Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 46: The Breakthrough Battle (Part 2)

Half an hour later, the yellowish protective shield covering Golden Dawn Mountain was reduced to a thin layer, like a sheet of paper.

Outside the array, the sand bandits, who had been attacking for several hours, were emboldened by this sight and intensified their assault, even advancing to unleash magical artifacts as part of the attack.

It was at this moment that three Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Chen Family suddenly stood up at the top of Golden Dawn Mountain, each throwing three array banners embroidered with yellow earth dragons onto nine key array bases on the mountain.

Rumble!

As soon as the nine array banners were inserted into the bases, they instantly grew to more than ten meters tall in the wind, and the remaining spiritual energy of the whole Golden Dawn Mountain’s spirit vein madly surged into the array banners.

The massive loss of spiritual energy directly caused the mountain’s earth veins to become unstable, shaking violently as if in an earthquake, and in some places, the landslides and splits revealed deep, dark seams.

"What’s happening? Is the mountain collapsing?"

"What are the Chen Family doing? Are they trying to destroy the spirit vein? It’s a Tier Three top-grade spirit vein they cultivated with countless spirit stones!"

"Oh no, the shield is breaking, everyone run!"

The sudden change stunned the cultivators in the marketplace who did not know what was happening, while the Zhou Family and other families allied with the Chen Family, who had been informed in advance, looked expectantly at the nine giant array banners.

The Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators had said they would activate the array’s killing move to help everyone break through, and they all wanted to see how powerful this killing move, absorbing the leftover spiritual energy of Golden Dawn Mountain’s spirit vein, could be.

Not disappointing these people, the nine array banners absorbed a massive amount of spiritual energy and magical power, and the yellow earth dragons embroidered on the banners suddenly seemed to come alive, raising their heads and letting out an earth-shaking dragon roar.

Roar——

Amidst the earth-shaking dragon roars, the yellow earth dragons on the nine array banners suddenly flew off the flagpoles, diving straight into the mountain below.

A few breaths later, the mountain of Golden Dawn Mountain suddenly cracked open with nine fissures, each over ten meters wide, from which flew out nine yellow earth dragons over thirty meters long.

"My god! What kind of magic is this? Why do I feel that the aura from each of these earth dragons is more terrifying than that of a Tier Three demon beast?"

"So the Chen Family had such a killing move, no wonder they dared to hold the marketplace to the death; we’re saved, we’re saved!"

"Attack, quickly attack, kill all those damned sand bandits!"

As the nine dragons soared into the sky, the cultivators in the marketplace immediately erupted in excitement, with many showing a look of relief as though they had survived a disaster, thinking they were saved.

Indeed, from the aura alone, each of these nine yellow earth dragons was more powerful than a Tier Three lower-grade demon beast like the Poison Fire Scorpion King.

If these nine yellow earth dragons could continue to exist, the sand bandits’ advantage in Foundation Establishment Stage combat power would cease to exist. At that point, it would be uncertain who would win.

However, those like Zhouyang, who knew the inside story, were aware that these nine seemingly imposing yellow earth dragons actually only possessed the power for one strike.

To summon these nine yellow earth dragons, the Tier Three top-grade spiritual vein within Golden Dawn Mountain had directly dropped to a Tier Three lower-grade, not to mention that both the array banners and bases of the Chaotic Heaven Earth Dragon Array would be completely damaged after this strike.

"Go!"

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Chen Family on the mountaintop, of course, did not explain these things to those who were unaware. After performing the ’Earth Dragon Ascending to Heaven’ move, which would destroy both jade and stone, they immediately waved their hands, controlling the nine yellow earth dragons to attack the sand bandits, who were stunned by the continuous changes.

"Now, go!"

Where the Zhou Family cultivators were, Zhou Xuan Yu, upon seeing the nine yellow earth dragons fly out to kill the enemy, immediately issued a command, leading the charge behind one yellow earth dragon out of Golden Dawn Mountain.

At the same time, other family cultivators who had been informed in advance, including the Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators of the Chen Family, also chose a yellow earth dragon nearby to follow and launch their breakout.

"Damn it, stop them all, don’t let a single one escape!"

The sand bandit leader, realizing what had happened belatedly, was filled with anger, unleashing magical artifacts at the nearest yellow earth dragon while angrily ordering the other sand bandits to stop the ones breaking out.

Having worked hard attacking the array for half a day, if they let people escape, it would truly be a joke.

This was a hardship for those Qi Cultivation Stage sand bandits. After attacking the array for half a day, even with continuously refining spiritual power from spirit stones for replenishment, they had less than half of their full strength left.

But Zhouyang and the others who were breaking through had conserved at least seventy percent of their magical power, and as clan cultivators, their magical artifacts and spirit talismans were not ordinary items. At this moment, to survive, they used all their trump cards without reservation.

Following Zhou Xuan Yu, Zhouyang saw this foster mother transform into an offensive machine, throwing out various Tier Two spirit talismans like they were cabbages. Those Qi Cultivation Stage sand bandits blocking her path had no idea what was happening before they were blasted to smithereens by various magics.

