The Seventh Rank Ruins Realm Behemoth was absolutely not something they could take down right now, especially since their Power-Enhancing Artifacts and Talismans were sealed, leaving them to fight with just their physical bodies.
No matter how you looked at it, the best choice was to hit the regret button immediately.
As the White Bone Sand Whale steadily advanced, the urgency within the Taiming Sect Members grew stronger, and even Xiao Ming and Xiao Ri began urging Jiang Ke’er to press the button.
“Don’t rush!”
Jiang Ke’er climbed onto Qian Yue’s head, shielding her eyes from the scorching sun with her small paws, and gazed out toward the distant desert.
In the golden-yellow sea of sand, many jet-black steel objects were half-buried, drawing everyone’s attention.
But the distance was too far to identify them.
Without hesitation, Jiang Ke’er leapt off Qian Yue’s head and sprinted straight toward one of the objects.
“Hey!”
Everyone hurriedly tried to follow, but even for cultivators, running quickly on this soft sand was difficult.
Their legs sank deep, making movement troublesome, and using Lightfoot Technique on the sand would drain their Spiritual Power excessively.
The Spiritual Power in both the World within the Tower and this desert was extremely sparse and couldn’t be replenished.
Every bit of energy used was precious, so they dared not waste any.
But Jiang Ke’er was unaffected.
The desert was naturally the territory of the Eared Fox, and her light frame and body structure were designed for running on soft sand.
Though she had never been to the desert before, she quickly adapted to this way of running.
She dashed swiftly, disappearing from sight in no time, leaving only a trail of Plum Blossom Footprints on the sand.
The others could only follow the footprints, both annoyed and amused, running toward Jiang Ke’er’s location.
When they arrived, they saw Jiang Ke’er crouched beside a cluster of black steel.
Her ears pressed against the back of her head, eyes slightly squinted, and her two small front paws were diligently digging, kicking sand away from beneath her.
She was trying to unearth this black object.
Unconsciously, a small sand mound half a meter high had formed behind her.
But since the mound was made entirely of sand, it was unstable and already trembling.
Suddenly, Jiang Ke’er felt something black hovering over her head… followed by a rustling sound as the sand mound collapsed, burying her beneath it.
Qian Yue quickly stretched out a hand, grabbing her by the tail and pulling her out of the sand.
Dangling in midair, Jiang Ke’er’s front paws continued their instinctive, mechanical digging—fruitless as ever.
“Achoo! Hurry, hurry and dig!” Jiang Ke’er sneezed repeatedly, shouting, “The key to clearing this level is right here!”
Qian Yue could only laugh and say, “Got it, got it.”
Everyone hurried to dig.
Jiang Ke’er ran aside, shaking her head to flick sand out of her fur.
With everyone’s combined efforts, they finally unearthed the black object before the White Bone Sand Whale arrived.
It was a crossbow, heavy and solid, with an empty barrel.
“There must be crossbow bolts nearby!” Jiang Ke’er said.
“Two people go lure the sand whale away, the rest search for bolts to use with the crossbow and blow the beast to hell!”
“I’ll lure it. I’m enough for that, but you all need to be quick,” Qian Yue said.
“That’s a Seventh Rank Ruins Realm Behemoth!” Jiang Ke’er worried, “Maybe I should go…”
“Even though it’s Seventh Rank, it’s extremely clumsy in movement. I can handle it,” Qian Yue replied.
“Relay! One person’s Spiritual Power is limited. Qian Yue takes the first wave, then I’ll take the second!” Xuanyang said. “If we’re fast enough, we won’t have to worry too much… Everyone scatter immediately to find crossbows and bolts!”
Time was tight, so no one wasted words.
Because Jiang Ke’er ran fastest, she could reach the black spots first, distinguish whether it was a crossbow or something else, and secretly report back to the others.
“This is a crossbow!”
“This is one too!”
“There are bolts here! Come quickly to carry them!”
The crossbow bolts had specially crafted tips wrapped with thick Explosive Talismans, and the shafts were densely inscribed with Runes, clearly designed for battling large monsters.
If they hit, it would definitely deal a heavy blow.
In the distance, Qian Yue was already drawing close to the White Bone Sand Whale.
She slammed a Cone of Frost onto it, causing the creature pain and triggering its furious chase.
“Good, Senior Sister Qian Yue has successfully drawn its aggro!” Jiang Ke’er’s heart tightened, “Aim carefully, don’t hit our own people!”
Though unfamiliar with the term “draw aggro,” everyone understood Jiang Ke’er’s meaning.
“Too far!” Xuanyang shouted, “Can’t aim properly!”
“Senior Sister Qian Yue, get closer!” Jiang Ke’er quickly transmitted.
Receiving the message, Qian Yue conjured patches of Solid Ice Slides beneath her feet.
She glided atop the ice, using elevation differences to outpace the White Bone Sand Whale by a small margin.
Several times, the ice path was shattered by the whale’s impact, nearly skewering her on Bone Spikes.
The whale repeatedly plunged into the sand, gathering strength to ram at Qian Yue, kicking up clouds of yellow dust that obscured her vision and destroyed her sliding path.
It was like dancing on a knife’s edge; the situation was perilous.
“Whoosh—”
“Boom!”
The first crossbow bolt struck precisely on the whale’s horned head.
The terrifying explosion froze the whale’s movement midair for a moment.
Qian Yue let out a muffled grunt as the blast threw her backward, but she managed to form an Ice Shield at the last second, blocking most of the impact and creating distance.
That shot was fired by Xuanyang.
“Watch out for your teammates!” Jiang Ke’er urged anxiously.
“Actually, I aimed for its belly,” Xuanyang admitted awkwardly, “But it moves too fast and erratically. It’s hard to calculate.”
“I’m fine,” Qian Yue transmitted back, then the water-blue Solid Ice Slide lit up again in the distance.
But the whale had vanished.
Only a massive sand mound swelled on the desert floor, moving toward the crossbow position.
“It’s targeting you!”
Terrible.
Xuanyang hurriedly fired a second shot, while others opened fire on the sand mound.
They absolutely couldn’t let it get close! If the crossbow position was destroyed, fighting would be impossible.
“Puff, puff, puff—”
But the flaming bolts sank silently into the sand mound, leaving no sign of damage.
“The sand’s too soft to trigger the crossbow’s explosion!” Everyone shuddered.
They couldn’t stop it!
“Even if it did explode, the sand cushions the impact. It won’t hurt the beast!”
Troublesome.
The huge sand mound charged toward them at terrifying speed, while the crossbow was useless.
They had to wait for it to emerge before dealing damage!
“How much ammo do you have left?”
“Three shots.” “Two shots.” “Two shots.”
The crossbows and pellets nearby were already scarce. They’d used many to slow the enemy’s advance.
Jiang Ke’er had only one shot left herself.
She saved most of the bolts for Xuanyang and the others, spending her time scouting nearby black spots.
After inspecting all of them, she took her last bolt to an unmanned crossbow.
Jiang Ke’er transformed back into human form and loaded the crossbow.
“Everyone, carry your crossbows and spread out immediately!”
The White Bone Sand Whale hadn’t arrived yet, so they still had a little time to disperse.
Though heavy and cumbersome, with Xuanyang and the others’ strength, they could barely carry the crossbows over some distance.
Jiang Ke’er stayed put, firmly gripping the crossbow’s bowstring.
The others scattered, leaving her alone in the center.
The White Bone Sand Whale charged straight at her.
“Little Junior Sister!”
After everyone fled, seeing Jiang Ke’er still standing, they shouted anxiously, “Run!”
“I’ll lure it!”
Facing the mountain-like charge before her, even battle-hardened Jiang Ke’er felt her legs weaken slightly.
But she calmly said, “When it attacks me, it’ll burst out of the sand. You all take the chance to shoot at its head. Shoot as many arrows as you can!”
“Got it!”
Everyone knew Jiang Ke’er was ready to sacrifice herself to buy them time.
But there was no choice. In desperation, they obeyed, unwilling to let her die in vain.
“Roar—”
With a deafening roar, the sand mound instantly vanished before Jiang Ke’er.
Then—
The massive White Bone Sand Whale leapt violently from beneath, smashing her and the crossbow straight into the air!
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
At the same time, the others fired relentlessly.
Bolts collided against the whale’s thick bony armor, sending flames and sparks soaring.
The whale let out a sharp, agonized scream as several huge holes exploded in its skull.
Jiang Ke’er spun midair, cushioned by the sand’s softness, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but she struggled to keep her balance.
“Whoosh—”
Amid the chaos, a blue light shot through the smoke, snatching Jiang Ke’er by the waist and steadying her.
Her hands still clutched the heavy crossbow tightly.
No need to say, Qian Yue instantly understood her intentions.
Suspended in midair, Qian Yue stabilized the crossbow, aiming its barrel at one of the holes blasted in the whale’s head.
“Clack—”
The bolt released, shaking the surrounding air.
Trailing its fiery tail, the bolt plunged straight into the whale’s brain cavity and detonated!
The explosion sent bone spikes flying in all directions.
In mere moments, Jiang Ke’er was pierced by several spikes, and Qian Yue suffered grievous injuries as well—the Ice Shield shattered, and she even sustained a through-and-through wound in her abdomen while protecting Jiang Ke’er.
The blast’s shockwave threw them far back, their bodies landing hard in the sand with muffled thuds.
The sand’s cushioning saved their lives; otherwise, this blow would have been fatal.
“Hey! Hang on!”
Jiang Ke’er placed Qian Yue’s head on her lap, hastily channeling Spiritual Power to her wounds and using Sacred Light to accelerate healing.
“I’m fine,” Qian Yue smiled weakly, “Just a minor injury.”
Minor injury?!
Jiang Ke’er was about to protest when the scenery shifted, and the swirling yellow sand disappeared.
They were back in the Giant Tower Room.
The White Bone Sand Whale was gone.
In its place, at the center of the room, stood a Golden Treasure Chest.