The Western Desert.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, thunder rumbling continuously as the Mo family Gu Immortals clashed fiercely with the mysterious colossal beast.
"Beast, die!"
"I'll skin you alive and rip out your tendons to make up for the losses my Mo family has suffered!"
Both Mo family Gu Immortals were growing frantic with rage. This beast's rampage had inflicted devastating losses on the Mo family, and the territories under these two's charge were of paramount importance.
"You want me to die?" In the midst of the ferocious battle, the mysterious colossal beast suddenly spoke in human language.
The two Mo family Gu Immortals were startled, their hearts lurching.
Before they could react, the beast suddenly opened its cavernous maw and shot out a long, purple-red tongue.
The tongue lanced forward with the speed of lightning, piercing clean through one Mo family Gu Immortal's body. In nearly an instant, that Gu Immortal was completely corroded by the lethal poison, his entire being dissolving into nothingness.
Only his Immortal Essence aperture remained as a faint, glimmering point of light, plummeting toward the ground below.
"You're an Ancient Legendary!?" The sole surviving Mo family Gu Immortal was struck with abject terror and scrambled to retreat.
But it was already too late.
The mysterious colossal beast was none other than Qing Chou. It let out a cold laugh, and surging ghost qi erupted around its body. The ghost qi churned and coalesced into phantom specters, which easily intercepted the fleeing Mo family Gu Immortal.
Qing Chou's true body advanced slowly. "Wasn't it you who wanted to kill me, to skin me alive and rip out my tendons?"
The Mo family Gu Immortal screamed in panic: "Spare me! I am a Mo family Gu Immortal! If you let me go, the Mo family will never pursue you again!"
"Pursue me?" At those words, a flash of fury crossed Qing Chou's human face. "You two fools, manipulated by others without even realizing it. Die!"
"Aaah—!" The Mo family Gu Immortal let out a wretched shriek as the phantom specters swarmed him, killing him on the spot.
Having dispatched the two Gu Immortals, Qing Chou turned its gaze toward the desert.
The sand on the ground churned wildly, forming into a giant monstrous figure—the Ancient Sand Monster. This was the reinforcement the Mo family Gu Immortals had brought along. Earlier, it had served as the primary force keeping Qing Chou occupied.
But the Mo family Gu Immortals had not anticipated that Qing Chou was a Legendary Ancient Desolate Beast possessing intelligence far beyond ordinary creatures. Qing Chou had exploited precisely this, feigning the behavior of a common Ancient Desolate Beast during the early stages of the battle, lulling the two Mo family Gu Immortals into complacency and complacency. When Qing Chou finally struck with its full ferocity, the two Mo family Gu Immortals perished on the spot.
With both Mo family Gu Immortals dead, the Ancient Sand Monster—now without a master—gradually slowed its movements and stood rooted to the ground, gazing up at Qing Chou.
Qing Chou glared at the Ancient Sand Monster. "Scram!"
The Ancient Sand Monster shuddered in fright, spun around, and plunged headfirst into the desert, fleeing into the sands.
Having driven away the enemy, Qing Chou's surrounding ghost qi grew even denser. It then directed its gaze toward a point high in the sky and sneered: "Two despicable, shameless little insects—still not going to show yourselves?"
The words had barely left its mouth when two Heavenly Court Gu Immortals, the Nine Spirits Fairy and the Red Heart Walker, slowly revealed themselves. They hovered side by side high above, looking down at Qing Chou.
It turned out that earlier, the Red Heart Walker had been seeking the true inheritance of the Blood Sea Ancestor when he was disrupted by the Qi End Devil Immortal. Realizing the Qi End Devil Immortal's objective, the Red Heart Walker had decisively abandoned the Blood Sea inheritance and continued tracking Qing Chou together with the Nine Spirits Fairy.
After all, the matter of Qing Chou concerned Heavenly Court's grand plans. As for the Blood Sea inheritance—even if obtained, it would only strengthen the Red Heart Walker alone. Which was more important was abundantly clear.
The Nine Spirits Fairy and the Red Heart Walker possessed Heavenly Court's secret tracking arts. Following the trail, they soon discovered Qing Chou once more.
But neither dared to act rashly.
This was the Western Desert—enemies lurked on all sides, and it was not their own territory. If they engaged in battle and it turned into a stalemate, the fighting could draw in the local Western Desert Gu Immortals. The variables would be too great.
