After dealing with Duan Yurong, Tang Muxi and Jiang Yin rested for two more days before setting off to investigate the demonic energy seepage in the desert.
During these days, the mood of the great demon was very poor.
Although she didn’t say it out loud, every time she looked at Tang Muxi, her eyes were sharp as if she wanted to nail her on the spot.
Tang Muxi shivered and assumed she was still angry about the demon pill incident, silently deciding to kill as many demonic beasts as possible to quickly return the ten demon pills she owed.
On the third morning, feeling well-rested, Tang Muxi asked the little snow fox to teleport them near the desert.
They didn’t go directly to the center, fearing hidden dangers.
Instead, they approached from the edge, exploring step by step.
They also hoped to find some relics or treasure halls along the way to make some profit.
However, after three days of searching, they didn’t find any relics, not even a single spiritual plant.
The area was covered with yellow sand and strong winds, barren and desolate.
If not for the increasingly dense demonic energy beneath the desert, Tang Muxi would have doubted if they were in the wrong place.
By the fifth day, as their water supply in the storage bag was nearly half depleted, Tang Muxi grew anxious.
While exploring, she kept an eye out for an oasis to replenish their water and rest.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she mentioned it, they detected the scent of water that afternoon and followed the trail, eventually spotting a vast oasis in the distance.
The oasis was large, surrounded by dense poplar and jujube trees, with occasional robust white willows standing tall among them.
Various shrubs, melons, and corn were scattered all over, and the sweet fragrance of the fruits was clear even from afar.
At the center was a large, blue lake, shimmering under the reflection of the trees and blue sky, serene and inviting.
Having traveled through the desert for so long, Tang Muxi hadn’t bathed in a while, settling for a simple dust-removal spell each day.
At this moment, she could hardly resist the temptation.
However, knowing she couldn’t be selfish, she immediately told her senior sister about the oasis.
“Senior sister, senior sister, I found an oasis! We can finally bathe!”
Tang Muxi was extremely excited, forgetting that the great demon was still angry, and pulled her towards the oasis.
The little snow fox, upon hearing this, couldn’t sit still either.
With agile movements, it leaped onto Tang Muxi’s shoulder and asked in disbelief, “Really? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Tang Muxi chuckled, “Why would I lie to you? Don’t you smell the moisture in the air?”
The little snow fox sniffed carefully and indeed detected a faint scent, though light, it was genuine.
“It’s just ahead,” Tang Muxi pulled Jiang Yin to a higher sand ridge and pointed towards the oasis, “Look, can you see it? There are fruits inside!”
Jiang Yin followed her pointing finger and indeed saw many fruits.
Even from such a distance, she could smell the sweet fragrance.
However, she felt something was odd.
“Why are there no plants around?”
If the oasis had sufficient water, there should also be cacti and camel thorns around.
But aside from the greenery of the oasis, the surroundings were eerily empty, devoid of any other vegetation.
Tang Muxi tilted her head, also feeling something was amiss, but the enticing fruit aroma and the heat made her push these thoughts aside, “Who cares, maybe the sand buried them, or maybe animals ate them all. The oasis can’t be fake. Let’s go over there sooner and enjoy it.”
Jiang Yin frowned, wanting to say something more, but Tang Muxi was already pulling her eagerly towards the oasis.
Thus, she had to suppress her doubts, heighten her alertness, and slowly approach the oasis.
The oasis was indeed far; it took half a day to get halfway there, and it was a mystery how the scent of the fruits could drift so far.
After another half an hour, Tang Muxi, exhausted, finally reached the edge of the oasis.
The trees here were indeed tall, blocking the sun and providing cool shade under the lush canopy.
However, it was strange that they hadn’t seen any other plants along the way, just this oasis, stark and abrupt.
But considering the rarity of an oasis in the desert, this oddity seemed trivial.
Through the dense trees, Tang Muxi could see the bright-colored fruits scattered on the ground, emitting a strong fragrance of greenery in the hot summer, and the lake inside shimmered, even the sound of birds chirping vibrantly.
