Chapter 288 - 286: Luo Tian’s Helpers

"Luo Tian, where are you? Get out here!"

Ying Feihang roared, brimming with killing intent.

But the wind howled and yellow sand filled the sky, severely limiting his visibility.

Coupled with Luo Tian’s exceptional Body Technique, Ying Feihang had no hope of finding him unless he got close.

He, on the other hand, was being hunted by four Yellow Sand Giants, putting him in a perilous situation.

RUMBLE!

A Yellow Sand Giant swung its arm, whipping up a violent sandstorm that blasted forward as a shockwave!

With his negative emotions amplified, Ying Feihang was agitated and not in peak condition, leaving him vulnerable to the attack.

THUD!

Ying Feihang was sent flying over ten meters. He tumbled to the ground, a bloody gash now marring his body.

Fortunately, his torso was protected by Inner Armor. Otherwise, that last blow would have severely wounded him.

The sight of his own blood and the sharp pain cleared his head a little.

’That brat’s Body Technique is incredible...’

Ying Feihang’s eyes narrowed. He realized it would be incredibly difficult to kill Luo Tian, while he himself was already in grave danger.

He hesitated for a few moments before deciding to retreat.

But just then, a condensed beam of Cold Wind Sword Light shot out from within the canyon’s swirling sand.

Ying Feihang froze. The Sword Light struck the ground a foot in front of him, gouging a deep trench in the sand.

That momentary pause was all the Yellow Sand Giants needed to close in on him.

"Luo Tian, you dare to set me up!"

Ying Feihang yelled, utterly flustered and enraged.

"The feeling’s mutual!"

Luo Tian’s chuckle echoed through the canyon, making it impossible to pinpoint his exact location.

He had indeed attacked, but there were no witnesses.

It was the exact same situation as when Ying Feihang had attacked him just moments before.

WHOOSH! SWOOSH!

Ying Feihang ignored Luo Tian. Faced with immense danger, his only thought was to escape as quickly as possible.

But Luo Tian wasn’t about to let Ying Feihang off that easily.

He remained hidden, using his Spiritual Sense to track Ying Feihang’s position and launching surprise attacks from time to time, causing a great deal of trouble for him.

"Damn it!"

Ying Feihang’s face was livid with rage.

Fending off four pursuing Yellow Sand Giants while also guarding against Luo Tian’s sneak attacks was no easy task.

His injuries mounted, staining his white robes with several patches of blood.

Ultimately, however, Ying Feihang managed to escape the canyon.

"Luo Tian, you can just stay in there forever!"

Ying Feihang sneered venomously.

As soon as he left the canyon entrance, the Yellow Sand Giants stopped their pursuit and returned into the canyon.

Those four Yellow Sand Giants were now going to deal with Luo Tian.

Based on his deduction, a new Yellow Sand Giant would soon form within the canyon, and Luo Tian would have to face the combined assault of five of them.

...

"Senior Brother Ying is out!"

The two Yunxiao Sect disciples outside the canyon hurried over to greet him.

But they were stunned when they saw his sorry, blood-soaked state.

"Senior Brother Ying, your injuries... what happened?"

the short-haired youth exclaimed.

’With Senior Brother Ying’s cultivation and strength, how could he get this badly injured?’

"..."

Ying Feihang’s expression was grim.

’How could he admit that he’d failed to ambush Luo Tian, and had even been reduced to this state by him?’

"Alas, Junior Luo was surrounded by the Yellow Sand Giants. I went back to save him, even putting myself in grave danger, but I was still too late..."

Ying Feihang said with a look of regret.

"..."

The other two wondered if they had misheard, exchanging a confused glance.

’Ying Feihang rescued Luo Tian? They wouldn’t believe that if you beat them to death.’

’But if that wasn’t what happened, how could he be so seriously injured?’

The two of them were smart enough not to press the issue.

"Let’s rest and tend to my wounds. Then we’ll go for the treasure!"

Ying Feihang wasn’t ready to give up.

