Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âTaklamakan...â
The name caused anyone who knew what it was to make a face of despair.
Ever since the Cataclysm, locations such as the five great mountains and the famous Daze Mountain were occupied by powerful monsters. They were like the main demons in legends and folklore, and they could understand human language, while some of the more talented ones could even speak the human language. It was a celestial phenomenon.
Apart from the famous Daze Mountain, some places that were already famous for being weird and dangerous even before the Cataclysm became even worse.
Dangerous zones were called dangerous zones because people didnât know much about the things inside.
The characteristics of these places were that they often produced a unique natural environment that encapsulated the area. Moreover, dangerous monsters existed within them, and in situations where explored and known places hadnât been fully occupied yet, no one would go inside to provoke the dangerous beings within them because there was no need.
âThis is troublesome. We arenât sure whatâs in the Taklamakan Desert. Even if we kill these lizards, if we donât deal with the root problem, things will just keep getting more troublesome,â someone complained.
âItâs impossible for us to solve this problem by just relying on us, the Changâan Base City...â added another person.
âThatâs right. What was the conclusion of the meeting with the Lord of the Dark Ember? Is it willing to become our ally?â
âMayor, the Lord of the Dark Ember declined,â an assistant dutifully reported.
âI know.â The mayor, who was wearing a gray suit, sighed.
âWhat is this monkey thinking...? It helped us killed that lizard before, but now itâs implying that it isnât willing to work with us. Unless...â
âUnless what?â asked the mayor.
âUnless itâs just being prideful?â said someone else in a solemn tone.
The mayor paused.
Previously, Gao Peng had succeeded in passing the exam and obtaining the position of World Hunter at the branch of the Monster Trainer League in Yuzhou Base City.
One of the most important criteria in the World Hunter exam was strength. Only when one had the strength would one be able to survive longer in the wild. The second criteria was experience from living in the wild and oneâs knowledge in identifying different monsters.
The latter two points were no longer important to Gao Peng, because when one was too strong, one could easily dominate others, and survival experience didnât really matter anymore.
âCanât return to the Black Fog World in the short term. Thereâs a King-tier monster plundering on the other side of the Spacial Rift in Lusaka. That place isnât too far away from the Desolate Labyrinth.â Gao Peng paused and continued, âIf we encounter the monster whose strength is unknown, it could get dangerous.â
âMonster.â The Desolate Frost Lion was stunned. âWhat monster?â
âI donât know. Thereâs no photo, but itâs a giant black snake. It was disturbed and woken up from a deep slumber...â Gao Peng shook his head. If heâd had a photo, he would have been able to directly check the stats and attributes of the giant snake directly through the photo. However, whether it was an Emperor-tier or an Overlord-tier monster, they werenât beings that he could mess with at the moment. To be safe, it was better to slowly grow and wait until he could defeat that monster before heading to the Black Fog World.
This is definitely not cowardly. Itâs just mature and stable, keeping the big picture in mind.
âWaking up a monster from deep slumber?â The Desolate Frost Lion was shocked. Why are these people so gutsy? Even humans get up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes, not to mention a monster whoâs often subject to mood swings.
Oh, right, Iâm also a really big lion who can be moody. It pouted cutely. Oh, oh. Gao Peng, try and hit my head if you have what it takes!
âBut at most, this monster should only be at the Emperor tier or the peak of the Emperor tier. Thereâs no way itâs at the Overlord tier.â The Desolate Frost Lion was certain.
âYouâre that sure?â Gao Peng was a bit surprised.
âHeh, how dumb. How could there be another Overlord-tier monster sleeping so soundly so close to another Overlord-tier monster? Is it tired of living?â The Desolate Frost Lion laughed coldly.
âSpeak properly.â Gao Peng hit its head.
The Desolate Frost Lion was extremely exasperated. Iâm telling you, Iâm a big, moody lion. You canât simply hit my head.
âEven if it were Emperor-tier, we canât deal with it at the moment.â
âWait until my strength is fully recovered, then Iâll beat it up,â said the Desolate Frost Lion as it laughed coldly.
âIâm rooting for you. After you recover your strength and get to the Overlord tier, youâll dominate the entire Black Fog World and reach the peak of your life,â said Gao Peng encouragingly.
âLetâs go, Gao Peng. Let us take all the treasures all over the world. Then, Iâll be able to breakthrough faster.â The Desolate Frost Lion couldnât wait anymore.
Lying on its side, Da Ziâs eyes brightened. Treasure? Ours?
That night, at the dinner table inside the villa, Grandpa said, âSomething happened in Changâan again.â
Another... Changâan sure has a lot of disasters.
âWhat happened this time?â Gao Peng picked up a piece of meat from the table with his chopsticks and heard the sound of drooling beside his ear.
Da Zi was looking at Gao Peng under the table with its head raised. Its tail was shaking happily just like a Shiba Inu. Normal familiars werenât allowed inside restaurants, but Da Zi had tiny special privileges.
As Gao Peng threw a piece of bone on the floor, hundreds of Da Ziâs short feet leaped as it landed on the bone. It gnawed at the bone.
âMonster intrusion. From within the Taklamakan.â
The Taklamakan, huh? Gao Peng had heard of the place, since it was in the northwest and wasnât that far away from Changâan.
After the Cataclysm, it had been covered in sand, and it was also covered in sandstorms year-round. The Dali Desert was childâs play in front of the Taklamakan Desert.
Of course, the Taklamakan Desert was different from the Golden Sand Desert. The sand in the Taklamakan was a shifting sand desert. As the name suggested, the sand in shifting sand deserts moved based on the direction of the wind, and the desert would continue to move due to the wind. This meant that it was a desert that moved.
The Taklamakan Desert was the largest desert in the Huaxia Region, and it was the second largest shifting sand desert in the world.
âThe newest information is that the Taklamakan Desert is closing in on Changâan Base City. Based on current estimations, in approximately ten years, the desert will devour the entirety of Changâan.â
Gao Peng put down his bowl and chopsticks. The people of Changâan... sure do have a lot of disasters.
Although ten years might have seemed like a long time, in fact, it wasnât long at all. If they really couldnât prevent the movement of the Taklamakan Desert, the Changâan Base City would have to prepare to move.
âCould this desert be alive?â Gao Peng muttered. Having witnessed animated sculptures, mountain spirits, and coral monsters, Gao Peng had already had his mind blown several times, so he couldnât help but wonder if the Taklamakan Desert had produced another monster with consciousness.
If it really created another inanimate object with consciousness, then that huge area...
Before the Cataclysm, the Taklamakan Desert had been around 620 miles from the east to the west, and around 250 miles from south to north. The total area was around 205,000 square miles. After the Cataclysm, it became bigger, and if a desert as big as that became a monster, then who knew just how frightening it could be.
After Grandpa finished his dinner, he used a napkin to wipe his mouth. âIâll go check it out tomorrow.â
âNo, donât go. Iâll go instead.â Gao Peng remembered that almost all of the Sand-type monsters were weak against ice, and he had the Desolate Frost Lion, so he was more capable of dealing with them.
Ji Hanwu thought for a moment, but he was still somewhat worried. âLetâs go together. Iâll bring the White Dragon along tomorrow. Donât bring too many familiars. Weâll just check it out.â@@novelbin@@
I only just reached a total of three familiars, and my grandson already has ten. Ji Hanwu was quite speechless as well.