Before dawn, the group picked up the camp and prepared to continue with their journey.

As they were about to enter the Yanan Desert and start their real journey, each of the members of the team changed their clothes into those that they had previously prepared.

In the same instant that he put on his new outfit, Zack felt how the heat around him disappeared and the inside of the clothes became colder with the passing of each second. This was not the first time that he put on those clothes, as he had already done a few times at the academy to adjust them to his size, but this time he truly felt their effect.

Even though he was a cultivator and the heat didn't affect him as it would do with a commoner, being in the Cinder Plains still felt like a summer day for him, while putting on the special clothes felt like the wave of cold that one would feel when opening the fridge.

'And this is just the outskirts of the desert. I don't want to imagine how it would be to be in the middle of it without any equipment.' Zack thought to himself.

When the whole group had their equipment on, they began to advance little by little towards the desert.

Normally, the wheels of the wagons would have difficulties with the sand, but thanks to the previous preparation of the team that had built the wagons, especially for this trip, the wheels that were made of an earth-energy infused type of wood made the sand beneath them compact temporarily, so the wagons would be able to run through the dunes as if they were a normal road.

"We are officially entering the Yanan Desert, so stay focused and don't let the guard down. Unlike on the Cinder Plains, around here live tons of magical beasts that would see us as food." Walt told the rest as he grabbed his spear with both hands.

Seeing that his companion was much more serious than before, Zack decided to do as he said and unsheathed his sword with his left arm.

As he did that, he couldn't help but see the word "Friendship" inscribed on the blade and remember his companions from the anticultist group.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

'With a bit of luck, this is the place that I had to visit, and not long after we finish this expedition, I can return.' Zack thought, trying to convince himself.

Even if the time he had spent on the new continent had been interesting and he was happy to have seen his mother again after all those years, in the end, he still held the hope that someday he would return to the old continent and continue with his task of cleaning it from evil.

After all, he had spent his whole life there, and since the Esvert and Yuoko didn't have a way to directly fight corruption the same way that the Guburg did, people like him would be necessary to maintain order in their territory.

Zack realized that he was thinking too much about that topic, so he made his best to focus on his actual mission, as he didn't want to be the reason the group got ambushed by a group of beasts without anyone realizing it.

Like that, the wagons continued advancing, dune after dune.

As it had happened in the Cinder Plains, Zack soon became bored of the never-changing landscape.

After some time, he began to wonder if they were going around in circles. Luckily, the group was equipped with a lightning-energy-infused item that allowed them to locate the north at any moment, so the scenario of them losing their way would be almost impossible.

A few hours later, Zack began to feel like he was going insane.

From time to time, he would see figures and shapes in the distance, but as soon as he blinked, they disappeared without leaving any trace. At first, this was only happening once a time and with long periods in between, but as more time passed, these visions became more recurrent and the number of shapes increased, but they still didn't get close to the wagons.

Seeing that the situation continued in time, he decided to tell his companions to check if he was seeing things or if they were real.

"I don't see anything. Maybe you are hallucinating from the heat," Walt said while laughing.

"In which stage of your body's cultivation are you right now?" Zack asked seriously.

"Me? I'm almost at the fourth stage. Why do you ask?" Walt asked confused.

"Because I'm nearing the sixth stage, which means my vision should be much better than yours," Zack said as he continued trying to see anything in the distance.

"You are nearing what?" Walt said in disbelief. "I wasn't expecting to have someone so talented as a companion."

"Wait, what? Was that a fin? " Zack said confused.

"Did you say fin?" Walt asked as his face turned white before starting to shout. "Everyone, take a defensive stance. We may have a bank of sand sharks following us. "

After hearing Walt's words, the wagons stopped immediately and everyone began to prepare their weapons as if a battle were about to start. While this was happening, Zack could only think of one thing.

'Did he just say sharks?' Zack thought confusedly.