There are plenty of death zones in the South Wasteland, but the most notorious is the region known as the "Death Desert." The naming system here is pretty straightforward—just hearing the name tells you how deadly it is. The "Nine Death Desert" means if ten people go in, nine won’t make it out. The "Nineteen Death Desert"? Well, that’s two out of twenty. It’s all kind of a rough estimate, because anyone gutsy enough to enter a Death Desert is either a martial arts master or at least a survival pro in the sand. Even if you’re not a kung fu legend, you’re at least a desert survival specialist.
Still, even the survival experts don’t just stroll around the Death Desert for fun. Surprises lurk everywhere—what’s labeled as the "Nine Death Desert" might have a patch that’s actually the "Forty-nine Death Desert," or even the "Ninety-nine Death Desert." Out here, nobody dares get cocky.
"The Death Desert’s so dangerous because it’s all shifting quicksand and the winds are totally nuts. There’s no set safe route, and the sand’s always changing places," explained Fiona Fang. "So, in the Death Desert, forget about horses or camels—you can’t cross it with those. The only thing that works is a Sand Skiff. Of course, the better your lightness skill, the easier it is. If you can walk through the Forty-nine Death Desert on foot, you’ve got some serious kung fu."
"Oh? That wild, huh? I gotta try it!" Wen Hanlong, always itching to show off his lightness skill in front of Fiona Fang, immediately jumped onto a Sand Skiff and started zooming across the sand.
But his performance didn’t impress the beauty at all—Fiona Fang ignored him and turned to Jack Young: "By the way, Master... cough cough, when I first met you, people said you’d been stuck in the Nineteen Death Desert for ages. Was that for real?"
"I don’t really remember that part, but I guess it’s true. The quicksand is scary, but if you don’t panic, you won’t sink all the way," Jack replied. "People are less dense than quicksand, about half as much, so if you just sit tight, you’ll stop sinking around your waist. Back then, being an 'Immortal Fool' meant I didn’t move an inch—turns out, that’s the best way not to get swallowed up by sand. Watching Wen Hanlong speed around on the sand, Jack turned to Fang Hailong and said, 'If he gets stuck, just tell him to lie down and roll or crawl out like a hairy bug—he’ll be fine.'"
If you look at the trail left by the skiff, every spot it passes turns into a pit that keeps caving in. Luo Yuxi, tense but trying to sound cool, said, "Yeah, just lie flat and spread out your weight. Even the Nineteen Death Desert isn’t that big a deal then."
But Old Blind, sounding like he’s telling a ghost story, chimed in, "Don’t get cocky, sweet girl. Lying down won’t save you in the Death Desert. There are dunes out there that’ll eat you alive!"
"Eat people?" Wen Hanlong jumped up like his butt was on fire, landing on the deck and nervously eyeing the dunes. "How’s that supposed to work?"
"Oh yeah, if you’re in the Forty-nine Death Desert or even the Ninety-nine Death Desert, you’ll see all sorts of crazy stuff—enough to scare the pants off you!" Old Blind said, face full of shadows. "Just imagine, the whole desert turns into a wild ocean in a storm, waves rolling and sand flying everywhere. And that’s still the easy part—if you run into a 'Heavenly Dragon Descends' or an 'Earth Dragon Ascends,' you’re toast!" He spooked everyone, then burst out laughing, "But hey, the Nineteen Death Desert’s not so bad, unless you’re super unlucky. Who’d ever run into that kind of mess? Ha ha ha!"