That night, Li Tan left Chi Ze City and walked eastward for several kilometers. The artificial road had long disappeared, and around him stretched an endless sea of sand. The moon hung high in the sky, emitting a faint silver glow.
It was a scene of profound tranquility, yet in reality, danger lurked everywhere.
Beneath the yellow sands, countless bloodthirsty eyes were wide open, staring intently at their prey.
Walking atop the sand dunes, Li Tan glanced from side to side, quietly extending his spiritual awareness, bringing everything around him under his control.
Suddenly, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He slowly raised his right hand, and a stream of true energy in the shape of a sword shot downward at an angle.
Peng! Dust filled the air, obscuring the view. When the sand particles finally fell back to the ground under gravity, a large pit could be seen in front of Li Tan, with a half-human-sized dead scorpion lying inside.
“A third-tier Longtail Scorpion. Pity it’s of the Earth attribute,” Li Tan said with slight regret, shaking his head. He bypassed the pit and continued forward.
In the following hours, he encountered several fierce beasts but unfortunately, never found a Fire-attribute beast as he desired.
It’s often said that luck is a strange thing—you always fail to get exactly what you want. Across the Nine Provinces, countless people must have experienced the frustration of waiting by the roadside for a ride, only to see vehicle after vehicle pass by without stopping, all heading in a different direction.
Thus, he wandered aimlessly until the next morning, when the moon set and the sun rose from the northeast, the sky turning into a pale white as the temperature began to rise.
Li Tan was slightly tired but mostly bored.
He had scoured the area within dozens of kilometers, yet hadn’t encountered a single Fire-attribute beast.
“Oh well, I still have two days. I’ll figure something out tomorrow.”
Muttering to himself, Li Tan prepared to head back. Just then, a large man suddenly approached him, waving enthusiastically.
Li Tan looked at the man strangely, paused, and then finally recalled his identity.
He was the same person who had tried to dissuade him from accepting the mission at the Cultivator Alliance the previous day.
“Any business?” Li Tan asked.
The big man stopped beside Li Tan, grinning. “Not really. Just feels like quite a coincidence to meet you here.”
“Indeed a coincidence. Anything else? I was about to head back.”
“Wait a second. How did your mission go yesterday, little brother? Did you find a second-tier Fire-attribute beast?”
The big man was unaware the mission requirement had been upgraded to a third-tier beast. Li Tan didn’t bother to clarify and simply replied, “I found plenty of fierce beasts, just none with the Fire attribute.”
“Hehe, actually, not finding one isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Even I would struggle against a second-tier beast. To be honest, I’d suggest giving up on this mission.”
“This is my first mission at the Cultivator Alliance. How can I give up so easily?”
“Your first mission!”
The big man opened his mouth in surprise. “That really complicates things…” “I’ll check again tomorrow. I’m heading back now. Excuse me.”
As Li Tan walked forward, the big man called him again. “Little brother, if you couldn’t find it today, you probably won’t find it tomorrow either. Fire-attribute beasts are naturally rare around here.”
Wandering aimlessly like a headless fly wasn’t really a solution. Helplessly, Li Tan asked, “Brother, you must have been in Chi Ze for quite a while. Do you have any suggestions?”
The big man smiled confidently. “You’re asking the right person. I know everything about the area around Chi Ze, like the back of my garden.”
“Do you know where Fire-attribute beasts might be?”
“I don’t know the exact location, but I can give you a general idea. How about it, little brother? I can take you there and help you look.”
“That would be great. But brother, how much will you charge me for this?”
“Haha, don’t mention payment. I just want to make friends.”
The big man gave Li Tan a strange look, like he was eyeing a beloved object, making Li Tan feel uneasy. He couldn’t quite explain why, but something about the man felt off, almost repulsive.
There was something about the man that gave Li Tan the impression he had ulterior motives.
“Alright then. Let’s head out now.”
“Great! Follow me. Fire-attribute beasts prefer sunny places.”
The big man led Li Tan through a maze of twists and turns, walking an unknown distance, until finally stopping on the leeward slope of a sand dune.
The sand dune blocked the sunlight, making this place just right for shade and rest.
Humans would naturally think so, and fierce beasts would likely share the same preference.
“This is the place!”
The big man looked left and right with confidence, then rolled up his sleeves and gathered true energy, delivering a powerful strike.
Boom! The sand dune collapsed rapidly from the impact. When the dust settled, a giant lizard with a fiery red exterior appeared.
However, the confidence on the big man’s face instantly vanished. His expression turned to horror. “What rotten luck!”
The aura and fluctuation of true energy radiating from the lizard clearly marked it as a third-tier beast.
“Little brother, sorry about this. Seems like I’ve provoked a big one. I’ll hold it off. You run first.”
Saying so, the big man unsheathed the large sword on his back, his expression turning serious.
Li Tan glanced at the lizard, nearly a person’s height, and drew his rusty sword.
Seeing the rusty blade, the big man thought to himself that maybe Li Tan was short on funds to be using such a piece of junk. He decided to do a favor and give him a decent sword.
The thought transferred from his mind to his hands, and he immediately focused his attention on his storage ring, preparing to retrieve a long-unused black-iron sword.
But before he could even take it out, Li Tan had already rushed forward with his rusty sword.
“Hey! Come back! This is a third-tier beast! Its poison can melt you directly!”
The big man shouted anxiously, and then heard a “puchi” sound.
No one knew exactly what had happened. Suddenly, Li Tan appeared beside the lizard as if he had teleported. His rusty iron sword was now stained with blood, while the lizard’s head had completely separated from its body.
The big man’s mouth hung wide open, speechless, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Where was he?
Who was he?
What was going on?
At that moment, the big man’s mind was in total chaos. Just like that, a third-tier beast was gone?
Was this a joke?
Was it fake?
Could it actually be a first-tier beast, and had he misjudged it?
He tapped the corpse with his sword. The skin was extremely hard—undoubtedly a third-tier beast.
Ignoring the stunned big man, Li Tan sheathed his sword and muttered softly, “I don’t know where this sword comes from, but even covered in rust, it’s still this sharp.”
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