Chapter 486

Chapter 486: Rising Reputation

A shrill cry pierced the air.

Jin Ada glanced upward, spotting a vulture circling ominously above him.

His eye twitched, and he spat on the ground in disgust, muttering, "Damn that wretched bird!"

To the Sand People, vultures nesting on the Gobi cliffs were harbingers of doom. Their presence rarely boded well.

These scavengers fed on the remains of humans and beasts, possessing an uncanny ability to detect the scent of death and relentlessly trail their prey.

Jin Ada had been shadowed by this vulture for miles!

Though being followed by a vulture didn’t guarantee death, its eerie nature had spawned countless unsettling tales.

Yet, Jin Ada couldn’t shake the chilling sensation that a shadow of death loomed over him.

Lately, his tribe had been in disarray. Many hunters had vanished without a trace, including several skilled Hunter Cultivators, leaving the tribe reeling from heavy losses.

Jin Ada had also caught wind of a troubling rumor.

It was said that a formidable celestial guardian had arrived at the Sand Guard, wielding a flying sword capable of striking from a hundred miles away to sever heads.

The missing tribesmen, according to the whispers, had fallen victim to this sword cultivator!

As an aspiring Hunter Cultivator, Jin Ada knew that sword cultivators among the Easterners were fearsome warriors, but the idea of a flying sword killing from such a distance was beyond his comprehension.

Even the Great Witches lacked such power!

Jin Ada suspected the rumors were exaggerated.

Still, he dared not venture within a hundred miles of the Sand Guard.

Better safe than sorry—if the rumors held any truth, charging in recklessly would be akin to delivering his own head on a platter.

In fact, many of his fellow tribesmen had also chosen to steer clear of the Sand Guard during this time.

When they spoke of the Easterners, their words dripped with venomous hatred.

But when it came to confronting them, they agreed it was a task best left to stronger hands.

The Sand Tribe had the backing of Great Witches, Ancestor Witches, and the powerful masters of the Western Regions, so Jin Ada wasn’t overly intimidated by the Easterners.

After muttering a few curses against the Easterners’ celestial guardian, he pressed on northward.

Jin Ada’s mission was to hunt down a cunning Sand Fox.

He had pursued this elusive target for some time but had yet to succeed.

This time, however, he was filled with unwavering resolve.

He aimed to skin the fox and present its fur to his beloved, to craft a scarf for her.

Another shrill cry echoed from above.

Jin Ada frowned, but then a strange unease crept over him.

This time, the vulture’s cry was sharp and desperate, as if its throat had been brutally crushed.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, a chilling sensation washed over him.

He suddenly looked up.

In the air, broken black feathers floated down like rain, and a flash of crimson-golden sword energy fell from the sky, instantly occupying his entire field of vision.

In the next moment, Jin Ada’s consciousness plunged into endless darkness.

So the rumors were true!

Before his awareness sank, all that filled his mind was shock—wasn’t it said that only within a hundred miles was a forbidden zone?

Jin Ada stood at least one hundred fifty miles away from the Sand Guard!

He was dead, knowing nothing and having no thoughts left.

But the fear among the living Sand People had reached a terrifying height.

They were on the verge of collapse!

An excellent young man had gone out to hunt and never returned.

Some found the body, while many others had disappeared without a trace; after all, there were numerous beasts lurking in the Gobi desert.

Even hundreds of miles away from the Sand Guard, they felt no sense of safety.

Several people had witnessed a streak of sword energy flying down from the direction of the Sand Guard, slicing through a tribesman’s body like lightning before vanishing.

It arrived without a sound and left without a trace, indifferent to day or night; death descended like this!

The tales of deaths caused by Eastern sword cultivators spread like a plague in the areas near the Sand Guard.

And it began to creep deeper into the desert!

In a short time, panic set in; many tribes located four to five hundred miles from the Sand Guard were contemplating relocation.

The problem was, tribes living in the desert couldn’t just move whenever they wished.

Almost all known oases had already been occupied, and unless they resorted to force to seize someone else’s territory, finding a new place to settle was impossible.

There were plenty of oases within a few hundred miles west of the Sand Guard!

This situation inevitably caught the attention of the upper echelons of the Sand Tribe.

In a golden tent at the center of a large oasis, dozens of Sand Tribe Sorcerers sat upright, surrounding a white-haired elder in a gray robe like stars circling the moon.

A fierce-looking Sand Tribe warrior knelt before the elder, offering a Jade Slip with both hands.

"Great Witch, this is intelligence returned from Daying City."

The gray-robed elder took the Jade Slip and waved his hand, signaling the warrior to retreat.

He closed his eyes for a moment while holding the Jade Slip, then passed it to a middle-aged Purple Witch sitting beside him.

After reading the contents of the Jade Slip, the Purple Witch’s expression turned grave as he passed it on to others.

Soon, all the Sorcerers present understood.

The atmosphere in the tent grew significantly heavier!

The gray-robed elder sighed, "Our enemies are becoming stronger."

The Sand Tribe and the Easterners were sworn enemies.

However, any Sand People with a bit of sense knew that without the protection of the Western Buddhist Sect, the Sand Tribe would have been wiped out long ago, and they wouldn’t have been able to survive to this day.

There were simply too many geniuses from the West Sea Sect.

Like the figures recorded in this Jade Slip, they came from no noteworthy background, and they were exceptionally young.

With just one person and one sword, they had stirred up panic among several tribes of the Sand Tribe.

"Wang Chen."

The gray-robed elder pronounced this name, his tone imbued with a sense of curse.

If it were possible, he would have liked to personally cast a blood curse to preemptively eliminate this genius from the West Sea Sect.

But the gray-robed elder knew that any action from him would inevitably prompt a fierce retaliation from the West Sea Sect.

At that point, even the Western Buddhist Sect might not be able to hold them back!

War was strictly limited to those below the Golden Core level; this was an ironclad rule that could not be violated.

His gaze swept over the faces of the gathered Sorcerers.

A Purple Witch gritted his teeth and spoke, "Great Witch, I want to challenge this celestial guardian and fight him to the death!"

Some Sand Tribe Sorcerers, in a bid to prove their strength and bravery, had ventured alone to the Sand Guard, demanding a life-or-death duel with Eastern cultivators.

While most who went never returned, a few returned victorious, hailed as heroes within their tribes.

The gray-robed elder asked solemnly, “Tuqi, have you thought this through?”

“Yes.”

The Purple Witch drew a dagger and swiftly severed a part of his little finger, then swallowed it, dripping with blood!

This represented an oath of neverending struggle.

“Very well.”

The gray-robed elder showed a look of satisfaction. “The blood of Sand Tribe warriors cannot be shed in vain. Before your duel, I will grant you powerful strength and weapons.”

The Purple Witch rejoiced and immediately knelt at his feet!