Nothing was said that night, but there were kisses.
The two awoke amidst the high temperature, but fortunately, the Heart of Shadow provided some protection, making it less unbearable for Jiang Junyi and Wan Qingyun.
" Qingyun, are you awake?" Jiang Junyi gently wiped the sweat from Wan Qingyun's forehead and lips.
"Hmm..." Wan Qingyun slowly opened her eyes, and what came into view was Jiang Junyi's smiling face.
"Are we at home...?" Wan Qingyun murmured in a daze.
Jiang Junyi smiled and kissed Wan Qingyun's lips, "You've gone mad from sleeping. We're still in a life-or-death crisis in Takla Kuoik."
Wan Qingyun's eyes gradually cleared, and she then remembered that the two of them were imprisoned.
She gently stroked Jiang Junyi's cheek. "Won't the power of the Shadow last for so long? Won't something happen?"
Jiang Junyi shook his head. " The Heart of Shadow is different from True Qi. A simple deployment like this won't consume much True Qi or energy."
"However, it seems that the Shadow are restricted here."
Wan Qingyun nodded. "I'll take care of the daytime sunlight."
She blinked. "My True Qi doesn't have any warming properties at night."
Okay~
The two tidied up briefly and broke open the clods of earth at the entrance of the hole.
As soon as he stepped outside, Jiang Junyi felt the blinding sunlight and the scorching ultraviolet rays.
Suddenly, a feeling of being in another world arose spontaneously.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Junyi embarked on his journey once again.
Fortunately, this is a canyon, so the area exposed to sunlight is not that large.
They walked quietly like that for a while...
"Crunch"
Jiang Junyi crushed a piece of dry bone and stood still.
Behind him, Wan Qingyun looked serious, her beautiful eyes scanning the surroundings.
The two were currently in a circular open area in the canyon. The moment they stepped into this place, Jiang Junyi and Wan Qingyun sensed something was amiss.
Jiang Junyi narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the white bones not far in front of him.
Humans and animals alike exist.
" Qingyun, be careful, I feel something's not right here," Jiang Junyi whispered.
"Yes, I felt it too. It's like something is hiding in the shadows." Wan Qingyun tightened her grip on Jiang Junyi's arm.
Jiang Junyi walked forward cautiously, step by step, gradually lowering his center of gravity.
If any unexpected situation arises, he can make the best move immediately.
"Rustling sound".
Jiang Junyi suddenly looked toward the source of the sound, but it was a wall.
Suddenly, the rustling sound gradually grew stronger, eventually becoming an echo that reverberated in all directions.
Jiang Junyi remained tense, constantly scanning his surroundings; he dared not be careless.
"There's something wrong with the canyon walls... Many of these sounds are echoes; the real danger is still unknown," Wan Qingyun whispered quickly behind Jiang Junyi.
"I understand." Jiang Junyi nodded.
Wan Qingyun's words reassured him somewhat, and he relaxed a little.
"Bang!" "Bang bang bang!"
In that instant, four segmented worms, each 3-5 meters long and covered with rust-red scales, suddenly leaped out from the sand beneath Jiang Junyi's feet!
With their four rotating, serrated jaws outstretched, they viciously lunged at Jiang Junyi!
Upon seeing this, Wan Qingyun's pretty face turned ashen. It was utterly disgusting!
Even so, she suppressed her discomfort and reached out her slender hand.
The black True Qi, mixed with dazzling starlight, surged out and bound the enormous segmented worm tightly like chains!
"Hiss--!"
Jiang Junyi tilted his head back to avoid it, and could almost smell the stench emanating from the worm's hideous mouthparts.
"Break!"
Wan Qingyun gave a soft shout and grabbed hard.
The True Qi suddenly tightened, and a series of "crackling" sounds rang out from the worm's body.
That was the explosive sound produced by the intense friction and confrontation between the scales and True Qi.
"Hiss hiss hiss—!"
The worms writhed frantically, struggling desperately in excruciating pain.
"Bang bang bang!"
Green sap splattered everywhere, and the four worms were cut in two, writhing wildly on the ground.
Jiang Junyi's pupils contracted slightly as he noticed that the wounds on these worms were slowly stopping bleeding.
"Oh no! These sandworms can survive even after being cut in half!"
"What?!" Wan Qingyun exclaimed in surprise, panting heavily.
"Rustling!"
At this moment, sounds rang out again from all directions, even louder than before!
"Run!"
Jiang Junyi made a quick decision, carrying Wan Qingyun on his back and running away.
He is currently unable to help Wan Qingyun, Heart of Shadow is also restricted, either transforming into a shirt, pants, or a long sword.
"Damn it, it seems we've stumbled into a sandworm's lair!" Jiang Junyi gritted his teeth. "Seriously, there really are sandworms?!"
These worms are almost identical to the sand worms he knew from movies and TV shows. If you magnify them a hundred times, they are the very embodiment of the desert lords!
Jiang Junyi ran quickly, Wan Qingyun glanced back unintentionally. Just that one glance sent chills down her spine.
"Hiss hiss hiss—!"
Behind the two, swarms of Ironjaw Sandworm (scientific name) with their ferocious mouthparts opened attacked wildly.
The sand was covered in a rust-red color!
Those huge, long, ring-shaped bodies jostled each other, vying for the lead on the canyon road.
In an instant, a sea of red appeared behind them!
Wan Qingyun had no doubt that if they were even a little slower, they would become one of the skeletons among them.
At this moment, Jiang Junyi could no longer care about preserving the power of the Heart of Shadow. After transforming into pants, his speed increased slightly.
" Qingyun! Where are you going?!" Jiang Junyi shouted urgently.
A fork in the road appeared before him.
"Right!"
Jiang Junyi didn't pause at all, and ran away wildly, with the red ocean following him like a shadow.
Gradually, he smelled a strong sour smell.
"Junyi, watch out ahead!" Wan Qingyun shouted urgently.
Jiang Junyi looked closely and saw a pool of light green water lying across his face.
Reaching the edge, Jiang Junyi bent his knees and leaped off, landing on the ground.
Wan Qingyun: "Phew... I can rest for a bit."
"Huh? Those sandworms behind me..."
"You'll see when you look back."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Junyi turned around and looked back.
When the red ocean met this pale green pool, it was as if it had encountered a natural enemy; the massive fleet came to an abrupt halt!
But the sand worms that were at the very front, charging the fiercest and most ferocious, fared rather badly.
Jiang Junyi determined that this sand worm was the one that struggled the most and whose body writhed the most.
It desperately tried to squeeze backward, but there were just too many brothers behind it.
First sandworm: Brother, brother! Please, stop!
The second sandworm: Better to die than to die, my good brother, I will remember you.
The lead sandworm curled its body up in an attempt to survive.
finally!
The red ocean seemed to stand still before the pool, with the leading sandworm already above it.
"Hiss!"
The one behind the lead sandworm suddenly swayed its body...
First sandworm: Hey buddy, what are you doing?
The second sandworm: I sneezed...
First sandworm: I'm so damn angry at you!
"Thump!"
A sandworm fell into the pool and immediately made an extremely unpleasant "sizzling" sound.
The sandworm struggled for only a short while before completely dissolving!
Wan Qingyun: (°ロ°)!
Jiang Junyi: (⊙_⊙)
The two looked around intently, and saw numerous pale green pools of water!