After flying approximately a million miles, a black line appeared on the horizon. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an endless desert composed of gray sand.
It seemed this was the infamous Illusionary Roar Desert of the demon world!
Han Li narrowed his eyes within his escaping light, blue glints flickering in his pupils as he surveyed the distance.
The gray sand stretched as far as the eye could see, barren except for sparse, low shrubs at the edges. Apart from its peculiar color, it seemed no different from an ordinary desert.
However, the sky above the desert was gloomy, covered with low-hanging yellow clouds, starkly contrasting with the sky beyond the desert as if marking the boundary between two worlds.
When they were still about ten miles away from the desert, the yellow-haired burly man led the descent, his escaping light dissipating as he landed on the ground.
The others naturally followed suit.
“Further ahead, our escape techniques may fail, so we’ll have to proceed on Eight-Legged Demon Lizards from here. Let me make this clear—the Bai Clan only has about thirty of these lizards, each extremely rare. Bringing out eleven for this journey is already the limit. I hope you all take extra care of them during the trip. If danger arises, store them in spirit beast rings immediately and avoid any harm to them,” the yellow-haired man said, clasping his fists toward Han Li and the other two.
“Haha, Brother Bai, rest assured. We know full well how important these Eight-Legged Demon Lizards are to your clans. We won’t let them suffer even a scratch. But why bring these youngsters along, even at the cost of extra lizards?” The extraordinarily plump Luanlong Tianjun laughed before asking curiously.
“Brother Luanlong may not know, but these six have trained in a joint formation. Combined, their strength roughly matches that of an early-stage Demon Venerable. Bringing them along has its uses,” the purple-haired woman explained with a smile.
“I see. My apologies for the misunderstanding,” Luanlong Tianjun nodded, his chubby cheeks trembling.
Hanqi Zi’s masked eyes flickered with an odd light. Though he remained silent, he clearly had no objections.
As for Han Li, he merely smiled faintly, though inwardly he briefly entertained the thought of seizing these demon lizards during the journey.
However, the idea vanished as quickly as it came.
While confident in his abilities, facing four Demon Venerables of unknown strength was too risky. Defeating them might be manageable, but eliminating them all without a trace was nearly impossible. Even if he succeeded, the number of lizards wouldn’t suffice for their group, and the ensuing uproar would alert the major clans of Illusionary Night City, potentially drawing powerful enemies—even Saint Ancestor-level foes.
After weighing the pros and cons, Han Li dismissed the notion.
At that moment, the purple-haired woman flicked her wrist, sending a green ring whirling into the air. With a flash, it released a multicolored radiance that swept across the ground, revealing eleven massive demonic beasts—each five zhang long and two zhang tall.
At first glance, these creatures resembled giant lizards magnified tenfold, their bodies covered in black scales and sporting eight thick legs beneath their bellies, making them appear exceptionally ferocious.
Silver saddles adorned their backs, indicating they were fully tamed.
“So these are the Eight-Legged Demon Lizards. Each emits an aura no stronger than the Golden Core stage—hardly anything extraordinary,” Han Li mused, his gaze sweeping over them with mild surprise.
At the yellow-haired man’s signal, Han Li and the others each received a lizard and a control token.
With a flicker, Han Li appeared atop his assigned lizard. Glancing down, he noted the simple demonic patterns on the silver saddle, designed for comfort. A faint smile touched his lips as he waved the control token at the beast beneath him.
With a *whoosh*, a silver streak shot out and vanished into the lizard’s body.
The demon lizard let out a low growl and began moving forward. Though its initial speed was modest, its eight legs ensured an exceptionally smooth ride, devoid of any jostling.
By then, the yellow-haired man and his group had already taken the lead, their lizards forming a line as they headed toward the desert.
The ten-mile distance was covered in no time.
As the yellow-haired man’s lizard plunged into the desert, a storm of sand surged toward them. The saddles on the lizards shimmered with silver light, conjuring a translucent white barrier that enveloped the riders.
