Whoosh! A Shuttling Horned Beast suddenly burst from the sandy ground, its slender body like an arrow shot forth. They moved within the sand, always ready to spring up and transform into a sharp projectile, relying on horns strong enough to pierce human shields, impaling their prey to siphon off the essence of life.

The Qian Jin Unmoving Wind and Cloud Golden Body flared to life instantly. That entire shield materialized before him, resembling a massive turtle shell completely enveloping his body. The textures of the Battle Qi clearly radiated outward, forming a visible shield of energy that took the full impact of the Shuttling Horned Beast’s charge head-on.

Crack! The long horn of the Shuttling Horned Beast, capable of shattering metal shields, snapped into several pieces upon striking Qian Jin's body. The beast's iron-hard bones followed suit with a series of popping and shattering sounds, its entire body exploding mid-air in an instant.

Blown apart!

Duan Feng Er studied Qian Jin’s body. The impact from the Shuttling Horned Beast was certainly not of an ordinary caliber. To actually withstand it head-on with mere flesh and Battle Qi? This body… this Body Protection Battle Skill was countless times tougher than last time!

“En,” Qian Jin raised his arm and gently clenched his fist. “The shield remains the shield, and the Wind and Cloud Golden Body remains the Wind and Cloud Golden Body. If they could merge, I could forcefully withstand that strike from Gan Zhan Xuan back then, even with my current strength, and emerge unharmed.”

Fen Tu Kuang Ge couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. They spent every day together; they knew each other best. When did Qian Jin’s strength become this unfamiliar? To take a blow from Gan Zhan Xuan directly?

Fen Tu Kuang Ge sucked in a sharp breath. His own protective technique, the Supreme Golden Body, utilizing the Great True Gold Battle Qi, already possessed a level of defense that could be called perverse. He had never seen a Body Protection Battle Skill superior to it. Even with his current strength, he couldn't fully block Gan Zhan Xuan's attack. Could he block it? What kind of Body Protection Battle Skill was that?

“They need to merge,” Qian Jin smiled confidently. The Burning Soul Domain was more useful than imagined. It wasn't merely about releasing burning heat; it also had the function of refining one's own Battle Skills and integrating them into one furnace. More importantly…

This Burning Soul Domain, similar to legends yet subtly different, could burn a person’s combat power! That function was strikingly similar to a Mage’s auxiliary spells like Dragon Slaying, Bloodthirst, or Frenzy, yet it had its own nuances. It only amplified combat ability without any negative side effects.

Furthermore, this Soul Domain wasn't restricted only to the possessor; it could spread out to cover the surroundings, stimulating any warrior enveloped within. As long as the owner willed it, whoever was covered by the Domain could receive the boost.

Stimulating combat power with the Burning Soul Domain, and then following up with the Violent Soul Domain—what kind of might would that unleash? Qian Jin found himself unable to even conceive of how overwhelmingly powerful it would be.

Is this truly the Burning Soul Domain? Qian Jin hesitated to doubt it, yet he couldn't fathom what else it could be if it wasn't.

Duan Feng Er looked curiously at the silent Checkford. Having forgone entering Sainthood to rescue Qian Jin, what kind of transformation would the Fallen Angel Bloodline Martial Artist, who lost the Eye of Destruction, undergo after absorbing the essence of the Heart of Lucifer?

Among them all, only Checkford, the half-Lucifer, was the most perfectly attuned to that essence. Theoretically, he should have gained the most benefit.

Yet, Duan Feng Er couldn't discern any change or progress in the silent killer.

The sand crunched beneath their feet, sounding like walking on thick snow. The group proceeded cautiously on foot. The Ancient Desolate Sand Sea was always a place where monstrous beasts threatening human lives could emerge at any moment. No one could guarantee that a top-tier beast wouldn't suddenly decide to take a stroll.

After two more days of trekking through the endless Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, a towering snow-capped mountain appeared in their sight. Brilliant white snow covered half the peak, creating a stark, discordant image against the scorching desert.

Such a bizarre sight, if located within the territory of the Zhence Dynasty, would already have attracted numerous adventurers and mercenary groups eager to investigate.

But this was the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, a place of death and threat.

Here, there was only an endless expanse of ferocious demonic beasts. They were savage and brutal, yet they held no interest in such phenomena, nor did they find it strange for a snowy mountain to exist in such a hot environment as the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea.

“A phantom image?” Mu Ne Zhence rubbed his eyes forcefully. “Yes! It’s a phantom image!”

Fen Tu Kuang Ge scanned the surroundings, trying to determine the source of this projection. Hallucinations in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea were common; they encountered them almost daily. This phenomenon merely projected the scenery from another region of the desert onto their current location temporarily.

