After completing all of this, Li Fan's face turned pale, and he was gasping for breath.
"Please, fellow Daoists, lead these beasts to the formations I've set up," Li Fan conveyed through voice transmission.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator named Huan Sui nodded, "Fellow Daoist, you've worked hard. We'll take it from here."
It was widely known that the path of formations was difficult and obscure, requiring a significant amount of time for study. It's reasonable for proficiency in formations to be inversely proportional to combat strength.
Besides, there was no expectation that this external helper could do much. Being able to set up so many effective formations at once was already a pleasant surprise.
Huan Sui took out a small drum and struck it forcefully. A roar resembling that of ancient ferocious beasts resonated from the drum, spreading in all directions.
On the island, the lazy headless beasts lying on the ground abruptly stood up, turning towards the direction of Li Fan and the others. They pounded their chests, seemingly excited.
Like a surging tide, they rushed over one after another.
The five members of Huan Sui's team stood in formation, facing the approaching wave of beasts without changing their expressions.
Five spiritual weapons simultaneously emerged around them, each taking the form of a differently shaped sword. The sword lights intersected, forming a sword formation.
Any beast entering the formation was instantly annihilated by the sword lights. Under the fire dragons of the "Spirit Fire Dragon Formation," they turned to ashes.
The drumbeat continued, acting like a summoning spell, attracting the beasts to come forward and meet their doom.
The Tiancang Team, like a meat grinder, mercilessly harvested the lives of these creatures.
Slowly, the deaths of numerous beasts began to stir unrest among their ranks.
They began to counterattack.
"Roar!"
The headless beasts pounded their chests, opened their bloody mouths, and let out thunderous roars. Invisible sound waves converged, forming a substantial fist shadow above the island.
The red fist shadow rushed towards the sword formation of the five people.
"Bang!"
Huan Sui and the others simultaneously spat out blood, their faces showing astonishment. The five swords trembled slightly, and the formation fell into disarray.
Immediately, many red-furred beasts seized the opportunity to break through the blockade and charge towards the five.
Although they were easily slaughtered, the expressions of the five cultivators were no longer as relaxed as before.
Seeing this, Li Fan knew he couldn't hold back too much.
With a serious expression, he took out several beast bones from his storage ring and arranged a new formation.
This time, just as the fist shadow composed of the roars of the red-furred beasts was about to form, a series of extremely discordant metallic friction sounds suddenly came from the surroundings, mixing with the roar.
Like pure water mixing into muddy water, the roar became unclear, and its power diminished significantly.
The fist shadow, composed of the howls of the red-furred beasts, was mixed with the strange noises. It became vague, and its power greatly diminished. It was easily blocked by the sword formation.
Huan Sui and the others showed joy, "Fellow Daoist, excellent means!"
However, Li Fan waved his hand, looking pale and seemingly unable to continue with such methods.
The scales of victory tilted back towards the Tiancang Team.
Hundreds of headless beasts were slaughtered one after another.
However, their numbers were just too vast.
The number of headless beasts slaughtered by the Tiancang Team, compared to the total population on the island, was just a drop in the ocean.
Perhaps, if they continued like this, with the "Five Elements Sword Qi Formation" formation supplementing spiritual energy, they could slowly complete the mission given enough time.
However, after half a day passed and the death toll reached a certain level, the red-furred beasts discovered that their furious roars were no longer effective.
They stopped their howls.
Even their relentless charge to their deaths ceased.
Seeing this, Huan Sui was puzzled.
He continued to beat the small drum, attempting to re-attract the attention of the red-furred beasts, but the previously irresistibly enticing drumbeat now lost its effect.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
They stopped their attacks and instead rhythmically pounded their chests.
The sound resonated continuously, growing louder.
Li Fan sensed that something was amiss. Although he promptly activated the Discordant Confusion Formation he had previously set up to counteract the beasts' roars, the noise didn't have much impact on the grand symphony.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang, who had been watching all along, finally stopped standing idly by.
Once again, snowflakes drifted down onto the world.
The intensity of the coordinated sound was absorbed by the falling snow, abruptly diminishing its power.
A strong wind blew, lifting thousands of snow piles and, at the same time, blowing away the red plum petals in full bloom in the snow.
The petals danced in the wind like lethal blades.
Each time a petal floated past a headless beast, it quietly took away its life.
It could be seen that the two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, working together, could deal with these instinct-driven red-furred beasts. The beasts had no resistance whatsoever.
However, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang seemed to restrain themselves.
There was no widespread slaughter; they only slightly reduced the power of the red-furred beasts' coordinated sound.
Furthermore, they didn't completely prevent the beasts' ritual.
So, amidst the increasingly urgent and loud pounding sounds, the giant shadow of a red-furred beast slowly took shape.
The faintly oppressive feeling emanating from the phantom was slightly weaker than Jiang Zhengji's.
"Golden Core stage!"
Li Fan and the Tiancang Team's faces turned serious.
Although seemingly weaker than a true Golden Core stage cultivator, it undoubtedly possessed power far beyond the Foundation Establishment realm.
However, after the Golden Core beast revealed its form, it didn't immediately launch an attack on Li Fan and the others.
Instead, it casually grabbed its weak compatriots from the ground and devoured them voraciously.
The countless red-furred beasts on the island, upon witnessing their peers being eaten, not only showed no fear but became excited, emitting strange and joyful cries.
The Golden Core beast devoured its weaker peers without reservation.
Gradually, its silhouette became solid.
It seemed that, as it consumed more of its own kind, it could complete the transformation from the illusory to the real!
Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang both had their arms folded over their chests and carried cold and indifferent expressions, silently observing the situation.
However, Huan Sui became anxious, "If we wait for that beast to solidify, its strength will be comparable to a true Golden Core cultivator. Even if we all unite and fight to the death, we may not necessarily win!"
Another person chimed in, "That's right, we can't wait any longer!"
Li Fan also nodded, "I'll set up the Current-Defying Formation to assist you all!"
He then took out formation materials from his storage ring.
In a moment, the Current-Defying Formation was set up.
The Tiancang Team's momentum surged suddenly.
"The formation can only last for about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn."
Li Fan, looking pale and feeble, said without much strength.
It seemed that his mental energy consumption was extremely high.
Huan Sui and the others exchanged glances and nodded.
"If we can't defeat that beast, even if we can save our lives, we'll lose the qualification for promotion."
"There is no retreat, the only way out is to fight!"
"Kill!"
The five people had determined expressions, relying on each other and piercing forward like a sharp sword.
Fiercely, they stabbed towards the Golden Core beast.
After completing all of this, Li Fan's face turned pale, and he was gasping for breath.
"Please, fellow Daoists, lead these beasts to the formations I've set up," Li Fan conveyed through voice transmission.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator named Huan Sui nodded, "Fellow Daoist, you've worked hard. We'll take it from here."
It was widely known that the path of formations was difficult and obscure, requiring a significant amount of time for study. It's reasonable for proficiency in formations to be inversely proportional to combat strength.
Besides, there was no expectation that this external helper could do much. Being able to set up so many effective formations at once was already a pleasant surprise.
Huan Sui took out a small drum and struck it forcefully. A roar resembling that of ancient ferocious beasts resonated from the drum, spreading in all directions.
On the island, the lazy headless beasts lying on the ground abruptly stood up, turning towards the direction of Li Fan and the others. They pounded their chests, seemingly excited.
Like a surging tide, they rushed over one after another.
The five members of Huan Sui's team stood in formation, facing the approaching wave of beasts without changing their expressions.
Five spiritual weapons simultaneously emerged around them, each taking the form of a differently shaped sword. The sword lights intersected, forming a sword formation.
Any beast entering the formation was instantly annihilated by the sword lights. Under the fire dragons of the "Spirit Fire Dragon Formation," they turned to ashes.
The drumbeat continued, acting like a summoning spell, attracting the beasts to come forward and meet their doom.
The Tiancang Team, like a meat grinder, mercilessly harvested the lives of these creatures.
Slowly, the deaths of numerous beasts began to stir unrest among their ranks.
They began to counterattack.
"Roar!"
The headless beasts pounded their chests, opened their bloody mouths, and let out thunderous roars. Invisible sound waves converged, forming a substantial fist shadow above the island.
The red fist shadow rushed towards the sword formation of the five people.
"Bang!"
Huan Sui and the others simultaneously spat out blood, their faces showing astonishment. The five swords trembled slightly, and the formation fell into disarray.
Immediately, many red-furred beasts seized the opportunity to break through the blockade and charge towards the five.
Although they were easily slaughtered, the expressions of the five cultivators were no longer as relaxed as before.
Seeing this, Li Fan knew he couldn't hold back too much.
With a serious expression, he took out several beast bones from his storage ring and arranged a new formation.
