Village in the Death Desert

Lin Qin landed on the outskirts of Devil Rock. The wind and sand grew more intense, with low-hanging black clouds swirling as dark red lightning crackled within them, emitting a dull, rumbling roar. The chaotic and violent energy fluctuations were emanating from deep within the rocks.

He did not rashly charge in, but instead circled the perimeter of Devil Rock to scout. Soon, he discovered a small oasis beneath a massive, wind-sheltered rock, along with a dilapidated village built nestled against it.

The village was tiny, consisting of only a few dozen households, with houses mostly constructed from mud and stone, appearing extremely crude. At this moment, an atmosphere of panic permeated the village. The villagers gathered together, gazing toward the direction of Devil Rock with worried expressions, whispering among themselves.

Lin Qin suppressed his aura and walked over. His arrival drew the attention of the villagers. Seeing Lin Qin's unfamiliar face and a composed temperament unlike that of an ordinary person, the villagers were somewhat wary, yet also held a glimmer of hope.

An elderly man who appeared to be the village chief leaned on a cane and stepped forward, asking cautiously, "This lord, are you from the outside?"

Lin Qin nodded. "Just passing through. What is going on with that Black Storm ahead? And what is inside Devil Rock?"

The old man sighed, a look of terror appearing on his face. "It's a Demonic Beast... a terrifying Demonic Beast has come to Devil Rock! That Black Storm is what it creates! Several passing merchant caravans have already met their doom, and our village can barely survive anymore."

"A Demonic Beast? What kind of Demonic Beast?" Lin Qin pressed.

"We can't see its form clearly," a young man nearby chimed in, his face still showing lingering fear. "When the Black Storm rises, you can only see a massive black shadow flying inside, moving very fast! It emits a piercing sound; anyone who hears it becomes dizzy and disoriented, and then they are swept away by the wind—not even their bones can be found!"

"It comes out every few days, whipping up the Black Storm to attack passing people and livestock," the old man added. "Most of the sheep in our village have already been snatched away. If this continues, we will either starve to death or be killed by that monster."

Lin Qin frowned. It didn't sound like any known common Magic Beast. He asked, "Does it always come out from the depths of Devil Rock?"

"Yes, from the very center of those red rocks," the old man said with certainty. "Devil Rock used to be dangerous, but it never had something like this. It only appeared in the last two months."

Two months—the timeline matched the mission description and the appearance of the abnormal energy fluctuations.

"Has anyone gone in to look?" Lin Qin asked.

The villagers shook their heads one after another, their fear deepening. "Those who went in never came back! That Black Storm is too evil; the sand hits your body like knives, and there's that strange sound... no one dares to go in!"

Just then, the energy fluctuations coming from the depths of Devil Rock suddenly intensified! The black clouds in the sky churned more violently, and the dark red lightning became as dense as a web!

"It's here! It's coming out again!" the villagers screamed in terror, scrambling to hide behind the village.

The old man shouted anxiously at Lin Qin, "Lord! Quickly, hide! The monster is coming out!"

Lin Qin stood his ground, his gaze sharp as he looked toward the depths of Devil Rock. "I came here specifically for it."

Before his words had even faded, a sharp, piercing, soul-penetrating shriek erupted from deep within the rocks! Accompanied by the shriek, a massive black tornado, carrying a sky full of yellow sand like a ferocious giant python, soared into the sky from Devil Rock and swept directly toward the village! Within the tornado, a blurry, constantly twisting and shifting giant black shadow was vaguely visible!

Wherever the Black Storm passed, the sand and stones on the ground were torn up in layers, emitting a terrifying whistling sound. That chaotic and violent aura rushed toward them, making one's heart palpitate.

The villagers were pale with fright, closing their eyes in despair.

Lin Qin's eyes turned cold. He stepped forward, blocking the path between the village and the Black Storm. Facing that world-destroying black tornado, he did not release a powerful Saint Realm aura; instead, he highly concentrated his mental energy, carefully sensing the energy composition and fluctuation patterns of the black shadow at the core of the storm.

