Volume 8: Super Mission “Vitality vs. Death” Chapter 5: Beneath the Forest Lies a Desert

After leaving Jialai City, Li Bin hurried toward the northernmost edge of the continent. Whenever there was a road, they followed it; whenever there was none, Bai Lingyu’s long flood-dragon carriage bored straight through the earth beneath them.

After roughly seven days, Li Bin and the others reached the extreme north of the continent. Beyond it stretched an endless sea.

Li Bin had grown accustomed to seeing forests that seemed to have no end, yet he still found it strange to see the forest suddenly give way to the ocean. Shaking his head, he said, “There’s nothing wrong with having forests, but having forests everywhere is another matter.”

At that moment, Bai Lingyu noticed something unusual as well. He shouted, “Li Bin, come take a look at this!”

Following Bai Lingyu’s direction, Li Bin discovered that beneath the trees there was no grass or undergrowth at all—only fine beach sand.

Li Bin hesitantly scooped up a handful of sand and said, “Something’s not right. If this is where the mission began, then it should also be the place that was first covered by the forest. After being assimilated for so long, the sand should have disappeared too. Could there be something else hidden here?”

Cui Site said, “All right, this isn’t the time to investigate that. We should hurry and find the mountain range where the mission was issued.”

Li Bin did not answer directly. Instead, he felled a tree.

As soon as the tree struck the ground, it rapidly turned into sand, while an identical tree sprang up from the place where it had stood.

Bai Lingyu and Armu hurriedly asked, “Li Bin, what’s going on?”

“It looks like we’ve reached the right place. This should be where the mission originated,” Li Bin said with certainty.

“But there isn’t a single mountain here! Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us what’s happening,” Bai Lingyu urged.

“This is an illusion—a real illusion. It must have drawn the scenery from somewhere else and projected it here. As long as the source remains unchanged, no matter how badly this place is damaged, it will always return to its original state.” Li Bin casually grabbed another handful of sand. “These grains should be the medium sustaining the illusion. If I’m not mistaken, moving the sand aside should dispel part of it.”

As he spoke, Li Bin began pushing the sand away. After watching for a while, Bai Lingyu and the others joined him with their men.

Just as Li Bin had predicted, once all the sand beneath the trees had been cleared away, the towering trees immediately transformed into fine sand and collapsed onto the ground.

The newly fallen sand was about to merge with the sand around it and recreate the scenery when Li Bin shouted, “Sandstorm! Scatter!”

It turned out that while everyone else had been working, Li Bin had already transformed into sand. With a single sandstorm, he swept away every grain of sand.

When the storm subsided, Li Bin received a system notification:

“You have dispelled the Mirage Sand Formation and obtained one fifth-level treasure, Mirage Sand.”

Li Bin glanced casually at the properties of the Mirage Sand. They were exactly as he had initially guessed: it could transfer the scenery of a particular location to the place where the Mirage Sand was arranged. The area that could be transferred depended on the amount of Mirage Sand used.

After storing the Mirage Sand, Li Bin finally began examining his surroundings. He had never imagined that beneath the forest lay a desert.

With the Mirage Sand no longer concealing it, a stretch of dunes roughly one kilometer wide appeared before him. Although the sea lay nearby, the grains covering the dunes did not possess the delicacy of beach sand. Instead, they had the harsh, scorching character of desert sand.

Li Bin estimated the direction and length of the dunes and discovered that they were far more extensive than they appeared. They continued endlessly toward both the east and the west.

Without giving it much thought, Li Bin hurried through the forest beyond the dunes. Sure enough, they found another portion of Mirage Sand there.

As each portion of Mirage Sand was removed, the entire dune formation gradually emerged before them. Li Bin realized that this was the northernmost mountain range mentioned by Gaia—the place where the mission had begun, and the only place the forest had been unable to cover.

Standing at the highest point of the dunes, Li Bin looked around. Suddenly, he asked, “Have you noticed what the entire dune formation resembles?”

Armu and the others immediately began surveying the area. Bai Lingyu even sent several aerial reconnaissance machines into the sky. Before long, they reached a conclusion.

It resembled a dragon—a colossal dragon.

“This should be where the mission originated. Personally, I think the objective must be located in one of three places.” After calming himself from the shock of seeing the gigantic dragon-shaped dunes, Li Bin began analyzing the situation. “The dragon’s head, its mouth, or its heart.”

Bai Lingyu immediately said, “Then there’s no need for us to search the same place. Let’s split up. Whoever finds something should notify the others at once.”

Li Bin thought that was a reasonable plan. He chose a direction and began searching. He headed toward the place shaped like the dragon’s mouth. After circling the area once and finding nothing unusual, he fell into deep thought.

Why had the dunes been arranged in the shape of a dragon? Why had they remained unchanged despite enduring so much wind and rain? What kind of mission would begin here? And why was this the only place where the forest could not grow?

The more he considered these questions, the more he felt that adding something to the picture might provide a better explanation. But what could be added to those clues?

Just then, Lide approached him. With a solemn expression, he said, “Master, standing on these dunes makes me feel deeply uneasy.”

A sharp light flashed through Li Bin’s eyes. He rose and shouted, “A bone dragon! That’s right—a bone dragon…”

He immediately asked, “Lide, tell me this: after a great dragon dies, where does its vital essence gather—the head, the mouth, or the heart?”

“The heart. After a great dragon dies, its power first gathers in the heart before seeping into its entire skeleton. Only a great dragon whose heart remains intact while its power is transformed into bone has any chance of becoming a high-level bone dragon. The rest can only become low-grade bone dragons or be taken away as experimental materials.”

“But I’ve heard that dragon crystals are usually hidden in the head,” Li Bin said, still somewhat puzzled.

“That is merely the dragon’s power. A great dragon’s true vital essence does not remain behind or leave the dragon’s body,” Lide said firmly.

“Then the target must be in the dragon’s heart.” A gleam flashed through Li Bin’s eyes once more, and he led Lide and the others rushing toward the heart of the dragon-shaped dunes.

The moment he reached the heart, Li Bin felt an immense pressure slam him to the ground. An extremely ancient voice spoke:

“Have you completed the task I gave you?”