143: Life-saving grace?

Xiang Tan suddenly opened her eyes, a look of daze in them; she had already given up, never expecting Xu Sanyan to wake up in such a desperate situation.

"Senior Brother Xu, you... you're awake?"

"Mm, stick close."

Xu Sanyan pursed his lips and pulled out a dark banner from his Storage Pouch. This was the first Magic Treasure he had obtained, serving for defense and trapping enemies, and it also came from Da Gu Mountain.

As spiritual power was infused, the banner grew with the wind, forming a defensive barrier above the three of them.

Xu Sanyan looked in the direction of Chi Yu and the other two, a hint of hesitation on his face. Through the demonic seed, he could sense that Chi Yu was still alive, because once Chi Yu died, the demonic seed would also dissipate.

But he finally shook his head and quickly rushed towards the Formation he had set up earlier.

There were simply too many bats; he was afraid of getting trapped himself. If he couldn't rescue them and got himself caught too, it would be a losing proposition.

Bloodthirsty Magic Bats rushed from all directions, burrowing under the banner and charging towards the three, but their numbers had significantly decreased, and the pressure immediately lessened. However, intense scratching sounds came from the banner's surface; the Bloodthirsty Magic Bats were still frantically attacking the banner.

"Senior Brother Xu, save me!"

Someone shouted, trying to rush in. Xu Sanyan increased his spiritual power, causing the banner to extend a little further and bring the person inside.

This action was not out of kindness, but because the Saint Child Competition had not yet ended, and it was good to preserve as much strength as possible.

The Bat King ignored them, still concentrating on sucking the beast blood on the ground, not letting a single drop go to waste.

A sixth-tier Demonic Beast corresponds to human Soul Refining, so its blood was also an invaluable treasure for the Bloodthirsty Magic Bats.

As for Xu Sanyan and the others, they were like a chicken rib to the Bat King—neither able to sustain its clan nor nourish itself—so it just let them be.

As more and more people joined along the way, the banner continuously extended. Finally, when half of his spiritual power was consumed, he stepped into the Formation's range. Xu Sanyan quickly pulled out the large flag that controlled the Formation and frantically infused it with spiritual power.

The eight small flags on the ground glowed with brilliant golden light, and with a "whoosh," they shot out of the ground, suspended in mid-air and spinning ceaselessly.

Strands of golden threads interlaced in the Void Realm, quickly weaving into a large net that inverted and covered everyone within. Some Bloodthirsty Magic Bats were also trapped inside, and without Xu Sanyan needing to act, the others dealt with them.

"Clang! Clang!"

The Bloodthirsty Magic Bats furiously attacked the Formation, not stopping even when their heads were bloody. Their heads collided with the Formation, emitting dense, crisp sounds, like hail striking an iron plate.

Countless bats tightly surrounded the Formation, appearing as a dense black mass from the outside, making it impossible to see anything inside.

The Bloodthirsty Magic Bats' frenzied attack caused his spiritual power to drain rapidly. Xu Sanyan's expression immediately changed, and he instructed the crowd, "Quick, recover your spiritual power! I can hold on for another two quarters of an hour!"

Xiang Tan and the others hurriedly took out Medicinal Pills, put them into their mouths, and sat cross-legged to recover their spiritual power.

Two quarters of an hour later, others took over, and only then did Xu Sanyan have time to breathe a sigh of relief, taking out Spirit Stones to meditate and recover his Qi.

Operating the Formation was very simple; they didn't need to do anything but continuously infuse spiritual power to maintain its operation.

This Formation truly lived up to its name, "Eight Directions God Locking Formation," it was truly formidable. Countless bats attacked in turns, yet failed to Breakthrough in the slightest.

Xu Sanyan swept his gaze around. Including him, there were only nine people left in the Formation. Initially, there were twenty-three people; fourteen had died in this ordeal.

"Alas..."

Xu Sanyan sighed deeply. He hadn't even done anything yet, and already more than half of their numbers were gone. This Wanmo Mountain truly lived up to its reputation.

Suddenly, he sensed that the demonic seed on Chi Yu had dissipated, which meant he had also died.

Xu Sanyan felt a slight pity. Chi Yu was experienced in handling matters and knew a lot; he was very convenient to use. He had even planned to take him out and cultivate him properly, but he didn't expect him to die here.

On the other hand, Xiang Tan, whom he had never thought highly of, had stumbled and bumbled her way to survival until now. It was truly unexpected.

Xu Sanyan waved at Chu and Xiang Tan, "Come, you two tell me what happened after I fainted."

The first people he saw when he opened his eyes were them, so naturally, he wanted to question them.

Chu had just experienced a life-and-death crisis, and with her emotions fluctuating wildly, she was inevitably a bit dejected. But when it came to this, she immediately perked up, "Senior Brother Xu, you don't know, after you and Senior Brother Chi and the others fainted, Junior Sister Xiang Tan first called me..."

Chu, with a slight embellishment, recounted the whole story, finally looking at Xiang Tan with a hint of reverence and saying, "Senior Sister Xiang Tan made a decisive decision and told me to bring you out. The two of us took turns guarding, and finally persevered until you woke up. You know the rest of what happened."

Xu Sanyan was full of surprise, turning his gaze to Xiang Tan. He hadn't expected that in the end, she was the one who saved his life?

Xiang Tan smiled, raised her hand to smooth her hair, and gently leaned into Xu Sanyan's embrace, looking up slightly, "I've given my body to you, of course I'd do my best."

Xu Sanyan patted Xiang Tan's shoulder lightly, his tone appreciative, "I've noted it. When we get out, I'll reward you according to your merits; you won't be lacking in benefits."

"Mm, I'm content as long as you're okay. I don't want any rewards."

Xiang Tan nestled in Xu Sanyan's arms, verbally declining, but inwardly she was incredibly excited. She had finally heard what she most wanted to hear.

Xu Sanyan said 'I'll reward you according to your merits when we get out,' which meant she had already secured a spot as a supporter!

"Senior Brother Xu, me too..." Chu blinked, looking directly at Xu Sanyan, her meaning obvious.

Xu Sanyan pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "You'll have a share too."

"Mm-hm!" Chu's face lit up with joy.

Although it was still uncertain whether Xu Sanyan could obtain the saint child token and successfully ascend to the position of Saint, with this promise, their chances of survival had greatly increased.

"Rest well." Xu Sanyan smoothed the scattered strands of hair on Xiang Tan's forehead, his tone full of tenderness.

"Mm." Xiang Tan obediently got up and continued to recover her spiritual power.

Chu looked at Xiang Tan with envy in her eyes, making up her mind that she must build a good relationship with Xiang Tan in the future.

As long as Xu Sanyan could obtain the saint child token, Xiang Tan's status would rise significantly, becoming completely different from before.

On the other side, Xu Sanyan looked at the dense swarm of bats, pondering how to get out.

These bats didn't know when they would disperse, and he was pressed for time; he couldn't afford to stay here indefinitely. He had to go out and find the saint child token.

One had already appeared before, so presumably, other saint child tokens would also appear in succession. He needed to act quickly.

Xu Sanyan took out the bottle of beast blood from his Storage Pouch. After a moment of thought, he had an idea.

Since these Bloodthirsty Magic Bats could be attracted by beast blood, they could also be lured away by it. The key was, how to throw the beast blood far away?