The Desert Sand Worm

Because Sand City mainly relied on cultivators entering the desert to search for treasure in order to sustain itself, there were actually not many true experts there. Most were cultivators from the Qi Transformation Stage to the Qi Refining Stage. Who knew how many cultivators had become rich overnight because they harvested heavenly treasures or found ancient cave abodes? But even more cultivators had buried their bones in the desert.

Over the next three days, Wang Ding exchanged all the spirit stones he had for talisman-making materials, anti-poison spirit pills, healing spirit pills, and other such items. He also personally practiced making every talisman recorded in the Beginner Talisman Guide. Including the ones he had kept before, he had thirty in total, six each of five kinds of talismans.

Three days later, the golden crow sank in the west and the jade rabbit rose in the east. The desert at dusk was like a demon waiting for prey to walk into its jaws. Wang Ding was the last to arrive at Sand City's east gate. Outside the city gate stood four figures. One of them, a plump man, was pacing back and forth. The moment he saw Wang Ding arrive, he immediately "rolled" over and said, "Fellow Daoist Huang, why have you only come now? I've been so anxious waiting that I could die."

Wang Ding could not help but say speechlessly, "You only told me to gather at Sand City's east gate after three days. You didn't tell me what time to arrive."

"Heh, heh, my mistake. I've offended you. Come, come, I'll introduce a few friends to Fellow Daoist Huang." Song Daokun froze for a moment, then said awkwardly. As he spoke, he pulled Wang Ding forward, bringing him to the other three figures.

"This is Fang Wen, Fellow Daoist Fang," Song Daokun said, pointing to a man with a pale, beardless face, a full forehead, and a moon-white scholar's robe as he introduced him to Wang Ding.

"This is Shi Mei, Fellow Daoist Shi." She was a woman in her twenties, dressed in a red skirt, with an impressive chest, snow-white skin, and slender jade fingers. A small fan swayed lightly in her hand, hiding her cherry lips, while her pair of peach-blossom eyes glanced again and again toward Wang Ding, revealing an endlessly alluring charm. She did not look like she had come to search for treasure, but rather as if she had come out to play.

Song Daokun then said to Wang Ding, "This is Wei Qiang, Fellow Daoist Wei." This one was in his twenties, with a somewhat sinister face and a pair of triangular eyes that kept flashing with cold light. He shot Wang Ding a vicious glare.

Wang Ding nodded to each of them in greeting and said, "Please give me your guidance." Then he said no more. In secret, Wang Ding observed that these cultivators were all at the Meridian Opening Stage. As for their fighting strength, that would only be clear after they had actually fought.

Wang Ding glanced at Wei Qiang, who had been staring at him with malice the whole time, and could not help frowning. He did not know why this man was unfriendly toward him. Just then, Wang Ding sensed another gaze on him. He looked to the side and saw that it was Shi Mei sizing him up.

When Shi Mei saw Wang Ding look over, she smiled sweetly and said, "Young Master Huang is clearly a dragon and phoenix among men, someone of profound cultivation. On this treasure hunt, I must ask Young Master Huang to look after this humble woman." After saying so, she held that pair of moist peach-blossom eyes on Wang Ding shyly.

Wang Ding's expression did not change as he said, "Fellow Daoist Shi is too polite. I am merely an ordinary man and cannot accept such praise from you."

After Wang Ding finished speaking, he turned to Song Daokun and said, "Fellow Daoist, when do we set out?"

"If not for you, we would have set out long ago," a voice full of provocation rang out. It was Wei Qiang, who was now staring at Wang Ding with a face full of jealousy and hatred.

Wang Ding watched as he kept glancing toward Shi Mei, and instantly understood what was going on. He thought to himself, Idiot. He's being used as someone else's spear and doesn't even know what's happening. This woman isn't easy to deal with either.

At this moment, Song Daokun hurriedly stepped out to smooth things over. "Let's not talk about that. Everyone, hurry and set out. From today onward, we'll be hiding by day and traveling by night. Otherwise, the sun in West Province can roast people to death."

After saying this, he took the lead and walked toward the great desert. The others also followed Song Daokun and began the journey.

