Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was controlling a sprout of flame ahead of himself, lighting up the tunnel lined with jagged rocks, like fangs on the walls. He gradually picked up a terrible scent and heard faint and intimidating cries coming from deeper in the tunnel.

"The path diverges here, which way do we go?" Mo Fan looked ahead and asked.

"We don't know."

As they were speaking, they heard soft footsteps approaching from one of the paths. Two familiar figures supporting one another came out.

The light shone on their extremely pale faces. One of them had bloodshot eyes.

"Houzi!" Mo Fan blurted out in joy when he saw them.

"Brother Fan!" Zhang Xiaohou quickly went up and hugged Mo Fan tightly, like an injured younger brother.

Mo Fan could feel Zhang Xiaohou's surge of emotions. He was not injured, yet the sorrow in his heart was pouring out.

"What's wrong?" Mo Fan comforted.

"That asshole Shi Qianshou, he killed everyone inside!" Ge Ming swore.

Ge Ming told them what happened in the underground space. Everyone gasped after hearing it.

How vicious was this Shi Qianshou? He had brought at least two hundred people with him, yet he had killed every single one of his men just to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil. How twisted would the man's heart have to be to do such a thing?

Mo Fan did not expect to stumble into such an evil general. He was relieved that Zhang Xiaohou was fine.

"Help, help, help me!" A man in a military outfit staggered towards the group from the edge of the light.

The man had run all the way to the crossroad. He felt like he had found his savior when he saw there were others.

"It's Tong Li!" Ge Ming's eyes turned cold as he stared at him.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely angry with him, too. He had pretended to come to the desert with the others and abused Lin Feili's kindness leading Shi Qianshou here and forcing Lin Feili to hand over the Earth Pistil. If he had not pulled those strings, none of this would have happened. He totally deserved what had happened to him!

Mo Fan knew it was Tong Li that had betrayed them. His eyes flickered coldly and disdainfully when he saw the man asking for help.

A huge cloud of poisonous insects showed up behind Tong Li, chasing down the man who had escaped.

Tong Li's cultivation was not weak. He managed to escape and reach the crossroad. He was around a hundred meters away from Mo Fan and the others.

"Save me, please, I'm willing to tell you everything as long as you help me! I will plead guilty, I'm willing to be put on trial at the military court!..." Tong Li yelled.

Mo Fan glanced at Zhang Xiaohou. His friend was quiet, a hint of disgust in his eyes.

Mo Fan waved his hand. A silver light swiftly formed a wall in the tunnel to block the poisonous insects.

However, Mo Fan was not trapping the poisonous insects. Tong Li slammed into the wall too!

"Don't, don't do this, please!" Tong Li's eyes were wide and filled with terror.

Tong Li could no longer move forward. The poisonous insects easily caught up to him. They watched as the tiny insects attached themselves to Tong Li and dug into his body.

Tong Li's face contorted. He slammed his fists on the wall, trying to break through it, but Mo Fan did not budge.

Tong Li's movements slowed down as he became feeble. Some bloated poisonous insects had burst out of his stomach and returned into the cave, beating blood-covered wings.

"Let's leave this place. We are all done for if the poisonous insects come out now," Ge Ming said.

Ge Ming needed some time to recover his energy. He would not be able to face Shi Qianshou for the time being. They still would have trouble defeating Shi Qianshou even after he replenished his energy. The man had killed two hundred of his own men with ease!

They could not afford to fight Shi Qianshou now. It was better for them to leave the desert and tell the army what had happened here. The army would deal with him.

"Mm, since everyone is alright, we should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, that madman is going to turn us into sacrifices too," Jiang Shaoxu said.

The group did not dare stay any further, and immediately headed for the exit.

------

They regrouped with the rest of the members of the Golden Battle Hunters at the relay station. They had left the soldiers at the relay station. They had nothing to do with the life and death of those soldiers.

They followed the same way back. The journey was easier compared to when they came in, but everyone had a heavy heart. Who would have thought they would stumble into a mad general when they were only planning to come for an expedition. Luckily, most members of the team were still alive. They did not suffer any great losses!

The team left as quickly as possible. They did not bother to preserve their energy when traversing the Meandering Sand River.

