In a barren desert within a certain primeval lower realm.
The scorching sun beat down, its extreme heat causing the air to ripple with heatwaves. The entire desert felt like a colossal furnace, threatening to bake any living creature that dared to set foot within it.
At this moment, on an ancient road traversing the desert, a merchant caravan was locked in a bloody struggle with a band of desert bandits.
"Hold the line, everyone! Protect the young lady!"
A blood-soaked guard captain positioned himself before a veiled woman, felling an oncoming bandit with a swift sword strike. He shouted his orders.
However, despite the caravan guards being elites, the bandits attacking them outnumbered the guards by more than ten to one. The guards fought desperately, but more and more fell under the bandits' indiscriminate blades.
The members of the caravan were slaughtered one by one by the desert bandits.
"Damn it!"
Witnessing his comrades fall one after another, the guard captain's eyes turned red. Yet, he knew the tide had turned; their complete annihilation was a foregone conclusion.
"Young lady, we can't hold on much longer. Please escape by yourself!"
The guard captain seized an opportunity in the chaos to help the woman onto a camel, speaking quickly. "Head east for a hundred li, and you'll reach the territory of the Great Yan Kingdom. You'll be safe there."
"None of you will escape today!"
Just then, a rough voice boomed from afar, causing the guard captain's expression to change drastically.
"Not good, it's the Sand Dragon! I'll hold them off, young lady, hurry and flee!"
The guard captain could no longer afford to worry about anything else. He directly struck the camel's hindquarters, and the beast bolted away like a wild horse, galloping into the distance!
Simultaneously, a massive axe flew from afar, piercing directly through the guard captain's chest.
"Brother Ama!!!"
From atop the camel, the woman witnessed the guard captain impaled by the axe. Her eyes welled up, and she cried out.
"Young lady..."
The guard captain knelt weakly on the ground, watching the fleeing woman. His vision blurred, and he finally slumped into the pool of blood.
A bare-chested man, over two meters tall, stepped on the guard captain's corpse. He pulled the great axe from the body, slung it over his shoulder, and looked towards the woman escaping on the camel. He then instructed the sand bandits beside him, "Bring her back. She's our golden goose."
"Yes!"
The sand bandits shouted in unison, then mounted their horses and gave chase to the woman on the camel.
In this desert, more corpses were added.
Not far to the east of the battlefield between the caravan and the sand bandits.
A large number of golden runes materialized out of thin air. Then, the space distorted, and Ye Ling fell out from it.
"Phew... So that's how these runes can be used. But that old man was too unreliable! This rune teleportation is random. Where am I now?"
Ye Ling looked at the heatwaves washing over him, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
When he was surrounded by pursuers, he had, under the guidance of "Evil," hastily constructed a teleportation channel using runes, randomly transporting himself to another world.
Now, Ye Ling had no idea where he was.
"There's nothing in this desert. I need to find a city to ask for directions and make further plans." Ye Ling muttered. Just as he was about to leave, he sensed a not-weak spiritual energy fluctuation nearby.
"Hmm?"
Ye Ling turned his head and saw a veiled woman approaching on a camel.
On the woman's chest, she wore a fiery red bead, and the powerful spiritual energy fluctuation Ye Ling sensed was emanating from it.
"I didn't expect to meet anyone in such a desolate place."
Seeing the woman heading towards him, Ye Ling prepared to greet her and ask for directions. However, he then saw a large group of sand bandits chasing after her.
"Little girl, don't run!"
The bandits behind shouted, and then one bandit drew a bow and arrow, accurately shooting the camel's thigh.
The wounded camel cried out in pain and violently threw the woman off its back.
Witnessing this, Ye Ling sighed slightly and grumbled, "Why is it another hero saving the damsel plot?"
However, despite his grumbling, Ye Ling wouldn't stand by and do nothing. He was about to step forward to catch the woman, but before he could act, the bead on the woman's chest erupted with a torrent of flames, which then coalesced into a phoenix in mid-air!
The fiery phoenix steadily held the woman, soaring into the sky and carrying her rapidly eastward.
The entire band of sand bandits was stunned by the majestic presence of the fiery phoenix.
However, as the fiery phoenix passed over Ye Ling, it was affected by the residual energy of Ye Ling's runes. The phoenix instantly dissipated, and the woman fell from the sky, landing gently in Ye Ling's arms.
"This..."
Seeing the beauty fall directly into his embrace, Ye Ling was completely stunned.
The woman in Ye Ling's arms also stared at him blankly, looking bewildered.
Their eyes met, and neither of them had expected things to turn out this way.
"Surround them!"
However, while Ye Ling and the woman were in a daze, the sand bandits, who had been stunned by the fiery phoenix, snapped back to reality. They immediately moved forward, encircling Ye Ling and the woman.
After being surrounded by the bandits, the woman finally regained her senses. She quickly got out of Ye Ling's embrace and said rapidly, "Young man, you should escape quickly. This has nothing to do with you!"
"No one is going anywhere!"
At this moment, the same rough voice echoed again. The bandits then parted to the sides, and a man holding a great axe in one hand rode his horse into the crowd.
"Sand Dragon!"
The woman exclaimed upon seeing the man over two meters tall, her eyes filled with terror.
Sand Dragon was the most notorious bandit in the Tianyun Desert. Legend had it that Sand Dragon was incredibly brutal, and any prey he targeted met a most miserable end!
Sand Dragon smiled at the veiled woman and said, "Miss Beima, just come with us obediently. Resistance is futile."
"I would rather die than fall into your hands!"
Beima drew a dagger from her waist and placed it directly at her own throat.
However, Sand Dragon was not flustered by Beima's actions at all. He chuckled, "Miss Beima, are you perhaps too confident in your ability to commit suicide under my very eyes?"
Cold sweat beaded on Beima's forehead. Her eyes were filled with fear, but she still gritted her teeth and thrust the dagger towards the major artery in her neck!
"Hmph!"
Sand Dragon snorted coldly, then unleashed a surge of energy, easily flicking the dagger from Beima's hand.
Seeing her last hope extinguished, Beima's eyes filled with despair, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Sand Dragon paid no mind to Beima's despair. He raised his hand and commanded, "Seize Beima, and kill that kid."
"I have no quarrel with you, there's no need to kill me, right? Can you let me go?" Ye Ling spoke at this moment, interrupting the sand bandits' actions.
Seeing Ye Ling speak up, Sand Dragon's eyes narrowed slightly. He then grinned at Ye Ling and said, "An interesting kid... Who are you?"
"A passerby." Ye Ling replied honestly.
"A fine passerby. Although everyone who has seen us must die, I find you rather interesting, so..."
Sand Dragon smiled, took a bow from his saddle, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Ye Ling. "If you want to live, you'd better run quickly."
Ye Ling looked at Sand Dragon drawing his bow and nocking the arrow, and he burst into laughter. "Do you know what game you're playing?"