“That’s hard to say! It could be from any direction… Huh?” Duan Feng Er scratched his scalp. “There are people on the mountain!”

Qian Jin squinted, staring at a familiar figure atop the mountain. “Is that… a Barbarian… Behemoth?”

The Seventh Prince, Falak, one of the three great geniuses of the Behemoth Royal Family! Falak, who only spat blood and left injured after taking a casual palm strike from the Bandit King Ba Huang Wu Sheng outside the frontier that day, was actually here in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea!

Why was he here? Qian Jin frowned. There should only be one map; why would he run into Falak here? Moreover, looking at the Barbarian warriors beside him, all agile and undoubtedly fierce fighters, they also seemed to be searching for something.

What could they be searching for on this mountain? What else could there be? Qian Jin was perplexed—how did these Barbarians find this location?

“Who is that? Did someone get there ahead of us?” Duan Feng Er twisted his head back and forth, searching. “Everyone hurry up and look, or else someone will beat us to it…”

“No need to search; it’s right under our feet.” Qian Jin pointed to a swirling vortex of quicksand not far away. “It’s inside the vortex…”

A quicksand vortex? The others exchanged astonished glances. They were all top-tier powerhouses of the younger generation, yet when facing anomalies like the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, they still felt profoundly insignificant.

A small quicksand vortex could bury many people, but it couldn't bury those standing here.

Not far off, that massive quicksand vortex could easily swallow an entire mountain peak. If they really entered it, escaping would be…

“It must be correct!” Qian Jin leaped with the tips of his toes toward the quicksand vortex. The others exchanged a knowing smile and said nothing more, all unleashing their respective powers to charge into the sand.

What was there to fear about a mere vortex? Hadn't they faced death together against the Undead Army before?

The scalding quicksand wrapped around their bodies, and the powerful tearing force compelled them to muster their Battle Qi and Body Protection Skills for defense.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

The hot currents around Qian Jin suddenly vanished, and he landed hard on the ground. He looked up at the snow-capped mountain, vast and almost boundless.

Sand was still underfoot; he could sense that he should have emerged from below. If viewed from outside the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, his head should technically be pointing downward.

Yet, upon truly arriving here, everything appeared completely normal.

Swish, swish…

Two sharp arrows sliced through the air, tearing at the sunlight. Qian Jin raised his left hand and drew a smooth arc in the air. Those two arrows, capable of easily piercing a person, landed docilely in his palm.

Barbarian archery! Qian Jin rose and looked toward the two Barbarian warriors hiding in the thicket, who had loosed the deadly shots. “Archers with Purple Vein Bloodline power?”

In the jungle, two young Barbarian warriors had faces covered in purple linear markings—a physical manifestation of their activated Bloodline power. Legend held that when the Purple Vein Bloodline reached its extreme, the entire body turned purple.

Missed? Caught? The two Barbarian warriors stared blankly at the arrows in Qian Jin’s hands. Their proudest skill, archery that could easily fell eagles in the sky—a top-tier skill—had been casually caught in a sneak attack, and their hiding spot instantly exposed.

For an archer, the most crucial advantage was achieving a kill in one shot, never letting the prey know their position.

Now, both points had failed! Easily thwarted by a quarry who had just arrived and hadn't even grasped the environment or terrain.

After a brief hesitation, the two Purple Vein warriors suddenly drew their bows again, their arrowflights, tearing through everything, spinning rapidly as they launched once more.

Simultaneously, two even sharper arrowflights materialized in Qian Jin’s hands. The cold glint instantly drilled into the pupils of the two Purple Vein warriors.

In that instant, the two Barbarians seemed paralyzed by a strange spell, staring motionlessly at the arrows in Qian Jin's hands.

A true archer doesn't need their opponent to loose an arrow to know whose archery is superior! Merely… merely a gaze!

That’s right; Qian Jin held no bow. He simply clenched the two captured arrows, releasing a faint trace of arrow intent, which pinned the two in place.

No need to draw a bowstring, not even needing a bow—just a sliver of arrow intent deprived the two Purple Vein warriors of the courage to release their own shots.

“Put your bows down; you are not my…”

Twang… twang…

Two sounds of bowstrings vibrating at high speed in the air still rang out from the hands of the two Barbarians. The sound, more melodious to an archer than the plucking of a zither, delivered notes of death. Qian Jin flicked his thumb against the arrow shaft, using his index finger as the bow-brace, then slid his thumb, shaking his wrist slightly. Two arrows detached from the thumb that had served as the string, flying toward the incoming arrows.

The four arrows collided mid-air, sparking tiny flashes of fire. The Purple Vein warriors' arrows shattered with a sound of finality. The arrows in Qian Jin’s hands next pierced through the shoulders of the two Barbarians, pinning them directly against the rocks behind them.

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