A night in the desert

The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is extreme, but fortunately the group had made thorough preparations beforehand.

The desert is hot during the day and cold at night, and many terrifying Soul Beast also emerge at night, making it extremely dangerous to travel through the Death Desert at night, just like in the Star Dou Great Forest.

After arriving in the Death Desert, the group became more cautious.

After all, this place is Life Forbidden Zone; if you're careless, you might die without even knowing how.

"In the Death Desert, danger comes mainly from several sources," Flender explained as they walked.

"First, there are the overwhelming sandstorms. They obscure visibility, disrupt sound, and alter the surrounding environment. Once you encounter one, it not only makes it difficult to discern directions but also easily causes teams to get separated. In fact, when the sandstorm is fierce, it can even sweep people into the air."

"So the dean told us to prepare ropes," Chen Feng replied.

"That's right. We have enough people this time. Although tying everyone up with ropes will hinder our movement, it will be very useful in dealing with sandstorms and will also reduce the impact of quicksand."

"But your design is quite good; it will make our daily lives less hindranced," Flender nodded and said.

At this moment, everyone had ropes wrapped around their waists, but these ropes were not connected yet; instead, they were tightly fastened with a metal buckle.

These buckles are all made of Iron Essence, designed by Chen Feng and then completed by Tang San.

They are modeled after the buckles on mountaineering ropes on Earth, and their function is to quickly and securely connect to other people's ropes.

In this way, Chen Feng and his group don't need to stay connected all the time. Instead, they can quickly link together with ropes only when they encounter dangerous situations, so as not to affect their actions in normal circumstances.

Whether it's a sandstorm or quicksand, there's always some reaction time, which is enough for Chen Feng and his group to react.

"Besides the two natural dangers, the remaining dangers should be those posed by Soul Beast, right?" Chen Feng asked.

"That's right. The Soul Beast here usually hide beneath the desert and then launch surprise attacks on their prey, making them quite difficult to defend against. You must be especially careful about this," Flender warned.

"They're all old hands! Compared to this place, even the Star Dou Great Forest seems to have a more rustic, untamed spirit," Chen Feng remarked.

"Exactly, this desert is nowhere near as good as the Star Dou Great Forest," Xiao Wu chimed in.

Gu Yue Ling glanced at the two of them but said nothing.

Ma Hongjun muttered:

"This is not the time when you were captured by the Titan Giant Ape."

"Fatty, what did you say?" Xiao Wu asked with an unfriendly expression.

"I didn't say anything wrong." Ma Hongjun cowered a little and moved closer to Tang San, then argued:

"I think this place is much better than the Star Dou Great Forest. Also, I'm not fat anymore, so please don't call me fat."

"Fatty, fatty, fatty." Xiao Wu showed no intention of changing her tune.

Ma Hongjun was furious, but he didn't dare to confront Xiao Wu for fear of getting beaten up, so he could only ask Tang San for help.

"Xiao San, say something!"

"Actually, I also think the Star Dou Great Forest is better than here," Tang San said.

Knowing Xiao Wu's situation, he naturally couldn't speak ill of the Star Dou Great Forest, since it was Xiao Wu's hometown.

"Doesn't anyone else feel the same way as me?" Ma Hongjun had no choice but to ask for other people's opinions.

He felt very comfortable in this desert, much more at ease than in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Unfortunately, no one agreed with him; the desert environment was simply too harsh.

Gu Yue Ling then strolled over to Xiao Wu's side and asked, seemingly casually:

"Were you captured by the Titan Giant Ape before?"

"Hmm? Oh, right, but that was an accident. The gorilla was scared away by a cow's roar." Xiao Wu used her go-to excuse.

The Da Ming was a basket into which anything could be put.

"You're quite lucky then," Gu Yue Ling sighed.

"Yes, I've always been pretty lucky," Xiao Wu said with a smile.

"Is that so? Actually, I'm quite lucky too," Gu Yue Ling said with a smile.

"So, with you two lucky people around, wouldn't we be able to encounter suitable Soul Beast very soon?" Chen Feng interjected.

"That depends on whether our luck will work in this Death Desert." Gu Yue Ling looked at Chen Feng, "If we encounter a suitable Soul Beast, what do you plan to do?"

