243: trap?!

The arrival of Su Ling and Lu Tao instantly reversed the situation on the battlefield.

The "Nine Nether Soul Devouring True Scripture" recorded a secret technique called the Netherworld Corpse Refining Art.

Over the past few years, Su Ling had used the remnants and Souls of orcs and Demonic Beasts to refine them whenever he had the chance, attempting to create usable corpse puppets.

Unfortunately, he was always a bit lacking in skill and had yet to succeed.

The corpse puppets he had refined previously had all been destroyed in battle, so these beast hordes were perfect as Materials for replenishment.

The ten thousand souls banner shot into the formation, and two Bitao Sect Disciples immediately flew over to protect it.

Countless Yin Souls surged out like a black tide, led by seven fifth-rank Yin Souls, and fiercely threw themselves at the surrounding orcs and Demonic Beasts.

Having devoured a large number of remnant souls and reached the Peak Nascent Soul stage, the Soul-Devouring Spider Mother shrieked toward the sky. Densely packed Soul-Binding Spider Silk shot out across the heavens, and together with the Soul-Shaking Shriek, it instantly threw the battlefield into chaos.

This was exactly why Su Ling had never replaced his primary Soul and instead put all his effort into nurturing this Soul-Devouring Spider Mother.

Simply put, it was far too suitable for such a dense battlefield.

Su Ling's form transformed into an Azure Dragon. Amidst the crackling thunder, Ghost Soul Arrows were fired in rapid succession like rain.

With just one strike, over a hundred low-grade Demonic Beasts were killed on the spot.

Although the three fifth-rank Demonic Beasts besieging him could withstand this rapid-fire version of the Ghost Soul Arrow, their Sea of Consciousness still suffered tremors, and they were subsequently sent flying by fist shadows wreathed in lightning.

On the other side, the gold-and-white sword dragon Lu Tao had transformed into leaped and surged, with streaks of Taibai Sword Qi cutting horizontally and vertically, slashing that fifth-rank orc until it was covered in wounds.

Within a radius of dozens of feet, there were only remains torn apart by the Sword Qi.

Just as the battlefield was being shaken by these two, three terrifying auras suddenly erupted from deep within the beast horde.

"Middle Stage of the fifth rank... no, it's the Late Stage!"

Su Ling's eyes narrowed. Sensing trouble, he immediately used an Evasion Art to move closer to Lu Tao.

It wasn't that he couldn't kill a Late Stage fifth-rank, but it would inevitably take a long time. Moreover, the Souls of orcs or Demonic Beasts of this strength were tough; even using the nine nether soul devouring bow to fire Ghost Soul Arrows at full power would only severely wound them, making it difficult to achieve a one-shot kill.

What weighed even more heavily on his mind was that these three Late Stage fifth-rank Demonic Beasts had actually been lurking within the beast horde the entire time, only appearing suddenly after he and Lu Tao showed overwhelming combat power.

A trap!

This was definitely a trap that had been set long ago!

While flying, a Vermilion Jade Ruler had appeared in Su Ling's hand.

The Southern Bright Fire Phoenix spread its wings in the air, stirring up a sky-covering Li Fire that lunged straight at the two Demonic Beasts attempting to assassinate Lu Tao.

"Boom!"

Red flames covered a hundred feet, seemingly wanting to incinerate everything. A figure flew backward out of the sea of fire and landed beside Su Ling.

"Dammit, it's a Late Stage fifth-rank Sharp-Horned Beast!"

Lu Tao glanced at the wound piercing his shoulder and swallowed a healing Medicinal Pill, his gaze cold and solemn.

Although the defense of the "Immortal Golden Body Art" was strong, the single horn of the Sharp-Horned Beast was as sharp as a low-grade spirit tool.

His golden body had not yet reached Major Achievement, so being injured was inevitable when facing this kind of fifth-rank Late Stage Demonic Beast that excelled at breaking defenses.

However, Lu Tao's solemnity was not due to fear of the Sharp-Horned Beast; had he not just been attacked by two of them, he wouldn't have been hit at all given the speed of his sword escape.

Rather, he and Su Ling had both thought of the same thing:

This battle was very likely a counterattack strategy of "besieging a point to strike at reinforcements."

Otherwise, the appearance of just this Sharp-Horned Beast would have been enough to quickly kill that Early Stage Soul Transformation cultivator from the Haoyang Sect and wipe out the remaining dozens of people. Why would they have waited until reinforcements arrived?

