The yellow sand filled the sky, the setting sun was like blood.
The battle between the Zhou family cultivators and the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm turned the yellow sand on the battlefield a reddish-brown, with most of the blood flowing from the Poisonous Fire Scorpions, although some also spilled from the wounds on the Zhou family cultivators.
For this battle, the Zhou family had been preparing for two years. Not only did Xuan Hao, a Tier Two High-Grade Alchemist, start mass-producing Tier Two Antitoxic Elixirs two years ago, but Zhou Dan and Zhou Xuan Yu, the two Tier Two High-Grade Talisman Makers, also used the family's collection of talisman-making spiritual materials to produce a large number of Tier Two Spirit Talismans and distribute them to those participating in the battle.
Now, thanks to these pre-prepared spirit talismans and pills, although some Zhou family cultivators inevitably got injured in demon beast attacks, they could always take antidote pills to detoxify and heal with the help of others, preventing any casualties.
After about half an hour of fighting, most of the hundreds of Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions had perished, leaving only a few Tier Two Poisonous Fire Scorpions with a small number of Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions left in a desperate struggle.
"Mother, let me help you."
On the eastern battlefield, after Zhouyang cleared away more than half of the Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions, he did not chase after the remaining ones but quickly went to assist his mother, Lin Yuting.
Lin Yuting only had an Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation, and although her magical power was significantly stronger than Zhouyang, who had just reached the Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation, due to her being stuck at the Seventh Layer for over twenty years, her cultivation technique wasn't combat-oriented, and her actual fighting power might not even match Zhouyang's.
Xuan Hao and Zhou Xuan Yu knew this, so they only let Lin Yuting deal with two Tier Two Lower Grade Poisonous Fire Scorpions, which she could handle with her cultivation.
However, fighting against two opponents and dealing with the close attacks from Tier One Poisonous Fire Scorpions quickly consumed Lin Yuting's magical power. In less than half an hour, her magical power was mostly depleted, and sweat beads formed on her forehead, showing her exhaustion.
So, when she saw Zhouyang coming to help, she breathed a sigh of relief, bit her tongue to invigorate herself, and shouted, "Good son, help your mother hold off that beast for a bit, and I'll come help you after I've slain this one."
With that, her divine sense moved, retracting the flying sword attacking the other Tier Two Poisonous Fire Scorpion. The green and blue flying swords together flew towards one of the Tier Two Poisonous Fire Scorpions.
"Hehehe, mother, don't underestimate your son. Let's see who can slay the monster first!"
Zhouyang laughed heartily, immediately controlling four "Armor-Piercing Daggers" towards the Tier Two Poisonous Fire Scorpion his mother had left for him.
This Poisonous Fire Scorpion had already been significantly drained of demon power by Lin Yuting, and the "Poison Fire Bomb" it spat out was far less powerful, posing no threat to Zhouyang, who was protected by the Silver Gang Shield Spiritual Artifact.
And Zhouyang's four "Armor-Piercing Daggers" were Tier Two High-Grade Artifacts, sharper than ordinary Tier Two High-Grade Flying Swords. Each attack left a wound on the hardest scorpion claw of the scorpion, and after only a few moves, the scorpion's trump card was forced out.
Swoosh!
A flash of red light in mid-air as the poison needle from the scorpion's tail shot towards Zhouyang's chest.
The speed of the poison needle was extremely fast, much faster than the Tier Two High-Grade Artifacts Zhouyang controlled, surpassing even the speed of sound.
However, the Poisonous Fire Scorpion obviously didn't know that Zhouyang's Silver Gang Shield Spiritual Artifact had an automatic defense function, and he had been guarding against this attack.
Thus, as soon as the poison needle shot at him, it was immediately blocked by a silvery shield, and he seized the opportunity, controlling four "Armor-Piercing Daggers" to penetrate from the back into the scorpion's body.
Hiss—
With a miserable hiss, the Poisonous Fire Scorpion's body was split into four by the four "Armor-Piercing Daggers," falling dead on the ground.
At this time, Lin Yuting, who was also combining her twin swords to slash at another Poisonous Fire Scorpion's claws, severing its claws and head on the spot.
Seeing Zhouyang slay the demon beast even before her, Lin Yuting smiled gratifiedly, exclaiming, "My son has truly grown up!"
Hearing his mother's words, Zhouyang could not help but feel an inexplicable joy in his heart, shouting, "Mother, you rest a bit first, I'll go help Father and Foster Mother."
Before his voice fell, he rejuvenatedly controlled his artifact to assist his father, Xuan Hao.
Lin Yuting saw this and smiled, knowing her son was so considerate. She couldn't let herself be looked down upon either.
Immediately, she too mustered her spirit, raised her twin swords, and went to assist her good sister, Zhou Xuan Yu.
