The fine drizzle fell continuously like threads of silk.
It pattered on the oilcloth draped over Leilin, carrying a cool sensation.
Leilin sat astride a Lipan dire wolf that had rested through the night, his expression calm as he peered through the grey mist, trying to make out the landscape ahead.
Pop!
As if a curtain had been torn aside, Leilin felt as though he had burst through the fog. Dazzlingly bright sunlight poured directly down upon them.
Rustle!!
The wolf's claws sank into the countless grains of sand covering the ground, slowly pressing downward.
The drizzle and overcast sky above had long since vanished completely. In their place hung a blazing sun, its scorching rays continuously cascading across the vast desert.
What met his eyes was an expanse of golden hues and undulating sand dunes.
"Golden Desert — we've arrived!" Leilin felt the surrounding temperature climbing steadily, easily twenty degrees higher than during the earlier drizzle.
A stuffy, humid heat permeated the oilcloth, and even with Leilin's physique, he found it somewhat uncomfortable.
Rustle! He quickly tore off the oilcloth, then shed a few layers of clothing before feeling somewhat better.
Such sudden temperature shifts were commonplace in the Magalie Grand Canyon. An ordinary person would likely have been tormented beyond endurance, but for Leilin and his group, it was merely an added inconvenience.
"Awoooo!"
The lead Lipan dire wolf let out a long howl — whether in excitement or vigilance was unclear — and the rest of the wolf pack followed suit with their own roars.
As the wolves howled, Leilin noticed that the fur of the Lipan dire wolves had begun to change.
Originally, the Lipan dire wolves were entirely black, with only a splash of vivid red fur on their heads. But now, under the blazing sunlight, the color of their fur gradually lightened, eventually transforming completely into pure white. Then, a faint blue glow emanated from the wolves' bodies, and their entire coats shifted to an icy blue.
A chill radiated from the wolves' backs — cool and refreshing, deeply comfortable, especially in the heart of this desert.
"They're even exploiting the difference between dark-type and light-type spectral patterns!"
Leilin couldn't help but marvel at the Lipan dire wolves' remarkable adaptability. Under the intense sunlight, the icy blue fur was clearly far less prone to absorbing heat than black fur. That the Lipan dire wolves understood this instinctively was enough to surprise Leilin.
Moreover, on top of that, there was a subtle application of ice-type energy particles.
The Lipan dire wolves truly deserved their reputation as the ideal creatures for traversing the Magalie Grand Canyon!
Six massive wolves, their coats a deep icy blue and radiating faint cold, quickly carried their
The glaring sunlight beat down relentlessly as Leilin took another sip of water.
With his vision and the Chip's scanning capabilities, he had already detected numerous dangerous creatures lurking in the surrounding desert.
Without exaggeration, in terms of danger, the Grey Stone Desert was the least threatening area within the Magalie Grand Canyon.
Over the past ten-odd days, Leilin and his group had traveled with ease — no different from a casual outing — encountering very few hazardous species.
But this place was clearly different.
With only a cursory scan, Leilin had already spotted several dangerous creatures lurking beneath the sand.
Six-eyed venomous snakes, golden thorn scorpions, highly venomous compound-eyed lizards — species he recognized from his field guides appeared one after another before his eyes. Some were even bizarre-looking creatures he had never encountered before.
"The energy concentration in the air has recovered, and it even seems higher than the outside world. No wonder there are so many troublesome things here!"
Feeling the abundant energy particles in the air, Leilin let out a soft breath.
"Stay sharp! The dangers of the Golden Desert are nothing compared to a place like Grey Stone!"
The woman ahead, Lanse, began calling out warnings.
No reminder was needed — every Wizard present had already shed their previous careless expressions.
Letting your guard down occasionally was fine in the Grey Stone Desert, but doing so in the Golden Desert was a death sentence and the mark of an imbecile. Few who had advanced to first-rank Wizard on the South Coast were the sort to make that mistake.
"Awoooo!"
Just then, Lanse's mount suddenly let out a roar. Its massive paw rose high into the air, the sharp tip glinting with an icy blue chill, and slammed down!
Crack!
From the sand in front of the dire wolf, a creature suddenly appeared — entirely black, with an eye-shaped pattern on its back. The sharp wolf claw pinned it flat, and it thrashed and twisted its body frantically, emitting continuous hissing shrieks.
Crunch! The Lipan dire wolf lowered its enormous head, opened its fearsome jaws, and crunched the scorpion into its mouth. Its sharp upper and lower teeth ground together, producing the sound of the creature's bones shattering.
"Ordinary creatures like these, the Lipan dire wolves can handle for us. But dangerous species like Gelie Vultures — we'll need to deal with those ourselves!"
Lanse nudged her Lipan dire wolf forward slightly and addressed the Wizards behind her.
"That's..."
