Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 1428: 760: Formation Setup (Part 2)

Thirty years is nothing more than a fleeting moment for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, often spanning the length of a single session of closed-door cultivation.

In contrast, Supervisor Sun appeared as though centuries had withered him; he looked to be standing at the very precipice of his life span.

Li Yuanba withdrew his gaze, no longer concerned with Supervisor Sun, who was now beneath his notice.

Even if the man were granted freedom this instant, he would be virtually useless. Li Yuanba could sense a heavy, intense radiation permeating Supervisor Sun’s physical form.

The horrific radiation emanating from the Hell Cave Heaven had caused irreparable harm to his body. It might actually be a mercy for Supervisor Sun to pass away early; to continue living would only mean witnessing the further gruesome transformation of his own flesh.

As Li Yuanba traversed the rear sector, he observed the defensive rotations in progress. Roughly one-quarter of the area was devoid of cultivators, most likely because they had already been sent to the front lines.

Moving forward, the battlefield finally came into view. From a distance, the corridor didn't look particularly broad, yet up close, it spanned ten meters—wide enough for ten formidable Hell creatures to charge forward in a single line.

Master Wu Ge and Hongguang Venerable were positioned at the rear of the main Defensive Array. Arranged before them were several smaller, individual Defensive Arrays. Each prisoner cultivator was stationed at one of these small arrays, relentlessly channeling their spiritual power to launch attacks.

Though every cultivator present was a prisoner, none dared to slacken their efforts.

This diligence wasn’t just due to the presence of the two Great Cultivators behind them, but because the Hell creatures gave them no other choice. Their sole prospect of staying alive was to fight with everything they had until the next rotation.

Only when the rotation cycle turned could they finally retreat to rest while a fresh squad took their positions.

Master Wu Ge and Hongguang Venerable were not merely supervising; their hands moved incessantly as they unleashed their own techniques.

Every strike they contributed lessened the pressure the Hell creatures exerted on the Defensive Array, allowing the formation's energy to endure just a little longer.

“What brings you here?” Master Wu Ge asked, his voice tinged with surprise at the arrival of Li Yuanba and Great Venerable Hongfa.

“The formation setup is finished. It has been quite a while since my last battle, so I came to gain some practical experience!” Li Yuanba answered with a faint smile.

“Then exercise extreme caution. Do not let those Hell monsters get within striking distance; the injuries they inflict are incredibly difficult to treat!” Master Wu Ge replied. Though he was shocked that the array had been established so rapidly, he wasn't about to turn down Li Yuanba’s assistance.

If they weren't trying to manage their stamina and ensure every cultivator fought at peak capacity, the Great Cultivators would have preferred to hurl every prisoner into the fray simultaneously.

The current strategy of rotating troops was designed to prevent the prisoners from turning rebellious and to maintain a sustainable pace of combat.

Even so, the strategy was plagued by a shortage of manpower.

The primary issue was that these prisoners weren't particularly strong to begin with, and even the powerful ones had been drained of their strength by a long stay on Hell Island.

“Li Yuanba, I have heard that your martial prowess is unrivaled among those in the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. I look forward to the demonstration!” Hongguang Venerable interrupted.

Had this not been a battlefield, the arrival of Great Venerable Hongfa would have allowed him to relax, and he likely would have started another verbal spat with his rival.

However, he understood the gravity of the situation; in the heat of combat, they had to stand united. Personal grudges would have to wait until the dust settled.

Li Yuanba simply smiled. With a casual flick of his wrist, five Mid-stage Golden Corpses materialized before him.

“Since when did the Sword Cultivators of the Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion start dabbling in Corpse Refining?” Hongguang Venerable remarked snidely, abandoning any pretense of a venerable's dignified air.

Li Yuanba noted that among the Venerables he had met, very few possessed the calm temperament one would expect of a high-ranking monk.

Perhaps it was because he now stood on equal footing with them that he perceived them this way.

In truth, despite the constant mockery, Hongguang Venerable’s attitude proved he viewed Li Yuanba as a peer.

If Li Yuanba were a mere junior, Hongguang Venerable would never act this way; he simply wouldn't care enough to speak.

“Go!” Li Yuanba commanded with a gesture.

The five Mid-stage Golden Corpses blurred into motion, reappearing beyond the defensive lines to begin their slaughter of the Hell creatures.

Shock flickered in Hongguang Venerable’s eyes as he witnessed the sheer speed of those Golden Corpses.

“The utilization of speed rules... since when were Golden Corpses capable of wielding speed rules?” he whispered to himself.

He found himself wanting a Mid-stage Golden Corpse like those. Although many viewed corpse refining as a dark art, it remained a prominent and purposeful path within the Cultivation World.

Even Buddhist sects utilized similar methods, though they used more pleasant terminology.

For example, the Buddhist Golden Body Protector was essentially the corpse of a monk who had mastered body refining, turned into a puppet through sacrificial refining. Their deathly Qi was simply masked by Buddhist auras, making it just another variation of corpse refining.

The arrival of the five Mid-stage Golden Corpses provided immediate relief to the prisoners at the front. Previously, they had to expend immense amounts of spiritual power to damage the Hell creatures.

Such full-force attacks were exhausting, yet anything less allowed the monsters to batter the Defensive Arrays.

Those arrays were their only lifeline; if a single Defensive Array collapsed, the prisoners behind it would be torn apart by the ravenous Hell creatures.

Since the battle began, they had been under crushing tension, watching their fellow prisoners get devoured one by one.

While they felt no real affection for their peers, seeing them die served as a grim reminder of their own potential end—a classic case of the rabbit mourning the fox—keeping them in a state of high alert.

The five Mid-stage Golden Corpses stood like a wall, creating a new defensive perimeter. The Hell creatures would now have to bypass these five before they could even touch the individual Defensive Arrays or the prisoners within.

Li Yuanba watched the Golden Corpses fight with focused intensity. This was his first time facing these Hell creatures, and he wanted to analyze their patterns.

The creatures possessed diverse fighting styles. The bull-headed spirits were massive, boasting incredible physical strength and the thickest hides.

He watched a cultivator strike a Hell Bull Head Spirit with a Fire Magic spell. Although the creature was set ablaze, it didn't slow down, charging forward while still wreathed in fire.

Once the flames died down, it was clear that the Nascent Soul Middle Stage practitioner’s strongest Fire Magic had only left superficial scorch marks on its skin, failing to inflict a killing blow.

The Hell Sheep Head Creatures focused on mid-range support. They also charged, but usually stayed behind the bull-headed spirits, lobbing orbs of black energy once they were close enough.

The Hell Horse Head Spirits were the speedsters of the group. They often surged from the back of the pack, weaving through the other creatures at high velocity to strike the front lines first.

Their attack speed was blistering, capable of launching a relentless barrage in a split second.

Meanwhile, the Hell Deer Head Spirits acted as healers, occasionally bathing nearby monsters in black light that drove them into a frenzy while rapidly sealing their wounds.

The creatures lacked any central leadership, fighting in a chaotic mess that failed to utilize their natural synergy.

Li Yuanba understood why; if they were fighting inside the Hell Cave Heaven under the command of the Artifact Spirit, their combined combat effectiveness would be many times greater.

It was obvious that whoever created these Hell creatures had designed them to function as a balanced, cooperative army.