Chapter 151: Xuanying Treasure Pagoda [8]

It was the same space that Atlas found himself in last time, but when the ground fell away, it was not a puzzle-like array of floating tiles.Rather, a formation activated and the entire floor changed. The ground under Atlas' feet became sand and rose into a hill while all around, an environment was created.

There was a jungle off the beach that led deep into the island, while the entire shore was surrounded by an ocean that looked to extend into the beyond.

It was all simulated. This was not a real world that extended into infinity, but it truly made one feel like it was.

But, the Challenger in question would only have a few moments to feel such things before they suddenly found themselves in a precarious situation.

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Atlas abruptly jumped back and started running without looking back. In that same moment, a huge entity burst out of the sand dune, its gaping maw aiming to consume him in a single bite.

'A Sovereign Sand Worm.'

He recognized the creature at a glance. Its massive gait and cylindrical appearance that made its maw lined with hundreds of rows of teeth look like the gate to hell were very easy to recognize.

It had a brown color that melded into the sand and made it almost impossible to see before it attacked, and its movements were so smooth that they did not disrupt the ground above despite their size.

These creatures weren't rare, but they only appeared in very specific environments, so Atlas had only encountered them a few times.

When they were fully grown, they could threaten even World Core Realm Emperors, but this one was still in its youth.

'As for its strength…'

Atlas planted his feet and turned to face the beast. Once it finished attacking, its instinct was to sink back into the ground and wait for the next opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, its enemy knew its patterns.

[Flow Like Silk]

Atlas turned into a bolt of blue light and arrived in front of the worm before it could fall back into the sand. His body was like a blade in itself, yet it was also as flexible as water. He struck with such a flexible yet sharp blade directly in the middle of the beast's body, causing it to rile backwards.

OOOOH!

The worm let out a bellow of pain, but the scar in its skin was shallow. It barely drew blood, in fact.

'It's defenses are high, but I am not necessarily worried.

Atlas raised his arms above his head.

'The problem with Sovereign Sand Worms, however…'

[Titanfall]

The sky cracked open and a massive flow of water crashed down into the worm's mouth.

'...is that they are unable to ever close those maws.'

Because their entire outer structure was made of solid bones that kept them alive, their mouths were forced to always remain open. They were able to consume and then excrete sand at a constant pace so that the space they moved through was filled, while anything edible within the sand would be moved into a second stomach to be digested.

This structure was good for their overall living situation, but it was developed because they didn't have any natural predators to curb their negative traits.

Water gushed into the creature's mouth and filled it. Suddenly, its body was forced into a state it usually only entered when it detected that it had tunneled into the ocean.

Its body immediately thrashed in the opposite direction in order to return the way it came, but in its current position, that action only hurt it.

It flicked its own body entirely out of the sand as Atlas jumped in the air to avoid being dragged down. The sand worm fell horizontally on the surface. Landing on top of it, he attacked.

'Sovereign Sand Worms react negatively to water because it signifies emptiness to them, but they are actually weak to fire. If they remain in the sun for too long, their bodies will turn into husks.

Their frames simply couldn't handle direct heat. They were instead adapted to absorbing heat from the sand they consumed.

[Piercing Flame Needle]

Atlas gripped an invisible weapon and summoned flame qi into reality. It manifested as a large spinning nail that, under the command of its wielder, bore a point into the Sovereign Sand Worm's body.

OOOOOH!

It let out another bellow of pain, thrashing wildly to get Atlas off of its body. Slowly, it was also sinking back into the sand under its own weight.

Atlas held onto the flame needle as if it were corporeal in order to keep his balance.

'I cannot allow it to return to the sand.'

Once it was entirely submerged, it would start healing. And when it returned, it would not return alone.

Sovereign Sand Worms were notably vengeful creatures that never moved far from the groups of four to eight that they gathered in.

'Currently, I am only to face this one, but if there is a chance that I will be forced to fight the group if I cannot kill it now…'

In that case, it would be as the Artifact Spirit predicted. Atlas was bound to fail the trial.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gritting his teeth, Atlas tried his best to inflict more damage, but he didn't have time. The worm's instincts drew it into the ground and made it ignore him, so it was impossible for him to keep it on the surface.

'Then…'

He could only risk it. Dispelling the flame needle, Atlas dug his hands into the hole he drilled into the beast's body.

His muscles flexed and bulged as he gripped the sides of the hole with all of his strength and tore. He tore into the beast's flesh, ripping its muscles into pieces as he went deeper into his body.

He was already covered in its blood, but it wasn't enough. He dug and dug and dug into the creature's side even while its body dipped into the sand.

His hands became used to the feeling of tearing apart flesh. He became quite proficient at it, in fact, as he used his qi to protect himself from the sand pouring into the hole.

'We're going into the ground.'

They were going deep into the ground, but Atlas was also almost at the end of his journey. He had reached a thick wall of pure white bone that separated him from his goal.

He pulled his fist back and opened it into a palm.

'Now that I am a Sky Sage, I can use it.'

He concentrated qi into three compounded rings against his palm. He twisted his leg and pushed the strength of his body forward to power his palm. It slammed against the wall of bone, releasing a burst of physical power combined with qi that culminated into a single martial skill.

[Rippling Palm Strike]

The impact of the strike spread like ripples in the bone wall, and more importantly, it targeted the internal structure of the material and disrupted it. The technique was made to shatter internal organs, but it was also perfect for breaking down complex structures that stood as obstacles in one's path.

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The bone rumbled and shook. The structure trembled and then broke away in pieces like an eggshell.

The beast knew what Atlas was doing. It could feel the pain of every single movement he made.

However, he turned their battle into a race against time.

Could it return to its family in time, or would he enter its body and kill it first?

It would all become clear in but a few minutes.