The setting sun was red as blood, staining the dunes an eerie crimson.
Xiao Yan dragged his leaden legs through the sand, his steps sinking unevenly, each one seeming to drain every last ounce of his strength. His lips were cracked and peeling, and his throat felt as though a ball of fire had been stuffed into it, burning painfully. His waterskin had run dry half an hour earlier. Now he clutched it in his hand, shaking it occasionally, only to hear the hollow sound of air striking its walls.
"Yao Lao, are you sure there's a geothermal spring nearby?" he asked weakly, his voice so hoarse it barely held its pitch. "Why can't I feel even a hint of moisture? If we don't find water soon, I'll become a dried-up corpse in the desert before we ever find any heavenly flames."
Yao Lao's voice carried a note of certainty. "There's no mistake. The Tagor Desert may be famed for its aridity, but geothermal activity often occurs where the underground rock strata fracture. Find those places, and you'll most likely find water. Look carefully around you. Do you see any darker patches of sand, or cracks giving off heat?"
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes as instructed, fighting his dizziness as he scanned his surroundings. The last glow of sunset gradually faded, and night descended slowly from the horizon like an enormous black cloth. The outlines of the dunes blurred in the dusk; only a few patches of exposed rock still reflected the final traces of light.
Suddenly, his gaze settled on the entrance to a long, narrow valley ahead and to his left. The sand there was noticeably darker than elsewhere, and a faint current of warmth mingled with the cool night breeze, almost impossible to notice without paying close attention.
"Over there!" Xiao Yan perked up, as though strength had suddenly returned to him, and staggered toward the valley. "I think there's heat coming from it!"
Only when he drew closer did he realize that this valley was narrower than the canyon he had encountered earlier. Towering rock walls rose on either side, bristling with jagged stones, while the sand beneath was damp and soft, cool underfoot. The farther he walked into the valley, the more pronounced the warmth in the air became. He could even smell a faint trace of sulfur.
"It really is an area of geothermal activity." There was a hint of approval in Yao Lao's voice. "It seems your luck isn't too bad after all."
Xiao Yan had no energy to answer and simply trudged onward with his head down. After another hundred paces or so, intermittent dripping suddenly sounded from the darkness ahead, unusually clear in the silent valley.
Delight surged through him, and he hurried forward. In the hazy moonlight, he saw a hollow beneath the rock wall ahead. A thin trickle of water seeped from a crack in the stone, dripping into a small pool below. The surrounding sand was sodden and wreathed in wisps of white vapor. It was unmistakably a geothermal spring.
"Water! It really is water!" Xiao Yan nearly jumped with excitement. Scrambling and stumbling to the pool, he ignored the slight warmth of the water, scooped up a handful with both hands, and brought it straight to his mouth.
The sweet spring water slid down his throat, instantly quenching the fire within and sending a shiver of relief through his entire body. He drank several handfuls in succession, stopping only when his belly grew bloated. Then he wiped his mouth contentedly and collapsed onto a rock beside the pool, panting.
"I've finally come back to life," he sighed, his face filled with the relief of someone who had survived a disaster.
Just then, Yao Lao's voice suddenly grew serious. "Xiao Yan, be careful. Something is wrong with the energy field around this geothermal spring."
Xiao Yan's heart tightened, though outwardly he remained as utterly exhausted as before. Quietly, he activated his emperor realm soul and extended his perception outward. This time, he made no deliberate effort to restrain his power. His soul power spread like a spiderweb, instantly covering the entire valley.
He soon detected something unusual. The energy fluctuations of this geothermal spring were not chaotic; instead, they seemed to form a cycle. The water seeping from the rock fissure actually contained an extremely faint trace of fire-attribute energy. Stranger still, deep within the valley, there seemed to be a stronger energy source resonating with the spring from afar.
"This energy..." Xiao Yan's brow furrowed slightly. "It feels a little like heavenly flames, but it's much weaker than the aura of the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame, and it's mixed and impure."
Yao Lao said gravely, "It should be Fire Miasma formed by geothermal heat accumulating over a long period. Though it isn't as pure as heavenly flames, it's still extremely corrosive. If an ordinary person came into contact with it, they could be reduced to pus in an instant. There's more to this valley than meets the eye. Something may be hidden here."
Xiao Yan nodded, deliberately yawned, and rubbed his eyes. "Whatever's hidden here, let's rest for the night first. I'm too tired to move anyway. Even if the sky falls, it'll have to wait until morning."
As he spoke, he picked up a few dry stones and built a simple pile beside the pool. Then he rummaged through his pack for a fire striker, intending to light the dry grass he carried with him. Yet somehow, despite the sparks, the grass refused to catch. Instead, a puff of black smoke rose, making him cough repeatedly.
"How strange. Did the fire striker get damp?" he muttered. He tried a few more times, still to no avail, and could only put it down in frustration. Hugging his knees, he huddled beside the rock. "Forget it. I'll just make do tonight. Hopefully, I won't run into any more magical beasts."
He closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually steadied, making him look as though he had truly fallen asleep. In reality, however, his emperor realm soul was working at full power, carefully probing the energy source deep within the valley.
That energy source lay hidden behind a rock wall at the end of the valley, roughly several hundred zhang away. Its fluctuations waxed and waned, as though something were churning inside. More importantly, at its edge, he caught a barely perceptible trace of a Green Lotus aura—the unmistakable signature of the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame!
Found it... Xiao Yan silently murmured. It seemed this Geothermal Secret Realm was indeed a clue leading to the hiding place of the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame.
Just as he was about to investigate further, a rustling suddenly came from the valley entrance, as though something were crawling through the sand. Then several pairs of eerie green lights appeared in the darkness, slowly drawing closer.
Xiao Yan's eyelids twitched slightly, and an almost imperceptible smile curved his lips.
It seemed the "masters" of this Geothermal Secret Realm had already discovered their uninvited guest.
He did not open his eyes, merely maintaining the posture of someone sound asleep, even deliberately letting out a faint snore. His soul perception, however, was like the keenest hunter, firmly locking onto the approaching figures.
There were five of them, not particularly large, each roughly half a person's height. Gray-black shells covered their bodies, and their eight legs moved swiftly over the sand with faint scraping sounds. Their heads had no eyes, only mouths bristling with fangs. Thick liquid dripped constantly from those mouths, hissing corrosively wherever it struck the sand.
"They're Corrosive Sandworms." Yao Lao's voice sounded in his mind, carrying a note of caution. "These magical beasts only have the strength of an early-stage Dou Shi, but their shells are hard, their saliva is highly poisonous, and they like to live in groups. They won't be easy to handle."
Xiao Yan continued to "sleep" soundly, seemingly oblivious to the approaching danger.
The Corrosive Sandworms drew closer and closer, until the patterns on their shells became visible. The leader stopped, seemingly checking whether Xiao Yan was truly asleep. Its head swayed slightly, then it let out a piercing shriek and lunged at Xiao Yan first!
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