Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Li Zhirui had previously used methods such as freezing the river with the flesh and blood of dead Water Devils to incite infighting among them, which had been suggested to him by Li Shilian.

As for Li Shiren and Li Shiting, who were in the south, they didn't encounter too many Water Devils and could easily dispose of them.

They were even discussing how many family members to send to the north in case of a call for help from there.

——

Red Pine Island.

"How is the situation?" Patriarch Zheng asked impatiently, prompting the two other clan leaders to look over.

The three families had joined forces to disperse a large amount of Devil-Attracting Liquid in the sea, gradually luring the Devil Beasts toward Da Rong Island. The cultivators who undertook this task had already completed it and returned to their clans.

"I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't get too close to Da Rong Island, but on my way back, I saw that many Devil Beasts were drawn there," said the cultivator with a smile.

"Even with Li family's strength, they won't be able to get through this ferocious beast tide unscathed!" Patriarch Zheng sighed with relief.

The other two clan leaders exchanged a glance, and Chief He spoke, "Now that the arrangements are in place, we should head back."

They had not stayed at their clan grounds in order to learn the outcome as soon as possible. Despite having made arrangements before they left, they still harbored concerns. Now that the task was complete, it was time for them to return.

The He Family, in particular, had just over a dozen cultivators, with only him at the Foundation Establishment level. Although he had instructed his people to stay at the clan grounds and sent the mortals away from the water sources,

But who knew if there would be any accidents? After all, some Water Devils can survive out of water for extended periods.

Patriarch Zheng watched the other two families' cultivators leave, and the Great Elder beside him said, "Patriarch, if the Li family discovers our actions, our conflict with them will become irreconcilable."

"Pfft!" Patriarch Zheng scoffed contemptuously, "Do you think the Li family will spare us if we don't make a move?"

As the Li family's strength grew, they would surely not be satisfied with just Da Rong Island.

To the west was Yunping State, where Yuanming Sect resided, and the Li family didn't have the power to compete with them.

Both the north and south sides consisted of desolate islands without Spirit Veins, which made the east the most logical direction for expansion.

The Zheng, Jiang, and He families were of average strength and no match for the Li family—not to mention the old grudges between them and the hatred for the fall of three Foundation Establishment levels, something neither they nor the Li family would forget.

The families wanted revenge, while the Li family remained vigilant against it.

The only reason the Li family had yet to take action was the concern that the Yuanming Sect might intervene.

"Even if we draw the beast tide to Da Rong Island and cause the Li family to lose strength, it will only delay the time they take action against us," Patriarch Zheng said with a bitter expression, "What I have done is merely to buy our clan a little more time.

Perhaps with this additional time, our people could find an unclaimed Spirit Vein elsewhere, giving the clan a glimmer of hope to continue on."

"Who could have expected the Li family's development to be so rapid? A mere few years, and two more Foundation Establishment level cultivators have emerged," he continued.

The two of them looked at each other, their faces filled with bitterness.

——

"The numbers of Water Devils are too great!" Li Zhirui said grimly, "Just the people we have here are not enough to stop the unending stream of Water Devils."

Previously, the Water Devils had massacred each other over flesh and blood, which provided them with a chance to breathe. However, as a vast number of Water Devils arrived, the ones in front were pushed forward, and their attacks nearly brought the Formation to the brink of collapse.

If it weren't for Li Zhirui and the others fighting with all their might, the Formation would have likely been breached by now.

Li Zhirui made a decisive call and sent someone to fly back to the clan to inform Li Shile of the situation, asking him to contact Li Shiren so they could dispatch support as soon as possible.

"Zhirui's situation doesn't look good; they are struggling to hold on." After hearing the news, Li Shile immediately relayed the message to the south, asking Li Shiren and Li Shiting to send help quickly.

Li Shiting said, "There aren't many Water Devils in the south, so take some more family members with you."

Given the current situation, it wouldn't be a problem for her to defend this side alone since the Water Devils coming from the east were being lured northward by the Devil-Attracting Liquid, with few heading south.

"Alright, be careful then," Li Shiren replied without wasting further words and immediately set off with a group of family members on a Spirit Boat towards the north.

On another battlefield, Li Zhirui exerted himself to the fullest, controlling the Corrosive Water Gourd without caring about mana consumption, determined to stop the Water Devils in front of him.

