In that brief moment, Wang Changkun and his five companions had arrived. Seeing the Meteorite Sand Beast sent flying by an enemy cultivator, a cold light glinted in Wang Changkun's eyes.
'If my Meteorite Sand Beast were an adult, it should have been the opponent's magical treasure that was sent flying,' he thought. At the same time, his mind registered the pain and fury transmitted from the beast.
Wang Changkun raised both hands, swiftly formed a seal, and uttered a low command, "Go!" The other two Meteorite Sand Beasts changed direction and pounced toward Yan Feijun.
At that moment, Yan Feijun was still somewhat dazed. Although he hadn't used his full strength just now, that was his natal magical treasure. How could it fail to kill even a first-rank demonic beast?
Just then, the low shouts of Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang reached his ears.
"Senior Brother Yan, be careful."
"Junior Brother Yan, watch out!"
Urged by Wang Changkun's technique, the other two Meteorite Sand Beasts, moving faster than anyone else, whistled through the air as they charged Yan Feijun from the sides.
Although Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang didn't know the specific abilities of the Meteorite Sand Beast, for a demonic beast to attack by ramming with its own body, it surely had something to rely on.
Moreover, they had just witnessed from behind that Yan Feijun's attack had done little to the creature. Instead, after being knocked back, the beast became exceptionally active, a testament to its astonishing defensive power.
These three Meteorite Sand Beasts were already just outside their formation, only a few dozen feet from Yan Feijun. From his attack to the opponent's casting of a technique, everything happened in an instant.
Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang were stunned for only a moment, but by the time they thought to reinforce Yan Feijun, it was already too late. Besides, their initial targets had been Wang Changkun himself.
However, Yan Feijun was a Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator, after all, and his reactions were swift. In a flash, with a quick turn of his thoughts, the Purple Ring returned to his side. It was too late to cast a spell to protect his entire body, but defending one side was no problem at all.
He pushed the Purple Ring with one hand, blocking his right side. With a twist of his body, he faced the other two pouncing Meteorite Sand Beasts.
The two beasts rapidly grew larger in his vision, but their attack posture made him hesitate for a moment. They weren't aiming to impale him with their tube-like proboscises; instead, their bodies were turned sideways as they flew toward him.
Initially, after being attacked, Yan Feijun had acted on instinct, using the Purple Ring to defend against one. He could have spun to evade the other two, but Bai Rou's and Hu Xiaowang's warnings were already ringing in his ears. In his moment of hesitation, he surprisingly raised his arm.
He formed a palm-blade and slashed forward. His failure to kill the Meteorite Sand Beast with his previous strike had left him feeling vexed, and he suddenly wanted to cleave this demonic beast in two with a single blow.
Yan Feijun wasn't actually a reckless person. What's more, he had used eighty percent of his power in this palm strike. Normally, even a second-rank demonic beast would be gravely injured, if not killed, by such a blow from a Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator like him.
All of this transpired in a flash. Yan Feijun collided with one of the Meteorite Sand Beasts in an instant. Then, everyone heard a cry of bone-deep agony from him, and a dazzling purple light erupted at his side.
The purple light was, of course, produced by the collision between the other Meteorite Sand Beast and Yan Feijun's magical treasure. At the same time, another streak of earthy yellow light grazed past Yan Feijun and flew off to the side.
Yan Feijun was already in a state of rapid retreat. In the heat of the moment, he had barely managed to dodge the final Meteorite Sand Beast's attack, stumbling back to Bai Rou's and their companions' side.
Yan Feijun's left arm from the wrist forward had vanished completely, and blood was gushing out in large quantities. His face was pale, his lips trembling from the pain, and he hadn't even had time to recall his natal magical treasure.
The moment his figure steadied, he tapped his right hand repeatedly on his left wrist, and only then did the arterial spray of blood slowly turn into a drip.
"This... this demonic beast's physical... physical body is formidable," Sun Guoshu's stammering voice sounded. In truth, he didn't need to say it; who there didn't already know?
"Hehehe, the cultivators of the Desolate Moon Continent are nothing special. All the way from the South Sea, they've all been so pathetically weak."
At that moment, Wang Changkun's mocking voice echoed through the dim forest. The five people behind him also let out low chuckles, their laughter filled with ridicule and contempt.
Hearing this, a fierce light immediately flared in Yan Feijun's eyes. He had been careless just now. If he had known the opponent's demonic beast was so physically powerful, he would have simply avoided a direct confrontation.
But just then, Bai Rou's voice rang in Yan Feijun's mind. "Senior Brother Yan, can you still cast spells? Can you and Senior Brother Sun hold back the other five cultivators?"
Bai Rou was even more anxious now. The six opponents were walking toward them, taunting them. Counting the time, Li Yan had been gone for about thirty breaths.
If Yan Feijun could no longer cast spells, their only option was to take him and fight their way in the direction Li Yan had fled.
After being mocked by the enemy, Yan Feijun had originally intended to step forward and face Wang Changkun again, but after hearing Bai Rou's words, he abandoned the thought.
He had been in the Ninth Squad for a long time and had long understood the importance of teamwork. If he were to act stubbornly on his own, the result would most likely be their side's defeat and death, or perhaps a pyrrhic victory. Neither outcome was one he desired.
As long as a cultivator's physical body didn't suffer excessive damage, especially to the internal organs, they could generally continue to fight even with injuries like a severed limb. However, the injury would invariably reduce the speed and adaptability of their spellcasting. Yan Feijun stared intently at the mocking Wang Changkun, then shook his head slightly and sent a voice transmission to Bai Rou, "We'll proceed according to the plan!"