She couldn’t help but swallow her saliva and was about to step forward when Jiang Yin suddenly held her back.
“Senior sister?”
Tang Muxi was puzzled.
Jiang Yin’s suspicion grew stronger.
She frowned in silence, feeling the atmosphere for a while before suddenly asking, “Do you smell something strange?”
Tang Muxi, already irritable, felt her body raging madly, desperate to dive in, “What’s strange?”
All she wanted was to get in there, faster and faster!
Jiang Yin discerned carefully, then suddenly widened her eyes, pulling Tang Muxi behind her and sternly shouted, “What demon are you? Surrender immediately!”
Tang Muxi was utterly confused, not understanding why the great demon suddenly went mad, shouting at a cluster of trees, her heart growing more restless.
However, before she could stop Jiang Yin, the little snow fox on her shoulder also sensed something wrong, vigilantly channeling its spiritual power and leaping in front of Tang Muxi, “There’s demonic energy…”
But before the words fully formed, they were scattered by a sudden blast of sand.
Jiang Yin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and with a light scoff, she waved her hand and sliced through it.
The little snow fox didn’t dare to delay, condensing three ice spikes and shooting them out rapidly.
At that moment, a bizarre scene occurred—the three ice spikes clearly hit the tree trunks but trembled and passed right through them, losing control and disappearing without a trace.
After a moment of silence, the surrounding scenery suddenly twisted and transformed, turning into a vast expanse of dark demonic energy with ferocious claws lunging at them.
“Dodge! It’s a Mirage Beast!”
The Mirage Beast, a demonic creature of the desert, resembled a giant fish and usually hid under the thick sand.
It emitted mirage energy to create illusions, luring cultivators into the “oasis” before suddenly attacking and devouring them.
Tang Muxi’s unusual emotions were influenced by the mirage energy.
Now, as the oasis turned into demonic energy, she felt a chill and snapped out of the enchantment.
As if responding to Jiang Yin’s words, the ground began to shake and rise the next moment, and the surrounding sand flowed downwards like water columns, with faint dragon-like sounds emerging.
The Mirage Beast’s body was enormous, emerging from the rolling sand sea and appearing before them like an insurmountable mountain range.
A huge crimson eye on its head emitted bursts of dark red light, instantly blocking the fierce sunlight.
Tang Muxi’s mind was shocked, facing such a colossal creature, her instinct was to tremble.
Immediately after, the flowing sand condensed together, forming giant swords of sand, stabbing towards them.
This Mirage Beast, corrupted by demonic energy, had reached the Golden Core stage early; its attacks were fierce and tyrannical, not something two humans could withstand.
Thus, the little snow fox stood up first, condensing ice blades to strike against it.
Ice met sand, spiritual energy clashed with demonic energy, unleashing powerful fluctuations.
The residual force was overwhelming, making Tang Muxi feel faintly aware of her own insignificance.
“Snow Fox, hold it off! Don’t clash with it head-on!”
Jiang Yin instructed, then turned to Tang Muxi, “Do you still have the trapping array?”
“Yes!”
“Good! Go under the Mirage Beast and set up the trapping array to control it. I’ll seize the opportunity to shatter its eyeball!”
The Mirage Beast’s weakness was the red giant eye on its head; shattering it would directly kill it.
The two split up to carry out their tasks.
With the little snow fox holding off the beast and delaying time, its ice attribute was not fully effective in the high-temperature desert, and it would eventually be at a disadvantage, so they had to act quickly.
Massive spiritual energy clashed, sand flew, and ice crystals scattered.
The sky was covered with numerous magical lights, the sound was majestic, and the momentum was overwhelming, even shaking the land a hundred feet below, leaving people in awe.
Tang Muxi dared not be distracted, holding up a protective array to resist the residual waves of the Golden Core battle while flying on her sword.
Although it was a struggle and fraught with danger, she managed to safely reach under the Mirage Beast.
She took out the trapping array her master had given her, tore it open, activated it, and infused spiritual power to reinforce and cast it.
