Sand Scorpion

The conjecture about the Qiangu Changkong is not wrong.

Food sources do exist in the desert.

This is a wild fruit with a peculiar appearance, growing in sandy soil.

Wild fruits contain a lot of water, but they taste sour and astringent, barely enough to sustain Goddess of Life. It's impossible to find anything of good quality.

"Wu Ge, are you sure this isn't poisonous?" Qiangu Changkong didn't have a good opinion of the taste of this fruit.

Having followed Dugu Bo for so long, how could Wu Qi not have the means to detect poisons?

Furthermore, the vines bearing these wild fruits clearly showed signs of having been picked. And since no corpses were found nearby, how could they be poisonous?

Furthermore, if such wild fruits existed here, the Exiles would likely have already perished among them, posing no threat to those Trialist.

Chen Ping said, "Take some with you, so you can quench your thirst with fruit and not run out of water."

There was no space left in the three people's Soul Tool, so they packed the fruit and carried it on their backs.

What they didn't know was that the Exiles here didn't have any Soul Tool; they could only carry all their belongings on their backs.

This is precisely why it has saved everyone a lot of trouble.

The Lost Land was shrouded in a yellowish haze. Relying on their Compass, the three of them walked until nightfall before they were able to rest.

In this Lost Land, one can probably only distinguish between day and night; otherwise, there is no concept of anything else.

Compared to the daytime heat, the nighttime temperature drops below freezing.

Fortunately, following Wu Qi's instructions, Qiangu Changkong and Chen Ping brought warm clothing; otherwise, they would have spent their first night here in the cold.

To ensure safety, the three took turns keeping watch at night.

By the time Wu Qi took his night watch, it was already dawn.

In his line of sight, small bulges appeared beneath the sand-covered area not far away.

Without a second thought, he immediately woke them both. "Wake up, we're in trouble."

Qiangu Changkong had only been asleep for a short while when, rubbing his sleepy eyes, he got sand in them. After rinsing them with water, he was able to see the situation around him clearly.

"We're surrounded! What kind of Soul Beast is that?"

The ecosystem in the desert is completely different from that in the forest.

Furthermore, dealing with the Soul Beast in the Lost Land is also part of their training, and they had limited information beforehand.

Based on his experience, Wu Qi could only guess. "It should be a sandworm or scorpion-type Soul Beast."

Due to the sandstorm and the fact that the group of Soul Beast was underground, Wu Qi was unable to sense their numbers or how many years of cultivation the strongest among them possessed.

Wu Qi was unsure whether there were other Soul Beast threatening the sky, and even with the Compass, he absolutely could not blindly take off.

The Azure Luan Spirit was activated, and six Soul Ring— yellow, purple, black, black, and red—shone brightly beneath his feet.

The Martial Soul Wings flapped, creating swirling vortexes that briefly dispersed the surrounding dust, making the environment clearer.

Beneath the Sand Land, tails with venomous barbs emerged.

"It's Sand Scorpion!" Wu Qi recognized the species.

Currently, most of them are poisonous scorpions without any cultivation, not even qualifying as Soul Beast.

They acted solely on instinct, treating Wu Qi and the others as food, showing no fear of the Soul Pressure.

Qiangu Changkong summoned his Coiling Dragon Staff Spirit, slung it over his shoulder, and sneered, "Damn it, just a bunch of little bastards. Watch me smash their skulls."

Wu Qi stopped him, "Wait, it's still unclear whether the other side possesses a high-level Soul Beast."

"Slaughtering the Soul Beast race will inevitably provoke retaliation."

The strength of the Sand Scorpion, a type of Soul Beast, varies greatly. Some are just ordinary wild animals, while some mutated species, according to records, have even had a cultivation level of 80,000 years.

If the situation is unclear, it's best not to engage in combat rashly to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After thinking for a moment, Wu Qi grabbed the two men's arms and flew at a low altitude to avoid the danger zone.

At the same time, this served as a wake-up call for him.

Staying in one place for too long can easily lead to being surrounded by Soul Beast.

In the future, when they rest at night, they should ideally move their positions every so often.

Flying at low altitudes allows one to avoid high-altitude Soul Beast, and the flapping of the Azure Luan Phoenix's wings disperses the surrounding dust, making it easy to see the ground.

This time, their luck seems to be on their side.

Most of the Sand Scorpion are wild beasts without cultivation. The few that do possess cultivation are only a hundred years old and can be easily avoided.

In the following days, everyone's cautious attitude avoided a lot of trouble.

Today, the three of them were walking on the Sand Land as usual when they saw faint signs of human activity in the distance.

Low shrubs grow in the desert, and smoke rises from a nearby human "community," with the faint aroma of meat wafting through the air.

The Qiangu Changkong instinctively wanted to avoid all of this.

After all, they are Trialist, possessing Gold Token, something countless Exiles would covet.

Wu Qi disagreed. "These past few days, we haven't washed ourselves with water, and our bodies are covered in sand and dust. How are we any different from these Exiles in our current state?"

"Let's go check it out first. If a suitable opportunity arises, it'll save us a lot of trouble on the way."

The Soul Master exiled here are all heinous criminals.

However, in harsh conditions, these people might not necessarily fight each other for survival; it's not impossible for them to unite.

At the same time, in order to conform to local customs, Wu Qi fabricated different charges against each person.

About three minutes later, the three arrived at the camp. Several fierce-looking men looked at them warily. "Who are you, and why are you here?"

Seeing the three men carrying packages filled with fruit, the man's vigilance lowered somewhat, and he didn't immediately make a move.

As a villain, one should naturally speak in a villainous manner.

In this dog-eat-dog world, if you don't act ruthlessly, you'll probably be devoured very quickly.

"I was just passing through, thinking of teaming up with you to fight off this harsh environment. Since you don't welcome us, then a fight is inevitable."

"Hand over your supplies obediently, and I might spare your lives."

Just as the two sides were about to come to blows, a kind-looking middle-aged man quickly came over to inquire about the situation.

Upon learning the purpose of Wu Qi and his companions, the man chuckled and said, "My Hunter, and I am one of the leaders of this Exiles squad."

"Since you've come, why don't you three join my team?"

Within the Lost Land, Exiles may not fight each other much, but conflicts frequently erupt between Exiles squads.

In such an environment, it is difficult for individuals to survive, so they instinctively choose to stick together.

The desert is a barren land with very limited resources. The battles between Exiles groups are mostly over the plunder of supplies.

Fortunately, these Exiles still retained some humanity and did not resort to cannibalism.

Otherwise, the struggle will only intensify.

Of course, anyone who dares to eat people would have been executed by the Spirit Hall long ago, so why would they be exiled here!