At this moment, the siege by Demonic Beasts had been going on for several hours.
The three-tier Demonic Beasts on the opposing side, along with our Golden Core Cultivators, had been engaged in battle from the very beginning, but now there was no sign of them. It was unclear where they had disappeared to.
The Demonic Beasts were no longer as ferocious in their siege, and our defending Cultivators were extremely fatigued.
The hours-long battle had already depleted the Spiritual Energy of most Cultivators.
Meanwhile, the four Flying Boats in the rear continued to vigorously slay the Demonic Beasts.
At this moment, the Foundation Building Cultivators on the Flying Boats each held a medium-grade Spirit Stone. They wielded Spiritual Weapons to kill Demonic Beasts while actively absorbing Spiritual Energy from the stones to replenish their own consumption.
These medium-grade Spirit Stones had been distributed to them in advance by the higher-ups of Boundary City, specifically for replenishing the expenditure of Spiritual Power.
The immense Spiritual Energy within the medium-grade Spirit Stones, while not as potent as second-tier Spirit Wine in replenishing Spiritual Power, was much faster than consuming first-tier Spirit Wine.
This was the benefit of possessing a vein of medium-grade Spirit Stone.
However, the quantity of medium-grade Spirit Stones in the vein was not abundant. Over this period of time, only a few hundred had been mined.
This amount was just enough to give each Foundation Building Cultivator on the six Flying Boats one piece each, as they had the highest frequency of battle. Without replenishment, they would have lost their combat effectiveness long ago.
Meanwhile, Wang Hong and Wu Dayong's group had already killed more than ten groups of flying Demonic Beasts within the city.
Wang Hong had consumed Spirit Wine several times to replenish his Spiritual Energy. As for Wu Dayong, having been the shopkeeper for so many years, he had naturally accumulated quite a few good items and surprisingly had some second-tier Spirit Wine.
As for the eight Qi Cultivation Cultivators, Wang Hong simply sold them a bottle of first-tier Spirit Wine each at a low price to prevent them from lagging behind.
It wasn't that he couldn't afford to give them the meager amount of Spirit Stones for the first-tier Spirit Wine; it was just that they were not close enough to warrant such generosity.
The overall strength of the flying Demonic Beasts entering the city was initially slightly stronger than that of the human Cultivators in the city.
However, after killing more than ten groups of them, the balance shifted, and now both sides were evenly matched.
Outside the city at this moment, the four Flying Boats had finally penetrated the Beast Tide from the left and right, cutting through the middle and temporarily splitting the Beast Tide into two.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two Flying Boats supporting the city defense boldly attacked from the front, causing chaos in the small section of the beast horde in front of them.
The six Flying Boats took advantage of the confusion within the Beast Tide, maneuvering freely and relentlessly killing Demonic Beasts.
As a result, the vanguard of the Beast Tide fell into disarray, losing the strength to continue the siege. The defending Cultivators on the city walls finally gained a moment to catch their breath.
While the six Flying Boats were busy slaying Demonic Beasts, two three-tier Demonic Beasts once again flew out from the Beast Tide and attacked the Flying Boats.
However, the Flying Boats were unafraid. They formed pairs to confront each Golden Core Cultivator.
Combining the strength of hundreds of Foundation Building Cultivators, along with the protective barriers of the Flying Boats, they engaged in a fierce battle against the three-tier Demonic Beasts, and for a short time, neither side gained the upper hand.
The remaining two Flying Boats continued to ruthlessly slay Demonic Beasts in front of the city wall, preventing them from regrouping for another siege.
Realizing that they couldn't take advantage today, the two three-tier Demonic Beasts emitted a strong pressure and roared loudly toward the Beast Tide.
Upon hearing the roar, the horde led by second-tier Demonic Beasts began to retreat.
As the horde moved away, the two three-tier Demonic Beasts turned and followed, leaving the battlefield.
Seeing the Beast Tide retreat, the Cultivators on the city wall collapsed one by one, feeling as if they had lost all strength even to move a finger.
The six Flying Boats returned to the city, and it took another hour for the Golden Core Elders to return to Boundary City.
