Chapter 1714: The Tree That Kills

Water entered his body, indeed having the effect of quenching thirst. Standing still in place, Zhang Xuan concentrated his mind, ready to deal with any flame that appeared inside him immediately.

However, after waiting for a moment, there was no change at all, as if it had no effect on him.

He stood up again, his brows knitted into a knot.

If flames appeared, he might be able to find the root cause and completely resolve it, but having nothing at all left him at a loss.

Could it be that, like the Yellow Spring Water of Baixi Mountain, it was poisonous to others but meant nothing to him?

"Senior, are you alright?"

Seeing him stand up without emitting smoke or letting out a miserable cry, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The strong-willed cultivator couldn't help but look over.

"I'm fine," Zhang Xuan nodded.

"It's good that you're fine. Just now, we saw with our own eyes a living person turn directly into sand. Everyone was terrified... If we hadn't traveled with him, we might have thought he was a sand giant in disguise!"

The strong-willed cultivator couldn't help but sigh.

"Sand giant in disguise? A person burned to death turning into sand..."

His pupils contracted. Zhang Xuan thought of something and quickly looked over: "Didn't you say before that you walked for nearly two hours before encountering the sand giant, rather than meeting it as soon as you arrived?"

"Yes,"

the strong-willed cultivator nodded.

They had left Qufu and, upon waking, found themselves here. There was no danger before, and it wasn't until two hours later that they saw the sand giant. They had mentioned this as soon as they met, so it was no secret.

"Two hours before encountering the sand giant... Could it be that this giant is actually a cultivator who was burned to death?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes flickered.

The ruins opened, and this thing appeared only after two hours. Was it possible that a strong cultivator had spent two hours finding this place, became the first victim, and then turned into a sand giant?

"A cultivator burned to death?"

Everyone was stunned.

Put that way, it really was possible.

The sand grains left by that companion after death were almost identical to the sand giant.

"Whether it is or not, we'll know by trying!" Zhang Xuan squinted, approached the man who had just been burned to death, and touched the sand grains on the ground with his finger.

Whoosh!

In an instant, his entire consciousness plunged into darkness.

"Indeed!"

Letting out a breath, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had used the Spirit Awakening Secret Art, and the appearance of darkness before his eyes indicated that this pile of sand had the potential to be awakened.

Focusing his mind, a flame ignited within the other's body, piercing the darkness.

Crash!

The yellow sand on the ground slowly rose, forming a huge sand giant, though it only had the strength of the Golden Body Realm.

"No wonder... awakened sand can possess the combat power of the Immortal Realm!"

Zhang Xuan suddenly understood.

He had previously wondered why awakened sand could have such formidable combat power. Now it seemed that these giants, though appearing as sand, were actually the corpses of living people.

In other words, the giants he had been fighting were actually the remains of experts burned into sand here!

He... had been fighting the dead all along!

"In that case... where is the Awakener?"

Understanding the situation, Zhang Xuan looked around.

According to his earlier deduction, the Awakener must be on the oasis, but here there was only a pond, countless green grass, and a large tree. Where could it be hiding?

"I must touch the sand grains to awaken the spirit... How did the other party manage to make the sand grains come alive and attack people from tens or even hundreds of kilometers away?"

He rubbed his brow.

Although he had found clues and learned many things, the situation before him remained as enigmatic as ever, leaving him baffled.

Without finding that spirit awakener, he could not unravel the mystery and find the exit of this desert world.

When he turned around, he carefully observed the pond water, which was clear to the bottom, with no passage.

That is to say, no exit had been found here.

"That man just now drank water and was burned into sand grains, but when I drink water, nothing happens... Being burned into sand grains is necessary for spirit awakening... The problem must lie in this water!"

Unable to figure out what was going on, he focused his gaze on the water surface again.

Only by drinking water would one be burned into sand grains and controlled by the spirit awakener... The root was the water. As long as he figured out how it turned people to ashes, he should be able to know where that spirit awakener was.

He cupped the water again, looked at it for a while, still found nothing. Just as he was about to give up, he felt a gust of wind blow, and the leaves of a large tree not far away rustled.

Whoosh!

The tree was covered with some fluffy silk tufts in full bloom. When the breeze blew, they fell into the pond, floated on the surface, and before long, melted like liquid, disappearing.

"Could it be this?"

His eyes lit up. He quickly went to the tree, reached out his hand, and pinched a piece of fluff.

Sizzle!

He immediately felt a flame dancing in his palm, just like what he had seen when saving those three people earlier.

"Indeed!"

With a cold snort, Zhang Xuan finally understood.

No wonder the previous person was burned to ashes when drinking water, while he was fine.

The main reason lay in these fluffs.

As long as one drank water containing the fluffs, they would be burned into sand grains, controlled, and turned into a sand giant.

When he had examined the water, the fluffs had already melted, so naturally he found nothing.

The cause was found, but... where was the spirit awakener?

He came to the tree, looked around, but it was empty, not a single person in sight.

He reached out his hand and gently stroked the trunk. After a moment, Zhang Xuan smiled slightly.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's you!"

Looking at the tree, Zhang Xuan's lips curled up.

Rustle!

The tree swayed gently in the wind, as if... it didn't understand what he meant.

"If you don't admit it, fine..."

Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and the demonic strange blade appeared in his palm. With a flash of cold light, he swung it straight at the tree before him.

Since it wouldn't admit it, he would just cut it down first.

Whoosh!

Before the strange blade touched the tree, he felt a sharp wind rushing straight at him. Looking up, he saw a branch falling toward his head.

The branch moved extremely fast, suddenly lashing out, making it hard even for an Immortal Realm Great Perfection expert to withstand. Zhang Xuan swayed his body and dodged.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Seeming not to let him off, dozens of branches from the tree stabbed at him simultaneously, each like a long dragon, leaving black cracks in the space before even reaching him.

"So strong!"

His pupils contracted. The playful expression on Zhang Xuan's face vanished. He pointed a finger, and the surrounding space seemed to be sealed. He raised the strange blade and slashed hundreds of times in an instant.

The opponent's strength was comparable to the Immortal Realm Great Perfection. Even he had to be careful, or he might be killed on the spot.