Melody Lin and the others were very curious about the strange things that had happened since Evan Yang's return. While they were discussing these events in the city, Evan tracked them down by their auras and greeted them with a smile, "What are you all whispering about?"
"We're whispering because a lot has happened since you came back. We just can't figure out why things have gotten so strange," Melody said.
"What strange things? Tell me about them," Evan asked curiously.
"For example, after you came back, why were we all suddenly teleported outside the Bloodfiend Ground? And when they tried to escape, why couldn't they get away?" Melody asked two questions in a row, and then Ember Yang and Lynn Lin also looked at Evan curiously.
Seeing the three suddenly ask about this, Evan smiled. "Honestly, you might not believe it even if I told you. If I said it was the steward inside who sent me out—and that same steward trapped those people inside the barrier—would you believe it?"
"Steward? What steward?" Melody asked suspiciously.
So Evan explained to the three of them that there was actually a manager inside the Bloodfiend Ground. His abilities were extremely strong, and he could basically control everything in that place. Naturally, he could send people out, and making a barrier was a piece of cake for him.
"No way, really?" Melody exclaimed in shock, and Ember and Lynn were just as surprised.
"That's how it is. Believe it or not, it's up to you. As for us, it's time to head out. Our next destination is the desert," Evan said with a smile.
Seeing Evan's expression, which didn't look like he was lying, the three decided to trust him for now. Then they set off together, heading for the desert.
The young prince of the desert, now seriously injured, had returned to a cave. A group rushed in, and the leader, furious, demanded, "Who? Who did this to you?"
"Him—a Sovereign who can even fight Gods. He could withstand our Thunderclap Bell," the young prince replied.
"Impossible! No one below God could withstand the Thunderclap Bell. You must have seen wrong," the middle-aged man said, not believing it.
"Dad, why would I lie to you? Besides, all my Blood-Marks were taken by him. If I'm right, he must have mastered the Blood-Mark Divine Art," the young prince said.
The middle-aged man furrowed his brows suspiciously. "Someone like that? Looks like I'll have to find him myself. I refuse to believe I can't kill him."
"It's useless. If he disappears, he'll be almost impossible to find. I've basically given up," the young prince said helplessly.
"What's there to give up? Show me his portrait," the middle-aged man said.
The young prince waved his hand, and Evan's image appeared before everyone. The middle-aged man took it and said, "Just wait. Watch how your father gets revenge for you."
The angry middle-aged man ordered his men to treat the prince's wounds. Miraculously, the prince recovered quickly, and even he couldn't understand how these people managed it.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man was in another cave with several others. Before them was a pool of water. They poured power and Evan's portrait into the pool, and soon Evan's image appeared before everyone.
Everyone saw Evan and the three girls walking across the desert.
"These people must be tired of living. I was just looking for them, and now they've come to the desert themselves," the middle-aged man snorted coldly when he saw this.
"Cold King, who is this guy? Why are we wasting so much power just to find him?" someone asked curiously from the side.
"Him. He injured my son, and even the Thunderclap Bell couldn't deal with him," the middle-aged man replied.
Everyone was shocked to hear that even the Thunderclap Bell couldn't handle him. Seeing their expressions, the middle-aged man said, "This matter doesn't concern you for now. I'll have my men deal with him."
"Alright," they nodded. Then the middle-aged man, known as Cold King, left.
Meanwhile, Evan and his three companions were trekking through the desert. Lynn kept complaining, "It's so hot, I'm dying here! What is this place? Even deserts shouldn't be this terrifying."
"I said before, the desert has a famous treasure known for its heat. If you want to come here, you'll just have to endure it," Melody said.
"Yeah, I know," Lynn replied, feeling frustrated.
Just then, a swarm of scorpions appeared in the desert, targeting Evan and his group. Curious, they studied the insects and discovered they weren't ordinary scorpions. Evan said, "Fight your way through and leave. There are too many scorpions here to kill them all."
So Ember and the others did as Evan said. After wiping out a batch of scorpions, they quickly flashed away, disappearing from their original spot in a few swift moves.
Soon, they arrived at a new location—another stretch of desert.
Not only that, but they saw a yellow-earth palace standing in the desert. Ember was delighted. "A palace!"
"Could we have arrived already? No, that can't be—it shouldn't be this fast," Melody said suspiciously.
"We've been walking for ages. It shouldn't count as fast," Lynn said, eager to find a place to rest.
