The system had issued a mission.
Even if it was impossible, it had to be done.
He would do it, even if he had to grit his teeth…
Chu Tian looked at Old Yang’s shocked expression.
He put on a fearless smile and asked, "What… Old Yang, are you scared?"
"If you’re scared, I, Chu Tian, won’t force you. Once we leave here, we’ll go our separate ways…"
Old Yang was stunned by his words.
Then, his face turned red, and he roared, "Scared? I, Old Yang, would be scared?"
"Damn it, isn’t it just unifying the Sea of Death?"
"Years ago, when I was in the City of Oblivion, I suggested it."
"But that cowardly City Lord was always indulging in debauchery, and he even… to me…"
"Uh… forget it, I won't say more!"
"However… it’s agreed, the head of the City Lord of Oblivion belongs to me!"
*Bang…*
As Old Yang spoke, he slammed his spear onto the ground.
His entire demeanor changed drastically.
Seeing this, Chu Tian thought: Could it be hatred for a stolen wife?
Recalling how fierce Old Yang had been in his hallucination, stabbing him with a knife, and the words he muttered.
It was highly likely!
Good, he had gained a great general.
He chuckled inwardly.
More importantly, he hadn't expected this guy to also have the ambition to unify the Sea of Death…
This point greatly surprised Chu Tian.
"You… are you serious?"
Nie Yun’s eyes widened as she looked at the old and young men.
They were planning world affairs as if it were a casual conversation, deep underground.
"Of course, it's serious!" Chu Tian affirmed.
"What… you don't think we can do it?"
Chu Tian looked confident.
Nie Yun shook her head and asked, "Do you have a single soldier?"
Chu Tian was taken aback and glanced at Old Yang.
"Alright, let me rephrase: do you have Sand Beasts?"
"Do you have Night Bats?"
"Do you have Three-Footed Mountain Climbing Beasts?"
As she asked these questions one by one, Old Yang’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Chu Tian, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. He didn't recognize any of the things she mentioned.
"Xiao Yun… stop talking!"
Old Yang shook his head and sighed, saying to Chu Tian, "Xiao Tian, I think we should forget about it!"
"Why so?" Chu Tian asked, puzzled.
"Alas… Sand Beasts are the beasts of burden for transportation in this Sea of Death."
"Night Bats are reconnaissance mounts that fly at extreme speeds at night."
"Three-Footed Mountain Climbing Beasts are mounts for siege cavalry."
"There are only the two of us now, two mouths, and we want to unify the Sea of Death. It’s too unrealistic."
"Let’s find a way out first!"
Old Yang, who had been full of spirit moments ago, was now dejected.
Chu Tian remained silent.
He knew it was difficult.
But he had to do it!
However, finding an exit was indeed more important.
"King… the exit to the surface is within this old man."
A weak voice echoed in Chu Tian’s ear.
"Allow me to send you off on your final journey!"
The previous anomaly reappeared, and wooden stairs extended towards them.
"What… what’s going on, has Uncle become sentient?" Old Yang exclaimed in surprise.
"Squeak squeak…" the little monkey let out an unhappy cry.
"Haha…" Dian Dian giggled, then quickly shut her mouth.
"What did it say?" Old Yang asked Dian Dian.
"It didn’t say anything!" Dian Dian replied.
Chu Tian smiled, guessing the monkey was scolding Old Yang.
He quickly changed the subject, "Let's go, the exit is inside!"
Being able to leave directly from here was an unexpected joy.
Chu Tian, along with the dumbfounded Old Yang and the others, stepped onto the stairs.
However, these stairs were not automatic this time.
He knew it was likely that the old tree’s power was insufficient for further action.
Entering the giant tree, the group did not appear in the treehouse Chu Tian had entered last time.
What greeted their eyes was a spiraling wooden vine staircase, winding upwards to an unknown height.
"No way…"
Chu Tian mumbled, having to climb stairs all the way up?
Reality proved his suspicion.
Five days later, they finally reached a narrow dead end.
There was no path ahead.
