The searing desert!

The scorching sun hung overhead like a colossal fireball, relentlessly unleashing its suffocating heat. The expanse of yellow sand radiated an inferno, and the sky was a flawless, deep azure, yet near the horizon, everything warped and shimmered in a hazy distortion, the very granules of sand appearing like molten iron flowing in dazzling, undulating waves.

Across the vast sea of sand, two figures advanced slowly and arduously.

"Hah! Now this is the desert, the real desert!" I exclaimed to Yan Luo as we rode our camels through the boundless sands.

"What, is this your first time crossing a desert?" Yan Luo was completely covered, leaving only her brilliant emerald eyes visible. Her attire mirrored that of modern-day Arabs, and I was dressed the same way.

"Sort of," I replied. Technically, traversing from Fandi to Tucheng involved crossing desert terrain, but that wasn't the most desolate stretch, and we could still see some sparse vegetation. Back then, Jin Hong and I had traveled by carriage with the masses. Compared to today, it was an entirely different concept.

Ahead of us loomed a massive dune. To avoid a long detour, Yan Luo and I dismounted, leading our camels up the sandy slope.

Clip-clop, clip-clop! As we reached the crest of the dune, we heard the rapid thudding of hooves. In the distance, several tiny dark specks were rapidly approaching our location.

"People ahead!" I gasped in surprise!

Soon we saw that the moving specks were actually a dozen or so riders pursuing a lone figure ahead of them.

"It’s the Heavenly Wolf Gang!"

The pursuers’ outfits were much like ours, but each wore an embroidery of a fierce, winged celestial wolf emblazoned on their chests.

"Heavenly Wolf Gang!" I had never heard of this faction.

"Hmph. A petty subsidiary gang under the Mad Dragon Gang," Yan Luo stated coldly. "See one, kill one, when it comes to people like them."

The foremost rider in the chase bore no obvious markings, dressed just like us. Both their horses looked utterly exhausted from the long pursuit, drenched in sweat.

Whoosh! Bang! A flare of red light erupted as one of the trailing riders unleashed a great fireball. It struck the lead rider with lightning speed. With a choked cry, the rider tumbled from the saddle, rolling a considerable distance as the horse bolted onward.

"Ah! Ow!" A clear shriek indicated the fallen rider was a girl. After tumbling several times, the girl scrambled up, desperately rushing toward the dune where we stood. Only then could we clearly see her features. Though her face was covered in dust, she was clearly a beautiful girl, appearing about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her large blue eyes were filled with terror and despair.

"You little slut, where do you think you’re running!" A Heavenly Wolf Gang rider, having caught up, whipped out a lash and brought it down heavily across the young woman's back.

Ah! Beneath the glaring sun, a blinding crimson flash erupted. The girl’s small frame was violently thrown forward, smashing heavily onto the side of the dune.

But a fierce will to survive made the girl barely pause before she continued scrambling and crawling up the slope.

The pursuers behind her clearly had no intention of letting her go. The lead pursuer lashed out with the whip again. The girl was now less than thirty meters from us.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And Yan Luo had vowed to eliminate enemies on sight. Furthermore, these inhuman brutes were bullying a young, beautiful girl. It was unforgivable.

"Roar! Stop!" I bellowed, leaping forward.

Yan Luo’s great fireball moved faster than lightning, reaching its target first.

Bang! A flash of red light, and the rider aiming the whip at the girl was blasted far away by the fireball, crashing heavily onto the ground. I simultaneously rushed forward and caught the girl.

"Courting death." The following riders showed no hesitation. A gray shadow whistled sharply—shooo-shooo!—the whip arcing down directly towards me.

Hmph! Prepared for it, I calmly retreated backward.

Thwack! The missed lash struck the ground violently, kicking up clouds of dusty debris.

Whoosh! Another red light flashed—it was Yan Luo’s great fireball attacking again.

Hmph! The rider pursuing me was forced to unleash a sword strike. A dazzling crescent of sword energy instantly materialized, blasting out with a boom that perfectly intercepted Yan Luo’s fireball.

"Who are you?" Only then did the pursuing riders abruptly rein in their horses, their gazes dark and assessing as they scrutinized Yan Luo and me.

Yan Luo, however, showed no courtesy. While the mounted riders were questioning us, she launched another Lightning Bolt spell, but it was cleaved apart by a sword stroke from the lead rider.

"How dare you provoke the Heavenly Wolf Gang." The Heavenly Wolf Gang riders immediately dismounted, drawing their sabers and surrounding us.

"I don't even consider the Heavenly Wolf Gang worthy of my attention," Yan Luo stated calmly.

"Who exactly are you?" A warrior, clearly of a leadership rank, barked out, his eyes shifting suspiciously as he sized us up, trying to guess our identities.

