With the initial defeat of the six cultivators, Lin Mu and his companions had a bit of a free time. Lu Xu and the rest asked him what they should do, to which Lin Mu said they just needed to wait.
They were in no rush, and Lin Mu would tell them when it was time for them to go on the offensive. Thus, for the coming few hours, they rested and recovered the immortal Qi that they had used up. Lin Mu did the same, having used the most among them.
After all, not only had he fought using his Dao skills, but he had also used the Rune Shaping Brush to make the Sky Cull Grounding Formation, along with several others. It had basically depleted his immortal Qi to half. It was surprising how Lin Mu could use Qi skills for a long time, but as soon as it came to Dao skills, his consumption would skyrocket.
But then again, that was to be expected, as Dao skills were not something one was supposed to use right away. For most immortals, they were their trump cards or only used when they were at a disadvantage. If there was someone else using the Dao skills like Lin Mu had, they would have already used up all their immortal Qi.
After all, while the Dao skills were stronger when used with Immortal Qi than Spirit Qi, it didn't mean their consumption changed. Then there was the fact that they would also tire out the cultivator mentally. Using Dao Skills needed quite a lot of focus, after all.
Lin Mu had a high capacity of Immortal Qi as well as a faster regeneration which was why he was able to bear the use. For him, the use of the True Earth Heart Dao Embryo in the fight against the Serene Glass Valley members wasn't that much.
Most of his consumption had actually come from making the Sky Cull Grounding Formation since he not only needed to supply Immortal Qi to the formations but also to the Rune Shaping Brush when making them. This created a multi-channel drain on his Immortal Qi stores.
But despite all that, he had only used half of his Immortal Qi capacity. And now, he was quickly on his way to restoring it to the maximum.
'Immortal stones and Immortal Qi pills are best used now.' Lin Mu didn't shy away from using resources and consumed them freely.
After all, this was the time to use them. He went through Immortal Stones at a great pace, while also absorbing the immortal Qi from a pill that he had eaten. The two-fold influx of Immortal Qi allowed him to replenish his Immortal Qi at a faster pace than before.
Perhaps it was also the improvement of his body due to the progress of the Tyrant Bull Marrow Secrets that he was able to handle higher amounts of Immortal Qi at once. It wasn't just about the quantity either, but also the efficacy and speed at which they were absorbed into his body.
With the two-fold approach, Lin Mu quickly reached his optimum condition in a few hours. The other immortals didn't dare to approach them and were actually a bit afraid. After all, they didn't know what exactly had happened as the others that had approached the area had simply disappeared.
With the illusory array that had been set up by Lin Mu, it was as if they disappeared into thin air. Then there was the fact that no Immortal Qi fluctuations were felt either. Neither could they hear the sounds of any battle.
It a stark contrast with the battle that had happened there previously.
It didn't take long for the cultivators to realize that the former battle that acted like a beacon might just have been a bait for them.
Someone had set up an array beforehand and orchestrated a battle to catch the attention of other immortals and make them tempted to attack.
One could say half of this was true, but the timing of the array set up as well as the reason behind the formed battle were wrong. Though to Lin Mu, it didn't matter as all he needed was some more time. They'd either wait till the last Spatial Plane other than theirs closed or defeat all those that entered the array.
It took an entire twelve hours before someone actually attempted to come close to the area.
'Oh? Someone new this time…' Lin Mu's immortal sense quickly spread and observed the people that had gotten closer.
They were new and were not among the cultivators that had been watching earlier.
'Perhaps they stumbled onto the area recently, or had been waiting all this time.' Lin Mu thought to himself. 'Or they might have been sent by others here too.'
Lin Mu wouldn't ignore the chances of others collaborating, either.
"Rather than collaborating, there might be threats involved too. Or rewards from others, if they did this for them." Lin Mu could think of several scenarios.
Regardless of what they might be though, he was ready for it all.
Thus, when the new cultivators got close enough, he quickly alerted his companions.
"Get ready. Two more are approaching. This time from the position of Ming Dandan." Lin Mu informed them through the communication jade slip. "It's a pair of Third Tribulation Stage Immortals." He added.
The cultivation base of the two immortals was why Lin Mu also considered the fact that they might have been coerced or threatened by the others to come. Third Tribulation Stage Immortals were now the lowest among the bunch left in the Spatial Plane.
The ones that were surviving now were either those that truly had skills, or were simply lucky. The ones that were lucky initially should have realized by now that winning this round might not be a big possibility for them.
Thus, rather than just losing directly, they might as well collaborate with others in exchange for extra rewards.
It was a reasonable approach and was not against the rules either.
~SHUA~
A couple of minutes later, the two third Tribulation Stage Immortals finally entered the limits of the array.
"They're in!" Lin Mu alerted the others.
Lu Xu and Qian Wen quickly got to work, trying their earlier strategy.
But this time it didn't work as well, as the two immortals weren't flying high. They were just a few tens of meters from the ground, allowing them to land safely. Still, Lu Xu and Qian Wen didn't lose focus, attacking them according to the established tactics.
They managed to deal a few blows to the two third Tribulation Stage Immortals before they retreated. The intruders tried to rush after them, but were caught by the swamp as expected. With another opportunity for attack, Lu Xu and Qian Wen injured them further.
This put the two third Tribulation Stage Immortals on the defensive and they focused on surviving instead of attacking back.
And when Ting finally appeared to attack, the two third Tribulation Stage Immortals did something unexpected. They took out a Communication jade slip!
Lin Mu who saw this knew that his latter guess had been right.
'So they were indeed sent by others.' Lin Mu understood.
He also realized the thinking behind the intruders attempt.
'They didn't inform the others immediately but only did when Ting appeared. I guess the thing that they wanted to know was whether there were more than two people collaborating in this.' Lin Mu analyzed their thoughts.
After all, more than two cultivators working together didn't really make sense. But since both Qian Wen and Lu Xu had fought openly, it meant that the Sky Soar Wolf belonged to a third immortal. An immortal that was a Beast tamer wasn't allowed to fight personally, which meant Ting didn't belong to Lu Xu and Qian Wen.
And if there was a third Immortal involved, it also meant that a fourth might be present as well, due to there being teams of two.
One might even assume that this fourth person could be the one who had set up the formation array.
"Looks like they'll change their approach now." Lin Mu thought as he watched the two third Tribulation Stage Immortals turning into flashes of light and being teleported away. "Get ready, the next group of invaders will be more than just two." He informed his companions.
"We're ready." Lu Xu didn't mind that they'll be facing more.
"It'll be the same." Qian Wen replied. "I don't mind getting injured a bit more."
"We'll do our best to assist!" Ming Dandan chimed in.
"We just need to follow Brother Lin Mu's commands, and the plan will go well." Ming Aolian stated.
Hearing their words, Lin Mu was pleased and liked their enthusiasm. But then, a few seconds later, his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait a second…" Lin Mu felt a wave of energy coming from afar.
It was beyond the range of his immortal sense, but could still be felt.
'A fifth Tribulation Stage Immortal.'
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