"The Divine Lord of the East Sea?" Ye Xiu had long sensed this possibility, and now, grasping Xu Fu's collar in anger, he demanded, "You had better explain clearly to me. If Old Liu is in trouble, none of you are leaving, and I mean everyone in this entire era!"

"Heh, Old Liu..." Xu Fu had initially assumed Ye Xiu was joking, but upon seeing the red light flicker in Ye Xiu's eyes, he finally grasped the terrifying nature of this man. "The Great King commanded me to lead an expedition to the East Sea in search of elixirs. Unfortunately, after several years, we found nothing until we encountered this old man named the Divine Lord of the East Sea."

"What did he do to you all!" Ye Xiu was anxious. For him, only Old Liu and the mysteries of this dynasty truly mattered. "I mean, where did those monsters come from? Did you know you would encounter such things!"

Held tightly by Ye Xiu, Xu Fu panicked and quickly explained, "The Divine Lord of the East Sea made every one of us consume the Clairvoyant Elixir. That's how we could see the monsters lurking within the human environment. It was also this elixir that guided us out to sea to find the Three Divine Mountains, where we successfully invited this immortal being known as the Three Immortal Lady."

"The Clairvoyant Elixir?" Ye Xiu had previously found it strange that these commoners weren't as terrified when seeing monsters as they should have been. He scrutinized the group behind Xu Fu. "What kind of person is the Divine Lord of the East Sea? Why would Qin Shi Huang trust him so completely?"

"Blasphemy, blasphemy! How dare you speak the Great King's personal name," Xu Fu admonished, seeing Ye Xiu growing insolent. "Xiong Da... No, I don't care who you are, but those who disrespect the Great King never come to a good end!"

"An end!" Upon hearing this, Ye Xiu spread one hand towards the main contingent behind Xu Fu. With a single hand, black flames erupted, sending a blast of air that hurled the innocent soldiers against the cliff face. "You best lead me to the monsters' lair, or your whole retinue will meet the same fate."

"Ah... Divine... Divine..." Xu Fu and the soldiers were terrified by Ye Xiu's power. The horses became uncontrollable, and many began screaming and fleeing. In their eyes, how could a single person conjure fire from thin air?

"What is the matter, Lord Xu!" At this moment, the white carriage remained rock-steady, and the voice of the Three Immortal Lady drifted over the crowd, light and subtle as a phantom. "What has happened? Aren't we on our way to Xianyang to pay our respects to the First Emperor?"

"Nothing, nothing, Three Immortal Lady need not worry," Xu Fu, whose face had been contorted in fear, now smiled as he looked towards the carriage upon hearing her question. "I merely have a word with the guards. Please, Lady, take a moment to rest."

Ye Xiu glanced suspiciously at the white carriage. With the abilities of the Myriad Demon Holy Empress, how could she not know what just occurred? However, for now, Old Liu had been captured by the Double-Eyed Corpse Bats, and the most critical issue was that he had no idea how to track these things. "Listen here, you must find a way to lead me to Old Liu, or it won't just be you and these underlings who suffer; even the Three Immortal Lady will not escape consequences!"

Hearing this, Xu Fu was so frightened he collapsed onto the ground. As the person most trusted by the First Emperor, his primary concern was not his own survival but the longevity of the Emperor. He kowtowed frantically, stammering, "This Clairvoyant Elixir was given to us by the Divine Lord of the East Sea. He knows what we will encounter on this journey, and he must also know what those monsters are and where they reside. I will take you to Xianyang to meet the Divine Lord of the East Sea; then, all will be clear."

"Hah..." Seeing Xu Fu's profound distress, Ye Xiu knew he wasn't lying. He sighed, turned, and remounted his horse. It seemed Old Liu had faced all sorts of challenges before; this time, it was merely carelessness that led to his capture by those damned monsters. Now thrown into the Qin Dynasty, he could only submit to fate. Ye Xiu pulled the reins, and the black horse trembled before stepping forward to lead the group. "Old Liu, you better not die on me, or you'll have hell to pay."

Xu Fu reorganized his troops behind him and then fell in line behind Ye Xiu. In his estimation, this man before him likely held some grudge against the Divine Lord of the East Sea. Nevertheless, his power was extraordinary, making him an undeniable threat to the entire Qin Dynasty.

The procession continued its march, bypassing numerous land expansions and traversing mountains and rivers. This specific route undoubtedly avoided many populated areas—it was the path charted by the Divine Lord of the East Sea, suggesting an ulterior motive.

"This must be an illusion. By your account, we should be near Xianyang, yet we are still surrounded by a desert," Ye Xiu called Xu Fu over, gripping him with tremendous force and lifting him bodily. "You left by this route. Don't tell me you are ignorant of the monsters within this place."

