The Primordial Endless Desert

Clearly, Atlas had no interest in such a dangerous place because he was too weak and wasn't so insane to throw away his life there. Even his intense desire for adventures and pursuit of knowledge and treasures couldn't give him the courage to delve into such a hellish place.

Since his destination was another one, Atlas immediately reassured the ancient turtle: "We are looking for the Minoris Cretion Divine Sect..."

"Oh... you are talking about those bunch of crazy fellows." Kurmanus scoffed, moving his massive head a bit: "... Indeed, they had built their tiny home rather closer to the border. It should be around there... a hundred miles away from here."

Atlas turned toward the direction where the old turtle was pointing with his muzzle and, sure enough, noticed a bright golden dot in the middle of one of the mountain ranges in the distance.

Seeing his destination so close, Atlas felt so elated that he couldn't help but sigh emotionally: "After such a long time, I can finally rest..."

After months of hard work and suffering, he could finally enter one of the most ancient and powerful Divine Sects and undergo a monstrous growth.

Atlas had carefully planned his next destination over and over before parting from his family, yet his new companion had a different opinion.

"Ohi... Little boy, we can't waste our precious time in that stupid place..."

"What are you talking about?" Atlas asked, bewildered by Deus's words.

"I'm saying that I won't let you waste your time, actually our time, with that bunch of morons..."

Only an old monster like Deus would dare to say something like this. Indeed, he didn't spare them even for a moment: "I visited these so-called Divine Sects years ago... they are so dull and full of assholes. Why should we waste our precious time with those idiots? The wildlands are much better and even more lively. Surely, you will achieve more out here than there. Don't tell me you want to waste your time with a bunch of stupid kids all day?"

Atlas could understand his thoughts but was still a human cultivator, and that place could benefit him greatly. So he tried to make things clearer with that stubborn fellow: "Well… I can gain more knowledge about this world and fight against worthy opponents all the time. Indeed, there is more than one way to gain knowledge and experience in various fields."

"Nha… too slow… way too slow." Deus scoffed: "If you want to grow stronger quickly, you must shed the blood of your enemies. And as for knowledge, I have plenty to guide you in the coming years."

Deus's words indeed made sense, yet Atlas couldn't abandon his previous plan so easily.

"I understand that living inside the Divine Sect will lessen our freedom by a large degree, but I can't ignore all those benefits for such a matter." Atlas said, clearly stating his intention yet not abandoning the little creature's plan completely: "If you have a better plan... let's hear it out."

Kurmanus didn't meddle in their discussion and stood on the side, finding this situation quite lively compared to the last years he had spent in solitude surrounded by sand for miles.

"Well... my plan is a thousand times better than yours..." Deus said quite confidently: "First of all… we will cross the Primordial Endless Desert and discover the wonders of the other side. I spent half of my life in this world there and knew where we could find good opportunities, especially for someone like you. Furthermore, there is a place where we must go no matter what if you want to increase the growth of the Stony Tree of the Underworld."

Surely, Deus had already formed a well-designed plan, yet it was so crazy that Atlas couldn't help but look at him stupidly. Even Kurmanus stared at him similarly, finding the first part practically unthinkable to succeed with their current cultivation realm.

Feeling their strange gaze, Deus looked relatively calm and started to explain with a confident tone: "Hmm... crossing the desert is dangerous for normal people, but for me, it's not completely impossible. Of course, I have my way of completing this task, but..."

Reaching this point, they looked at him even more weirdly than before, but it was only a brief moment because his following words greatly stunned the giant creature.

"... but, with Kurmanus's presence, it's way easier now."

Clearly, he was surprised to hear that he would be helpful to Deus's plan and asked: "Me? Are you sure?"

"Of course... and you will gain something good too from this matter... In fact, it will be greatly beneficial for your future improvements."

Deus was an old fox who knew well how to handle being like him, so he didn't spare his words, giving out a succulent recompense.

"If you help us cross the desert, this little fellow will give you a Celestial Golden Durian in the future..."

Kurmanus was visibly stunned by his proposal, and it took him a moment for his emotional voice to come out: "You are talking about that pestilent fruit?"

"Yep... I couldn't give you one in the past, but now it's as easy as flipping my pawn."

While Kurmanus was gradually becoming increasingly excited by Deus's tempting plan, Atlas, standing on the side visibly stunned, couldn't endure anymore and accused: "Nonsense... your only objective is to grow faster that damnable tree!"

"Well... I won't deny that, but... it's still the best solution. You will find good prey to increase your cultivation realm and stay as far as possible away from the human cultivators." Atlas responded, adding even more positive points to his suggestion: "You should know better than me that your cultivation technique is rather particular. What will you do inside the Divine Sect? Will you start massacring your fellow disciples to increase your realm? Furthermore, you should keep your cultivation technique a secret from other people. Especially one strong as yours."

Certainly, his words made sense, but he didn't need him to understand this problem. He had already thought about this many times, but hiding somewhere like a scared rat wasn't an option especially now that he can enjoy a thrilling life and venture into the world.

Deus's plan temped him, too, because it could give him fruitful benefits. Still, was it worth the risk?

Cross one of Oblivion's most renowned and dangerous places, the Primordial Endless Desert.

Who knew what dangers were lurking in such a place?