gray robes, whose aura was at the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm, followed by seven or eight disciples at the Integration Realm Mahayana Realm.

On the other side, three masked female cultivators stood side by side, all exuding the aura of the early stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm. Their bodies were surrounded by a continuous stream of spiritual light, clearly indicating that they were cultivating the same combined attack technique.

Further away, there were several powerful individuals dressed as rogue cultivators. Although their auras were not as strong as those of the other groups, each of them had sinister eyes, and it was clear at a glance that they were veterans who had tasted blood.

Lu Chen's group had a considerable number of people, but at most, there wasn't a single person at the Tribulation Transcending stage. The Mahayana stage included him, Lin Tian, ​​Li Fei, Tang Qianqian, and Lu Nianshang.

With virtually no high-level combat power, their chances of winning against those opposing groups are less than 30%.

Lu Nianchang squatted beside the Heaven-Mending Stone, looking at the pool of immortal milk, her little face full of eagerness.

She suddenly stood up, took out a jade talisman from her sleeve, and her fingertips glowed with spiritual light, as if she were activating some kind of formation.

Lu Chen reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"Father, I've set up three array points around here. If we activate them, they can temporarily trap them for a few breaths. While they're in that opening, let's grab the Immortal Milk and run!"

"On the other side, there are two mid-stage Tribulation Transcending cultivators, three early-stage Tribulation Transcending cultivators, and a bunch of Mahayana cultivators. How many breaths can your array's few cores hold them? Three breaths? Five breaths? And then what? After they break free and catch up, where do we run?"

Lu Nianchang opened her mouth, wanting to refute her own abilities, but when she met Lu Chen's serious eyes, she ultimately put the jade talisman away.

She pouted and muttered, "We can't just stand by and watch, can we?"

Lu Chen did not answer her, but turned his head and looked at Lin Tian.

Lin Tian was standing on the other side of the Sky-Mending Stone, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the groups of people opposite him, his brows slightly furrowed, clearly also plotting something.

Lu Chen walked over: "Senior brother, what are your thoughts?"

Lin Tian glanced at him, seemingly surprised that he would come to ask him.

He remained silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Those three groups on the other side don't know each other and are wary of one another. The gray-robed old man and the three masked female cultivators are the biggest threat, but they're unlikely to genuinely cooperate!"

"Therefore, if we adopt a posture of forceful seizure, forcing one of them to make the first move, the other two will most likely take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. When the situation becomes chaotic, that will be our chance."

Lu Chen nodded: "How exactly does it work?"

Lin Tian took out a small jade plate from his sleeve, the surface of which was engraved with extremely intricate array patterns.

He traced a line on the plate with his fingertip, infusing it with several beams of spiritual light. A topographical map of the area within a hundred feet immediately appeared on the jade plate, clearly marking the positions of the groups of people opposite him.

Lu Chen's eyelids twitched.

The protagonist's methods were indeed more sophisticated than he had anticipated.

"Have Sect Leader Yun go to the front of the Heaven-Mending Stone and make it look like she's trying to forcefully take the Immortal Milk. With her high cultivation level, the other side will definitely focus their attention on her."

"No, she's...this is too dangerous!"

Lu Chen immediately shook his head.

"I'm fine with it, we have a clone technique here." Yunshang immediately refused Lu Chen.

Furthermore, she publicly condensed an energy clone that looked exactly like her.

In an instant, Lu Chen recalled the Hehuan Sect elder who had self-destructed. He must have used the same secret technique!

"If that's the case, then go for it head-on!"

As Lin Tian spoke, he pointed to several spots on the jade plate with his finger.

"Li Fei, go around to the back of that stone forest on the east side and wait for my signal. Miss Tantai and Miss Yue, go to the west side. You don't need to do anything, just release spiritual energy fluctuations to create the illusion of an encirclement. Saintess Tang will provide support from the rear, ready to assist in the retreat at any time."

He looked up at Lu Chen: "As for you and me, circle around to the rear of the gray-robed elder's group. Once things get chaotic in front, the two of us will take the Immortal Milk as quickly as possible! After we get it, don't linger; retreat directly to the southeast. There's a weak point in that spatial rift; I've already scouted it out, and we can teleport there over a short distance!"

After listening, Lu Chen remained silent for a couple of breaths before replying, "Senior Brother's insight is brilliant!"

Lin Tian paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Stop talking nonsense, get ready to fight."

……

Yunshang was the first to move.

With a swift movement, her crimson dress traced a sharp arc in mid-air as she headed straight for the Immortal Breast Pool in front of the Heaven-Mending Stone.

In an instant, the groups of people opposite reacted almost simultaneously. The gray-robed old man snorted coldly and waved his hand, and a gray spiritual energy barrier appeared in front of Yunshang.

The three masked female cultivators simultaneously formed hand seals, and three beams of white light intertwined to form a net of light that circled around from the flank.

"Quick, this is a great opportunity!"

"Someone's trying to steal it!"

Someone shouted, and the entire open space instantly erupted in chaos.

Those few rogue cultivators were the first to lose their composure, and they all revealed their magic weapons and rushed towards the Immortal Milk Pool.

The gray-robed elder's disciples also moved, and the masked female cultivator even sent one of them to go around to the back!

More than a dozen figures rushed toward the edge of the pool at the same time, their spiritual light clashing and magical artifacts flying everywhere, turning the scene into complete chaos.

The energy body Yunshang was simultaneously entangled by the gray-robed old man and three masked female cultivators. The spiritual pressure of the five Tribulation Transcending stage cultivators collided, causing the entire Sky-Mending Stone to tremble.

She fought against four opponents single-handedly, using numerous defensive magic items, and dragged the battle out for a long time before being killed by her enemies.

Then, several powerful cultivators at the Tribulation Transcending stage clashed together!

On the west side, Tantai Qingxue and Yue Qinglan simultaneously released spiritual energy fluctuations, creating the illusion of an encirclement.

On the east side, Li Fei silently slipped into the depths of the stone forest.

Tang Qianqian retreated to a higher position, holding a teleportation talisman in her hand, her eyes fixed on the battle.

Lu Chen and Lin Tian had already circled around to the rear of the gray-robed old man's group.

The two concealed their auras and flew low, close to the ground. Ahead, spiritual light exploded and shouts of battle shook the heavens; everyone's attention was drawn to the chaotic battle between Transcending Tribulation level beings directly in front of them.

Lin Tian made a hand gesture to Lu Chen, who nodded. The two of them accelerated simultaneously, flanking the Immortal Milk Pool from both sides.

Lin Tian took out a specially made jade gourd, made a hand seal, and aimed the mouth of the gourd at the surface of the pool.

The jade gourd was engraved with densely packed absorption array patterns, which began to operate on their own upon contact with the immortal milk.

The milky white liquid was slowly drawn into the gourd, and the pool level dropped at a visible speed.

Lu Chen stood guard beside Lin Tian, ​​his five-colored sword energy condensing in his palm, blocking a wave of flying spell aftershocks for him.

When the pool water reached the bottom, Lin Tian stuffed the gourd tightly and gave Lu Chen a wink.

……