"Ugh! Hngh." The girl I held in my arms couldn't help but tremble violently, her gaze full of despair as she looked at the advancing figures: "Run, you can’t beat them."

"It’s alright," I soothed her, setting her down gently on the dune before swiftly drawing my sword.

"I kill people from Shabak, too," I said darkly. "Who do you think you are?"

The lead warrior raised his Moon-in-the-Well blade. "No matter who you are, you reckless fools, die!"

Whoosh! A fierce crescent of sword energy slashed out instantly, whistling as it approached. The other warriors responded in unison, rushing forward like tigers bursting from a cage, blades swinging.

Judging by their aggressive stance, these men had at least reached the peak of the High-Tier strength. It was no wonder they were so arrogant.

With the newly rescued girl protected behind me, I certainly couldn't retreat.

"Roar!" My potent Dou Qi began circulating at an astonishing rate. I casually unleashed a crescent of sword energy. Though similar in form, as a Red Moon initiate, my Dou Qi energy far surpassed that of High-Tier peak warriors.

The violent crescent of sword energy roared toward the charging warriors at an incredible speed. Instantly, a gleaming silver-white light, like a colossal scimitar, swept horizontally, not only shattering the incoming crescent aimed at me but continuing its momentum toward the warriors. Even the scorching desert was enveloped in a chilling, lethal aura, radiating a terrifying sense of impending doom outward in all directions!

"Not good, a Red Moon warrior! Retreat!" The lead warrior cried out in horror, perhaps never imagining the young man before him possessed such terrifying power. The charging warriors were momentarily stunned by the horrifying Dou Qi energy, attempting desperately to dodge sideways. But it was too late. The immense silver scimitar instantly cleaved their fragile bodies in half at the waist. The terrifying force did not cease, driving on toward the horses behind them.

Splurt, splurt! Wuuu-uuu! A few mournful cries, and those warhorses were also hacked into bloody, mangled chunks by the crescent of sword energy. In the blinding light, blood rained down like a sudden shower, sprinkling onto the brown-yellow sand as the curved, falling bodies splashed vibrant crimson!

Then came several heavy thuds as the severed limbs and torsos, flung high into the air, crashed back to the ground.

"Aah!" Everyone present was stunned into silence by the scene. "Run!" The remaining Heavenly Wolf Gang warriors, seeing the turn of events, immediately leaped onto their horses, attempting to flee. Yan Luo would never allow them that chance.

Bang! A piercing Ice Roar slammed down, instantly turning several of them into shapeless masses of gore. High-Tier peak warriors facing a high-level Red Moon mage were instantly vaporized! It wasn’t just them; their mounts suffered the same fate, smashed to death by Yan Luo’s Ice Roar.

In the blink of an eye, the once arrogant Heavenly Wolf Gang was wiped out.

"............" The girl behind me seemed paralyzed, her blue eyes wide open, staring unblinking at the carnage of torn limbs and ruined bodies before her.

"They're dead," the girl slumped weakly onto the dune, seeming ready to collapse.

.........................................................

After a long silence, the girl finally snapped out of her shock, looking at Yan Luo and me with terror. "Please don't kill me."

"It seems we terrified her," I said with a strained smile. Clearly, this girl was not one of us rangers; she seemed to be from an ordinary family.

"Little sister, don't be afraid," Yan Luo said softly. "They were bad people, so we killed them."

"Bad people... right," the girl murmured. "Bad people deserve to die, is that it?"

"Yes, they were bad people," Yan Luo replied, momentarily adopting a gentle expression.

Seeming to realize neither of us meant her harm, the girl sighed in relief, removed her head covering, and bowed deeply. "My name is Qian Yue. Thank you for saving me." Yan Luo and I finally saw her true appearance.

"Good heavens! What a cartoon beauty!" A small oval face, a delicate pointed chin, large, star-like blue eyes, a straight, petite nose, complemented by long blonde hair tied into two thick braids—she looked exactly like Sailor Moon from the comics. Honestly, having lived two lifetimes for twenty-four years, this was the first time I felt my heart skip a beat. I stared fixedly at the girl, mesmerized. "It's over, it's over. How can there be such a beautiful and cute girl in this world!"

It wasn't just me; even Yan Luo was stunned. "Qian Yue, you are so beautiful."

Qian Yue seemed amused by our slack-jawed expressions and let out a light chuckle.

"Now that you’ve seen my face, could you let me see yours too?" Qian Yue’s voice was crisp and pleasant, instantly soothing to the ear. Yan Luo and I removed our head coverings.

"My name is Lan Yue."

"And mine is Lan Xing."

Since the young lady had introduced herself, Yan Luo and I couldn't very well withhold our names. Of course, these names were fake—a contingency Yan Luo and I had agreed upon beforehand.

