The spirit snake slowly coiled around my neck, making me feel uncomfortable as ever. Now, I had completely become human—an utterly unbelievable transformation. The only thing that hadn’t changed was my emotions, which still hadn’t returned.
Zhu Tang was still observing, seemingly trying to discern the direction. At this moment, I actually felt hungry.
Suddenly, Zhu Tang stood up and angrily kicked at the sand. A fierce wind swept through, and in an instant, yellow sand filled the sky. We could only lie flat on the ground, feeling the stinging grains whip across our skin, while our bodies began to be gradually buried.
I don’t know how much time passed before the sandstorm finally subsided. I immediately crawled out of the sand, gasping for breath.
The temperature was still high, and the air around us was stiflingly hot. My mouth felt dry and parched.
"Let’s go, we need to find some shelter. If we keep going like this, we’ll all die. And if we die, I’m afraid the ghost’s power will be released and we’ll be cast out immediately."
As Zhu Tang spoke, he sat down and tumbled down the sand dune. I had no choice but to follow suit—it was faster that way. By the time I reached the bottom, my arms, legs, back, and neck were all scraped and bruised. But, just like when I was human, my body immediately began to steam and heal. In no time, the wounds disappeared, but I instantly felt even hungrier.
"What is that?"
I stared in astonishment at the ochre-colored stone wall shaped like a human face, about five or six meters high. It was a face, gazing into the distance. I swallowed hard. Judging by its appearance, this human-faced stone had been here for many years—much of it weathered, and its cheeks already cracked.
But now, the three of us found a patch of shade behind the slanted human-faced stone. Lying on the cool sand, I felt as if I’d come back to life.
"This is just rotten luck."
Zhu Tang leaned against the stone, glaring resentfully at the surroundings.
"Where exactly are we? Why isn’t there a single soul around?"
I asked, and Zhu Tang sighed before answering.
"Ever since I was born, this wasteland has existed. The real Four Saints Realm is actually very small, rich in resources, and all the holy spirits live happily there. But it’s surrounded by harsh natural environments, like this wasteland. The holy spirits rarely set foot here, because if you lose your way, you might starve or die of thirst."
I let out a sound of surprise, and the spirit snake immediately opened its eyes and poked out its head.
"You damned bird, I asked you about this before and you wouldn’t say anything. Now look at us—we came here with nothing, and I’m starving to death."
But now, both Zhu Tang and I fixed our eyes on the spirit snake. Zhu Tang licked his lips.
"Roasted snake meat would probably taste pretty good."
I agreed with a grunt, and the spirit snake immediately slipped off me and burrowed into the sand, but Zhu Tang, quick as lightning, grabbed its tail.
"Don’t even think about it, you two bastards. Are you really planning to eat me?"
I laughed loudly and shook my head.
"Just kidding, right?"
I said, glancing at Zhu Tang. His expression didn’t look like he was joking. For a moment, all three of us fell silent.
"Rest a bit longer. I’ll take you to find water. After all, I am a snake—my sense of smell is much keener than yours."
Both Zhu Tang and I nodded.
"Can’t we just fly across?"
I asked, but Zhu Tang shook his head.
"As a mid-level holy spirit, I can’t fly over the wasteland. Even high-level holy spirits can’t. This world has its own laws, and we spirits have always abided by them. It’s somewhat similar to human society, but also different. Human faith is our nourishment, and without it, we can’t survive in such harsh environments."
Zhu Tang’s explanation made things clear to me. Right now, the powers I could use were even weaker than his. If we wasted too much energy, we’d reach our limit—and that would be our end.
The spirit snake climbed to a higher spot, flicking its tongue as if sensing water particles in the air. With even the slightest hint, it could tell which direction held water.
My throat burned, and my tongue couldn’t produce any saliva—I could only choke back the dryness. Zhu Tang didn’t look much better, but the spirit snake seemed unaffected.
"Found anything yet, you damn snake? I’m dying of thirst here."
"Too bad you’re not snakes. The reason I don’t take human form is it drains too much energy. But even if you turned into snakes, it wouldn’t help—you’re still human at the core."