Seeing this, although Bai Rou felt a pang of pity, she no longer hesitated. Even though she had seen much death and injury during this time, she still couldn't bear to look at it directly.
Wang Changkun saw that the four opponents were turning a deaf ear to his group's words. He had wanted to share the pleasure derived from the enemy's fear with his five subordinates, but they were completely ignoring him. This caused a surge of viciousness in his heart.
In fact, it wasn't just Wang Changkun; almost every cultivator who had descended from the meteorite held a natural jealousy towards the cultivators of the Desolate Moon Continent.
These people were terrible at cultivation, yet they possessed such abundant cultivation resources and didn't have to live in daily fear of being swept away by astral winds or shattered meteorites.
Meanwhile, his people were born into that sunless place, their lives as insignificant as grains of sand, liable to be blown away to some unknown corner at any moment.
Therefore, when dealing with cultivators from the Desolate Moon Continent, they always struck to kill, even to torture and kill, to gain a sliver of pleasure and balance in their hearts.
Just as Wang Changkun's expression turned cold and he was about to order an attack, he suddenly saw the four opponents launch a counterattack without any warning.
This scene couldn't help but fill Wang Changkun and the five behind him with even more malice. The other side clearly wanted to kill them all in one fell swoop. Where was the slightest hint of fear? The suffering his group had inflicted seemed to have left no shadow on their hearts at all.
In an instant, under the deliberate control of both sides, they immediately split into two battle groups.
Yan Feijun formed a seal with one hand, and the Purple Ring spun rapidly, trapping the five people behind Wang Changkun within a radius of a hundred feet. Outside, Sun Guoshu provided long-range support with his attacks.
On the other side, Wang Changkun faced Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang alone without a shred of fear on his face. For a time, the sound of explosions boomed incessantly.
This fight quickly dragged on for another forty to fifty breaths. The more Bai Rou and the others fought, the more anxious they became. They didn't know how Li Yan was faring. If Li Yan was caught, even with the protection of Martial Uncle Wei's magical treasure, he likely couldn't hold on for long.
At that point, not only would Li Yan be in danger, but after killing him, the two demonic cultivators would quickly return. It was highly likely that the four of them would face a grim fate as well.
However, not only were Wang Changkun's Immortal Arts incredibly powerful, but he also had three Meteorite Sand Beasts to assist him. Every time they charged, Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang were forced to dodge hastily. This broke their encirclement of Wang Changkun several times when they were on the verge of success, forcing them to separate again.
Whenever the three puppets summoned by Bai Rou posed a threat to Wang Changkun, he would command the three Meteorite Sand Beasts to ram into the Long-Armed Ape Puppets like shooting stones, without any hesitation.
Although the Long-Armed Ape Puppets were tall and heavy, their movements would stutter with each collision. Often, in that brief pause, Wang Changkun would have already escaped the encirclement, and another powerful Immortal Art attack would be on its way.
If not for the precious materials Shuang Qingqing had given her to fuse into them, Bai Rou's three Long-Armed Ape Puppets would have likely been smashed to pieces long ago. Even so, many white marks had appeared on the puppets, causing Bai Rou's heart to ache.
But all in all, Bai Rou was still in a better situation. Hu Xiaowang, on the other hand, was frustrated. Every time a Meteorite Sand Beast charged, he had no puppet to take the blow and had to expend a great deal of Spirit Power to cast Immortal Arts to defend himself.
This caused his Spirit Power to deplete rapidly. He estimated that if they fought like this for another twenty or thirty breaths, he would have to consume a pill to restore his Spirit Power.
Looking at the other battle group, it was only now that Yan Feijun found an opportunity to slay an Initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the opposing side. To do so, he had taken a combined blow to the back from two Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Although he didn't spit blood, his face turned even paler. He was at a disadvantage because he couldn't cast spells with both hands, reducing his strength by a good portion. To have held on this long, he had already given it his all.
"If this continues, we'll be the ones at a disadvantage. We must use the formations behind us," Sun Guoshu's voice rang in the minds of Bai Rou and the other two.
Although he was providing support and had the easiest role, he could see that if this dragged on, even if Yan Feijun could kill one more enemy, he himself would be grievously injured and unable to fight.
At that point, their side's battle line would be the first to collapse. If this had been a team of rogue cultivators, Sun Guoshu would have already found an opportunity to flee. But now, he wouldn't dare.
However, his combat experience was greater than the other three. His suggestion quickly gained their approval. Although they were all anxious about Li Yan's situation, they couldn't just keep clashing head-on with the enemy like this.
If they couldn't even break the stalemate here, what was the point of talking about rescuing someone? And so, the four of them, while feigning to fight, began to slowly retreat toward the four sets of Child Killing Formations they had previously laid out.
Wang Changkun and his group failed to notice their change in tactics. Although they faced life and death trials every day on the giant meteorite, making them all strong-willed, they were sorely lacking when it came to schemes and cunning. Their worldview was narrow. No matter how large the meteorite was, how many people could they interact with? The number of people Wang Changkun and his companions had ever met was ultimately limited.
Moreover, most people on the meteorite were dedicated to arduous cultivation and didn't have much time for scheming against others.
The three Meteorite Sand Beasts sensed the fluctuations of earth-attribute Spirit Power, but they weren't specifically meant for dealing with formations. Besides, they were currently being commanded by Wang Changkun to continuously ram Bai Rou and Hu Xiaowang. Meanwhile, Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun had already deliberately opened the entrance to the Child Killing Formations.