I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World

Chapter 209: Chapter 181: Night Raid (Revised)

The Quicksand Domain is the most expansive region among the Nine Domains. It is vast yet sparsely populated, and besides having numerous demon beasts, its resources are far inferior to the other eight domains.

Therefore, there are not many Golden Core Cultivators and Nascent Soul Cultivators here. Most are Loose Cultivators at the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment stages, hunting demon beasts in the Quicksand Domain.

Jiang Yuebai flipped through the map—after exiting the pass, heading northwest over several sand dunes lies the Silver Sand Sea, which gets its name from the silver glow the mineral dust in the sand emits at night.

The Silver Sand Sea has two major powers: the Buddhist Sect’s Wangsheng Temple, and the Martial Sect’s Fuhu Sect. The two sects have been constantly clashing over the territory near Demon City in the Silver Sand Sea for years.

Deep within the Silver Sand Sea lies Demon City, an ancient city ruin eroded by wind and sand. The complex terrain includes underground dark rivers and is teeming with insect beast nests. Spiritual medicines frequently appear underground as well.

If neither sect had the capability to completely clear out the insect beast nests in Demon City, they would have long established their bases there.

Without the right connections, regular Loose Cultivators cannot enter the insect nests of Demon City to hunt demons.

The wind howled as Sha Yingjie rode at the vanguard of the group atop his Golden Leopard. A dozen Late-Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators followed behind him, clutching their magic artifacts tightly and vigilantly eyeing the sands below.

Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Zhong Shanhu rode a camel on the left side of the group, while Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Yu Tianlie guarded the right side. Jiang Yuebai was positioned at the back of the group.

Zhong Shanhu and Yu Tianlie weren’t acquainted before, but as veterans in demon hunting within the Quicksand Domain, their rich experience allowed them to understand each other through mere eye contact.

The group traveled for most of the day without incident. Just as Jiang Yuebai was yawning, a sudden attack struck from beneath the sand.

Dozens of giant, grotesque sand worms suddenly burst from beneath the sand, opening blossom-like mouths to bite down savagely on the group.

Cries of alarm erupted as everyone scattered.

Jiang Yuebai leaped from her camel just as a sand worm bit it, raised its head, and swallowed it down, with blood splattering everywhere.

”Aahhh!!”

A Qi Cultivation cultivator was caught off guard and swallowed whole by a sand worm. Several young Qi Cultivation cultivators on their first demon hunt turned ashen immediately.

”Don’t panic!”

Sha Yingjie shouted from the front, drawing a scimitar and leaping into the air, slicing through a sand worm in one decisive blow.

Zhong Shanhu and Yu Tianlie, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, also began to slay sand worms, while Cao Gang led the remaining Late-Stage Qi Cultivation cultivators, attacking fiercely and engaging in close combat with the sand worms.

The sound of fireballs and earth spikes filled the air, accompanied by continuous cries and screeches from the sand worms.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As thunder descended from the sky, Jiang Yuebai maneuvered amidst the yellow sand, using Divine Sense to cast Earth Thunder, striking the sand worms repeatedly and causing their skins to burst open with fluids splattering.

”Impressive Thunder Skill!”

Cao Gang and the others voiced their admiration, watching with awe.

Zhong Shanhu and Yu Tianlie, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators, also cast deep glances at Jiang Yuebai, especially at her hands, which barely moved.

Wonder and surprise filled their hearts—she was only at Early-Stage Foundation Establishment, yet she didn’t need to perform hand techniques for casting?

United in their efforts, the group swiftly slaughtered the sand worms, with the remaining ones retreating into the sand, soon vanishing from sight.

Sha Yingjie sheathed his scimitar, scanning the group and noticing several injured Qi Cultivation cultivators, anger rising in his chest.

”Useless lot!”

No one dared to speak out in defiance, and Cao Gang chuckled awkwardly, quickly instructing everyone to treat their injuries, harvest materials from the sand worms, collect Sand Worm Beast Souls, and prepare to continue the journey.

Sha Yingjie hadn’t noticed Jiang Yuebai’s actions earlier, assuming she had used some kind of Thunder Talisman, and sneered coldly.

”No point in showing off; women only become stumbling blocks on my path as a strong master!”

After the battle, Zhong Shanhu and Yu Tianlie exchanged glances, both subtly shaking their heads indicating they hadn’t seen Jiang Yuebai perform any hand techniques.

Their gazes turned nuanced for a moment—casting without hand techniques is a capability of Golden Core Masters, making them start to suspect whether Jiang Yuebai might actually be a Golden Core Master.

Unaware of the others’ thoughts, Jiang Yuebai stood there recalling the spellcasting process—the power of Earth Thunder was still hindered by the Divine Sense casting.

The ”Five Thunders Righteous Method” is a High-Level Thunder Skill; theoretically, facing such Low-Level sand worms, a single lightning strike should reduce them to ashes. However, it only left them heavily injured.

