With his plan settled, Quinn Shepherd traveled a hundred li away, with the box and Bruno the Dragon-Qilin following close behind.
A hundred li was more than far enough; even if the trap was tremendously powerful, it would be hard to threaten them at such a distance.
Quinn scooped up a handful of yellow sand and blew gently on it. The sand was swept from his palm in a single breath, landing on the ground and transforming into a tiny three-inch-tall figure.
This 'Sand Dune Giant' opened its mouth with a fierce roar, looking quite menacing. The sand beneath it spun, and the little hill giant charged toward the cliff a hundred li away, brimming with murderous intent.
Bruno watched with great anticipation. After a while, his excitement faded a bit, but he kept his eyes glued to the distance. Yet nothing happened at the cliff.
Quinn leapt onto Bruno's head, climbed up for a better view, and looked at the 'Sand Dune Giant.' The tiny sand giant had just crossed a dune and was struggling to reach the cliff.
Bruno yawned, shook himself awake, and said, "Cult Master, is it almost there?"
Quinn calculated for a moment. "It'll be there in about half an hour."
Bruno lay down, muttering, "I'll take a nap first. Wake me up when we get there."
Half an hour later, Quinn kicked the giant beast awake. Bruno scrambled up, excited. "Are we there yet?"
"Just another half a stick of incense and it'll be there!"
Quinn chuckled, "Let's go up into the air first—if anything goes wrong, it'll be easier to escape!"
The box stretched out its legs and climbed onto Bruno's back. Bruno immediately stepped onto a cloud of fire and soared into the sky. From afar, they could just make out a tiny figure roaring its way toward the stele a hundred li away—even Bruno, with his sharp eyes, could barely see it clearly.
Quinn, however, saw everything clearly. The little sand dune giant roared and howled for ages before finally reaching the base of the stele, full of momentum.
Then, the little sand dune giant began digging at the sand, roaring as it dug.
Quinn was speechless. Bruno opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and waited quietly, thinking, "If I make a dumb comment about this, I'll probably go hungry tomorrow."
After a while, the little sand dune giant dug out a small pit, finally revealing the writing beneath the stele. Before Quinn could make out what it said, countless grains of yellow sand suddenly surged from the pit—ribbons of sand shot skyward like flying rainbows, burying the tiny sand giant!
Not only was the little sand dune giant swallowed up, but the surrounding dozens of li instantly turned into a terrifying killing field. The yellow sand boiled, as if a giant earth-colored cauldron had been overturned onto the desert, and from within the earthen sphere came the ringing of blades!
Bruno's fur and scales stood up straight in fright, and even Quinn felt a chill run down his spine!
This trap was even more terrifying than he'd imagined. Luckily, he'd been cautious enough to suggest triggering it from a hundred li away.
Inside the earth-colored cauldron, blades of light slashed and danced in every direction—cutting, chopping, slicing, transforming—filling nearly every inch of space for dozens of li around!
"This blade technique..."
Quinn froze for a moment, a bad feeling rising in his chest. He'd seen this blade technique before!
But not in Everpeace—he saw it just last night, thirty or forty thousand years ago, in the hands of that Heavenly Court Prodigy Legion youth named Logan Cross!
The blade technique Logan Cross used was almost identical to the flashes of blades now filling the killing field!
"That one-armed youth is still alive? The Grand Venerable said he wouldn't last long and told me not to worry..."
Quinn couldn't help but smile, but his grin quickly froze. In moments, his face turned ashen.
The divine trap Logan Cross laid here was unimaginably powerful—so strong that even someone like Starr might not possess such vast magical might.
This meant Logan Cross had not only survived, but was thriving—he looked stronger than ever, and had most likely become a god!
He still bore a grudge over his severed arm. After becoming a god, he must have returned to this cliff, seen Quinn's inscription on the wall, and left a stele behind.