The spirit snake chuckled. Zhu Tang didn’t have the strength to argue. Wind and sand swept over us in waves; we could only huddle closer to the sand near the Facewall, trying not to expose ourselves to the elements.
Gradually, the wind and sand died down, and the temperature began to drop. I panted, sweat no longer coming out—my body was weak, and my hunger had faded.
"It’s probably almost night."
The spirit snake muttered, then started moving. The chill in the air cleared my mind.
"I’ve found water. Hurry and follow me—if we go now, it’s only a few kilometers. If we wait till night, the cold will make it even harder for you."
With that, the spirit snake began to slither across the sand, and Zhu Tang got to his feet as well.
We started walking. The air was cool and refreshing, and the wind felt good against our skin. According to Zhu Tang, this place isn’t just wasteland—there are steppes, marshes, snowy ice fields. Every environment here is desolate and deadly to us. In this directionless desert, just surviving is already lucky.
Suddenly, I kicked something hard and fell onto the sand. I quickly turned to look and was stunned for a moment. My mind jolted and I scrambled over to start digging.
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It was an Android Head, exquisitely crafted. Something like this shouldn’t exist in this world at all—it was straight out of a recent sci-fi movie, where the robot was powerful, able to soar through the sky and burrow underground. I knew about it because Jing Le starred in that film, and the investment was huge.
It took all my strength to pull the Android Head—about the size of my own body—out of the sand. It was just a shell, with nothing inside.
"Why is something like this here?"
I asked, but Zhu Tang shook his head.
"No idea. In these harsh places, you’ll find all sorts of bizarre things that could never exist in human society—like flying saucers, spaceships, and the like."
I grunted, and then Zhu Tang told me there were even some ghosts here. But they weren’t real ghosts—only part of them was, and they always lacked something essential.
We kept walking, and soon a huge dark shadow appeared ahead in the desert. The spirit snake darted forward, and we quickly followed.
"What is that?"
I was stunned. As I got closer, I was dumbfounded—it looked like a skyscraper, didn’t it?
Six upward-pointing spires, but only a single column supporting it from below. The building towered hundreds of floors high. If the sand didn’t block our view, from a distance it would look like a floating palace. The facade was triangular, and the strangest part was the windows—scattered and chaotic.
"I’ll go up and take a look."
Just as I was about to use the Vermilion Bird’s Power, Zhu Tang grabbed me.
"Don’t bother, Qingyuan. This thing is just like that Android Head you saw before—all appearance, no substance. You’ll waste your energy going up there; you won’t find anything."
We circled around the bizarre building. The spirit snake kept moving forward, but no matter how far we went, there was still no sign of water. Along the way, I saw so many strange things.
Things like car-planes, or maybe plane-cars—hybrids. I even checked inside, and they looked pretty convincing, but when I opened the hood, there was no engine—just emptiness.
I even saw a pair of wings, almost like some kind of performance art, exaggerated and swaying gently in the breeze.
The strangest thing was an animal that left me utterly shocked—four legs crawling on the ground, ugly as could be. Its body was dragon-like, but not quite, and parts of it were missing.
But finding something like that was a real stroke of luck for us. At first, we planned to catch it and carve some meat off its fat body. But the moment I touched it, the creature vanished with a pop, like a bubble bursting.
"Stop thinking about food, Qingyuan. In this place, water is all we need. If we have water, we can survive."
I grunted, and after walking a while, hunger swept over me again. I swallowed, my throat nearly smoking.
"We’re here. Dig."
The spirit snake spoke, and Zhu Tang and I rushed over. The soil here was distinctly different, with some withered plants. We started digging, but it was all muddy sludge. Zhu Tang scooped out a big lump of mud, placed it on his head, and let the muddy water drip straight into his throat.
"Back to life."
In the end, I could only eat mud too. I’d eaten once in the Ghostrealm before, when I was still human—it tasted like dry, shriveled mud. But this time was different; it was real muddy water, and I ate a lot.
My stomach cramped, but my throat felt much better.
Night gradually fell. The spirit snake poked out its head and flicked its tongue to check the air.
"It’s going to be cold tonight. Hurry and gather the plants here—I’ll go find you a shelter."