Soon, Lin Qing burst out of the Stone Forest. An open stretch of sand lay ahead.
Without terrain to shield him, he could only rely on speed to keep the Sand Python at bay.
The Sand Python pursued him out of the Stone Forest, its enormous body slithering across the ground and throwing up clouds of sand.
Lin Qing fled for his life, pushing Thunder Escape to its limit.
His legs were growing weak and his breathing ragged, but he dared not stop or slow by even half a step. The immense pressure behind him followed like a shadow, like Death's scythe hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
The Sand Python chased him for roughly half an hour, covering dozens of miles.
Its massive body carved a deep trench through the sand, winding like a vast riverbed.
It smashed dunes apart along the way. Wherever it passed, Baleful Fiends and every other living creature fled for their lives.
But Lin Qing remained just a hair faster.
After another stretch of pursuit, Lin Qing crested a dune and vanished down its far side.
The Sand Python caught up. Its enormous head rose over the crest, vertical pupils sweeping the ground ahead.
Beyond the dune lay an even more tangled expanse of stony desert, full of weathered pillars and crisscrossing gullies. Its prey was nowhere to be seen.
The Sand Python coiled atop the dune for a moment, raising its massive head high as its dark-gold pupils scanned the surroundings.
Its tongue flicked from its mouth, trembling through the air as it searched for a scent.
But the windblown sand had scattered Lin Qing's scent. It found nothing.
"Roar!"
The Sand Python roared at the sky, venting its fury at losing its prey. Every creature on the nearby