Chapter 252: Sand Court
Shen Xing is now at the Third Realm Late-Stage. With two Heaven Grade Martial Path Intents, even without wearing armor, he is not someone just any Spirit Realm expert can provoke.
“Got you.”
With a slash of his blade, another Startling Dragon, nearly a thousand meters deep beneath the desert sands, Shen Xing cleaved through a large space, striking the Spirit Realm expert in front of him, but sparing his life.
The blade rested directly on his neck.
Even though there was no light beneath the sand, Shen Xing’s eyes burned with a pale golden flame, allowing him to see everything clearly.
The person before him wore a special mask that covered his entire face, even his eyes. When the mask was removed, it revealed an extremely terrified face, looking no different from a dying minion, lacking any semblance of a powerful expert.
“How did you find me?” Shen Xing pressed, unhurried.
“It’s, it’s the Aura-Seeking Insect.” The man stared directly into Shen Xing’s eyes, feeling as if his very soul was burning. The fear intensified the burning, making him want to scream, but he dared not disobey.
“What’s that?” Shen Xing asked.
“It’s, it’s a type of insect that can find life auras and distinguish realms.” The man was on the verge of madness, wailing, “We had no idea we would encounter you! We were just looking for weaker targets to rob!”
“You’re a Spirit Realm expert, yet you’re reduced to being a bandit in this Sand Court Region?” Shen Xing raised an eyebrow. “Don’t panic. Answer calmly. I want to understand the situation in the Sand Court Region.”
His calm words seemed to give the man a glimmer of hope for survival. His tone gradually steadied, and he explained the situation in the Sand Court Region in detail.
In this place, bandits like him were indeed common.
Not just Spirit Realm, even Mountain and Sea Realm experts were among their ranks.
Firstly, most of the abundant Yuan Qi in the Sand Court Region was beneath the desert sands. Secondly, resources in this area were indeed scarce and concentrated. Valuable resources were almost entirely concentrated in the oases, controlled by the Sand Court. Apart from that, if one stayed in one place for too long, they would quickly deplete the resources.
Therefore, wanderers were the most common.
Naturally, banditry became a promising career.
“I see.” Shen Xing mused, gaining some understanding of the “cultural environment” of the Sand Court Region.
Then, with a swift slash, he ended the man’s life.
Because towards the end, he clearly sensed a hint of deception from the man, probably realizing that he was new to this place and completely unfamiliar with it, even carrying a hint of naivety.
However, while Shen Xing might indeed be unfamiliar, now that he understood the nature of this place, he had to “adapt to the local customs.”
“No wonder the information from Tianyuan Sect and the Great Shang Dynasty said this place is suitable for trials,” Shen Xing pondered. “Indeed, the human heart is treacherous. But since I’m here, I can’t waste resources. I need to find an oasis and gather some intelligence. Hmm?”
His gaze suddenly sharpened, as a powerful aura rapidly approached from his right.
In an instant, a massive spike imbued with a dark blue Yuan Power thrust towards him from the desert sands.
It was a venomous scorpion, at least at the Spirit Realm Late-Stage!
Shen Xing realized that the sand in this place seemed to have the effect of isolating auras. Such a powerful demon beast, if it were on the surface, could be sensed from hundreds of kilometers away. But now, he only detected it when it was a few kilometers away, and that was because of his exceptionally strong Divine Soul and perception.
“The depths of this desert are not peaceful either.” Shen Xing moved with extreme speed, his body like a roaming dragon, constantly dodging.
A demon beast of this level, in this environment, could actually cause him some trouble.
Moreover, Shen Xing discovered several other demon beast auras, rapidly approaching.
Looking at the corpse of the Spirit Realm expert, he understood the reason.
When a Spirit Realm expert died, a large amount of Yuan Power would dissipate, and coupled with the strong Qi and Blood, it was extremely attractive to the demon beasts in the desert.
However, this number was excessive.
Because of the desert, many powerful demon beasts could hide, avoiding being hunted down by humans?
Shen Xing’s figure flashed rapidly, his long saber dancing, killing several demon beasts in succession. He discovered that the number of demon beasts rushing towards him was increasing, and they were all Fourth Realm!
Clearly, if he continued to fight here, the accumulated Qi and Blood and Yuan Power would only increase.
No matter how strong he was, he would eventually be exhausted, especially since he was only at the Third Realm.
He could only grab everything from the Spirit Realm expert’s body and break through upwards.
After a fierce battle, Shen Xing finally emerged from the desert sands, panting heavily. The Yuan Power within him circulated rapidly, and the Eight-Pattern Golden Pill he had just swallowed was already half consumed in this short time.
“The efficiency has indeed improved.” Shen Xing looked at his arm, where a wound was visible, infused with poisonous Yuan Power, hindering its recovery.
