With their strength, it was simply impossible for them to take on the Serpent King. Furthermore, the entire Endless Desert was under his control, so the best they could do was vent their frustrations by killing the serpentine magical beasts within the desert.
“Ladies and gentlemen, could you please take me to Gran City? I can offer you a reward. These are the magic cores I’ve collected.” A weathered, frail old woman with cracked skin, clutching a wine jug to her chest, blocked their way and pleaded with them.
“Old hag, go away. No one here will help you.” Before any of them could speak, the young waiter impatiently shooed her away.
The old woman was rudely shoved to the ground, her blanket torn apart. Several magic cores rolled out, mostly One-Star and Two-Star cores.
Tracy furrowed her brows, feeling pity for the old woman. She was about to step forward, but John stopped her.
“Don’t get involved.” He spoke softly.
The old woman had hidden her power well, but John could clearly sense the energy fluctuations around her. She was a powerful Awakened One, and the weak appearance she displayed was surely a façade for some ulterior motive.
“Get out of here, if you dare come back and disturb our business, I’ll break your legs!” The young waiter growled viciously as he kicked the old woman away.
Then, he turned back to John and the others, his face suddenly lighting up with a broad smile as he explained, “This old lady is strange. She says her daughter was taken by the Serpent King. Every time new adventurers show up, she tries to convince them to go deep into the Endless Desert to find her daughter. But every time, she comes back alone, and all those adventurers mysteriously disappear.”
“Was it the old woman who did it?” Tracy asked in surprise, thinking that the old woman might have been a poor soul.
The young waiter shook his head. “No one knows for sure. She wouldn’t admit it even if she did. Some of her companions tried to interrogate her, but she always says she’s willing to lead them to the place where they went missing. Yet, every time, those guys chicken out…”
The young waiter sighed, pitying those who had fallen victim. He then motioned for John and the others to come inside the inn.
The group casually ordered some food and drinks.
“Waiter.” John tossed him a Six-Star magic core and asked, “With so many adventurers here, surely not all of them are looking for their loved ones who were killed, right?”
The waiter stared at the magic core in his hand, his smile widening as he became even more enthusiastic. “Sir, you’ve asked the right person. Not many know about this. Actually, most of the adventurers here are searching for a thousand-year-old serpent. They say that consuming the serpent’s gallbladder can increase all four basic attributes by a million points each.”
“Just a million points? Isn’t that a bit low?” Sword Demon couldn’t help but mutter under his breath.
Immediately, several unfriendly glares were directed at him.
For Sword Demon, a million attribute points might not seem like much, but for an ordinary Awakened One, gaining a million in basic attributes would significantly boost their strength.
“Old man, should we also look for it?” Tracy asked, though her tone lacked much excitement.
She, too, had the Plunder talent. While a million attribute points sounded impressive, it didn’t appeal to her all that much.
John spoke up, “Let’s finish what we came here for first. If we happen to encounter that thousand-year-old serpent, we’ll take care of it along the way.”
He wasn’t particularly interested in it either. Turning to the waiter, he asked, “Do you know how to get to Gran City?”
“You’re going to Gran City?” The waiter was taken aback, his expression filled with fear. He lowered his voice and said, “Sirs, Gran City is the Serpent King’s lair. No one knows where it is, and anyone sent there as a tribute has never returned. I suggest you give up on that idea.”
John furrowed his brows and pressed further, “No one knows where Gran City is?”
The waiter shook his head and responded, “Except for that crazy old woman, no one knows where Gran City is. And even she might not actually know.”
John thought back to the frail old woman.
Indeed, in the time they had spent here, she was the only one who had mentioned Gran City.
Seeing that John wasn’t asking more questions, the waiter bowed and backed away to serve other customers.
“Godslayer, what should we do next?” Ice Talker asked, concern in her voice. She was worried about the safety of Nature God and didn’t want to waste too much time here.
John looked out at the vast, barren desert and sighed inwardly. “We’ll just have to take our chances.”
The group stopped discussing further, quickly ate something, and left the inn.
“Old man, it’s the same old woman from earlier,” Tracy whispered.
As they stepped out of the inn, they ran into the frail old woman again.
Her weathered face was lined with deep wrinkles, and she wore a fawning smile as she pleaded, “Sirs, could you please help rescue my daughter? I can offer you magic cores, many magic cores.”
John studied her carefully, his wariness rising, and asked, “Your daughter is in Gran City?”
The old woman nodded fervently, “Yes. If you can save my little girl, I have many magic cores.”
She said this while pulling out a pile of magic cores from her broken clay jar. Most of them were Three-Star and Four-Star cores, with the highest being only Seven-Star.
“Alright, we’ll help you. Lead the way.” John glanced at the magic cores in her hands but showed no interest.
He had already figured out that there was something off about this old woman, but she was the only one who knew the location of Gran City.
He decided to take the risk.