During the Lipan dire wolf's attack, a great deal of sand had been kicked up. Leilin, with his sharp eyes, spotted several gleaming gold flecks scattered among it.
He reached out and scooped up a handful of the golden sand.
Mixed in with the ordinary grains were several dark-gold particles, noticeably heavier than their regular counterparts.
"Gold dust?"
Leilin stared at the specks of gold in his palm that seemed to emit an alluring glow, feeling somewhat speechless.
"The Golden Desert — this is a true golden desert!"
"If this were in the mundane world, it would drive people mad. What a pity..."
A contemptuous smile crossed Leilin's face as he casually tossed the gold dust aside.
In the eyes of a Wizard, only Magic Stones, rare materials that could stimulate Spiritual Power, and advanced knowledge constituted true hard currency!
As for mundane-world gold, apart from its use as a material, it was no different from an ordinary stone.
Moreover, this desert lay within the Magalie Grand Canyon — a forbidden zone for ordinary people. Even traveling back and forth required hiring Lipan dire wolves at exorbitant cost.
Just thinking about the mining expenses would be enough to frighten any duke or king to death!
Leilin spent only a brief moment lamenting over the gold dust before quickly returning to his usual composure.
The Chip's scanning remained active at all times. Leilin's eyes continually swept the surroundings — in the Golden Desert, one had to maintain constant vigilance.
Six enormous blue ice-wolves moved through the desert like six small blue vessels, steadily pressing onward.
As the sky gradually darkened, the desert's temperature plummeted once more.
The Lipan dire wolves now emitted a faint warmth from their bodies, and their fur had turned black once again, as if they had stored the day's heat within themselves.
"I'll take the night watch tonight!"
After Leilin had set up his tent, one of the Wizards in the group spoke up.
There were six people in the group: Leilin, Lanse, the old leader, the big fellow, and the two remaining Wizards. The speaker was one of those two.
These two Wizards had been wearing grey robes the entire time, rarely spoke, and were extremely reclusive. So far, Leilin had only exchanged a couple of sentences with one of them.
"I'm counting on you!" Lanse's complexion was not good. Looking thoroughly fatigued, she ducked into her tent.
Throughout the day, she had needed to maintain her Spiritual Power surveillance of the surroundings. Now she desperately needed rest and meditation to recover.
Leilin, with the Chip handling the monitoring, was actually still quite alert, but he put on an equally exhausted appearance.
"Not going to rest?" Leilin approached the Wizard on night watch and asked casually.
"No need. I have them! Come out, my little darlings!"
The watch Wizard let out a low chuckle, then folded his arms and formed a strange hand seal.
Boom! Boom! Boom! A ring of earth-type energy particles continuously radiated from his body.
The surrounding sand rose in a layer, then burst open, revealing over a dozen earth-yellow stone slabs within.
These earth-yellow stone slabs had a human face on their surface — some old, some young — and grew slender little legs and arms, looking much like upright, walking biscuits.
"My Father! We await your command!" The dozen-odd slab creatures approached the watch Wizard and dropped to one knee.
"Very good. You keep watch for me. You, take charge of..." The watch Wizard nodded, then began assigning duties without hesitation.
"Sentinel Slabs?!" A look of surprise flickered across Leilin's face.
These creatures closely resembled the Sentinel Slabs documented in one of the Chip's databases, but they were clearly more advanced.
"They're first-level Sentinel Slabs, but I've made further improvements to them!" the watch Wizard answered with a touch of pride.
After becoming a formal Wizard, most would attempt to modify their first-level spells and apprentice-level zero-level spell models.
If successful, these improved versions could serve as exclusive trump cards or be sold directly for substantial resources.
Unfortunately, this kind of work was like finding substitute reagents — unless you got lucky or poured in massive amounts of resources for experimentation, results were hard to come by.
"Truly remarkable technique!" Leilin offered praise of exactly the right degree, which visibly softened the Wizard's expression.
"Let's go! Sentinel Slabs inherently possess sentry capabilities. With my improvements, their detection range in the desert can extend over ten li..." the watch Wizard said.
Leilin watched as the Sentinel Slabs, having received their orders, scurried to the perimeter of the camp and buried themselves in the sand.
As the sand settled over them, the energy fluctuations from the slabs gradually diminished, eventually becoming imperceptible. Leilin nodded quietly to himself.
Every formal Wizard possessed their own unique expertise. Underestimate them, and you would inevitably pay a painful price.
Deep in the night, Leilin — in a light sleep — was suddenly jolted awake by a shrill cry.
"Get up! We've got trouble!"
The watch Wizard from earlier was going from tent to tent, rousing everyone, his face clearly showing frustration and alarm.
"What happened?" Lanse looked the worst — several areas of her body were still in disarray, exposing considerable enticing skin. Unfortunately, not a single person present spared so much as a glance.