Chapter 3219: It

The desert vehicle sped along. After rushing over a sand dune, the wheels ground heavily into the ground, kicking up a large cloud of fine sand as it darted forward.

Su Xiao crouched halfway on the roof of the vehicle, looking behind him. A pillar of black-red blood Qi surged into the sky in the distance. This blood Qi pillar was about five meters thick, as if connecting heaven and earth, and the sky directly above was stained the color of blood.

Assuming the blood-gas monster from earlier was a triple-fusion, after devouring the fusion of the three 'projections' of Morey and the others, this blood-gas monster has become a **-body.

This was a terrifying situation. First, the blood Qi monster used Su Xiao's "projection" as its main body, having swallowed the "projection monsters" of Wood and Ceyas. In other words, it used Su Xiao's ability characteristics as its primary system and Wood and Ceyas's abilities as secondary systems.

For Su Xiao, the blood Qi monster at that time was manageable, provided he found Lilim. Some of Lilim's abilities were highly likely to counter the blood Qi monster.

The blood Qi monster inherited Su Xiao's abilities as its primary system, which meant it would also have the same weakness as Su Xiao: low Charisma characteristics.

The blood Qi monster lacked the support of equipment and could not offset the penalties of negative Charisma. Through Su Xiao's observation, this monster had seized immortality from Ceyas's "projection" and weirdness, compatibility, and adaptability from Wood's "projection."

As a Devil, Wood did not have any particularly prominent specialties, but to master the power of contracts, one must have strong ability compatibility to adapt to the characteristics of different contracts.

As for Wood's adaptability, it was because he often carried the Abyss Jar; it would be hard for his adaptability not to be strong.

Originally, the blood Qi monster swallowing two co-located individuals was its limit, but the characteristics of Wood's "projection" allowed the blood Qi monster to swallow more "projections."

The most fatal point lay here: the triple-fusion swallowed by the blood Qi monster was formed by the fusion of the "projections" of Morey, the Moon Apostle, and Lilim.

Morey could be ignored; the main problem lay with the Moon Apostle and Lilim. Both of their abilities had Charisma characteristics—one was summoning-based, and the other was violent control over the mind.

After swallowing the "projections" of the Moon Apostle and Lilim, the blood Qi monster's Charisma-based resistance would skyrocket, reaching normal levels, or even manifesting high resistance to Charisma characteristics.

This meant the blood Qi monster's weakness had vanished. It used Su Xiao's abilities as its core, Ceyas's immortality as support, Wood's adaptability for expansion, and also possessed Morey's energy-based super-precision control, Lilim's Charisma attribute resistance, and finally, the Moon Apostle's summoning characteristics. This thing was highly likely capable of producing summoned creatures; after all, Su Xiao had three followers and one permanent summoned creature, and the blood Qi monster would likely inherit this kind of power.

Added to the fact that the Endless Desert was this monster's home field, no matter how one looked at it, this monster was somewhat invincible; the compatibility of its various abilities was too tight.

The moment this thought appeared in Su Xiao's mind, he rejected it. This monster was not invincible. Judging from its many performances, its behavioral patterns were relatively simple, meaning this thing did not have high intelligence and might even be acting according to instinct.

Su Xiao felt this was the only chance to win. Fighting the monster head-on was unwise. Even if they paid a painful price to win, they would have no way to seize the 【Scroll Fragment】 in the Sand World afterward—a huge loss.

With this thought, Su Xiao suddenly saw the light. Whether it was this Endless Desert or the blood Qi monster that appeared due to their "projections," they were all a defense mechanism to prevent outsiders from entering the Sand World.

To the indigenous people of this world, all outsiders were enemies. This world required the consumption of 【Scroll Fragments】 to maintain its current state. Once all the 【Scroll Fragments】 here were taken, it would be their doomsday.

Su Xiao and the others entered this world. From the perspective of the indigenous people, Su Xiao and the others were world-enders, destroyers.

In every sense, the facts were exactly so. Even after the 【Scroll Fragments】 were gathered in sufficient quantity to paint a stable new world, it had nothing to do with the indigenous people of the Sand World. They would only fight to the death to hold onto the Sand World. They had already experienced one "migration" and would not participate in a second, nor did they dare to participate in a second "migration."

