Clan Cultivation: Starting from Beast Taming

But because it took too long, they missed the optimal time to retreat.

By the time they finished plundering the cave and came out, Zhou Chun and the others had almost completely withdrawn from the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate.

As a result, cultivators like Wang Zhixiong, who were too late to retreat, were doomed.

In the ensuing purge by the returning Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators, most of them lost their lives, with only a very few, like Wang Zhixiong who had multiple life-saving tricks up his sleeve, barely managing to escape by clinging to the tail end of the retreating army.

Originally, the Wang Family and Sun Family had a total of eight Foundation Establishment cultivators, but in the end, only Wang Zhixiong managed to escape, with even the Clan Leader of Sun Family, Sun Zhongping, failing to get out.

This blow was extraordinarily heavy for both the Wang Family and Sun Family.

So much so that when Wang Guangping, Purple Mansion cultivator of the Wang Family, learned of this news, he spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood on the spot, and the internal injuries he had sustained on the battlefield worsened significantly, forcing him to recover in seclusion through meditation.

And Wang Zhixiong, who now stood before Zhou Chun, looked completely numb, with his vitality and spirit extremely withered.

At this moment, facing his own safety, Wang Zhixiong's eyes flashed with sorrow as he couldn't help but beat his chest and stomp his feet, exclaiming, "Blind greed clouds the mind! Wang has let down the trust of his family, has let down several fallen Elders and the fellow Daoists of Sun Family!"

His heart was filled with regret at this moment, regretting that he should not have been greedy for a moment and caused such a grave mistake.

This regret may follow him for life, preventing him from ever moving on.

But such is life, where one misstep can lead to eternal regret; it is a common tale.

All Zhou Chun could do at this moment was to offer some words of comfort and to remind himself to take this as a lesson.

In this way, after Zhou Chun and the others had rested in the camp for most of the day, the great battle above the sky between the Golden Core Stage cultivators finally ended with the retreat of the Dragon Transformation Sect.

However, the life-saving methods of the Golden Core cultivators were too strong, and without an absolute advantage, the cultivators from Jingguo Country were unable to capture even a single opponent, merely managing to inflict injuries on two, achieving a minor victory.

The retreating cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect quickly set up three formations at the breach for defense.

This caused the cultivators from Jingguo Country to also pause their pursuit and return to the camp to rest.

It was at this time that Zhou Chun felt another aspect of the Golden Core cultivators' strength.

When more than a dozen Golden Core cultivators began absorbing spiritual energy to replenish their mana together, all the nature's spiritual energy within the temporary camp was sucked away by them as if it was being devoured by whales.

Even so, the nature's spiritual energy in this temporary camp was completely insufficient for their needs, and they had to rely on the exceedingly precious Spirit Crystals to aid in their mana recovery or take Replenishing Essence Pills, which were much stronger than Rejuvenation Pills.

In contrast, the Golden Core cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect were much better off.

Inside the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate was a high-grade Spirit Vein, with the concentration of spiritual energy nearing that of top-grade Spirit Veins. Not to mention ten Golden Core cultivators, even supplying thirty or fifty of them for mana recovery was more than sufficient.

With such a geographical advantage, they were not afraid of a prolonged standoff.

The longer the stalemate lasted, the more it worked in their favor.

This was something the cultivators from the three major factions of Jingguo Country, as the attacking side, naturally understood.

Therefore, after the twenty Golden Core cultivators also meditated and rested for seven or eight two-hour periods, a new order to attack was once again handed down.

"Pass on the edict to all our seniors, all those who are not severely injured must participate in this round of the attack. In this battle, we must only win, not lose. Anyone who dares to retreat in the face of battle will be executed without mercy!"

In the camp, Taoist Mingjing conveyed the edict to the Golden Core cultivators with a severe tone, his words filled with an aura of sternness and resolve.

Clearly, although no real punishment was meted out to the cultivators who had previously retreated due to not being held individually accountable, this new attack order directly closed off any path for retreat!

And faced with such a demanding order, regardless of their personal thoughts, everyone had no choice but to comply.

Soon, the twenty Golden Core cultivators from Jingguo Country charged into the sky once more.