This time, just as the fist shadow composed of the roars of the red-furred beasts was about to form, a series of extremely discordant metallic friction sounds suddenly came from the surroundings, mixing with the roar.
Like pure water mixing into muddy water, the roar became unclear, and its power diminished significantly.
The fist shadow, composed of the howls of the red-furred beasts, was mixed with the strange noises. It became vague, and its power greatly diminished. It was easily blocked by the sword formation.
Huan Sui and the others showed joy, "Fellow Daoist, excellent means!"
However, Li Fan waved his hand, looking pale and seemingly unable to continue with such methods.
The scales of victory tilted back towards the Tiancang Team.
Hundreds of headless beasts were slaughtered one after another.
However, their numbers were just too vast.
The number of headless beasts slaughtered by the Tiancang Team, compared to the total population on the island, was just a drop in the ocean.
Perhaps, if they continued like this, with the "Five Elements Sword Qi Formation" formation supplementing spiritual energy, they could slowly complete the mission given enough time.
However, after half a day passed and the death toll reached a certain level, the red-furred beasts discovered that their furious roars were no longer effective.
They stopped their howls.
Even their relentless charge to their deaths ceased.
Seeing this, Huan Sui was puzzled.
He continued to beat the small drum, attempting to re-attract the attention of the red-furred beasts, but the previously irresistibly enticing drumbeat now lost its effect.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
They stopped their attacks and instead rhythmically pounded their chests.
The sound resonated continuously, growing louder.
Li Fan sensed that something was amiss. Although he promptly activated the Discordant Confusion Formation he had previously set up to counteract the beasts' roars, the noise didn't have much impact on the grand symphony.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang, who had been watching all along, finally stopped standing idly by.
Once again, snowflakes drifted down onto the world.
The intensity of the coordinated sound was absorbed by the falling snow, abruptly diminishing its power.
A strong wind blew, lifting thousands of snow piles and, at the same time, blowing away the red plum petals in full bloom in the snow.
The petals danced in the wind like lethal blades.
Each time a petal floated past a headless beast, it quietly took away its life.
It could be seen that the two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, working together, could deal with these instinct-driven red-furred beasts. The beasts had no resistance whatsoever.
However, Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang seemed to restrain themselves.
There was no widespread slaughter; they only slightly reduced the power of the red-furred beasts' coordinated sound.
Furthermore, they didn't completely prevent the beasts' ritual.
So, amidst the increasingly urgent and loud pounding sounds, the giant shadow of a red-furred beast slowly took shape.
The faintly oppressive feeling emanating from the phantom was slightly weaker than Jiang Zhengji's.
"Golden Core stage!"
Li Fan and the Tiancang Team's faces turned serious.
Although seemingly weaker than a true Golden Core stage cultivator, it undoubtedly possessed power far beyond the Foundation Establishment realm.
However, after the Golden Core beast revealed its form, it didn't immediately launch an attack on Li Fan and the others.
Instead, it casually grabbed its weak compatriots from the ground and devoured them voraciously.
The countless red-furred beasts on the island, upon witnessing their peers being eaten, not only showed no fear but became excited, emitting strange and joyful cries.
The Golden Core beast devoured its weaker peers without reservation.
Gradually, its silhouette became solid.
It seemed that, as it consumed more of its own kind, it could complete the transformation from the illusory to the real!
Jiang Zhengji and Du Xingchang both had their arms folded over their chests and carried cold and indifferent expressions, silently observing the situation.
However, Huan Sui became anxious, "If we wait for that beast to solidify, its strength will be comparable to a true Golden Core cultivator. Even if we all unite and fight to the death, we may not necessarily win!"
Another person chimed in, "That's right, we can't wait any longer!"
Li Fan also nodded, "I'll set up the Current-Defying Formation to assist you all!"
He then took out formation materials from his storage ring.
In a moment, the Current-Defying Formation was set up.
The Tiancang Team's momentum surged suddenly.
"The formation can only last for about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn."
Li Fan, looking pale and feeble, said without much strength.
It seemed that his mental energy consumption was extremely high.
Huan Sui and the others exchanged glances and nodded.
"If we can't defeat that beast, even if we can save our lives, we'll lose the qualification for promotion."
"There is no retreat, the only way out is to fight!"
"Kill!"
The five people had determined expressions, relying on each other and piercing forward like a sharp sword.
Fiercely, they stabbed towards the Golden Core beast.
