Twelve Silver Corpses were divided into two formations, and upon their arrival, they spread around the battlefield, encircling the entire field within.
Elder Li Shiming flashed a slight smile at Grand Elder Lan Hongxi, then stepped back and retreated, disappearing within the formation.
Of course, this disappearance was only relative to Grand Elder Lan Hongxi, the spectating cultivators on the outside could still see him.
Six Silver Corpses moved toward the inner circle for some distance, maintaining the formation, and then the other six Silver Corpses moved inward as well, surpassing the distance of the previous six and also keeping the formation intact.
Grand Elder Lan Hongxi wanted to deploy her Charming Secret Technique, but facing only Silver Corpses, it was as pointless as winking at a blind person.
She had more than just that skill at her disposal, with a red silk treasure about the length of a zhang appearing around her, the red silk fluttered, and a powerful Spiritual Power Pattern assaulted the formation.
But to her surprise, her powerful attack was like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace or sound.
With the strength of Grand Elder Lan Hongxi, not to mention twelve Mid-stage Silver Corpses, even twelve Late-stage Silver Corpses wouldn’t pose a threat in her eyes.
Yet the situation on the battlefield was different, to say she was fighting against twelve Mid-stage Silver Corpses would be less accurate than saying she was battling Array Master, Li Shiming.
Being in the formation constructed by Li Shiming using twelve Silver Corpses, especially with Li Shiming himself controlling it nearby, the power of the Silver Corpses’ formation faced by Grand Elder Lan Hongxi was greatly amplified.
Li Shiming did not wish to reveal much of his combat power, let alone take out the ’Flowing Light Star Meteor’ sort of sword treasure for combat, as the matter of his refining resulting in an Artifact Tribulation Treasure was already sealed within his sect, and he certainly did not want to expose himself in front of the Nascent Soul Ancestors again.
Besides, although Grand Elder Lan Hongxi was strong, her forte was not in attack, but in her Spirit’s influence.
Such influence of the Spirit had its limitations, just like now, against Silver Corpses devoid of any perception, Grand Elder Lan Hongxi’s Charming Secret Technique was utterly useless.
This was a case of cultivation technique suppression, Li Shiming had dealt with cultivators from the Yin Yang Sect before, so naturally, he knew the ins and outs of the Yin Yang Sect’s cultivation techniques and had already thought of countermeasures when Grand Elder Lan Hongxi challenged him to battle.
"Master Li’s skill in forming arrays is exceedingly high, using Silver Corpses to form arrays against enemies is simply a stroke of genius!" Ancestor Lu laughed heartily.
Seeing Master Li summon so many Silver Corpses showed that he held no prejudice against Devil Cultivators, which was exactly what Ancestor Lu, who hailed from the Demon Sect, liked to see.
Nobody wanted Master Li to be an Alchemy Master brimming with a sense of justice; if that were the case, it would be difficult for Devil Cultivators to seek his services.
"Indeed, Master Li has to be busy with alchemy, cultivating some Silver Corpses for defense is indeed a good choice!" Ancestor Zhan from Thousand Illusion Sect followed up.
As Master Li was Thousand Illusion Sect’s son-in-law, he naturally spoke in his defense. Moreover, in such an occasion, who would want to offend Master Li, especially if there was a need for his alchemy services in the future?
"Yes, indeed!" other Nascent Soul Elders nodded in agreement.
Although they couldn’t discern Master Li’s true combat power, one thing was certain: Master Li must be exceedingly wealthy.
Otherwise, how could he afford to refine so many Silver Corpses? These weren’t just Silver Corpses; they were practically mountains of gold constructed from Third Grade Corpse Refining Materials.
Even for big sect Golden Core Elders, at most they would have up to three Silver Corpses, and typically only one would be cultivated, for quantity would compromise the strength of the Silver Corpses.
But looking at Li Shiming’s Silver Corpses, each one maintained the same realm as their master, and it was evident that each corpse had been selected from the optimum bodies available.
With his age, it would have been impossible for him to obtain so many top-quality bodies for Corpse Refining.
Only with an exchange of vast resources could he have collected so many of the finest bodies for Corpse Refining.
Little did they know, Li Shiming had obtained a pile of bodies for Corpse Refining after he killed Elder Lv from Senluo Sect and had nurtured them to the scale they were at today; he actually refined very few corpses himself.
The battle continued, with Grand Elder Lan Hongxi constantly launching attacks, trying to break through the Silver Corpses’ formation.
But no matter how she attacked, a slight wave of the Third Grade Array Flag in the hands of the Silver Corpses was enough to neutralize her attacks.
The Silver Corpses continued to move inward in batches, shrinking Grand Elder Lan Hongxi’s space to maneuver.
Grand Elder Lan Hongxi tried various methods, even resorting to using potent poison, but it had no effect on the Silver Corpses.
A lone Mid-stage Silver Corpse’s power was not significant, but twelve of them under the command of Li Shiming produced a chemical reaction that even a Great Elder couldn’t counteract.
Finally, as the Mid-stage Silver Corpses pushed the formation inward, Grand Elder Lan Hongxi was enveloped by it.
Grand Elder Lan Hongxi only felt dizziness before her eyes; her vision, Divine Thought, and hearing were all confused by the formation, and she could do nothing but activate the red silk treasure with all her might to protect herself.
At this moment, smirks appeared on the faces of the spectating Nascent Soul Elders, that is, excluding Ancestor Lan Weiyan.
Because Li Shiming had moved to the edge of the battlefield and exited the fight, the battle was entirely between Grand Elder Lan Hongxi and the twelve Silver Corpses.
Li Shiming seemed more like a bystander than a participant.
Grand Elder Lan Hongxi didn’t realize this and continued to operate her red silk treasure. Her Spirit was incredibly strong, and she figured out she had been blinded by the formation, so she aimed to delay time.