Zuoqiu Leshan took a step forward, thrusting his spear tip forward. The phantom images of a dragon and a crouching tiger, which had been rapidly swirling around the spear, broke free from its restraints, stirring up dust in the yellow sand as they shot straight toward his opponent.
"Tiger battles the golden wind."
This was not the end. After thrusting out the dragon and tiger suspended by his spear, Zuoqiu Leshan rose into the air, stepping into mid-air. With a flick of his spear, he was surrounded by a tiger shape formed by innate true energy. The next moment, he flew down from the air, the tiger walking on air, the spear tip being his fangs, pointing directly at his opponent.
The tiger and dragon formed from primordial true energy clashed against the opponent's sword, and Zuoqiu Leshan followed closely behind, thrusting out his spear like a dragon.
"puff!"
With a mouthful of blood spurting out, Zuoqiu Leshan's opponent was already on the verge of collapse.
Li Boyang's heart skipped a beat. Although there was only one step between the Acquired Realm and the Qi Refining Realm, it could be said that this one step was worlds apart. Just looking at the battle formation of the Qi Refining Realm, it was likely that the opponent alone could slaughter all the Acquired Realm disciples.
Li Boyang suddenly felt a bit self-deprecating. This time, the real escort force was probably only Zhou Tong and Zuoqiu Leshan. The others were probably just there to move the goods.
On the other side, Zhou Tong was in dire straits under the siege of two Qi Refining Realm cultivators from the Demon Moon Sect, with multiple bloody wounds appearing on his body.
Zuoqiu Leshan's opponent was already beyond fighting, but instead of going to his aid, he chose to finish him off.
With a flick of his spear, he charged forward again, and ten seconds later, the spear pierced his opponent's heart.
Correspondingly, Zhou Tong also met his end under the combined attack of two Qi Refining Realm experts, and before dying, he glared resentfully at Zuoqiu Leshan.
Li Boyang knew perfectly well that if Zuoqiu Leshan had chosen to rescue Zhou Tong when he defeated his opponent, Zhou Tong would not have died. Zuoqiu Leshan had deliberately killed Zhou Tong.
As for the reason, it was naturally the struggle between the old and new factions. Zhou Tong was one of the five deacons of Donghua Peak, in charge of all the outer disciples, while Zuoqiu Leshan had sided with the newly arrived elder Wei Jie, and they were already irreconcilable enemies.
It's likely that Zuoqiu Leshan had already made his plans when he sent Zhou Tong to hold off the two Qi Refining Realm experts from the Demon Moon Sect.
Although they killed one of the opponent's top fighters, with Zhou Tong dead, the situation remained 1 against 2.
Zuoqiu Leshan was very strong, so strong that even the two opponents couldn't defeat him; instead, they were held up by him.
Time passed by, bit by bit.
A faint light came from the northwest of the desert; the firelight was still quite a distance away.
"They are our people."
"We're saved."
"Send the signal quickly."
In the midst of the fierce battle, Zuoqiu Leshan suddenly threw a stone-like object into the air. The stone exploded with a loud bang in mid-air, and a bright light shone through the darkness, illuminating the night with the character "Yang".
This is a distress signal from the Dongyang School.
Those Dongyang Sect disciples who came to provide support will know their location after seeing this rescue signal.
"This operation is abandoned; retreat."
The two Qi Refining Realm experts from the Demon Moon Sect who were fighting Zuoqiu Leshan also realized that the situation was hopeless. With a command, the Demon Moon Sect abandoned more than a dozen corpses and retreated like a tide.
"Hold them off; they're doomed once reinforcements arrive."
The remaining dozen or so Dongyang Sect disciples seemed to have been injected with adrenaline at this moment.
Unfortunately, after the chaotic battle, more than thirty disciples of the Dongyang Sect died, and even the remaining disciples could not stop the enemy despite their best efforts.
The air in the desert after the bloody battle smelled sweet, and camel carts loaded with precious goods were studded with arrows.
This sand dune has been stained red with the blood of dozens of people.
The surviving Dongyang Sect disciples sat exhausted on the sand, panting. They looked at their dead comrades with sadness; just a short while ago, these people had been lively and chatting together.
Li Boyang and the others piled up the bodies of the Dongyang Sect disciples. These people would be taken back to the Dongyang Sect for burial, and they would each have their own tombstone in the Dongyang Sect.
As for the corpses of the Demon Moon Sect, they were not so lucky; they would be abandoned here to become food for the poisonous creatures in the desert.
After a sandstorm, the yellow sand will cover their bones.
Zuoqiu Leshan sat quietly on the sand dune, indifferently watching the busy crowd, as if these dead people had nothing to do with him. Just then, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear:
"There are many ways to eliminate dissidents, but using foreign agents is truly despicable."
It was Li Boyang who spoke. Logically, he shouldn't have said those words, but when he passed by Zuoqiu Leshan and saw his indifferent gaze, he couldn't help himself.
Zuoqiu Leshan looked up at Li Boyang. He recognized him; he was the one who had caused a ruckus in the arena. He said in a threatening tone, "You, an outer disciple, have the right to question my actions? Do you know the consequences of saying such things?"
Zuoqiu Leshan knew very well that Zhou Tong did not die at the hands of the Demon Moon Sect, but at his hands.
Five minutes later, the disciples who were there to provide support finally arrived.
Surprisingly, it was an acquaintance who arrived: Ye Qingwu, ranked second among the top ten inner sect masters. Accompanying her were two inner sect disciples at the Qi Refining Realm and thirty-four disciples at the Acquired Realm.
Ye Qingwu and two other Qi Refining Realm disciples arrived, and without even glancing at Li Boyang and the other outer disciples, they walked directly toward Zuoqiu Leshan.
"Are they from the Demon Moon Sect?"
Zuoqiu Leshan nodded and said:
"Three inner disciples of the Demon Moon Sect arrived, and Deacon Zhou Tong was killed in battle."
Ye Qingwu said coldly, "We raided a Yuan Stone mine of the Demon Moon Sect a few days ago. This is their retaliation."
"Luckily, Qingwu, you arrived quickly, otherwise I would have been doomed and never seen you again."
Zuoqiu Leshan's words carried a hint of ambiguity, but Ye Qingwu clearly didn't appreciate it, coldly replying: