CHAPTER 1247: CHAPTER 1246: THE CHARLATAN

She would never admit that the reason she said such mystical-sounding words was simply because she was too lazy to explain.

Yet, evidently, these perfunctory words left an indelible impression on Harry and the others.

Although Ji Nuan still felt a bit uncertain about the direction she had chosen, after traveling for seven or eight days, traces of Firebird Orcs began appearing in the area—and quite frequently, too.

Red scorpions often showed up on the sand as well.

However, what surprised Ji Nuan and the others was that the red scorpions they encountered this time were not very large, incomparable to the ones they had come across before.

If the ones they had previously met were the "grandparent generation" of scorpions, then the ones occasionally crawling under Maomao’s paws now were clearly the "great-grandchild generation."

Nearby, clusters of Firebird beasts roamed the desert, searching for these insects, occasionally nibbling on thorny fruits.

So, these Firebird beasts must be an omnivorous species, right?

But Ji Nuan would absolutely not naively try to get close to them. Those beaks used for picking up insects and thorny fruits were anything but simple.

During the hunting expedition before the cold season, when that small tribe encountered these Firebird beasts, several orcs nearly lost their lives because of them.

The last time they hunted Firebird beasts with the Sahara Tribe, quite a few tribal members of the Sahara Tribe perished as well.

"The Firebird beasts are getting more numerous around here; we must be nearing Saint Fei Oasis." Xiu Yan handed the knot-tree jug to Ji Nuan. "Have some water."

Pressing her dry lips together, Ji Nuan took the jug and drank a few sips of the water, though it offered little relief.

This desert really only had two seasons: the blazing heat of the fire season and the chilling cold of the frost season. In the forest, the rainy season hadn’t yet ended, but here, the desert’s scorching temperatures were already unbearable for any beast.

Even the water in the knot-tree jug was warm, making it far from refreshing to drink.

"Let’s keep heading in the same direction as before. If Chief Hasa’s directions are accurate, we’ll eventually encounter the orcs living in the oasis.

They tend to hunt further out from their home territory."

The orcs rode on the backs of twin-peak beasts, looking lazily baked under the blazing sun. Tuya swayed with Ermao’s steps, her body moving rhythmically as though she had already entered sleep mode.

Suddenly, the twin-peak beasts under them began to uneasily shuffle their feet, then abruptly turned and sprinted toward the left.

Ji Nuan clung tightly to Maomao’s hump, turning her head to look back in the direction they had been heading earlier.

After a short sprint, the twin-peak beasts stopped, chewing over their reserve food as they idled in place.

But Ji Nuan and the others were left completely at a loss, staring blankly at the spot they had just been standing on.

Where there had previously been a sand dune, the ground now seemed as though it was being devoured, sinking steadily into the earth.

And the scope of it was large—roughly one hundred meters or so by visual estimation.

"Thank you, Maomao." Ji Nuan stroked Maomao’s head with lingering fear in her chest. If the twin-peak beasts hadn’t detected the danger, their group would have been in serious trouble.

"Brother Xiu Yan, take me over there. I want to see what’s really going on."

With his wings spread wide behind him, Xiu Yan wrapped his long arms around Ji Nuan, lifting her as he flew toward the sandpit.

The closer they got to the sandpit, the graver Ji Nuan’s expression became. The pit was still slowly collapsing inward.