Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

Chapter 284 Burial Sea Desert

North of the holy city of Zhongtan, a hundred miles outside the city, the plains come to an end.

Further ahead lies a vast desert, its boundaries barely visible on the map, appearing even larger than the Holy City.

This plain was completely different from the one I saw when I entered the city. There were no fields or villages, and the grass was all dry and yellow, crumbling underfoot.

The wind, carrying sand, blew by, stinging my skin. There were hardly any people on the road, only a few stalls and inns, where people were packing up their belongings.

The stall was covered with gauze, probably to keep out the sand.

As soon as Guan Xun stepped onto the plain, he was choked by the sand and coughed several times.

She frowned, covered her mouth and nose, and continued walking until she reached the edge of the desert before stopping.

After scanning the surroundings, my eyes were drawn to a wooden sign standing by the roadside. The sign had long been faded by the wind and sand, and a few words were crookedly engraved on it: "Enter with caution, sandworms eat people."

"Sandworms? What are those?" Her eyes flickered slightly before she turned to look at the small inn not far away. Without hesitation, she walked over.

We need to find out more about this godforsaken place first, otherwise having a map won't help.

The sandstorm was so fierce that even with her divine sense spread out, she couldn't see very far. She should have asked Elder Mud Woman for more information.

The inn was built of rammed earth, with most of the plaster on the walls peeling off, and a crooked wooden sign hanging at the entrance.

A worker was sweeping sand on the threshold. When he saw someone coming, his eyes widened for a moment, then he lowered his head and continued working.

Guan Xun's white gauze dress clung slightly to her body as the wind and sand blew, outlining her slender yet curvaceous figure.

She was naturally very beautiful, with snow-white skin, and in this dim light, she was like a dazzling light, naturally attracting a lot of attention.

Because of the strong winds and sandstorms, she had tied her long hair back with a white rope as soon as she left the city.

A few strands of hair were covered in sand, which she brushed aside with a clean and decisive motion, without a trace of coquetry.

"Check into a hotel," she said calmly, without wasting a single word. "And what's with the sandworm on the sign?"

The waiter stopped sweeping, rubbed his hands together, and stepped aside, saying, "Please come inside, sir, let's talk inside to avoid the wind."

As soon as I entered, a strong smell of sweat and alcohol mixed with the heat hit me.

The lobby was not large, with only a few wooden tables with missing legs, all covered with a layer of sand.

A fire was burning in the corner, and several burly men were drinking and eating meat around it. When they saw someone come in, they immediately fell silent.

Their eyes were fixed on Guan Xun, their gazes almost glued to her face and figure, their Adam's apples bobbing as they looked at her, clearly harboring wicked intentions.

But the thought was barely out of his head before it was forcibly suppressed.

This godforsaken place is so badly sandy it can drown people, and sandworms can gnaw on bones. Ordinary girls would be terrified just hearing the name of it, let alone coming here alone.

The woman in front of them was dressed in an eye-catching and beautiful manner, yet she walked here alone with a steady gait and no fear in her eyes. She was definitely a capable person.

They exchanged a glance, and the greed in their eyes quickly faded, replaced by wariness.

He then shifted back slightly, his hand stealthily reaching under the table to grip his magical weapon, his gaze towards Guan Xun now filled with apprehension.

Guan Xun ignored this and sat down at a table by the window.

The waiter brought over a bowl of muddy water. She glanced at it but didn't touch it, repeating her earlier question: "What are sandworms?"

The man shrank back, his voice a little strained: "Oh, it's the stuff hidden in the Burial Sea Desert. It only comes up when there's a commotion. The more noise it makes, the more it gathers."

"The Burial Sea Desert?" Guan Xun raised an eyebrow. "What's the name of this desert?"

"Yes, sir." The waiter nodded. "Go inside. Forget people, even camels carrying goods will be eaten by sandworms..."

