CHAPTER 74: CHAPTER 74: ALL CARDS REVEALED

Chen Pingzhi, being a seasoned Foundation Establishment cultivator of nearly a hundred years and from a prestigious Purple Mansion family like the Chen Family, naturally had some trump cards on him, and not just one type.

In the previous ambush by the sand bandits, he had to expend one life-saving trump card just to barely escape with his life.

This time, to survive, he did not hesitate to use another trump card meant for killing enemies.

With a flip of his hand, a silver shimmering Thunder Pearl the size of an egg appeared, which he then flung at the Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit.

"Old Six, be careful, it’s a Secret Thunder Pearl!"

The Sixth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit was quite perceptive. As soon as Chen Pingzhi revealed the Thunder Pearl, he recognized its origin and hurriedly warned his companion through voice transmission.

At the same time, a fierce glint flashed across his face as he swiftly pulled out a sparkling Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talisman from his storage bag and hurled it at Chen Pingzhi.

Being seasoned Foundation Establishment cultivators of over a hundred years themselves, who wouldn’t have a trump card or two?

They hadn’t used it before, partly because they were reluctant and partly to be cautious, fearing that Chen Pingzhi would use his trump card against them.

Now that Chen Pingzhi had even used a treasure like the "Secret Thunder Pearl," what more did he have to worry about?

Rumble—

The silver shimmering Thunder Pearl exploded into a storm of silver lightning as soon as it landed in front of the target, engulfing the Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit. All that was heard was a scream before it fell silent.

The "Secret Thunder Pearl" is a special treasure refined with secret techniques by a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, with power even greater than the full-force strike of a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator. If a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator is hit unawares, they could be severely injured or even killed.

Chen Pingzhi’s "Secret Thunder Pearl" was originally a life-saving treasure bestowed by the Chen Family Ancestor to his brother Chen Ping’an. Since Chen Ping’an now rarely needed it, he handed it over to his younger brother as a life-saving trump card.

Therefore, after using this treasure, Chen Pingzhi had already sentenced the Fifth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit to death in his heart, not paying any more attention to him.

However, he didn’t expect that the Sixth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit would have a Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talisman and use it so decisively against him.

Thus, when he saw the talisman burn and transform into a purple-red Vermilion Bird Firebird, wings spanning over a dozen yards, rushing at him, his face showed a trace of panic and fear.

The "Vermilion Bird Fire Talisman" is highly reputed among Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talismans, and a Tier Three High-Grade Talisman Maker with lesser skill cannot produce such a talisman.

Just this one "Vermilion Bird Fire Talisman" alone would be worth no less than three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, almost equivalent to the price of a Tier Three Lower Grade Spiritual Artifact.

At this time, it was too late for any other response; he could only infuse all his magical power into his Tier Three Middle-Grade Defense Spiritual Artifact and Protective Light Shield to withstand the attack of the Vermilion Bird Firebird.

Boom!

After a huge explosion, the sky where Chen Pingzhi stood was dyed purple-red by the Vermilion Bird Fire, forming a sea of fire.

Amidst the sea of fire, Chen Pingzhi himself looked like a frog in a steamer, his old face flushed to the point of bleeding, eyes bulging wide open, with veins popping on his forehead as he desperately output magical power to resist the burning of the sea of fire.

Yet, just as he was fully resisting the sea of fire, a flaming flying sword suddenly pierced through the blazing flames, striking heavily against the defense shield formed by his Treasure Pearl Spiritual Artifact.

This strike was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, shattering the already strained Treasure Pearl Spiritual Artifact into countless pieces with a series of "crackling" sounds, and it shattered all of Chen Pingzhi’s confidence.

Splut!

He spewed a mouthful of blood, spraying it wildly, as the destruction of his magical artifact triggered his injuries, dealing him internal harm once more.

However, at this point, he didn’t have the time or mind to wipe the blood from his lips. His figure moved, taking advantage of the fact that he still had an unbroken Magic Shield on him, he forcefully rushed out of the sea of fire, then without uttering a word, he directly mounted his flying sword and fled the battlefield.

"Where do you think you’re going!"

Seeing the cooked duck trying to fly away, how could the Sixth-Layer Foundation Establishment sand bandit bear it? With a loud shout, he hurriedly pursued with sword control.

He had used even his trump card "Vermilion Bird Fire Talisman." If he still let Chen Pingzhi escape today, how could he face his dead companion? How would he justify the loss of his Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talisman worth thousands of Spirit Stones?

Was he really running?

On the other side, Zhouyang was dumbfounded at the scene.

Just now, when Chen Pingzhi showed great dominance, obliterating an enemy with a single Thunder Pearl, he was jubilant, thinking victory was at hand!

Unexpectedly, before he could even express his cheering, the once dominant Chen Pingzhi was beaten into spitting blood and fleeing with a single Tier Three High-Grade Spirit Talisman from the enemy.

The drastic change before and after was truly hard to accept!

"Not good!"

Zhouyang was only stunned for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality, realizing the dangerous situation he was in.

