The Sneak Attacker

Years ago, when she was still known as Xue Yue of the Snow Clan, Bai Lan had once come to this place.

Back then, she had witnessed many trial challengers collapse under the scorching sun, their vitality completely exhausted.

It was an extremely humiliating way to die.

And dying in such a manner still counted as death in the Void Heaven Realm.

The consequence was the same—losing one cultivation realm.

This place tested not only strength but also intelligence.

Without someone familiar with the terrain to guide them, even extremely talented cultivators could easily panic and make fatal mistakes.

Survival skills were something that pure cultivation talent could not solve.

Back then, Xue Yue had spent a long time surviving on this first layer, and therefore understood the environment very well.

Of course, when she first entered, she had been guided by her older cousin.

Now, Bai Lan stood once again in the Yellow Sand World.

The moment she saw the familiar landscape, memories flooded back.

Her older male cousin was named Xue Feng, the son of her second uncle.

He was almost five years older than her and possessed a flawed Snow Divine Body.

Her older female cousin was Xue Ji, who was seven years older than her.

To be honest, if the Snow Clan had not later descended into internal conflict, Bai Lan would have remained very close to those two cousins.

Of course, the internal struggle within the clan had little to do with them personally.

Matters of that scale were far beyond the authority of the younger generation.

“Ugh… what a nuisance.”

“I’ve ended up back in this dreadful first layer again.”

Bai Lan glanced up at the blazing sun overhead and frowned.

Right now, her priority was simple.

She needed to find shelter from the sun—and water.

However, Bai Lan had barely taken a few steps when she suddenly sensed something strange beneath the sand.

Her body instantly leaped backward.

Almost immediately, a hand burst out of the sand where she had just been standing.

She had narrowly avoided being grabbed.

To encounter another challenger so quickly after entering was somewhat unexpected.

“Hmph! You actually noticed me.”

A young man climbed out of the sand, looking slightly surprised.

“Little lady, you must be new here. You didn’t even make a sound.”

It was easy to tell that this youth was also a challenger.

His cultivation level was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement.

The Void Heaven Realm functioned as a battlefield.

Defeating other challengers would earn points, which could be exchanged for various items at the Void Heaven Palace.

Bai Lan remained silent.

Her gaze calmly observed the youth standing before her.

“Heh?”

“You’re not saying anything?”

“Don’t think that just because you’re pretty and quiet you can act all high and mighty.”

“Let me teach you how cruel the Void Heaven Realm really is.”

“Big brother will eliminate you right now.”

The youth lunged forward with a wicked grin.

‘So much nonsense…’

‘Why do children always pretend to act like adults?’

Bai Lan thought silently.

Most challengers on the first layer were actually quite young.

Without saying anything further, Bai Lan raised her hand.

Her Hanpo Sword appeared.

With a single swing, a sharp blade of sword energy cut through the youth’s body.

But something strange happened.

Instead of blood, his body instantly turned into sand and scattered across the ground.

Moments later, the youth reappeared several meters away.

Clearly, this was one of his abilities.

After all, those who could enter the Void Heaven Realm were usually geniuses from powerful factions.

They would not be defeated so easily.

“Hahaha!”

“You idiot! You can’t hit me!”

“My ability is invincible on the first layer!”

“I’ll slowly drain your strength and then eliminate you!”

The youth laughed arrogantly.

As he spoke, his body once again dissolved into the sand.

Immediately afterward, dozens of sand arrows shot out from beneath the ground toward Bai Lan.

Bai Lan calmly swung her sword.

The arrows shattered instantly.

She remained completely composed.

While defending herself, she carefully observed the youth’s movements beneath the sand.

His ability felt strangely familiar.

‘Being able to use Earth Escape Techniques at the Qi Refinement Realm…’

‘Could he be from the Sand Clan?’

Bai Lan quickly reached a conclusion.

The Sand Clan was an ancient clan located in the western primordial desert of the Eastern Continent.

They were born with an innate affinity for earth energy.

No other faction on the continent could match their mastery of it.

Although the Sand Clan had produced divine-level experts in the distant past, that glory had long since faded.

Their current strength was far inferior to the Snow Clan, one of the Eight Great Ancient Clans.

This youth could move through the sand almost without consuming spiritual power.

If Bai Lan tried to exhaust him in a prolonged fight, she would be at a disadvantage.

If she still possessed her Snow Divine Body, countering him would have been easy.

Fortunately, she still had other methods.

After observing for a short time, Bai Lan suddenly spun around and thrust her sword into the sand.

At the same time, she infused the surrounding sand with her Yin cold qi.

A freezing aura spread rapidly underground.

The youth, who had been preparing a sneak attack, suddenly shivered violently and burst out of the sand.

His entire body was trembling.

The chilling aura that spread from Bai Lan was no ordinary cold energy.

It was extreme Yin cold qi.

If this energy invaded a cultivator’s body, it would cause intense discomfort.

However, Bai Lan’s cold qi was still somewhat suppressed on this first layer.

The Yellow Sand World was filled with strong Yang energy, which weakened Yin-based techniques.

“S-so cold!”

“How did you find me, woman?” the youth shouted angrily.

His face had already turned slightly purple from the cold.

“You’re from the Sand Clan, aren’t you?”

“I’ve fought people with similar abilities before,” Bai Lan replied calmly.

“What?!”

“How did you know?!”

The youth’s expression immediately changed.

“Damn it! This isn’t your first time here!”

“I made a mistake!”

“Goodbye!”

With that, he immediately burrowed back into the sand and fled.

Bai Lan watched him disappear.

“Hmph… running away the moment things become unfavorable.”

“As expected of the Sand Clan.”

She frowned slightly.

The brief battle had not consumed much of her strength.

However, she had already been exposed to the sun for nearly ten minutes.

As someone with a Yin-cold physique, this environment was extremely uncomfortable.

The Yellow Sand World was easily her least favorite layer of the Void Heaven Realm.

After looking around, Bai Lan quickly located a nearby sand dune.

It was currently afternoon—the hottest time of the day.

She needed to avoid the peak sunlight before continuing her journey.

Once she reached the sand dune, Bai Lan released her cold qi and froze a portion of the sand.

Her cold qi could only be melted by extremely strong Yang energy.

The natural heat of this desert was not enough to disperse it.

After freezing the sand, Bai Lan dug out a small cave beneath the dune.

She crawled inside.

She planned to rest there for a while.

Back then, Xue Yue had used the same method to survive the desert heat.

Bai Lan was simply following her own past experience.

“Ah… much better.”

“I’ll gather some water first. Then I can move again.”

She took out a large container.

After opening it, she released a small amount of cold qi into the air.

The temperature inside the cave immediately dropped.

Ice slowly formed along the walls.

The cold qi gradually condensed moisture from the air, turning it into water.

Bai Lan leaned back against the icy wall and waited patiently.

For now, she would rest until the desert heat subsided.