"Of course, we'll try to communicate first. What we need are Thousand-Year Soul Beast, which the teachers can easily suppress. Next, we'll see how intelligent the Thousand-Year Soul Beast are and whether they're willing to cooperate," Chen Feng replied.

"What if they don't cooperate?" Gu Yue Ling asked.

"If there's really no other way, we can only resort to traditional methods," Chen Feng said.

"I hope things go smoothly." Gu Yue Ling nodded and said nothing more.

The group chatted idly as they made their way through the desert.

Most of the Soul Beast in the Death Desert live in the sand, making them difficult to spot. If you're not careful, you're likely to be attacked by Soul Beast.

Fortunately, the Soul Beast they encountered were not strong and were easily driven away.

Although there were Thousand-Year level Soul Beast among them, none of them were suitable for Ning Rongrong and Ma Hongjun.

"So, which way are we going?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled, after chasing away another Soul Beast that emerged from the sand.

"Of the Soul Beast that Ning Rongrong and Hongjun need, Hongjun's requirements are more specific, so I plan to take you to find the Soul Beast he needs first. If we encounter the ones that Ning Rongrong needs along the way, that would be even better."

"What Hongjun needs is a flying Soul Beast. These Soul Beast usually live in higher places, so we need to go and take a look at that mountain peak in the distance first," Flender said, pointing to a yellowish-brown mountain peak in front of them.

The mountain peak didn't seem too far away, but everyone knew the saying "looking at a mountain makes you want to run to your death," and it would probably take several days to get there.

"So, are we just going to walk there like this? It'll probably take a long time," Xiao Wu asked.

"No, let's wait until the temperature rises around noon before speeding up. That way, we'll be less likely to be attacked by Soul Beast," Flender said.

Although many Fire-Attribute Soul Beast live in the Death Desert, the probability of encountering Soul Beast is still much lower in the hot environment.

Flender had traveled to the Death Desert many times in order to find the blood of Dragon-type Soul Beast for his Grandmaster; these were all experiences he had accumulated.

When it got really hot at noon, the group, led by Flender, began to speed up their pace.

Sure enough, they didn't encounter many Soul Beast after that, until the temperature dropped again in the afternoon, at which point the Frequency of encounters with Soul Beast increased.

As evening approached, the group still hadn't encountered any suitable Soul Beast, so they had no choice but to find a place to set up camp.

When setting up camp in the desert, you need to find a sheltered spot. Fortunately, the group was lucky enough to find a low-lying area on a leeward slope, where they could avoid being exposed to the cold night winds.

Since they had to travel the next day, everyone pitched their tents and rested early.

As for the people on night duty, Tang San, Chen Feng, and Ma Hongjun took turns.

Tang San can absorb sunlight to replenish his energy, so daytime travel has little impact on him.

Chen Feng, on the other hand, Water-and-Fire-Immune Body, so the desert heat didn't affect him much, and Ma Hongjun was quite comfortable here.

Therefore, it is very appropriate for the three of them to keep watch at night.

In the dead of night, Chen Feng had completed his night watch and was now lying in the same tent as his classmates.

Next to him was Ning Rongrong; the two of them became the dividing line between boys and girls.

"Rongrong, have you decided what type of Soul Beast you want this time? Attack? Defense? Or Soul Power boost?" Chen Feng asked in a low voice.

"Actually, either way is fine," Ning Rongrong replied softly. "Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda doesn't have a fixed order for enhancement; it mainly depends on whether the Soul Beast we encounter is suitable."

"I see." Chen Feng remembered that Ning Rongrong's Third Spirit Skill in the Original Work was Soul Power amplification, while her Fourth Soul Skill was Defense Amplification.

It's just unknown what kind of Soul Beast Ning Rongrong will encounter in this Death Desert, and what kind of Third Spirit Skill they will grant her.

As they were chatting, Chen Feng suddenly felt a slight tremor coming from the ground where he was lying.

He immediately became alert, turned to the side, and pressed his ear to the ground.

Seeing this, Ning Rongrong wanted to ask something, but seeing Chen Feng's serious expression, she remained silent.