At this moment, those two Demonic Beasts had already channeled their demonic power to rush out of the sea of fire, landing to the side to lick their wounds.

Lu Tao asked in a low voice, "Brother, what should we do? This is clearly a setup. I'm afraid the two of us won't be able to hold out."

Three Late Stage fifth-ranks weren't terrifying; what was terrifying was that there might be Peak fifth-ranks or even sixth-rank existences hidden in the shadows.

Having fought the Seven Sects of Canglan for many years, these savages naturally knew that their reinforcements would definitely not be limited to just this group.

If they wanted to swallow them all, this current display was far from enough.

Su Ling waved his hand to send out a communication talisman and looked toward the distant sky, saying solemnly, "The other squads have already arrived. It remains to be seen if we can hold out until someone from the Command Post arrives."

More than ten Flying Boats were speeding over from the horizon. Besides those under Su Ling's command, there were also other familiar teams.

The moment they entered this area, a thick magic barrier suddenly rose within a radius of dozens of miles, precisely enveloping all the Flying Boats.

Five majestic auras soared into the sky from the surroundings. Centered on this resource point, jagged rocks collapsed and the ground caved in on the wasteland as densely packed Demonic Beasts surged out like a tide, numbering no less than a hundred thousand at a rough glance.

"An Air Banning Formation, Peak fifth-ranks, a hundred thousand Demonic Beasts..."

Lu Tao grinned and let out a cold laugh. "We've really poked a Demonic Beast's nest, haven't we!"

Suppressed by the Air Banning Formation, the two men's airborne figures fell rapidly, landing amidst a patch of rubble.

The speeding boats also crashed down one after another. Fortunately, they were already close to the resource point and managed to glide in using their momentum.

The surrounding Demonic Beasts slowly retreated, exposing the resource point.

Those few fifth-rank Demonic Beasts had fierce and wary eyes as they gradually backed away, merging into the vast beast horde.

"Junior Brother Su, Junior Brother Lu!"

A Soul Transformation Disciple from the Bitao Sect saw the two of them and shouted urgently.

"What on earth is going on? How could such a massive array appear?"

A Soul Transformation cultivator from the Yangquan Faction furrowed his brows, looking solemnly at the five powerful figures in the distance.

"It's obvious; we've been set up by these savages."

An armor-clad Soul Transformation cultivator from the Wuji Sect snorted coldly.

The savage orcs and Demonic Beasts were not fools.

Being in the buffer zone between the Immortal Realm and the Magic Civilization, they could also obtain many items from the outside world.

Furthermore, "Savage Shamans" who excelled in elemental power could be born among the orcs.

In the Malori Star System where the Physical Body reigned supreme, the combat power of a Savage Shaman might not be high, but their wisdom far exceeded that of ordinary orcs, and they held a prestigious status.

This Air Banning Formation before them likely came from the hand of some Savage Shaman.

"The transmission failed."

Looking at the communication jade talisman that had flown back into his hand, Su Ling shook his head with a bitter smile. "The other side is well-prepared. They are clearly trying to besiege a point to strike at reinforcements, gradually picking us off."

A total of six squads had come to provide support. Except for Su Ling's squad, which had no Soul Transformation leader, the other five were all led by Soul Transformation cultivators.

The strongest among them was a female cultivator named Gentle from the Nightmare Sect, with a Late Stage Soul Transformation cultivation.

"It's just a Peak fifth-rank. You guys hold on; I'll come to help once I've dealt with it."

Gentle left these words, and her figure suddenly turned into a shadow, lunging straight at the orc with the strongest aura.

The other four nodded to each other and summoned their Magic Treasures to meet the enemy. The Soul Transformation cultivator from the Bitao Sect was about to act but was stopped by Su Ling raising his hand. "Senior Brother Tian, leave this Demonic Beast to me. You work with Lu Tao and try to kill those few Late Stage fifth-rank Demonic Beasts."

Su Ling had collaborated with this Early Stage Soul Transformation cultivator named Tian Yu several times before and knew he specialized in water-based Spells, which made it inevitably difficult for him to deal with Demonic Beasts with powerful physical bodies.

As for Su Ling himself, he also wanted to take this opportunity to verify just how far his current body refining cultivation had progressed.

This Peak fifth-rank tiger-type demonic beast was undoubtedly an excellent trial opponent.

"This... very well. Junior Brother Su, you must be careful."

Tian Yu pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.