Half a quarter of an hour later, aside from a few lucky ones that escaped, the remaining Poisonous Fire Scorpions in the east had all perished at the hands of Zhouyang's family.
After solving the Poisonous Fire Scorpion swarm on their side, they took a short rest and quickly went to assist other clansmen.
With the help of Zhouyang and his family, the Zhou family cultivators on the other sides quickly gained an advantage, soon overwhelming and annihilating most of the Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm.
Thus, aside from some Poisonous Fire Scorpions that didn't join the battle or narrowly escaped, hundreds of Poisonous Fire Scorpions were all slain on this sandy ground.
"The Poisonous Fire Scorpion Swarm has been destroyed. Everyone rest here for a while. The Ninth-Layer elders and Xuantai, gather to me. Let's go together to help the old clan leader eliminate that Poison Fire Scorpion King!"
After the battle, Elder Zhou Quan couldn't afford to rest. He immediately gathered the other six clan elders and the clan's only array master, Zhou Xuantai, to proceed to another battlefield.
The battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators and Tier Three demon beasts was extremely perilous, and only these Ninth-Layer cultivators could barely lend a hand.
However, even for Ninth-Layer cultivators, rashly intervening in a life-and-death battle between Foundation Establishment cultivators and Tier Three demon beasts carried a high risk of falling. Hence, Elder Zhou Quan specifically brought along the clan's only array master, Zhou Xuantai.
Zhou Xuantai was the second in the "Xuan" generation. As the Zhou Family's only array master, he was at the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation stage, but he held a Tier Two High-grade array called the "Eight Gates Golden Array," refined by the clan's Grand Elder, Zhou Qian.
The "Eight Gates Golden Array" is a trapping array. As long as eight Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivators hold the array banners and set up the array together, and an array master regulates it, it can trap even Early-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators for a short time.
In fact, Zhou Minghan, as a Seventh-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator, could slowly kill the Poison Fire Scorpion King even if fighting alone.
But if the Poison Fire Scorpion King tried with all its might to escape, in this vast Desert Sea, Zhou Minghan had little confidence in stopping it.
If the Poison Fire Scorpion King were to escape, it would surely retaliate frantically against the Zhou Family cultivators and mortals stationed at the Red Flame Iron Ore Vein.
Therefore, to ensure nothing went wrong, Zhou Minghan needed help to trap the Poison Fire Scorpion King for a while, then execute his thunderous methods to completely obliterate it.
Because during the battle, Zhou Minghan deliberately led the Poison Fire Scorpion King far away, preventing it from promptly learning about the scorpion swarm's situation.
Upon seeing Elder Zhou Quan and the other eight humans appear, the Poison Fire Scorpion King realized that the scorpion swarm might have encountered disaster.
This discovery infuriated it beyond bearing, and it immediately abandoned the troublesome opponent Zhou Minghan, rushing towards the weary Elder Zhou Quan and the nine others.
"Good timing!"
Seeing the Tier Three demon beast, the Poison Fire Scorpion King, charging directly at them, Elder Zhou Quan and the eight others did not feel fear but joy, hurriedly activating the Eight Gates Golden Array with the array banners in hand.
With the array activated, eight thick beams of golden light instantly shot up from the eight array banners, transforming into a giant golden cage that trapped the Poison Fire Scorpion King. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't break out of the golden light's range.
"Hold on, just give this old man half an incense stick of time!"
In the sky, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan grinned with joy, hurriedly halting his sword light and preparing his ultimate attack.
Half an incense stick of time later, when Elder Zhou Quan and the others were drenched in sweat, and the golden cage began to tremble unsteadily, the old clan leader Zhou Minghan unleashed his meticulously prepared killing blow.
"Wretched beast, meet your end!"
With a furious shout, the old clan leader's hair and beard stood on end. He pushed his hands forward, and a faint purple fireball flickering with strands of silver lightning flew from his hands in a parabolic arc, shooting straight toward the Poison Fire Scorpion King in the golden cage.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Seemingly sensing something, the Poison Fire Scorpion King's eyes flashed with extreme fear, and it let out its most piercing cry ever.
The shriek alone caused a pain in the heads of Elder Zhou Quan and the eight others, bleeding from their ears, eyes, and noses.
But they knew success or failure was at this moment, and they gritted their teeth, enduring their discomfort, furiously injecting their remaining magical power into the array banners to sustain the array's power. No matter how the Poison Fire Scorpion King struggled, it could not step out of the golden cage.
Finally, the faint purple fireball flickering with silver lightning landed on the Poison Fire Scorpion King.
Boom——
Amidst the vast Desert Sea, suddenly came an earth-shattering explosion, and even from dozens of miles away, Zhouyang could feel the intense tremor beneath his feet.
"Is it over?"
His eyes looked dazedly towards the source of the explosion, filled with shock.
This was the power of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator's full-force attack?
It was indeed terrifying beyond measure!