Whether Chen Pingzhi could escape was one thing, but he knew he had to flee immediately. The spectacle caused by the "Vermilion Bird Fire Talisman" was so grand that it could be seen from hundreds of miles away. If these sand bandits had accomplices nearby, they would surely come to investigate upon seeing such an anomaly.

Realizing this, he glanced at the two Foundation Establishment sand bandits entangling with him and made a swift decision.

He suddenly reached out to recall the flying fork spiritual artifact that could release crimson poisonous fire back into his storage bag. Then, he formed a sword technique, summoning his flying sword to his feet, as if preparing to escape.

"Where do you think you’re going, boy?"

"Leave your life behind!"

The two Foundation Establishment sand bandits were unwilling to let Zhouyang escape like this. With a loud shout, they immediately urged their magical artifacts to attack him.

Zhouyang seemed determined to flee, ignoring the two attacking flying swords. He simply activated his protective golden round shield spiritual artifact, setting up a golden light shield, and combined it with his "Qianyang Golden Light" for double-layer protection.

Boom boom!

The two flying swords driven by the sand bandits attacked Zhouyang relentlessly like two evil flood dragons. After flying less than a few hundred meters, his sword light was shattered, and he fell to the ground in an embarrassing state.

"You’re courting death!"

Having landed on the ground, Zhouyang seemed furious, shouting angrily. He released the crimson flying fork spiritual artifact and the flying sword to intercept the two sand bandits’ flying swords. At the same time, he took a handful of Tier Two Spirit Talismans from his storage bag and hurled them at the sand bandits.

The sand bandits, seeing this, were overjoyed. While activating their protective spiritual artifacts and magic to block Zhouyang’s spirit talisman attacks, they secretly communicated with each other:

"This brat is at the end of his rope, resorting to Tier Two Spirit Talismans. It seems he has no other trump cards left."

"Exactly, he recklessly withstood our attacks just to flee, disregardful of his magical artifacts’ damage. How could he do that if he had other trump cards?"

"In that case, let’s not hold back either. Let’s use our trump cards to finish him quickly. Otherwise, if Fifth Brother and the others arrive, dividing the magical artifacts on him will become troublesome!"

"Alright, let’s do it!"

Having concluded their plan, the two sand bandits’ eyes turned fierce, ready to use their trump cards for a swift conclusion.

However, before they could act, Zhouyang, whom they thought was at his wit’s end, suddenly spat out a golden light towards one of them.

In a flash, the two sand bandits barely saw that it was a golden light sword, and then one of the sand bandits’ protective spiritual artifacts was cut in half, along with half his body falling to the ground.

"Old Eight!"

The sudden change shocked the remaining sand bandit. It wasn’t until his comrade’s blood-spraying body hit the ground that he realized what happened, screaming in panic and fear.

He regained his senses, full of terror as he watched Zhouyang, hastily retrieving his flying sword to circle around himself in fear of following in his comrade’s footsteps.

What he didn’t know was that with Zhouyang’s current early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, the "Qianyang Celestial Sword" could only be used once. After one strike, the sword’s sharpness would dissipate, making any further attempts against him impossible.

Of course, not being able to use the "Qianyang Celestial Sword" again didn’t mean Zhouyang’s other methods were unusable. He gestured, and the "Red Profound Golden Light Sword" along with the crimson flying fork spiritual artifact shot towards the remaining sand bandit.

Simultaneously, as his body moved, taking advantage of the sand bandit being preoccupied with defending against his attack, he arrived near the fallen sand bandit’s corpse, reaching out to grab the storage bag and the masterless Tier Three Flying Sword.

Without the leisure to check what treasures the sand bandit’s storage bag contained, he stuffed it into his robe, placed the flying sword into his storage bag, and his gaze flickered as he looked at the remaining sand bandit.

Now he held the advantage. If he unleashed all his trump cards and used the "Qianyang True Flame," dealing with the remaining sand bandit would not be difficult.

He didn’t mind revealing the trump card of "Qianyang True Flame," as his possession of the "Qianyang Treasure Body" meant it was not something he could hide forever. In the future, as he used the "Qianyang True Flame" in battles, the news would inevitably spread.

However, what would be the point of killing this sand bandit? Just for another storage bag and a Tier Three Magical Artifact!

On the other hand, if this person were left alive, and he could use him to find the hideout of the sand bandits who attacked the oasis, it would be a significant achievement.

After all, the Chen Family Ancestor had offered a huge reward of a Foundation Establishment Pill to locate these sand bandits!

"It’s said that among Tier Four Magic, there is a spell called the ’Ten Thousand Miles Soul-Chasing Technique.’ Once cast, as long as there is a residual aura from an item recently used by the person in question, one could find their location even from thousands of miles away."

"Moreover, I’ve heard that major sects like the Yellow Sand Sect often keep spirit beasts skilled at tracking. These spirit beasts can follow a target’s trail as long as there is a recent scent left behind for guidance!"

Zhouyang’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the sand bandit opposite him, thoughts racing in his mind, already having made a decision.