And no path behind them…
As they walked, the wooden ladder behind them slowly disappeared.
"Old Yang… clear the way!"
"You should feel it, the temperature here has risen significantly."
"We should be on the surface by now."
Chu Tian finished speaking, and Old Yang nodded.
He scratched his messy hair.
He also rubbed his face.
These five days had driven him nearly insane.
The endless spiral staircase had almost given Old Yang vertigo.
Two days ago, he had already sensed a significant temperature increase from above.
It was likely the outside world’s day and night cycle affecting the temperature.
If Chu Tian hadn't stopped him, he would have already carved a hole in the tree trunk to see where they were.
"Ha… Dragon Emerges from the Sea…"
Old Yang shouted.
As he thrust his spear forward, it began to spin.
*Ch ch ch… pop…*
The sound of the spear tip contacting the tree trunk.
The last sound indicated it had pierced through.
"Holy cow… I told you to clear the way, and you're poking holes here?"
Chu Tian saw the hole, as thick as a child’s arm, through which dazzling sunlight streamed in.
"Uh…" Old Yang scratched his head.
"This place is too narrow…"
Chu Tian understood what he meant; he couldn’t swing his spear here and had to push forward.
He slapped his face, realizing Old Yang’s brain was still not up to par!
Chu Tian began to worry about future campaigns in the Sea of Death.
How could he lead soldiers in battle with such a mind?
"Get out of the way… if you can't swing, can't you use your fist?"
"Bear Form…"
"Resonance of Strength… Heavy Blow!"
Along the way, Chu Tian, out of boredom, had been combining the techniques of Resonance of Strength with his skills.
He discovered it was a viable method.
This was the first time he was using it on someone.
At the same time, he muttered in his heart, "I'm sorry, old tree man."
*Boom…*
Chu Tian punched the tree trunk!
*Crack…*
The tree trunk exploded from the inside.
Chu Tian stepped forward.
Blinding sunlight shone upon them.
"Squeak squeak…"
Little Kong Kong suddenly cried out.
Chu Tian felt a sense of foreboding…
This little guy had lived below for who knows how many years.
It was the first time seeing sunlight, and its eyes might be burned.
With a wave of his hand, a tent appeared, shielding them.
Then he quickly grabbed Little Kong Kong, who was darting around.
Indeed, its eyes were bloodshot.
Tears streamed down its face.
Fortunately, Chu Tian had reacted quickly enough.
"Don't move, I'll bandage you first. You'll get used to it slowly later!"
Chu Tian comforted it.
"Squeak squeak…" Little Kong Kong was still wailing.
"Maomao says it hurts… sob sob…"
Dian Dian also suddenly started crying!
Chu Tian felt a headache coming on.
Nie Yun quickly hugged Dian Dian, coaxing her not to cry.
Hearing Dian Dian cry, Little Kong Kong stopped its squeaking.
Instead, it patted its chest and made a sound of "ooh ooh…"
"Mmm, Maomao, don't cry, Dian Dian won't cry either!"
The little girl said, wiping her tears.
The three adults looked at each other.
These two little creatures had become this close after spending a few days together.
"Let's rest here for a while!"
After five days of constant climbing, even Chu Tian, with his firm resolve, felt like he was going crazy.
Just now, he had released his divine sense upon exiting.
Within his line of sight, he hadn't detected any strange insects or similar creatures.
No one opposed his suggestion.
Chu Tian took out bedding; everyone could finally lie down on a flat surface.
For the past few days, they had been resting on the stairs when tired, their bones felt like they were falling apart.
While resting, Chu Tian observed the map and discovered that their exit point was surprisingly close to Myriad Beast City.
Walking northwest, it would only take less than three days to reach it on foot.
He was quite looking forward to Myriad Beast City.
Finally, he would be able to experience the cities of the Sea of Death.
Facing the yellow sand all day had caused visual fatigue.
Night…
Chu Tian stood on a hillside, looking south, into a distance beyond his divine sense. He vaguely saw a firelight.
The light flickered, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
It even shot upwards, reaching high into the sky.