"Wow! Sister, you are so beautiful." The girl’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Yan Luo for a long moment, then looked at me. "Little brother, you are so cute too, hehe. Are you two siblings?"

"................" Yan Luo and I were speechless for a moment, especially Yan Luo, who looked at me with a strange expression. I couldn't believe the girl had mistaken me for Yan Luo’s younger brother. However, it wasn't entirely surprising; after we disguised ourselves, we did resemble each other—which was precisely the effect we aimed for. Still, little brother? Cute? It took me a while to recover.

Damn it! What a huge loss! This damned baby face! At a time like this, I couldn’t even feel depressed about it. After finally meeting a girl who made my heart flutter, I was labeled as her 'little brother.' Now I felt like slamming my head into a wall. I was in my early twenties, yet this little girl called me 'little brother' and called me 'cute'!

Perhaps both Yan Luo and I looked too harmless. Regardless, Qian Yue was no longer afraid of us. It was only then that we realized Qian Yue was actually a very lively and cheerful girl.

"Why were those people chasing you?" Yan Luo asked.

"Those bad guys, they are terrible..."

Along the way, Qian Yue explained the entire sequence of events to Yan Luo and me.

It turned out to be a classic tale of a young lady of high birth running away from home to pursue her dreams. Qian Yue's greatest ambition was to become a great mage, but her family objected. So, she secretly slipped out, only to run into the ill-intentioned Heavenly Wolf Gang in the wilderness due to her lack of worldly experience. She fled for her life and eventually ran into Yan Luo and me.

The final result was that Yan Luo and I were forced to take in this pitiful, homeless child—at least, that's how Qian Yue described herself.

We traversed countless dunes, traveling north for a full day. While the surrounding landscape remained desert, the yellow sand was noticeably being replaced by gravel, interspersed with sparse, whitish limestone and cacti.

Signs of life were emerging, suggesting the great desert was nearing its end and habitation might soon return. We seemed to be approaching the Mengzhong Grasslands.

The three of us chatted idly, letting the camels carry us leisurely. The scene was almost like an outing in spring. Qian Yue, in particular, was thrilled after witnessing Yan Luo’s and my fighting prowess. She constantly clung to Yan Luo, begging her to teach her magic. When Yan Luo finally grew tired of the constant pestering, she adopted her usual demeanor of an eternally frozen iceberg beauty. Having achieved nothing, Qian Yue turned her attention to me. The girl never stopped moving, seeming to possess an inexhaustible supply of restless energy. It was only then that Yan Luo and I somewhat regretted encountering such a clingy young lass.

It was strange. Logically, the girl had the potential to be an unparalleled beauty, but her personality was hard to stomach. There wasn't a trace of the gentleness, reserve, grace, or elegance expected of a young woman.

The initial shock and awe of meeting her were completely shattered by her incessant chatter.

Elegance! Elegance! Only now did I truly understand how vital temperament was for a girl.

Finally, around noon, a long, grayish strip appeared on the northern horizon. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a city wall. All three of us felt a surge of renewed spirit.

Zuma Town! The four large characters written in wild, flying script on the wooden gate plaque clearly identified the location.

"Heh heh! Zuma Town?" Gazing at the busy streets, which were no less bustling than those in Fandi City, I was puzzled. "This place looks like it has the scale of at least a mid-tier city, yet it's called Zuma Town. It's truly baffling."

"You wouldn't understand," Qian Yue replied, shaking her head smugly. "Two thousand years ago, this was just a small town with barely a dozen households. But later, the ruins of the Zuma Temple were discovered behind the town, attracting countless rangers for exploration, training, and treasure hunting. Naturally, as the closest settlement to the temple, it prospered." Qian Yue recited the facts like an expert, pointing to the wide streets. "Zuma Town's native population has now reached one hundred thousand, and with the visiting rangers, the permanent population is at least one hundred eighty thousand."

"That's quite a lot of people," I marveled. "But this information, you probably got it all from the Ranger's Handbook, right?" I said, turning to look thoughtfully at Qian Yue.

"Ah! How did you know?" Qian Yue seemed slightly surprised.

"You scatterbrain, how else could you know Zuma Town in such detail unless you memorized every word from the Ranger's Handbook? That's the basic quality every aspiring outstanding ranger must possess," Qian Yue argued forcefully.

"Enough bickering with you," I said impatiently. "Since you know everything, hurry up and take us to an inn."

Qian Yue, surprisingly, possessed the air of a seasoned traveler. She led Yan Luo and me easily through the main street to several connected inns. However, Yan Luo and I planned to keep a low profile, so we naturally avoided the largest establishment in town, casually selecting the Yunlai Inn and stepping inside.