Su Xiao's thoughts gradually cleared. To leave the Endless Desert, solving the blood Qi monster was a must. Looking at the blood Qi pillar of light surging into the sky from afar, he had a strategy in mind. This was not a problem he had to solve alone; all existing forces had to be utilized, including Morey, the Moon Apostle, and the others. If nothing else, the Apocalypse sisters ran fast, which was very important.

The desert vehicle sped along, the wind whistling in his ears. After driving for nearly three hours, the vehicle came to a sudden stop, and the Moon-type elk running alongside it also stopped. No rumbling sound came from behind; the blood Qi monster had not pursued them.

"I'm about to be roasted into a salted fish."

Morey took the water bottle from the Moon Apostle's neck, gave the nearly dehydrated Moon Apostle a few large gulps first, then took two gulps herself, and then handed it to Lilim behind her. The order of drinking was from tallest to shortest, very orderly.

After finishing the water, Lilim quietly tapped Morey on the lower back. This was a subtle reminder to Morey to be careful not to be used.

"The three of you, what are your thoughts on what just happened?"

Wood stepped off the vehicle. Although his tone carried a smile, his mood was not good.

"Thoughts? Ouch~"

The Moon Apostle's lower back took a punch from Morey, and she turned her head away, not speaking, afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"That monster swallowed the 'projections' of the three of us and became stronger. The three of us are responsible for this."

Morey's words made Wood, who was walking forward, stop in his tracks.

"However, where did that monster covered in blood Qi come from? We're all turtles in the water, so let's not compare whose eyes are greener. That's the logic, right, Skull-head brother?"

Although Morey's words were a bit silly, the logic was indeed sound.

"Skull-head... brother?"

Wood laughed, the flames in his eyes condensing.

"Wood, do you really think... I am transparent?"

Lilim looked at Wood, and a faint black-purple phantom appeared behind her. Seeing this, flames ignited beside Wood, and a contract that was only partially formed burned itself up. Wood didn't care about Lilim in her normal state, but if this Succubus awakened, it would be a different concept.

"Just a joke, don't be so serious."

Wood stopped looking at Morey. The blood bead inside Morey's cuff gradually faded, and she felt a sense of relief in her heart. In truth, she really wanted to concede, but she couldn't do that now. If her attitude were to falter at this moment, she might be dead without a trace left in a few hours.

Lilim tapped Morey on the head from behind, which counted as giving her a thumbs up, agreeing with her approach. One couldn't be cowardly now, otherwise, they would be used until they doubted their lives, dying without even knowing how.

"At a time like this, don't have internal strife."

Ceyas came out to smooth things over, having already mastered the art of playing both good and bad cop. He continued:

"According to my observations along the way, it's meaningless to walk in any direction to leave this desert. Our 'projections' are the key to leaving this desert. According to standard procedures, we should defeat our respective 'projections' to leave this desert. Even if we cooperate, it would be at most two or three people. The problem now is that all five of our projections were swallowed by Bai Ye's projection and turned into that monster. How to disperse or eliminate that monster is what we should consider most at this stage."

After Ceyas finished speaking, he felt his mouth dry. His gaze turned to Baha, and Baha was not stingy, tossing him a cold water storage jar.

"How about we team up to fight? This god-tier lineup is invincible."

The Moon Apostle became more excited as she spoke. The powerful enemies they had to face with trepidation before had suddenly become powerful teammates; this feeling was too wonderful.

"Don't dream, we can't beat it."

Morey poured cold water on the Moon Apostle. She had seen the blood Qi monster before and only felt terrified.

"Even if we join forces, the probability of winning is not high. Furthermore, even if we win, our side's death toll will be over 80%."

Wood took out the Abyss Jar, hesitating whether to use this thing to break the deadlock. This seemed feasible, but if there was the slightest mistake, the price would be higher than fighting the blood Qi monster head-on.

"I need some materials, but given the current situation, it's almost impossible to get them. So, using some high-value substitutes is the only way."

After Su Xiao finished speaking, he pulled a backpack from the back seat of the desert vehicle and took out a translucent crystalline substance. This item was called 【Cohesive Crystal】. Su Xiao bringing it was not because of foresight; he had previously taken items like the 【Navigation Compass】 and 【Prison Rice】 from his storage space and put them in the backpack, carried by Xiang Bubu, for emergencies.

Su Xiao had obtained the 【Cohesive Crystal】 for some time. He had originally obtained a large piece and sometimes used it when setting up alchemy arrays. Now, only a piece the size of a fist remained.

