Warriors are a highly vulnerable group, and it is advisable for them to carry tools for emergency treatment at all times.

The simple yet effective bandaging technique quickly addressed the two broken arms. Qian Jin felt a strange sense of pride that he hadn't broken out in a sweat despite the agony.

"Dig me a pit down the mountain," Qian Jin mused. "Bury me completely! Just let my head stick out for fifteen minutes so I can catch a breath."

In this kind of sandstorm, even exposing one's head would result in it being quickly buried by the relentless wind-driven sand. It seemed better to bury himself intentionally.

Bury himself? Fen Tu Kuang Ge and Chek exchanged a puzzled glance, completely unable to fathom what Qian Jin was planning now.

Fen Tu Kuang Ge glanced back at the mountain cave and then toward the direction of Duan Feng Bu Er, which was obscured from view, and quietly stated, "I'll stand watch here."

His broad Zhanmadao instantly transformed into a digging shovel, throwing the golden sand particles aside again and again. The pit deepened inch by inch. Chek’s eyes grew increasingly bewildered. The golden grains of sand, having absorbed the scorching sunlight for so long, had already transferred their intense heat deep into the earth. Compared to the scorching surface layer, the temperature inside the deep pit was even higher—burying a sweet potato inside might only take a short time to roast it perfectly.

Layers of sand covered Qian Jin’s body again. The scalding heat, unable to find an escape route, immediately treated the newly added flesh as a heat sink, and rolling waves of heat instantly launched a high-speed assault.

The Wind and Cloud Dou Qi was rendered almost unusable, greatly diminishing the effect of the Wind and Cloud Golden Body. The scalding heat surged into his body. Qian Jin cried out in pain, but hundreds of grains of sand immediately flooded his mouth, reminding him: This is the scorching depth of the sand sea! It's just as hot as the lake water in the Four Seasons Valley! As the sunlight continued to beat down, the underground heat kept climbing. Qian Jin could no longer afford to complain about the heat; he devoted all his energy to unlocking the Dou Qi lock within his body, otherwise, he truly might be steamed alive. Qian Jin guided the invading heat, marshaling the meager remaining mobile Dou Qi, slowly directing it toward the central point in his chest. Impact!

Failure... as expected, failure! Not even the slightest movement occurred.

Qian Jin couldn't spare the energy for a bitter smile. This bizarre Dou Qi chain was even sturdier than he had calculated; blasting it open wouldn't be achieved in a single attempt.

His tolerance for pain—a source of immense pride for Qian Jin—now felt fragile. No one is truly fearless of pain; it merely means the degree of pain hasn't reached their threshold yet.

Come on! If I can't break through this, even if I miraculously escape the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, I will still fall to the hands of the Qian Family disciples in two months.

Fall to the younger generation of Qian Family warriors, those with the Elven King bloodline? Qian Jin’s eyebrows writhed fiercely in the sand. It would be better to die here! No matter who he lost to, it absolutely could not be the Qian Family! Qian Zhan Xuan, you locked me up? Then I will break your chains!

Unable to breathe, Qian Jin adjusted his physical state and immersed himself again in the world of the one hundred and eight Dou Acupoints within his body, gathering his Dou Qi bit by bit, hoping to use the high heat to catalyze the Dou Qi and blast open the Dou Qi chain.

Fai... failure... Fai... still fai... Qian Jin twitched spasmodically beneath the sand, the earth above his head shuddering slightly now and then, as if a creature was about to hatch.

Failure... he had lost count of how many times he had failed... The intense heat could not be dispelled by Dou Qi. Qian Jin’s mind grew hazy, his consciousness slowly fading. His vision was a sheet of fiery red, as if he were truly inside a burning furnace. Sweat poured from every pore as if tiny pipes had burst open.

So hot, unbearably hot... Where is this place? This heat... this heat... Qian Jin’s vision was a muddle of red, vaguely sensing the surrounding currents of heat rushing toward him, his body feeling like the vortex center, poised to draw everything inward.

Thump-thump... thump-thump... The Dou Acupoint locked in his chest suddenly swelled and contracted several times, much like a human heart suddenly beating a few times. It wasn't a rotation, but a throbbing expansion and contraction. All the heat pouring into his body momentarily ceased its surge, instead following the slight beat of that Dou Acupoint.

Not just the internal currents of heat, Qian Jin even felt the currents of heat extending half a meter outside his body simultaneously cease all movement at that instant.

In that single moment, Qian Jin felt as if both the heat currents and that Dou Acupoint had come alive! They were no longer just inert Dou Qi or thermal energy. Qian Jin’s scalp vibrated violently. This was it! Dou Qi activity! That was right! Uncle Fabredis once said that Dou Qi is alive! Because Dou Qi is alive, it can form a Dou Soul!

