Chapter 425 - Sandstorm. Flames

The more skilled someone was, the bolder they got.

Zhang Che clearly realized something was wrong with the desert, but he believed his strength was high enough to handle the unknown situation, and instructed the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon to fly into the desert.

It couldn’t be helped. He was already here. He couldn’t leave empty-handed. Zhang Che smacked his lips, flying deeper in an unhurried pace, ignoring the heat.

After advancing a few kilometers, Zhang Che saw an exotic beast in the desert below him.

It was on a sand dune on the side shielded from the wind. A greyish-brown lizard was crawling around a cave entrance about a meter-some wide. It seemed to be enjoying its leisure time, spitting its thin tongue out from time to time.

When it saw the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon flying in its direction, the lizard looked up very warily, then quickly withdrew back into the cave.

How could those exotic beasts that lived in such extreme environment not be cautious? Even though the lizard’s strength was nothing noteworthy, it immediately reacted to the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon flying in the sky.

“That little thing is really cautious…” Zhang Che smiled, not interested in killing the lizard.

He wanted to explore deep into the desert as soon as possible, but was afraid of coming across unknown dangers. He had no choice but to let the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon fly at a controlled pace. At the same time, Zhang Che paid full attention to the situation around him.

Continuing on, they flew a few dozen kilometers further in. Zhang Che discovered several types of exotic beasts living in the desert in succession. Most of them weren’t very large, and were basically either four-legged creatures or insect types with tough carapaces.

Only exotic beasts with unusually strong vitality would be be able to survive in the desert, as their demand for water wouldn’t be high. They could even dig their way through to the damp layers of sand underground to absorb water, getting enough for their usual activities.

“Are there no stronger exotic beasts in this desert?” Zhang Che wondered doubtfully. Exotic beasts whose strength passed a certain threshold seemed to avoid living in such an environment.

However, an arrow that had been shot wouldn’t return. Zhang Che could only continue flying ahead on the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon. After about an hour of flight, he was now hundreds of kilometers deep into the desert.

Looking around him, every direction was just an endless spread of yellow sand. Occasionally, there were some bramble-like plants, but they were half-dead, stubbornly hanging on to life in the sandy ground.

Suddenly, the horizon ahead turned blurry, and started sweeping quickly in Zhang Che’s direction.

“This is…” Zhang Che looked closely for a moment, feeling shocked.

That blurry spread was actually a sandstorm, covering everything in sight ahead. It was approaching swiftly, covering the heavens and earth.

“Go, fly up!” Zhang Che patted the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon’s back, instructing him to raise their altitude. He wanted to forcibly charge through the huge sandstorm from the sky.

However, even when the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon was thousands of meters in the air, the sky ahead still looked as blurry as ever. The sandstorm covered everything, seemingly shrouding the whole space.

It was impossible to continue forward!

Heavens knew if there were any unknown dangers high up in the sky of the beast world. Zhang Che realized it was impossible to avoid the sandstorm.

He would not turn back. After making his way here, wouldn’t it be cowardly of him if he just turned back?

Wasn’t it just a sandstorm? Zhang Che wasn’t afraid of it, to tell the truth.

Of course, in order to prevent the sandstorm getting him dirty, Zhang Che quickly summoned the Earthen Rock Demon and had it use its body to make a wind shelter.

When the several dozens-meters tall Earthen Rock Demon curled up, it easily created a little closed space for Zhang Che, ensuring that he wouldn’t be affected by the sandstorm outside.

Naturally, it would be impossible for no sand whatsoever to get in.

Thus, Zhang Che quickly put on the Purple-Gold Demonic Armored Worm armor, covering himself from head to toe. He sat down in the shelter, waiting for the sandstorm’s arrival.

——

The sandstorm was extremely fast. Just as Zhang Che was done making his preparations, violent whistling sounds came from outside. The sandstorm swept large amounts of sand and rock over them like a seemingly endless wave of yellow tide, instantly shrouding the Earthen Rock Demon.

The light in their surroundings turned dark all of a sudden, as if it was night.

Countless amounts of sand and rocks blew against the Earthen Rock Demon, producing wave after wave of pitter-patter sounds. Afterwards, the sand and rock slowly accumulated around him, gradually burying the Earthen Rock Demon.

“The force of nature is indeed fearsome…” Zhang Che listened to the rampaging sandstorm outside, not daring to crawl out of the Earthen Rock Demon’s protection to experience it for himself at all.

He had no doubts that the violent sandstorm could directly sweep him off his feet, and in the end bury him deep under the sand and rocks.

Even though Zhang Che’s physique had reached a superhuman level, he was still as weak as an ant when facing the forces of nature.

——

The sandstorm lasted for an indeterminate amount of time. Zhang Che remained inside the half-sealed space the Earthen Rock Demon created for him. Everything was dark, and the air gradually became burning hot and heavy.

The sand had completely buried the Earthen Rock Demon. The air outside could no longer flow inside.

Gradually, the faint noises from the wind outside stopped.

Zhang Che had the Earthen Rock Demon shake off the sand, then stood on its shoulder as it straightened up from the enormous pile of sand.

When the sand had settled, Zhang Che looked down and nearly jumped in shock.

What a terrifying sight! After the sandstorm, the ground he was standing on had been buried twenty-some meters deep!

“If a weaker beastmaster in my place, they’d probably find surviving such a sandstorm incredibly difficult…” Zhang Che murmured to himself. He recalled the Earthen Rock Demon, summoned the Darkfiend Abyssal Dragon, and finally continued his flight ahead.

—

Some time later, just as he flew over a sand dune, the temperature ahead suddenly increased.

“Hmm? Could it be that I haven’t truly entered the core area of the desert after flying hundreds of kilometers in? The temperature is actually still increasing!”

In the next moment, however, Zhang Che realized he was wrong.

The increase in temperature might not be because he entered the core area of the desert.

In the far distance, where the sky and earth met, a faint spread of scarlet lights rose to the skies, burning so hot that the space seemed a little twisted.

Zhang Che focused on the light from the scarlet flames in the distance. Suddenly, he summoned the frisky monkey and turned his head to the monkey, asking, “Come, tell daddy, is that the flaming mountains ahead? If we can’t cross it, you have to go look for your sister-in-law and borrow her banana leaves fan.” {TLN: Another reference to Journey to the West. The Monkey King Sun Wukong was a sworn brother to the Bull Demon King, and the latter was married to Princess Iron Fan.}

The frisky monkey had a confused look on his face, not understanding what Zhang Che was talking about at all.