If Quinn Shepherd were to come here, he'd definitely want to know what was written beneath the stele—and that's exactly when he'd trigger the trap!
"I really shouldn't have revealed my true name. I should've made something up... Well, at least we suffered together. Logan Cross is so petty. I chopped off one of Grand Venerable's legs—twice, the same leg—and he didn't complain at all."
The divine power Logan Cross left behind didn't last long; soon, the trap's force dissipated, and the yellow sand in the sky was sliced into dust, swirling and scattering in the wind.
Quinn narrowed his eyes, inwardly startled.
Last night, when he ran into Logan Cross, Logan’s blade technique was exquisite, but still fell short compared to his own.
Logan Cross's blade technique was the Fission Knife Art: one split to two, two to four, four to eight—splitting again and again. After ten splits, it became 1,024 blades; after fourteen, over sixteen thousand.
However, this technique had a fatal flaw: Logan’s divine power was fixed. The more splits, the weaker each blade became; split too many times, and the attack lost its bite.
Against most experts, he could dominate. But facing someone like Quinn—master of both sword and blade—he was at a clear disadvantage.
So even with his power nearly spent and his body battered, Quinn could still sever Logan’s arm.
But this time, Quinn saw that Logan Cross’s blade technique had advanced to a truly terrifying level.
For dozens of li around, yellow sand filled the sky, but the true killing intent still lay hidden within the blades of light swirling in the sand.
It seemed as if blades of light filled the yellow sand for dozens of li, all following the fission knife art. But in reality, there was only a single blade.
The blade struck the sand, refracting and bouncing; its speed was so great that it created the illusion of blades everywhere, but Logan Cross had only unleashed a single strike!
Quinn could imagine it: after becoming a god, Logan Cross returned here, saw Quinn’s inscription on the cliff wall, recognized Quinn’s sword technique from the writing, and set up the stele.
He stood before the stele, struck the yellow sand with a single blade, hiding his blade intent and divine power within the sand and beneath the stele.
Countless years passed before Quinn arrived, triggering Logan’s blade intent and divine power, detonating the trap!
“His blade technique had reached the dao domain.”
Quinn’s eyelid twitched. He stepped into the swirling sand, braving the choking dust as he walked toward the cliff.
Logan Cross’s blade technique had reached the dao domain. He was now a terrifying existence, just like the Everpeace Imperial Preceptor!
He entered the dao through the blade. Logan’s comprehension of the blade path was probably no weaker than the Butcher’s—and even more terrifying, his cultivation was likely far greater!
Quinn froze for a moment. The cliff up ahead was still there, and his inscription remained untouched. The cliff hadn’t been damaged at all—it seemed Logan Cross’s divine power had deliberately avoided it.
He didn’t dwell on it and turned his attention to the stele.
The stele was still intact, not a scratch on it.
The writing beneath the stele was also revealed. After the words “buried,” instead of the “here” he’d expected, another line appeared in tiny regular script.
Quinn read carefully: “You think this is a trap. You think I set this blade technique to kill you? You’re wrong. Standing here, you’ll be completely unharmed.”
I’m waiting for you, Heavenly Saint Cult Master. I’ve lived through twenty thousand years, through the entire Pioneer Era, but never found any trace of the Heavenly Saint Cult. Not until the Pioneer Era ended.
The remnants of the Pioneer Era founded the Heavenly Saint Cult. Only then did I realize the person I was waiting for wasn’t in the past, but in the future!
The Heavenly Saint Cult—saint in name, but truly a demonic path. Quinn Shepherd, the Heavenly Saint Cult Master, is in fact the Heavenly Demon Cult Master!
You triggered my trap. My divine power will notify me that you’ve arrived!
I’ve finally awaited your arrival…
Quinn’s expression grew grave. He let out a heavy breath, flipped onto Bruno’s back, and shouted, “Go! We can’t stay here!”
Bruno took off running, and the Taotie Bone Box followed, sprinting for its life.
