"It's so late, and you're in such a hurry; is there something you need to say?" Elder Chai turned his head and asked Yuan Ming.

A glint of spirit light flashed in Yuan Ming's eyes, and without a word, he took two steps back before saying, "Junior has just detected a group of cultivators heading this way, among which there are some at the Core Formation Stage."

Elder Chai nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised, but still, he stirred his mana, sending his voice throughout the entire encampment.

"Enemy attack, wake up quickly!"

The quickest to respond were naturally Mr. Bei Yan and others; almost as soon as the words were spoken, they rushed out from their tents with faces full of shock and doubt, at the same time using their divine sense to probe their surroundings.

However, they soon discovered that there was no sign of the enemy nearby, which left them somewhat puzzled.

Seeing Yuan Ming and Elder Chai standing outside, they immediately asked, "Elder Chai, where is the enemy attacking from? How many are they, and what are their cultivation levels?"

Elder Chai raised his hand and pointed towards Yuan Ming, saying, "He's the one who noticed them."

Mr. Bei Yan and the others looked even more surprised, and Cultivator Gan hummed dissatisfiedly, saying, "There are no enemies nearby, could it be that you dreamt them up last night?"

Yuan Ming couldn't be bothered to argue with him, and he simply pointed to Hua Zhi and said, "It was my spirit pet that discovered them, to the northeast, there are a total of eight cultivators tunneling through the earth, and the leader has Core Formation Stage cultivation."

"Earth Tunneling? Dare to use this technique in front of me, truly ignorant of their own limits," sneered Cultivator Gan.

Then, he immediately formed a spell with both hands, his mana surged forth, and he stamped his right foot firmly on the ground.

In an instant, a ring of earthy yellow light spread from his feet, reaching beyond the encampment in just a moment.

Yuan Ming immediately felt the sandy ground underfoot become much harder, while Mr. Bei Yan let out a sigh of relief and laughed, "With Fellow Daoist Gan's Solid Ground Technique, those people will have a hard time if they try to tunnel from below."

Cultivator Gan laughed heartily, "Of course, they don't even know who I am, how could they get the better of me in earth techniques?"

He had hardly finished speaking when his face suddenly stiffened, and then, the sound of earth breaking suddenly erupted as eight cultivators burrowed out from different directions outside the encampment, stepping on magic artifacts and flying up into the air, looking down over the five people in the camp from a superior position.

Among them, two were actually standing on void, clearly being at the Core Formation Stage.

One of the two Core Formation cultivators was a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six, handsome and extraordinary in appearance, but his brows and eyes were full of pride, while the other was an older man with two strands of white hair hanging over his shoulders, hands crossed behind his back, standing upright, albeit half a step behind the young man.

The young cultivator glanced at Cultivator Gan in the encampment and sneered with disdain,

"So this is Gan Tan from Purple Thunder City, famous for his earth techniques? Under the reputation, indeed, there is no real substance. This Solid Ground Technique of yours is not even as good as that used by my spiritual dog."

Upon hearing the young cultivator's mockery, Cultivator Gan was fuming with rage, but when he looked up and saw the two Core Formation figures standing in the air, he felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, extinguishing not just his anger, but leaving him even too afraid to retort.

As for Mr. Bei Yan and Sacrificial Officer Ai, their faces were full of surprise and fear. They hadn't expected the sand pirates, who only dared to raid caravans, to actually have two Core Formation leaders.

With such cultivation, they would be honor guests in any faction no matter where they went; they could even start their own underground city, become the lord of a city—why would they stoop to being sand pirates when there were far more enjoyable things to do?

Among these Foundation Establishment cultivators, only Yuan Ming remained calm. His gaze lingered on the young man and the elder for a moment, and his mind raced as he began to calculate his possible responses.

It was then that he suddenly glanced at Elder Chai standing not far away. Faced with the siege of two cultivators of the same rank, this person seemed to have breathed a sigh of relief.

"Something's not right!"

Yuan Ming, recalling all the suspicious points he had observed earlier, was full of doubts and gradually began to think of retreating.

"I am Chai Jiujin, an elder of the Hundred Pills Square, leading this trading expedition. The elixirs we're delivering are from Sha Ran Valley. Aren't you afraid of being encircled and suppressed by our workshop in conjunction with Sha Ran Valley if you rob us?" Elder Chai reprimanded loudly.

"Haha, Elder Chai, you can save the name-dropping of Sha Ran Valley. We wouldn't dare to rob you if we hadn't inquired about your situation thoroughly. To tell you the truth, if it weren't for the Hundred Pills Square's caravan, I wouldn't even bother robbing you!" the young cultivator laughed.

"The Hundred Pills Square has been operating for many years, aiming to treat people kindly. I wonder what offense we have given to you for such resentment," said Chai Jiujin, frowning, his voice still not hurried.

"The Hundred Pills Square has done enough to offend me. As for the reason, Elder Chai, you might have to journey the Netherworld Road and ask your old workshop owner," said the young cultivator.

"Indeed, you must be Feiyu, the last caravan led by Old Yan was also raided by you!" Chai Jiujin's eyes flashed with insight.

"Heh heh, now you know, but it's already too late! Attack!"

