Chapter 776: Departure, Infinite Desert

The two stayed a few days on Chiyan Pingyuan to replenish some game, then headed deeper into Chiyan Pingyuan.

The boundless Chiyan Pingyuan had already become a snow plain.

But deep in this snow plain, it seemed as if a mighty divine being had drawn a clear boundary with a green brush.

One side was pure white, the other side gleaming gold; from afar, the boundary was distinct.

Wu Yue and her companion, having trudged along for a long time, were stunned by the distant scenery.

"It really feels as if it's been cut open—one place actually has two climates, truly amazing."

Yuan Lang didn't speak, but was obviously shocked by this fantastical sight before him.

As the distance closed, the place that seemed sliced by a green line lost some of its fantastical hue.

Where the gold desert meets the white snow plain, a green lifeline exists.

Perhaps because it's nourished by snowmelt, it also grows lush and vibrant.

Cloud-Stepping rested on the green grass, occasionally lowering its head to nibble a bite of precious Qingcao.

Wu Yue and her companion gazed at the vast desert ahead: "Though it looks scorching hot, the temperature isn't any higher than the snow plain."

"Shall we go in? Without someone familiar with the terrain to lead us, we'll likely lose our way inside."

Yuan Lang's dark brows furrowed slightly.

Without a guide, without a map of this golden territory, and most importantly, everything looks the same here—once inside, we might not even be able to tell direction.

"Host, a life without adventure is incomplete."

"If you want to go, go ahead—I, the System, support you."

The System popped up at the right moment.

Hehehe laughed, pulling from behind a scroll of beast skin that looked like it had been passed down for dozens of generations: "Host, here you can trade a broken bone for a map of the Infinite Desert—it contains all terrain and landform info, tribal locations, and even offers real-time navigation."

"Just 100 points—believe me, you won't lose out or get ripped off."

"In modern society, even a phone costs more than this—what do you say?"

Having said that, he looked at his own host with an expectant face, his eyes full of sincere little stars.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yue's eyes lit up; for her, who now sits on a large stash of points, spending 100 points on a navigation is no big deal.

She immediately waved her hand, sending over 100 points: "Done, done—remember to calibrate it for me."

Hearing the pleasant sound of points arriving, Tongzi instantly switched to professional mode.

He donned a technician's professional uniform, clicked the clanking DingTalk voiceover, and got busy.

After a moment, he wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead, flashed a tiny white tooth, and said: "Dear host, the system map has been installed; you can anytime call it up via the system panel to view and locate."

Then he respectfully handed her the beast‑skin map, which was old and nearly weathered: "This beast‑skin map can serve as an external display—wish you a pleasant journey."

"If you have any usage issues, contact Little Tong; I will serve you wholeheartedly, 24/7."

Wu Yue brushed off the fawning Little Tong, took out the beast skin and handed it to Yuan Lang: "Here, the map of the Infinite Desert."

The Beastfolk raised his eyebrows, knowing again it was that little female's miraculous ability, smiled, took it, and unfolded it carefully.

The next second, he pointed in astonishment at a red, twitching little arrow on the map: "This is..."

Wu Yue leaned over, saw a familiar cursor‑like arrow, and laughed: "This is our current position; we can see where we are on the map anytime, so we won't get lost in the desert."

Saying that, she quickly stepped a few paces away from Yuan Lang to the side.

As Yuan Lang watched the map, he saw that, with Yue's departure, the spot that had only one swaying arrow now split into another arrow, its trail matching the direction Yue had gone.

Meanwhile, his own cursor remained stationary at the original spot.

This beast‑skin map scroll is practically a divine artifact.

The main problem solved, the two rested a day on the lifeline at this junction, then entered the freezing yet fervent Infinite Desert.

In the winter Infinite Desert, the golden sand that used to scorch the feet now seemed to have absorbed all the cold, feeling bone‑chilling to the touch.

Vast expanses of golden sand were dotted with oases big and small.

On the land at the heart of each oasis lived the stronger tribes of this Infinite Desert.

Not far from the oases, in the dunes, lived some weaker mid‑sized tribes.

They dug dwellings deep enough in the rolling dunes, and to solidify the sand's shape they used the blood of a desert‑dwelling scorpion beast.

The stronger the scorpion beast, the longer its sand‑dwelling holds its shape.

Though this scorpion beast breeds prolifically and numbers are huge, its strength seems hard to improve.

So far, only the tribes of a few major oases possess sand‑holdings solidified with the blood of gold‑tier scorpion beasts.

It is said to have been handed down from their great‑great‑grandfather's era, and only a Grand Shaman is qualified to reside there.

At this moment, Wu Yue and Yuan Lang sat cross‑legged in a narrow sand burrow, chewing dried insect‑meat jerky, intently listening to the opposite old shaman talk about matters of the Infinite Desert.

To ask why the two are here, we must go back three days.

The two who entered the desert wandered along, guided by the old map, and finally arrived near a small oasis.

They were about to take out a few bags of salt from their space and hang them on Snow‑Stepping to form a small merchant convoy.

Before they could finish gearing up, cries came from beyond the dune, as if Beastfolk were hunting.

And that sound was rapidly approaching them.

Wu Yue only had time to shrink Cloud‑Stepping and tuck it into her side pack when, from behind the dune, a plump, vile worm as thick as a Beastfolk's waist surged out.

The deep‑yellow worm's body was also covered in scale armor; sensing the two's presence, its normally closed mouthparts opened, emitting a threatening hiss.

Wu Yue felt her sanity plummet, wondering how that fist‑sized mouth could split into eight fang‑filled segments the instant it hissed.

Seeing her pale, frightened little face, Yuan Lang's eyes turned icy cold.

His tall frame shielded the little female behind him as he flung off the black wrist brace: "Go on, do your work."

The thrown black ring struck the worm's opened jaw segment, bouncing with a lively "duang~duang~" twice.

Afterwards, a pair of vertical pupils, upon seeing the scene clearly, caused the whole brace to straighten out.

Suddenly assuming its complete form, it whooshed and wrapped the opponent in a deathly embrace, especially with its eight‑petaled mouth, leaving no gap.

After a moment, the meat worm entwined by the giant snake showed no sign of life.