"Here... here dwell the terrifying Sand Demon Worms." Xu Fu seemed visibly distressed by the desert expanse, and the surrounding cavalry showed reluctance to tread there. "When we set out, this unit was far larger. Truly, this army rivaled the combined forces of Qin when they campaigned against the Six States."

"Hah, so you've been marching over the corpses of your comrades this entire time?" Ye Xiu easily grasped the implication. The relative numbness of the common soldiers upon seeing monsters indicated they were accustomed to such sights—accustomed to seeing their comrades slaughtered, and knowing that only during such massacres did they have a chance to escape the area.

"Swish... Swish..." Suddenly, the desert began to move. Like quicksand, a bottomless pit opened in the center of the vast wasteland. As soon as the hole surfaced, it began to spin violently, dragging the surrounding fine sand inward. The very earth started to tremble in response.

"Quicksand!" Ye Xiu, astride his black horse, felt the mount growing restless, pawing the ground. The patches of sand around the hooves suddenly began to sink, clearly aiming to swallow any creature above the surface. "Everyone, fall back!"

"Fall back! Fall back!" Xu Fu pulled his own horse away towards the main group, rushing to secure the white carriage. Under no circumstances could the Three Immortal Lady be taken by such a monster. "Defend the Three Immortal Lady with our lives!"

"Ah... Help! Help..." Many soldiers and horses had already fallen into the quicksand, sinking as if drowning in a sea of sand. They thrashed their arms, desperate to escape, but the horses toppled instantly and were dragged in, their bodies mixing together as they plunged into the bottomless abyss. "Help... help..."

Ye Xiu fought to pull his black horse backward, but the steed's speed could not match the rate at which the quicksand was engulfing them. He glanced back at the white carriage; even now, the Myriad Demon Holy Empress made no move to intervene—why? After a moment of thought, he signaled Xu Fu to retreat. "Don't die here."

"Yes, protect the Three Immortal Lady," Xu Fu ordered as he retreated from Ye Xiu's path, waving his single-edged sword to command the soldiers to form a perimeter around the carriage. "No one runs! Those who disobey will be executed without question!"

Hmph. Ye Xiu watched the soldiers fighting like ants. When facing absolute power, those who charge forward desperately are seldom the truly brave. Just then, he felt himself sinking; his black horse had let out a shriek and tumbled into the quicksand. In desperation, Ye Xiu leaped into the air. What he saw made him pause: from the dark pit within the quicksand, a giant, long-horned creature resembling a beetle was crawling out. Its head was covered in armor-like thick shell, and its body was elongated like a centipede. Its surrounding appendages waved wildly, like massive pincers, tearing apart the horses that had fallen into the abyss. This must be the Sand Demon Worm Xu Fu mentioned.

Ye Xiu could see this thing without the Clairvoyant Elixir. What exactly was this Divine Lord of the East Sea up to? Granting common folk a heavenly sight—what was the purpose? Was it solely to find elixirs for the First Emperor? Why didn't he bring the elixir himself to see the Emperor? This was...

"Rumble..." At this moment, the Sand Demon Worm raised its antennae, and countless boulders formed from yellow sand gathered around it. Its head moved, and all the colossal stones surged towards Ye Xiu.

"Hmph!" Ye Xiu snorted, opening both hands and unleashing black flames toward the nearest boulder. The rock shattered under the black flames, but the action caused the air to fill with endless, blinding sand. Ye Xiu's vision was obscured, he instantly lost his balance, and fell into the quicksand.

"Whoosh..." In the critical moment, the Sand Demon Worm suddenly extended its long tongue. The tongue was a shocking crimson, and its tip bore something like serrations. It lunged forward and clamped firmly onto Ye Xiu's body.

"Trying to catch me too..." The panic Ye Xiu felt over Old Liu's capture had nowhere to vent. Now, his crimson iron rod swung out, striking the tongue fiercely. Unfortunately, the tongue was incredibly tough; the amorphous Heavenly Scourge Sword Soul had no effect on it. "Damn it, even a mere insect is this difficult to deal with."

"Aargh..." Struck by Ye Xiu, the worm registered the pain. It roared and accelerated the constriction of its tongue. Its sharp fangs flipped outward from its maw; it intended to devour Ye Xiu, this insignificant thing.

Seeing his iron rod ineffective, Ye Xiu instantly employed his black flames, channeling them from his palms and gripping the Sand Demon Worm's tongue tightly. As the heat conducted, the tongue shifted from slightly red to blazing crimson. "How about a nice roasted tongue!"

"Aow! Oww!" The Sand Demon Worm clearly felt the pain. It violently shook its head, flinging Ye Xiu and the attached tongue high into the air, while it opened its cavernous maw, awaiting its imminent meal.