The young cultivator sneered coldly, and before his voice had even faded, he opened his mouth to spew a burst of purple light, which disappeared with a peal of thunder in an instant.

Chai Jiujin seemed to have been prepared, immediately raising his hand to throw out the Pure White Jade Ring, which had been concealed in his palm. With a flash of milky light, it hovered above his head and dropped down a pale white Light Shield, protecting him from all sides.

No sooner had the Light Shield formed than the vanished purple light suddenly reappeared and struck it directly, erupting into blinding purple radiance.

The brightness forced Chai Jiujin to close his eyes in the next instant, and when the light dissipated, he discovered to his horror that the purple light was actually a small sword wrapped in purple lightning, and more terrifyingly, just that one strike had cracked the Light Shield protecting him.

This sent a wave of shock through him; after all, his Ice Jade Ring was a Lifebound Magical Treasure that he had nurtured with great care. Although its techniques were limited, its defensive power was so strong that even the Magic Treasures of mid-stage Core Formation Cultivators could hardly break through.

Yet this young cultivator, clearly at the early stage of Core Formation himself, where did he get such a powerful Magic Treasure?

Seeing his Purple Lightning Small Sword fail to achieve its effect, the young cultivator seemed somewhat surprised as well. Glancing at the Jade Ring over Chai Jiujin's head, a glint of greed passed through his eyes.

Then, under Chai Jiujin's astonished gaze, the young cultivator's left palm faced upward, and with a lift, a Jade Seal instantly appeared, surrounded by spirit light, its power seemingly even greater than the Purple Lightning Small Sword.

Although Chai Jiujin was an elder of the Hundred Pills Square, he was not particularly wealthy. Refining the Ice Jade Ring had almost exhausted his savings, yet this young cultivator was just a sand pirate, and not only did he possess many Magic Treasures, but they were also incredibly powerful.

While Chai Jiujin was lost in shock and suspicion, on the other side, Mr. Bei Yan and the others were also caught in a fierce battle.

Although they were facing opponents at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, nearly every one of them managed to bring out several High Grade magical tools, and there were even two using top-grade magical tools. Moreover, they were outnumbered, barely holding on, looking as disheveled as one could be.

The only exception was Yuan Ming; after entangling an enemy with Hua Zhi, he drew out the Blood Transformation Saber and engaged a cultivator wielding a top-grade magical tool in close combat, with bursts of colored spirit light flashing incessantly between them. The fight seemed intense, but in reality, Yuan Ming had already ensnared his opponent with an Illusion Technique, completely controlling the direction of the battle. Moreover, he was multitasking, keeping an eye on the Core Formation battlefield while exchanging blows.

When the young cultivator took out a second Magic Treasure, Yuan Ming was also slightly surprised, but soon his attention was drawn to something else.

Ever since making his appearance, the elder had been standing behind the young cultivator with his hands behind his back, silently observing the fight between the young cultivator and Chai Jiujin, with no indication of joining in.

With a hint of doubt in his heart, Yuan Ming covertly switched to view through the soul crows he had earlier released as sentries, only to see that the elder's hand, hidden behind his back, held an Array Plate, flickering with spirit light, seemingly on the verge of activation.

Realizing what was happening, Yuan Ming immediately warned, "Careful, that man is activating a Formation!"

At these words, Chai Jiujin's heart skipped a beat. Glancing at the elder, he quickly pieced things together, his face immediately turning pale.

Hearing Yuan Ming's words, the young cultivator also glanced back at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"You are quite perceptive. Elder Guo, no need to hide anymore, activate the Formation now!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

The cultivator known as Elder Guo immediately ceased his hand movements, held the Array Plate before his chest, and his left hand rapidly formed spells, abruptly pointing towards the Array Plate.

In the next instant, countless lights lit up around the camp, and a verdant green light screen rose from the ground, swiftly closing in. In the blink of an eye, it was about to completely envelop the camp.

At this moment, Chai Jiujin, with an expression of painful resignation, took out a talisman inscribed with unknown runes and slapped it onto his body.

Instantly, a ghostly blue glow enveloped his entire figure, and just before the Array Formation Light Shield could fully close, it transformed him into a streak of light that flew out.

Seeing this, the young cultivator's face darkened, and Elder Guo hastily said, "Forgive me, Young Master, for my oversight that allowed our plan to be seen through. Please permit me to make amends and capture Chai Jiujin."

The young cultivator immediately shook his head, "No, the object is more important. I will pursue Chai the Old Dog, you kill everyone here, and take their Storage Bags from Hundred Pills Square before coming to assist me."

Having said this, he too quickly executed a spell, turning into a streak of light to chase after the fleeing Elder Chai.

Elder Guo watched the young cultivator depart and then looked at Yuan Ming, trapped within the Formation, with resentment. If it were not for him revealing the Formation, there would have been no need to rush, and they might not have let Chai Jiujin escape, causing him to lose face in front of the Young Master.

With this in mind, a surge of murderous intent welled up within him. He intended to enter the Formation and personally execute Yuan Ming, but to his surprise, Yuan Ming within the Formation suddenly spoke up, saying to Mr. Bei Yan and the others:

"When I break the Formation, think of a way to escape with me."

His voice was calm, betraying not the slightest bit of fear or nervousness.

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