The wind has gradually faded away. Inside this massive warship, sheltered from the wind, we sit in the main gun turret, observing the world outside. The moon is about to sink below the horizon, and the air is beginning to warm.
"What exactly are these things?"
I muttered, thinking to myself. Zhu Tang was just as clueless; these strange things have existed here for a long time.
"The only change is that from ancient times to the present, these things have never belonged to the human world."
A buzzing sound caught my attention. I looked out—it was a flying saucer. My eyes widened in surprise as the round craft shimmered with seven colors, slowly passing before our eyes. Suddenly, I saw some words written on it.
I must fly into space.
A string of words, so childish it seemed like something written by a kindergartener.
I was growing more and more confused by the strange things here. Flying saucers like this—I’d already seen several along the way, but they never moved, just sat quietly buried in the sand, all form and no substance.
"Save your strength, Ethan. That thing’s no different from the others."
I gave a noncommittal reply and didn’t press further. I wanted to ask about what Zhu Tang had said earlier—there were supposed to be powerful monsters here. But the humanoid creatures we’d encountered so far were all form with no substance, not truly threatening. They had some strength, but nothing that could really endanger us.
I glanced at Zhu Tang, wanting to ask him something, but he had already fallen asleep, looking exhausted. I leaned back in my chair, planning to get some rest myself.
"I'll keep watch. You should get some rest. By daylight, this place will be scorching. The sun will rise in a few hours."
Spirit Snake said this and slithered outside. I closed my eyes. It had been a long time since I’d felt this way—such a luxury for me.
A wave of heat woke me up. I jumped to my feet—the air I breathed was almost scalding. I immediately woke Zhu Tang. The sun had already risen. We quickly returned to the surface and found a stone with a human face to use as shade.
In this desert, there are all sorts of strange things, but these human-faced stones are the most common—one every few hundred meters.
The ground was heating up, waves of heat rippling through the air. The wind blowing past was hot, sweat began to seep from my skin. We had to find something to eat—at this rate, we wouldn’t last many days.
Zhu Tang had said that in the Four Sacred Realm, the spirits ate all sorts of strange fruits, never any meat. He’d seen edible fruits in the wastelands before, but they were very rare—especially in recent years. The dried plants we used for firewood before were actually the trunks of fruit trees, but they were already dead.
"What should we do now?"
I asked. Zhu Tang pointed at Spirit Snake.
"It's up to you. If you find water, we might be able to return to the Four Sacred Realm."
I glanced at Spirit Snake—this was our only option. Besides, we couldn’t move during the day anyway; the scorching heat would drain our strength too quickly.
I was curious why the monsters didn’t come out during the day. Except for the one we saw yesterday in the blazing sun, I hadn’t seen any others.
"Maybe they all sleep underground during the day."
Zhu Tang joked, leaning weakly against the rock coin behind him. I watched him carefully.
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Just a feeling."
I spat out the words bluntly. Zhu Tang nodded.
"I can only tell you once we reach the Four Sacred Realm. Saying anything now would just add to your burden—and it won’t help our survival."
I nodded, deciding not to press further. At that moment, Spirit Snake’s whole body suddenly rose up, and I felt a faint vibration beneath me, growing stronger.
We immediately stood up. Zhu Tang’s expression changed drastically.
"Get to the air!"
With a swoosh, I grabbed Spirit Snake and took off. Instantly, the desert beneath us swelled up—a thunderous roar as a massive wave of yellow sand erupted like a fountain. A streak of black appeared, accompanied by a piercing howl.
"A dragon?"
I stared in shock. A pitch-black maw, nearly twenty or thirty meters wide, gaped open. It was a dragon, but its body was entirely black and worm-like—nothing like a real dragon, and its roar was different too.
"Go higher!"
Zhu Tang shouted. I didn’t hesitate—I beat my wings and climbed higher. On the ground, mounds of sand erupted, and Sand Wyrms burst out, their huge mouths open, trying to swallow us.
With a swoosh, I stopped. The Sand Wyrms weren’t fast, but they were massive—and there were a lot of them. I dodged one snapping maw.
"Zhu Tang!"