Quinn’s face was stiff and serious.
It wasn’t a trap.
Though it looked grand and threatening, the trap was only meant to let Logan Cross sense his divine power being triggered—to know that Quinn Shepherd, the Heavenly Saint Cult Master, had arrived. That’s all.
That was a monster who’d lived thirty or forty thousand years, holding a grudge over Quinn severing his arm. To Quinn, it happened last night; to Logan, it was thirty or forty thousand years ago!
He’d held that grudge for tens of thousands of years, but even so, his trap wasn’t meant to kill Quinn, only to notify his true body. Logan Cross’s obsession was terrifying!
He’d rather let his trap fail than risk Quinn’s life—he wanted to claim it himself!
Quinn led the Taotie Bone Box far away. By now it was past noon, the sun slanting west. The sun over this yellow desert didn’t seem to be the same as Everpeace’s, and this world didn’t seem to be the same as Everpeace either.
He rode Bruno, racing through the desert with the Taotie Bone Box. This world seemed endless, with no horizon in sight and no destination reachable.
He couldn’t even find the crack he’d seen when he first arrived.
Sweat beaded on Quinn’s forehead. If he couldn’t get out, even if Logan Cross didn’t come to kill him, he’d die in this strange place sooner or later!
He might die of thirst, starvation, madness, or simply old age and loneliness.
Don’t panic, don’t panic—think carefully…
He calmed himself, carefully recalling the path he’d taken. The vast desert offered no clues to the way back, and even if he could find it, he absolutely couldn’t return that way.
Starr hadn’t caught up. He must be waiting at the crack, lying in ambush, hoping Quinn would walk right into his trap.
Quinn’s eyes flashed. He looked up at the sky, thinking, “Back at the source of the Yong River, at the cliff that split the Great Ruins east to west, I saw five overlapping heavens—five worlds stacked together! Five layers of sky means there must be another exit from this world. I can use another exit to return to the Great Ruins!”
Layers of formation patterns spun in his eyes. He let Bruno run wherever he wanted, and just kept watching the sky.
At night, Bruno didn’t dare go on. He jumped onto the Taotie Bone Box, and Quinn lay there with his legs crossed, staring at the pitch-black sky while the box crossed dunes, heading into the distance.
Day came again. Quinn was much more haggard, his eyes bloodshot, but he still stared wide-eyed, not daring to relax for a moment.
Finally, Quinn spotted a cloud.
This world was nothing but desert, not a hint of moisture anywhere—yet suddenly, a cloud appeared out of nowhere, starting small and quickly growing larger.
Quinn’s spirits soared. He sprang up and laughed heartily: “Heaven never blocks all roads—most people only cut off their own path by giving up hope! If I don’t give up, I’ll make it out alive!”
He placed the Taotie Bone Box onto Bruno’s back, and Bruno soared upward, charging toward the cloud.
As they crossed into another world, divine light flickered within the cliff, revealing a vibrant, colorful world filled with towering plants and multicolored flowers.
Divine light poured from the cliff like a waterfall, connecting the two worlds.
A girl’s phantom stepped on blossoms as she entered from the other world, gazing at the inscription on the cliff and murmuring, “Just two hundred years shy of forty thousand. You should have been born by now, right? I’m still waiting for you.”
Her face was tinged with sorrow as she whispered, “I survived, but in forty thousand years I’ve never forgotten you… I’m afraid to grow old, afraid you won’t recognize me…”
Suddenly, the stele beside her began to rise, rumbling as blocks of stone split away and instantly assembled into a stone arch.
“Heavenly Demon Cult Master Quinn Shepherd, I’ve finally awaited you!” A one-armed figure appeared on the other side of the archway, a long blade on his back, his laughter both mournful and triumphant.
The girl in the divine light and the one-armed figure in the archway met each other’s gaze, both shaken to the core.
“Supreme Sovereign Remnant!”
“Outer-Realm Fiend!”