Evan listened to Melody's doubts and examined the palace carefully. He noticed it was subtly shaking and muttered, "This must be fake."
"Fake?" Lynn said, not believing it.
"Yeah, it's fake. Look closely, watch it a few more times, and you'll see the palace is shaking," Evan explained.
"How can that be?" After looking carefully, Lynn and the others really felt it. Lynn complained, feeling frustrated.
"Don't worry, keep moving. You'll see soon enough," Evan said. He had Ember and the others follow him, and they quickly moved to the spot they'd seen before. Sure enough, there was nothing there—just empty desert, not even a single creature in sight.
Lynn complained, "That's weird. Why is my energy draining so fast?"
"This is the desert. Anyone who first comes here can't get used to it—their energy consumption always outpaces their recovery, so it feels like you're burning through your strength," Melody explained.
"The desert is really like this?" Lynn said, feeling even more frustrated. She was already annoyed, and if this kept up, she'd lose her mind.
But there was nothing they could do. They had chosen to come, and now there was no turning back. Soon, Evan and the others saw the palace again, this time in a different direction.
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"That one's fake too, isn't it?" Lynn wasn't as excited as the first time and asked suspiciously.
"It's fake. Look closely," Evan said.
After Lynn and the others looked carefully, they complained, "How can it be fake again?"
"Just go over and check it out. You'll see," Evan said.
So the group kept moving forward, and sure enough, it was fake again. Lynn grew impatient as her stamina drained even faster, while Evan, protected by the Heaven-Cold Seed, felt nothing. Ember, Melody, and Lynn's auras were gradually weakening.
This couldn't go on. Melody turned to Evan and asked, "What do we do now?"
"We must have wandered into a place that's a combination of formations and illusions. Plus, the desert's environment makes everyone burn through energy too fast," Evan explained.
"So do you have a way to break it? If we keep staying here, I'll die from exhaustion," Lynn complained.
Evan said, "You three stay here. I'll take a look around."
With that, Evan released his divine sense, searching for the source of the formation or a way out. Only by finding it could they hope to leave.
When Evan released his divine sense, he discovered something unexpected—the formation was guarded by people, twelve points in total. To escape, he had to defeat all twelve. Each one was at the peak of Sovereign level and held a treasure, which powered the formation. These twelve treasures also absorbed the energy from the area, speeding up the group's energy drain and channeling it into the formation.
"Looks like this formation we've entered isn't simple," Evan said with a wry smile as he returned to his senses.
"Is there a way to break it?" Lynn was mainly concerned about whether they could leave safely.
Evan thought for a moment and said, "There's a way, of course, but it's pretty tough. I think you should enter my treasure for now. You're burning through energy too fast here, and I don't know how long I'll be gone."
Lynn immediately replied, "Why didn't you say so earlier? I can't take it anymore. Let me in, quick!"
Ember and Melody also asked to go in, so the three of them entered Evan's Mystic Shell. Evan, standing in the distance, smiled up at the sky and said, "I wonder who set this up for us? You went to all this trouble to arrange such a grand formation."
A voice sounded from outside the formation: "Kid, you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Cold King ordered me to capture you within three days. I heard you don't even fear Gods, and you have quite a reputation in the Bloodfiend Ground. That's why I set up this array. But you actually have a magic treasure that can hide people?"
"Cold King? Is he your master here? I just arrived and you already knew? Impressive," Evan said with a laugh, though he was secretly shocked at how quickly they'd been discovered.
"Our Cold King is formidable. Opposing him never ends well. I suggest you surrender now. Otherwise, when we fully activate the formation, you won't even have the strength to walk, let alone break out," the voice said with a cold laugh.
"Oh? Then I really want to see what's so special about your formation," Evan replied with a smile.
"Our formation absorbs the power of those trapped inside and turns it into its own strength. The stronger you are, the stronger the array becomes," the other side replied coldly.
"So that's how it works. Now I'm curious to see for myself," Evan said with a smile.
"In that case, let me show you!" the voice outside said. The formation began to change color, and the space around Evan instantly turned dark blue. A faint breeze swept past him.
Each time the wind blew, Evan's energy drained away faster, flowing into the formation.
Naturally, Evan noticed this, so he quickly withdrew his power. That slowed the drain, and with the Heaven-Cold Seed speeding up his recovery, he began to resist the formation's effects.
Time ticked by. Evan stood motionless, while the people outside the array laughed, "It's already been an hour. I don't believe you can last another hour."