Now that he had calmed down, he began to analyze the situation.

"Later, we’ll team up to kill all the Yellow Sand Giants. Then we’ll focus our attacks on one of the orbs of light. Let’s just focus on securing one treasure first!"

’If everything goes smoothly,’ he thought, ’we can get the other two treasures the same way.’

...

「Inside the canyon.」

The four Yellow Sand Giants turned back to attack Luo Tian. Elsewhere on the sandy ground, a fifth Yellow Sand Giant was rapidly taking shape.

Luo Tian had the Flame Mark, which might have been able to solve this problem.

But seizing the treasures would take time, and the Yellow Sand Giants would just keep forming. It clearly wasn’t a good trade-off.

WHOOSH!

Luo Tian scaled the canyon wall, eventually reaching the top.

He donned the Shadow Cloak and moved to the other side of the mountain.

This area was considered outside the bounds of the canyon.

Luo Tian could even see Ying Feihang and his two companions resting, but they hadn’t noticed him.

SHHH... RUSTLE...

Inside the canyon, the five Yellow Sand Giants crumbled on their own, collapsing into piles of sand.

Then, Luo Tian climbed back over the ridge and re-entered the canyon.

Not far away, the yellow sand swirled and formed into a giant—but only one.

"This array is so inflexible!"

Luo Tian commented.

’It was a ridiculously simple way to solve the problem and reset everything.’

Now, Luo Tian only had to face the attacks of a single Yellow Sand Giant.

WHOOSH!

He ignored this Yellow Sand Giant and approached the three orbs of light in the center of the canyon.

’I’ll go for the gourd!’

Luo Tian selected his target.

The long spear was of a higher quality than his Ice Trace Sword, but it wasn’t suitable for him.

Another was an ancient tome containing an unknown Cultivation and Martial Skill. Since Luo Tian didn’t feel he was lacking in either department, he chose the cyan gourd.

CLANG!

The Ice Trace Sword struck, sending out a spray of Sword Qi and cold wind.

The orb of light enveloping the cyan gourd was incredibly tough, almost identical to the blue barrier everyone had attacked from the outside.

Luo Tian wasn’t discouraged. He attacked the orb of light frantically with both palm strikes and his sword.

His Spiritual Sense could tell that his attacks were steadily draining the orb’s energy.

’If I keep this up, the orb is bound to break, and the treasure will be mine.’

BOOM!

The Yellow Sand Giant charged forward, blasting a dusky, vortex-like storm from its palms.

Luo Tian immediately drifted back, evading the attack’s range.

He then closed in again to attack the orb of light.

The Yellow Sand Giant closed in as well, swinging a palm the size of a washbasin and bringing it down with immense force.

SWISH!

Luo Tian dodged again. Given his mastery of the Wind Manipulation Technique and the canyon’s gusty winds, dealing with the somewhat sluggish Yellow Sand Giant was a simple matter.

As luck would have it, the Yellow Sand Giant’s attack landed squarely on the orb of light, setting off an explosion!

"Nice one! Again!"

Luo Tian laughed, closing in on the orb to continue his assault.

THWACK!

The Yellow Sand Giant swiped with its palm, Luo Tian dodged again, and the blow landed on the orb of light.

The next sequence of events seemed to be a replay of the last.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Yellow Sand Giant attacked relentlessly, but it couldn’t lay a finger on Luo Tian. All of its attacks landed on the orb of light instead.

"This array is just too inflexible!"

Luo Tian remarked once more.

The Yellow Sand Giant possessed no intelligence whatsoever. It couldn’t think, only execute simple commands.

The fact that the Crow’s caw had no effect on it earlier was proof of this.

Now, Luo Tian was perfectly exploiting this weakness. He used his superior speed and Body Technique to borrow the Yellow Sand Giant’s power, letting it help him drain the orb’s energy.

An uninformed observer might have even thought the Yellow Sand Giant was a monster Luo Tian had summoned to help its master.

Just then, a second Yellow Sand Giant took form.

"Oh? Another helper has arrived!"

