The desert didn’t sleep. It breathed in silence, awake beneath an unforgiving sun.
The heat didn’t just fall from the sky; it surged from the bowels of the earth, as if the whole world were melting slowly from the inside out. Every grain of sand was an invisible blade dragged by the wind.
And in the middle of that dry hell, a figure pressed forward. Step by step. Never stopping.
Zhu Xian.
His once-silver hair now clung to his skin, heavy with sweat. His improvised sandals had long since disintegrated. He walked barefoot, his feet bloodied, but steady.
—So this is the Dou Qi Continent… —he murmured, lips cracked and dry.
And yet, he felt no more freedom here than he had within the Gate.
There, he had survived eternal judgment. There, he had loved. There… he had a purpose.
Here, there was only sand. And silence.
Three days.
No food. No water. Not a shadow of another human being.
His divine blessings kept him alive. His body regenerated slowly what the desert tried to take from him. But that didn’t dull the pain. Hunger was tolerable. The silence… was not.
Until he saw it.
A caravan.
—Move, you cursed scales! Faster!
—Don’t make me say it again!
A squad of mercenaries, armed with whips and spears, escorting a line of chained serpent women. Half-human, half-serpent. Their eyes dry, their forked tongues cracked from dehydration. Some no longer walked —they crawled.
One collapsed to her knees.
—Water… please…
A whip snapped up into the air.
And then, a voice tore through the world:
—Put that whip down… or I’ll cut off your arm.
The caravan froze.
From the top of the dune, a ragged figure descended. Thin. Burned by the sun.
But his presence weighed heavier than any armor.
—Who the hell are you? —the leader spat, a seven-star Da Dou Shi.
Zhu Xian didn’t answer. He walked among the mercenaries as if they were lifeless stones.
He stopped in front of the cages.
And saw them.
Chains. Pain. Humiliation.
Is this the world we dreamed of seeing…?
He remembered his words to Yun Yun:
"I want to explore this world."
And this… this was the first thing he found.
The leader growled, losing patience.
—Hey! I’m talking to you, bastard!
Zhu Xian raised his hand.
A flash of pure energy ripped through the ground, opening a fifty-meter fissure at the man’s feet. The earth shook. The mercenaries scattered like leaves in a storm.
—Forgive us, sir! They’re just snakes… nothing more…!
Zhu Xian lowered his head.
—And that makes it right?
He was ready to finish it.
But then… a soft voice stopped him.
—P-please… spare them…
It was clear. Warm. Like a breeze in the burning desert.
One of them. At the back.
She was beautiful in a strange way. Skin like jade, pale-blue eyes, hair braided with withered flowers. A long tail of deep-violet scales trailed behind her, like an exiled goddess.
But what struck him most… was her compassion.
—Not all of them are evil… —she whispered. —Some are just… lost.
Zhu Xian froze.
A slave… begging for her captors.
This world is rotten… but not everything is dead.
The leader, bleeding, seized the moment and lunged with his blade raised.
The woman screamed:
—Watch out!
But Zhu Xian had already felt it.
He moved with effortless precision, turning, dodging, his fist slamming into the man’s chest.
The body flew several meters, crashing into the sand like a broken doll.
With a flick of his finger, the lock shattered.
He extended his hand to her.
—Are you hurt?
She hesitated… then took it.
He helped her out of the cage.
—I’m taking you with me.
The leader spat blood, gasping.
—What are you waiting for?! Kill him! He can’t take you all!
The mercenaries hesitated.
Zhu Xian turned. His gaze was a death sentence.
—Do you really want to find out?
No one moved.
The woman stared at him, wide-eyed.
—Why… why would you save me?
Zhu Xian drew in a steady breath.
And with the faintest of smiles, said:
—Because you’re alive.
—And because… I don’t want this world to rot any more than it already has.