Chapter 60: Group Battle

On another battlefield, Lin Shiji was locked in a fierce battle with a Silver Earth Scorpion. Both sides were evenly matched, neither gaining much ground.

After a powerful strike that pushed back the scorpion, Lin Shiji used the momentum to leap onto a massive boulder. With his palms together, he formed a golden sword energy above his head and launched it at the scorpion.

"Die, beast!"

The sword energy exploded, sending sand and rocks flying within a radius of several dozen feet. The sword light severed two of the scorpion's legs.

The Silver Earth Scorpion let out a painful howl, its agony turning into rage. It bared its teeth and sprayed a jet of blackish-brown venom from its tail towards Lin Shiji.

Startled, Lin Shiji increased his speed, instantly shifting ten feet away and landing on a tree.

The rock he had just been standing on was immediately turned into a puddle of blackish-brown liquid, and the ground below was corroded into a large pit.

Seeing the power of the venom, Lin Shiji couldn't help but exclaim, "Such strong corrosive power!"

Failing to land its strike and now injured, the Silver Earth Scorpion decided to retreat. It burrowed into the ground, attempting to flee.

Lin Shiji quickly gave chase, but the scorpion, though slowed by its injuries, was still fast underground. Lin Shiji couldn't close the distance, which continued to widen.

Meanwhile, Lin Tianming, having just helped Lin Tianhong kill a scorpion, was preparing to assist Lin Shiji. He noticed the fleeing scorpion heading towards him.

Seeing Lin Tianming approaching, Lin Shiji was overjoyed and shouted, "Tianming, block that beast!"

Upon hearing Lin Shiji's call, Lin Tianming swiftly unleashed several sword energies towards the ground, aiming to force the scorpion to the surface.

"Poof, poof, poof..."

The sword energies exploded in front of the scorpion, causing it to emerge halfway from the ground.

Without hesitation, Lin Tianming took out an attack talisman and activated it, sending a golden sword energy towards the scorpion.

With a boom, the sword energy struck the scorpion, sending it flying several feet back and crashing into a boulder. The impact shattered the boulder and severed another of the scorpion's legs, further slowing it.

Before the scorpion could recover, Lin Tianming acted quickly.

Taking advantage of its weakened state, he activated his Earth Shaker Sword Formation, trapping the scorpion within.

The desperate scorpion tried to break through the formation, repeatedly ramming against it.

Lin Tianming maintained the formation with all his might, pushing its power to the limit, but his spiritual energy was rapidly depleting.

The scorpion's frantic attacks caused Lin Tianming's mind to take a heavy blow, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

With his spiritual energy severely drained, the scorpion finally broke free on its sixth attempt.

Now severely injured, the scorpion's speed was further reduced.

Just as the scorpion escaped, Lin Shiji caught up, launching three consecutive sword strikes. The fierce sword energy flew towards the injured scorpion.

In a flash, the golden sword energy struck the scorpion's head.

"Poof, poof, poof..."

With several explosive sounds, the massive Silver Earth Scorpion collapsed, crushing the rocks beneath it into fragments.

Seeing the strongest scorpion dead, Lin Shiji and Lin Tianming both breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down on the ground, exhausted.

"Tianming, thanks to you for holding it off, we finally managed to kill this beast."

Lin Shiji, overjoyed, smiled and praised Lin Tianming sincerely.

Had it not been for Lin Tianming holding the scorpion, allowing him to arrive in time and expend all his spiritual energy on those three sword strikes, killing the beast would have been impossible. Given the scorpion's speed, even injured, it would have been nearly impossible to catch.

Elsewhere, as Lin Tianfeng and the others successfully dealt with their respective scorpions, they immediately helped their fellow clan members. After a hard-fought battle, not a single Silver Earth Scorpion escaped; all were killed on the spot.

The valley was now littered with broken limbs and debris. Trees and rocks were either broken or shattered, leaving the area in complete disarray.

The eleven of them sat together, all severely depleted but smiling. They each took a Recovery Pill and meditated to restore their spent spiritual energy.

Lin Tianhong, having engaged in his first real combat, was inexperienced and thus sustained several injuries. However, thanks to the help of his clan members, no one perished, which was a stroke of good fortune.

After half an hour, as everyone's spiritual energy began to recover, Lin Shiji stood up and gave orders.

"Quickly, strip the shells and cores from these Silver Earth Scorpions. Don't forget the stingers and pincers; they're excellent materials for crafting weapons."

"The venom can also be collected, and the meat, if brought back and consumed regularly, is quite beneficial."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed signs of excitement and quickly went to work on the scorpion carcasses, extracting the valuable parts.

Although the battle was dangerous, resulting in some minor injuries and the expenditure of talismans and pills, the rewards were substantial. The profits would more than compensate for the losses, earning them a considerable amount of spirit stones.

The body of a Silver Earth Scorpion was a treasure trove. The core could be used for alchemy, the shell could be turned into defensive gear, and the stinger and pincers were excellent for crafting offensive weapons. All these parts could fetch a good price.

Everyone busied themselves with disassembling the scorpions. Lin Tianming was no exception, carefully removing the shell of a mid-stage Silver Earth Scorpion. The shell was of high quality, having withstood his sword strike with only a minor crack, making it ideal for crafting.

After a quarter of an hour, the previously mangled and dismembered scorpions were fully disassembled. The valuable parts were stored in their spirit storage bags, while the useless parts were buried. The valley, though still messy, was much cleaner.

After cleaning up, everyone handed their spirit storage bags to Lin Shiji for safekeeping. Lin Shiji took out a beast skin scroll and recorded their contributions. Once the hunting mission ended, these would be converted into spirit stones and distributed based on their merits.

Satisfied, Lin Shiji planned the next steps.

"This group of Silver Earth Scorpions was sizable. We've likely entered their territory. With them all dead, the area should be relatively safe for now. Let's search the surrounding area for their lair. There might be more treasures. Once found, alert everyone immediately!"

"Spread out in pairs within a radius of ten miles. Be cautious not to stray too far and avoid other beast territories to ensure timely support if needed."

"Understood!"

Lin Tianming paired with Lin Tianfeng, and Lin Tianhong with Lin Xingzhi. The five groups spread out in different directions to search.

Lin Tianming and Lin Tianfeng chose a direction and began their meticulous search.

After half an hour, they had covered a significant area but found no signs of a lair.