Longevity starts with dual cultivation

Chapter 67: The War at a Stalemate

The third underground floor of the council hall is the core hub of the family's defense formation.

This place is usually heavily guarded, with the most experienced elders and foundation-building monks taking turns to guard it. Anyone who dares to trespass without the token of the master will be killed without mercy!

This kind of protective formation is the foundation for the survival of a force, and the final and most important barrier.

Once something goes wrong, the family will be on the verge of extinction.

Ling Changqing had never set foot here before, and now with Tang Qiuyao bringing him here, he had the chance to see the real thing.

The dome hall is over thirty feet in radius and more than ten feet high. The ground and walls are covered with intricate and detailed array patterns. It is also connected to the second-level spiritual veins underground, and has a constant supply of spiritual energy.

At this time, the formation has been fully activated. All the prohibition textures of the formation are shining brightly, and a low roar is heard continuously.

Ling Yulu, Ling Tianhe, and Qin Yun, three other foundation-building cultivators, are in charge here, and there is also a group of cultivators in the late Qi training stage, working together to maintain the stable operation of each area of ​​the formation.

Standing on the edge of this formation, Ling Changqing felt a strong spiritual pressure coming towards him. Anyone with a lower cultivation level might not be able to withstand it.

"...I feel like this has already surpassed the scope of a second-order formation and has begun to take on the rudiments of a third-order formation."

Ling Changqing held the stunningly beautiful woman beside him and communicated with her silently through his spiritual thoughts.

"It's good that you figured it out,"

Tang Qiuyao pursed her lips and responded calmly:

"This was adjusted and upgraded by your Senior Sister Ling ten years ago. She spent all the resources and hired a third-level formation master on her own just to deal with situations like today."

"…Senior Sister is indeed a man of great talent and strategy."

Ling Changqing seemed to be thinking about something. It seemed that Ling Qiyue had already started planning when she took over the power of the family.

Therefore, the power of the Ling family's protective formation is much stronger than Ling Changqing had estimated in advance. As long as there are no problems here, there will be no problem in holding on for a month.

"The Wu family is doomed to fail this time, right?"

Ling Changqing looked a little relieved. Why did they choose to pick someone else from the Wu family? Why did they choose to pick an opponent like the Ling family?

Just looking at the methods arranged by Ling Qiyue, it would be strange for the Wu family to win, even if they have the support of a fake Dan Zhenren like Elder Tianyang.

Tang Qiuyao said, "We still can't let our guard down until the war is over. Elder Tianyang is the biggest variable."

"he?"

Ling Changqing was startled for a moment, then reacted.

Elder Tianyang himself might be a bit useless, but he comes from a big force like Hanyue Sect, and his connections are genuine.

When he finds that the war is not going well, will he try to invite a few helpers?
It doesn't take too many. Just one or two more fake Dan Zhenren would put a lot of pressure on the Ling family.

"It seems that we can only effectively control the situation after Senior Sister Ling comes out of retreat."

Ling Changqing whispered, I hope Ling Qiyue has successfully broken through to a new level?
Even if he couldn't break through, he should at least be able to find some helpers, right? He believed that Ling Qiyue had such connections.

Tang Qiuyao nodded slightly and said nothing more.

The Wu family's offensive on the first day was not effective, but Wu Canglang was not in a hurry. In the evening, he sounded the call for the troops to return to the camp to rest.

On the Ling family's side, an elder suggested attacking the camp under the cover of night, which might cause some damage to the Wu family.

Of course, this proposal was directly rejected by Tang Qiuyao, as she didn't want to cause any trouble.

The enemy might not have thought of the same thing. What if the Wu family had set a trap, waiting for the Ling family cultivator to step into it?
Therefore, the most responsible choice is to proceed step by step and not give the enemy any opportunity to take advantage.

The Ling family's Qi training cultivators are now much better than the Wu family in both quality and quantity. This is because the Ling family can obtain more supplies of elixir resources.

Tang Qiuyao didn't want to destroy the advantage she had accumulated with great difficulty because of her greed and recklessness.

