freenovelworld Chapter 38 Desert Area
Chapter 38 Desert Area
You know what, these sandworms actually spit out sand with considerable force. In fact, to be precise, they're not spitting out sand, they're spraying it.
The sand spewed from its enormous mouth with a speed and force dozens of times greater than ordinary sandstorms, and it covered a wide area.
Those disciples who failed to dodge in time and whose clothes were brushed by it immediately had their fabric turn black and then corroded into a small hole.
With that kind of power, if it hit someone in the face, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Although there is a "Beauty Pill" that can regenerate a ruined face, the immense pain and financial loss involved are not worth it.
So the disciples of the Sword Sect, who were not well-off, mustered their strength to dodge the sandworms' attacks, and even their dodging techniques became more proficient!
After a few rounds of fighting with the sandworms, everyone discovered that their skin was thick and tough; when you cut into it with a sword, it felt like it was being sucked in. Then, when you pulled the sword out of its skin, you would find that the cut you made was slowly getting smaller, and eventually it even healed.
After several attempts, the group concluded that the sandworm's only weakness was its massive mouth that spewed sand. Fire or lightning magic was its nemesis.
For example, a fire-type cultivator only needs to aim at its giant mouth and launch a fireball from a distance. As soon as the fireball enters the sand worm's body, it will immediately begin to burn. Then, not long after, the sand worm will spew out a thick plume of smoke with the acrid smell of burning rubber from its giant mouth.
Next, all you need to do is avoid the sand worms that are frantically writhing and scattering red-hot, poisonous sand everywhere. It won't be able to keep up its struggle for long before it collapses and dies.
After the first sandworm died, curious children like Lin Zhifeng and Lin Jun went over to examine its corpse.
To their surprise, the sandworm's body was charred black inside, but its outer skin remained intact, still the same dirty pink color.
The fire, which started from the inside, did not burn the skin on the outside.
What kind of amazing fireproof material is this?
If this is handled properly and a weapon refiner helps to forge it into a fireproof cloak, it will provide an extra layer of effective protection whether you're going to a volcano or the Earth's core.
Even if you just sell materials at the materials shop, you can still make a small profit.
Lin Zhifeng quickly saw the business opportunity and immediately shared it with his fellow disciples.
And then came the joyful harvest time.
The group split into teams, with fire and lightning disciples at the core. Once they finished their attacks, the rest of the group was responsible for blocking the sand and collecting the sand worm corpses.
When it got late, everyone stopped at Ding Mo's command.
They retreated dozens of miles and set up camp.
While keeping watch together that night, the disciples were still talking about their gains of the day.
One of the elite disciples, carried away by his success, lost all his former awe of Ding Mo and boldly inquired, "Uncle-Master, is it true that going out to train is so lucrative? The earnings from this trip are almost enough for me to upgrade my spirit sword once."
Ding Mo shook his head and said, "I wasn't so lucky on my first trip out. My earnings were about the same as yours in the grasslands." He then added, "At most, I could only get some materials."
Lin Zhifeng overheard this and couldn't help but grin. He thought to himself: "Follow me from now on, and I guarantee you'll all make a fortune."
The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is too great, with the temperature dropping to minus twenty degrees Celsius at night. Lin Zhifeng and his group not only set up tents, but also built a protective barrier to keep them warm and windproof.
The spirit stones used to set up the barrier were taken by Ding Mo. He is the senior uncle, so how could he let the juniors pay for it?
Lin Zhifeng remembered that Ding Mo hadn't asked for money when he put the queen bee in the storage ring for him, and that he would be going with Ding Mo to work for the Crown Prince Longquan of the Divine Dragon Dynasty next year. The 500,000 high-grade spirit stones that Longquan had given him as a deposit should rightfully be half given to Ding Mo.
He took out one of his ordinary storage rings and put 250,000 high-grade spirit stones inside. Then, when there were fewer people around, he handed the ring to Ding Mo and said, "Uncle-Master, we'll split the deposit from Longquan in half."
Ding Mo didn't stand on ceremony and accepted it directly.