“Thank you, thank you so much, sirs!” The old woman was overjoyed, quickly bowing in gratitude.
John interrupted her with a cold tone, “Lead the way.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” the old woman hurried ahead, explaining, “Gran City is very special. It’s located deep in the desert, within an oasis. What’s most amazing is that this oasis can move. Only the Serpent King and his descendants are able to find it.”
An oasis that moves?
John was puzzled; he had never heard of such a thing, an oasis that could move within the desert.
But he didn’t ask more questions, silently following the old woman.
On the edge of the small town, many adventurers had gathered, searching for the giant serpents hidden beneath the yellow sand.
As John and his group passed by the old woman, the adventurers glanced over, their eyes filled with pity, whispering to each other.
“Someone actually fell for this? What idiots.”
“Man, stop insulting others. You’re no better yourself. If you hadn’t been dealing with diarrhea at the time, you and your teammates would’ve disappeared just like the others.”
The burly man who had spoken earlier turned red, defending himself, “I knew that old woman was suspicious. And I seriously suspect she killed my teammates.”
“Then you could have killed her to avenge your teammates,” someone else said indifferently.
“Well…” the burly man hesitated. In fact, there had been some attempts to deal with the old woman, but those people had vanished without a trace.
His instincts told him that it was the old woman behind all of it. He kept his eyes on John and his group as they disappeared into the yellow sand, but he didn’t dare make a move.
“I feel sorry for those poor fools,” one person murmured sympathetically before turning back to hunt for the giant serpents hidden beneath the sand.
…
Whoosh…
The wind howled, and yellow sand filled the air, severely obstructing their vision.
John looked at the old woman leading the way. She didn’t seem to be affected by the sandstorm at all.
“Kid, something’s odd,” Sword Demon whispered, moving closer to John. “We’ve entered this desert, yet we haven’t encountered a single magical beast. I’ve heard that this Endless Desert is filled with desert gray serpents and fire giant serpents.”
John also sensed something was off. Nodding, he looked at the elderly woman ahead and spoke, “Grandmother, let’s take a break for a while. We’ll hunt some magical beasts, it’s how we earn our living.”
“Ah?” The old woman stopped in her tracks and said, “Sirs, I am worried about my daughter’s safety. We should hurry to Gran City. If you save her, I’ll reward you greatly.”
“There’s no rush.” John smiled and declined. “Your daughter has been captured for so long. We can’t even be sure if she’s still alive. It won’t matter whether we go sooner or later. Let’s hunt some magical beasts first.”
Having said this, he ignored the old woman, signaling to Sword Demon and Cand-Dragon to spread out and look for magical beasts.
“But…” The old woman hesitated, her eyes flickering with a trace of anger. She gritted her teeth, making a decision in her heart.
So you want to hunt magical beasts, do you? Fine, I’ll let you hunt to your heart’s content and see how strong you really are.
Hum…
The air trembled faintly, and a barely perceptible sound wave emanated from the old woman, rippling outward like a subtle force.
John and Sword Demon both frowned, sensing the change. They exchanged a quick glance but didn’t show any outward signs of concern. Instead, they simply moved closer to Ice Talker and Tracy.
Rustle… rustle…
Suddenly, a series of rapid rustling sounds echoed, and the fine sand beneath their feet shifted violently. Countless magical beasts surged out from beneath the sand.
“It’s the Seven-Star magical beast, Desert Gray Serpent!” Sword Demon warned, drawing his long blade. A cold, sharp blade aura shot out, cutting through the sand.
Hissss…
The air filled with the sounds of hissing, and the sand flew up as the thick, gray serpents, each about the size of a bowl, were cleaved into two pieces. They writhed in agony, desperately thrashing in the air.
“Peak Eight-Star!” The old woman noticed Sword Demon’s strength and swallowed nervously.
It was a good thing she hadn’t acted rashly. If she had, she wasn’t so sure that these few people wouldn’t have been too much for her to handle.
At that moment, John also took action. Sword energy swirled around him as his blade flashed, cutting through the golden sand with ease.
Though he didn’t activate his Heaven and Earth Transformation state, his strength was still formidable. Slaying these Seven-Star Desert Gray Serpents was almost effortless for him.
Ice Talker and Tracy weren’t standing idly by either, each joining the fight.
Snowflakes danced in the air, and the power of Star Dust surged, as they went on a rampage, slaying the endless stream of Desert Gray Serpents emerging from the sand.
“So strong…” The old woman watched the scene with a feeling of blood rising in her chest. These creatures were all her offspring. While weak and expendable, seeing them slaughtered like this filled her with a sense of seething anger.
A flame ignited in her heart as she took a few steps back, her mouth emitting another buzzing hum. The air quivered again, this time summoning a more powerful Fire Giant Serpent.
John and Sword Demon immediately noticed the old woman’s movements, their brows furrowing.
Her identity was definitely not ordinary.