Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Break Them One by One

Hearing Senior Brother Zhao, Yun Xi understood his plan. It was a method of breaking them one by one. First, they would let the sand mice into the formation and reduce the noise outside so it wouldn’t attract stronger demon beasts.

Then they would kill the sand mice in sections. The four of them should be able to handle first-rank sand mice, but the consumption would be heavy. They had to cooperate, or it would be easy to run out of spiritual power and get swallowed.

Finally, they would deal with the Second Rank leader. Then it would be four against one. Even with the gap in cultivation, they had the formation and talismans. If they dragged it out, they could still wear it down to death.

Yun Xi decided at once. “I understand what Senior Brother Zhao means, but to trap a Second Rank sand mouse, we have to use mid-grade spirit stones. If we let it into the formation with only low-grade stones, once it starts charging around, my formation plate won’t take it. Then we won’t even have a place to catch our breath, and we’ll be forced into a hard fight.”

The moment mid-grade spirit stones were mentioned, the other three all sucked in a breath. It took a thousand low-grade spirit stones to exchange for one mid-grade stone. Even if someone had them, no disciple would casually take them out.

Yun Xi spread her hands. That was the weakness of a formation plate. It needed energy support, or it couldn’t show its power. It was still because they weren’t strong enough. Otherwise, they could just draw their swords and fight. Why go through all this trouble?

Senior Brother Zhao drew a deep breath and exchanged a look with Hua Xuan Zi. If they couldn’t get past this hurdle, their path of cultivation would stop here. Both of them brushed their hands over their storage pouches, and each produced three mid-grade spirit stones.

Hua Xuan Zi looked pained. “This is what I saved up to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

Senior Brother Zhao looked the same.

Yun Xi took them with a smile. “Don’t worry. If we don’t use them all up, I’ll return the rest to you.”

Zong Hao scratched his head. “Yun Xi, we’re still short three stones.”

“Check the storage pouches from those people we just killed and piece it together,” Yun Xi said. “If we really can’t make it, we’ll substitute low-grade spirit stones, but then we’ll have to have one person watching the formation plate the whole time.”

She took out the storage pouch she had gained first and searched through it. Her spiritual sense was the strongest among the four. Later, she would split off a strand of spiritual sense to monitor the formation plate, though it would be best if they could find more mid-grade stones.

Their luck was good. In the storage pouches from Qian, Li, and Zhang, they each found one mid-grade spirit stone. It had likely taken them a long time to save those up, and that was probably why they targeted Hua and Zhao.

“Alright, that’s enough now.” Yun Xi spoke as she worked, swapping out the low-grade stones in the formation plate that were about to turn to dust for mid-grade spirit stones. “I’ll activate the formation plate and let the sand mouse family in. Hurry and meditate to recover. Don’t be stingy with pills or spirit stones. We have a hard fight ahead!”

The moment the spirit stones were replaced, the entire formation flickered for a breath. The sand mice charging at the very front were let in, including the Second Rank sand mouse boss.

Yun Xi quickly tapped the “separate” mark, and the formation split into nine spaces. The four of them were in the center. The spaces around them were divided into eight sections, and the sand mice were trapped separately in those eight spaces.

With one sweep of her spiritual sense, Yun Xi saw the formation’s situation clearly. She then gripped a low-grade spirit stone and started recovering too.

In less than an hour, the four of them woke one after another and checked their storage pouches for final preparations.

After letting out a slow breath, Yun Xi asked, “Is everyone ready?”

“Ready!”

“We’ll pair up in twos and cover each other, then kill the sand mice together.”

“Understood!”

“Follow me into the formation.”

Yun Xi chose a space with the most sand mice. At the start of a battle, it was best to kill the biggest group first. Otherwise, if they reached the end exhausted and distracted, facing a huge number would be extremely dangerous.

The moment they entered that space, the sand mice swarmed them. They smelled meat.

Senior Brother Zhao still took the lead. With one sword slash, the golden-aspect sword light cleared a patch of ground. The four of them moved into position, then each used their own methods to kill sand mice.

Yun Xi wasn’t about to miss this chance to practice. While Zong Hao’s sword, coated in fire-aspect power, swung nonstop, she cast attack spells one after another. Fireball Spell, Golden Arrow Spell, Ice Spike Spell, Lightning Strike, and Entangling Spell rotated in quick succession. She forced herself to cast instantly while keeping her accuracy at one hundred percent.

Later, she even learned to stack spells. She first cast a Waterball Spell that burst in midair and “bathed” the sand mice, then followed with a Lightning Strike to maximize the effect.

Any sand mice hit by the Lightning Strike flipped onto their backs and trembled. Every time that happened, Zong Hao rushed in to finish them off. Senior Brother Zhao also harvested a portion. Everyone’s coordination grew smoother and smoother.

After more than half an hour, the sand mice in that space were wiped out. The four of them collapsed on the ground, exhausted. The sand mice won by sheer numbers, and if they slipped up even a little, the little things would latch on. The hems of their robes were all chewed ragged.

After lying there for a while, they sat up and meditated to recover spiritual power.

Taking the chance, Yun Xi adjusted her cultivation to Qi Refining layer six, disguising it as a breakthrough at the edge of exhaustion during battle. The other three were all pleased.

Once everyone recovered their spiritual power, ate to restore stamina, and got themselves ready again, Yun Xi opened the next space.

From morning to afternoon, and from afternoon to midnight, the four of them fought on. At last, they had killed off most of the first-rank sand mice trapped in the formation. Next came the Second Rank sand mouse leader.

“How about we rest for the night and deal with that Second Rank one tomorrow?” Zong Hao suggested when he saw everyone’s tired faces.

The three of them shook their heads at the same time. “No.”

“Why?”

Yun Xi took out the formation plate. “Look at the spirit stones on it.”

After looking, Zong Hao fell silent. The nine mid-grade spirit stones on it had already grown dim. At least half of their power had been consumed.

If that Second Rank sand mouse realized something was wrong and attacked through the night, trying to break the formation, the formation might not last until dawn.

Senior Brother Zhao said, “We’ll rest for one hour, then we move with full preparation.”

He actually had no certainty in his heart, but they had already endured this far and consumed too many resources. They had even spent mid-grade spirit stones. If they didn’t take down the Second Rank sand mouse, he couldn’t accept it. He could only grit his teeth and gamble.

“Once we go in, Xuan Zi and I will restrain the Second Rank sand mouse. The two of you first deal with the first-rank sand mice inside. Then we’ll focus on the Second Rank one. Otherwise, we’ll get attacked from both sides.”

“Okay!” Yun Xi and Zong Hao nodded immediately. This wasn’t the time to show off.

Yun Xi added a reminder. “The sand mouse’s weak points are its belly and eyes. You can fake attacks on its belly to make it neglect protecting its eyes, then strike the eyes by surprise.”

Senior Brother Zhao and Hua Xuan Zi nodded at once. In a real fight, they needed tactics.

“Since everyone is ready, I’m opening the formation!”

The instant the isolation formation opened, the four of them charged in, giving the sand mice no time to react.