Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 44: The Sand Bandits Attack (Part 2)

"Don't overthink it. Our Zhou Family and Chen Family are allied clans; we have the duty to assist the Chen Family in defending their marketplace. If we flee together with those loose cultivators, don't even consider whether the three seniors in the sky would agree. Even if they let us go, when the Chen Family ancestor returns and calls us to account, who among you can handle the blame?"

"Besides, do you think these people can survive by escaping now? You all know the brutality of the sand bandits. Without the protection of the arrays, sand bandits at the Foundation Establishment Stage can kill them as easily as cutting grass. No one can escape!"

A cold voice suddenly issued from Zhou Xuan Yu's mouth. The hesitation in her eyes had vanished at some point, and she glared somberly at the other Zhou Family cultivators before the building, her gaze sweeping coldly across their faces, openly revealing her resolve.

"As an elder of the clan, I command you all, all cultivators of the Zhou Family must participate in the defense of the marketplace, acting under the guidance of several Chen Family seniors. Anyone harboring other thoughts shall not blame me for dealing with them according to clan rules!"

The words "clan rules" from Zhou Xuan Yu's mouth were like a cold wind blowing into the hearts of all the Zhou Family cultivators present. Everyone, including Zhouyang, was shocked and almost reflexively replied, "Yes, we will strictly obey the elder's command!"

"Good, that's the spirit of a good son of the Zhou Family!"

Zhou Xuan Yu's face relaxed slightly, then she waved her hand to command, "Now, everyone follows me into the building to gather belongings. All valuable items should be placed into storage bags and carried separately. Whoever survives in the end must hand over the items to the clan."

Inside "Jade Spring Tower," a new batch of goods was recently replenished, and there were indeed many valuable items. After Zhouyang and the others tidied up, everyone carried several storage bags, and both he and Zhou Xuan Yu had five storage bags with a capacity of over a zhang each.

Just as they were gathering belongings, the promised quarter-hour by the Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators had passed. At the end of the quarter-hour, under the control of the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sky, the Tier Four Lower Grade Array "Chaotic Heaven Earth Dragon Array" covering the entire marketplace was fully activated.

When Zhouyang and the others stepped out of the pavilion, they saw that the white mist which originally concealed the marketplace had vanished, replaced by a giant light shield of earthy yellow. The light shield was like a giant upside-down bowl, covering the entire Golden Dawn Mountain.

Zhouyang released his divine sense to infiltrate tens of meters underground and discovered that even underground, a network of spiritual power had formed, completely preventing any enemy from attacking the marketplace from below.

At that moment, the voice of the Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator rang out again in the sky above Golden Dawn Mountain.

"The 'Chaotic Heaven Earth Dragon Array' has been activated. Fellow Daoists remaining in the marketplace, please come to me for assembly. I will arrange guarding tasks based on your cultivation level."

The primary source of spiritual power for the "Chaotic Heaven Earth Dragon Array" is the spiritual energy from the spirit vein of Golden Dawn Mountain. However, the spirit vein of Golden Dawn Mountain is only Tier Three Top Grade, and if the enemy attacks with full force, the spirit energy of the vein might not be able to sustain the consumption of the Tier Four Lower Grade Array.

Thus, the Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator's purpose in summoning Zhouyang and others remaining in the marketplace was to assemble them into several teams and send them to various array nodes, allowing them to input their magical power into the array at crucial moments to sustain its consumption.

Before that, they could also unleash magical artifacts and spells to attack enemies outside the array when the enemy attacks it.

Just as Zhouyang and others were following the arrangements of the Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivator, joining a team of Chen Family Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators to reach an array node, ten streaks of sword light suddenly flew in the sky outside Golden Dawn Mountain.

"It's the Foundation Establishment cultivators among the sand bandits!"

"The sand bandits are here!"

The sword light paused in mid-air outside Golden Dawn Mountain, revealing the figures of ten black-robed, masked Foundation Establishment cultivators.

These Foundation Establishment cultivators stood atop the sword light, suspended high in the sky, looking coldly at the low-tier cultivators on the mountain who were constantly exclaiming in surprise, their eyes full of disdain.

Mere Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, regardless of their numbers, could pose no threat to them and were not worth any attention.

Their gaze briefly swept over these Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators before turning towards the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators seated atop Golden Dawn Mountain.

"Listen up, Chen Family. Open the marketplace array and hand over all your wealth. For Chen Yaohui's sake, we'll spare your lives!"

"If you obstinately resist, once we break the array, everyone inside, regardless of their background or origin, will be left with no exception!"

Is this an ultimatum?

Thinking of this, Zhouyang couldn't help but crane his neck to look at the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators atop the mountain. Although he knew the Chen Family would definitely not compromise with the sand bandits, without hearing a definite answer, including himself, none dared completely relax.