However, it was not a major issue.
This level of demon beast Yuan Power, although poisonous, was far inferior to the Yuan Power of the Heaven Grade Ten Thousand Dragons Technique.
But Shen Xing had also found his limit.
Surrounded by more than a dozen Spirit Realm demon beasts, with his Divine Sense perception affected by the desert sands, even he was injured.
Fortunately, the efficiency of his cultivation had indeed changed, and that was the greatest satisfaction!
“An oasis.” From the Spirit Realm expert’s belongings, Shen Xing found a map, which clearly marked his current location, ensuring he wouldn’t get lost even in the vast desert.
He quickly located an oasis and abandoned his original direction, rushing towards it at full speed.
◈◈◈
However, after traveling just over ten miles, several more Spirit Realm sand bandits found him.
“This is really…” Shen Xing didn’t hold back. He went all out, killing one first, then chasing another, scattering the sand bandits in all directions.
By the time he finally saw the oasis, Shen Xing, who had initially appeared quite elegant, now looked disheveled, his aura unstable, and even the long saber in his hand, which was inscribed with many inscriptions and considered a Third-Grade Spiritual Weapon, was chipped.
Because on his journey, he had encountered twelve groups of sand bandits!
That’s right, twelve groups!
There was even one instance where two groups of sand bandits found him simultaneously, launching their attacks with perfect coordination. Among them was a Fourth Realm Late-Stage expert, which proved to be an extremely challenging battle for Shen Xing.
Of course, he ultimately won.
Relying on his perfected body movement technique, he fought and retreated, killing three Spirit Realm experts before finally causing the sand bandits to collapse.
And he roughly understood the reason ━ a lone Third Realm expert walking in this desert was simply the best target for robbery.
He looked like someone who was lost.
Clearly, the so-called “Aura-Seeking Insect” could only determine location and realm but not actual strength.
However, as Shen Xing looked at the tall city wall in front of him and the numerous crude sand houses built on both sides outside the city gate, he felt a sense of novelty.
“All the oases in this entire region are monopolized by the Sand Court. Ordinary martial artists are only fit to live outside the city, exchanging exorbitant prices for small amounts of water and food.” As Shen Xing walked, he sensed the faint, malicious gazes from the crude sand houses, some of which even belonged to Spirit Realm experts.
Even Spirit Realm experts couldn’t enter the city?
“You!” A martial artist, who was only at the Innate Realm, stood at the gate, looking Shen Xing up and down with slanted eyes. He took out a wriggling insect and held it towards Shen Xing, then glanced at the color that appeared on the insect. He said disdainfully, “Third Realm. To enter the city, one Third-Grade High-Grade pill, or ten Third-Grade Mid-Grade pills, or thirty Third-Grade Low-Grade pills.”
“Just to enter the city, it costs so many pills?” Shen Xing was truly surprised.
But this sentence made the originally lazy Innate Realm gatekeeper stand up straight, looking Shen Xing up and down with a playful gaze.
“An outsider?”
“That’s right.” Shen Xing smiled faintly. “In your place, even a Second Realm dares to be so disrespectful to a Third Realm?”
“Hehe, let me tell you, let alone a Third Realm, even a Spirit Realm expert has to be submissive in front of me.” The Innate Realm expert lifted his tattered spiritual armor. “Because I’m from the Sand Court! Now, if you want to enter, you have to pay sixty Third-Grade Low-Grade pills!”
His gaze towards Shen Xing was filled with undisguised greed.
Outsiders like this, daring to come to the Sand Court, must be carrying plenty of pills.
Otherwise, without the ability to find resources in the vast desert, they wouldn’t have been able to reach here alive.
A standard fat sheep!
However, Shen Xing’s expression remained calm, even somewhat curious. “The Sand Court’s prestige is indeed great, but if I kill you here, regardless of whether I can escape or not, you’re already dead.”
Whoosh—
The man instantly retreated more than twenty meters, appearing somewhat wary, but he still sneered at Shen Xing.
He directly shook the jade token in his hand.
Within a short time, several figures, also wearing tattered spiritual armor, appeared at the gate.
The leader was a Spirit Realm expert.
He stretched lazily, looking both lazy and arrogant.
“Captain.” The Innate Realm expert obsequiously approached, pointing at Shen Xing. “This one threatened to kill me. Everyone heard it.”
“That’s right, we all heard it.” Many martial artists suddenly appeared, including three or four Spirit Realm experts.
“This kid did indeed say that.”
“Sir, let us take action and capture him for you.”
“Offending the Sand Court, all involved must be captured!”
“An outsider who seeks death, not worth Sir’s personal attention.”
“…”
These martial artists were extremely fawning, even the Spirit Realm experts, which further highlighted the status of the person in front of them.
Or rather, it highlighted the status of the Sand Court.
