It was an unbelievable scene. From the spatial portal of the mysterious realm, a golden crimson sand scorpion, as large as a house, crawled out. It had four pairs of eight transparent wings, its entire body shimmering with a golden brilliance as if cast from solid gold, appearing sacred and noble.
Yet, its pair of eyes shone with a bloody radiance, appearing sinister and terrifying.
It was gazing towards the direction of the oasis. And at this moment, beneath the black robe, Ye Chen was also looking towards the portal of the mysterious realm. His gaze could penetrate dozens of li, meeting the golden crimson sand scorpion's stare.
Simultaneously, the demonic flood dragon within his sleeve was emitting low roars, staring across dozens of li at the golden crimson sand scorpion.
The golden crimson sand scorpion seemed to sense the gazes of the man and the dragon. It let out a long, piercing shriek, its sound extremely terrifying and ear-piercing, shaking the great desert and stirring up billowing sandstorms, causing the trialists in the oasis to pale.
They could sense what kind of existence this shrieking crimson sand scorpion was—likely at least a Martial God realm beast king. It was a cause for terror; even if the seven Martial God Dao Weapons were fully awakened, they might not be able to deal with it.
Because these Hundred Strong Trialists could not fully awaken them, only managing to awaken a small portion. Moreover, Martial God realm demonic beasts were often a notch stronger than Martial God realm cultivators.
For these reasons, everyone felt anxious. Some even hoped the Thirteenth Prince and the others would invite Ye Chen to stand guard, a thought that was both laughable and pitiable.
The Crimson Sand Scorpion King shrieked, and all the remaining crimson sand scorpions boiled with activity. Each one became full of vigor, even fiercer than before, once again transforming into a beast tide ready to attack. This caused almost everyone to turn pale with horror and extreme fear.
They were already exhausted from the battle. Continuing to fight would likely lead to major problems.
Ye Chen seemed thoughtful. Then, unnoticed by anyone, he flipped his palm, and a wisp of bone-chilling white flame appeared. He flicked it with his finger, and it shot like lightning towards the Crimson Sand Scorpion King dozens of li away, so fast that no one could see it clearly.
But wherever the cold flame passed, it left behind a trail of icy frost. Finally, it appeared before the golden Crimson Sand Scorpion King.
As if encountering the most terrifying thing, the previously ferocious golden Crimson Sand Scorpion King immediately let out a sharp cry, retreating repeatedly, appearing utterly terrified.
Just as everyone thought they were about to face an even more terrifying battle, all the crimson sand scorpions suddenly retreated, vanishing deep into the desert. While puzzled, everyone also breathed a sigh of relief—at least they wouldn't have to face the crimson sand scorpion beast tide or the even more fearsome Crimson Sand Scorpion King.
Ye Chen only saw the massive golden Crimson Sand Scorpion King shriek once before it retreated back into the spatial portal of the mysterious realm. He seemed thoughtful, as if he had understood something.
Night gradually faded, and the morning sun rose in the east. The oasis had been completely flattened by the crimson sand scorpions. The clear lake was stained blood-red, filled with countless crimson sand scorpion carcasses. Corpses littered the ground everywhere, a truly shocking sight.
The many trialists were panting, utterly exhausted, collapsing on the ground.
There was no celebration, because the losses in this battle were too great. Nearly a hundred trialists had been eliminated, and over thirty had died, killed by the purple crimson sand scorpions.
Fortunately, these purple crimson sand scorpions had vanished in the end, otherwise the casualty and elimination rate would have been even higher. However, one point was worth everyone's deep thought: this crimson sand scorpion beast tide had come too suddenly, without any warning, which was puzzling.
Generally, a beast tide of this scale should have corresponding signs, but this one had come too abruptly.
It was very abnormal. Previously, they had gathered here for such a long time without encountering any attacks from crimson sand scorpions, yet now they had suffered a dense, countless assault.
If not for the many trialists gathering together, even if a Hundred Strong Trialist encountered such a scene, no matter how strong their strength, they would have been overwhelmed and killed.
The saying "enough ants can kill an elephant" applied here.
Ye Chen felt the intense Primordial Spirit fluctuations from the demonic flood dragon, carrying an innate hostility. He understood that this crimson sand scorpion beast tide was likely because of the demonic flood dragon—that golden Crimson Sand Scorpion King was targeting it. However, this Crimson Sand Scorpion King seemed extremely fearful of the bone-chilling white flame. There must be some unusual connection between the two.
On the crimson sand desert, a dark mass covered the ground—all carcasses of crimson sand scorpions. Each one was about the size of a palm, but before them lay piles like small hills, enough to prove the danger of this mysterious place.
