How vast is the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea? Perhaps only a warrior of the Ultimate Bloodline, given endless time, could ever chart its full extent and grasp its true immensity.

Yet, an Ultimate Bloodline Warrior is never without an adversary; no such warrior has ever possessed the leisure required for such exploration.

A mystery! To this day, the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea remains an overwhelming enigma.

During the afternoon, the relentless sun still blazed down with scorching fire. The golden sands of the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea absorbed the endless heat, and even from miles away, one could feel a terrifying temperature, as if being roasted upon a massive furnace.

Rolling waves of heat formed powerful gusts of wind, which struck the face like scalding water being poured over it. A single breath drawn into the nostrils caused every single one of the body's forty-eight thousand hairs to stand erect instantly, desperate to expel the searing air through the pores.

The Ancient Desolate Sand Sea! The moment it truly revealed itself, it was a thousand, nay, ten thousand times more magnificent than any description recorded in books. Endless, furious winds roared across the sands, yet strangely, they did not carry the sand past the sea’s edges to encroach upon the territory of the Zhence Dynasty.

A colossal yellow dragon soared toward the heavens. This was no mythical beast of legend, but a dragon formed entirely of yellow sand, rising thousands of feet high, seemingly piercing deep into the azure sky. The roar of the wind transformed into the dragon’s bellow, as if recounting millennia of forgotten glory.

“This is the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea...”

Qian Jin, too, was stunned by the sight before him. He had only ever witnessed its sheer scale before, seeing mountains that marked no discernible edges, but he had never imagined that the spectacle of the Zhence Dynasty's Ancient Desolate Sand Sea could be anything less than that Western Mountain found in the Endless World.

Imposing and majestic, reaching heights none could scale—that was the impression of the Western Mountain.

Vast as a prison, boundless and infinite—that was the alternate reality presented by the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea.

“Turn east for a bit...”

Qian Jin forced his lips apart to speak. The blistering current of air agitated his injuries anew, threatening to instantly boil away the very blood within his veins.

East? Duan Feng'er looked at Qian Jin in confusion. They were already at the edge of the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea; they should just abandon their horses and plunge right in. Why go east? Whatever the reason, Qian Jin always had his own motives.

“Huh? He’s turning?” Qian Wutian chuckled.

Qian Wuchen looked at Qian Wutian with a gaze tinged with a sliver of admiration. This new genius of the Qian family was clearly not only mighty in battle prowess but also possessed a keen understanding of human nature. First, he had seen through his initial deception, and now, he had guessed that Qian Jin and the others were only pretending to enter the Sand Sea, intending to use this ruse to shake him off.

“Let’s play along a little longer,” Qian Wutian snapped his whip. “When their warhorses finally give out, that will be their moment of death.”

Run! Run! Run!

Qian Jin slumped over the back of his mount, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. He squinted only enough to watch the sun and the shadow cast by the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, searching for one of the peculiar entrances noted in his texts.

A toad! Yes—the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea wasn't only sand. It also contained ruins of broken city walls, scattered stones, or barren hills devoid of any vegetation.

At this specific time of day, when the sun struck a certain barren hill, it cast a massive shadow—a shadow that looked precisely like a toad, one heavily laden with baggage, preparing for a long journey.

This enormous shadow featured the wide mouth of a toad, seemingly howling toward the sky. That was the entrance! Stepping into it was not like entering the perimeter of the Sand Sea, but rather like falling into the belly of a toad filled to bursting with sand.

Each time a different person walked in alone, the resulting location within the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea would vary according to their own path.

“You all...” Qian Jin weakly turned back to look at the three behind him. “You can still leave now. Once we enter the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, there will be no turning back.”

Chicolit’s exquisitely handsome brows lifted slightly. “Do you think a half-demon, a mixed-blood, has any safe harbor in the territory of the Zhence Dynasty? Since there is no safe place, does any location truly matter to me?”

“I...” Fen Tukuangge chuckled lightly at Qian Jin. “I still need to learn the Great True Gold Qi. I don't have much money, and I still need to take advantage of the Iron Essence you forge for me.”

“Comrades,” Duan Feng’er pointed at the other two. “If they aren’t leaving, how can I? If I leave, the two of them won’t be able to protect you. If that young Qian fellow catches up from behind, the three of us can take turns carrying you, and we can still exhaust that boy to death.”

“Then let’s take a gamble!” Qian Jin watched the toad-mouth shadow grow closer. “Hands linked! Let’s see if the records in the notes I read long ago are true.”

Hands linked? Duan Feng’er hadn't processed the words before Qian Jin stomped his spurs and leaped clear of the horse. The excessive exertion pulled at his wounds, sending a mouthful of blood rushing to his throat, which he savagely swallowed back down.

