The sand sea was scorching under the day, but at night it turned bone-chillingly cold.
Beneath the full moon, waves of visible cold seeped upward from the grains of sand like wraiths, carrying a chill that pierced straight through to the heart.
Looking out across the expanse, the entire sand sea seemed coated in a layer of thin ice, translucent and crystalline. Moonlight poured down and reflected off the surface, painting everything in an ethereal, otherworldly beauty.
In one corner of the sand sea, An Ling'er held Yang Kai close, her True Yuan flowing as she used her own body heat to warm his gradually cooling frame.
Yang Kai seemed truly as though he were dead. Since escaping the Small Mystic World during the day, he hadn't stirred once. At first there had been a trace of warmth and the faint sound of a heartbeat, but as time passed, his body grew colder and colder, his vitality flickering ever weaker — like a candle flame in a storm, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
An Ling'er guarded him with utmost care, never stepping away for even a moment.
He was the future master of the Holy Land. Even if it cost her life, she dared not let any harm befall him. Her delicate face was set with a resolute and unexpectedly fierce determination.
Shhh shhh shhh...
A sound came from not far away. An Ling'er's head snapped up, and she saw Gou Chi returning from the scouting trip he'd left on earlier. Even someone as robust as he was struggled against the biting cold of the sand sea at night, his body shuddering as he ran, ice crystals clinging to his hair.
A flash of wariness passed through An Ling'er's beautiful eyes. When Yang Kai had been in good shape, she'd had some dealings with Gou Chi and knew the demon race man was something of a lecher and a rogue. Now, with Yang Kai's life hanging in the balance, she felt she needed to be on guard around Gou Chi.
But then she remembered that both his True Yuan and his Divine Sense had been sealed with restrictions, and she relaxed somewhat.
"How is he?" Gou Chi hurried over and asked immediately.
An Ling'er shook her head slowly.
"Looks like he really can't be saved."
"Don't you dare say that! He's still alive!" An Ling'er snapped, her almond eyes widening with anger.
"Fine, fine, fine, I won't say it. But things don't always go as expected, so you'd better prepare yourself. Sigh... Brother Yang, how did you end up so unlucky?" Gou Chi sighed mournfully. Seeing how Yang Kai had suffered this fate trying to help them escape, Gou Chi's way of addressing him had grown noticeably warmer. "If he can pull through, that'd be the best outcome by far. I was planning to take him to Azure Fang City and treat him properly."
As he spoke, he plopped down onto the sand surface, looking genuinely heartbroken. Then he suddenly chuckled in a low voice: "You know, I've found you humans are pretty interesting. I've captured plenty of humans before, but none of them were as impressive as Brother Yang. Those guys — the moment they ran into danger, they'd drop to their knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy, with the most ugly and pathetic faces. But Brother Yang has backbone, just like us demon folk — plenty of blood and fight. Rather die than submit. Now that's a real man."
Gou Chi's self-aggrandizing monologue actually caught An Ling'er's attention. She stole a glance at him and asked softly, "What happened to those humans you captured?"
Gou Chi made a casual downward chopping motion with his hand. An Ling'er's face darkened immediately, and she turned away, refusing to speak to him.
The sand sea at night was utterly silent. Only some scorpion-like creatures scurried through the sand. Gou Chi grabbed a handful and devoured them with great relish, crunching loudly.
He critiqued the flavor between bites as though savoring the finest delicacy in the world.
In the latter half of the night, the sand sea grew even more frigid and somber.
Yang Kai's remaining spark of vitality was fading rapidly. Sensing this, both An Ling'er and Gou Chi felt their hearts clench, watching over him in tense silence.
In less than half an hour, that last ember of life vanished.
An Ling'er's beautiful eyes went blank in an instant, and her delicate body trembled uncontrollably.
Gou Chi let out a heavy sigh, lamenting heaven's jealousy of the talented and whatnot.
Just as the two were drowning in grief, a surge of robust vitality suddenly erupted from within Yang Kai's body. It was like a roaring blaze, rising rapidly. His body, which had been freezing moments before, turned scorching hot in an instant. True Yuan surged through his meridians at a furious pace, producing a rushing, gurgling sound.
Whoosh...
A soft burst of sound — Yang Kai's entire body ignited. The True Yuan radiating from him wrapped around his form and melted the sand beneath him into molten lava.
An Ling'er jumped in fright and hastily retreated. Even so, she nearly got burned.
Gou Chi stared at Yang Kai with his jaw hanging open, a scorpion tail slipping silently from the corner of his mouth.
With a wretched retching sound, Yang Kai spewed out a mouthful of dark, almost black, misty blood. The True Yuan bursting from his body retracted rapidly. He shot to his feet, his gaze unfocused as he looked around. Only after seeing the shell-shocked expressions on An Ling'er's and Gou Chi's faces did he let out a heavy breath, slowly pulling his wary Divine Sense back inward.
He slowly sat down on the ground, regulating his heartbeat and breathing. The scenes from before he lost consciousness flowed through his mind like a stream, and he quickly pieced together his current situation.
His body was fine, but his sea of consciousness throbbed with agonizing pain. Unable to help himself, Yang Kai groaned and clutched his head, his body convulsing in spasms.
It took quite some time before he gradually stabilized, though the pain in his mind hadn't diminished in the slightest.
"Where is this?" Yang Kai looked up and asked in a low voice. His face was twisted and ghastly from the unbearable agony.
"The sand sea of the Demon Territories," Gou Chi answered after a brief pause, then immediately asked with concern: "Brother Yang, are you... alive or dead right now?"
Yang Kai lifted his eyelids and gave him a feeble look. "What do you think?"
"Ha ha!" Gou Chi burst into laughter. "I knew you wouldn't go down that easily."