The sandstorm gradually subsided, leaving the sky stained a murky orange-yellow. Xiao Yan sat behind a rock riddled with holes from wind erosion, gazing at the dust still churning in the distance as he gently rubbed his throbbing temples. Although triggering the underground lava had concealed his tracks beneath the guise of a "natural disaster," it had also consumed a considerable amount of his soul power. Now, a dull ache lingered between his brows.
"If you've rested enough, get moving," Yao Lao urged. "With the Lizardmen tribe destroyed, the energy barrier over this region has weakened. The Green Lotus Earth Core Flame's aura should be clearer now."
Xiao Yan nodded, took the last hard, dry wheat cake from his pack, and swallowed it with his few remaining drops of water. His throat was still dry, but it was far better than the scorching thirst from before. He stood, brushed the sand from his clothes, and looked deeper into the desert. Even the air there seemed to warp slightly, with faint currents of pale green flowing through it—the distinctive aura of the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame.
"I'll have to be more sparing with my soul power this time," he murmured. He reined in his Emperor Realm Soul as tightly as possible, leaving only a faint thread of perception to follow the green current like a strand of spider silk. After his earlier string of maneuvers, he had to be more cautious. He could not reveal his hidden cards so easily again.
The journey ahead proved harder than he had imagined. The geological upheaval caused by the Lizardmen tribe had made the already rugged dunes even more dangerous. Loose sand frequently slid down from their crests, threatening to sweep him away at the slightest lapse in attention. Xiao Yan moved exceedingly slowly, placing every step on relatively firm ground. He looked cautious and unsteady, as though he might lose his footing at any moment.
"This place is getting stranger and stranger." After walking for roughly four hours, Xiao Yan suddenly stopped and looked toward a sunken sandy valley ahead. There was no wind within it, yet the air was unusually stagnant. Even the sunlight seemed distorted by some force, casting strange, mottled patterns of light and shadow across the valley floor. Stranger still, the Green Lotus aura abruptly vanished at the valley's edge, as though something had cut it off.
Yao Lao's voice grew solemn. "There's an energy field in the valley deliberately masking the Heavenly Flame's aura. Be careful. There could be an ambush."
Rather than enter recklessly, Xiao Yan slowly paced along the valley's edge, pretending to search for a path while watching the interior from the corner of his eye. A layer of dark purple sand covered the valley floor, starkly out of place among the surrounding golden dunes. Fine markings were faintly visible on the grains, resembling naturally formed runes.
"It's Spirit-Locking Sand," Yao Lao suddenly said. "A special kind of sand that absorbs energy. It's often used to lay sealing formations. It seems someone doesn't want outsiders approaching this place."
Something stirred in Xiao Yan's mind. He crouched as though tying his shoelaces and discreetly touched a grain of dark purple sand with his fingertip. At once, a faint suction came from it, as though trying to draw away the Dou Qi at his fingertip. He withdrew his hand without betraying anything, already forming a conclusion. The energy fluctuations of this Spirit-Locking Sand bore a faint resemblance to the runes on the Lizardmen's altar. They had clearly been fashioned by the same hand.
"It looks like more than one group has its eyes on the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame," he said quietly. "There's probably someone even more formidable behind the Lizardmen."
Just then, a faint cracking sound came from deep within the valley, like stone breaking apart. Xiao Yan immediately pulled back and hid behind a massive wind-eroded rock, exposing only half an eye to watch.
The dark purple sand on the valley floor suddenly surged, and a scorpion covered in dark golden armor burrowed out. It was over three meters long, its tail stinger gleaming a ghostly green as though carved from jade. As the compound eyes on its head turned, they revealed an almost human wariness.
"It's a Golden Sand Venom Scorpion King!" Yao Lao exclaimed in surprise. "A magical beast like this takes at least a hundred years to mature. Its strength rivals a Peak Dou Ling, and its tail stinger is so venomous that even a Dou Wang expert has to be wary of it!"
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly. The Golden Sand Venom Scorpion King's aura was stronger than he had anticipated. In particular, its dark golden shell shimmered faintly with energy, plainly possessing formidable defenses. More importantly, it had emerged precisely where the Green Lotus aura had vanished. It appeared to be the guardian of this Spirit-Locking Sand valley.
The scorpion king seemed to detect movement beyond the valley. Its enormous compound eyes turned toward Xiao Yan's hiding place, and its tail stinger rose slightly as it hissed a warning.
This is bad, Xiao Yan thought. He was about to slip away when the scorpion king moved. Its body skimmed over the dark purple sand with astonishing speed, almost leaving an afterimage behind. In an instant, it reached the valley's edge, its tail stinger whistling through the air toward the wind-eroded rock!
"I can't dodge it!" Feigning panic, Xiao Yan abruptly rolled out from behind the rock and narrowly avoided the stinger. It pierced the wind-eroded stone with a dull puncture, driving through the hard rock as though it were tofu and leaving a hole whose bottom could not be seen. The surrounding stone swiftly turned an inky green as the potent venom began spreading.