It was already midday, the busiest time for any inn. The three of us found a window table, enjoying a hearty lunch while gathering information about the Zuma Temple.

In the Marfa Continent, taverns and inns were always the best sources of intelligence, as most people habitually chatted while they ate.

"Did you hear? The Divine Moon Palace and the Mad Dragon Gang got into a fight."

"Oh? Really?"

"Who won this time?"

"Heh heh. The Mad Dragon Gang took the loss this time; I heard they were nearly wiped out."

"Interesting. Last time against Death Coffin and Kunlong Stockade, the Divine Moon Palace suffered a major defeat. I didn't expect them to turn the tables this easily."

"Tell me about it. After all, the Palace Master herself led the Divine Moon Palace this time; their momentum was naturally extraordinary."

"Ultimately, the Mad Dragon Gang's foundation is too weak."

"I don't think so. If Chi Jiao were still around, with him and Chi Yan fighting together, the Divine Moon Palace might not have gained the upper hand."

"True. Though the Mad Dragon Gang won the Death Coffin battle, it was a victory that cost them dearly—they lost the general Chi Jiao at the very end."

"Speaking of which, in this major battle between the two factions, we didn't see Yan Luo, the Hall Master of the Flying Cloud Hall of the Divine Moon Palace."

"Haven't you heard?"

"That Yan Luo has already left the Divine Moon Palace."

"I heard she hooked up with that Blue Lightning."

"Mmm, I heard that too. Not long ago, Yan Luo and Blue Lightning killed Huayu of Shabak."

"If those two madmen actually got together, the Mad Dragon Gang is going to have a hard time in the future."

"Maybe not. Shabak is currently mobilizing all forces to hunt them down."

"I bet they’re hiding out somewhere having a good time right now."

Damn it! Why did the conversation drift to Yan Luo and me? Yan Luo and I both flushed scarlet involuntarily. Qian Yue, sitting nearby, looked at us with a strange expression. "What? Do you two siblings know Yan Luo and Blue Lightning?"

"You little devil, are you trying to get us killed?" I exclaimed, nearly reaching out to cover her mouth. "Talking nonsense like that can cost lives."

"........." Qian Yue seemed unconcerned, but facing Yan Luo's icy glare, she nervously shrank her neck. "Fine, I won't talk. Why so fierce?"

"Your information is all outdated."

"Did you hear? There's news about the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword."

"Is that so?"

"Absolutely true. I hear the Seven Great Sects have all sent out top experts to search for it."

"What's the clue?"

"Could it be fake?"

"Exactly. If the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword appears, it’s guaranteed to cause a terrifying calamity."

"I'm not lying to you."

"I heard the tomb of Chu Xian, the last wielder of the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword, has been discovered."

"Real or fake?"

"Definitely not fake. The Iron Eagle Gang discovered it in the Illusionary Realm."

"It's a shame. The seven who escaped the Illusionary Realm alive from the Iron Eagle Gang only managed to gasp out that the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword was in the Illusionary Realm before they died."

"What a pity."

"The Illusionary Realm is so vast, where would you even find the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword?"

"No wonder we've seen so many masters from the Seven Great Sects and the Three Gangs and Nine Associations frequenting the Illusionary Realm lately."

"So they’re all looking for the Crimson Blood Demonic Sword."

"I really don't know what these people are thinking."

Though this Crimson Blood Demon Sword holds immeasurable power, it is an undeniably sinister and terrifying weapon. Are they entirely out of their minds?

Ah! Who can say for sure? As long as one can claim the title of 'Number One Under Heaven,' even if the sword is utterly malevolent, those people will scheme endlessly to seize the Crimson Blood Demon Sword.

I only hope no one ever finds it, or it will surely trigger another catastrophe.

I doubt that’s likely.

So many have already entered the illusionary realm; no matter how vast that realm is, someone is bound to locate it eventually.

Why don't we go and join the fray?

Give it a rest. Aren't you just asking for trouble?

With our current skill level, we'd barely be enough to stuff the monsters’ teeth.

Besides, if someone actually finds the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, would you even dare to wield it?

Whether I dare or not is one thing; at least I’d have to see it first. Moreover, the first wielder of the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, the Crimson Blood Demon Lord, wasn't fundamentally different from us, yet he forged a fearsome reputation solely by virtue of that sword.

But he paid for it with his very life.

Are you saying you also have something that makes you feel life isn't worth living, just like him?

Go to hell! You’re the one who's not thinking clearly.

Haha.

Alright, let's stop talking about that. Whoever ends up with the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, as long as we keep a safe distance, we’ll be fine.

Let’s discuss something more practical. Have you found any worthwhile ways to make money recently?

Brother, I’m still dirt poor right now.