After speaking, Xifeng went to the front to lead the way. The others followed him into the desert, each lost in their own thoughts.

「One hour later.」

Ye Wushuang’s brow furrowed. He suddenly stopped and looked down at the ground, then shouted, "There’s danger!"

Instantly, the group went on high alert, as if facing a great enemy. They stared warily at the ground, terrifying power gathering in their palms, ready to strike.

But when they looked down, they found nothing unusual. Thinking Ye Wushuang was playing a joke on them, they became furious. "Kid, are you messing with us?!"

Ye Wushuang didn’t respond. He stood his ground, his powerful Divine Sense penetrating deep beneath the earth and spreading outward, sensing waves of danger stealthily approaching.

"Hmph, let’s go!" The group glared at him, convinced he was just toying with them. They completely ignored Ye Wushuang and continued onward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just moments later, a series of rupturing sounds suddenly echoed. The ground beneath the group seemed to explode, sending sand flying in all directions. One after another, vortexes appeared, and countless terrifying creatures burst out from underground.

These creatures were a species of Sand Scorpion. They were huge, their entire bodies covered in a black substance that looked like leather armor. It glinted with a cold, metallic luster under the sun.

Each had a giant tail, held inverted above its body, with a tip as sharp as a needle.

SHLICK!

SHLICK!

Caught unprepared, many people were instantly impaled by the scorpion tails. Their life essence was drained completely, leaving them as shriveled husks of skin and bone.

"Dammit, it’s a real ambush!" The crowd descended into panic. Forgetting about everyone else, they frantically unleashed a barrage of fierce attacks in all directions. The rampant energy blasted even their own companions away.

SHLICK! SHLICK!

The people sent flying were instantly skewered and killed by the Sand Scorpions, their bodies devoured whole.

"You idiots! What are you doing?! Focus on the Sand Scorpions, or we’re all going to die here!"

Seeing how everyone selfishly disregarded the lives of others just to protect themselves, Xifeng roared in fury. If this continued, they would all be doomed.

The Sand Scorpions were only at about the True Essence Third Layer, so they weren’t that strong. But there were so many of them that the group was thrown into chaos.

Hearing Xifeng’s shout, they snapped back to their senses. Gazing at the dozen people who had died in a flash, they knew full well that this was bad for them. If people kept dying, their group’s strength would be weakened, and sooner or later, they would all be surrounded and killed by the Sand Scorpions.

RUMBLE!

The group attacked in a fury. A torrent of violent energy poured forth, sending the Sand Scorpions flying. Many of them exploded into a bloody mist in mid-air.

Ye Wushuang remained in place, as unmoving as a mountain. His expression betrayed no emotion as his eyes remained fixed on the Sand Scorpions closing in on him.

Then, he stretched out his hands, forming a series of True Essence Palms that snatched the Sand Scorpions and pulled them directly into the Dragon Blood Divine Cauldron, where they were refined into pure Beast Essence Pills.

’Even a mosquito is still meat.’ The Beast Essence Pills were enough to raise his Cultivation by a fair amount, and he could also earn points. It was the best of both worlds, so he was more than happy to continue.

In just a few moments, dozens of the attacking Sand Scorpions had all been turned into his Beast Essence Pills. The Sand Scorpions farther away saw this and gave him a wide berth, as if they had just met the god of plagues.

RUMBLE!

On the other side, Su Mu was in high spirits and looked completely at ease. He was at the True Essence Sixth Layer, more than enough to handle these low-level Demon Beasts. He could kill one with almost every palm strike.

"Mere Sand Scorpions, nothing to be afraid of!" he said with utter disdain. He killed more than a dozen in a matter of seconds, leaving the others nearby in shock.

"Su Mu really is powerful. With him around, we’re sure to be safe." The others gazed at Su Mu, filled with admiration as they watched him effortlessly slaughter the Sand Scorpions.

The others also fought with renewed vigor, frantically slaughtering the Sand Scorpions.

Meanwhile, Xifeng was being besieged by dozens of Sand Scorpions. Their tails were like a volley of long spears, constantly piercing the air as they tried to run him through.

Even though he was at the True Essence Fifth Layer, he was struggling to cope.

Seeing this, Ye Wushuang immediately started walking toward him. Xifeng had kindly warned him earlier, which gave Ye Wushuang a favorable impression of the man. He couldn’t just watch him die.

As he walked over, any Sand Scorpion that appeared in his path was instantly sucked into the Dragon Blood Divine Cauldron. The other Sand Scorpions saw this and scattered, making way for him.

"Don’t come over!" Xifeng shouted upon seeing Ye Wushuang approach. ’I’m at the True Essence Fifth Layer and I can’t handle this. A True Essence Third Layer is just coming here to die.’

However, Ye Wushuang didn’t listen and strode forward. Waves of Devouring Power emanated from his body, striking fear into the Sand Scorpions. Before Ye Wushuang could even make a move, they began to scatter and flee.

"Are you alright?" Ye Wushuang asked calmly as he approached.

"They retreated?" Xifeng didn’t answer at first. He stared at the departing Sand Scorpions, utterly astonished. ’Just moments ago, they seemed determined to kill me, and now they’ve suddenly fled.’

"What was that all about?" Xifeng turned and stared blankly at Ye Wushuang, wondering, ’Could he have some special method that made these Sand Scorpions fall back?’

Ye Wushuang smiled faintly and said casually, "Maybe they were in a hurry to go home and digest."

Hearing this, Xifeng was rendered speechless. ’That’s his explanation?’ He didn’t believe it for a second, of course, but he didn’t overthink it. Now that the Sand Scorpions had retreated, at least his life was saved.

Elsewhere, the Sand Scorpions were retreating as well.

Seeing this, the rest of the group was overjoyed. "It seems the Sand Scorpions were intimidated by Brother Su’s strength and got scared away! We have Brother Su to thank this time."

"Yeah, Brother Su is so powerful. We can feel at ease following him."

Everyone looked at Su Mu with gratitude.

Instantly, a smug look appeared on Su Mu’s face. He glanced at Ye Wushuang, his eyes flashing with a cold light. He had originally wanted to take this chance to kill Ye Wushuang.

But now that he had everyone’s support, he feared that killing Ye Wushuang now would create resentment.

’I’ll let you live a little longer for now. Once I’m done using these people to help me seize the treasure, I’ll take care of all of you, one by one.’

Su Mu thought coldly. He wouldn’t just kill Ye Wushuang; he would get rid of everyone here. That was the fastest way to rack up points.

’But the prerequisite is to find the Fiery Sun Sect disciples. I’ll follow them and then worry about snatching the treasure.’

Ye Wushuang watched the fawning, sycophantic crowd, the corner of his mouth twitching into a mocking smile.

"Unbelievable," Xifeng said. "You warned them earlier, yet not one has come to thank you."

"Let’s go."

Ye Wushuang couldn’t be bothered to argue about it. He called out to Xifeng and kept moving forward.

As they pressed on, the surrounding temperature steadily rose, scorching everyone’s skin. Many felt unwell but could only grit their teeth and endure.

Half an hour later, the group came to a stop. They looked up to see a massive mountain standing in their line of sight.

The mountain was enormous and incredibly peculiar. It was wreathed in fire, stood tens of thousands of feet high as if to burn the very Firmament, and from afar, it looked just like a Flame Mountain!

Even from a great distance, scorching waves of heat crashed over them in succession, making everyone’s skin feel like it was being roasted.

"Quick, look! Those are disciples from the Fiery Sun Sect!" a young man suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the figures ahead.

And what’s more, that group was heading right toward them!