Chapter 43: Pretty Good Luck
A barren desert stretched endlessly, yellow sands rolling beyond the horizon.
In the sky, the scorching setting sun hung like a blazing fireball, refusing to dip below the horizon. It hovered there, casting deep golden rays that radiated intense heat, scorching everything below. The desert felt like a massive furnace—oppressive and lifeless.
Every now and then, strong winds swept through, raising clouds of sand and revealing scattered skeletal remains, upon which a few carrion-eating scorpions crawled, their pincers twitching.
This was a land filled with death and desolation.
Suddenly—
A silver light ring appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by chaotic spatial energy. A figure was flung from within and slammed into the ground, raising a cloud of sand.
As the figure landed, the silver light ring slowly faded.
The person was covered in torn clothing, drenched in blood—looking more like a corpse discarded in the desert than a living being.
That blood-soaked body lay motionless for a moment. Then, from the area around the stomach, a furry little paw poked out, digging through the sand. Soon, a small head emerged.
Once she finally crawled free, the sight before her stunned her into a daze—her ears standing straight up.
Ling'er's eyes widened in confusion.
Compared to the vibrant Shennong Mountain Range, rich in natural energy, this place looked like the end of the world. There wasn't a trace of vitality; even the elemental energy was dry and withered. Only fire-attributed energy remained, draining her spirit.
The Flame of Living Beings was born only in lush, forested lands teeming with life. If not subdued, it would spend its entire existence in the place of its birth.
She had never seen anything like this.
It was like a princess who had never left the palace suddenly being dragged to the deep northwest—surrounded by endless desert, not a single green sprout in sight. Worse, the scent of blood had drawn poisonous creatures toward them. Scared and furious, Ling'er puffed up in defense. Her usual cuteness vanished behind a snarl.
She didn't know where they were, but she could tell these scorpions wanted to eat Yao Yan.
Leaping up, she swiped at the approaching pests with her tiny claws.
Unfortunately, this wasn't a forest—there was no vegetation to command, so all she could do was flail her paws and drive the bugs away herself.
Boom!
The ground trembled lightly. A half-meter-tall scorpion burst from the sand, its purple-black carapace gleaming, its cold, ruthless eyes fixed on Yao Yan's body. It could sense the immense vitality in him, and the scent of his blood was like a heavenly treasure—irresistible.
Third-Rank: Violetflame Scorpion.
Ying ying!
Ling'er bared her fangs and growled at the scorpion, issuing a fierce warning. Unfortunately, it was more cute than threatening.
The Violetflame Scorpion stared back with a predatory gleam. In the Tagor Desert, magical beasts were far more savage than elsewhere. Resources were scarce—only through relentless killing could one survive. To it, everything it saw was food.
Realizing her cuteness wasn't working, flames began to flicker in Ling'er's emerald eyes.
But before she could unleash her fire, a hand gently pressed down on her head.
Yao Yan had woken up.
He patted her fuzzy head with a fond smile and said warmly, "Alright, leave this to me."
Then he raised his hand and summoned Illusionary Gold Flame. The violent aura of a seventh-rank Fire Scorpion Dragon Beast surged outward, instantly forcing the dim-witted Violetflame Scorpion to retreat. Compared to Frost Wolf Kings, Fire Scorpion Dragons were their superior breed—bloodline suppression was absolute.
In magical beast hierarchies, higher-ranked kin utterly suppressed the lower ranks. It was rare to see reversals of dominance.
Especially at low ranks, the suppression from a stronger bloodline could completely erase any thought of resistance.
With the scorpion driven off, Yao Yan finally looked around. He immediately frowned. Compared to Shennong Mountain or the Realm of Pills, the elemental energy here wasn't just thin—it was practically nonexistent. Only fire-attributed energy lingered.
He gave a bitter chuckle. "Good thing my Dou Qi attribute is fire. Pretty lucky."
Ying ying!
Seeing Yao Yan awake, Ling'er jumped happily onto his shoulder, rubbing her fluffy head against his blood-stained face, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Yao Yan pulled out a bottle of plant essence from his storage ring and handed it to her. As she happily munched on the pills, he smiled even more. Despite the detour, he was alive—and so was Ling'er. Nothing had been lost.
After calming her, he closed his eyes and checked his condition. The spatial storm had ravaged his body. If not for his resilient bones and the massive vitality granted by his Spirit Clan bloodline, he would've either died or been crippled. His newly-advanced Indestructible Vajra Body simply wasn't enough to handle the storm's fury.
"Surface wounds are mostly healed… but this residual spatial energy is troublesome."
Yao Yan's gaze sharpened. He hadn't expected so much spatial energy to remain in his body—and at his current cultivation level, it would be difficult to refine it. Still, he might be able to use it to temper his body.
Perhaps misfortune would turn to fortune.
After a moment of thought, he relaxed and swallowed a few pills to restore Dou Qi and regulate his blood.
As the medicine took effect, his spirits lifted—only to realize another issue.
He had lost Hun Xuzi's communication token.
"That old bastard better not think I'm trying to escape…"
A strange expression crossed his face. He had indeed considered it. But the thought vanished quickly—because escaping from a seven-star Dou Sheng was impossible. Besides, he was still enjoying draining Hun Xuzi's resources. Until he reached the Dou Sheng realm himself, he had no plans of running.
But fate had other ideas. A spatial storm had cut him off entirely by accident.
"Ha… guess my luck really is pretty good~"
Yao Yan chuckled again, convinced of his good fortune.
Still, some plans would need to change. Honestly, he did want some distance from Hun Xuzi for a while—some things couldn't be known by the old man.
Like the Xiao Clan of the Jia Ma Empire.
The Soul Clan must never find out about them—at least, not yet.
Until he reached nine-star Dou Sheng, the Xiao Clan's Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade must not fall into the Soul Clan's hands.
He needed time to grow.
If the Soul Clan got their hands on the Xiao Clan's jade, Soul Heaven Emperor would undoubtedly launch a genocide campaign—using him as a stepping stone to become a Dou Di.
And that was something Yao Yan absolutely couldn't allow.
Until he reached the peak of nine-star Dou Sheng…
No one must open the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's domain!
(END CHAPTER)
Friends, if you enjoyed the novel, you can subscribe to my Patreon channel.
Until November 30st, get 40% off both your subscription and the purchase of your novel. Thank you for your support.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997