They hadn't even fully entered it yet and had already encountered such terrifying danger. If they truly approached the portal of the mysterious realm, there might be even more fearsome life-threatening crises awaiting them.
The Thirteenth Prince and the others had only consumed less than half of their True Yuan after a night of battle. Many trialists were envious because, with the Scaled Golden Lion, even if they couldn't win, they could fly into the sky, completely unafraid of all this.
Many princes and princesses were quite covetous, but no one dared to make a move. Because these people were friends of the Uncrowned King Ye Chen. Who would dare act? Did they not know that Ye Chen was so formidable he dared to eliminate all the princes and princesses of the Tianqi Empire, leaving only the Sixth Princess and the Second Prince Yang Shaoqi who had entered the mysterious realm? The Eighth Prince Yang Jun had even died because of him.
So-called superpower backgrounds were useless against him.
After resting for a good while, everyone had finished regulating their breathing, recovering a portion of their True Yuan, and continued advancing towards the portal of the mysterious realm.
Everyone was worried that delays might lead to changes. Now was the planned time for departure.
After experiencing the crimson sand scorpion beast tide, nothing major happened along the way. Occasionally encountering some quicksand or attacks from other demonic beasts was relatively easy to resolve.
As time passed, the temperature in the desert climbed once again. Waves of heat rolled over them, making it extremely uncomfortable. Everyone had to circulate their cultivation techniques to resist this heat.
Ye Chen followed at the rear of the large group the entire way, even maintaining a certain distance from his few friends to avoid being noticed.
An hour later, the large group arrived without further incident before the spatial portal of the mysterious realm. Many people breathed a sigh of relief—they had finally made it here too.
"Everyone, we are about to enter the mysterious realm. But there's one thing I must state clearly here. Because the mysterious realm is filled with unknown dangers, if any Fellow Daoist wishes to withdraw, please do so quickly. Don't regret it later when it's too late," the Third Prince of the Jiuhua Empire announced loudly.
Silence fell. Clearly, no one was willing to withdraw. They had spent enough time and endured many dangers. No matter what, they wanted to enter the mysterious realm to take a look.
"Good. Since no one is willing to leave, let's enter together. Staying united will be much safer."
Finally, the princes and princesses from the several superpowers successively took out their respective Martial God Dao Weapons. True Yuan power continuously poured into the Dao Weapons, ready to awaken them at any moment as a precaution.
"Let's go!"
The several princes and princesses took the lead, guiding the many trialists into the portal, formally stepping into the mysterious realm.
The scenery before them suddenly changed. It was no longer a thousand li of crimson sand desert, nor were there waves of scorching heat blowing against their faces. What appeared before them was actually a dark, deep, and hollow passageway. A cool feeling enveloped them—a completely opposite sensation.
Was this the mysterious realm?
Many trialists were puzzled. In their understanding, a trial realm, as the name implied, was a brand new world. But what appeared before them was a mysterious passageway, truly baffling.
Looking back, there was no way back—only a wall blocking the exit.
The passageway was quite spacious, about five zhang high, constructed from ordinary stones. It extended into the distance to who knows where, its end shrouded in pitch-black darkness. Only on the walls on both sides of the passageway were there lamps flickering dimly in the gloomy corridor, which only added to the sinister and terrifying atmosphere.
On both sides of the passageway stood stone soldiers, each about one zhang tall. Each held a long spear in their right hand and a shield in their left, like knights. However, many were covered in thick dust. Only the few at the very front were relatively clean, but they bore marks of swords and blades, appearing quite realistic.
Ye Chen took a deep look at these stone soldiers, then sent a voice transmission to the Thirteenth Prince and the others, telling them to be careful of these stone soldiers.
The Thirteenth Prince and the others immediately became more vigilant and also informed the several princes and princesses. But after looking at the dust-covered stone soldiers, they all agreed, though with an indifferent attitude, clearly not taking it to heart.
The Thirteenth Prince didn't mind, just giving a cold laugh.
The large group entered one after another, not a single one left behind—still over three hundred people. The spacious passageway felt slightly crowded before the many trialists.
Hundreds of people walked along the path. The quiet corridor was completely shattered by the dense sound of footsteps.
"Ah—"
Suddenly, a shrill, miserable scream rang out. Then, a trialist was decapitated, meeting a sudden death. From the severed neck, a bright column of blood gushed forth, the smell of blood spreading through the passageway.
A stone soldier swung its long spear, the blade dripping with fresh blood.