Chapter 152: Sierra Desert
Sand- a land filled with complete sand and numerous magical beasts roaming around it.
"Sierra Desert… I have finally arrived." Lee Tao muttered.
Just as he was about to sound extremely cool, a gust of wind passed by and some sands flew inside his mouth.
"BLERGH!"
Lee Tao instantly coughed multiple times as he tried to spit out the sand that had gotten into his mouth.
"Seriously? I\'m trying to act cool like all those protagonists do when they meet a new region. So why the heck am I so unfortunate to be cuck by nature?" Lee Tao complained in anger.
As Lee Tao continued to complain, Deng Lijuan was patting his back, helping him to calm down.
"Master, you are already cool in my eyes. You don\'t need to do something like that." Deng Lijuan said in an attempt to comfort him.
"Be quiet, cool or not. My beautiful moment is already ruined by some stupid sands." Lee Tao cursed aloud.
Sometime later, Lee Tao decided to ask Xiao Chu to scan the surrounding areas.
However, to his dismay, Xiao Chu seemed to be unable to scan everything thoroughly this time.
"That has never happened before, right?" Lee Tao asked.
Xiao Chu nodded her head.
"There seemed to be some sort of a phenomenon here that\'s affecting the scan. You see this particular open circle here? I know there should be something here, but the scan is not showing up." Xiao Chu said as she pointed at the projection screen.
"Not that surprising… if there are really things from the above heaven, it\'s a given that your scan might not be high enough level to perceive them."
"Mhmm, I guess you can experience a real cultivator now. Actually exploring the mysterious thing without knowing what\'s ahead."
"..."
Ignoring her words, Lee Tao glanced at Deng Lijuan instead.
"Deng Lijuan, do you know any nearby area here that sells maps?" Lee Tao asked.
Deng Lijuan shook her head.
"Master must be joking, right? I have never left the Pan Village until now, so how could I know other areas?" Deng Lijuan said.
"You\'re right… it was dumb of me to ask you."
"B-But Master, we can probably see some people if we enter further inside the Sierra Desert. After all, the Sierra Desert is rumored to be inlaid with multiple rare treasures, prompting many cultivators to come here to explore."
"I guess that\'s the only way. Otherwise, we might have to spend a long time here, looking for something I need."
Sometime later, Lee Tao and Deng Lijuan began taking steps toward the Sierra Desert.
And unlike the normal hot weather that usually occurred in a desert, the environment was actually extremely cold.
"Why is it called a desert if the environment is freezing cold?" Deng Lijuan asked in a dumbfounded tone.
Since she had only heard about the Sierra Desert through the customers of the Chiyu Tavern. Therefore, she had no prior knowledge of what the actual Sierra Desert was like.
"You\'re a cultivator now, Deng Lijuan." Lee Tao said with a sigh.
"Just circulate your profound qi around your body to warm yourself." He ordered.
Hearing his instruction, Deng Lijuan showed an awkward smile as she quickly circulated her profound qi from her core.
And within a few seconds, a surge of warmness coated her entire body.
Deng Lijuan\'s face turned rosy red as she felt like she was sitting near a fire.
"Ahh~ so warm." She exclaimed aloud, seemingly in ecstasy from her tone.
"Ahem, let\'s not get distracted by something simple." Lee Tao coughed aloud, bringing her back to reality.
"R-Right…"
Sometime later, Lee Tao increased his cautiousness as he roamed around the Sierra Desert.
The Sierra Desert was too massive and everywhere they walked, only sands could be seen.
"Where are we now, Master?" Deng Lijuan asked.
"I feel like we are walking around in a circle…" She added.
Lee Tao raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure about that?" Lee Tao asked.
"Un, I remember we have set foot here already… Though I\'m not really sure, my instinct is telling me we are." Deng Lijuan said nervously.
She wasn\'t sure if she was correct but felt like she had to do something and inform Lee Tao about her conjecture.
Meanwhile, Lee Tao showed a gentle smile as he nodded his head.
"Good instinct, Deng Lijuan. Indeed, we have been walking around in a circle for a while now." Lee Tao explained as he pointed at the brightening sun in the far west.
"Although we have been moving, the sun is constantly there. Not to mention, we might have been walking in a straight line, but without any direction or indication of the path. We are simply walking around and around."
"Then what should we do, Master. Can we try to fly up and hover around?"
"As much as I want to say that is smart… unfortunately for us, the Sierra Desert seemed much more complicated than I had initially thought. Xiao Chu had already started analyzing the structure of this region, and so far… it\'s not looking good."
Lee Tao then glanced around as he tried to sense some sort of lifeform or even magical beasts.
Alas, there was just zero sign of life, and Lee Tao was caught in a dilemma.
"Aiyah, why is a stupid desert so complicated for? Where is the so-called Jade Beauty Queen of the magical beast race at?" Lee Tao started complaining as he scratched his head.
Suddenly, almost like lightning had struck on Lee Tao\'s head. His face turned wicked as he remembered there was still a solution to their dilemma.
"Why did we walk so long?" Lee Tao asked himself as he leaned on Deng Lijuan.
"Don\'t be surprised or shocked, ok?" He whispered softly, making the scene mysterious for some reason.