"It seems like to me you're simply not taking them seriously. I have to caution you that the three devilish scourges are extremely powerful, so don't underestimate them if you're going to cross this desert. As I'm sure you're aware, the three devilish scourges are the Soul Fall Winds, Earth Annihilation Sand, and Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves. These three things all present different levels of danger, and among them, the Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves are only at the Spatial Tempering Stage, but they hunt in packs, and even the smallest packs will have seven or eight mature wolves.
"They would be quite troublesome to deal with for most beings, but they would most likely pose the least threat to you. Illusion Howl Devilish Wolves are able to move very quickly in the desert, but not as quickly as Eight-footed Devilish Lizards. As long as you can notice them in advance, you'll be able to shake them off with ease. Of course, if you didn't have a devilish lizard steed, it would be a different story. As for the Earth Annihilation Sand, the peril that it presents is second only to the Soul Fall Winds in the Illusion Howl Desert…"
Thus, the burly man began to offer an explanation, and even though Han Li was already aware of some of this information, he still listened intently.
Over half a month later, Han Li was meditating on his devilish lizard steed, but he suddenly opened his eyes and cast his gaze toward a smudge of green in the desert, which lay close to 10 kilometers away.
In the next instant, the purple-haired woman's voice sounded from up ahead.
"Fellow daoists, the Silver River Oasis lies up ahead. Our Bai Family has set up a small stronghold there, so we can go and rest there for a while before we face that devilish beast. The mine is only around half a day away from the oasis."
"That's great! I've gotten really sick of riding on this thing. Once we get there, I'm going to take a good rest and have a huge meal. Brother Bai, I think it's time you gave me what you promised me," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with an expectant expression as he patted his own large belly.
"Haha, rest assured, Brother Luan Dragon; I know that you have to consume that thing to unleash the full power of your special devilish art, so I'll be handing it over to you as soon as we get to the oasis," the burly man chuckled in response.
"Good. After I consume that thing, my magic power will increase by at least 30%, and that'll give us a better chance of chasing away that devilish beast. That thing truly is extremely delicious; I've only had it once many years ago, but I still can't forget it to this day," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon said with a pleased nod.
"Of course, even our Bai Family had to expend extensive efforts to secure just a small amount of that thing," the purple-haired woman said with a smile.
Han Li was rather bewildered by this conversation, but he didn't think much of it.
Shortly thereafter, the group arrived at the Silver River Oasis.
As soon as they entered the oasis, the sandstorm abruptly stopped, as if it had been kept at bay by some kind of invisible power.
The oasis was only several kilometers in size, and there were shrubs of different sizes growing all around its edge. At the center of the oasis was a dark green lake that was around 250 meters in diameter, and beside the lake was a series of grey buildings that were constructed from sand, but seemed to be very sturdy.
These buildings only took up an area of several acres, but there were special energy fluctuations radiating through the area, indicating that restrictions had been set up around them.
After taking a glance at the small lake, Han Li turned his attention toward that cluster of buildings.
These were a series of semi-spherical buildings that were no more than 30 to 40 feet tall.
The burly man jumped down from his devilish lizard and stowed it away into his spirit beast bracelet, then cast his gaze toward the buildings in the distance with furrowed brows before suddenly letting loose a long cry akin to a dragon's roar.
The sound erupted straight up into the heavens, rumbling through the sky like a dull thunderclap, but even after a long time had passed, no one emerged from the buildings.
The burly man's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he made a peculiar hand signal toward everyone behind him.
The six Spatial Tempering Stage members of the group immediately jumped down from their devilish lizards as well before approaching the buildings in a careful manner.
While approaching the buildings, Bai Yunxin pulled out an inky-black metal badge before waving it forward.
A layer of black Qi immediately rose up from the ground to conceal the six of them, following which no more sound was heard.
Everyone else looked on with wary expressions, while Han Li merely calmly appraised the situation.
No one noticed that there was blue light flashing through his eyes, allowing him to see everything that was happening within the black mist up ahead.
