The azure sky was devoid of clouds, save for the scorching sun high above, radiating intense heat. Below, a golden expanse stretched endlessly, a vast sea of sand as far as the eye could see. Zhang Ling had never witnessed such a sight before.
He stood there dumbfounded for quite some time before regaining his senses.
“Could I have arrived at the Black Cloud Desert?” Zhang Ling muttered to himself, gazing at the surrounding landscape.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he released his flying boat, soaring twenty to thirty feet into the air. After surveying the scene for a while, Zhang Ling lowered his head, a look of confusion crossing his face as he took note of his location.
Looking into the distance, the sky was high, the clouds were sparse, and endless sand dunes dominated the horizon.
He had only seen such a vast and boundless desert in books. But now, witnessing it firsthand, the feeling was entirely different, and he was genuinely shocked.
Turning his head, he glanced at a clear river, a dozen feet wide, that snaked its way into the distance. This was where he had emerged.
Zhang Ling controlled his magical artifact, flying in a circle for several miles, but he didn't spot a single person.
“It seems I really have arrived at the Black Cloud Desert.”
Earlier, he had jumped into the small pool inside the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling. The current was rapid, and he was immediately swept into an undercurrent.
He didn't know how long he was carried along, but about half an hour ago, he was finally washed out of the underground Yin Water River into this clear river.
He was glad that he had finally escaped the underground Yin Water River, but looking at his surroundings, his heart sank. Zhang Ling was filled with mixed emotions.
He never imagined that he would end up here.
The endless yellow sand could only mean the Black Cloud Desert. This was the territory of the alien demons, and there was no safety to be found here.
Subsequently, Zhang Ling found a spot at the base of a sand dune and sat down to meditate, restoring his spiritual power.
Several hours later, after his spiritual power had returned to its peak, Zhang Ling searched the surrounding area along the river, but he didn't see Dongfang Ya.
This woman had jumped into the pool. Although the current was rapid, he had managed to escape safely. There was no reason why this senior couldn't get out. It seemed they had emerged in different locations.
After restoring his strength, Zhang Ling flew east along the river. This direction led to the territory of the human race.
Although he suspected that he was in the Black Cloud Desert, there was a big difference between being deep inside and being on the edge. If he was on the edge of the Black Cloud Desert, there was a great chance of returning to human territory.
He flew east for three days, but there was no end in sight. The surroundings were still an endless expanse of yellow sand.
Zhang Ling's heart gradually sank.
Due to the unique geographical location, the weather here was quite dry and hot. The scorching sunlight shone down from the sky, baking the ground below and causing it to emit a suffocating heat.
Wisps of heat rose slowly, causing the scenery to appear somewhat distorted and blurred.
As for when he would be able to leave this desert, Zhang Ling had no idea. Fortunately, he hadn't encountered any alien demons these past few days, and even small animals were rare.
One day at noon, a yellow light descended towards the shady side of a sand dune.
The yellow light dissipated, and a leaf-shaped magical artifact flashed before being stored away by Zhang Ling. His body flipped in mid-air, and his feet landed firmly on the sand.
Zhang Ling lightly patted some of the dust off his clothes, looked up at the sky, and then sat down cross-legged to rest.
He rested every so often, as it was most important to keep his spiritual power at its peak.
Zhang Ling sat for two hours, and his earth spiritual power began to condense. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, a look of joy on his face.
He had just sensed a breakthrough opportunity.
This made him happy. With a wave of his hand, spiritual power struck the ground, forming a small sand pit. Then, he began to cast a spell, and soon he had built a two-zhang square stone house in the sand pit.
The stone house sank downwards, reaching three zhang deep into the sand. Zhang Ling placed a small spirit gathering array inside, and then took out two bottles of pills.
One bottle was凝真丸(Ningzhen Pill), and the other was重元丹(Chongyuan Pill), an auxiliary pill for cultivating his乾土功(Qian Tu Gong).
Zhang Ling sat cross-legged, calming his mind. He didn't want his emotions to affect him due to an unstable state of mind.
A quarter of an hour later, he slowly opened his eyes. His mind was now free of distractions, and his magic power was at its peak.
“It's time.”
After swallowing the pills, spiritual power circulated throughout his meridians. With a thought, he began to circulate the third layer of the Qian Tu Gong.
A moment later, the medicinal effects of the pills took effect, and a warm aura spread in his mouth, then transformed into a thick spiritual power that surged through his meridians.
This thick spiritual power was the effect of the Chongyuan Pill. With this auxiliary elixir, breakthroughs would be faster.
Zhang Ling formed hand seals, and the thick aura within his meridians was continuously refined under the effect of the technique, eventually flowing into his dantian.
It intertwined with his original spiritual power. Looking inside, the spiritual power in his dantian began to boil.
The spiritual power in his dantian was several times thicker than before, forming a stream of water that rotated and absorbed the thick spiritual power from his meridians.
From the outside, the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from Zhang Ling's body became erratic, sometimes strong and sometimes weak.
Zhang Ling calmly refined the medicinal power in his body, and this continued for two days.
At this time, popping sounds like beans bursting rang out from his body, and yellow light rolled on his body surface, instantly transforming into rolling yellow clouds that enveloped him.
Two hours later, with a muffled boom, all these auras shrank into his body, and the aura on Zhang Ling's body gradually subsided and returned to calm.
Zhang Ling opened his eyes and chuckled softly.
At this moment, the spiritual power in his body was more than half stronger than before. He was now a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Then, he took another pill and began to consolidate his cultivation. After another three days, Zhang Ling burst out of the ground.
Standing on the sand, Zhang Ling raised his hand, and a yellow spiritual light the size of a fist flashed and smashed into the ground not far away. Immediately, a two-zhang-sized sand pit collapsed there.
Clenching his fists and feeling the fullness of spiritual power in his body, Zhang Ling was in a great mood.
It had been almost ten years since he entered the Foundation Establishment stage, and he was quite surprised to be able to break through in such a short time.
After all, for the past few years, he had spent most of his time dealing with baleful aura and strange vines. He was able to break through because he had enough pills for his cultivation, and his experiences during this time had given him quite a bit of insight.
With these reasons, the bottleneck loosened, and the breakthrough was a natural result.
Now it can be said that his cultivation has greatly increased. In addition to the increased spiritual power, the power of the Chongyuan Profound Light, a magical power attached to the Qian Tu Gong, has increased by two or three times, which is what makes him happy.
……
