A few days later.
In the vast, sand-filled Sahara Desert, the scorching sun beat down on the sand, making the air shimmer and distort from the intense heat.
A team of people struggled to walk across the sand.
Their faces were pale, and their lips were cracked.
Many of them had various injuries, big and small, suggesting they had been through a fierce battle.
In such an environment, even a Water System Mage would find it difficult to gather water elements from the air.
"Captain, are we going to die in the Sahara?" Karina, a team member, looked at the blazing sun in the sky and asked weakly.
Too many people had died in the Sahara Desert.
Countless bones were buried beneath the sand.
"No, we just need to keep going in this direction, and we'll definitely reach an oasis!" Captain Jeff said with a determined tone.
He wasn't actually sure if that oasis had dried up.
And he had heard that Medusa monsters lurked there, so no hunters had dared to go to that oasis for a long time.
But now that they were close to death, they had to take a gamble!
Everyone dragged their heavy steps, walking on sand that was nearly sixty degrees Celsius.
When people are down on their luck, even worse things tend to happen.
For instance, now, about a kilometer from the team, a sandstorm suddenly erupted without warning and rapidly swept towards them.
"Quick, everyone get closer!" Captain Jeff shouted, a yellowish-brown glow erupting from his body.
A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, firmly protecting everyone.
The sandstorm swept past the earthen wall, and Captain Jeff struggled to maintain the magic.
Their previous encounter with monsters had consumed a lot of their magic energy, and they hadn't had much time to replenish it.
If the sandstorm didn't pass quickly, they would likely be buried within it.
However, this sandstorm came so suddenly that it was highly probable there were monsters at play within it.
An uneasy feeling spread through the group.
Time slowly passed, and the sounds outside gradually subsided.
"It's finally over. If it didn't end soon, I really couldn't have held on."
Jeff breathed a sigh of relief.
He dispelled the earthen wall.
The sandstorm had vanished without a trace, and the shifting sand dunes around them still bore some marks of its ravages.
"Wait a moment." Captain Jeff vigilantly scanned the surroundings, checking for any unusual signs.
No one knew what might be hidden beneath the sand dunes.
"Captain, there's a person over there!" Karina exclaimed, pointing in the direction from which the sandstorm had come.
Everyone immediately looked over, spotting a figure moving on the crest of a sand dune.
"It's an Asian, and it looks like he's alone," another team member said, uncertainly.
"Hmm?"
Jeff frowned, deciding to approach him. Someone who dared to enter the Sahara Desert alone was no ordinary person.
But as he got a little closer, he began to feel a sense of disbelief.
He looked too young!
"Hello, could you please provide us with some water and food? We can pay for it," Jeff asked, trying his luck.
"No need for money," Jiang Yuan shook his head, then said, "Consider yourselves lucky to have met me."
As his words fell, streams of water appeared out of thin air, and plants began to grow from the sand beneath their feet.
From saplings to mature trees, they flowered and bore fruit.
Crimson, succulent fruits hung from the branches, clustered together, appearing exceptionally vibrant and full of life.
All of this happened in just a few breaths.
Jeff and the others all widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the scene before them.
"Your magic is so strong!" Jeff managed to utter.
Perhaps only a Super-Order Mage could use Water System magic so easily in the midday Sahara Desert.
And that plant magic was unheard of.
This meant that the young Asian man in front of them was at least a Water System Super-Order Mage??
"This water and food should be enough to replenish your energy," Jiang Yuan said.
"More than enough, you saved our lives!" Jeff said excitedly.
They no longer stood on ceremony and immediately began to drink water and pick fruits.
As soon as the fruits were picked, new ones grew back, as if they would never run out.
However, the group didn't eat too much, worried that Jiang Yuan wouldn't have enough magic energy to conjure so many fruits.
Otherwise, each of them could have eaten dozens!
Seeing that they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jiang Yuan prepared to leave.
"Please wait a moment! This is money for the water and food!" Jeff called out to Jiang Yuan, taking out a yellow gem.
"No need, money is useless to me," Jiang Yuan waved his hand.
Money was truly useless to him now. Before, he wasn't short on money, but now, money couldn't buy the things he needed.
"If it weren't for your help, we likely would have died in the Sahara Desert, so this is our gratitude for saving our lives. Please, you must accept it!" Jeff insisted.
"Alright then." Jiang Yuan didn't want to drag it out any longer.
He took the gem and tossed it into the storage space he had created.
This impressive display of spatial manipulation surprised Jeff once again.
Jeff asked curiously, "You must be Chinese, right? What are you planning to do, going into the Sahara Desert alone?"
"To the Medusa Evil Temple," Jiang Yuan replied casually.
"What?!" Jeff exclaimed, his face paling.
"The Medusa Evil Temple is Medusas Mother's territory. Aren't you going there to seek death?"
Realizing he had been too blunt, Jeff quickly added, "Medusas Mother is extremely powerful. Even a Super-Order Mage, if they meet her gaze, will turn into a stone statue that shatters upon touch. Medusas Mother is in the Medusa Evil Temple; it's too dangerous!"
"You don't need to worry about that. You should worry about your own team first. If you stay in the Sahara Desert any longer, you might not encounter anyone to help you. Hurry and leave the desert," Jiang Yuan said.
Jeff looked at the team members behind him, knowing he couldn't persuade the young man in front of him, so he said, "If you insist on going to the Medusa Evil Temple, then I suggest you catch a monster with Medusa bloodline. That might save your life."
"The purer the bloodline, the better, but you'd best not look for an adult Medusa. Any creature with Medusa bloodline, once it reaches adulthood, will be a Monarch-level monster, and extremely powerful!"
"Oh?" Jiang Yuan became interested, "Is there a reason for that?"
Jeff explained, "This is a long-standing legend in the Sahara region. The legend says that Medusas Mother will not kill in front of her children. As for the truthfulness of this legend, it's still unknown. After all, Medusas Mother intensely dislikes humans, and since her birth, she has killed countless humans."
"I understand." Jiang Yuan nodded.
"By the way, the recent Netherworld War caused a great upheaval in the Snake Scorpion Empire, and many powerful Snake Scorpion Monarchs escaped from the Pyramid. You need to be careful."
"Also, in this direction, there's an oasis, and I've heard that Medusa lurks there. If not, after you reach that oasis, head east for about twenty kilometers, and there's another oasis. There will be a Sunset Temple there, and there's news that a young Medusa is there," Jeff said consecutively.