Ancient Demonic Scorpion

Xiao Zhan stood alone atop the tower base, his green robes fluttering wildly in the scorching sandstorm, snapping loudly as if engaged in a silent duel with the violent gale. The wound on his blood-stained left shoulder still throbbed with a dull, stinging pain, a grim reminder of the fierce battle just passed; the residual Nirvana Poison lingering between his brows burned like a cold, ghostly flame, constantly searing his soul. His gaze remained fixed on the two shrinking black dots in the dust—his beloved son and his trusted companion. Even after they vanished completely into the dim, yellow horizon, his eyes remained filled with worry and lingering concern.

"Desert of Buried Immortals... Bronze Immortal Palace..." he whispered to himself, his voice sounding exceptionally heavy and grave amidst the howling wind. His deep eyes reflected the majestic dragon aura exhaled by the tower base, surging like a dragon emerging from the sea, yet they also mirrored the deepening haze to the northwest—a haze that felt like a dormant behemoth, radiating a chilling, soul-shaking aura.

The shadow of the Soul Hall hung over this continent like an invisible net, and the threat of the Saint was like a sword of Damocles, ready to fall at any moment. Yet, Yan'er's journey into the Desert of Buried Immortals was a perilous path fraught with crises, and simultaneously, the only opportunity to break the deadlock. This true storm had only just begun to raise its terrifying curtain.

The edge of the Desert of Buried Immortals.

Stepping into this region felt like falling from a prosperous mortal world into the antechamber of purgatory; everything became alien and terrifying.

The sky was no longer a pure azure or a scorching gold, but was eternally shrouded in a thick, dark red—a color like congealed blood, exuding a nauseating stench. There were no clouds, only twisted, eerie currents of air burning with chaotic demonic flames that crawled sluggishly. Like swarms of hideous demons, they sliced the already dim light into fragments, plunging the entire world into chaos and bewilderment.

The air was as scorching as a furnace, the scalding heat rushing toward them as if to consume them whole. Yet, within this heat lay a bone-deep, cold, and clammy sensation. Every breath carried a pungent odor of sulfur, blood, and an indescribable decay, so stifling that it felt as if every inhalation were eroding their very life.

The gravel beneath their feet was no longer a monotonous yellow, but a sickly, interlaced dark red and deep brown, as if soaked in fresh blood. Mixed within were large quantities of black crystals, resembling congealed blood, which radiated a cold and evil aura. Scattered among the grit were the tiny, pale fragments of unknown creatures, as if whispering of the terror and death inherent to this desert. The sand was scorching; the heavy pads of the Lizard Camels made a "hissing" sound as they stepped, as if their very lives were being seared, or perhaps as if they were playing a tragic melody for this land of death.

The wind in this desolate desert suddenly became eerie and lethal. It was no longer the simple, brisk whistling of the mountains, but a sound laced with the whispers of billions of vengeful spirits, wailing and sobbing as if recounting endless pain and despair. It was accompanied by the faint, skin-crawling "chi-chi" sound of space being torn asunder, like the savage roar of another world. The occasional sandstorms completely defied conventional wisdom; they were not a dull yellow, but a ghostly gray-black, dark purple, or even a hair-raising, sickly green. Wherever these storms passed, they acted like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, carving honeycomb-like holes even into solid rock, as if eroded by both time and death simultaneously.

"Careful! It's the 'Bone-Eroding Sand Wind'!" Xiao Yan's gaze was like a torch, locked onto a gray-black sandstorm sweeping toward them with the force of a collapsing mountain. His expression turned grave in an instant. Without hesitation, he steered his Lizard Camel like a bolt of black lightning, darting behind a massive, weathered black rock. Xiao Yi Xian reacted with lightning speed, following close behind with agile grace.

Chi-chi-chi—!

The sand wind, as if a living creature, licked frantically at the rock they were hiding behind. Thick, greenish smoke erupted from the surface of the hard stone as if it had been set ablaze. The ear-piercing sound of corrosion was incessant; the rock became pitted at a speed visible to the naked eye, and large flakes of debris peeled away like snowflakes, as if surrendering to the terrifying wind.

"What terrifying corrosive power!" Xiao Yan gasped, a surge of intense shock rising in his heart. To think that this was merely the edge of the Desert of Buried Immortals!

Xiao Yi Xian's violet eyes flickered like stars in the night sky. She extended a wisp of gray-white poison mist from her fingertips, which moved like a nimble little snake, slowly attempting to touch the trace amounts of toxic miasma particles permeating the air. The moment the mist made contact, it was as if a drop of water had merged into a sponge; the poison mist was rapidly assimilated and devoured, actually growing slightly stronger, as if the miasma had granted it new power.