When Chen Feng pressed his ear to the ground, he vaguely heard a gurgling sound, as if something was Flow, but the sound was not very clear.

"Flow? "Chen Feng frowned first, then widened his eyes and shouted:

"Get up! Something's happened!"

He stood up and opened the tent, waking everyone else as well.

When Chen Feng arrived outside, everything was still quiet, and there seemed to be nothing unusual.

Tang San, who was observing the surroundings from outside, turned around and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong?"

"I heard some noise underground, I think it might be quicksand, everyone get out of here first," Chen Feng said without hesitation.

He wasn't entirely sure if it was quicksand, but to be on the safe side, it was best to stay away for now.

Unlike those Chen Feng characters in movies who hear noises but think it's their imagination, only to die because of the source of the noise.

He knew he was in Death Desert, a desert that had swallowed countless lives, and that he could never be too careful here.

At this moment, everyone woke up and came out of the tent, and heard what Chen Feng said.

Xiao Wu lay on the ground and listened for a moment, then said:

"There does seem to be some movement, but I don't know if it's quicksand."

She was, after all, a forest rabbit; her understanding of the desert was practically zero, or at least completely unknown.

"To be on the safe side, let's leave here first." Flender quickly made the decision.

The group quickly packed up their tents and began moving back the way they had come.

A path already traveled is certainly safer than an unknown place, so there's nothing wrong with this choice.

However, after running a short distance, the group stopped because they noticed something strange happening around them.

Under the bright moonlight, ridges appeared in the desert, and these ridges were constantly moving.

The reason the group stopped was that the movement paths of these ridges were roughly circular, and the group was currently located in the center of the circle.

Clearly, they were surrounded.

"What are these things? Are they Soul Beast?" Oscar asked, his expression somewhat grim.

"Most likely, and it seems to be a clan." Tang San's face also darkened; he hadn't noticed any signs before.

Gu Yue Ling calmly observed everything before her. On her little finger was a small wound, which had already scabbed over, leaving only traces of blood.

"Prepare for Martial Soul Fusion," Flender said in a deep voice. Grandmaster and Liu Erlong stood beside him as instructed.

The surrounding mounds didn't move for long, and just as everyone began to prepare for battle, a huge figure burst out of the sand.

This is a Soul Beast that looks like a snake, but compared to ordinary snakes, this Soul Beast exudes a metallic texture all over its body, and appears Iron Gray in the night, as if it is not made of Flesh and Blood.

Upon seeing this Soul Beast, the Grandmaster took a deep breath, "Great Steel Snake, around 60,000 years old."

After the 60,000-year-old Great Steel Snake appeared, the other mounds also emerged, all of them being snake-like Soul Beast similar to the Great Steel Snake.

However, compared to the Great Steel Snake, other snake-type Soul Beast are much smaller and do not have a metallic texture; instead, they are like rocks.

This group of special serpentine Soul Beast coiled around the group, silently watching them.

"It seems this is a Great Rock Snake Tribe, and Great Steel Snake is their leader," the Grandmaster concluded.

"But why are they surrounding us? We haven't encountered them along the way, nor have we provoked them," Liu Erlong said, puzzled.

She didn't lift a finger along the way; the Soul Beast she encountered were all driven away by the children.

"I feel like they're more like they've been attracted by something," Flender whispered.

What was drawing him in? Chen Feng's mind raced.

Rock Serpent. Earth Dragon!?

Chen Feng's eyes suddenly brightened; he seemed to have figured out why the group of Soul Beast had come to surround them.

But how can this be resolved?

"That Steelix Chief must be a dragon." A clear, cold voice rang out at that moment.

Chen Feng turned his head and saw Gu Yue Ling taking a step forward.

"What do you want to do?" Chen Feng asked, frowning.

"I want to communicate with it in the way of the dragon race." Gu Yue Ling closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they had transformed into dragon eyes radiating a brilliant golden light.

"Won't that provoke it?" Flender asked.

The Grandmaster looked at Gu Yue Ling and nodded, saying:

"You can try it; if that doesn't work, then you can take more action."

Looking at the calm and composed Gu Yue Ling, a guess suddenly popped into Chen Feng's mind.