“No, I’ve only somewhat recovered,” Yang Kai smiled and replied.
Although he had saved Gou Che and the other Demon Race cultivator from the Sun Clan, he didn’t have any intention to really forge a friends.h.i.+p with Gou Che.
Rescuing them this time was a means to an end. Yang Kai hoped to take advantage of the other party’s status to move about freely in the Demon Land!
As such, Yang Kai didn’t tell Gou Che the whole truth. He was still somewhat wary of this Demon Race man, feeling that Gou Che didn’t actually treat him sincerely and wouldn’t care much about the fact that the former had saved his life.
“Brother Gou Che, you’re certain this desert is inside the Demon Land? Are you familiar with this region?” Yang Kai asked.
Gou Che frowned and shook his head, “This desert is a very dangerous area, even my Demon Race try to avoid traveling through here. In this place, no matter how strong you are, there are things you can’t easily overcome. I’m only certain we’re in the Demon Land, but as to which direction we should go to reach civilization, I’m also at a loss. All we can do is start walking and hope we’re going the right way, and that we don’t run into any of the more troublesome dangers lurking around. Pray we don’t get lost, once that happens… I’m afraid we won’t ever be able to leave this desert.”
Hearing Gou Che’s speech, Yang Kai and An Ling’er both felt somewhat gloomy, secretly thinking to themselves that their luck had really been quite bad recently. First they had been chased by Saintess Nan back in the archipelago, then forced to flee into an unexplored Void Corridor only to fall into the hands of the Sun Clan. Now, even after a death-defying escape, they had wound up in this seemingly endless desert in the middle of the Demon Land.
The ups and downs of life really made one feel helpless.
Soon after Gou Che finished explaining their situation, Yang Kai’s brow furrowed as he stared off in a certain direction, whispering quietly, “Someone’s approaching!”
Probing this newly appeared aura for a moment, Yang Kai breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to Gou Che and said, “It’s your clansmen!”
“Oh?” Gou Che replied casually, “That guy didn’t die? He didn’t return last night so I thought must have fallen out here. Seems his luck wasn’t so bad.”
When Gou Che spoke his tone was light and carefree, apparently not showing any concern about his fellow clansman’s life, as if he didn’t care whether the latter lived or died one bit.
Realizing this, Yang Kai frowned slightly.
A short time later, the Demon Race man who Yang Kai had rescued from the Mysterious Small World returned with a delighted look upon his face, “I found a way out!”
Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed, Gou Che asking urgently, “Really?”
The man smiled and nodded, “I’m certain; I’ve explored this desert once before. At that time, I once encountered an oasis and made a distinctive mark on one of the trees. I came across that same oasis last night. It seems our luck isn’t bad, this place is on the periphery of the desert. We only need to travel a few days in that direction to leave.”
As this Demon Race man spoke, his expression became more and more excited, having some difficulty containing his joy.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like they had finally seen light after a long eternity in the abyss.
Only needing a few days to leave this place seemed lucky enough. When they went back, Yang Kai considered finding a place to enter secluded retreat for a while.
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and lead the way, I’m dying of thirst here!” Gou Che waved his hand and began running off in the direction the other Demon Race cultivator pointed.
The latter also didn’t speak any nonsense and quickly chased after Gou Che.
“Let’s go,” Yang Kai said to An Ling’er, the latter nodding slightly as she kept pace with Yang Kai, walking side by side with him.
As she observed the two Demon Race cultivators rus.h.i.+ng forward in a jubilant mood, An Ling’er turned to the side and quietly whispered, “Yang Kai, you have to be careful about that Gou Che. If you trust him too much you’ll only end up suffering!”
“Do I need you to remind me?” Yang Kai chuckled, “I never had any intention to trust or make friends with him, but right now we’re in the Demon Land. If we want to leave here safely, our best bet is to take advantage of his status.”
An Ling’er nodded lightly as she said, “Fortunately he didn’t see much of your true ability back in that Mysterious Small World, otherwise things would be even more dangerous.”
“If he were to learn your true ident.i.ty, it would also be bad,” Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he said, “Never reveal your status to him, and try to avoid using any of your Nine Heavens Holy Land’s Divine Skills”
“I’m not some naive little girl, how could I possibly be so careless?” An Ling’er smiled confidently.
“Hurry up, Brother Yang, what are you doing?” Gou Che suddenly turned back and yelled at Yang Kai.
“We’re coming!” Yang Kai responded before turning back to An Ling’er, “Let’s pick up our pace.”
The other Demon Race man’s sense of direction was quite good, even walking through this vast sea of sand with next to no landmarks for reference, he was able to accurately lead the way. This was especially impressive seeing how his Demonic Qi and Divine Sense were both still sealed, meaning he was relying solely on his own skill and instincts right now.
After walking for roughly three hours or so, a faint speck of green appeared on the horizon.
An oasis!
In such a vast desert, only a few magical places like this one existed where one could find water and plants. Almost every desert had such places, but no one knew how they were formed or how they endured.
Big oases could remain for hundreds or even thousands of years without any change, providing invaluable places for travelers to stop and rest.
An oasis was often a life-saving place in the eyes of desert travelers.
Seeing the oasis appear up ahead, the two Demon Race men began running even faster, rus.h.i.+ng forward as if they couldn’t bear to wait a moment longer.
