Evan Yang smiled without saying a word. He was conserving his strength while locking his Divine Sense onto twelve directions, waiting for the right moment to strike. Another hour passed like this.
A voice sounded from outside. The man laughed and said, "Stop pretending. I know you can't hold on any longer. Time to see the gift we've prepared for you."
Once he finished speaking, a sandstorm swept through. If Evan Yang really had been drained of all his strength, he would've been caught up and shredded by the storm.
But Evan Yang stood motionless. Only as the sandstorm struck did he move—he casually pulled out twelve Immortal Source stones, locked onto the twelve directions, and unleashed an attack at each one. Ever since he learned the multi-split combat technique from Shard Bug creatures in another plane, every split attack was as strong as his full power.
The attacks shot out like meteors cutting through the sky, instantly hitting the twelve targets. Each guardian was severely wounded, blood streaming everywhere.
With their formation broken, the array collapsed and the surroundings returned to calm. The voice from earlier was shocked—he never expected Evan Yang to be so unaffected, or to pinpoint the twelve nodes so quickly.
Evan Yang was about to search for the owner of the voice, but the man blinked away, taking the twelve wounded guardians with him and leaving Evan standing in the now-dissolved illusion.
"Looks like they knew I was coming to the Desert Wastes ahead of time. Amazing. What kind of being is this Desert Lord, and what is that mysterious power?" Evan muttered.
Curious, Evan had originally planned to release Ember Yang and the others, but remembering how the Desert Lord might ambush them again, just like this time, he decided to hold off. Instead, he continued deeper into the Desert Wastes, following a path provided by those desert natives he'd captured.
Along the way, Evan Yang encountered no trouble and everything went smoothly for the time being.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Desert Lord—King Lane, father of the Desert Tribes prince—heard that Evan Yang had broken through the twelve-point formation and wounded its guardians.
"This guy isn't simple. Ordinary methods won't work on him. I want to see what he's really here for. Stop all attacks against him—avoid unnecessary losses. Let him come deeper into our Desert Wastes," King Lane said after thinking for a while.
"Yes, sir."
With King Lane calling off the attacks, Evan Yang crossed the desert smoothly and reached its depths. He saw that the inner desert wasn't terrifying at all—instead, there were lots of plants, like an oasis, and sand-brick houses clustered around them. There were even towns. Seeing this, Evan realized he'd finally arrived at the heart of the Desert Wastes. Since he'd had no trouble along the way, he decided to release Ember Yang and the others.
When Lynn Lin saw the scene before her, she couldn't believe it. "This is the Desert Wastes? I thought there wouldn't even be any buildings, let alone plants."
"That's just how outsiders see it. Actually, the people living deep in the desert aren't much different from anyone else—they need water and a livable environment, too. The unique geography shapes their habits, and they're trained from childhood to consume power slowly. In endurance battles, they're far tougher than ordinary cultivators," Melody Wood explained.
"I see. But whatever, I'm starving! I need to eat, or I'll die—I've used up way too much energy!" Ember Yang exclaimed, eyes blazing.
"Again? You already ate a ton in the shell," Lynn Lin sighed.
"That was just a little! Besides, this is the Desert Wastes—different place, different food. Lynn, please let me eat!" Ember Yang pleaded.
"Ask your dad—whatever he says goes." Lynn Lin glanced at Evan Yang, and Ember immediately turned to him. Evan had planned to scout out the Desert Wastes anyway, so he agreed to Ember's request. The group entered a town and picked an open-air restaurant to sit down.
The locals dressed differently from Evan Yang and his group, so when they entered, they drew a lot of attention.
"We're way too obvious—I forgot to change everyone's clothes," Evan Yang said with a wry smile as he noticed the stares.
"Let them look all they want. I just want to eat," Ember Yang said.
Just then, a waiter came over, sized up Evan Yang, and asked, "You folks are from outside, right? Want to try our local specialties? I guarantee you’ll want to come back for more."
"Oh? What specialties? Bring me one of everything!" Ember Yang blurted out before Evan could even answer.
The waiter grinned at Ember Yang’s words. "Alright, coming right up. Please wait a moment."
"You don't even know what they're serving—what if you don't like it?" Evan Yang laughed.
"As long as it's edible, I'll eat it. There's nothing I can't handle," Ember Yang replied with a grin.