He had obtained this item after encountering the Void creature Jormungandr in a war world and trading with it. Unfortunately, since that trade, Su Xiao had never again encountered that giant octopus, which looked terrifying but was actually foolishly cute.

【Cohesive Crystal】 possessed good spatial blocking properties and was an excellent choice for setting up traps.

Su Xiao's plan was to set up an alchemy array as a trap to significantly reduce the blood Qi monster's combat power before attacking it in a group.

Currently, his storage space was sealed, and the materials for setting up the alchemy array were incomplete. This was not unsolvable, but it required paying a price many times higher than before. Su Xiao could set up alchemy arrays that didn't require various materials, but that required very unique energy, such as equipment, treasures, or extraordinary powers.

This was not about using equipment or treasures, but using them as one-time items to significantly enhance the lethality of the alchemy array.

Su Xiao briefly explained the situation to everyone. Of course, he didn't say he was going to set up an alchemy array, but called it an "induction-type array trap." As long as the alchemy array set up was high-level enough, even if Wood and the others were old schemers, they would be like ducks listening to thunder; after seeing those complicated patterns, let alone remembering them, they wouldn't even be able to distinguish the lines.

"Treasure."

"Equipment."

"And it's one-time use."

While everyone was hesitating, Morey gritted her teeth and stepped forward, looking at Su Xiao and asking, "Bai Ye, how much confidence do you have?"

"Eighty percent."

"That high, it feels a bit unreal."

Morey scratched her head, full of struggle. Just as she wanted to ask a few more questions, she noticed Su Xiao's gaze had changed. This familiar gaze made Morey shiver; it was this gaze last time, and then her leg was broken.

"Then I'll trust you once, don't screw me over."

Morey took off a ring from her hand, hesitated several times, and then placed it in Su Xiao's palm.

【Prompt: You have obtained temporary control of the Lost Guardian. It can be consumed, destroyed, not traded, and not held for a long time...】

Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao was very surprised. He didn't expect Morey to actually take out an Immortal-grade piece of equipment.

"You absolutely must not screw me over."

Morey took off an earring while speaking and placed it in Su Xiao's hand.

【You have obtained temporary control of the Wind's Whisper. It can be consumed, destroyed, not traded, and not held for a long time...】

Su Xiao scrutinized Morey, re-evaluating Morey's level of wealth.

"I'll trust you guys this once."

The Moon Apostle handed over a ring, full of struggle.

【You have obtained temporary control of the Fallen Eye...】

Seeing the quality and attributes of this ring, Baha on Su Xiao's shoulder widened his eyes and sighed, "The Apocalypse is really damn rich."

Baha sighed from the bottom of his heart. Before long, Wood, Ceyas, and Lilim each took out an item.

"Bai Ye, aren't you going to show something? That piece of Cohesive Crystal is just rare, not precious."

Wood spoke. Everyone present had bled, and his meaning was to let Su Xiao bleed too.

"I paid a higher price than you guys."

"Oh? You mean?"

"Knowledge."

"Alright, you win."

Wood had nothing to say; this was actually a god-tier assist from a teammate. Wood appeared to be emotionally unbalanced, but in reality, he was deliberately letting Su Xiao state that he had contributed knowledge, so as to prevent others from feeling unbalanced and causing problems during their cooperation.

"There's another problem. We set up the trap here. If that monster doesn't take the initiative to find us, once our fresh water runs out, we will die before it does. This desert is its home field; it won't be affected."

Ceyas looked troubled. Wood immediately followed his words:

"That's the logic. So after the trap is set up, we must take the initiative to lure it over. If everyone goes, the target is too big. It's best to send 1 to 2 people to lure the monster to the trap."

"Hmm, makes sense. As for the candidates?"

"Decide by drawing lots?"

"No, drawing lots has too much luck involved, and not everyone is suitable for this. Voting is more feasible."

"Makes sense."

After a conversation between Ceyas and Wood, everyone fell silent. Morey carefully pondered the two's words, always feeling something was wrong.

"Mo, Morey."

The Moon Apostle touched Morey's hand. Morey looked at the Moon Apostle in confusion. The Moon Apostle tilted her chin, signaling Morey to look ahead. Morey turned her head to look, and several pairs of eyes were looking at her and the Moon Apostle.

It's decided, it's you, Apocalypse sisters. ===== CHAPTER 3220 =====