“Nao, well done. Since the Orochi has already revealed its strength, let’s maximize its effects and expose the Federation more,” the middle-aged man said to the young man standing beside Orochi.
The youth turned around. She was wearing a Samurai outfit and her hair was tied up. She looked like an ordinary woman without a calm or heroic aura.
“You should call me by my full name, Uesugi Nao,” Uesugi Nao said.
The middle-aged man’s expression stiffened slightly as he continued with a cold expression, “However, it’s best you know your limits. It’s fine to gather information, but Orochi must not be lost.”
“I naturally know what to do,” Uesugi Nao said indifferently without looking at the middle-aged man.
“I hope you really know what should be done.” The middle-aged man snorted and left.
...
The entire Federation was discussing how to defeat Orochi and teach those demons overseas a lesson. They wanted them to know how powerful the Federation was.
Now, the pressure wasn’t only on the Cape family and the Family Clan of Gods. The other families also felt the pressure.
Xia Dongyue looked at the Xia family’s analysis of Orochi and said, “Orochi has multiple attributes and has a high resistance to ice. Its strength is extremely strong. The most terrifying thing is its tail’s destructive power. It can slice through almost everything. The owner of this Orochi is very smart, choosing Ice Elemental Sprite Queen that Orochi has a restraining effect on. This won them fourth place. While enjoying this high-ranking, they prevent Death of the Underworld that is best at restraining Orochi from challenging it because of its higher ranking.”
Xia Xuanyue said, “To deal with a Companion Beast like Orochi, Brother Chuan’s Companion Beast is most suitable. However, he went to the Southern Wilderness with Dugu Ge and Zhang Chunqiu. I’m afraid he won’t be able to return anytime soon.”
“No rush. Someone will be even more anxious than us.” Xia Dongyue smiled.
The person Xia Dongyue was referring to was naturally the Cape family and the Family Clan of Gods. It meant nothing if they were defeated by other hero families.
However, no one was more anxious than them when they were humiliated by the overseas demons.
...
Zhou Wen and Liu Yun had already entered the desert. This place was even more terrifying than Zhou Wen imagined.
Due to the influence of the dimensional storms, the difference between day and night temperatures became even greater. The temperature in the day was nearly 80-90°C. It was almost enough to roast a human. Yet, it was literally freezing at night.
Furthermore, terrifying sandstorms often appeared. According to Liu Yun, the desert’s terrain would change with each sandstorm. Dimensional zones would even appear after the change.
It was very likely that they would find themselves in a dimensional zone after a sandstorm.
“Don’t worry. With me around, I can avoid danger in the desert. I won’t lose my way, nor will I end up inside a dimensional zone because of the sandstorm.” Liu Yun’s injuries were almost healed. He sat on the turtle’s back and introduced the desert to Zhou Wen.
Although the desert temperature couldn’t damage Zhou Wen’s body, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Even with an umbrella shielding him, he still felt extremely hot.
The weather in the desert changed without warning. It was burning under the scorching sun a moment ago, and in the next second, black clouds appeared in the sky. In just a moment, they covered half the sky.
The sun was covered up and the sky darkened.
“Oh no, it’s a sandstorm. Why are we encountering a sandstorm here?” Liu Yun’s expression changed.
“Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t enter a dimensional zone even if you encountered a sandstorm?” Zhou Wen asked Liu Yun.
After the dimensional storms, sandstorms became especially terrifying. However, the power of the sandstorm wasn’t enough to threaten the safety of Epic experts. What they were most afraid of was the sandstorm sweeping up dimensional zones and causing them to find themselves inside one.
“Under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t be any problems.” Liu Yun clearly didn’t sound confident.
Although Zhou Wen could tell that Liu Yun lacked confidence, there was nothing he could do since he had already come so far.
The black sandstorm arrived in the blink of an eye. The terrifying storm had caught up to them and swept them into a swath of black sand that blotted out the sky.
Liu Yun summoned a wind-elemental Companion Beast and transformed into a windmill. It stood on the turtle’s head.
Strangely, the terrifying sandstorm blew at the windmill, causing it to spin faster and faster. However, the sand around them seemed to be absorbed by the windmill, preventing it from affecting the two people on the turtle’s back.
In the sandstorm, nothing could be seen. Even Truth Listener was affected, reducing its range.
“Did you hear anything?” Zhou Wen suddenly asked Liu Yun one hour into the turtle’s journey in the sandstorm.
“No, did you hear anything?” Liu Yun immediately became nervous. He pricked up his ears to listen, but he couldn’t hear anything.
“I seem to hear a woman crying, but I can’t hear it clearly,” Zhou Wen said to Liu Yun as he listened attentively.
“A woman crying? Listen carefully. Are you sure that’s right?” Liu Yun’s expression turned ugly.
Zhou Wen focused his attention and continued listening, but he couldn’t seem to hear the woman’s cries. After listening for a while, he didn’t hear the same sound again.
“I knew it. You must have heard wrongly.” Liu Yun heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zhou Wen shake his head.
The terrifying sandstorm blew for more than ten hours. By the time the sandstorm passed, it was already the morning of the next day. The sun had just risen, and the temperature wasn’t too high yet. The surrounding air seemed to have improved significantly, and there was a moist smell.
“See? I told you that with me around, you can freely enter the desert. It’s impossible for you to enter a dimensional zone,” said Liu Yun smugly.
As Liu Yun spoke, he stood up and looked into the distance. His expression suddenly froze.
Zhou Wen knew that something was amiss and stood up. He traced Liu Yun’s gaze and saw an ancient city appear in the desert ahead.
The ancient city was made of a yellow jade-like stone. It shimmered under the sunlight like the morning sun.
The architectural style of the ancient city was very strange. It was different from the ancient cities in Zhou Wen’s hometown. The city gates and roofs used large numbers of arches.
Zhou Wen narrowed his eyes and carefully sized it up. He saw that above the city gates were the words ‘Netherworld City.’
This name didn’t sound auspicious. Zhou Wen turned to look at Liu Yun and asked, “Do we need to pass by Netherworld City to reach the Endless Sea of Stars?”
However, Liu Yun didn’t answer Zhou Wen. As though he had gone mad, he ordered the turtle to change directions and run at full speed.
However, not long after running, they saw the ancient city that resembled yellow jade appear in front of them. On it were the words ‘Netherworld City’. It looked like the ancient city they had just seen.
“What’s going on?” Zhou Wen sized up Netherworld City, but his eyes suddenly lit up. This was because he saw a tiny symbol beside the words—a tiny palm symbol.