Crossing the Great Desert
Tang San's pupils contracted sharply, and the smile on his face froze instantly.
"Someone's coming. Two Soul Douluo."
Tang San's voice was urgent, and his Blue Silver Domain instantly expanded, enveloping the five of them.
But the two men had clearly noticed the unusual situation in the grove and were rushing towards them at an extremely fast pace.
Less than half a minute later, two figures appeared at the edge of the woods.
They were incredibly fast, their Soul Rings already lit up—eight rings each, two yellow, two purple, and four black—clearly indicating they were two powerful Soul Douluo- level experts.
Both were men, lean and stern-faced, dressed in tight-fitting gray-black outfits.
When they saw Tang San, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes; they clearly hadn't expected to find their target on the edge of this desolate desert.
For the past six months, the Spirit Hall has laid a tight net in the Toks Province.
But Tang San companions seemed to have vanished into thin air; they were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.
No one expected that they would hide on the edge of this Great Wasteland Desert known as the "Land of Death".
They did not attack immediately.
They had all heard about what Lor Diarra had gone through six months ago.
The leader of the Soul Douluos raised his head and let out a sharp, long howl.
The whistling sound pierced through the dry desert air and carried far, far away.
This is a distress signal from the Spirit Hall, summoning nearby people to come to their aid.
When two Soul Douluos encountered several Soul Emperor- level Soul Masters, their first reaction was to ask for help, which shows how cautious they were.
Then he turned his head, his gaze landing on Tang San, and said mockingly, "Tang San, I didn't expect you to hide in this godforsaken place. You're not getting away today."
His gaze swept over the four girls behind Tang San, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.
Tang San's expression was grave. He hadn't expected the Spirit Hall to be so troublesome, still searching for them after all this time.
He quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.
If they were to clash head-on, given their current strength, the five of them might not be without a fighting chance.
The problem is that those two Contra Soul Douluos sent out a distress signal right from the start, so reinforcements will probably arrive soon.
If a Titled Douluo- level expert were to arrive, then there would truly be no escape.
Tang San and the Dugu Yan three exchanged glances.
The five of them nodded in unison; their understanding needed no words.
Tang San's Fourth Soul Ring lit up, and black light bloomed beneath his feet.
The Blue Silver Lightning Prison activated instantly, forming an impenetrable cage of thunder around the two Soul Douluos.
At the same time, Dugu Yan activated her Right Arm Soul Bone skill, Spiderweb Cage.
A purplish-black light shone brightly on her right arm, and two enormous spider webs shot out from her palms, hurtling towards the two Soul Douluos.
The expressions on the two Contra Soul Douluos's faces changed.
They hadn't expected Tang San and his group to attack so decisively, and to unleash such sharp control skills right from the start.
The arcs of electricity from the Blue Silver Lightning Prison were not to be underestimated. Spider webs flew in from the cracks in the Thunder Prison, heading straight for their faces.
The two had no choice but to fight back with all their might.
Tang San didn't hesitate, his voice decisive. "Let's go!"
He pulled Xiao Wu and Ye Lingling up, blue-gold light flowing across his right leg.
Blue Silver Emperor fully activated the flight skill from his right leg bone.
He pushed off the ground with both feet, his body soaring into the air, carrying the two of them deep into the desert.
Shui Bing'er simultaneously unfurled her Frost Dragon Wings, grabbed Dugu Yan's waist, and with a flap of her wings, took to the air right after Tang San.
Five figures darted swiftly through the golden sand dunes.
Behind them, the two Soul Douluos, after being blocked by the Blue Silver Lightning Prison for a while, shattered the spider web and finally broke free from the Lightning Prison.
The two looked somewhat disheveled; the poison had caused a slight numbness on one side of their faces, and several areas were charred black from being struck by lightning.
They stood at the edge of the woods, watching Tang San and his companions disappear among the sand dunes, their faces ashen.
