Jiang Fan spoke to Zhou Niannian beside him as he ran.
Zhou Niannian did not reply, but ran with all her might, a glimmer of starlight in the corner of her eyes.
The sand worm was incredibly fast. It burst from the ground and slammed its head back down, creating a large crater. Its entire body burrowed into this new hole, disappearing into the volcano's interior.
Jiang Fan and the others dodged left and right, desperately evading the sand worm's attacks.
"What do we do? It's too big. I don't think we can beat it," one of them said.
Even Jiang Fan felt its lethality. Its teeth alone exuded an immense pressure.
When it erupted from the earth, it occasionally brought up molten lava. Contact with this lava would surely burn through their bodies.
Yet, the monster seemed completely unaffected by it, weaving through the volcanic depths, reappearing from the ground to attack them.
Even Gun Gun, seeing such a colossal creature, didn't charge forward but continued to run with the others.
"Quick, there's a cave over there! Let's hide inside!"
Jiang Fan dashed off to the side. Since he was covering the rear, the giant worm followed his direction.
The surface of the volcano cracked open, a massive fissure appearing from the worm's passage.
While Jiang Fan drew its attention, his companions took refuge in the cave below, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.
Seeing his companions were safe, Jiang Fan began to weave and dodge frantically across the volcanic terrain.
Luckily, his speed was sufficient. A casual bite from the sand worm would have ripped a chunk of bone from his back.
This wasn't a matter of losing a piece of flesh; its teeth interlocked in a horrifying manner. To be caught within them would be like entering a meat grinder, your body instantly pulverized.
"Damn it, if this continues, I'll be caught. And my stamina is running out. Its stamina seems endless."
The sand worm constantly burrowed and resurfaced within the volcano. Jiang Fan knew that relying solely on speed and luck to evade its attacks wasn't a sustainable strategy.
If he evaded for too long, he would eventually be killed.
These evasions weren't always successful. Jiang Fan had more than a little luck on his side; otherwise, he would have been devoured long ago.
Within this territory, the sand worm seemed to reign supreme.
Suddenly, Jiang Fan realized he couldn't continue running on the soft volcanic surface, or he would surely be eaten by the giant worm.
He constantly scanned his surroundings.
Then, he spotted a section of the ground that appeared cracked.
If the ground was fissured, the surface soil would be very loose, but the base, having lost moisture and subjected to pressure from above, would likely be very firm and dense.
As Jiang Fan pondered, the sand worm behind him erupted from the ground, its maw raised high, charging towards him.
Without hesitation, Jiang Fan lay flat, bracing his legs against the volcano's edge, and leaped with all his might.
All his strength was concentrated in that single push.
After leaping off the volcano, Jiang Fan immediately searched for a place to land.
The cracked earth's surface was still loose, so when Jiang Fan landed, he wasn't injured.
But the sand worm behind him was not so fortunate. Perhaps it had lost its bearings, and the sand worm plunged in after Jiang Fan.
*BOOM!*
"Aargh!"
The sand worm's head struck the ground, sinking only about half a meter before it let out a pained cry.
This was accompanied by a deafening impact that made Jiang Fan's eardrums feel like they would burst.
Fortunately, Jiang Fan's gamble paid off. He was unharmed, while the giant worm, stunned by the collision, passed out. Jiang Fan didn't hesitate, drawing his axe and hacking at the creature's head.
To his surprise, as the sand worm was cut open, it revealed continuous, interlocking teeth within.
Seeing this, Jiang Fan couldn't help but feel fortunate. If he had been swallowed, there would have been no escape.
These blade-like teeth, coupled with the internal organs' churning, formed a living meat grinder.
A single collision with this grinder would instantly tear him to shreds, turning him into a pulp when expelled.
Jiang Fan gasped for air, his eyes wide with terror, as if he had narrowly escaped death.
After killing the giant worm, Jiang Fan surmised that if they continued on the volcanic surface, they would likely encounter more of these bizarre and powerful creatures.
"Come down quickly! Don't go up there, it's too dangerous. The soil here is hard, so perhaps these sand worms can't penetrate it."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Niannian didn't hesitate and rushed towards Jiang Fan.
This was because Jiang Fan had told her the ground was safer.
The others followed Zhou Niannian's lead and joined Jiang Fan.
"What was that thing? It was so terrifying! I thought we were dead," one of them exclaimed.
Jiang Fan, slowly catching his breath, responded wearily to Zhou Niannian.
"Didn't I tell you? I had a bad feeling about this. I knew it wouldn't be simple. And that beast almost killed us all."
Jiang Fan looked at the sand worm's corpse behind him, still trembling.
Recalling the heart-stopping scene, he was mere moments away from being ensnared and crushed.
If his speed had been even slightly slower, or his leg strength a little weaker, his body would have been torn to pieces.
But thankfully, his stamina and speed were just enough, operating at the very limit to evade the colossal beast's attack.
"Everyone be careful. This place is definitely not simple."