Having refined his Brightsight Spirit Eyes for over 1,000 years, they had become incredibly powerful, and it was a simple task to see through a restriction.
After around 15 minutes, the black Qi suddenly dispersed, and Bai Yunxin and the others reappeared. Bai Yunxin extended a curtsey toward the burly man from afar, and said, "Senior, the restrictions of the fortress are completely unharmed, but all of the disciples here have disappeared!"
The burly man's expression darkened upon hearing this. "There's only this oasis in this nearby area; where could they have gone?"
"I'm not sure; I was unable to find any signs of battle anywhere within the stronghold, either," Bai Yunxin replied in a slightly fearful manner.
The burly man's expression darkened even further, and he was just about to say something else when Han Li suddenly interjected with a smile, "How about we go in first, Fellow Daoist Bai? This is not the right place to be discussing anything."
The burly man faltered slightly upon hearing this before a thought suddenly occurred to him, and his expression eased slightly as he said, "That's true; please forgive my oversight. Let's go in, fellow daoists."
"I'll be going on ahead then," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon chuckled as he vanished from atop his devilish lizard steed, then suddenly reappeared behind Bai Yunxin and the others before making his way toward the largest of the buildings.
The burly was quite amused by this, and everyone else also jumped down from their steeds before walking toward the cluster of buildings.
Moments later, all of the Body Integration Stage beings in the group were gathered in a hall that was over 100 feet in area, while Bai Yunxin and the others were ordered to stand guard outside.
"I've already swept my spiritual sense through this place, and it's just as Xin'er said; there are no signs of battle, and the restrictions are completely undamaged, so the disciples clearly left this place of their own accord," the purple-haired woman said with furrowed brows as she sat down onto a futon.
"We instructed those disciples to survey that devilish beast in shifts; could it be that they were all eaten by that thing? That doesn't make sense, either; even if that devilish beast had gone on a rampage, someone should've been left behind to guard this place," the burly man said with a perplexed expression.
"Just forget about it; it's just a group of low-grade disciples anyway. Hurry up and give me that thing so I can have a good meal first," Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon urged in an impatient manner.
"Hehe, rest assured Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon; we made a promise to you, and we're certainly not going to revoke it. Sister, bring out that thing for Brother Luan Dragon," the burly man said with a smile.
The purple-haired woman smiled as she flicked her wrist, upon which a burst of white light emerged out of her storage bracelet before releasing a translucent jade box onto the table before her.
Heavenly Lord Luan Dragon was ecstatic to see this, and he immediately made a grabbing motion toward the table, upon which the jade box was drawn into his grasp.
The lid was quickly removed, and Han Li and Han Qizi naturally turned to see what it was, upon which both of them displayed slightly surprised reactions.
Within the jade box was a grain of rice, but it was around half a foot in length and as thick as an infant's arm. One of its two ends was very sharp, and it was entirely crimson in color. On top of that, it was giving off a mouthwatering aroma.
"That's a Bloodtooth Rice!" Han Li murmured to himself in a stunned voice.
"You must be quite knowledgeable to recognize something like this, Brother Han. Indeed, this is a rare thousand-year-old Bloodtooth Rice. Consuming this rice will enhance both one's blood essence and physical body, and for Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon, who's cultivating a blood-related devilish art, it can stimulate the latent potential of his blood essence as well. This is one of the things we promised Fellow Daoist Luan Dragon as a reward for his efforts, and it's an delectable delicacy with a rich flavor that will linger in one's mouth for as long as several months following consumption."
"I've only ever heard of this thing but never seen it before. Not only are the conditions required to grow this Bloodtooth Rice extremely rigorous, it can only come into fruition after being watered by the blood essence of a type of special beast. Even Bloodtooth Rice of the lowest quality will require over 100 years to grow; it's truly impressive that you were able to obtain a thousand-year-old one, Brother Bai," Han Li said with a slightly complex expression.
This Bloodtooth Rice was a specialty local product in the Elder Devil Realm that was exceedingly rare, and it was something that Han Li was also searching for as it was one of the few types of things that he knew of that could still enhance his body.