I shouted. Not far away, there was a burst of flame—Zhu Tang was bracing the jaws of a Sand Wyrm with both hands, caught in its bite. I dodged several others and sped toward him.
"Stay back, Ethan!"
With a thunderous crash, several Sand Wyrms lunged at me. Their bloated bodies twisted, surprisingly agile, and when they suddenly accelerated, clouds of sand swept up, obscuring my vision.
"Don’t go over there—it’s bad!"
Spirit Snake shouted. My vision was almost completely blurred, but I darted through the air and finally spotted Zhu Tang. I raised my fist, ignited flames, and struck the Sand Wyrm’s lower jaw that was biting Zhu Tang. With a boom, Zhu Tang burst free and flashed me a smile. Suddenly, his smile froze. Accompanied by the Vermilion Bird Cry, Zhu Tang transformed into a flaming Vermilion Bird and charged at me.
A chill ran down my spine. I tried to dodge, but the surroundings had turned pitch black. I raised both hands—bang!—the immense bite force made my bones creak. I was caught in its jaws, and this Sand Wyrm had split off from another’s body.
With a roar, the head that had just bitten Zhu Tang swung my way. Bang! My eyes widened. As Zhu Tang neared me, he was struck and sent flying, like a baseball hit out of the park, turning into a streak of red flame.
"Follow him, Spirit Snake!"
"What about you?"
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Enough talk. I’ll figure something out."
With a swish, Spirit Snake slipped from my neck and shot away, vanishing into the swirling yellow sand.
"What on earth is this thing...?"
I gritted my teeth, my knees already on the ground. The force was real, overwhelming. I tried unleashing my power, flames bursting out again and again, but they had no effect on the monster. I beat my wings rapidly.
Suddenly, I was thrown toward its slippery tongue. The wings on my back erupted with a burst of red flame. With a whoosh, I shot out, and behind me came a violent snap as the monster’s jaws slammed together.
A Sand Wyrm lunged at me head-on. I dodged quickly, then grabbed onto its thick black horn with both hands.
The whole desert was crawling with these things, constantly emerging from the sand and diving back in, as if searching for me. I was stunned.
A rumbling noise echoed as the Sand Wyrm carrying me started to move, almost as if fleeing. The other Sand Wyrms gathered around, trying to devour it, and it clearly sensed the threat.
I clung tightly to the horn, grains of yellow sand pelting my cheeks. Before long, my face was bleeding, and the Sand Wyrms grew even more frenzied. The one I was holding onto went berserk, fleeing wildly.
With a roar and a miserable howl, the Sand Wyrm I clung to was bitten. The pain drove it nearly mad, its body thrashing as it sped across the sand. The shrill, piercing howls nearly burst my eardrums.
I could barely open my eyes. The wind had shredded my arms, slicing chunks of flesh from them, but I didn’t let go. My body shook violently, like a balloon caught in a gale.
A patch of bright white appeared before my eyes. Though I wasn’t used to it, I felt it—the temperature was dropping.
With a crash, the Sand Wyrm beneath me seemed to hit something. The momentum wrenched my hands free, and my vision spun in the sandstorm as I tumbled straight toward the ground.
Gradually, I saw it clearly—a vast, frozen wasteland covered in dead grass and ice. With a crash, I hit the ground, pain flaring all over my body. I rolled several times before coming to a stop, mouth agape in agony, a chill spreading through my abdomen.
Red blood soaked my clothes. A white icicle had pierced straight through my abdomen. Gritting my teeth against the agony, I grabbed the icicle and yanked it out, screaming in pain.
I gasped for breath, miserable. My body was healing, but slowly, and I was nearly out of strength.
The distant sand had grown quiet. The thick, long shadows in the storm gradually faded away.
I lay on the frigid tundra, my consciousness starting to blur.
In a daze, I heard footsteps. Instinctively, I tried to open my eyes and saw a person—a single white eye staring at me. Soon, I lost consciousness.
Gradually, I came to. A patch of gray appeared before my eyes. I opened them quickly and saw a person.
"Thank you, you..."
Then I froze. The figure before me wasn’t human at all.