Demon King: Hero, don’t run away!

Chapter 436: Chapter 436: The Birth of a New Underground Maze

Jiao Sha began slowly, recounting an event that had happened over a week ago.

That day, as usual, after seeing off a group of travelers crossing the desert, he set off for home.

In the desert, the dunes were constantly shifting, and it was easy to lose one’s way.

Furthermore, lurking within the desert were some vicious Magic Beasts that would devour anyone who accidently wandered into their territory.

Thus, to become a Desert Guide, one not only needed to find accurate directions in the desert but also had to possess a certain level of Magic Perception Ability to detect the magic disturbances in the dry air.

Jiao Sha, who had been a Desert Guide for nearly thirty years, though not greatly talented in magic, had honed his ability to perceive subtle changes in magic through his long years traversing the desert and could sense whether danger was drawing near.

This trained perception ability not only helped him assess the proximity of danger but also let him detect other things, such as Underground Mazes appearing in the desert.

Underground Mazes could also emerge in the desert and, like those in other environments, would release certain magic to attract people to explore them.

However, due to the desert distorting the distribution of magic to some extent, the pheromones of magic released by these Underground Mazes often couldn’t cross the desert to reach farther away areas.

In the ”Map of Known Underground Myg Distribution” that Yang Yu found in the All Things Library, only the number of Underground Mazes on the edges of the desert was recorded, with the central desert areas marked as ”impossible to estimate.”

Even the mighty All Things Library couldn’t detect the precise locations of the Underground Mazes in the desert without being physically present and needed to be sufficiently close to perceive their presence amid the vast desert.

It is also essential to note that Underground Mazes located in the desert might soon be buried by the sands and become dens for Magic Beasts.

These reasons also led to few adventurers making special trips into the desert to explore these Underground Mazes.

Rather than risking being buried by sandstorms to explore these uncertain Underground Mazes, it made more sense to gather more people to hunt the Magic Beasts lurking in the desert.

The reason to mention the Underground Mazes in the desert was because Jiao Sha had witnessed the birth of one.

A brilliant blue beam shot up into the sky, like a beautiful fountain blooming in the air, scattering magic droplets all around, and as the magic fountain faded, large sections of the desert collapsed, forming a whirlpool of quicksand. In the center of the whirlpool, a square stone platform rose, with a wide staircase leading downward.

Unfortunately, located in the desert, the magic it spread did not travel far before being absorbed by large sand dunes or captured by the strange flowing magic of the desert, making it impossible to transmit to the outside world.

This was the first time Jiao Sha had seen such a scene; unable to help himself, he was drawn towards the newly formed Underground Maze and took a few steps towards it.

Just then, the sand beneath his feet vibrated, and a golden figure abruptly burst from beneath the sands, biting him before quickly burrowing back into the sand and disappearing.

Had Jiao Sha not known some methods to treat snake venom, such as quickly tearing his clothes to bind around his thigh and sucking out the venom from his lower leg, he would likely have died right there in the desert.

Hearing the whole story, Yang Yu slightly furrowed his brows.

This Underground Maze had appeared at a truly inconvenient time, just when his level was capped, and tackling it would, regrettably, waste Experience.

Moreover, combining the knowledge gleaned from the All Things Library, an Underground Maze that appeared in such a conspicuous alluring manner was generally a large maze.

It could possibly be one of the Underground Mazes left behind by the Ancient Brave Warrior, Lox.

Not to explore it and let it simply get buried by the sands would truly be a pity.

However, they couldn’t come to a conclusion yet; they needed to see the place themselves before deciding.

Suppressing his curiosity, Yang Yu asked Jiao Sha about the location of the Underground Maze.

Jiao Sha took out a map and marked a range on the route he usually traveled.

The area wasn’t far from the town, and a round trip might only take two days. After hearing about Jiao Sha’s incident, many Desert Guides chose to avoid that area for safety reasons, so probably not many people knew about the Underground Maze.

Yang Yu also asked about any other details Jiao Sha could remember before leaving the father and son’s residence to prepare for the trip to the desert.

The next day, when Yang Yu was ready to depart, he found that Qing Shi had been waiting next to their inn for quite a while.

For Qing Shi, a local, finding the inn where Yang Yu and his group were staying was extremely easy.

As soon as he saw Yang Yu, Qing Shi immediately stated his purpose,

”Even though the search area isn’t far, it’s still the desert. An outsider could easily get lost. Though I’m not an outstanding Desert Guide, I am familiar with the peripheral areas.

I’ve arranged for someone to take care of my father, and he has agreed to let me guide you.”

Yang Yu didn’t refuse. Jiao Sha was a compassionate father and wouldn’t let his only son risk himself without some assurances.

Accepting Qing Shi’s offer, Yang Yu and his group reached the edge of the town.

Seeing that there was no one around, Yang Yu whistled, and the huge figure of Lotcar appeared in front of Qing Shi.

The sudden appearance of such a large Magic Beast startled Qing Shi into sitting down abruptly on the ground. Yang Yu calmed him and took the opportunity to introduce Lotcar and He Meng, revealing his identity as a Monster Tamer.

Surprised as he was, Qing Shi quickly accepted Yang Yu’s identity as a Monster Tamer, considering his father’s life far more important than such trivial matters as Yang Yu’s identity.

They stepped onto the cold morning sands, the soles of Lotcar’s feet cold, but before long, this coldness would be replaced by searing heat, and each step would feel as if treading on a hot iron plate.

The desert had extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night, and the midday sun was extremely scorching. If one were to place a metal plate on it, they could even fry an egg directly.

Camels were a common means of transport in the desert, but most had been borrowed by Slave Hunters, and Yang Yu and his group had to make do with only Lotcar.

Initially, the route was extremely safe, and Yang Yu and his group could move a bit faster. As they ventured deeper, Qing Shi proactively climbed down from Lotcar and, imitating his father, began to sense the magic power flowing through the air.

Yang Yu and the others also got down from Lotcar, staying close to Qing Shi in case they needed to react quickly to any emergencies.

Walking, walking, at the hottest time of the day, Qing Shi judged it prudent to advise Yang Yu and his group to rest on the spot to avoid heatstroke.

Yang Yu and his companions didn’t insist otherwise and simply set up a tent in the middle of the desert.

Due to the unbearable heat, Yang Yu asked Bai Jin to use Ice Magic to cool down.

However, when Bai Jin confidently lifted his Magic Wand to show off his skills, not even a single snowflake burst forth from the pure white Magic Array.