Tens of thousands of demonic beasts—this was just Su Qing's estimate.

In fact, this beast tide was jointly controlled by the three guardians under the Demon King.

There were a full 30,000 demonic beasts, including not only low-level demonic beasts, but also several thousand fourth-level demonic beasts, several hundred fifth-level demonic beasts, and even dozens of sixth-level demonic beasts!

Xue Bocheng was helped to sit down by Xue Zheng, but his wrists were still trembling.

He was merely a member of a collateral branch of the Xue family, but through his status as a talisman master, he became the city lord of Xueling City.

He just wanted to draw talismans properly in Xueling City, but who would have thought that he would have to face a beast tide.

In the past, it was one thing for a hundred or two hundred demonic beasts to attack the city; the talismans he drew were enough to defend Xueling City. But who would have thought that an endless number of demonic beasts would come towards their Xueling City?

Currently, Xueling City has no Core Formation stage cultivators, only a dozen or so Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, a few hundred Qi Refining stage cultivators, and a thousand elderly, weak, women, and children...

Xue Bocheng could already imagine the tragic scene after Xueling City was trampled flat by the demonic cavalry.

Looking at Su Qing and the other three, although they had just displayed amazing combat power, they were only Foundation Establishment cultivators.

We can't win, and we can't hold our ground.

Xue Bocheng had already thought of the only way: to run away!

Su Qing immediately noticed that Xue Bocheng's eyes were darting around, and he was thinking about escaping.

"Lord Xue, Xueling City is located in the valley between Quexi Mountain and Quedong Mountain. It is the throat through which demonic beasts enter the southern plains. If Xueling City falls, it means that the entire southern plains will be exposed to the trampling of the beast tide. This beast tide is not an ordinary beast tide, but a beast tide secretly controlled by the Demon King and manipulated by the Demon King's protectors."

"The Demon King's target is the entire Wuyuan Continent. If Xueling City falls, we are doomed. Even the Xue family and the Xuanling Sect will be hard-pressed to survive."

"If anyone in Xueling City abandons the city and flees, they will likely be hunted down by the entire cultivation world."

Xue Bocheng's hand trembled, and he almost fell off his chair.

"Then, even if we hold out to the death, we have no chance of winning," Xue Bocheng said in a trembling voice.

In fact, Xue Bocheng only wanted to invite Su Qing to Xueling City to ask her about drawing talismans, but he did not expect that Su Qing would take control of the conversation as soon as she entered the door.

"Actually, there is a way. We just hope that Lord Xue can cooperate."

"What method?"

"To catch the thief, first catch the king!" Seeing that Xue Bocheng was already frightened, Su Qing softened her tone. "These demonic beasts, although they are huge, are mostly low-intelligence third-tier demonic beasts. There are also some fourth-tier demonic beasts with some intelligence, but these demonic beasts are obviously being controlled."

"To be able to control so many demonic beasts, they must be high-level demonic beasts," Xue Bocheng said. "Sixth-level? Seventh-level?"

"Or the eighth rank."

"What? Eighth rank?" Xue Bocheng felt he might as well faint.

Sixth and seventh tier demonic beasts are equivalent to the combat power of a Core Formation stage cultivator, while the eighth tier demonic beast that Su Qing mentioned is the combat power of a Nascent Soul stage demonic beast.

"Even if it's a ninth-tier demonic beast, I wouldn't be surprised," Su Qing said calmly.

Xue Bocheng stared wide-eyed for a long moment before muttering, "A ninth-tier demonic beast? How can we possibly defeat it?"

At the same time, the sect leader of Xuanling Sect picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Alas, he knew that the artifact spirit was vengeful, but he did not expect it to be this vengeful. The battle to defend Xueling City could be said to be the most tragic of all the city defense battles.

Ten thousand years ago, the battle to defend Xueling City was extremely fierce. Not only was Xueling City almost completely destroyed and the entire city slaughtered by demonic beasts, but the Xuanling Sect cultivators who went to reinforce it also paid a very heavy price.

Wen Yutian of the Wuji Sect naturally knew about the battle to defend Xueling City, and said with a sneer, "It seems that the four of them have stopped here. What a pity. No matter how outstanding their performance was before, offending the spirit of the artifact means they can only be eliminated in the end."