Seeing this, the Golden Core cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect within the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate had no choice but to continue deploying and meeting the challenge.

Now, they could not afford not to fight.

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After two of the formation cores were damaged, even with Di Long, the Array Grandmaster present, it was impossible to repair the formation cores and restore the grand formation to its previous might within a mere one or two days.

And without being able to exhibit its former power, the Guardian Great Formation simply couldn't withstand the fierce onslaught of twenty Golden Elixir Cultivators and over a thousand Purple Mansion and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Compared to that, if they took the battle outside the formation, matching general for general, and soldier for soldier, their side would still hold some geographical advantages.

After the tier-four beings on both sides had ascended to the sky for a fierce battle, the Purple Mansion Cultivators of Jingguo Country led the Foundation Establishment cultivators in an offensive against the breach.

Supporting cultivators from the Moon Wheel Sect once again formed the "Waning Moon Shooting Star Formation," and the vanguard condensed a silver arrow tens of yards long that they fired at a newly established formation near the breach.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted, and that formation immediately began to shake violently, nearly shattering.

On the other side, the cultivators of Green Lotus Temple were not to be outdone, setting up two of the temple's secret battle formations, the "Green Lotus Sword Formation."

Two giant green swords took shape in the sky, each cleaving toward a formation set up by the Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators.

At the same time, cultivators from cultivation families like the Zhou Family rushed forward in droves, pouring all sorts of spells and magic artifacts onto the three formations.

Everyone was well aware that to successfully storm the Black Dragon Branch Temple and avoid being flanked, they must first eliminate these three formations.

Meanwhile, the cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect were trying their best to buy time.

Aside from those operating the formations, everyone else was trying everything possible to intercept the spells and magic artifacts aimed at the formations, sharing the burden on the formations.

However, the disparity in numbers was ultimately something that the three formations could not overcome.

After continuous attacks for roughly two hours, the formation targeted by the "Waning Moon Shooting Star Formation" was the first to break, and many cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect died on the spot.

Subsequently, the "Waning Moon Shooting Star Formation" continued to assail another formation, quickly destroying another.

In this manner, within a short period of fifteen minutes, all three formations were breached, leaving the Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators without any defenses.

"Charge, kill all the traitors of the Dragon Transformation Sect inside!"

A Purple Mansion Cultivator from the Moon Wheel Sect shouted loudly, dissolving the "Waning Moon Shooting Star Formation" that had performed greatly, leading his people towards the breach.

At that moment, the five members of the Zhou Family were also following closely behind Taoist Mingjing, re-entering the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate.

This was because an absolute order had been given from above to take down the Black Dragon Branch Temple at all costs.

Therefore, Zhou Chun and the others did not dare to act on their own this time and kept close behind the Supreme Elder.

Not just the Zhou Family members, but cultivators from other cultivation families were also either following their elders or banding together.

After the prior incident where the Purple Mansion Cultivators of the Dragon Transformation Sect attacked the Foundation Establishment cultivators without any regard for rules, leading to a massacre, everyone had become much more cautious.

Shortly after storming into the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate in this manner, Zhou Chun and the others clashed with a group of banded-together Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators.

Spectacular spells of every hue burst forth both on the ground and in the sky, with various magic artifacts whizzing through the air, turning the Black Dragon Branch Temple Gate instantly into a vast battlefield.

In such chaotic fighting, even Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators could be focus-fired and killed instantly, and many were ambushed and struck down by other enemies while preoccupied with the foes before them.

For this reason, Zhou Chun had the Golden Armor Rock Turtle transform into a mobile fortress, specifically to guard against enemy ambushes for the four on its back.

Their group followed closely behind the main force led by Taoist Mingjing, not seeking recognition for achievements but ensuring no mistakes were made.

After more than an hour of continuous fighting, they had reached the front of a cave-dwelling belonging to a Golden Core Stage Cultivator from the Black Dragon Branch Temple.

The group of Dragon Transformation Sect cultivators they had routed took refuge within the cave dwelling's defensive formation.

"Taoist Friend Mingjing, what do we do now?"

A Purple Mansion Cultivator from a cultivator family looked expectantly towards Taoist Mingjing, inquiring about his plans.

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