They rested for an hour in the afternoon.

　　Luo Puti gorged down the First Love Peaches until she was stuffed, drank some ginseng tea and even rested on Zhang Chui’er’s massage chair for half an hour. By the time they had to pack up and continue their journey, she was practically glowing with happiness.

　　Chen Xiaobei had an equally fulfilling rest, and he felt very refreshed.

　　As it was time to leave, Chen Xiaobei used the Returning Bracelet, and brought Luo Puti back to the desert.

　　After going around the sand dunes, both factions gathered and were getting themselves prepared to embark on the next part of their journey.

　　When they saw Chen Xiaobei and Luo Puti approaching, they had on an amused look on their faces, waiting for Chen Xiaobei to make a joke out of himself.

　　They were anticipating that if Chen Xiaobei was not going to pack up and head home, he definitely had to get down on both knees to beg Zhou Xiaokun and Ding Ding’ao. He had no other option.

　　Little did they know, they were about to get very disappointed.

　　Chen Xiaobei walked up to them and said, “Let’s go.”

　　There was no begging, no giving up.

　　All those who had made a bet on that felt the sting on their faces.

　　Zhou Xiaokun and Ding Ding’ao said nothing. They merely ordered the troops to continue forward. Deep inside, they were actually very upset. How long could Chen Xiaobei and Luo Puti last?

　　A whole lot of problems tailed after, during their journey.

　　Chen Xiaobei spotted some red-tailed black desert army ants at the size of a thumb.

　　For these species, they travelled by the tens of thousands! And they could chew up a living being within just seconds!

　　Two Kunlun Faction disciples were standing at the spot when the raid of ants exploded from the ground.

　　Both men, caught unaware, were completely devoured within seconds, including the luggage they were carrying on their backs! Soon, they were stripped of their flesh. There was nothing left of them but clean, white bones!

　　Luckily, the group came prepared with flash bombs, which were dropped by the Fire Celestial True Kang elites. Subsequently, the ants were quickly wiped out.

　　However, the deaths of the two core disciples traumatized the rest of the group.

　　The once relaxed atmosphere became tense. Everyone including Chen Xiaobei and Luo Puti grew hyper vigilant.

　　The sandstorm had definitely rained pure terror in the desert and it was only the beginning of more to come. None of them dared to take their lives for granted anymore.

　　Chen Xiaobei witnessed a quicksand situation not long after.

　　Two Xingxiu disciples who were elites at the Pinnacle Phase of True Nirvana cultivation, were consumed by the moving sand. The harder they struggled, the harder the sand tugged them to the bottom.

　　Within half a minute, the both of them had disappeared into the sand. Trapped under 500 tonnes of yellow sand, there was no way out. No one even dared to try and save them.

　　With two more members of the expedition team gone, the tension in the air grew.

　　Panic began to set in amongst the lower core disciples; even the higher ranking elite brats felt an unfamiliar sense of danger.

　　Towards the final leap of the day’s journey, the road they were travelling on was shrouded in a dense shadow.

　　“Everyone, pull together!” Zhou Xiaokun called out at the top of his voice during his pep talk. “We are nearly there. Just a little bit more. Let’s get to that marked place and break our ancestors records! Let’s rewrite our own history! Yes, there will be a lot of danger along the way. The legendary Crimson Crowned Snake may appear anytime here. This snake extremely poisonous! Once bitten, you’ll have to amputate any part where the poison has travelled to. If it bites your leg, then your leg will be chopped off. No hesistations on that. Besides, even if this snake had been cut into half, its head could still attack and it will continue to threaten lives! The only way to kill them is to use your True Kang to blow their heads! If you want to survive, remember everything I’ve said! Let’s march on forward!”

　　As danger was lurking everywhere, the group slowed their pace down.

　　Everyone was beginning to feel the heat of the scorching sun.

　　There was not much freshwater left. The army ants and quicksand incident destroyed four of the backpacks containing valuable supplies.

　　Water rationing was extremely strict. They were only allowed one tiny sip after every long journey.

　　It wasn’t long after until their lips began to crack and their mouths were so parched that there wasn’t even a single drop of saliva formed.

　　It was still be bearable if they had to go on without food. But not having water was torturous!

　　Even the men were beginning to falter under such conditions; the women in the group could barely withstand the hunger and the thirst.

　　“Elder Shixiong, we’re very thirsty!” Wang Mengyu said sluggishly.

　　“Endure it!” Zhou Xiaokun was not feeling too good himself either. His throat was so dry as though it was on fire. As he spoke, his voice was coarse and broken. “Before we find a water source, everyone is under a strict water rationing! We cannot retreat even if we are dying to!”

　　They were about two days away from the edge of the Black Dessert.

　　In such circumstances and physical state of condition, should they continue to be deprived of water, Zhou Xiaokun had no guarantee that even he himself could get out of the desert alive.

　　“Funny how we decided on not giving any water to the stupid couple but here we are, barely any water left for ourselves.”

　　Wang Mengyu bowed solemnly.

　　“Huh! That’s strange!” The person next to Ding Ding’ao pointed to the back. “Look! Why are Chen Xiaobei and Luo Puti looking so radiant? Their lips are pink and moisturized. They don’t look thirsty at all! But they haven’t even drank a drop of water the entire afternoon!”

　　Zhou Xiaokun frowned. “Yeah! The sun is blazing hot and the air is as dry as bones! How on earth do they seem so unaffected? This doesn’t make any sense!”

　　“Could it be that Fourth Shixiong gave them water secretly?” Wang Mengyu speculated.

　　“How is that even possible? He doesn’t even have enough water for himself! Why would he give it to them? That’s suicidal!” Zhou Xiaokun replied.

　　The three of them scratched their heads in confusion.

　　What they did not know was that Chen Xiaobei had stored a few large boxes of First Love Peaches. Whenever no one was paying attention, he and Luo Puti would quickly gobble one down.

　　The peaches were very juicy, and could quench any thirst felt.

　　“I’m so thirsty I feel like dying! How could those two be perfectly fine? How frustrating!”

　　Wang Mengyu was filled with rage and jealousy.

　　“Enough! Don’t whine now. Once we find a water source ahead, you can even take a shower!” Zhou Xiaokun barked.

　　“No! I must find a way to sabotage them!”

　　Wang Mengyu stamped her feet as she turned around and walked towards the couple.

　　“AHHHH!”

　　Her feet grazed past something under sand!

　　A strange looking snake with a blood-red lump on its forehead squirmed out of hiding and bit Wang Mengyu on the calf!

　　“Crimson… Crimson Crowned Snake!”

　　Wang Mengyu inhaled sharply. Her pupils contracted and cold sweat trickled down her back.

　　Zing!

　　Zhou Xiaokun shot the Crimson Crowned Snake in the head with his True Kang. “Fifth Shimei! Hang on! We’ll have to cut this leg off!”