After conferring with one another, the Nine Spirits Fairy and the Red Heart Walker devised a plan: the Nine Spirits Fairy would transform into an Ancient Desolate Beast and wreak havoc around nearby resource points, luring out the Western Desert Mo family Gu Immortals.
In the end, the two Mo family Gu Immortals arrived with an Ancient Sand Monster in tow. They failed to wear down much of Qing Chou's fighting strength—instead, Qing Chou detected the traces of the two Heavenly Court Gu Immortals.
The Heavenly Court duo's scheme had backfired, and with Qing Chou having already exposed their presence, they had no choice but to reveal themselves and attack simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Both Heavenly Court Gu Immortals were at the Eighth Transformation, and their power was truly extraordinary. Every strike was vicious, their offensive a raging torrent of force.
Qing Chou was pressed onto the defensive for a time.
But Qing Chou was an Ancient Desolate Beast—its body was incredibly tough and resilient. Even taking several Eighth Transformation killing moves head-on, it was largely unharmed.
After several dozen exchanges, Qing Chou grew familiar with the fighting patterns of the two Heavenly Court Gu Immortals and began gradually turning the tide back in its favor.
But the good fortune did not last. A qi tide began to form.
The cause was the two Mo family Gu Immortals' Immortal Essence apertures that had fallen to the ground earlier. Their gates stood open, and they had begun drawing in the qi of heaven and earth to stabilize themselves.
The qi of heaven and earth within these two apertures differed from the ambient qi outside, and combined with the cumulative effects of the battle between the Gu Immortals and Qing Chou, a massive qi tide quickly took shape.
Within the qi tide, Qing Chou was severely restricted as well, its strength plummeting by a significant margin. The two Heavenly Court Gu Immortals, by contrast, had already surrendered their Immortal Essence apertures long ago and possessed only void apertures—so they were comparatively unaffected by the qi tide.
Qing Chou roared in fury again and again, straining with all its might, but it was to no avail.
Only then did it realize that the two Heavenly Court Gu Immortals had another layer to their scheme. They had not merely exploited the two Mo family Gu Immortals—even their Immortal Essence apertures had been factored into the plan!
Just as Qing Chou was locked in a desperate struggle, Peng Da's eyes fluttered open.
"Where... am I?" After a stretch of hazy confusion, he realized he was being carried on Uncle Mo Li's back, trudging across an enormous sand dune.
"Uncle, you saved me again," Peng Da sighed.
"You're awake." Uncle Mo Li managed a smile.
Peng Da: "Uncle, put me down."
But Uncle Mo Li shook his head. "Your injuries are severe. I've treated you, but you shouldn't be moving around for a while yet."
Peng Da smiled bitterly. "I've caused you more trouble, Uncle. Where are we?"
Mo Li replied: "We were swept over ten thousand li by the sandstorm. We're heading back now."
Mo Li had survived in the desert for many years and naturally possessed methods to determine his precise position.
Upon hearing this, Peng Da immediately grew anxious: "Uncle, why are you going back? Going back is suicide!"
Mo Li fell silent for a moment, his voice low and threaded with resolve: "I know it's incredibly dangerous. But if I can't even lay eyes on the true appearance of the one who killed my wife and children, I will never rest at peace!"
"Uncle..." Peng Da didn't know how to argue. He understood Mo Li's grief and hatred in this moment, and it was precisely because of that understanding that he had no grounds to dissuade him.
Mo Li continued: "Kid, I owe you my life. Once we've walked a bit further, I'll set you down and leave you enough water and food. With your strength, crossing the desert alone and reaching the nearest town shouldn't be a problem."
"Uncle, I'm not leaving. I can't leave you alone."
"Don't be foolish!"
"I'm not being foolish—you're the one being reckless, Uncle!"
While the two argued, the sand beneath Mo Li's feet suddenly began to flow, forming a massive whirlpool that dragged them both toward its center.
Mo Li hurriedly activated his Gu Insects, but they were completely useless.
Mo Li's face drained of color: "What's happening? My Gu Insects aren't working at all!"
Peng Da tried as well, with the same result, his face ashen: "Is this quicksand? We're being swallowed in!"
This quicksand was far too strange—their techniques had absolutely no effect.
As they watched themselves drawn ever closer to the center of the whirlpool, their bodies gradually sinking into the sand, both of them wore expressions of grim terror.