"It's too early to draw any conclusions," the Xuanling Sect Master said calmly.

Wen Yutian rolled his eyes, inwardly scoffing, "Old man, you're just being stubborn! If you can defend Xueling City, I'll kneel down and call you daddy!"

Seeing Wen Yutian's expression, the Xuanling Sect leader raised an eyebrow and said, "What? Don't you believe they can turn the tide?"

"snort."

"Then, how about we make a bet! I bet they can hold Xueling City, that's my bet!"

As the sect leader of Xuanling Sect spoke, he took out an exquisite box from his storage space. He opened it a crack, and immediately it shone with brilliance. It was actually a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, a spirit gourd that had been nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for tens of thousands of years!

Wen Yutian's eyes widened instantly. This was a Spirit Gourd! If he could obtain this Spirit Gourd and integrate it into his natal magic weapon, his combat power would definitely rise to another level.

Hmph, Xuan Qingye, Su Qing and the other two are just Foundation Establishment cultivators, no matter how talented they are. Even Nascent Soul cultivators have self-destructed while defending Xueling City, so how can they possibly defend it?

“I bet they can’t hold Xueling City,” Wen Yutian said, taking out a treasure from his storage space.

A beautifully crafted bottle; upon opening the cap, a rich fragrance wafts out.

"This is a Soul-Suppressing Pill refined by a Grandmaster Alchemist of the Nascent Soul stage from our Wuji Sect," Wen Yutian said.

The Xuanling Sect Master's eyes lit up as well. The Soul-Suppressing Pill was a ninth-grade pill used by Nascent Soul cultivators to eliminate inner demons when breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage.

The value of this Soul-Suppressing Pill is barely comparable to that of the Spirit-Communicating Gourd.

"Alright, since that's the case, then let's wait and see what the show is like," the Xuanling Sect leader said calmly.

In Xueling City.

“Actually, we are not without hope,” Su Qing said.

"This is Xueling City. We are here on Quexi Mountain, and this is Quedong Mountain. Xueling City is located in the valley between these two mountains."

"While Xueling City needs to be defended, we'll circle around to the rear of the beast tide from here..."

"Wait, there's an eighth-tier, or even ninth-tier, demonic beast waiting for us there, or maybe more than one!" Xue Bocheng said hurriedly.

“Yes! It’s the leader that controls these monsters,” Su Qing said. “What we need to do is destroy it.”

As she spoke, Su Qing made a large X in that spot.

"You, what are you talking about? Our Xueling City doesn't even have a Core Formation stage cultivator. How are we supposed to deal with a demon beast comparable to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator? You'd be sending us to our deaths!" Xue Bocheng shouted.

"Then let's just wait to be devoured by these monsters that break through the city," Su Qing said.

"..." Xue Bocheng remained silent.

"We can't beat them." Xue Zheng, who had been listening attentively, finally spoke up.

Su Qing nodded and said, "We may not be able to beat them, but that doesn't mean others can't."

At this moment, Xuan Qingye's eyes lit up.

Summoning spell?

Su Qing nodded.

Su Qing had previously summoned an eighth-tier Horned Wood Dragon!

If we can summon the Horned Wood Dragon again, we might not be without a fighting chance against the leader of the beast horde.

Moreover, Su Qing has now mastered the second move of the Twenty-Eight Constellations Sword Technique, which means that Su Qing can also try to summon the Kang Jinlong!

With two powerful forces—an eighth-tier Horned Wood Dragon and an eighth-tier Golden Dragon—what is impossible?

“However, the divine beasts I summon can only last for one minute! After one minute, they will disappear automatically,” Su Qing said. “We must have a complete plan.”

"Summoning a divine beast?" Xue Bocheng and Xue Zheng's eyes lit up immediately. It was only at this moment that they could see that the father and son did indeed have some similarities.

At this moment, the Xuanling Sect Master's lips curled into a smile. Hehe, having summoned an eighth-order Horned Wood Dragon with combat power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could Xueling City possibly be unable to defend itself?

[I revised the story again. I just felt it wouldn't be right to leave it without going into the city, so Xueling City opened its gates and welcomed our protagonist in.]