Qingfeng Li looked at Sky-Devouring Snake beside him. “Are your wounds healed?” he asked.
Sky-Devouring Snake nodded. “My wounds are all better,” it said, “We can leave now.”
With a wave of his hand, Qingfeng Li spoke, “Then, let’s go find the monarch soul fruit.”
With that, the group left. Under the guidance of the Desert Giant, they walked forward.
One had to say that Qingfeng Li’s decision to subjugate the Desert Giant was definitely a good one.
The Desert Giant was a native of the Crimson Fire Desert. It knew the fifteen thousand square kilometers or so of desert land well. It knew where the danger was, where the powerful beasts were, and where the sandstorms raged. He had seen them all many times before.
Although the map Qingfeng Li had was very detailed, after five hundred years, many things had changed.
In some places, the king of the demonic beasts that had been there had died, and a new one had taken its place. In others, where there had been a sand dune, there was now a depression in the ground, forming a cliff.
The Desert Giant walked ahead, leading the group. At the same time, it explained to Qingfeng Li. “Master, the Crimson Fire Desert is very dangerous. Even we Desert Giants have places we do not usually dare to go near. There are great dangers hidden there, deep underground.”
Qingfeng Li nodded, indicating that he understood.
As soon as he had set foot in the Crimson Fire Desert, he had detected that things were not as simple as they seemed. The dangers did not come from the surface of the desert alone, but also from underneath.
Qingfeng Li had mastered the Mortal Purgatory Body technique. He had a special ability to sense things about the terrain. He could clearly feel that, deep within the sand, there was a terrifying power. This was a power that, once awakened, could tear the world apart.
The Crimson Fire Desert was vast, spanning about fifteen thousand square kilometers. Within this area, most of the ground was covered with sand. The grains of yellow sand danced on the slightest breeze, covering the sky.
Aside from sand, in some obscure corners, there were hills, oases, and springs.
Of course, these things were few and far in between. Sometimes, one could run around for ten thousand kilometers and not see a single one.
Luckly, Qingfeng Li possessed the golden flame, along with extraordinary strength, and was therefore able to fly across quickly. If an ordinary person were in his place, they would have been burned alive by the heat alone.
Suddenly, Qingfeng Li frowned. Before him, he saw a group of people in red desperately fleeing something. The group numbered at roughly twenty people and was led by a middle-aged man and a woman.
Behind the middle-aged pair, another group followed in hot pursuit. These people wore golden clothes and held bows and arrows, which they used with terrific cruelty and effectiveness. Each arrow they let fly claimed at least one of the red-clad people’s lives.
In the blink of an eye, around a dozen of the twenty-something people fleeing had been killed. There were only seven or eight of them left.
Seeing that their attempts to escape were futile, the middle-aged pair leading the group abruptly turned. They had decided to face the gold-clad pursuers instead of continuing to run.
The leader of the group with bows and arrows was a middle-aged man. He was a tall man, with golden skin and hair. He stood with his back straight, a powerful golden energy radiating from all over his body. He glared at the middle-aged pair with frigid eyes.
The middle-aged pair were both roughly forty years old. But the woman was exceptionally beautiful, with delicate features, pale skin, and a graceful figure. Her clothes were red, setting off her enchanting silhouette to great effect.
Beside her, the middle-aged man was also tall and handsome. His features would have been attractive but, right now, his face was pale as death and his expression betrayed a trace of fear.
The beautiful woman in red furrowed her brows as she shouted. “Yijian Jin,” she shouted. “You’ve hounded us for over three kilometers. Will you stop at nothing to kill us?”
The blond man called Yijian Jin bellowed in laughter. “Linglong Huo, Wuya Tie,” he said, his voice cold, “hand over the Supreme level spirit herb you’ve just found, and I’ll let you live. Otherwise, I’ll kill you right here!”
Hearing Yijian Jin’s words, Wuya Tie’s expression turned to one of shocked terror. He was only a Ninth Level Spirit Emperor Realm master. Just now, when he and his junior sister had found the Supreme level spirit herb, they had been overjoyed.
They knew that, once they absorbed the power of this Supreme level spirit herb, they would be able to break through to the Supreme Realm. When that happens, their Fire Emperor Sect would be raised to Supreme level. However, just as they were picking the spirit herb, they had been spotted by Yijian Jin.
Yijian Jin had a formidable background, he was the Chief Advisor and Protector of the Gold-Arrow Country, as well a0s a master of the Fifth Level of the Supreme Realm.
Yijian Jin had chased Wuya Tie and Linglong Huo, along with the rest of the Fire Emperor Sect self-cultivators, and they had slain all but seven or eight of them.
Wuya Tie looked to Linglong Huo. “Junior sister,” he said, “maybe we should give the Supreme level spirit herb over to him.”
A flash of pain appeared across Linglong Huo’s eyes. She thought of another one of her Senior Brothers, the Fire Emperor. If the Fire Emperor were here, he would never give in to the other’s demands.
She and the Fire Emperor had shared a dream, to break through to the Supreme Realm. She hadn’t thought that, after she had finally found a Supreme level spirit herb in the Crimson Fire Desert, she would have to give it up.
But Linglong Huo also knew that the situation did not leave them with any other choice. She had to give up the spirit herb. Otherwise, they would all be in grave danger. They may even lose their own lives, along with those of their fellow sect members.
Just then, Yijian Jin bellowed in laughter as he spoke again, “Wuya Tie, I don’t only want your Supreme level spirit herb today. I want your junior sister Linglong Huo, too. She’s quite the looker, I want her to be mine.”
Hearing Yijian Jin’s words, Wuya Tie and Linglong Huo were both overcome with rage. Wuya Tie was very fond of his junior sister, Linglong Huo.
Wuya Tie took a step forwad. “Yijian Jin,” he said, “I can give this Supreme level spirit herb to you, but not my junior sister.”
Yijian Jin smirked, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. He abruptly raised his golden bow and let loose an arrow. In a flash of golden lightning, the arrow shot straight through Wuya Tie’s body, pinning him to the ground.
Yijian Jin walked to Wuya Tie’s side. Taking out a dagger, he placed it against his neck. “You’re only at Ninth Level Spirit Emperor Realm,” he said. “You’re too weak for me. All I need to do is move this dagger a little, and your head will be cut off. If you want to live, give me both the Supreme level spirit herb and your junior sister!”
A look of fright appeared on Wuya Tie’s face. He felt the aura of death radiating from the dagger. He knew that, if he didn’t comply, he would certainly be killed.
With no other option, Wuya Tie took out the Supreme level spirit herb and handed it to Yijian Jin. “Here, I gave you the spirit herb,” he said. “My junior sister is yours too. Let me go.”
Yijian Jin howled in laughter, pleased with Wuya Tie’s attitude. He turned to Linglong Huo, staring at her with a heated expression.
When Qingfeng Li arrived on the scene, this was the scene they saw. A cold light flashed over his eyes.
Qingfeng Li had naturally heard of Wuya Tie and Linglong Huo.
He had once received the teachings of Fire Emperor, who had once been a member of the Fire Emperor Sect on Mars. He had been one of the members of the Fire Emperor Sect who was likely to inherit the Sect.
But then, the Fire Emperor was framed by Wuya Tie and hunted down. Mortally wounded, he went to Earth and died there. In the end, the Fire Emperor’s knowledge was handed down to Qingfeng Li.
Qingfeng Li had promised yjr Fire Emperor that he would bring his ashes to the Mars to be buried, and that he would tell Linglong Huo the truth.