The next day, the monks of the Wu family continued their attack but gained nothing.

On the third day, the attack continued, but still gained nothing. The family's defense formation was as solid as a rock.

On the seventh day, Elder Tianyang finally couldn't hold back any longer and attacked the formation himself.

Outside the egg-white sky, an ugly and ferocious black wolf-fang war hammer that was a hundred feet long appeared and smashed down fiercely with a terrifying evil wind!

In an instant, the hearts of the cultivators inside and outside the formation were in their throats, staring intently at the place where the wolf-fang hammer fell.

"Boom--!"

The egg-white sky shook and sank violently, with colorful lights and shadows, and circles of gorgeous ripples spreading in all directions.

However, after a few breaths, the sky returned to normal amid the changing light and shadow.

Thousands of Ling family disciples cheered, while the cultivators from the Wu family had grim expressions and cursed in their hearts.

Elder Tianyang in mid-air couldn't help but frown. Although this wolf-fang war hammer was only a first-grade magic weapon, it was also a good thing he had kept in his bottom drawer. Its power was far greater than those spiritual weapons used by foundation-building monks.

Who would have thought that a mere foundation-building family's protective formation would be so difficult to deal with that even real magic weapons couldn't do anything to it?

"I still don't believe it!"

Elder Tianyang snorted coldly, retracted the wolf-fang hammer and swung it out again. This time he exerted all his magic power, determined to achieve success in one fell swoop.

However, he was disappointed. After the deafening roar subsided, the sky of the formation was still intact, but the degree of distortion and concavity was a little greater, and it was still far from collapse.

"...Old man, didn't you eat enough today? Or did you spend all your energy on a woman's belly?"

Ling Tianque's weird voice came faintly.

This foundation-building elder was also known for his vicious and cruel tongue. His sarcastic remarks made the head of the Wu family so angry that his face turned blue.

Elder Tianyang had a dark face and gritted his teeth as he raised his magic weapon and launched a torrential attack like a pile driver.

"Why are you still standing there? Attack together!"

Wu Canglang scolded, and with a flick of his hand, several powerful thunder spells smashed down.

The surrounding foundation-building elders woke up as if from a dream, and used all their best tactics to attack in a swarm.

After dozens of attacks, Elder Tianyang's mana had been consumed by more than half, and even with the help of other elders, the color of the sky of the formation only dimmed a little, and it still did not collapse. After all, he was just a fake Dan Zhenren, and he was old, so his mana was no longer at its peak, so it was not difficult to understand why he performed so poorly.

What's more, Elder Tianyang, who has always been greedy, lustful and selfish, would never risk his life for the Wu family.

"Forget it, let's stop here today and withdraw our troops back to camp first!"

After taking out a pill and swallowing it, Elder Tianyang spoke in a depressed and angrily manner, flicked his sleeves, turned around and flew away on the wind.

Wu Canglang and the other elders looked at each other, muttered a few words angrily, and could only give up and leave.

The core hub area of ​​the formation.

"...Senior Sister, can this formation still hold up?"

Ling Changqing asked with some concern.

"It's not bad. With the offensive we just launched, it shouldn't be a problem to continue for ten days or so."

Tang Qiuyao said this with a serious look, and ordered the family monks to check each formation node and replace any damaged formation base components immediately.

Ling Changqing pondered in silence. The previous offensive had already caused some damage to the formation, but of course it was very limited.

Moreover, Elder Tianyang may not be willing to attack hard every day, so they still have to rely mainly on those foundation-building monks.

Taking all factors into consideration, it won’t be a problem for the Ling family to hold out for another month.

Ling Changqing thought for a moment and said to Tang Qiuyao, "We can't just sit here and waste time. That would be too passive. We have to create some trouble for them."

Tang Qiuyao smiled and said, "What ideas do you have?"

"It's very simple. We will secretly send a message to our allies and ask their foundation-building cultivators to go to the Wu family's territory."

Ling Changqing said that the main forces of the Wu family were dragged here, and the defense of Longhuan Island must be quite weak, which was a good opportunity to take advantage of them.