Not long after they reached the Meandering Sand River, they suddenly heard something like a dull clap of thunder from the desert behind. The blue sky was suddenly covered by a brown, blood-red cloud of dust. They could no longer see the sand dunes and the rocks. The thick cloud of dust was like the storm of an apocalypse sweeping at the horizon.

"Is he able to control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?" Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

"I believe he's only able to lure the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. He did mark the two girls with poisonous seals so the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would attack them. The relay station was wiped out because he purposely lured the Sandstorm Demon Locusts over. He doesn't have full control over the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. No one does," Lingling said.

"Did we just make a huge mistake?" Jiang Shaoxu glanced at the sky behind her uneasily.

Shi Qianshou was a strong Super Poison Mage. If they allowed him to hold onto the Earth Pistil, wouldn't it simply turn him into a devil in the desert that killed people like scything wheat, considering how he was trying to control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?

"It's not our fault. Even if we didn't go to the desert, do you think Shi Qianshou was going to give up on finding the Earth Pistil? If we allow Shi Qianshou to have access to the energy of the Earth Pistil, together with his private army, who knows what sinful things they might do. At least we know the guy has lost his mind. We just need to notify the army to avoid further casualties," Ge Ming said.

"Yeah, Shi Qianshou is most likely going to become stronger. If we stayed behind and tried fighting him, no one would ever find out the truth!"

The group did not act on impulse. After all, Shi Qianshou was a general. Anyone that was promoted to a general would surely possess remarkable strength. It was a relief that they were able to escape from the desert. They had to notify the Tarim Basin Fortress. If they did not deal with Shi Qianshou as soon as possible, it was going to be a disaster!

---

---

The group finally made it out of the desert after a few days. The terrifying cloud of dust behind them was no longer visible.

However, the group was not relieved yet. Shi Qianshou would not let them go so easily. He now had the Earth Pistil. He would surely try everything he could to replenish its energy, including a crazy massacre.

The Tarim Basin Fortress was built with gray-white rocks. It was the scale of a city, with a population of around a few hundred thousand people. There were lots of ore veins, factories, and towns that focused on generating energy with wind and light within a hundred kilometers of the fortress. The towns were located in the safe zone. The Tarim Basin Fortress would appoint squadrons of soldiers to guard the towns every week, preventing the demon creatures in the desert, mountains, and caves from invading them.

The area was not peaceful. There were usually two or three ambushes every month. Every town was protected by a barrier similar to the Tarim Basin Fortress. The workers and Mages were safe from the demon creatures as long as they stayed within the barrier.

The group went straight to the Tarim Basin Fortress. Zhang Xiaohou was a soldier, so he easily made his way into the fortress. The others were worn out, but they all waited at the entrance, hoping the army would immediately send out a wanted order to arrest Shi Qianshou!

Zhang Xiaohou made his way straight to the Commanding General. Every town nearby was guarded by a General. After all, lots of resources were needed to maintain a city. Each of the towns that the Tarim Basin Fortress was protecting was able to provide the energy needed for around six second-tier cities, including the barrier protecting them!

"General, Commander Zhang Xiaohou from the Qinling Mountains is asking to meet you in person. He says he has something urgent to tell you," a Communications Officer said.

Currently, there was another General seated at the table, and the rest were Commanders. However, most of them were responsible for commanding and communications in the army. They were not Battle Commanders.

Two advisors were seated beside General Mu Da, their faces stern.

"We have yet to learn the reason behind it. Our first priority is to evacuate the workers, townsfolk, soldiers, and the Mages trapped in the emergency bunkers. They have been trapped for three days. They will soon run out of food and water. Many were injured too. They are going to die without medical attention," a female advisor said.

General Mu Da harrumphed coldly, "Do you think I'm not trying to save them? However, if we don't find out the reason and drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away, every man that we send to Anjiao Town is just going to die. It has been three days, yet we still have no clue about what happened. We can't even communicate with the people in the town. You are all good-for-nothing!"

"General, Commander Zhang Xiaohou of the Qinling Mountains is asking to see you," the officer repeated.

"What the hell is the Commander of the Qinling Mountains here for? I'm busy!" General Mu Da snapped.

"But he said it's something urgent..."

"How urgent could it be? Is it more important than saving the lives of ten thousand people that are trapped in Anjiao Town!?"

"Err… sure, I'll ask him to wait."