"Retreat!" Li Zhirui gasped urgently.

They couldn't stop the attack of the hundreds of Water Devils in front of them; they had no choice but to abandon the Formation and retreat to a place without a water source.

Li Zhirui's decision to abandon the defense of the river meant allowing the Water Devils to enter Da Rong Island.

Fortunately, before the beast tide broke out, the mortals near the river had already been evacuated.

Even if they let these Water Devils in, it would only result in some property loss, without causing any casualties, as long as they were vigilant against those Water Devils that could go ashore.

Upon hearing the order to retreat, the members of the family within the Formation immediately fled towards the rear, leaving only Li Zhirui alone to block the Water Devils.

Without the help of his clansmen, Li Zhirui, with his own power, contended against hundreds of Water Devils. His inner Mana rapidly depleted, the Corrosive Water he transformed became less and less, and his complexion turned pale.

Thankfully, by the time he could no longer hold on, the clansmen had already run far enough. Li Zhirui immediately withdrew from the Formation, and looking at the multitude of Water Devils in front of the Formation, he used the last of his Mana to reverse the Array Plate, detonating the Formation.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted, and the Water Devils closest to the Formation were directly blasted to pieces, with a rain of blood pouring down nearby. The Water Devils a little further away didn't fare much better, most of them were wounded.

Watching this scene from a distance, Li Zhirui did not relax, because he knew that killing these few hundred Water Devils meant nothing; they could be replenished quickly.

"Zhirui, what should we do now?" a clansman asked anxiously.

"It's fine, that river can't reach far into the island, giving it up is no great loss." Perhaps it would cause some damage to the mortals, but it could be easily compensated.

Li Zhirui shook his head, refusing to dwell on these thoughts, and commanded, "Leave a few clansmen here to kill any Water Devils that come ashore, and send some to help Elder Shiling."

"At the critical moment, let him abandon the Formation, as long as we prevent the Water Devils from going ashore, it's enough. The rest will follow me to help Elder Shilian!"

"Remember! Safety first! Do not put yourself in danger!"

He chose to help Elder Shilian because his location was the most critical, as the river led to the Spirit Lake, which was vitally important to the Li family.

Boom—

But before Li Zhirui could set off, a thunderous explosion sounded not far away, identical to the commotion he had just caused by detonating the Formation.

"Not good! Elder Shilian's side can't hold either!" Li Zhirui's face changed drastically when he recognized the direction the sound was coming from.

Hastily calling some clansmen to follow quickly, he flew at low altitude alone towards Elder Shilian's location.

When Li Zhirui arrived, he saw a Spirit Boat in the sky; Elder Shilian, along with a host of clansmen, was furiously attacking to try and block the overwhelming number of Water Devils.

The number of Water Devils here was about twice as many as where Li Zhirui had been earlier. The fact that Elder Shilian and his people had held on until now was quite remarkable.

"Zhirui, how is your side?" Elder Shilian asked during a brief lull in casting spells.

Li Zhirui replied with a wry smile, "I already detonated the Formation and gave up that spot, after all, that river ends in just a small pond, no need to defend it at all costs."

"No casualties, right?"

Li Zhirui shook his head, saying, "Only a few clansmen have overdrawn their Mana, a rest should have them recuperating. And your side..."

"Several clansmen have been injured by the Water Devils, and five clansmen have fallen," Elder Shilian said with a grim expression.

Elder Shilian had detonated the Formation for a different reason than Li Zhirui; because the Formation had been breached and could no longer hold, it had to be exploded with the hope of killing more Water Devils.

Lost for words at the mention of the fallen, Li Zhirui opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say.

At the onset of the beast tide, they had been so confident, believing that the family could come through the scale and strength of the beast tide completely unscathed.

But it had only been a few days, and now they faced the loss of five clansmen and several others wounded!

"Who knows what the situation is like over at Shiren's side," Elder Shilian said with a worried tone, "If it's the same as ours, the family's loss is too great!" Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire

"I asked for reinforcements from Uncle Ren's side earlier; we'll know the outcome soon enough."

As the two conversed, their fingers did not stop, continuously casting spells in the hope of repelling the ferocious horde of Water Devils.