Half an hour later, Lynn Lin was nearly doubled over with laughter. She pointed at the four tables they'd pushed together and said, "This is incredible!"
Ember Yang's face turned green—what kind of dishes were these? The whole table was covered in strange bugs and even stranger plants.
"This is what you asked for. Let's see you finish it now," Evan Yang said with a laugh.
Ember Yang stubbornly declared, "Fine, I'll eat it! There's nothing I won't eat!"
Then everyone watched as Ember Yang devoured the food like crazy. The bystanders were stunned—just what was this girl made of, and how could she eat so much?
Meanwhile, Lynn Lin and Melody Wood kept laughing, while the waiter came over again and asked Evan Yang and the others, "What would you like?"
"What else do you have?" Evan Yang asked.
"Besides these specialties, we also have wild lamb and beef, all brought in from outside. If you want, we can prepare some for you," the waiter replied.
"Alright, just bring us some beef or whatever," Evan Yang said.
The waiter nodded, and a short while later brought out fragrant meat dishes. Ember Yang looked at them, frustrated. "Why do you all get normal food while I'm stuck with this?"
"I told you—this is what happens when you order without asking. Now you have to deal with it," Evan Yang said with a smile.
Lynn Lin and Melody Wood burst out laughing. Ember Yang angrily gnawed on the insects. After half an hour, all the food was gone, but Lynn Lin said she felt sleepy, Ember Yang too, and even Melody Wood started to doze off. Only Evan Yang remained unaffected.
Evan Yang was curious—why were they getting sleepy so easily? Was it because the desert drained their energy too quickly, causing problems? But that didn't make sense; the energy drain here was about the same as on the road.
Just as Evan Yang was about to check on them, the surrounding people quietly dispersed. Seeing them leave, Evan felt something was off. Then, everything changed—the open-air restaurant turned into a dim cave. Using his Night-Eye Technique, Evan saw the area was semi-enclosed, with only one exit.
At that moment, the waiter transformed into another person, holding a large blade, and stood in front of Evan Yang, laughing, "Outsiders, hand over all your artifacts."
"Interesting, is this a robbery? And did you drug us?" Evan Yang guessed the group had been poisoned.
"That's right, we did. But we're surprised—since we drugged you too, why are you completely fine?" the waiter asked, curious.
"I'll explain why I didn't get poisoned later. For now, answer my questions—what is this place? Was the outside scene an illusion?" Evan Yang asked curiously.
"Why should I tell you?" the waiter sneered.
"If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself." Evan Yang flashed behind the man, who was shocked and quickly tried to strike with his blade. Evan caught the blade in one hand and pressed a finger to the man's chest, smiling, 'You're no match for my speed. Now, tell me what's really going on.'
"I won't tell you. Don't expect to get anything from me. If you're smart, you'll give up—otherwise, you'll never escape, especially the girls. They've been poisoned with our unique toxin. Within a few hours, ****." The waiter continued to threaten.
"I'll take your words seriously, but let me tell you—I don't fear your poison. I can cure them easily. As for this place, give me time and I'll break out. As for you, do you really want to waste your life?" Evan Yang said with a smile.
Hearing this, the waiter was shocked. Evan Yang's words made sense—if Evan wasn't afraid of poison, he must have a way to cure it. But the waiter knew, if he told Evan the way out, his fate would be even worse, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Just kill me."
Evan Yang hadn't expected the man to be so unafraid of death, making him even more curious about what organization was behind him—or if the Desert Lord had sent him. But the Desert Lord wouldn't send such incompetent people to deal with him.
So Evan Yang asked curiously, "Did the Desert Lord send you after me?"
"The Desert Lord? Impossible—we have nothing to do with him," the waiter said.
"So it's not the Desert Lord—then who could it be?" Evan Yang wondered aloud.
Seeing Evan Yang misunderstood, the waiter decided to play along. "I can take you to see our boss. How about it?"
"Should've said so sooner. Let's go—I'm curious to see who it is," Evan Yang said. He waved his hand, sending Heaven-Cold qi into Lynn Lin, Melody Wood, and Ember Yang. The waiter was shocked as pale green energy entered the three women, instantly waking them up.
The waiter was stunned—he never expected Evan Yang to have a cure, and such a simple one at that.