One of the Soul Douluos tried to give chase, but was pulled back by the other Soul Douluo.
"Don't chase them. The desert is too dangerous; going in recklessly is suicide. Besides, they can fly; we can't catch them."
"What should we do then? Just let them get away?"
"We'll make plans once Elder Ju arrives."
A quarter of an hour later, a golden streak of light flashed across the sky, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan landed at the edge of the forest.
His gaze swept over the two Soul Douluos ' disheveled appearance, and his brows furrowed.
Where are they?
The leading Soul Douluo lowered his head. "Reporting to Elder Ju, they fled into the depths of the Great Desert. Your subordinate is incompetent and could not catch up."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's gaze drifted into the depths of the desert, a cold glint flashing in his phoenix eyes.
He pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said calmly, "The Great Desert is a land of death; very few who go in ever come out. Besides, if you chase them in, you won't know which way to go. Just continue patrolling the outer perimeter. If they're still alive, they'll eventually come out. There's no water or food in the desert; they won't last long."
The two Soul Douluos bowed simultaneously. "Yes!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo took one last look at the depths of the desert, then turned into a golden streak of light and disappeared into the horizon.
The two Soul Douluos exchanged a glance, then turned and left.
The woods returned to silence, with only the surface of the pond still rippling gently.
After flying for a distance, Tang San and his group of five stopped on a sand dune.
After all, carrying people while flying consumes a lot of Soul Power.
Tang San glanced back in the direction he had come from.
The sand dunes stretched endlessly, and the golden sea of sand was nowhere to be seen, with no sign of the pursuers.
"We've flown dozens of miles, and no one is chasing us."
Tang San let out a long breath, his Soul Power slowly circulating within his body, and the consumed Soul Power was rapidly recovering.
The five rested for a while until their Soul Power had basically recovered, then stood up.
Tang San stood atop the sand dune, gazing northwards.
An endless sea of sand, with golden dunes stretching out like frozen waves.
The wind carried fine sand and a dry smell, stinging my face.
"The Spirit Hall people didn't catch up, but they must be guarding the outer perimeter."
Tang San's voice was somewhat solemn.
"We can't go back for now. It looks like our only option is to head north and cross the entire Great Desert."
Dugu Yan gazed at the northern desert and laughed, "Then let's head north. As long as we're together, there's no difficulty we can't overcome."
Xiao Wu nodded. "Sister Yan is right, let's conquer this desert together."
Shui Bing'er and Ye Lingling also came over, and the four of them stood next to Tang San. The five of them stood side by side on the top of the sand dune, looking at the sea of sand to the north.
Tang San smiled, put his arms around Dugu Yan and Xiao Wu beside him, and then glanced at Shui Bing'er and Ye Lingling: "Alright. Then let's head north and cross the Great Desert."
Tang San took out a rope, and the five people grabbed the rope and lined up in a row. Tang San led the way, Dugu Yan brought up the rear, and Ye Lingling was in the middle.
They walked north along the top of the dunes, heading deeper into the desert.
The temperature here is as low as in the Far North, let alone now that it's winter.
The daytime temperature is around minus ten degrees Celsius, while at night it drops to minus fifty or sixty degrees Celsius.
But this place isn't covered in ice and snow; it's all sand, endless sand dunes.
There are no blizzards here, but there are sandstorms.
Fortunately, Tang San and his companions were well-prepared; their Storage Soul Tools were practically full with food and drinking water.
The low temperature wasn't too bad; they'd been to the Far North and could handle it.
However, the Soul Beasts in the desert are particularly elusive and extremely dangerous.
For example, snakes, scorpions, and insects.
Various kinds of desert Soul Beasts often hide in the sand dunes and ambush them.
However, they have the ability to fly.
When they encountered danger, Tang San led two people and Shui Bing'er led one person, and they immediately flew away from the Soul Beast's territory.
They never get entangled with Soul Beasts, avoiding them whenever possible.