Chapter 2040: Barren Desert

Published Mar 9, 2026, 08:28 AM

Chapter 2040: Barren Desert A frown formed on the little cow’s face as well. “If that is really the case, things will be a little troublesome.” If a restriction was affecting the Ancient Heavenly Court, it would be much more difficult for Huang Xiaolong to locate it. If some strange devil restriction was blocking off the aura the Ancient Heavenly Court emitted, it would be nearly impossible for the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell to detect its presence. Even if the little cow worked together with the King of Darkness, they would need a lot of time to break the restriction. It might even take a year or two! Who knows what might happen in the time they took to break the restriction. The more time they spent in the Devil Abyss, the more dangerous it was. Even existences like the little cow and the King of Darkness felt an unprecedented sense of pressure by just staying in the core of the Devil Abyss. How would Huang Xiaolong not be able to arrive at the same conclusion? Huang Xiaolong poured even more godforce into the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell as he tried to use it to detect the slightest waves of energy given out by the Ancient Heavenly Court. No matter how hard he tried, he failed to get a response. A feeling of depression slowly entered Huang Xiaolong’s heart. If it was truly as they had said, the Ancient Heavenly Court might really be trapped in a restriction! Regardless, Huang Xiaolong tried to keep himself hopeful. He continued pouring his godforce into the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell for an hour before stopping. “It seems like the little cow is right. The Ancient Heavenly Court is really trapped in some sort of restriction.” Huang Xiaolong sighed. There was no other way. He could only wait for the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell to detect the presence of the Ancient Heavenly Court again. As long as the Ancient Heavenly Court’s energy leaked out from the restriction, Huang Xiaolong knew that he could pinpoint its location. The little cow quickly reassured, “Xiaolong, don’t despair. Treasures at the level of the Ancient Heavenly Court cannot be trapped by a restriction forever. You will definitely be able to detect it soon.” “The longest we will need will probably be a day. At best, we’ll be able to sense something after half a day.” The King of Darkness threw out a guess. Huang Xiaolong nodded his head as he patiently waited for the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell to react. It was just like what the King of Darkness had anticipated. In just half a day, the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell shook for a split second. Luckily for him, Huang Xiaolong was paying attention and managed to feel the Ancient Heavenly Court’s presence. “There! Up ahead, in the southeastern direction!” Huang Xiaolong exclaimed. “Let’s go!” The little cow was ready, and the moment Huang Xiaolong pointed out a direction, she shot forwards. The King of Darkness followed behind them. After flying for half an hour, Huang Xiaolong motioned for the little cow to stop. A massive desert lay before their eyes. Gales swept through the barren desert, and the sand was black in color. It was so black that it shook the hearts of everyone who laid eyes on it. As the wind blew against the black sand, images of terrifying creatures formed on the surface of the desert. The little cow’s expression changed when she looked at the endless desert before them. “What’s wrong?” Huang Xiaolong stared at her and asked. The little cow muttered, “This was where my original body was destroyed...” Huang Xiaolong and the King of Darkness stared at the desert in shock. So this was where the little cow had nearly died! Huang Xiaolong knew about her experiences in the past. She had met two creatures and got embroiled in a massive battle. She had unintentionally triggered an ancient restriction in the desert, and her body was destroyed. Her soul had suffered from heavy damages, and she had taken exceptionally long to recover from her injury. As it turned out, the desert before them was where everything had happened. “We have to be careful.” The little cow reminded the two of them. Nodding their heads, Huang Xiaolong and the King of Darkness became extremely vigilant. After sucking in a cold breath, the little cow started moving into the desert. She stared all around her, taking note of even the smallest detail. Once bitten, twice shy. Even with the little cow’s shocking strength at the mid-level Sovereign Realm, she felt her skin crawling when she stepped into the desert. She would never forget what had happened to her in the past. With the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell, Huang Xiaolong tried his hardest to feel for the Ancient Heavenly Court’s presence. However, there were no traces of it like before. “Let’s rest for a while.” Huang Xiaolong pointed at a small mountain peak before them and proposed. The mountain wasn’t too large, and it was several hundred feet tall. In the boundless desert, it barely qualified as a slightly larger hill. The little cow sped forward and slowly descended onto the peak of the hill. The three of them waited for the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell to react to the Ancient Heavenly Court once again. The wind tore through the land and produced howling sounds as black sand drifted through the air. The little cow and the King of Darkness kept their guards up in case anything happened. As they waited and waited, the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell seemed to be drawing a blank even after half a day. All of a sudden, the ground all around them started to shake. Even though the tremors weren’t large initially, the shaking became more and more violent. The three of them sucked in a cold breath as the ground in the distance erupted. A massive skull-like monster appeared from the cracks in the ground. The skin on its body was black, and the sockets where the eyes should be were hollow. Green flames danced in place of the eyeballs. Two massive wings appeared on its back as it soared into the sky. With an aura that shook the heavens, the giant skull flew into the sky, and the desert returned to its original calm. Even when existences at the level of the little cow and the King of Darkness felt the pressure coming off the giant skull, their expressions changed. “Protect Xiaolong. Leave!” The little cow yelled at the King of Darkness. The skull-like monster was definitely a Sovereign at the mid-Fifth Order Realm. The little cow knew that although it might be troublesome, she would be able to suppress it. The only way to do so was a battle, and she had to get Huang Xiaolong away. The King of Darkness was no wishy-washy person, and he nodded his head in response. “Alright. Let me know when you’re done.” He grabbed Huang Xiaolong, and they tore through the air. When the giant skull saw that Huang Xiaolong and the King of Darkness was leaving, it released a guttural cry, and the wings behind it started to flap. Hurricane-like winds tore through the desert, and it charged towards Huang Xiaolong and the King of Darkness. Releasing a loud cry, the little cow lunged forwards and blocked the giant skull from going any closer. Before Huang Xiaolong and the King of Darkness got far, they heard a massive explosion happening behind them as world-shattering waves of energy destroyed everything in its path. “Relax. With the Azure Cow’s strength, there is no way for the creature to catch up to us.” The King of Darkness reassured Huang Xiaolong, and he continued, “The thing we need to do now is to locate the Ancient Heavenly Court.” Right now, the greatest goal was to locate the Ancient Heavenly Court. Huang Xiaolong nodded in agreement as the two of them continued their search. After tens of minutes, the destructive energy started to fade. Suddenly, the Moon Jade Heavenly Spiral Shell vibrated again. “There! Northwest!” Huang Xiaolong’s eyes brightened, and he pointed up ahead. The King of Darkness pulled Huang Xiaolong as he sped into the distance.

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