Chapter 10: Whirlwind of Sand Columns

After the lamp spirit finished learning Li Mingxing’s spell, Li Mingxing sent him to the gem pool to absorb the gems, instructing him to fill his own oil lamp with as many gems as possible before returning.

Once the lamp spirit had gone to carry out Li Mingxing’s task, Midalin approached Li Mingxing and asked, “Could I take a look at your magic book?”

Li Mingxing handed over the book, asking, “Why? Do you know anything about magic?”

“No,” Midalin shook her head. “I have no talent for magic. All spells are beyond my reach—otherwise, I wouldn’t have taken up the path of a merchant.”

Li Mingxing hesitated at her words, considering whether he ought to turn Midalin from a merchant into a mage. After all, someone as clever and numerically adept as her would make an ideal magician. Yet, in the end, he decided against it. For his current circumstances, the presence of an excellent merchant outweighed that of a novice mage.

So, as he handed the magic book to Midalin, he added, “See if you can make use of any of these spells.”

Midalin’s heart tightened at his words, recognizing this as a test. Though she didn’t care for such trials, she had to admit it was the sort of thing those in power must do.

She nodded to Li Mingxing and began reading the magic book, while he waited silently as time slipped by.

He’d thought he’d spend the next five days lounging here until the gem pool vanished—a habit he’d developed since transforming into the spectral form of a scorpion-lion, akin to how dragons are drawn to treasure and sleep. The scorpion-lion, with its draconic blood, also suffered a mild lethargy.

But soon, his dream of a nap was shattered. Far off in the sky, he saw a column of black sand rising.

The desert troops gathering gems at the pool shouted, “Quick, jump into the gem pool! The daily whirlwind won’t affect the pool. Once it’s passed, we can start again.”

Li Mingxing, however, saw opportunity. If he could seize this chance, he would complete his task and leave this endless desert. If he failed, there would be nothing to hope for—even if he survived the whirlwind, without the elemental belt he needed, he’d lose the confidence he had only just gained.

Without hesitation, Li Mingxing rose from the gems, swept the extras back into the pool, and strode toward the desert.

His forces reacted as well. Those who’d followed him from the underground world joined him without a second thought. The desert-born troops hesitated, but eventually mounted their flying carpets and chased after him.

After leaving the gem pool, Li Mingxing fixed his gaze on the approaching sand pillar and spoke calmly, “This whirlwind is immensely powerful. I don’t know how strong it truly is, but everyone here treats it as a natural disaster. There’s only one way to survive—rush into the center as quickly as possible.”

He paused. “The slowest among us are you dwarves. If you think you can’t keep up, you should retreat to the gem pool.”

“Are you joking?” the Blackstone Champion shouted. “All you cowardly desert warriors, get off those carpets! With the carpets, our speed will be unmatched.”

Hearing this, the desert troops who’d planned to retreat yelled, “What do you mean? Do you think we’ll lose to you dwarves?”

With that, the desert warriors drove their carpets straight toward the sand column. Seeing this, Li Mingxing nodded lightly, and the Blackstone Champion finally cracked a smile.

Soon the whirlwind, towering like a sand pillar, was upon them. Though prepared, Li Mingxing was startled by its presence. Before him was no ordinary whirlwind, but a sandstorm so thick that nothing inside could be seen. Within its swirling mass, he glimpsed enormous sandworms struggling.

Li Mingxing hesitated, but Midalin didn’t. Without a word, she wrapped her head in a blanket and plunged into the storm.

Seeing a woman so fearless, and realizing this was likely the only way to fulfill his mission, Li Mingxing followed suit, head down, rushing into the whirlwind.

His subordinates followed, though some escaped on flying carpets.

Inside the whirlwind, Li Mingxing realized how mistaken his initial assumptions had been. He thought reaching the eye would be safe, but as soon as he was swept up, he felt trapped in quicksand—unable to move, gasping as the air was squeezed from his lungs.

Worse yet, after a while, sand filled his mouth and nose, pouring in relentlessly. He understood then why Midalin had wrapped her head.

But regret was pointless now. All Li Mingxing could do was hope the whirlwind would end quickly and that he’d truly enter the lord’s tomb.

Perhaps luck was on his side. The whirlwind they encountered had traveled its full course. After another minute, the storm and all the sand it carried plunged underground.

Li Mingxing seized the chance to escape the sandy hell, spat out a mouthful of grit, and surveyed his surroundings.

He found himself in a vast cavern, as large as the underground world he’d once visited.

Around him lay sand drawn in by the whirlwind, along with several giant elephants and a dozen massive sandworms. His subordinates were scattered haphazardly nearby.

More numerous were shattered corpses, some desert troops suffocated by sand.

Looking at these bodies, something occurred to Li Mingxing. He shouted, “Yin Haitao, hurry up and collect the corpses and souls here!”

Before Yin Haitao could respond, a giant sandworm nearby awoke. Seeing the scene, it roared and lunged at Li Mingxing.

Though he’d spent days half asleep, Li Mingxing knew his body well. In the instant the sandworm attacked, he sprang from the ground onto its back.

This time, he didn’t use his scorpion tail, but leapt again from the sandworm’s body. As he jumped, another worm bit, tearing half the first worm’s body away.

Landing in a safe spot, Li Mingxing watched the two sandworms closely, realizing that all the worms native to the sands must have awoken. If he couldn’t hold out until his companions recovered, he’d be unable to withstand their assault.

As Li Mingxing stared, his lamp spirit appeared beside him, quickly casting an enhancement and a wooden armor spell. Then, the spirit retreated into its oil lamp, rolling it into a nearby crevice.

With the lamp tucked away, Li Mingxing leapt up again, counting the awakened sandworms—five in total, four with yellow skin, and one rare red-skinned worm.

Li Mingxing paid no mind to their abilities or powers. He focused on one thing: his speed exceeded theirs, so he could survive.

This time, his reasoning was sound. As his pace quickened, the five sandworms failed to bite him and instead attacked each other.

Such fierce biting was hard even for sandworms to endure; soon, all five were badly wounded.

At that moment, Li Mingxing spotted three harpies appearing overhead in the cavern. At last, a smile of hope graced his face.