Although the Demonic Beast horde had temporarily retreated, there were still many tasks to be done.
First and foremost was cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the spoils of war.
The battle was too chaotic, and there was no time to tidy up the Demonic Beast corpses. They had to be collected systematically, and the distribution would follow later.
Qi Cultivation Cultivators were assigned to handle these tasks, with some Foundation Building Cultivators supervising. The overall coordination was overseen by the Golden Core Elders.
Wang Hong also received three demon cores and various miscellaneous materials from the Demonic Beasts.
In addition, efforts were concentrated on mining the Spirit Stone vein within the city.
The medium-grade Spirit Stones played a significant role in today's battle; otherwise, the Foundation Building Cultivators on the six Flying Boats wouldn't have lasted long.
The city mobilized Cultivators to mine Spirit Stones overnight, even calling on some Foundation Building Cultivators to participate in the excavation.
Currently, the Demonic Beasts had only temporarily withdrawn and were staying about a hundred miles away from Boundary City, preparing for a possible second siege.
Wu Dayong approached Wang Hong, inviting him to join in mining the Spirit Stone vein.
"Foundation Building Cultivators can bring other Magical Weapons into the mine, and with these weapons, we can efficiently mine Spirit Stones. Imagine how fast it could be."
"It indeed sounds fast, but how much can we gain from mining these Spirit Stones?" Wang Hong was intrigued; after all, using a Magical Weapon like a Flying Sword, a Foundation Building Cultivator could dig a cave mansion in a short time.
"In these special times, the rewards are naturally much higher. For every ten Spirit Stones mined, one can be distributed to the miner."
"Really, even for medium-grade Spirit Stones?"
A swing of a Foundation Building Cultivator's sword could unearth dozens of Spirit Stones. A ten-to-one ratio was already quite generous, ensuring a considerable daily income.
"Of course, including medium-grade Spirit Stones. That's why I invited you. If you're lucky enough to mine ten medium-grade Spirit Stones, you get one medium-grade Spirit Stone."
Wu Dayong knew that, as an Alchemist, Wang Hong was wealthy. Offering only low-grade Spirit Stones might not have piqued his interest.
"Getting medium-grade Spirit Stones is indeed a fantastic opportunity to earn Spirit Stones. Unfortunately, after the big battle, I feel a bit unwell. I need some time to recuperate, so I have to miss this chance." Wang Hong expressed his regret.
"That's a shame, Junior Brother Wang. Your health is more important. Take care, and if the mountains remain green, there will always be wood to burn. I'll take my leave then."
With Wang Hong unable to join, Wu Dayong expressed his regret and left.
That night, the Spirit Stone mine was bustling with activity, with occasional cheers from Cultivators echoing within.
Legends of someone finding a medium-grade Spirit Stone or similar stories stirred waves of envy and admiration.
Boundary City, lacking protective formations at this time, had only around ten thousand Cultivators. After the battle today, there were significant casualties.
At this moment, most of the remaining Cultivators were busy mining Spirit Stones in the caves, and the number of Cultivators patrolling the city walls was extremely scarce.
It was precisely at this time that a dark figure quietly slipped out of Boundary City's walls.
After leaving the city walls, the figure did not go far but headed towards a pile of Demonic Beast corpses.
In this battle, the Beast Tide's total numbers far exceeded the previous siege of Jin'an City.
The last time the Beast Tide was launched, it was a surprise attack, with a limited number of beasts available due to some being stationed to guard the veins.
This time, however, it involved most of the Demonic Beasts from the Boundary Mountain Range. Although the time was short, the number of casualties far exceeded those from the previous two days.
Aside from the avian Demonic Beasts that died within the city, at least a hundred thousand Demonic Beasts died outside the city. After salvaging useful parts from their corpses, several hills of Demonic Beast bodies piled up outside the city.
Once the dark figure approached one of these corpse mountains, the bodies of the Demonic Beasts disappeared one by one. After a moment, the entire mountain of corpses vanished without a trace.
The shadow then moved towards another pile of corpses...
Early the next morning, the Cultivators guarding the city noticed a strange phenomenon: several hills of Demonic Beast corpses outside the city had mysteriously disappeared.
[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]