Before he could finish speaking, another loud crash came from outside, as if something had been overturned by the sandstorm.

Guan Xun ignored him and was about to ask again when the waiter approached first and whispered, "Miss, judging from your appearance, are you also going into this Burial Sea Desert?"

"Yes, do you have any way to get through this safely?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter quickly waved his hand, a troubled look on his face: "Miss, listen to my advice, you absolutely cannot leave now. The sandstorm outside is raging, and when the wind picks up, you can't even tell which way to go."

"Sigh, let alone avoiding sandworms, you'd be lucky to avoid being buried alive. Why don't you stay at the inn for now and wait for this sandstorm to pass?"

Guan Xun gently stroked the edge of the table with her fingertips. She knew very well that she only had a year and a half to go back before the offering to Zhongtan Holy City. If she missed this opportunity, she would have to wait another three years... Time was of the essence, and she could not afford to waste even a moment.

Seeing that she didn't respond, the man added, "Wait a little longer, maybe you'll run into a camel caravan."

"The Shatuo Army? What's that?"

"They specialize in the business of burying people in the desert, they know the way very well, and they even carry powder to repel sandworms. Going with them will greatly increase your safety. However, this group just went north a few days ago, and according to their usual pace, they should be back soon. If you can wait two or three days, young lady..."

“No need,” Guan Xun interrupted him. “Do you know what the sandworms’ weaknesses are? Or what they are afraid of?”

The man hesitated for a moment, then quickly replied, "That thing is afraid of fire and dryness, and it can't survive without sand. As long as you don't make too much noise on the sand, and you have some tinder on hand, you should be able to protect yourself. But... the wind is strong in the desert, and any fire that starts will be blown out."

Guan Xun wasn't worried about this problem; her dark flames couldn't be extinguished by a mere gust of demonic wind.

She pulled a gold coin from her sleeve and slammed it on the table. The coin, heavy as it was, gleamed coldly in the dim firelight.

The waiter's eyes lit up, and he was about to speak when Guan Xun had already stood up.

She straightened her wind-blown skirt, lifted her foot, and walked out the door without looking back.

"This..." The waiter was so shocked that he forgot to take the gold coins. "They're really just leaving like that?"

Seeing this, the burly men around the fire also crowded around the doorway to peek inside.

"That girl just left like that?"

"How dare you! Didn't you see the sandstorm outside is almost obscuring the sky?"

"The air gets cooler at night, so the sandstorm is even stronger; you can't even see your toes when you look down..."

"What a pity, he's probably going to die in the Burial Sands Desert."

"Ugh……"

The murmurs were carried far by the wind and sand, and Guan Xun had already reached the edge of the sand dune.

The moment she stepped into the Burial Sea Desert, she subtly moved her fingertips, channeling the spiritual power within her body.

A dark crimson flame suddenly rose from her body, clinging to her white gauze dress and forming a semi-transparent barrier of flames.

The dark flames crackled and popped, swallowing up the oncoming sandstorm and murky air, burning them to black ash.

The gale, whipping up sand and dust, crashed into the dark flames as if they were hitting an invisible barrier, forcing them back three feet.

The black ash was swept by the wind and drifted back towards the inn, landing in front of the threshold.

The crowd watching the commotion at the door froze instantly, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg, utterly astonished.

"How come the fire wasn't blown out by the wind?" a burly man shouted in disbelief.

"Damn, it's spiritual energy transformed into flames, isn't it? This girl is really tough. No wonder she dared to venture into the Burial Sea Desert alone."

"Even if it's spiritual energy manifesting as flames, it can't be that miraculous, right? Her strength is truly unfathomable. My earlier apprehension was a gross underestimation of her."

The crowd clicked their tongues in amazement as they watched the white figure, enveloped in dark flames, step by step walk into the dim world, quickly becoming a blurry dot of light before finally disappearing completely into the sandstorm.

Like a lone boat, it plunged into an endless sea of ​​sand.