"The toxic components in the air are complex and chaotic, but... my Woe Poison Pill can absorb and convert them," Xiao Yi Xian's cold, clear voice drifted over, carrying a note of certainty. "The deeper we go into the desert, the stronger the miasma will become, but for me, the threat may not be significant."

Hearing this, the taut string in Xiao Yan's heart relaxed slightly. With Xiao Yi Xian by his side, they had a solid safeguard against the miasma, as if seeing a glimmer of light in the darkness.

The two continued to push deeper into the desert. The terrain grew increasingly bizarre, as if they had entered another surreal world. Massive sand dunes resembled congealed, dark red flesh, undulating slowly in the scorching wind as if silently recounting the ancient mysteries of this desert. Everywhere on the ground were bottomless quicksand vortices, waiting like greedy maws to swallow everything whole. In the center of these vortices, viscous, asphalt-like black liquid churned, emitting a stench so foul it was nearly suffocating—the very scent of hell.

Even more heart-stopping was the fact that space here was extremely unstable! The scenery in their field of vision would twist and stretch as if kneaded by invisible hands, or blur into double images as if they had entered a dreamlike labyrinth. One could even clearly see tiny spatial wrinkles rippling through the air like water, hidden traps that could lead to eternal damnation if one were the least bit careless.

Xiao Yan had to push his soul power to the limit; the majestic force surged within him like a raging tide. He carefully sensed the spatial fluctuations ahead, letting no subtle change escape his perception. He guided the Lizard Camel with absolute focus, dodging invisible spatial rifts and lethal quicksand traps, walking a tightrope where every step was fraught with peril and excitement.

Xiao Yi Xian sat quietly on her Lizard Camel, like a purple lotus blooming in the desert. Her violet eyes were closed, and a faint, dark purple halo radiated from her body. This halo acted like an invisible vortex, slowly absorbing and refining the Bone-Eroding Sand Wind miasma in the air. As the miasma was continuously inhaled, the luster of the Woe Poison Pill in her palm seemed to grow deeper and more restrained, as if it contained endless mysteries.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time, a massive "Bone Forest" appeared ahead, piled high with countless colossal, pale-white skeletons! The scene was like a terrifying palace built from death. The skeletons were of various shapes; some belonged to humans, but most were the monstrous bones of beasts so large they defied imagination. The smallest were dozens of zhang long, lying across the desert like giant dragons; the largest resembled mountain ranges, their sheer scale inspiring awe. The surfaces of the bones were covered in cracks from the passage of time and marks of gnawing, as if left by both the ages and some unknown creature. They radiated an ancient, soul-chilling malevolence, as if telling of the brutal wars and endless vicissitudes this desert had once endured.

"These bones... they have likely existed in this world for a million years..." Xiao Yan gazed at the grim, hellish scene before him, his scalp tingling and a chill rising from the depths of his heart.

Just as the Lizard Camels reached the edge of the Bone Forest and were about to pass through this land of death, a sudden change occurred!

"Hiss-roar—!!!"

A roar, incredibly deep yet filled with boundless violence, erupted as if from the deepest depths of the Nine Nether Underworld, exploding within a massive, mountain-like skull ahead! Immediately after, two orbs of ghastly green soul-fire ignited within the hollow, vacant eye sockets. The light flickered like ghost-fire from hell, brimming with endless eeriness and terror.

Boom!

The massive skull shattered instantly, bone fragments flying like a terrifying rain of death. A horrific giant beast, pieced together entirely from pale-white bones, burst forth! It resembled a scorpion magnified a hundred times, its body massive and hideous, but its tail consisted of three constantly snapping bone whips lined with jagged blades. As the whips lashed out, they emitted a chilling whistle. The creature was wreathed in ghastly green soul-fire that flickered with a life of its own, radiating a ferocious aura equivalent to a peak Dou King—enough to make one's blood run cold. Its hollow eye sockets locked onto the intruders, as if intent on devouring them whole.

"Bone Demon Scorpion King!" Xiao Yan's expression changed instantly as he exclaimed. This monster, formed from ancient bones and nourished by the malevolence of the Desert of Buried Immortals, possessed immense strength and a notoriously difficult temperament. Encountering one meant a life-or-death struggle.

"Roar!" The Bone Demon Scorpion King let out a heaven-shaking roar. Its massive bone pincers, accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air, descended like a heavy mountain toward Xiao Yan. Simultaneously, the three bone-tail whips struck like three bolts of lightning piercing the night sky from different angles. Their speed was so blinding that it left no room for evasion, sealing off all paths and forcing Xiao Yan into a desperate situation.