Chu Tian had been observing it for a long time.
After so long in the desert, this was the first time he had seen such a strange sight.
Just now, he had called Old Yang over.
He claimed not to know what it was.
He speculated it might be a large tribe camping there.
Otherwise, considering the distance, the firelight from a small camp wouldn't be visible from so far away.
Nie Yun, however, said she couldn't see it.
Perhaps it was because she was an ordinary person, and her eyesight wasn't as good as his and Old Yang's.
However, based on Chu Tian's description, Nie Yun offered another explanation.
She said that when she was young, she heard her father say that when rare treasures appeared, they were always accompanied by anomalies.
She even jokingly told Chu Tian that perhaps some fire-element treasure was about to emerge.
Her words were unintentional, but they caught Chu Tian's attention.
If it were truly a rare treasure, should he go and take a look?
After much thought, his curiosity prompted him to return to the tent.
"Old Yang… you guys wait here for me, I'm going to take a look over there!"
"If I'm not back in two days, you should head to Myriad Beast City first."
Old Yang was a little uneasy seeing Chu Tian about to go alone.
He wanted to accompany him, but considering the safety of Nie Yun and her daughter, he had to give up.
He said, "Don't worry. If we go to Myriad Beast City first, I'll go to the West City Gate every noon."
"If you catch up, go to the West City Gate at the same time, and we can meet."
Chu Tian nodded, "Alright…"
After speaking, he left them with plenty of food and water.
Enough for them to eat and drink to their heart's content for a week.
Nie Yun seemed to want to say something but hesitated. Chu Tian nodded at her.
He turned and left the tent.
After a moment of hesitation, he activated Divine Teleportation and set his current location as a coordinate point.
He wasn't sure if Divine Teleportation would be effective here.
He decided to set it anyway.
Chu Tian also discovered that the original teleportation range of Divine Teleportation, which was two hundred kilometers, had now become 20,000 kilometers.
This change likely occurred after arriving here.
It seemed the system understood that this planet was vast, so the teleportation distance had been increased.
Although 20,000 kilometers sounded far.
Compared to the Sea of Death, which had an area of 153 million square kilometers, it was just a drop in the ocean!
"Goodbye, Uncle Chu Tian…" Dian Dian waved goodbye to Chu Tian from the entrance.
"Goodbye…" Chu Tian waved back without turning his head.
*Swish…* A black shadow jumped onto Chu Tian's shoulder.
He paused, surprised.
"Maomao…" Dian Dian called out from behind.
"Squeak squeak…"
The monkey imitated Chu Tian, waving its hand without looking back.
Chu Tian tilted his head to look at it.
By nightfall, Chu Tian had removed its bandages.
Its eyes were still bloodshot.
It glanced at Chu Tian, bared its teeth slightly.
Then it crouched on his shoulder, as if saying, "I'm ready, let's go…"
Chu Tian shook his head.
He transformed into his travel form.
In the darkness, the distant light acted like a beacon,
ensuring Chu Tian would not lose his way.
As the saying goes, chasing a mountain on horseback can be exhausting.
Chu Tian ran all night, and the firelight was still in front of him.
As dawn broke, Chu Tian had been running for a full eight hours.
He checked the system map; he had covered over seven hundred kilometers.
This speed was his limit on the sandy terrain.
On flat ground, his travel form could reach speeds of 130 kilometers per hour.
Unless he used Resonance of Strength in conjunction with his travel form,
the sandy ground was Chu Tian’s greatest adversary.
No matter what form he took, he couldn't achieve his full speed.
It wasn't too hot yet, so Chu Tian ran another three hundred kilometers before stopping.
As soon as the nine suns appeared, the sky became like an oven.
Along the way, Chu Tian noticed that the terrain here was extremely flat.
There were no sand dunes at all.
No wonder he could see the firelight from such a distance.
Even a slight sand dune at this distance would have obscured his vision.
He rested during the day and continued his journey at night.
Finally, at past one in the morning, he arrived at the foot of a massive hill.
There was actually a mountain in the desert!