Chapter 1800: Strategic Planning

In the void, Yang Ling moved swiftly, his expression solemn.

As he continuously drew closer to Li Tian's position, a faint red glow began to emanate from his body, like a layer of blood mist enveloping him.

This red light grew stronger and its might became more intense.

Li Tian, who had been standing quietly, finally noticed something. He turned his head towards Yang Ling's direction, a sneer of disdain appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Finally, Yang Ling stood three hundred li away from Li Tian. His entire body glowed intensely red, the power of the Red Talisman having been activated to its peak, ready to be unleashed at any moment. The formidable might made Yang Ling's clothes flap wildly and his hair fly about.

He stared at Li Tian with a grave and focused expression, ready to unleash the Red Talisman's power immediately should the other party make any untoward move.

Their eyes met. Li Tian slightly raised a hand, pointed it towards Yang Ling, then beckoned with a finger. His mocking voice followed: "Do you dare?"

Yang Ling did not respond.

Although Hu Dequan and Meng Xu each had a Red Talisman on them besides him, these were among the last few remaining Red Talismans of their Red Talisman Society. Each use meant one less, so he truly did not dare to make the first move.

While the power of the Red Talisman was indeed terrifying, he wasn't sure if it could successfully kill a Sun-illuminated cultivator. If he activated the Red Talisman and Li Tian didn't die, then Yang Ling would surely perish.

Immediately after, they saw the Red Talisman, without hesitation, plunge headfirst into the blood sea.

Seeing this, the cultivators of the Incense Sound Society, who had already received telepathic warnings from Lu Ye and his sisters, did not hesitate. They all seized the opportunity to launch their attacks.

Once the battle erupted, it became incredibly chaotic.

In the void, Li Tian still stood quietly. Eight hundred li away, Yang Ling, who had secretly activated the power of Incense Sound as a deterrent, dared not relax for a moment, even though he already knew that the Saint Blood Peak cultivators had been almost completely wiped out. His eyes were fixed on Li Tian without wavering, ready to unleash the power of Incense Sound the instant the opponent made any untoward move.

The cultivators of the Incense Sound Society darted around, continuously evading the engulfing blood sea while employing all sorts of techniques.

The Red Talisman continuously channeled its potent sacred power, wielding a broadsword within the formation, its blade glinting as it unleashed a devastating slaughter.

Seeing that Yang Ling made no move, Li Tian merely let out a soft hmph, ignoring him. His divine sense spread out, clearly perceiving his subordinate cultivators dying continuously, yet he remained unmoved, his face shrouded in a profound, unreadable expression.

With such cultivators leading, Saint Blood Peak no longer had to endure the suppression of sacred power, which meant the Incense Sound Society's teams couldn't swiftly wipe out their enemies as they initially had.

These few cultivators were all those who had been in this realm the longest, having bathed in thousands of years of blood rain and refined various resources, accumulating a considerable amount of potent sacred power within their bodies.

Only by dealing with him could this battle truly be considered decisive. From now on, this realm would no longer have Saint Blood Peak.

The Red Talisman finally made its move.

In just two days, the Saint Blood Peak cultivators were almost completely annihilated.

Without stopping, the Red Talisman darted off again, rushing towards another direction.

On a meteorite, the blood-soaked Symbol's Might returned, landing beside the Red Talisman. Although his expression showed some fatigue, his spirit was extremely uplifted: "Brother, your strategies are brilliant!"

"Do you think I would answer you?" Yang Ling responded coldly.

Yang Ling had no way of guessing Li Tian's true intentions. Although he had secretly subdued some Saint Blood Peak cultivators during this period and inadvertently discovered another secret, he knew nothing about Li Tian's plans.

Symbol's Might considered it carefully, then agreed, "You're right."

As the Red Talisman and Symbol's Might flew towards Li Tian's position, various teams of their own cultivators also received orders to converge on that area.

In that direction, a fierce and unusual battle was also erupting.

The Red Talisman turned to look at him: "Li Tian is still alive."

Furthermore, Qin Lin suspected that Li Tian's inaction wasn't solely due to being restrained by Yang Ling. If he were in Li Tian's position, with so many of his subordinates dead, he would surely fight back. As long as he could withstand one Incense Sound strike from Yang Ling, he would have complete control over anyone's life on the entire battlefield.

The biggest reason was that Saint Blood Peak had a few cultivators whose sacred power was so formidable that even Lu Ye and his sisters couldn't compare.

Symbol's Might nodded gravely: "So, we still need to deal with him!"

He could sense that some of his subordinates had betrayed him, and more than one, but these few traitors shouldn't have been enough to affect the overall course of the battle.

The Red Talisman turned to look at Qin Lin and his sisters, who stood at the forefront, and found that although they were injured, it was nothing serious; they merely looked somewhat disheveled.

"Li Tian has been completely still. I went to observe him from a distance earlier. Although Yang Ling is using the power of Incense Sound to restrain him, logically, with Saint Blood Peak suffering such heavy losses, Li Tian shouldn't be entirely inactive. Yet, ever since he entered this place, he's remained motionless. I'm afraid he's up to something." The Red Talisman's eyes flickered: "What do you mean, 'what's wrong'?"

