Chapter 356: Hidden Beneath the Desert (1/2)

A sandstorm could rage for as long as days on end, and even now not long had passed but they were already facing a dangerous situation.

The experts of the Demon Phoenix Continent were all amazed by seeing Xue Wei using his own body to wrap around them and protect them from the razor-sharp sand that could tear them to pieces within moments.

The Devouring Life Scale Shield was starting to succumb to the onslaught of the whistling winds, and the surrounding area was turning devoid of any Wood Element Qi.

The longer time went on, the harder it became for Xue Wei to hold on.

The Devouring Life Scale Shield downgraded to a normal Life Scale shield after two hours as there was no more wood elemental qi in the surroundings.

After another three hours, Xue Wei had no more wood elemental qi within his body, and the life scale shield turned into an ordinary scale shield, the sand causing more and more injuries to appear on Xue Wei's massive body.

Xue Wei could only grit his teeth in pain as he felt the wounds multiply on his body. Blood was flowing in rivers and scales were dropping to the sand, only to be covered up in an instance by the raging sandstorm, forever lost in the depths of the desert.

As Xue Wei was on the verge of collapsing the sandstorm finally died down. The gale started to turn into gentle winds, and the sand which had been flying every which where was turning into new dunes. The desert looked completely different now from how it had looked before.

The dunes had moved place, and although it was unmistakenly still a desert, everything had turned around.

Xue Wei returned to the shape of a human when he had ensured that the sandstorm was truly gone. His body was bloody and battered, even as he stood as a human, he was riddled with wounds and exhausted.

”We will rest for a day before continuing,” Xue Wei said as he draped a robe over his shoulders and sat down. He quickly took out multiple different pills and popped them into his mouth, resembling a kid eating candy.

The moment they entered his body, he felt how they turned into cool streams of energy that started working on healing his body.

The many Demon Phoenix Continent's geniuses and princes had no objections at this point; not even the First Prince said anything.

At this point, Xue Wei was a hero in the eyes of almost every member of the group as he had shielded them all with his own body, taken all wounds that should rightfully have been theirs. They all felt newfound respect towards him for this.

The First Prince knew that if he said something at this point, not only would no one agree with him, the experts that usually revered him would grow alienated from his lack of gratitude towards Xue Wei.

The day went by fast, and as the sun rose in the sky, Xue Wei stretched his body. Although it would take some time for him to once more have any wood elemental qi within his body, he still had restored his body to peak condition, and his Qi was also restored.

He was slightly dejected about the wood elemental qi, but he knew he could do nothing about it. In an environment like this, it was hard to restore it.

Sighing, he could only feel that at least he had not wasted it, he had used it to trade the lives of himself, his friends, and companions. Also, it was not gone forever, just for a short period of time.

Thinking like this, he felt that it was not too bad, and he began walking the same direction that he had walked before.

He could not wait to exit this goddamn place. Although he was not enjoying the time in the desert, he had to admit that he had gained a lot from their journey here.

They walked towards the southwest, heading towards summer and the many treasures one could find there.

However, after walking for a few moments, Xue Wei stopped and frowned. The sand underneath their feet had vanished, an instead it had turned to stone.

The stone-ground was black as obsidian, and there was a big gaping hole in front of them.

This hole was clearly human-made.

Stairs were leading down towards an unknown world underneath. No one could see anything else than pitch-black darkness.

It was not only Xue Wei who was frowning, but all of them also had the same thought. Should they enter this unknown entrance, or should they continue towards summer?

After hesitating for some time, Xue Wei had decided that he wanted to check it out. Even if it was risky, it was likely that the treasures beneath this desert were as amazing as the stuff that could be found within Summer.

”I am entering this place,” Xue Wei said with a determined voice. ”This is going to be immensely dangerous, and I cannot guarantee your survival if you choose to enter together with me.”

The Demon Phoenix Continent's geniuses were deep in thought. They wanted to go with Xue Wei, but they did not want to become a hindrance to him. Neither did they want to throw their lives away.

”Why don't you all follow me?” the voice of the First Prince suddenly sounded.

”We will continue towards Summer, and wait for Sir Xue to catch up with us again.”

The First Prince had no intention of returning control of the group to Xue Wei, but it would sound bad if he said that, hence he made it look as if them going ahead was a great favor to him, and that he was a right person to offer to lead them.

Xue Wei was able to understand what was going on without even thinking about it, and even most of the experts from the Demon Phoenix Continent could think of the reason for the First Prince to make this offer.

However, they did not disagree; all they did were staying quiet. When Xue Wei returned to them, it was their choice whether or not they wished to follow the First Prince or Xue Wei.

At that time, it would depend on whether or not the First Prince had done an excellent job. If he had led them to even more treasure than Xue Wei, then it would be stupid to leave him, but if they had suffered, then they would gladly join Xue Wei once more.