The next morning, the Sword Sect disciples packed up and continued their journey.
This time they have ventured deep into the heart of the desert.
The deeper they went into the desert, the fewer scorpion monsters and sandworms they encountered.
Everyone was wondering and marveling at how it had all ended after they had just made a fortune when suddenly a shadow appeared in the sky.
Everyone looked up at the sky. They saw a huge, skeletal bird swooping down towards them.
Just like its name suggests, this skeleton bird has no flesh left on its body, only a white skeleton.
It is called a bird because of its huge bony wings and beak.
"This skeleton bird should be free of desires, right? After all, it has already emptied itself of all worldly desires, hahaha..." Lin Jun was still joking around, oblivious to the danger.
Lin Zhifeng nudged Lin Jun with his elbow and said, "Get your act together and be serious. You think you're safe just because it's a skeleton and doesn't need to eat? What if it wants to turn you into something like itself? Or maybe it wants to keep a human as a pet?"
Lin Jun immediately shut up, but he stopped Lin Zhifeng from continuing, covering his mouth and saying, "Shut up! If I get caught, I'll haunt you even if I become a skeleton."
The skeletal bird flew close in the blink of an eye, and the two of them, forgetting their playful fighting, drew their spirit swords to fight the skeletal bird.
The skeleton bird's bones were thick and hard, impervious to wind and fire, and invulnerable to swords and spears. For a time, no one could do anything about it; instead, several Sword Sect disciples were sent flying by its bone wings. Even Lin Jun was sent flying and landed on his backside several times.
While everyone was busy and exhausted, Ding Mo had been observing from a high place on his sword for a long time.
Seeing that the Sword Sect disciples were struggling to cope, he spoke up to remind them, "Disciples, you can attack the fifth rib below its left side. That's where the skeleton bird's heart is located, and it's also its energy source. Destroy that spot, and you'll win."
Hearing this, the disciples rallied and cooperated with each other to continue the fight.
Some were distracting the skeleton dragon; others used ropes to bind its feet and wings, restricting its movement; and still others arranged for several elite disciples with superb swordsmanship to attack the parts that Ding Mo had just pointed out.
With everyone working together to beat it, the skeleton bird's heart was finally destroyed.
With a loud "boom," the skeleton bird crashed to the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, everyone took a closer look and saw that the skeletal dragon had been scattered into countless huge skeletal parts.
Lin Zhifeng learned from the system that these bones were materials for refining weapons, so he called on everyone to quickly collect them.
The Sword Sect disciples were overjoyed and skillfully took out their storage equipment to start picking up bones.
After picking up this one, everyone was still eager for more and set off to find the next one.
Later they also encountered skeleton beasts.
Skeleton beasts and skeleton birds are similar, except one lives on land and the other in the sky.
The skeleton beast is larger, has a wider attack range, and is more powerful. However, it is also much less agile than the skeleton bird.
Fortunately, both the skeleton beast and the skeleton bird have their weak points in their hearts. With everyone working together, it takes a bit more effort than fighting the skeleton bird, but it's not too difficult.
Moreover, the skeleton beasts have thicker and larger skeletons, which, according to the system, are more valuable.
Everyone was happily fighting the skeletons, but Lin Zhifeng was thinking about a question: Where did these skeletal beasts and skeletal birds come from? Were they eaten by someone, losing their flesh and blood, leaving only their souls to support their skeletons? Or were they just giant puppets made by someone?
If it's the latter, then why would its master make these giant puppets?
Is it protecting something?
He was paddling in the water to distract the skeleton bird while pondering these questions.
The system suddenly spoke up: "Master, there's a side quest available. Find the underground palace of the master of the secret realm and deliver a message—his lover is gone. The reward for completing the quest is five luck points. Master, would you like to accept?"
Lin Zhifeng, of course he accepted!
This task system is amazing, it's practically a cheat code!
Lin Zhifeng was overjoyed. It seemed that from now on, whenever he was unsure of something, he could simply check the control panel to see if the system had issued any tasks. And by referring to the task descriptions, it was like having a game guide at hand while playing a game! Passing the level would be a piece of cake.