Volume 5 Chapter 82

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Volume 5 Chapter 82: Growth (Part 1)

Although guilt and the reason for the innocent deaths of several Righteous Alliance cultivators weighed heavily on Xu Qingfan’s heart, he felt only guilt and no regret; if given another chance, he would still choose to act the same way.

On the battlefield, over the seven years, Xu Qingfan gradually understood an emotion he had previously refused to accept; that emotion was called indifference, which according to Liu Huaxiang, Zhang Hualing, and others, is also a form of maturity.

After all, saving those he was familiar with was already the limit of Xu Qingfan’s current strength. As for the deaths of others, he could only whisper sorry in his heart; although this apology meant nothing to the deceased, it at least offered him some comfort.

"Taoist Friend Xu, what should we do now?"

Seeing Xu Qingfan staring blankly at the place where those cultivators had died, Lv Ziqing let out a small sigh; since the "Beast Madness" appeared in the cultivation world, he had seen this scene before, yet it still pained his heart. However, the situation was extremely critical. Although everyone had gathered together, reducing the defensive pressure, they were still being attacked by dozens of Beast Madness cultivators at the Condensed Core Stage. The air was filled with powerful spells rushing toward them, overwhelming and thunderous. Even with Jin Qinghan, who had exceptional cultivation, standing guard on the outside, the defense remained precarious and could collapse at any moment. So, Lv Ziqing, not caring about sadness or the lives of his companions, urgently asked Xu Qingfan.

After all, Xu Qingfan was the leader of this small team, and in these seven years of working together, everyone had gained trust in his command and wisdom.

Lv Ziqing’s question finally jolted Xu Qingfan from his daze of guilt. Looking around, he saw that whether it was Li Yuhan from Jiuhua, Dongfang Qingling, or Shang Nianyao, Xu Xiurong from Qingxu, and other elders or disciples from various factions, they all appeared weary, standing around him. At this moment, everyone was gathered together in a tight space, with no room to take action, and they anxiously watched the person in front, ready for anyone to step up if needed.

Jin Qinghan, Sheng Yushan, and a few other powerful cultivators stood firmly around everyone, gathering all their Spirit Qi to form a colorful barrier. This shield protected them from the relentless attacks of the frenzied Beast Madness cultivators. Bright lights of the five elements flashed continuously around them, blinding their eyes and making it hard to see anything beyond three feet. The clash of their powers echoed loudly throughout the heavens and earth.

It is impressive that Xu Qingfan was still able to drift away in thought even in such a dangerous environment.

Although the situation was perilous, Xu Qingfan did not panic. Over the past seven years, they had faced too many dangers.

Xu Qingfan first sensed his own condition and found that after hastily bringing everyone together during the chaos, his Spirit Qi had been greatly depleted in such a short time. Now, he had only half of his Spirit Qi left.

Seeing Jin Qinghan and the others struggling under the frantic attacks of the Beast Madness cultivators, their defense on the verge of breaking, he no longer hesitated and anxiously asked the person beside him, "Dear friends, how much Spirit Qi do you have left?"

"About thirty percent."

"I have fifty percent left."

"Forty percent."

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s question, everyone quickly answered. It seemed that they had lost a lot of Spirit Qi during the battles with the Beast Madness cultivators before Xu Qingfan arrived.

As soon as Xu Xiurong saw Xu Qingfan, her face turned red despite the urgent situation, and she quietly said, "About seventy to eighty percent."

Hearing Xu Xiurong say this, everyone present was not surprised. Xu Xiurong was known as a rare genius of the "Qingxu Gate" in a thousand years, and she was exceptionally skilled in water magic. Perhaps because of her personality, she did not like to attack, but she was very good at defense and support. She was also extremely resilient, naturally gifted at using every bit of Spirit Qi to its fullest. While others consumed a lot of their Spirit Qi, she still had most of hers left. When Xu Qingfan learned that Xu Xiurong had fought alongside the "Eight Wilderness Hall," he once thought she survived only with the help of others, but now he realized he had underestimated her.

However, at this moment, the situation was dangerous, and Xu Qingfan could not dwell on those thoughts. He looked around and noticed that under the attacks of the Beast Madness cultivators, only about fourteen people remained alive. With a frown, Xu Qingfan quickly came up with a plan.