Every living thing has a heart, or a core! The heart of these one hundred and eight Dou Acupoints is this one in his chest! I used to infuse my conviction into my Dou Qi; that's what gave it life!

The Dou Qi should be one with me!

And what about these surrounding heat currents? Do they have life too? Yes! That's right! The daytime in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea is incredibly hot, but the nights are bitterly cold. These heat currents do not wish to be extinguished by the cold, so they are also seeking a place to survive.

You want to come in? Then come! I accept you! But if I die, all will be lost! You will die too! Lend me your power, lend it to me to break open this damnable Dou Qi lock, lend me your strength! Lend me all your power!

In an instant! The Iron Refining Breathing Technique activated uncontrollably! And simultaneously, the heat currents scattered throughout the sand transformed into an unstoppable torrent. This immense flood roared into Qian Jin’s body, following the lines he prescribed, entering from different points, launching assaults on the Dou Qi lock as he demanded.

The Iron Refining Breathing Technique devoured the heat currents, guided them, tore at the Dou Qi chains, and battered the spiderweb-like strands of the Dou Qi lock.

Chek stared in astonishment at the sand beneath his feet. The golden sand, which had only occasionally trembled before, now seemed like boiling, bubbling water. Come on! Come on! Lend me your power! Open! Open! Open! Open!

Open!

Boiling! The golden sand boiled furiously, as if boiling from the horizon. The earth itself seemed to tremble in that instant. Billows of yellow sand flew high into the sky, obscuring the sun and moon!

That wasn't caused by Qian Jin, but by a large group of creatures rapidly approaching from a distance.

Chek’s eyes instantly changed. Huge black wings tore through his clothes and unfurled completely. He bent his legs, planted his feet, and repeatedly leaped up the mountain, looking down at the creatures in the distance.

Sand... Scorpions!

Sand Scorpions. Any warrior student who had trained at the Warrior Academy knew what Sand Scorpions were. They were a race of bandits that lived only in the great deserts.

They possessed a size far beyond ordinary small scorpions, with almost every individual exceeding two meters in length, not even counting the tail, which was as hard as stone.

Their golden carapace offered defense far superior to the leather armor of common warriors, and their bodies naturally possessed a certain resistance to magic. An ordinary fireball striking them might only scrape off a few sparks, if they were lucky.

Their massive pincers were incredibly tough. Legends claimed they could twist even slightly brittle swords in half. If an ordinary person were caught in those pincers, losing a limb would be the least of their worries. A powerful Sand Scorpion King could cleave a person in half with a single strike!

These bandits of the desert were individually as strong as Green-Skinned Three-Armed Gorillas at their weakest, each possessing a degree of self-sufficiency, yet they inexplicably preferred to live in packs. Groups of a few dozen were small units; congregations of hundreds were not unheard of.

Even an ordinary regular army unit would try to avoid or detour around a group of Sand Scorpions in the desert. Powerful adventurers or mercenary groups also preferred not to encounter swarms of these magical beasts. Fighting such creatures was an unprofitable venture, as not all magical beasts possessed Demon Cores—the Sand Scorpions were a particularly strange group.

With the exception of the Sand Scorpion King, the vast majority of other Sand Scorpions did not form Demon Cores internally. Yet, they still possessed the abilities of magical beasts. Perhaps only the few giant Sand Scorpions destined to succeed the King would develop cores.

Fighting a hundred magical beasts only to end up with countless casualties and just a few Demon Cores—such a deal was too costly; anyone would steer clear.

A full hundred Sand Scorpions! With just one sweep of his eyes, Chek determined that this group running toward them numbered at least one hundred.

At the center of the Sand Scorpion mass was one gigantic specimen! Excluding its tail, its body length reached four meters, and its height was nearly two meters. Its many legs, covered by the tough carapace, resembled metal armor or a high-speed war chariot.

Its enormous tail swayed left and right in the air, its dark venom hidden within. Anyone seeing it would be forced to heighten their vigilance.

"Sand Scorpions? So many?" Duan Feng Bu Er's surprised voice sounded behind Chek. "Where is Qian Jin?"

"Below," Chek pointed to the small patch of golden sand boiling like water beneath them. "Right here."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Duan Feng Bu Er squatted down and reached out to brush aside the sand. "Dig him out! Over a hundred Sand Scorpions—if we mess up, we could all be finished."

Chek grabbed Duan Feng Bu Er’s wrist and gently shook his head. "We can't dig. This looks like a critical moment for him." Duan Feng Bu Er's hand paused just above the boiling golden sand. Indeed! Qian Jin wouldn't bury himself casually. When he left the Qian Family, his physical condition seemed to involve more than just the visible injuries. Digging him out now might save them all from injury or death, but excavating him at this precise moment might ruin Qian Jin for life.