When Yun Xi heard Senior Brother Zhao's suggestion, she immediately understood his plan—divide and conquer. They would first lure the Sand Mice into the formation, contain the chaos, and prevent stronger beasts from being attracted by the commotion.
Then, they'd deal with the first-tier Sand Mice in smaller groups. Four people should be enough to handle them, though the cost in energy would be steep. Coordination would be critical. If even one of them ran dry of spiritual power mid-fight, they risked being overwhelmed.
Finally, they would face the second-tier Sand Mouse. It was stronger than any of them individually, but with four against one, a well-coordinated assault backed by a formation and talismans could wear it down to death.
Yun Xi didn't hesitate. "Senior Brother Zhao, I understand. But to trap a second-tier Sand Mouse, we'll need mid-grade spirit stones. If we try to hold it with low-grade ones, the moment it charges through, the array disk won't hold. We won't even have time to breathe before we're overwhelmed."
At the mention of mid-grade spirit stones, the other three all sucked in a sharp breath. A single mid-grade stone required a thousand low-grade stones to trade. Even if someone had one, it was usually stashed away and fiercely guarded.
Yun Xi simply spread her hands. That was the flaw of array disks. They required a constant energy source to function. Without enough power, the formation was useless. It all came down to their own lack of strength—if they were stronger, they could have just drawn their swords and fought head-on. No need for all this trouble.
Senior Brother Zhao took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Hua Xuánzǐ. They both knew that if they couldn't overcome this hurdle, their path as cultivators might end here. So, each of them reached into their storage pouches. A moment later, three mid-grade spirit stones appeared in each of their hands.
Hua Xuánzǐ grimaced as she muttered, "These were the stones I saved up to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill…"
Senior Brother Zhao wore the same expression.
Yun Xi took the stones with a cheerful smile. "Don't worry. If we don't use them all, I'll return what's left."
Zong Hao scratched his head. "Yun Xi, we're still short three stones."
"Search the pouches of the ones we killed. Maybe we'll get lucky. If we still come up short, we can substitute with low-grade ones, though someone will have to keep a close eye on the array disk."
Yun Xi immediately took out the storage pouches they had collected earlier and began to search. Her spiritual sense was the strongest among them, so she planned to spare a strand to monitor the array. Of course, finding more mid-grade spirit stones would be ideal.
As it turned out, luck was on their side. Each of the pouches from Qian, Li, and Zhang contained one mid-grade spirit stone. They had probably worked hard to gather them, which explained why they had tried to rob Hua Xuánzǐ and Senior Brother Zhao in the first place.
"We're good now," Yun Xi said as she moved swiftly to replace the nearly depleted low-grade stones in the array disk with the newly gathered mid-grade ones. "I'm going to activate the array and let the Sand Mice in. Get ready. Meditate now, and don't hold back on pills or spirit stones. We're in for a hard fight."
As she spoke, she didn't pause, quickly completing the exchange of spirit stones.
The moment the replacement was complete, the formation shimmered briefly, and a breath later, the front line of the Sand Mouse horde was pulled inside—including the second-tier Sand Mouse leading the pack.
Yun Xi tapped on the symbol for "Divide," and the formation split into nine separate spaces. She and the others were at the center. Around them, the outer space was sliced into eight sectors, each trapping a portion of the Sand Mice.
With a sweep of her spiritual sense, Yun Xi took in the full layout. Then she sat down cross-legged, held a low-grade spirit stone, and began recovering her strength.
Less than half an hour later, the four of them emerged from meditation and checked their pouches for supplies one last time.
Yun Xi exhaled a long breath. "Everyone ready?"
"Ready!"
"We'll go in two teams, forming crossfire angles and working together to take the Sand Mice down."
"Understood!"
"Follow me."
Yun Xi chose the space with the largest number of Sand Mice. Their goal in the early stage was to eliminate the bulk of the enemy. Otherwise, if they were forced to fight hordes while already drained later, they'd be doomed.
The instant they entered, the Sand Mice surged forward. They had caught the scent of fresh meat.
Senior Brother Zhao led the charge. His first strike, imbued with gold-element spiritual power, split open the space ahead of them, buying the group a place to stand. The four quickly took position and launched their attacks.
Yun Xi wasn't about to let this battle go to waste. As Zong Hao swung his fire-imbued sword in wide arcs, she unleashed a barrage of spells. Fireball, Gold Arrow, Ice Spike, Thunderstrike, and Entangle—all fired off in rapid succession, with pinpoint accuracy.
Soon, she began experimenting with spell combos. First a Water Orb exploded over the Sand Mice, soaking them completely. Then came a Thunderstrike, maximizing the damage.
The mice struck by the thunder shook violently, their bellies to the sky. That was when Zong Hao moved in for the kill. Senior Brother Zhao handled the rest, dispatching his share cleanly. Their coordination was near flawless.
After over half an hour of fighting, they had finally cleared the sector. All four collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted. The mice had relied on numbers. A single mistake could result in being swarmed. Their robes were shredded, chewed to rags.
After a short rest, they sat upright and began meditating to restore their spiritual power.
Yun Xi used the chance to adjust her cultivation base to the sixth level of Qi Refining, disguising it as a breakthrough brought on by extreme combat. The other three noticed and were quietly pleased.
Once their spiritual energy and stamina were restored, and they had eaten to regain their strength, Yun Xi opened the next section.
They fought from morning to afternoon, then from afternoon to night. By the time they were done, most of the first-tier Sand Mice were slain. All that remained was the second-tier leader.
"Maybe we should rest until morning before we face that one?" Zong Hao suggested, noting everyone's fatigue.
But the other three shook their heads in unison.
"No."
"Why not?"
Yun Xi pulled out the array disk and pointed. "Look at the spirit stones."
Zong Hao fell silent. The nine mid-grade spirit stones were already dimming. At least half of their energy had been drained.
If the second-tier Sand Mouse realized something was wrong and launched a night attack, the array might not last until dawn.
Senior Brother Zhao spoke up. "We rest for one hour. Prepare thoroughly, then we strike."
He wasn't confident either, but they had come this far. They had already spent so many resources, including mid-grade spirit stones. If they didn't take down that second-tier Sand Mouse, it would all be wasted. No turning back now.
"When we go in, Xuánzǐ and I will hold its attention. You two focus on eliminating the remaining first-tier Sand Mice. Once they're gone, we can concentrate on the big one. We can't afford to get caught between enemies."
"Understood!"
Yun Xi and Zong Hao nodded. This was no time for pride.
Yun Xi added, "The Sand Mouse's weak points are its underbelly and eyes. Try faking an attack toward the belly. That'll make it neglect its eyes. Then go for the eyes when it lets its guard down."
Senior Brother Zhao and Hua Xuánzǐ both nodded. Strategy was key.
"Alright. Since everyone's ready, I'll open the formation now."
As the barrier lifted, the four of them surged forward, blades and spells ready. They weren't giving that Sand Mouse a single breath to react.