He discovered that this shadow was not a pure living creature, but rather an elemental lifeform condensed from some kind of chaotic dark energy and sand—yet not entirely so; it was also laced with a trace of... the resentment of a soul curse? That piercing shriek was the mental attack produced by this mixture of resentment and energy.

Seeing that the Black Storm was about to swallow the village, Lin Qin made his move. He did not use a large-scale attack; instead, he raised his right hand toward the core of the violent tornado, spread his five fingers, and then slowly clenched his fist.

"Disperse."

An invisible ripple, containing the pure and profound power of the laws of earth, spread out from him as the center, precisely cutting into the weak points of the Black Storm's energy structure!

Like boiling water poured onto snow, the imposing black tornado, the moment it touched this power of the earth laws, began to disintegrate and collapse from within as if a balloon had been pricked! The violent wind and sand lost their energy support and came crashing down with a clatter. The black shadow hidden in the core of the storm let out an even sharper, furious shriek, its form becoming blurry and indistinct, clearly having suffered a significant impact.

With just one move, he had dispersed a Black Storm capable of destroying the village!

The villagers, having survived the ordeal, stared blankly at this scene, looking at the young figure standing amidst the dust without even a wrinkle in his clothes, their eyes filled with disbelief and fanatical awe.

"A... a god..." someone muttered to themselves.

Seeing the Black Storm broken, the black shadow realized it had met its match. It emitted a wave of malicious mental energy and turned to flee back into the depths of Devil Rock.

"Trying to run?" Lin Qin let out a cold snort. He had finally found his target; how could he let it escape? With a movement of his feet, his figure moved like lightning, instantly crossing hundreds of meters to pursue it into Devil Rock, lunging straight at the fleeing shadow of energy.

The villagers watched as Lin Qin disappeared into that eerie forest of red rocks, looking at each other with hearts filled with both hope and deep concern.

"Can that lord... destroy that monster?"

"He definitely can! Didn't you see how powerful he was just now?"

"Heaven bless us, please let that lord return safely..."

The village chief gazed in the direction of Devil Rock, tears streaming from his cloudy old eyes, and he bowed deeply toward the direction where Lin Qin had vanished.

By this time, Lin Qin had already penetrated deep into Devil Rock. The place was filled with jagged, strange rocks and a complex, labyrinthine path, compounded by the interference of the residual chaotic energy; an ordinary person would certainly have lost their way. But Lin Qin's mental energy was powerful, and he kept a firm lock on the dark energy fleeing rapidly ahead.

His speed was far greater than that of the black shadow, and in a few leaps, he caught up to it. This time, he held nothing back.

"Thick Earth Seal!"

A solid, earth-yellow square seal instantly took shape, carrying the heavy intent of suppressing all things. It struck from behind, slamming fiercely into the mass of black shadow!

The black shadow sensed a fatal threat and let out a desperate shriek, desperately condensing the surrounding dark energy and sand in an attempt to resist.

"Boom!"

The Thick Earth Seal crushed down, and the hastily gathered defense shattered like paper! The black shadow let out a miserable, piercing scream, and the energy at its core was instantly purified and annihilated by the pure earth laws contained within the Thick Earth Seal!

The twisted black shadow dissipated completely, leaving behind only a Black Crystal the size of a pigeon egg, constantly emitting an aura of chaos and resentment, which fell from mid-air.

Lin Qin reached out and caught the Black Crystal. It felt cold to the touch, and it seemed to have countless fragments of painful souls and twisted dark energy sealed within it. He understood now; this was not a naturally born elemental lifeform, but rather a monster formed after some evil ritual had failed, fusing the resentful souls of the dead with dark energy.

He looked at the ominous crystal in his hand and then toward the even deeper reaches of Devil Rock. Was the source that created this monster still inside? This Death Desert, it seemed, hid an even deeper darkness.

He put away the crystal and decided to continue deeper to investigate.