Tang Qiuyao's beautiful eyes lit up: "This method is feasible, let's do it this way!"

There was a problem at the old nest, and the top leaders of the Wu family could not sit idly by. Even if they did not withdraw their troops, they at least had to send a part of their forces back to strengthen the defense of Longhuan Island.

In this way, the pressure on the Ling family can be relieved and they can hold out longer.

The next morning, Elder Tianyang, together with all the foundation-building monks, continued to attack the formation.

Needless to say, the result was no different from yesterday, and the sky of the formation was still as solid as a rock.

Elder Tianyang did not hold out for too long. When half of his magic power was consumed, he stopped and returned to the camp to rest.

Given his transcendent status, Wu Canglang didn't dare to say anything and had to put on a smile.

The situation remained stalemate for several days, and then a warning message came from Longhuan Island that several unidentified foundation-building monks had broken into the market town and were wreaking havoc there.

Moreover, they only targeted the Wu family's businesses and did not harm the shops and businesses opened by outside forces. Their intentions were obvious.

Wu Canglang could no longer sit still after hearing this. Whether he was willing or not, he had to send half of his foundation-building cultivators back to save the situation, in order to prevent his old nest from being destroyed beyond recognition.

As a result, the pressure faced by the Ling family's defensive formation was significantly alleviated, and this move inevitably affected the morale of the Wu family.

Everything went smoothly for the reinforcements, and they quickly expelled the destructive monks, restoring peace to Longhuan Island.

A few days later, after confirming that there were no more hostile foreign cultivators lurking on Longhuan Island, Wu Canglang ordered the group of foundation-building cultivators to come back and continue attacking the defensive formation of Chanxin Island.

However, less than two days after they left, warnings came again from Longhuan Island, saying that several foundation-building monks from the hostile forces had been spotted causing trouble.

Wu Canglang had no choice but to send forces back for emergency assistance again.

Under this endless guerrilla tactical harassment, a month passed quietly, and the Zenxin Island's defensive formation remained standing.

There were actually not many casualties among the Wu family's cultivators, but the consumption of war supplies was quite large, mainly the loss of spirit stones, elixirs, and talisman resources.

“…We can’t go on like this!”

In the camp, Elder Wu Cangyuan frowned and spoke to the head of the family with concern.

Wu Canglang sighed and said helplessly:

"What can we do? The Ling family's defensive formation is too difficult to defeat. If we keep doing this, even if we spend another three months, it will be useless!"

The elders around were speechless. If this war really lasted for three months or even longer, the Wu family’s finances would collapse.

Before the war, the Wu family borrowed money from everywhere and owed a lot of debts.

The entire family hoped that only after destroying the Ling family and annexing the foundation of Chanxin Island could they breathe a sigh of relief.

If this war cannot be ended as soon as possible, the Wu family will definitely not be able to continue. After all, the Ling family is much richer than the Wu family.

Elder Wu Jinghong pondered for a while and said slowly:

"How about trying to negotiate with the Ling family? As long as they are willing to pay a sufficiently generous war compensation, we can withdraw our troops."

Wu Cangyuan sneered: "Do you think it's possible? They haven't been defeated yet, how can they bow their heads so easily?"

Wu Jinghong frowned, but it was not easy for him to refute. The female head of the Ling family had never been a person who would swallow her anger in silence. How could she give in like this?

There was silence in the hall.

The war that was originally thought to be a sure win has now reached a stalemate, and there is no hope of breaking the deadlock. This is very embarrassing.

Wu Canglang looked at Wu Qi who was beside Elder Tianyang, wanting her to ask Elder Tianyang what he meant.

However, the goddess of the tribe had a blank expression on her face and ignored Wu Canglang's gaze, just like a clay or wooden sculpture in the temple.

Wu Canglang had no choice but to speak humbly:
"Fellow Daoist Tianyang, what do you think we should do in the current situation?"

Elder Tianyang closed his eyes slightly and said indifferently: "I can call one or two more friends to come and help, but can you give enough in return?"

Wu Canglang: “…”

(End of this chapter)