Both sides agreed that Foundation Establishment cultivators would not intervene.
The next day, the Qian family cultivators began their move, forming a queue from the foot of the Nameless Peak to the entrance of the mine halfway up the mountainside.
They outnumbered the demon hunters approximately two to one.
Mo Hua looked down from the highest point of the mine entrance and saw a dense crowd of Qian family cultivators below, estimating there were over a thousand of them.
How were they going to handle this?
Mo Hua glanced at Elder Yu.
Elder Yu shrugged indifferently. "Just a bunch of good-for-nothings."
And so, the two sides began to battle.
Initially, they only probed each other, exchanging casual attacks.
While the demon hunters' cultivation levels were slightly lower than those of the Qian family cultivators, they were seasoned in battle against demons, skilled in Daoist techniques, experienced from countless battles, and coordinated seamlessly with each other.
Although the Qian family cultivators had higher cultivation levels, they were used to bullying others and their Daoist techniques were mediocre. They didn't dare to go all out and were apprehensive when actually fighting.
After a brief melee, the situation gradually became clear.
The demon hunters could attack and defend, seemingly fighting individually but supporting each other. Despite not having numerical superiority, they pushed the Qian family cultivators back step by step.
The demon hunters made a living by hunting demons, and they could handle these cultivators who weren't adept at fighting.
The Qian family cultivators began to retreat.
Qian Zhongxuan saw this with an expression devoid of joy or anger. He simply waved his hand, signaling the Qian family cultivators to withdraw.
He probably feared being scolded by Elder Yu in front of the formation for moving too slowly.
Thus, the first day ended hastily, everyone regrouped, and on the second day, they resumed the confrontation.
Among the Qian family cultivators, about twenty more cultivators appeared.
These twenty-some cultivators stood together, while the other Qian family cultivators formed a protective circle around them.
Elder Yu frowned. "That old fox Qian Zhongxuan, he's the one behind this idea."
Having said that, he picked up a piece of beef and started eating.
It was Mo Hua's beef.
Originally, Elder Yu had been observing the battle from above, but as he watched, he noticed Mo Hua sneaking a peek from a nearby cave entrance.
There were wild fruits, pine nuts, beef, and fruit wine laid out in front of him.
Worried about Mo Hua's safety, Elder Yu joined him.
The two of them watched the battle while eating.
Mo Hua had thought today would be another victorious day with some twists, similar to yesterday. So, he had prepared snacks and drinks to enjoy the show.
But now, seeing Elder Yu frown, his expression was far from optimistic.
Mo Hua asked, "What's wrong?"
Elder Yu pointed at the twenty or so Qian family cultivators lined up separately. "Look at those people."
Mo Hua glanced over and felt their weak aura and apparent lack of strength. However, the Qian family had singled them out and heavily guarded them, for reasons unknown.
"Elder, who are these people..."
"You'll see," Elder Yu said.
Soon after, the two sides clashed again, with the demon hunters charging forward.
The Qian family cultivators, however, did not charge but adopted a defensive formation to protect those twenty-some cultivators.
At the same time, those twenty-some cultivators began to chant and gesture in unison.
Mo Hua's heart skipped a beat.
They were spiritual cultivators!
Several breaths later, these spiritual cultivators finished casting their spells. Whether it was fireballs, ice arrows, or wind blades, spells flew out one after another, hitting the demon hunters in front of them.
In the midst of the chaotic battle, even without deliberate aiming, they managed to hit their targets.
The demon hunters hit by the spells were all momentarily stunned. Those lightly injured vomited blood due to the impact of spiritual energy, while those severely wounded were corroded by the spiritual energy, slowly falling to the ground, losing their combat capability.
At the same time, the Qian family's physical cultivators surged forward, driving back the charging demon hunters.
Meanwhile, the Qian family's spiritual cultivators continued to gather qi and cast spells.
Before long, fireballs and ice arrows flew out once again.
The demon hunters were in dire straits.
If they charged forward, they would be intercepted by the Qian family's physical cultivators.
If they didn't charge forward, they would become sitting ducks, enduring the spells from these twenty-some spiritual cultivators.