A small smile played on Luo Tian’s lips.

Before long, the second Yellow Sand Giant joined the fray.

Luo Tian stood beside the orb of light, retreating just in time for each of the giants’ attacks to land.

An ordinary person might have thought of this plan, but they would have found it nearly impossible to execute.

This strategy required speed from a Body Technique, sharp observation, and quick reflexes—not a single one could be missing.

"This is much faster!"

Luo Tian laughed.

A moment later, a third Yellow Sand Giant appeared.

Luo Tian began to feel the strain. The mental exertion was considerable, as he now had to predict and dodge the attacks of three Yellow Sand Giants at once.

"Release!"

Luo Tian unleashed the power of his Nether Dragon Divine Vein. A swirling vortex of dark Cold Mist swept out, covering a radius of over ten meters.

Being close to Luo Tian, the Yellow Sand Giants were instantly coated in a layer of frost, their movements slowing even further.

This made things much easier for Luo Tian!

CLANG! WHOOSH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Luo Tian and the three Yellow Sand Giants relentlessly bombarded the orb of light.

Finally, the orb of light grew dim, leaving only a thin, shimmering layer.

...

Ying Feihang and his two companions were recuperating outside the canyon.

"Huh? Is that a commotion I hear from inside?"

The short-haired youth’s ears twitched.

"Isn’t Luo Tian supposed to be dead?" the other disciple asked in confusion.

’So what’s all that noise in the canyon?’

Ying Feihang opened his chillingly cold eyes. His injuries had only recovered by about fifty or sixty percent.

He had also heard the noise, and his brow furrowed. ’Don’t tell me Luo Tian isn’t dead? How is that possible?’

’There was no way Luo Tian could have stood against five Yellow Sand Giants.’

’And after all this time, the number of giants inside must have grown to at least nine, right?’

But from within the canyon, a rhythmic booming echoed out continuously.

"Let’s go take a look!"

Ying Feihang couldn’t contain himself.

The three of them slowly approached the canyon entrance and stepped inside.

After advancing a dozen paces, they saw them: four Yellow Sand Giants... and Luo Tian!

But to their utter disbelief, the four Yellow Sand Giants were actually helping Luo Tian attack the orb of light!

"Holy shit! How is that possible?"

’These Yellow Sand Giants only know how to kill. How could they be helping Luo Tian?’

"Don’t tell me Luo Tian broke the grand array here and took control of it?"

the short-haired youth guessed, his heart skipping a beat.

’If that’s true, we wouldn’t dare set foot in his territory!’

Ying Feihang’s face was also a mask of shocked disbelief!

’Not only is Luo Tian alive and well, but he’s somehow working together with the Yellow Sand Giants to attack the orb? What in the world is going on?’

"No, that brat is using the Yellow Sand Giants’ power to drain the orb’s energy!"

Ying Feihang quickly figured it out.

He watched as the orb of light around the cyan gourd grew thinner and thinner, about to shatter!

"Let’s go! Grab the treasure!"

Ying Feihang roared and was the first to charge forward!

’I absolutely cannot let Luo Tian get that treasure!’

"Heh, too late!"

Luo Tian glanced at Ying Feihang’s group. His palm became coated in a shimmering yellow film of qi as he smashed it forward with the Guiyuan Cloud-Dispelling Hand!

CRACK!

The orb of light shattered, and the cyan gourd fell into Luo Tian’s hands!

Treasure in hand, Luo Tian pushed his speed to its absolute limit, moving away from the four Yellow Sand Giants.

Only then did the frost on their bodies begin to melt away, allowing them to recover their speed and resume the chase.

"Goodbye!"

Luo Tian chuckled.

His words seemed to be for Ying Feihang’s group as much as they were for the four Yellow Sand Giants.

"Stop him!"

Ying Feihang roared. The terrifying aura of the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Sea Realm erupted from him, and a storm of silver True Qi swirled around his body!

’Luo Tian actually stole a treasure right from under his nose! He would never let Luo Tian get away!’