Time passed quickly. Everyone present was a cultivator with a strong body. After walking for four hours, they had traveled roughly a hundred li. Song Daokun had been walking at the very front the entire time. At this moment, he suddenly stopped, and the others stopped along with him. Fang Wen, who had not said a word all this time, asked Song Daokun, "Is something wrong?"

"If we keep going, we'll enter the outer region of the great desert. With our strength, we can move in and out there, but we must never be careless. Otherwise, it's no different from seeking death," Song Daokun said with a solemn face, his earlier grinning manner completely gone. It immediately made everyone's heart tremble, and none dared to show the slightest contempt.

After Song Daokun finished, he continued on their way, saying as he walked, "Ahead is a place where Sand Worms, which are common in the great desert, appear. Everyone must watch their feet at all times."

Along the way, Wei Qiang kept staying beside Shi Mei, fawning over her. Shi Mei, however, remained both near and distant, teasing Wei Qiang until his heart itched intolerably. His eyes shone with lust, as if he wished he could strip her bare, hold her in his arms, and properly ** her.

Wang Ding saw it all, but his expression did not change. He thought, This idiot has been bewitched until his soul is upside down. When the time comes, I'm afraid he'll become that woman's spear. I have to be careful.

Suddenly, from the desert beneath Fang Wen's feet, a black shadow about ten feet long pounced out and attacked him. Fang Wen's expression did not change. His feet shifted slightly, and he dodged to the side. When the black shadow's strike missed, it immediately tried to dive back into the sand. However, the others had already reacted. Song Daokun and Wang Ding, in particular, had already closed in the moment the black shadow pounced at Fang Wen. At this moment, they naturally would not let such a perfect opportunity pass. At the same time, they threw punches down at the black shadow's head. Wang Ding's fist even created a sonic boom. With a bang, the black shadow sensed the crisis descending. Its whole body shuddered, spinning as it tried to burrow into the sand. But it was still too late. Wang Ding and Song Daokun's fists struck the black shadow at the same time. A series of muffled thuds rang out from its body, followed by a "hiss-rip," and the entire black shadow was smashed apart.

Only then did Shi Mei and Wei Qiang, who had fallen behind, hurry forward. Fang Wen also walked to the black shadow's corpse. It turned out to be a monster covered in short limbs, ten feet long and as thick as a water bucket, with a ferocious great mouth full of sharp teeth.

"This is a Sand Worm. Since you are all coming to the great desert of West Province for the first time, you should know that this is the most common monster in the great desert. It doesn't have anything useful on it, yet they are everywhere, making them the most annoying. Right now it's still fine since we're only in the outskirts, and we can handle them. But if we encounter a Sand Worm that has formed its core, that's equivalent to a Qi Refining Stage cultivator. It simply hasn't opened its spiritual intelligence. Even so, I'm afraid we'll have to deal with it carefully," Song Daokun, the local snake, explained to everyone at this time.

Looking at the Sand Worm's corpse, everyone could not help feeling disgusted. Who knew how many more they would run into from here on? If they encountered a Sand Worm that had formed an inner core, whether they could avoid its ambush was uncertain. If they ended up as food in a Sand Worm's mouth, that would not be amusing at all. Each of them raised their vigilance to the highest degree.

The journey continued. After they traveled for roughly another hour, the sky gradually brightened. Song Daokun stopped and said, "The sun is about to come out. Let's find a large sand dune and hide in its shade for a good rest. We'll continue traveling tonight."

After saying this, he led everyone toward the nearest sand dune.

The sun rose, and a scorching aura slowly rose within the desert. Wang Ding and the others had already sat down in the shade of the sand dune and begun to rest.

"Rumble, rumble." The sand dune where Wang Ding and the others were resting suddenly began to shake. A tremendous force jolted everyone until they could not keep their footing, as if something were about to drill out from underground.

Everyone suddenly thought of one possibility: a Sand Worm. And a big one.

No one dared to take the risk. They all immediately fled the sand dune. Just as everyone left, the entire sand dune collapsed downward. A Sand Worm as thick as a well mouth and a hundred feet long appeared, its entire body covered in bright yellow carapace, countless short limbs wriggling ceaselessly. The sight made people's scalps go numb.

As soon as the Sand Worm appeared, it lunged fiercely toward Wei Qiang, who was running the slowest.