Moreover, after just a brief battle with over ten Earth Thunder strikes, her head started to feel dizzy.

The previous two five-hundred-year-old Undying Vines were still insufficient—they only increased the skill level of the ”Immortal Grass Scripture” by a thousand points, but her Cloud Mushroom Grass Bloodline needs a total of ten thousand points to reach level six, still a long way off.

Jiang Yuebai had a premonition during her cultivation of the ”Immortal Grass Scripture”—once her Cloud Mushroom Grass Bloodline reaches level six, she will undergo some kind of remarkable transformation, filling her with both anxiety and anticipation.

Yet, before that, acquiring Primordial Essence to enhance her Divine Soul’s strength is paramount.

The group soon resumed their journey, with Yu Tianlie offering Jiang Yuebai his camel. Jiang Yuebai thanked him but chose to travel on foot, remaining at the rear of the group.

The ensuing path was anything but peaceful. In just over ten miles, they encountered five demon beast attacks, facing not only sand worms but also sand cocoon snakes and other demon beasts adept at moving within the yellow sand.

Although at low levels, they were numerous and emerged mysteriously and unpredictably, causing endless trouble.

Fortunately, after the initial panic, everyone gradually found their rhythm in combat, becoming more composed and orderly when faced with the sudden appearances of demon beasts.

Jiang Yuebai continued practicing Divine Sense Casting, yet no matter how hard she tried, the spell’s power remained difficult to improve.

At midnight, a sandstorm suddenly struck, forcing the group to rest behind a wind-breaking sand dune, with Cao Gang swiftly lifting a person-high array flag, leading several Qi Cultivation cultivators to set up an array to ward off the sandstorm.

”A dignified Foundation Establishment Cultivator casting spells can’t even kill Qi Cultivation demon beasts—what a vain display.”

Sha Yingjie lay with his head resting on his arms against the sand dune, complaining relentlessly.

”Jiang Yuebai, let me tell you, if you keep this up in the coming days, you better get lost early. Don’t think your looks will make me tolerate you dragging the team down.”

Jiang Yuebai sat alone nearby, fiddling with an Elixir Bottle, pondering how, despite having covered her face completely, leaving only her eyes exposed, Sha Yingjie somehow still regarded her as attractive—really perceptive!

Jiang Yuebai took a ”Soul Condensing Pill” she had bought from Mingsha Square, swallowing it, as cool energy rushed into her Sea of Consciousness through acupoints on top of her head, gradually rejuvenating her exhausted Divine Sense—it worked well.

Typically, recovering Divine Sense depends on Little Green consuming Beast Souls, whereas ”Soul Condensing Pills” are a specialty of the Quicksand Domain, refined using the Bloodthorn Fruit unique to the region. She had already acquired the Elixir Formula and planned to collect materials to learn refining herself.

Spreading out the Wind Net, Jiang Yuebai sat with crossed legs focusing on absorbing the medicinal power to recover, determined to perform well tomorrow, lest she truly become a burden.

Cao Gang gathered the Qi Cultivation cultivators in one place; Zhong Shanhu and Yu Tianlie sat together elsewhere while the sandstorm raged outside, casually chatting.

”Fellow Daoist Yu, you’re quite skilled. After this mission ends, are you interested in accompanying me to the No Return Sea?”

”That place is extraordinarily dangerous, and besides the ruins of Prajna Temple deep within No Return Sea, there isn’t much else significant there.”

”Recently, I heard a rumor about a Small Secret Realm emerging within Prajna Temple Ruins, possibly unexplored, so I thought to investigate it.”

”The ruins of Prajna Temple are under the watchful eyes of many sects. If a Small Secret Realm truly emerges, it would hardly be accessible to us Loose Cultivators.”

”Not necessarily. Regardless, going to take a look won’t hurt.”

”I’ll think about it; there are too many High-Level demon beasts around No Return Sea, and the situation is too chaotic—I’d fear going there only to never return.”

As night deepened, the sandstorm gradually weakened, with most individuals sitting in meditation to adjust their breath, except for those keeping watch.

Suddenly, Jiang Yuebai’s eyes snapped open as the Wind Net detected an unusual, massive concentration right within the protective array on the sand dune behind them.

”Wake up, everyone—something’s happening!”

Jiang Yuebai shouted, leaping to her feet, observing the sand dune behind them begin to tremble, yellow sand pouring down, unveiling a broken corpse.

A peanut-sized, earth-yellow ant crawled from beneath the corpse.

Almost instantly, the sand dune collapsed with a roar, revealing tens of thousands of densely packed earth-yellow ants surging out like a breached dam.

Simultaneously, Jiang Yuebai sensed someone briefly flicker past the back of the sand dune through the Wind Net.

This was... a premeditated ambush!