Simultaneously, they travel through time, starting from the God Ranking.

Chapter 59 The Wilderness Beyond the Desert

On Shenxiang Island No. 9, inside Xuanyi Residence, Fang Xiu, having returned from the gray mist space, opened his golden eyes in the darkness.

With the addition of two newcomers, Fang Xiu's group now numbers seven. The newcomers didn't significantly boost Fang Xiu's strength, but Fang Xiu's overall strength still increased considerably.

While Fang Xiu was diligently cultivating, the others were not idle either.

If Fang Xiu had just reached the tenth level of Jade Void before entering the gray mist space, he has now touched that barrier and can try to break through at any time.

Moreover, the arrival of the newcomers made Fang Xiu feel that he was undergoing a further transformation. It wasn't that he had become smarter, but rather it was an indescribable feeling. Fang Xiu felt that the world in front of him seemed to be somewhat different.

The addition of each new member is an enhancement, from stats to talents. Talents are not only cultivation talents, but also combat talents.

If Fang Xiu originally relied on numerical superiority, then after multiple stacks, the enhancement of his combat talent caused him to begin to transform into a monster that could be manipulated.

The flow and application of magical power, the combination of spells—those spell combinations that Fang Xiu thought were perfect enough in the past—now reveal seven or eight weaknesses at a glance, which is unbelievable.

However, this is also a good thing, as it gives him a greater chance of success going forward.

……

"What?! You're going to the desolate wilderness?!"

"Do you know what kind of hell that place is? Do you know how dangerous it is?!"

Upon hearing that Fang Xiu wanted to go to the desolate wilderness, Yan Xiaoqi's face turned a deep shade of liver.

"The desolate wilderness... I feel like I've heard of it before..."

"What's that? Is it edible?"

Compared to Yan Xiaoqi, the "well-informed" son of the King of Hell, Cui Shao and Xiao Hu had a lukewarm reaction. Cui Shao had never heard of him and was trying to recall if he had seen him in a book, while Xiao Hu was only concerned about whether it was edible.

Snapped!

Seeing this, Yan Xiaoqi couldn't help but slap himself in the face. He had forgotten that none of his companions were normal.

"It's not just that he's dangerous, he's terrifying. The desolate deserts are... blah blah blah..."

Yan Xiaoqi rambled on and on until his mouth was dry, but judging from the expressions of the three people opposite him, he was clearly not swayed.

"Ah—I really admire you guys. That place is so dangerous. We're unfamiliar with the area. If something happens to us, we won't even be able to leave behind a complete corpse."

Yan Xiaoqi's face fell, and he slumped onto the table without saying a word.

"Relax, relax. The desolate desert isn't as scary as you think. I'm going there because there might be an opportunity for me to advance further. If you don't want to go, Xiaoqi, you can stay at the Divine Academy..."

Fang Xiu was interrupted by Yan Xiaoqi before he could finish speaking.

"Hmph! Who do you take me for, Yan Xiaoqi? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would abandon my brothers? Let me tell you, I'm going to the desolate wilderness! Even the Jade Emperor can't stop me!!"

Fang Xiu's words ignited Yan Xiaoqi's passion, and he instantly became energized, but then quickly deflated again.

"But the desolate desert is so far away, how are we going to get there? We can't exactly fly there, can we?"

Logically speaking, Yan Xiaoqi, as the son of the King of Hell, should not lack magical artifacts, but in his daily life, Yan Xiaoqi travels by teleportation array or human-powered flying sedan chair. He doesn't actually have any proper flying magical artifacts.

"You want to go to the desolate wilderness? I can help you."

A female voice interrupted the conversation. Turning around, they saw Meng Buping wearing a mask.

"But I have one request: you have to take me with you!"

No one was happy at the end-of-term ceremony. It wasn't just Long Yuan who was happy. Just like Long Yuan sought out Xiao Hu, Meng Buping also sought out Cui Shao for a match.

There's no way around it; in the entire first year of the Divine Academy, there are only a handful of pure mental cultivators. Bai Xiao is one, and Cui Shao is another.

As fellow pure spiritual cultivators, Meng Buping naturally wanted to have a competition, but she didn't find an opportunity during the final ceremony.

That sparring session ended in Cui Shao's victory, and from then on, Meng Buping would keep an eye on Cui Shao from time to time.

With Meng Buping joining, Yang Zichen and Ju Yunfeng, who were also in the Heavenly God Group, naturally wouldn't be left out. And because of Xiao Hu, Ye Xiaoxuan and Lian Xue also joined.

In an instant, the number of people more than doubled from the initial four. And that wasn't the end of it. Just as everyone was about to leave, they ran into Bai Xiao and Long Yuan sparring, and the group grew even larger.

The group boarded a huge airship, a friendly gift from Meng Buping. It could travel thousands of miles, was powered by magic, and was clean and environmentally friendly.

Just as everyone was leaving the Divine Academy, Fang Xiu vaguely sensed something like a tail hanging behind them, keeping a certain distance. If Fang Xiu's divine sense range hadn't far exceeded that of an ordinary tenth-level Jade Void cultivator, he might not have been able to detect it.

Fang Xiu had some guesses about the identity of the person following him; it was likely a teacher from a certain academy.

After all, their group of eleven was the most elite part of this year's Divine Academy, not only in terms of talent but also in terms of family background. Among them, only Fang Xiu and Bai Xiao did not have a distinguished background, while the rest were all more extravagant than the last.

A fairy maiden, a descendant of the ancient dragon clan, the son of the Giant Spirit God, the son of Erlang Shen, the daughter of the Dream God Clan Chief, the son of Yama, the son of Princess Tianyang, the daughter of the Jade Emperor, the former Blood Refining Demoness, and most importantly, the Jade Emperor's divided soul, the adopted grandson of Taixu, and the host of two Taixu divine souls—Chen Xiaohu!

Leaving the academy for such a dangerous place as the desolate wilderness is no different from a group of elementary school students leaving school to go skinny dipping in a dam. It would be strange if the academy didn't send a teacher to accompany them.

On the airship, a group of boys were sunbathing and drinking soda on the deck, while three girls, Meng Buping and Meng Buping, were planning their route in the captain's cabin to avoid bumping into anything strange.

Ye Xiaoxuan was in the kitchen preparing food, while Lian Xue assisted her and learned a thing or two.

"We're about to enter a sandy area. This airship isn't capable of flying in that kind of environment. Everyone, prepare to pack your things and disembark on foot."

Meng Buping came out of the captain's cabin, conveyed the message to everyone, and then went back into the cabin to begin adjusting the ship for descent.

Just as they reached the road, the ship suddenly rocked, and a tornado of sand, hundreds of feet high, rose up from the ground and approached them.

"Abandon ship!"

Fang Xiu gave a reminder, and everyone used their flying skills to fly into the air to avoid the danger. Staying on the ship at this point would be an unwise choice.

"receive!"

While in mid-air, Meng Buping made hand seals, and the huge flying boat was instantly stored in the small bottle in front of her.

Everyone was floating in the air, but they saw pairs of blood-red lights shining out from within the swirling sandstorm, like eyes.

"Be careful!"

As the group increased their distance, the tiny red light revealed its true form: eight-eyed spider monsters, each as large as a bull!