After the time it would take to burn a stick of incense, Yang Kai and An Ling’er also arrived at the oasis’ edge. Unlike the outside desert’s blistering heat, this place was actually just slightly warm, huge cactus and broad leafed trees blowing in the breeze, creating a comfortable atmosphere.
A large, sparkling lake lay in the center of the oasis. This lake’s water was crystal clear, like a bottomless mountain spring, and had many strange and exotic plants growing along its sh.o.r.e.
When Yang Kai and An Ling’er arrived here, they found that Gou Che and the other Demon Race man had not entered the water or even approached it but had instead hidden themselves behind a big rock on the sh.o.r.e and were holding their breaths as they stared towards the lake, their expressions filled with a mix of caution and obscenity.
Sensing Yang Kai’s arrival, Gou Che quickly motioned to him, telling him to keep quiet, the look on his face quite strange.
Yang Kai frowned, not comprehending what was going on, quickly bringing An Ling’er over to the other to and peeking out from behind the rock; however, he didn’t see anything of note at first glance.
“What are you doing?” Yang Kai asked quietly.
“Look over there!” Gou Che quietly pointed to a certain spot on the nearby sh.o.r.e.
Yang Kai and An Ling’er both turned their gazes in the direction he pointed and suddenly froze up.
On the sh.o.r.e, there were some neatly folded clothes, and from their style, it was obvious they belonged to a woman.
These clothes were here, but the person was nowhere in sight, so the obvious conclusion was that they were currently swimming at the bottom of the lake.
Yang Kai suddenly understood. Gou Che and the other Demon Race man hiding here was all so they could peek at this bathing beauty.
“Shameless!” An Ling’er’s cheeks immediately went red as she grit her teeth and a cold light flashed across her beautiful eyes, turning to Yang Kai and sharply saying, “Don’t you dare join them!”
Yang Kai curled his lips and firmly declared, “I’ve always been a paragon of virtue, I would never partic.i.p.ate in this kind of dirty matter.”
Even as he spoke these words though, his eyes drifted back towards the lake.
Seeing this, Gou Che smiled towards Yang Kai and chuckled lowly, “I knew Brother Yang was a man of great culture.”
At that moment, Gou Che felt that Yang Kai was suddenly much more pleasing to the eye.
Yang Kai quickly said in a serious tone, “Perhaps this isn’t such a good idea, if you’re discovered by her…”
“Who does it matter if she discovers us? Is she going to eat me or something?” Gou Che snorted without any concern.
Although he couldn’t use any of his strength right now, in the end, he still had a distinguished ident.i.ty. As the son of a Demon General, there were very few people who would dare to attack him, so even if he was caught peaking, he didn’t care.
“Brother Gou Che, surely you don’t lack women, why bother doing this?” Although Yang Kai also understood a man’s desire to seek out beauties, something about this particular situation caused him to feel uneasy so he quickly tried to persuade Gou Che to leave this place.
Gou Che sneered in response, “Naturally I’m not lacking in women, but such thrills are always welcome.”
The other Demon Race man next to him also nodded, obviously agreeing with Gou Che’s point of view. Their two pairs of eyes then continued to stare at the lake’s surface, both of them looking forward to the moment when the woman at the bottom of the lake would appear.
Seeing this, Yang Kai felt helpless and no longer wasted his breath.
At that moment, a ripple suddenly appeared on the surface of the lake and the two Demon Race men’s breathes suddenly halted, their eyes opening wide in antic.i.p.ation.
*Xiu xiu xiu…*
A burst of noise suddenly rang out and a series of sharp water arrows shot out from the surface of the lake.
Everyone’s expression changed dramatically. Yang Kai and An Ling’er reacted quickly and managed to avoid these attacks, but Gou Che and the other Demon Race man weren’t so lucky. For the sake of getting a better view, they had completely pushed themselves up against the rock, so by the time they noticed the incoming attack, it was too late for them to avoid it.
With a loud bang, the rock shattered and the sand flew up into the air. Stone debris shot forth, bringing with it a not weak force, cause Gou Che and the other Demon Race man to fly back, both of them unable to open their eyes as they howled miserably.
The two of them had instantly become battered and bruised.
Yang Kai caught a glimpse of a pure white form emerge from the lake, carrying with it a graceful and glamorous air.
But before he could get a good look at this figure, he lost track of it, a cold chill running up his spine as his eyes shot open in surprise.
After everything settled down, Gou Che roared angrily, “f.u.c.k, d.a.m.n wh.o.r.e, you dare attack this master?”
The moment he spoke these words though, Gou Che was struck by some invisible force and sent flying through the air again, hitting the ground hard and tumbling several times. When he stood up again, his cheek was swollen and a blazing anger filled his eyes. Having suffered such humiliation, the only thing on his mind right now was to fight this unknown attacker, his eyes darting around searching for his target.
He didn’t have to look long though. Standing a short distance in front of them was a beautiful woman who had just left the lake, her eyes coldly glaring at Yang Kai and his group. Her body was full of mature charm, with long shapely legs, which peaked in an out of her pale blue dress. Her twin peaks were a grand sight to see and her shoulders were half exposed. Perhaps because she had just been bathing, her clothes tightly clung to her body, highlighting her excellent style.
Just by standing there she exuded a sense of beauty difficult to ignore.