Suddenly, a streak of light rapidly streaked from a certain direction. Feeling that familiar aura, Lu Ye and his sisters were greatly shaken.

Li Tian's disinterest made Yang Ling frown. He instinctively felt that something was amiss but dared not dwell on it, fearing it would distract him.

The vast blood sea collapsed with a roar, revealing nearly ten cultivator figures hidden within, all bewildered and terrified.

The Red Talisman's gaze was profound as he looked ahead, the unease in his heart growing stronger.

This battle, victory is assured!

Never before in any struggle within the Black Abyss had the Qin Lin Society experienced such a satisfying victory.

They had been continuously stalling for time, waiting for this decisive moment. Having personally experienced the terrifying sacred power of the Red Talisman, they naturally knew what was about to happen. Immediately, their divine senses surged, sending telepathic messages to their own cultivators to prepare for a counterattack.

Within that blood sea, Saint Blood Peak cultivators were hidden, using the blood sea as their foundation, giving them an absolute advantage.

Although their side suffered losses, and not small ones, after this battle, Li Tian's forces from Saint Blood Peak were almost completely crippled.

The next instant, gasps of alarm rang out. Even from a great distance, when that terrifying sacred power erupted, Lu Ye and his sisters felt their bodies go weak...

A moment later, the battlefield fell silent.

The enemy suffered casualties, and their own side also experienced continuous personnel losses. Fortunately, Saint Blood Peak's power had been steadily weakened from the beginning; otherwise, if the situation had continued to develop as it was, it would have been very disadvantageous for the Incense Sound Society.

The Honored Master has arrived!

The Red Talisman nodded: "It's best if there's no trickery. Right now, no one knows what his plan is, but there's one thing... his subordinates are almost all dead. Whatever his plan, he has no one left to use. While a Sun-illuminated cultivator is indeed terrifying, he is alone, and we still have over eighty people. We should be able to take him down together."

Time passed. One Saint Blood Peak team after another was eliminated. The overall power dynamic between the two sides shifted from being completely overwhelmed, to gradually balancing out, and then to a complete reversal...

In this battle, even if Li Tian was restrained by Yang Ling and found it inconvenient to act personally, why didn't these Saint Blood Peak teams merge after realizing the situation was unfavorable? Instead, they continued to wander around in small groups. Logically, if they had consolidated, their self-preservation capabilities would have greatly increased. Yet, they didn't do so, and their scattered presence undoubtedly gave their opponents the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

Once the Qin Lin Society cultivators charged in, the previously intense battle immediately turned into a one-sided slaughter.

In just two days, Symbol's Might truly witnessed the Red Talisman's terrifying ability to command and kill. Every command he issued spelled doom for a Saint Blood Peak team. Without the Red Talisman, this battle could not have proceeded so smoothly.

As he spoke, Symbol's Might frowned again: "But brother, I feel like something isn't quite right."

The two flew forward together.

He dared not gamble, so even when Li Tian mocked and provoked him, he simply ignored it, focusing only on his mission.

Standing there, although his divine sense could perceive the fading life force, he couldn't ascertain the precise details of the battle, so he was genuinely quite curious.

Yang Ling became even more vigilant. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "What?"

At one of the battlefields, the fighting was incredibly intense.

Many cultivators of the Incense Sound Society had faces brimming with excitement, as they had never experienced such a satisfying battle. In the past, whenever they confronted Saint Blood Peak, they were always at an absolute disadvantage, constantly hiding.

Now, Saint Blood Peak had only Li Tian left. Although their side didn't have Sun-illuminated cultivators, they possessed several Incense Sounds, and a significant number of their cultivators were still alive. Even if it meant sacrificing lives, they could take down Li Tian.

Of course, this wasn't the main reason he was forced to act.

Just then, the Red Talisman's sound charm vibrated slightly. He checked it and said, "The last Saint Blood Peak team has been wiped out. It's time to deal with Li Tian!"

His blood servants, embedded within Saint Blood Peak, were exposed one after another. The Saint Blood Peak teams also realized something was wrong, becoming increasingly cautious in their actions.

Suddenly, Li Tian looked at Yang Ling, appearing somewhat perplexed: "How did you do it?"

Symbol's Might's expression grew stern: "Let's go. It's time for my Incense Sound, nurtured for years, to see the light of day."

Li Tian sighed: "Never mind, if you won't say it... it doesn't matter anyway."

Lu Ye and his sisters were in a disheveled state, not daring to get too close to the blood sea at all, because the Saint Blood Peak cultivators controlling that blood sea were stronger in sacred power than they were. If they were to be swallowed by the blood sea, the outcome would surely be dire.

In contrast, this time, so many Saint Blood Peak cultivators were utterly annihilated by them. They didn't even use many of the formations they had previously set up, and the location of their origin had never been exposed.

Li Tian slowly said, "Based on the apparent power disparity, my Saint Blood Peak outnumbers their Incense Sound Society by several times. How did they manage to eliminate my cultivators so thoroughly? Also... what methods did they use to incite those few traitors?"