At that moment, different colored profound runes appeared from the four directions of east, west, south, and north, their lights flaring and connecting with each other, finally converging under the Mirage Beast’s feet, forming an indestructible square cage.
As soon as the trapping array was completed, the Mirage Beast’s power was suddenly restrained.
The giant sand swords floating in the air hadn’t fully formed yet when they lost their power and turned into a burst of scattered sand falling from the sky.
The little snow fox seized the opportunity, merging all the ice spikes together into a huge, sharp spike, and fiercely stabbed at the Mirage Beast.
Its power couldn’t be fully exerted, and the demonic beast’s protective demonic energy was too strong, its skin thick and flesh tough.
This all-out strike barely managed to break through the protective demonic energy and penetrated a small half into the giant beast’s body.
The Mirage Beast, in pain, let out a deafening roar, this time without the demonic energy disguise, revealing a piercing, shrill scream, no longer pretending to be a dragon’s chant.
Wanting to escape, but the trapping array firmly bound it.
Now is the time!
Jiang Yin fell from a hundred feet in the air, holding a spirit-infused saber in her hand, and with the speed of lightning, she plunged it down.
A flash of crimson blood light passed by the saber tip, and in an instant, it completely entered the giant eye.
Without the protective demonic energy to block the damage, the saber effortlessly broke through the surface of the eyeball, and the powerful force and the killing array wrapped around it exploded inside the eyeball.
This time, life rapidly drained away, and the Mirage Beast’s final scream before death shook the surrounding hundred feet of sand, wailing and lamenting!
No matter how grand the sound was, this massive creature lurking in the sand sea ultimately couldn’t save anything.
Its body quickly lost its vitality, demonic energy spilled out, and then it slowly fell from the sky.
Once again, there was unrest.
Tang Muxi still remembered the matter of the demon pill, and as soon as the surroundings calmed down, she rushed to the giant corpse of the Mirage Beast, searching and feeling around.
She searched for a long time, and suddenly a question came from behind, not too heavy or light, “What are you looking for?”
Tang Muxi didn’t even lift her head, “Demon pill! I said I would compensate you!”
As long as she could find the demon pill before the great demon, it would be hers.
Then she could righteously give it to the great demon, which would surely be more valuable than a mere Foundation Building demon pill.
Her mind was buzzing with calculations, but she didn’t know that she had already been seen through.
“Oh, then junior sister needn’t bother, it’s right here with me.”
As Jiang Yin’s words fell, Tang Muxi’s figure stiffened, and she stiffly looked up, following her senior sister’s amused smile down to the Yin Sha demon pill held between her delicate fingers.
The demon pill, seemingly just dug out, still had dark blood on it, emitting a faint, cold aura.
Tang Muxi’s eyes widened, and she lunged forward, but missed.
“What is junior sister grabbing at?”
Jiang Yin’s lips curled with a smile, knowingly asking.
Tang Muxi looked unwillingly at the demon pill, her heart aching intermittently, and dryly said, “When did senior sister take it? So fast.”
Jiang Yin arched her eyebrows, “Naturally, when I killed the demonic beast. Why, does junior sister really want it?”
Tang Muxi pursed her lips, her eyes darting around, cleverly saying, “No, this is what I owe senior sister. How can I keep it myself? Senior sister, please keep it well, this is a Golden Core demon pill, worth ten of the others!”
Jiang Yin hooked her lips, pretending not to understand, “But I obtained it? What does it have to do with junior sister? Could it be that junior sister intends to renege on the debt?”
Tang Muxi immediately became furious, “This was killed by us together!”
“Was it? The fatal blow was clearly done by me personally.”
“You… you’re unreasonable! It can’t be like this!”
Tang Muxi stomped her foot, her face flushed with anger.
Jiang Yin watched her frustration, her smile deepening, and couldn’t help covering her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling cheerful, “This demon pill was obtained by me, naturally it belongs to me. If junior sister wants to compensate…”
She looked at her meaningfully, “You should personally give it to me.”
With that, she no longer cared how furious Tang Muxi was, and leisurely walked away.