"You dare boast so arrogantly, hiding in stealth!" freēwēbηovel.c૦m

"My Chen Family, since Ancestor Chen Taizhong founded the clan, has never compromised with sand bandits. We haven't in the past, and we won't in the future!"

"Enough talk, show what you've got. We can handle it all!"

The three Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators coldly stared at the ten Foundation Establishment sand bandits outside the mountain, each spoke a sentence in retort to the sand bandits' words, their eyes equally filled with disdain.

As Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators, they were proud of their status. With the Chen Family as their backing, even Zhou Minghan, who leads a cultivation clan, has to curry flavor with them, let alone loose cultivators.

Now, mere ten Foundation Establishment sand bandits attempt to make them surrender with an array guarded by Tier Four Array is simply laughable.

If they truly did that, what face would the Chen Family have to command other cultivation clans in the future? Where is the Chen Family's prestige?

"Good, the Chen Family is indeed very good!"

"Since you three old fools refuse to accept our goodwill, don't blame us for being merciless under the sword!"

Loose cultivators also have dignity. The ten Foundation Establishment sand bandits felt anger in their eyes after being mocked by the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

"Everyone, make a move together, let's first put these three old fools in their place!"

One sand bandit shouted and unleashed his Tier Three Flying Sword to slash towards the earth-yellow barrier outside Golden Dawn Mountain.

At this moment, a shocking scene unfolded.

The fiery red Flying Sword, emitting a sword light several meters long, could not even make the light barrier tremble when slashing it. Instead, the sword light was mostly shattered by the array's counterforce, revealing the Flying Sword's body, less than three feet long.

The Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators who chose to stay in the marketplace felt a burst of energy upon witnessing this scene, everyone showed a hint of delight on their faces.

Though everyone knew a Tier Four Array was strong, unbreakable except by a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, without witnessing the array's power firsthand, there was always some unease.

But now, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's full-force strike couldn't even make the barrier of the array shake, undoubtedly more persuasive than any words, providing reassurance.

In contrast, the sand bandits' anger subsided, their momentum paused, and their eyes reflected deep shock.

"No way, this Tier Four Array's defense is too strong. Even if we exhausted our magical power, we couldn't break its defense. Better to wait for those Qi Cultivation Stage juniors to come and attack together."

A leader-looking sand bandit slightly shook his head, stopping the others from trying again.

On the top of Golden Dawn Mountain, the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who were coldly watching this, suddenly had their eyes focused, showing unusual seriousness as the sand bandit leader spoke.

Being Foundation Establishment Cultivators themselves, they could easily see the sand bandit leader's cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of Foundation Establishment.

Such cultivation, looking at the entire Chen Family, only Chen Ping'an, known as the family's top Foundation Establishment cultivator, could compare.

"With cultivation like yours, you shouldn't be a nobody. Could you tell us your name?"

On Golden Dawn Mountain, the white-haired Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked at the sand bandit leader, his tone no longer as disdainful as before.

Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivation, even for a loose cultivator or a sand bandit, deserved serious attention.

The sand bandit leader, hearing his words, let out a laugh, "Heh, heh, heh, even if I told you my name, you wouldn't know it. No need to say."

Seeing this, the previous Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who made a killing, grunted heavily, "Humph, don't think we can't guess? Within tens of thousands of miles of the Baisha River Oasis, the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivators are few, and there's only one who comes from a loose cultivator background. If you're not that person, you must be a cultivator from afar!"

"So what? I'll tell you truthfully, daring to provoke your Chen Family this time, naturally, we've made ample preparations. If you're counting on Chen Ping'an to save you, you're miscalculating. If he steps out of Baituo Ridge, he's courting death!"

The sand bandit leader coldly laughed, suddenly saying something that made the three Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators' faces change drastically.

"You indeed came prepared!"

The white-haired Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator looked icily at the sand bandit leader, his voice suddenly stern as he shouted, "My Chen Family is a vassal of the Yellow Sand Sect, and our ancestor is a Honored Guest Elder of the Yellow Sand Sect. If you dare kill our Chen Family Foundation Establishment cultivators, even with protection from a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, you won't escape pursuit!"

"Hahaha, are you scared? Even the Chen Family cultivators can fear death? Hahaha..."

"Hahaha..."

The sand bandit leader burst into laughter, leading other sand bandits to follow in laughter, laughing extremely heartily, very delighted.

The three Chen Family Foundation Establishment Cultivators, upon seeing this, were truly furious and angry, glared at the laughing sand bandits with such anger that they couldn't speak.

Meanwhile, cultivators like Zhouyang from the Qi Cultivation Stage, upon hearing the sand bandits' backing by Purple Mansion Stage cultivators, felt their hearts sink deeply, icy cold!

How could they possibly defend?

A Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, along with more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators and numerous Qi Cultivation Stage cultivators, such power disparity was enough to crush the marketplace's side here.

This lineup, could even attack the ancestral land of the White Camel Ridge Chen Family without a resident Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, with some success.