Chapter 981: Together Against the Storm

"Perhaps these people are also heading for the Ten Thousand Poison Cave! Maybe they have some clues in their hands!"

Ye Liuyun thought that, and quickened his steps.

The others also had hope, and they too increased their speed.

Moreover, that group ahead was essentially clearing the way for them, so their journey was smooth and they encountered no further poisonous attacks.

After Ye Liuyun and his group passed a sand dune, they finally spotted the silhouettes of that party.

That party numbered over twenty people, the lowest among them all being Sixfold Creation. Their strength far exceeded theirs. Moreover, three senior Elders led the group, looking like disciples of some Sect.

At that moment, a Transmission Voice from Li Qingyun sounded in Ye Liuyun's Sea of Consciousness.

"They are a team from the hidden clan Cheng Clan. This clan is terrifying; its strength even surpasses the Daxia Chao. Either don't provoke them, or annihilate them all, leaving none to escape."

Li Qingyun finished speaking, then fell silent, leaving Ye Liuyun to handle it on his own.

"Cheng Clan? Stronger than the Daxia Chao?" Ye Liuyun was shocked; he had never heard of such a force.

He glanced secretly at Ling Shuang and found that she also could not recognize those people.

Those people in the distance also saw Ye Liuyun and his companions. After gauging their realms, they paid them no mind and continued on their way.

Their direction of travel, like Ye Liuyun's group, was toward the deep desert.

Seeing those people's realms and reactions, the few disciples trailing behind also showed disappointed expressions.

The other side clearly was too lazy to bother with them.

Their hope of forming a partnership was completely shattered.

Ye Liuyun worried that these Cheng Clan members were probably also heading for the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.

Once they locate the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, a fierce battle is likely. Those people probably won't let them relay information about the cave.

However, before finding the cave, Ye Liuyun's group could continue to follow them.

The advantage of staying behind them was that they suffered far fewer attacks; many assaults were taken down by the front group.

Ye Liuyun's guess was correct.

Those Cheng Clan disciples were just an ordinary expedition team of the Cheng Clan.

Having learned of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, they dispatched a team to investigate.

This expedition consisted of three senior Elders and eighteen disciples of the Zao Hua Realm.

"Elder, should I drive them away?" a disciple asked the leading Elder.

"No need! They are disciples from Qian Long Academy on a trial. We have no reason to act against them. If we truly discover the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, we can act later. If they wish to follow, let them follow!"

That senior Elder completely disregarded Ye Liuyun's group.

He also saw Li Qingyun trailing behind, yet remained indifferent.

They had three senior strongmen. Even if he were to annihilate them, he was confident enough.

The dangers in the desert were not limited to poisons; there were also storms and quicksand.

Ye Liuyun's group was unlucky, getting caught in a desert storm that night.

They could only find a wind-sheltered sand dune, jointly raising True Essence to fend off the sandstorm, halting their advance.

They watched the distant horizon as a cyclone spun toward them.

As the cyclone grew stronger, two more wind vortices formed within their line of sight.

In total three tornadoes whirled up countless flying sand, sweeping toward them.

The vortices spun extremely fast, and the tangled sand and gravel inside would grind any object caught within into fragments of stone.

They all witnessed a giant scorpion's corpse being lifted by the vortex, instantly pounded by high-speed sand and gravel into a hole‑riddled mess, then torn apart, finally reduced to sand‑sized particles that fluttered in the wind.

Ye Liuyun estimated that an ordinary person caught would likely be reduced to nothing but bone fragments.

The others inhaled sharply, marveling at the storm's power.

They gathered, prepared their True Essence, and readied themselves to collectively resist the storm.

The whole sky turned a deep black. Though the storm hadn't arrived yet, sand and stone already whirled around them.

The heavy pressure made it hard to breathe.

"Begin!"

Ye Liuyun immediately sent a Transmission Voice to the others.

At this moment, even if he tore his throat, his voice wouldn't carry.

Eleven True Essences released simultaneously, forming a multilayered shield that protected them.

Everyone knew it was a matter of survival now, and no one dared to slack off.

When the True Essence shield held, everyone felt a sudden lightness as the pressure lifted.

"Don't be careless! The storm is about to arrive; don't let it burst the shield!"

Ye Liuyun warned them, lest they relax and fail to block the storm's impact.

Of the three tornadoes, only one blew toward Ye Liuyun's position; another aimed at the Cheng Clan's group, and the third passed between the two parties.

If Ye Liuyun's group could withstand a single storm impact, it would be a great success.

However, when that tornado truly approached and began striking them, they realized just how powerful it really was.

Five True Essence shields collapsed at the first touch, like tearing down withered wood.

Then four more True Essence barriers were torn apart in succession, leaving only Ye Liuyun's and Lei Ming's True Essence to barely hold.

"Hold on!"

Yuan Datou let out a roar and raised the True Essence shield again.

Under his lead, the few disciples whose hearts were like ash subconsciously raised the True Essence shield again.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two light cracks burst, and the True Essence shield raised by Ye Liuyun and Lei Ming was breached, but the others' freshly raised shield held for a moment.

And Ye Liuyun, Lei Ming, and Long Nv immediately raised their True Essence shields, continuing onward. Before the others' True Essence shields were broken again, they kept the storm outside.

And the tornado outside, finally blocked by the True Essence shield, did not strike them. It passed directly over their heads and blew away into the distance.

"Don't stop!" Ye Liuyun reminded everyone.

At this moment, although the tornado had passed, the sand and gravel it kicked up were still attacking very quickly.

Under his command, everyone was desperately clinging to the last bit of their True Essence, maintaining the protective shield.

Although the time they could maintain the True Essence shield was short, everyone was giving it their all.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft," came a few light sounds.

Several disciples had exhausted their True Essence, and the faint sound of their True Essence shattering shields could be heard.

Then, "pfft, pfft," the sound of shields shattering kept coming.

Finally, even Ling Shuang and Yuan Datou could not hold on, collapsing completely to the ground.