Lu Yu was completely enveloped in a layer of gray, seemingly losing all color.

Sha Tong saw Lu Yu turn gray and was somewhat surprised, but he was confident that even if Lu Yu changed color, he couldn't escape his Sand's Coagulation of Space.

Indeed, Lu Yu did not have the strength to contend with the entire Sand's Coagulation of Space, but since it ultimately froze not the space itself, Lu Yu didn't need to break through the entirety of the space or face all its power.

He only needed to erase the soul power from the micro-dust surrounding him.

Lu Yu's fingers twitched, and Sha Tong noticed them move, sensing something was amiss. Accelerating, the sandy steps beneath his feet propelled him quickly toward Lu Yu, and he thrust the Yellow Sand Spear directly at Lu Yu's head.

"Die!"

"Great Annihilation Finger!"

A gray finger shadow appeared behind Sha Tong, slashing toward Lu Yu.

Feeling the impending danger from behind, Sha Tong had no choice but to grit his teeth and turn to face Lu Yu's attack.

Although he very much wanted to avenge Sha Wu Jue, he didn't want to offer up his life or perish together with Lu Yu.

He chose survival between revenge and life.

The Great Annihilation Finger glided over Sha Tong's head, carving a straight line behind Lu Yu, erasing all the soul power held within the micro-dust along the line.

Consumed by the vast soul power in countless micro-dust particles, the Great Annihilation Finger dissipated into the air after cutting a hundred meters, with both forces cancelling each other out.

Sha Tong stood dumbfounded, watching the Great Annihilation Finger fly over his head; when he turned to look at Lu Yu, Lu Yu had already appeared a hundred meters away, out of the range of Sand's Coagulation of Space.

As he was about to pursue, a cloud of dust appeared in his view, with a group of soldiers riding dragon-scale horses coming into sight.

Chen Pei'en saw the two individuals and, without hesitation, led the cavalry in a charge towards the clear target of the Western Desert's alien, Sha Tong.

"Form ranks! Spears straight ahead!"

Leading the vanguard, Chen Pei'en rode a dragon-scale horse covered in red scale armor, at the front of a cavalry charge.

The spiritual power of all soldiers connected through the battle formation, forming a sharp triangular spear with its point at Chen Pei'en.

The momentum of the crowd gradually merged into an unstoppable force during the charge.

Sha Tong barely had a chance to raise his hand to use Sand's Coagulation of Space against the spear formation, when a sand envoy emerged from the ground, gripping Sha Tong's shoulder and said: "Come with me."

Before Sha Tong could respond, the figure pressed his shoulder down towards the ground; a sand whirlwind rose from the earth, enveloping them both.

Bang~ The assault led by Chen Pei'en crashed into the sand whirlwind, shattering its dozens-of-meters diameter and charging out the other side. Taking a large detour, Chen Pei'en returned, glancing regretfully at the place where the sand whirlwind had exploded.

By the time he charged inside, the people within had already fled.

During the charge earlier, he felt the blood rushing through him; at that moment, he felt invincible, eager to take on the Western Desert alien to vent the boiling blood within, but they had already escaped.

"How could a Western Desert alien appear here? And it seems their strength isn't weak," Chen Pei'en contemplated while looking at Sha Tong's vanished spot.

Glancing at Lu Yu in the distance, he led his soldiers to pursue him.

Seeing Chen Pei'en initiate the charge, Lu Yu did not stray far; he initially wanted to caution him about Sha Tong's Sand's Coagulation of Space but knew it was unnecessary upon witnessing Sha Tong's companion and the sand whirlwind's emergence.

Sand's Coagulation of Space is a super adversary for cavalry charges; in an instant, charging cavalry could be frozen, the sudden halt transiting into energy powerful enough to shatter their internal organs.

Unless everyone were a Martial Cultivator specializing in body refinement, their delicate organs couldn't withstand the immense force resulting from suddenly stopping mid-charge.

Moreover, most cavalry aren't particularly strong, typically only Martial Cultivators at the Qi Controlling Realm.

Unlike those at the Sea of Qi Realm, whose bodies have been tempered during the spiritual power's qualitative change, significantly enhancing their body's durability.

Chen Pei'en caught up to Lu Yu, towering over him from atop his great warhorse, asking: "Who are you? Why did those Western Desert aliens appear here?"

Lu Yu showed him the Identity Token of a disciple from the Divine Weapon Pavilion. Seeing Lu Yu's token, Chen Pei'en quickly dismounted, received the identity token from Lu Yu, and activated it with his spiritual power.

The token emitted a purple glow, revealing a large "Lu" character, confirming it as a genuine token of a Divine Weapon Pavilion disciple.

Returning the token to Lu Yu, Chen Pei'en's attitude immediately warmed, saying, "I am Chen Pei'en, Guard Commander of Yellow Sand City. May I ask what brings you to the Western Desert, and is there anything I could assist you with?"

Lu Yu accepted the token, although he often internally criticized the Divine Weapon Pavilion for lacking the grandeur of a massive organization, frequently being invaded at its branch headquarters.

But now, he truly felt the weight of the Divine Weapon Pavilion in others' minds.

Or perhaps, those narrow-minded individuals believed the Pavilion's vast influence wouldn't reach their corner of the realm, hence their reckless behavior.

Putting away the token, Lu Yu said, "I came to the Western Desert for personal reasons; now the matter is resolved, I'm ready to head back."

"As for the Western Desert people I fought earlier, they're members of an organization called the Temple of Sand King, seemingly plotting some unspeakable secret in Black Water City, which I happened to stumble upon."