Cannot vomit! Cannot leave a single trace for the pursuers behind them. The running of the horses was enough to prevent them from pinpointing the exact location.

“Here!”

Beside the boundless Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, six warhorses proceeded slowly, taking their leisure, having abandoned any semblance of their previous desperate gallop.

Qian Wutian stared at the horses, now riderless, and was momentarily stunned. Where did the people go? This was problematic...

Qian Wutian turned to look at the ground, at the hoof prints left where the horses’ iron shoes met the earth. They were far fainter than the tracks left by his own group.

They had been tricked! They had entered the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea long ago! Qian Wutian’s brows shot up; he threw the reins back, preparing to pursue!

“Wait a moment! There’s something wrong with the number of horses,” Qian Wuchen forcefully yanked the reins of Qian Wutian’s mount, dismounted, and cautiously approached the six horses. His eyebrows furrowed inward toward his brow, and his pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks of starlight in the night sky. “This is...”

Qian Wutian, mounted, stared at Qian Wuchen’s reaction, momentarily bewildered. “What is it? Something strange? It’s just two extra horses.”

Just two extra horses? Qian Wuchen rolled his eyes heavenward. Even if the family head, Qian Xuan, were here, he would probably assume they were just ordinary steeds. But to someone who truly understood horses, these two were decidedly different!

The entire Qian family! Qian Wuchen was confident that no more than three people could discern the difference in these warhorses! He was the youngest among them.

These were the warhorses of the Demon Race! More precisely—Qian Wuchen’s heart beat uncontrollably with excitement—these were the Royal Warhorses of the Demon Race’s Lucifer Dynasty! Furthermore, they belonged to core members, horses only truly qualified for the royal lineage to ride!

The exterior appearance of the Demon Race’s royal mounts was identical to ordinary warhorses, but there was a subtle, specific difference near the anus—a variation that only someone who studied warhorses extensively would notice.

“Little... Demons!” Qian Wuchen whispered, almost to himself. “It’s the Demon Race! The Royal Warhorses exclusive to the Lucifer Dynasty! I saw one once on the Human-Demon battlefield—it was the mount of the Ninth Demon Prince! It looks very similar to this horse!”

The Demon Race! Qian Wutian swiftly dismounted and leaned in to observe the warhorses closely. He couldn't see any difference and asked in confusion, “Are you sure it’s the Demon Race?”

“Yes! It must be the Demon Race! These demons are audacious! To dare infiltrate Qian Prefecture!” Qian Wuchen’s surprise gradually morphed into joy. “We’ve struck gold this time! It must be royalty from the Demon Race! No mistake! Absolutely the royal lineage of the Demon Race! And likely a Demon Lord of princely rank! We must immediately report back to the family...”

“Idiot!” Qian Wutian let out a cold shout. “Reporting back only earns merit for the report. How much reward can that yield? If I capture this important Demon Race figure myself, I can completely eclipse Qian Wushuang! Now, follow me immediately! We go capture the Demon alive and kill Qian Jin!”

Qian Jin stepped across the ground shadow, into the gaping, toad-mouthed maw of the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea.

Qian Wuchen watched Qian Wutian remount and wheel his horse around to race off, shaking his head repeatedly and sighing. That little madman! He only intended to use him to help settle a score and get someone killed, but now, he was reluctantly forced to follow.

Qian Wuchen regretted inciting Qian Wutian to come out with him. Even if he had a chance venturing out alone, it seemed Qian Jin had truly scared him. Now, returning alone was impossible. Someone from the Qian family must have seen them; even if not family, others saw him leave with Qian Wutian. If he returned alone, and something unexpected happened to this Qian family genius...

Qian Wuchen had no doubt that he would be instantly cleaved in two by the enraged Qian Xuan, leaving him with no future whatsoever.

“I should pursue nearby...”

Qian Wutian frowned slightly, looking at the faint footprints on the ground. The heatwave and currents of the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea were simply too intense. In a short time, the hoof prints on the land were being blown faint, almost invisible.

“Since they are around here, the exact location doesn't matter as much!” Qian Wutian glanced left and right. “Entering directly from here should still allow us to find them.”

With one stomp, he plunged into the legendary Ancient Desolate Sand Sea. The heat wave that rushed at him was like crashing ocean surf, except this wave carried the scent of scorching fire.

Qian Jin stared blankly at the surrounding yellow sands enclosing him in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea. The tension in his spirit eased slightly. So, this place truly was just as recorded in the Chronicles of Wandering: stepping in did not merely place one at the periphery.

But... Qian Jin looked around, his eyes filled with doubt. Without a Sand Map, where exactly in this vastness was he?

“Where are we...” Duan Feng’er turned his head in all directions, cautiously eyeing the legendary, man-eating behemoths rumored to leap from the ground at any moment. “Where is this place?”