What potent venom! Startled, Xiao Yan dared not be careless. He scrambled and rolled across the sand on his hands and feet, evading the scorpion king's successive attacks. He deliberately made his movements look utterly clumsy, nearly getting swept aside by its enormous pincers several times. A long gash tore through his robe, exposing the scraped skin beneath.
The scorpion king seemed enraged by his "weakness," and its attacks grew even more savage. It abruptly opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of dark golden sand mist. The moment the mist struck the ground, it transformed into countless tiny venomous needles that swept toward Xiao Yan.
"Not good!" Xiao Yan cried out, abruptly gathering the little Dou Qi remaining in his body before him to form a feeble barrier. But against the venomous needles, that barrier was no stronger than paper. It was torn apart in an instant, and several needles grazed his arm, leaving thin streaks of blood.
Heart-piercing pain immediately shot from the scratches, followed by a black discoloration. The venom had clearly entered his body.
"Damn it!" Xiao Yan cursed under his breath. His face turned pale, as though he had been severely poisoned. He knew he could not drag this out any longer. He had to finish off the scorpion king quickly. Otherwise, once the venom spread, even if he could suppress it, he would inevitably give something away.
While the scorpion king prepared its next attack, Xiao Yan suddenly made an extremely risky move. Instead of retreating, he charged straight toward it, tightly gripping his unremarkable dagger.
The scorpion king clearly had not expected him to strike back. It paused for a fraction of a second before thrusting its tail stinger again. At that very instant, Xiao Yan twisted his body at an impossible angle. As he dodged the stinger, he drove his dagger precisely into the gap between the compound eyes on its head—the most vulnerable spot on its entire body.
Squelch!
The dagger sank in to the hilt, and inky green blood sprayed out. The scorpion king let out a shrill, agonized hiss. Its enormous body convulsed violently, its tail flailing wildly and churning the surrounding sand into chaos.
Seizing the chance, Xiao Yan retreated several meters and leaned against the wind-eroded rock, gasping for breath. The black discoloration on his arm had already spread to his elbow. His face was as pale as paper, and he looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"Cough, cough... finally... finished it..." he panted, his voice weak, as though he had exhausted every last scrap of strength.
Yao Lao hurriedly said, "Force the venom out, quickly! Golden Sand Venom Scorpion venom is incredibly fierce!"
Xiao Yan nodded, pretending to struggle as he circulated his Dou Qi to expel the venom. In secret, however, he infused a trace of soul power into the wounds, instantly freezing the venom within his blood. He knew this was not yet the time to cleanse it. This appearance of being "poisoned and weakened" might prove the best disguise.
The scorpion king's convulsions gradually ceased. Its massive body crashed to the ground, utterly lifeless. With its death, the dark purple sand on the valley floor suddenly lost its luster, its fine markings slowly fading. The stagnant feeling in the air disappeared as well, and the concealed Green Lotus aura emerged once more, clearer than before.
The scorpion king was the Spirit-Locking Sand's energy source. Understanding dawned on Xiao Yan. Dragging his "injured" arm, he walked into the valley one step at a time.
The valley floor lay deeper than it appeared from outside. At its center stood a circular platform roughly thirty meters across, built from green stone and engraved with markings that matched the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame's aura perfectly. An ancient, unadorned Stone Sword was embedded in the platform's center, pale green wisps curling around its blade. It was the source of the Green Lotus aura.
"This Stone Sword..." Xiao Yan approached the edge of the platform and examined it closely. The blade bore no ornamentation, yet it exuded an ancient, desolate air, as though it had existed for countless ages. The green wisps were seeping from cracks in the Stone Sword.
Yao Lao's voice brimmed with excitement. "It's a seal on the Heavenly Flame! This Stone Sword is the seal's core! The Green Lotus Earth Core Flame is right beneath it!"
Xiao Yan's heart gave a sudden leap, and he suppressed his wild delight. He reached out to touch the Stone Sword, only to stop just before his fingertips made contact. The air around it seemed to ripple slightly, revealing the faint presence of an invisible barrier. Moreover, the energy fluctuations from that barrier bore an exceedingly subtle resemblance to the auras he had sensed from the Mo Family pursuers and the Otherworlder.
"Someone else is watching this place." Xiao Yan's gaze cooled slightly as he slowly withdrew his hand. "This seal is no simple thing. I'm afraid breaking it won't be easy."
He did not approach the Stone Sword again. Instead, he slowly paced around the platform, pretending to study its markings while quietly spreading his Emperor Realm Soul to carefully probe the entire Sand Valley. Sure enough, behind several Wind-Eroded Rocks along the valley's edge, he detected a few exceedingly faint auras. They were hidden so well that he would never have discovered them if his soul power had not far surpassed that of ordinary people.
"It seems claiming the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame won't be so easy." A cold smile curled Xiao Yan's lips as his gaze returned to the ancient Stone Sword.
The Stone Sword stood silently at the platform's center, green wisps swirling around it, as though wordlessly recounting ancient secrets. Surrounding it were not only the dead scorpion king and hidden watchers, but also a young man who appeared weak while secretly concealing a keen edge.
Within this silent Sand Valley, the curtain had quietly risen on a new contest.
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