The sand and wind struck the barrier harmlessly, sliding past without affecting those inside.
But Han Li paid little attention to this. What caught his interest was how the lizards’ speed suddenly multiplied upon entering the desert, now outpacing even the swiftest horses.
An unusual energy pulsed from the lizards’ massive bodies, steadily absorbing the desert’s scorching heat.
The moment Han Li entered the gray desert, an inexplicable force weighed upon him, suppressing ninety percent of his magic power. The air was thick with chaotic energies that repelled both demonic and spiritual qi, rendering both exceedingly sparse.
The Illusionary Roar Desert lived up to its reputation as one of the demon world’s forbidden zones.
Silently observing the changes in himself and the lizard, Han Li was inwardly astonished.
Yet the Bai Clan members, including the yellow-haired elder, showed no reaction, clearly accustomed to these conditions.
Guiding their lizards, they raced deeper into the desert along a fixed course.
Ten days later, atop a massive dune, Han Li, the yellow-haired man, the purple-haired woman, and the others found themselves surrounded by a swarm of foot-long, emerald-green scorpions.
The demonic scorpions hissed eerily, their hooked tails spraying jets of dark green venom toward the group from all directions.
Han Li, Luanlong Tianjun, Hanqi Zi, and the other Unity-stage experts stood motionless on the dune, while Bai Yunxin and the other six Void Refinement cultivators positioned at the edges wielded demonic artifacts, wreaking havoc among the scorpions.
Though most of their magic power was suppressed, these scorpions posed no threat to Bai Yunxin and her companions. Amid bursts of demonic energy and flashes of light, swaths of scorpions turned to ash, unable to advance even a step.
Half a month later, the lead Eight-Legged Demon Lizard suddenly halted mid-stride, letting out a low growl.
The yellow-haired man atop it frowned and abruptly struck the sand dozens of yards ahead with a single palm.
A deafening *boom* erupted as the sand exploded, revealing a crater nearly ten zhang wide, with debris soaring into the air.
From the settling dust lunged a colossal yellow serpent, fifty to sixty zhang long, its maw gaping wide as it charged toward the man.
Bai Yunxin and the others paled at the sight, but the purple-haired woman, Luanlong Tianjun, and the other Demon Venerables remained unfazed. Only the yellow-haired leader sighed and muttered, “Troublesome. A Sand Gold Python—beyond the youngsters’ capabilities. I’ll have to expend some magic power and deal with it myself.”
As he spoke, he flipped his hand, summoning a black ring shrouded in dark mist, which he hurled at the serpent.
The ring emitted an eerie shriek, expanding to several zhang in size before vanishing into thin air.
The man then pointed at the python.
At the serpent’s seven-inch mark, a black glow flickered, and the ring reappeared, tightening around it without mercy.
The python let out a pained shriek, crashing to the sand and writhing madly.
The yellow-haired man sneered, forming a hand seal. The ring shimmered and shrank to palm-size in an instant.
A geyser of black blood erupted as the python’s head tumbled to the sand, lifeless.
Without hesitation, the man spat a crimson demonic flame onto the corpse.
With a muffled *thud*, the flames engulfed the remains, reducing them to ashes in moments.
The python’s remnant soul wailed as it tried to flee, but the flames consumed it without a trace.
“Impressive, Brother Bai. That Sand Gold Python was likely at the late Void Refinement stage, yet it fell to a single strike,” Han Li remarked, guiding his lizard to the man’s side and glancing at the crater.
“You flatter me, Brother Han. Such beasts may trouble Yunxin and the others, but they’re nothing to us. If we encountered one of the Illusionary Roar Desert’s Three Great Calamities, even I’d have no choice but to flee,” the man replied with a bitter smile.
“Three Great Calamities?” Han Li’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“You’re unfamiliar with them?” the man asked, surprised.
“I’ve heard vague mentions, but if even a Demon Venerable like you fears them, they must be formidable,” Han Li replied calmly, stroking his chin.
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