CHAPTER 611: 611 DISTRESS

The number of demon beasts was far greater than the cultivators.

The people from the Beast Taming Sect gathered together, focusing on the leading Sword-toothed Leopard, a rarity in the outside world.

Tan Shaoting was just outside the array. If a demon beast approached, he would slay it.

This was also the first time they witnessed each other’s strength. The members of the Shushan Sect were all sword cultivators. Seeing that Tan Shaoting was also a sword cultivator made them even more delighted.

To be honest, sword cultivators all have a certain fervor. So now, they were even more ruthless in killing demon beasts.

Xing Chongshan was even more pleased. Tan Shaoting was destined to belong to the Shushan Sect, his swordsmanship better than their own.

For a loose cultivator to achieve such results, it was truly commendable.

He must have a talent for sword practice. Watching him wield his sword with such ease, they knew they were no match for him, and understood now that he had confidence bringing the children here.

The three children inside the array watched the situation outside. They had some resentment about not being able to kill demon beasts themselves, but they knew their father was protecting them.

"Big brother, I also want to go kill demon beasts."

"There will be opportunities. You heard it; Dad thinks we might join the Shushan Sect. You two, look at the swordsmanship of the Shushan Sect people, it’s really good—much better than other cultivators."

Qi Yan, with a Thunder Spirit Root, liked swordsmanship. Qi Hong and Qi Wen were average, but their father’s sword-wielding was so impressive they wanted to learn swordsmanship too.

"Once we join the sect, there’ll be plenty of opportunities, so just wait."

Tan Shaoting already had many demon beast corpses at his feet, all killed with a single strike. This intimidated many around him.

The demon beasts kept coming relentlessly. Even the initially excited loose cultivators were now afraid, for their spiritual power was limited.

Now the advantage of sword cultivators became evident; they relied on physical strength, which was far superior to those using spells.

Tan Shaoting could no longer see the ground beneath his feet, so he waved to collect the demon beast corpses on the ground.

This made many reevaluate Tan Shaoting. He was truly formidable.

The demon beasts rushing over were mostly second-stage by now, with some third-stage mixed in.

Tan Shaoting was still handling them with ease. Xing Chongshan and the others were starting to struggle a bit since the third-stage demon beasts were evenly matched with them.

Tan Shaoting didn’t know what the highest level of these demon beasts was, but with only a fourth-stage demon beast leading them, there shouldn’t be anything too high coming.

It was just a guess since he didn’t know if there were high-level demon beasts commanding from behind.

It was now daylight, but the number of demon beasts hadn’t decreased and was becoming even more ferocious. Almost all were third-stage now, hardly any second-stage left.

Li Wenjun and her three female cultivators were struggling to hold on, with Jiang Xueyan already injured.

"You three, get inside the array," Qin Weichuan said, tossing out an array plate.

The three women didn’t hesitate, as they were almost out of spiritual power.

Seeing the three enter the array, Xing Chongshan breathed a sigh of relief.

But this increased the pressure on the three men significantly.

However, they were all Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, and could still hold on.

Tan Shaoting also moved some distance from the array to avoid the third-stage demon beasts potentially damaging it and harming the children.

The three sword cultivators withstood the pressure. Their strength far surpassed the magic cultivators.

There were casualties among the cultivators now, changing the mentality of the survivors.

Tan Shaoting glanced at the leading demon beast; he realized it was toying with the Beast Taming Sect members.

Though they were in a dire situation, they managed to avoid life-threatening danger due to their understanding of demon beasts.

Tan Shaoting once again collected the demon beasts on the ground. Some cultivators had stopped collecting as their storage bags were full.

By evening, there was no sign of the attack stopping.

Half of the human cultivators had fallen, especially the low-level ones. Everyone was reaching the brink of collapse, their spiritual power depleted, while higher-level demon beasts continued to swarm.

Xing Chongshan and Qin Weichuan couldn’t hold on anymore. They frequently glanced at the array, where the three female cultivators were now terrified and dared not venture out.

"What do we do? The two senior brothers can’t hold on," one of the juniors asked.

Jiang Xueyan, with higher cultivation and older age, was looked to by her juniors for a decision.

"Let’s go out; otherwise, the two senior brothers might be in danger."

The three female cultivators emerged. "Senior brothers, you go in to rest," they said.

The two men didn’t hesitate and went in directly.

Tan Shaoting was managing but was exhausted.

The three female cultivators, with their spiritual power now recovered, could still cope, despite the high-level demon beasts.

"Mr. Tan, why don’t you enter the array for a rest?" Jiang Xueyan called to Tan Shaoting.

"No need, I can still manage."

Tan Shaoting didn’t want to draw attention, but in such a crisis, he couldn’t dare go in, fearing the third-stage demon beasts might attack the array.

Other sects were doing the same, rotating rest among members.

Loose cultivators, though, struggled. Many didn’t have array plates, so most of the casualties were from their ranks.

After another hour, Tan Shaoting was extremely fatigued.

The three children inside the array were anxious, urging their father to come in.

Tan Shaoting saw the three female cultivators struggling too and had to help them now and then. The state of the two male cultivators inside was unknown.

Xing Chongshan opened his eyes to survey the scene outside. "Let’s go out. It looks like Tan Shaoting is about to reach his limit," he said.

"Alright," Qin Weichuan replied, being a man of few words.

The two exited the array.

"Mr. Tan, you enter to rest," they urged.

For a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer to hold on this long, with spiritual power even more robust than theirs, they couldn’t help but acknowledge his ability.

Tan Shaoting entered the array, and the three children gathered around. Each had Spiritual Spring Water and quickly gave it to their father.

Seeing their father drink three cups of Spiritual Spring Water, the children hurriedly backed away, careful not to disturb him.

Tan Shaoting sat down to recover. He had some spiritual power-restoring elixirs, having taken two outside. The rest remained unused.

The Spiritual Spring Water was more soothing than the elixir, making his meridians much more comfortable than before.

Qi Yan and the others watched the outside intently. With their father cultivating, they dared not disturb him but each held a wooden sword, ready to act at any moment.