He first had Xu Xiurong, Dongfang Qingling, Shang Nianyao, and others who had strong water and earth defense skills replace Jin Qinghan, Sheng Yushan, and others. He assigned the six of them to defend with all their strength, leaving nothing in reserve. Then, he asked Lv Ziqing to take the other three cultivators who had used up the most Spirit Qi to rest within the protective circle and be ready to replace others at any moment.

This left only Jin Qinghan, Sheng Yushan, Lv Qingshang, and an elder from the Five Elements Sect beside Xu Qingfan. This elder’s name was Zonghui, an old man with a youthful face and white hair. He was usually very gentle with others but practiced the most destructive fire magic.

Xu Qingfan stared gravely at the Beast Madness cultivators surrounding them and said to the four, "Dear friends, you are the strongest attackers in this team. In our current situation, mere defense will not suffice. We must eliminate those Beast Madness cultivators to lessen the pressure on the others. However, those Beast Madness cultivators are very sensitive, and we cannot attack like before. We must focus our strength to take them down one by one."

Seeing that the four did not object, Xu Qingfan continued, "Soon, I will have the others open a small gap in the defense circle, and we will concentrate on attacking one of them. Senior Brother Lv, you will first use the Five Elements formation spell to trap that Beast Madness cultivator for a moment, and we will use that chance to attack."

"If the defense circle opens a gap, what if those Beast Madness cultivators take the opportunity to target that weak spot?" Sheng Yushan asked with a frown.

"First of all, the Beast Madness cultivators have lost their minds and won’t have such awareness. Besides, I will have my clone Xu Ying stand at that gap to block it, so nothing serious will happen," Xu Qingfan replied firmly.

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, everyone nodded in agreement. After years of fighting together, they had come to understand Xu Qingfan’s two clones very well.

Without delay, Xu Qingfan knew that the pressure on those defending would increase with time. After reassuring Jin Qinghan and the others, he told the defenders to open a small gap in the protective circle.

The colorful barrier that had protected everyone suddenly rippled under Xu Qingfan’s command. Amid the ripples, a crack appeared in the barrier.

The group of Beast Madness cultivators surrounded the colorful barrier, ignoring the draining of their Spirit Qi. Various powerful attacks filled the air, targeting every direction where Xu Qingfan and the others were, including the spot where the crack had formed.

Just as a fiery snake, several meters long and extremely hot, was about to attack Xu Qingfan and the others through the crack, the space outside the barrier suddenly rippled. In the next moment, Xu Ying, looking exactly like Xu Qingfan, stood in front of the gap and managed to block the fiery snake’s attack with his body.

"Now’s the time!"

Taking the opportunity, Xu Qingfan shouted urgently.

As Xu Qingfan’s voice echoed, Lv Qingshang, next to him, waved his hands quickly. In the next moment, the Beast Madness cultivator who had been attacking with the fiery snake suddenly found his movements inexplicably sluggish.

This cultivator was the one who had caused Xu Xiurong the most pressure during the siege, and among the Beast Madness cultivators, his attacks were the fiercest. During the chaotic battle, he had teamed up with another Beast Madness cultivator to block Jin Qinghan.

Xu Qingfan’s first target is this person.

Just as this Beast Madness cultivator noticed that his movements were suddenly slowing down, Jin Qinghan’s shining golden weapons, Zonghui’s blazing fire magic, and Sheng Yushan’s small divine techniques all attacked the cultivator. Although this Beast Madness cultivator was powerful, he was at best equal to Jin Qinghan, and with his movements restricted, he was no match for the combined assault of the three.

In an instant, his body turned to ashes amidst the golden light and flames.

But before the other Beast Madness cultivators could react, Xu Ying had quickly retreated inside the barrier, and the crack was quickly healing.

In the next moment, the crack appeared in another direction with Xu Ying’s protection, and at the same time, another Beast Madness cultivator was killed.

In just a short moment, among the attacking Beast Madness cultivators, the more than ten most powerful attackers were all killed.

The reason Xu Qingfan set things up this way was to reduce the pressure on Xu Xiurong and the others as much as possible in the shortest time, so he did not allow Jin Qinghan and the others to get entangled with those Beast Madness cultivators, but instead concentrated their strength to strike decisively, making it much longer for Xu Xiurong and others to maintain their protective circle.

After the strongest attackers were killed, the Beast Madness cultivators showed no signs of fear; they continued to attack fiercely, but their aggression had greatly decreased.

Even though the situation was very favorable and had turned around, there was still a hint of worry on Xu Qingfan’s face.