Such ferocious power immediately intimidated the other sand bandits trying to intercept them, propelling their team’s breakthrough progress to the forefront.

However, the consequence of this was that a Foundation Establishment sand bandit, who was in a fierce battle with the Yellow Earth Dragon, immediately released a spare Tier Two High-grade Flying Sword towards their team upon seeing the situation.

Although it was just a Tier Two High-grade Flying Sword, under the powerful magical power and "Sword Control Skill" of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it still possessed the terrifying might to instantly kill an ordinary Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivator.

Upon seeing this, Xuan Yu’s face changed dramatically, and she shouted sternly, "You all go quickly, I’ll hold him off!"

Before her shout faded, she raised her jade hand and cast a Tier Three Spirit Talisman that she had been holding in her hand.

This Tier Three Spirit Talisman sealed a Tier Three Defense Spell "Golden Armor Technique." Upon using it, a golden armor formed from golden light appeared on the surface of Xuan Yu’s body.

The flying sword released by the Foundation Establishment sand bandit struck it, but only caused some golden light fragments to fall from the golden armor, unable to harm Xuan Yu inside in a short time.

Zhouyang, seeing this, felt slightly relieved, knowing that the situation was urgent, and that staying back would only hinder his foster mother, Xuan Yu.

So after saying "Take care, godmother," he gritted his teeth and took over Xuan Yu’s position to continue leading the breakthrough.

The further he went, the fewer the sand bandits, and after following Xuan Yu’s example by using Spirit Talismans to kill two sand bandits who dared to block their path, no more were seen ahead.

At this point, he looked back, and saw that a thousand meters behind, his foster mother Xuan Yu was fighting fiercely against the flying sword with her Protective Golden Armor and magical artifacts, with no intention of catching up.

"Godmother!"

Zhouyang’s eyes reddened, immediately understanding Xuan Yu’s intention. She feared that moving would bring the Foundation Establishment cultivator’s attention onto them, intending to sacrifice herself for their sake!

"Xiao Jiu, don’t act rashly. The lady still has a Tier Three [Flying Talisman] granted by the old Clan Leader. What we need to do now is escape immediately. Only when we’re out of the Foundation Establishment sand bandit’s sight, will she feel safe to break out!"

Seeing Zhouyang pause to look back, Wu Tao quickly grabbed him, fearing he might impulsively return.

As the highest-level cultivator among the external relatives of the Zhou Family, Wu Tao held a significant position, and being Xuan Yu’s husband gave Zhouyang some peace of mind upon hearing his words.

"Go, let’s disperse and leave as planned. Remember, if any of us survive, we must wait for the old Clan Leader to return before making contact."

He solemnly waved, recounting the planned arrangement.

Then he looked back at the figure of his foster mother Xuan Yu, bit his lip, and randomly chose a direction to flee desperately.

Although Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators could not perform sword flight, with the aid of the "Divine Movement Technique," "Light Body Technique," and other spells, their running speed was much faster than galloping horses, easily covering a hundred to two hundred li in an hour.

However, since humans are not naturally suited for running, this kind of speed is unsustainable for long periods. Running like this for an extended time could destroy one’s legs.

Thus, after escaping from Golden Dawn Mountain, Zhouyang ran for only half an hour before stopping in an uninhabited wilderness, leaving behind many traces and deploying a Tier One Array "Illusion Array" to create a false hiding place.

Having done all this, he used the "Earth Escape Technique" to burrow into the mountainside, using his flying sword to carve out a hideout several meters deep within the mountain, clutching a piece of Spirit Stone in each hand to quickly restore his magical power.

He knew the traces left behind during his escape wouldn’t elude the sand bandits adept at tracking.

Now he could only gamble that the pursuing sand bandits wouldn’t discover him hidden dozens of meters underground and that their strength wouldn’t surpass the Qi Cultivation Stage.

If the pursuing sand bandits didn’t surpass the Qi Cultivation Stage, even if there were several, with his numerous trump cards, he had a fair chance of winning. If a Foundation Establishment sand bandit came after him, it would spell his doom!

The wait was torturous, especially when one’s life hung in the balance, making the anticipation even more excruciating.

Zhouyang waited for one to two hours, and after restoring all his magical power and seeing no one pursuing, he grew even more restless, repeatedly considering continuing his escape.

But reason told him that the risk of running aboveground now far exceeded the risks of waiting underground.

After the Foundation Establishment sand bandits breached the marketplace, they wouldn’t be content with just what they gained inside. Flying above and scanning with the "Celestial Eye Technique," any cultivator fleeing on the ground within dozens of li would shine like fireflies in the night due to their magical light, rendering it impossible to escape their Dharma Eye.

Conversely, from a psychological perspective, the safest place is often the most dangerous one.

Those Foundation Establishment sand bandits, intent on hunting down escaping cultivators, would logically search far from the marketplace first, since the stronger a cultivator, the more wealth they possess, meaning their escape speed and ability would far surpass others.

Finally, after enduring a torturous wait of more than three hours, the noise of the traps he had set being triggered aboveground reached Zhouyang’s ears. Hidden underground, he was alert to the sound.