Elder Yu's brow furrowed even tighter.
Twenty-some spiritual cultivators, all in the late Qi Refining stage, and some even at the ninth level! Qian Zhongxuan's grandson, it turns out, had come up with this idea.
They were bullying demon hunters who lacked spiritual cultivation!
It was true that demon hunters in the Qi Refining stage were not suitable for spiritual cultivation.
Casting spells as a spiritual cultivator required time. However, in life-and-death battles against demons, being even slightly slower could mean death.
So, demon hunters generally didn't specialize in spells but practiced martial arts and Daoist techniques, using spiritual energy to unleash the potential of their physical bodies in combat against demons.
Furthermore, the bodies of spiritual cultivators were relatively weak. A light scratch from a demon could result in severe injury or even death. Unlike physical cultivators, who had tough skin and could withstand more blows.
But now, in battle with the Qian family cultivators, the Qian family had concluded that the demon hunters lacked spiritual cultivation or didn't have any competent spiritual cultivators to speak of.
They had the advantage.
Relying on these advantages, the Qian family, with their spiritual spells, could slowly wear down the demon hunters.
There were indeed some spiritual cultivators among the demon hunters, but unless they were at least at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, and unless there were twenty-some of them, they wouldn't have much impact in this chaotic situation and couldn't change the tide of battle.
Elder Yu felt a faint anger rising within him.
No wonder Qian Zhongxuan had arranged for the Foundation Establishment cultivators not to intervene.
If he could intervene, he would definitely rush over and slaughter these twenty-some spiritual cultivators immediately, saving a lot of trouble.
But now he couldn't intervene. Relying solely on a group of Qi Refining stage physical cultivators, they couldn't charge forward and could only be tormented by their spells.
Elder Yu sighed, knowing the situation was unfavorable. He directly ordered the demon hunters to retreat and only guarded the entrance of the cave.
Qian Zhongxuan sneered and didn't pursue further.
He wasn't in a hurry. Unable to deal with these spiritual cultivators, this group of demon hunters would sooner or later be worn down bit by bit.
Rashly chasing after them would only make them fall into the old fox Yu Changlin's trap.
Over the years, he had dealt with Yu Changlin many times and knew how shameless the man was to the extreme.
Under Yu Changlin's hands, he hadn't gained much advantage, but now it was time for him to have the upper hand.
As the Qian family withdrew, Elder Yu frowned and pondered how to deal with the Qian family's spiritual cultivators.
Yu Chengyi suggested, "Dad, why don't you secretly take action and slaughter those spiritual cultivators?"
Elder Yu glared at him. "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you hear what that old fox said? The Head of the Tribunal is acting as a witness. If I intervene rashly, it's like slapping the Tribunal in the face. How do I explain it to the Head of the Tribunal?"
Yu Chengyi whispered, "Secretly..."
Elder Yu raised an eyebrow. "Do you think others are fools? Can't they tell if it's my doing?"
Yu Chengyi had nothing to say. After a moment, he said again:
"How about we wear iron armor and charge over?"
Mo Shan on the side shook his head. "Wearing iron armor will slow us down, and we'll still be targets."
Yu Chengyi suggested again, "Then let's find a few with good agility and try to avoid the Qian family's physical cultivators, sneak around, and kill their spiritual cultivators from behind!"
Mo Shan nodded. "That's the only way for now, but it's quite dangerous. We have to be extremely careful; otherwise, we might be attacked from both sides."
"The risk is too great. Once we make a mistake, it's hard to escape." Elder Yu sighed.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want the demon hunters to take such risks.
"What about using spiritual cultivators to deal with them?" Yu Chengyi tentatively asked.
Elder Yu pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "With low cultivation levels and few in number, the spiritual cultivators wouldn't change the situation."
The group fell into contemplation again.
Elder Yu suddenly remembered something:
"Among our demon hunters, is there anyone who is a spiritual cultivator?"
Yu Chengyi and Mo Shan were both stunned and couldn't think of anyone for a moment.
Who among the genuine demon hunters would practice spiritual cultivation?
They looked at each other in confusion.
Mo Hua weakly raised his hand. "I am."
(End of the Chapter)