Only Choice is Escape

Xu Tao was shocked.

The thing beside them wasn't actually a sand dune, but a giant Sand Beetle—shaped like a Stag Beetle.

It was as large as a bus and standing right next to them, but likely due to being half-buried in sand, it had been hard to recognize.

Then he saw the beetle's mouth move.

It looked like it was about to raise its voice—much louder than its earlier "yawn."

"...!"

At that moment, Xu Tao moved.

He reached for the sword at his waist with his right hand, lowered his stance, and—infusing as much Qi as he could in an instant—swung the blade in a perfectly horizontal arc.

"Pui!" Pepe cried in protest.

It was startled by the sudden movement and was half-crushed by Xu Tao's crouch. But that was still a far better outcome than the alternative.

Just like that, the beetle's head was cleaved in half—split top to bottom. If not for his quick reaction, it would've called the others, and their situation would've turned from dangerous to suicidal.

At least, that's what he thought...

KIIIIICHIIK!

Then two more "sand dunes" nearby stirred, letting out a loud cry.

The earlier noise wasn't a yawn—it had been an alarm, meant to wake the others. Xu Tao had simply happened to stand right next to the designated "wake-up caller" and cut it down. But that didn't stop the rest from rising from their slumber.

Dozens of dunes trembled, revealing the giant creatures hidden beneath.

But that wasn't even his biggest problem.

[Detecting a Monster Kill.]

[Reward: 1 Large Loot Box, 10 System Points]

[Opening Large Loot Box… You received 50 Gold, 2x Bread, Recovery Pill (1 bottle).]

[Calculating Level Difference... 59 levels. Granting Experience Points.]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You...]

...

[...You have leveled up!]

[You are now level 28!]

[You have gained 51 free status points to distribute!]

Suddenly, system notifications flooded his vision, momentarily robbing him of sight. A very dangerous moment to be blind, especially when surrounded by monsters large enough to crush him.

Out of desperation, he "swiped" the notifications aside—and to his surprise, it worked! The stack of messages shifted to the corner of his vision, just in time to reveal a massive jaw lunging for his face.

"Urk...!"

Xu Tao dodged without delay, barely avoiding the snapping pincers. They clipped a few strands of his hair, which fluttered to the ground—a chilling reminder of how sharp those mandibles were.

Xu Tao quickly checked his position, the enemy's location, and his own state. The darkness of the night, lit only by starlight and glowing sky formations, didn't help either.

He came to a swift conclusion.

"There's only one choice!!!" he shouted. "We're escaping!"

The next moment, he dove into the sand.

It was a special technique he had learned long ago in the Starfire Desert—a method to move through earth as if it were water: the Earth Escape Method!

He tunneled downward in a straight line, then made several erratic bends to throw off any pursuers. He kept going as far as his Qi allowed, until finally, he came to a stop about 200 meters down from the surface.

"Ugh..."

Right now, he felt like a worm squirming inside a narrow tunnel. With a burst of Qi, he pushed the sand around him outward, forming a small, spherical chamber, just big enough for him to stand in.

He moved to the center and sat down.

"That was close," he muttered, wiping the sticky, sandy sweat off his forehead. "A moment of delay, and I'd be beetle chow."

"Pui..."

Thankfully, despite having forgotten about it momentarily, Pepe was also safe—dizzy, a little buried in sand, but alive.

"Now then…"

With a brief moment of respite, Xu Tao finally turned his attention back to the earlier notifications. Only three remained—the Large Loot Box rewards, his new level, and his updated total of free status points.

Without hesitation, he opened his character panel and dumped all his new points into Cultivation—and was forced to stop.

"Huh? Weird…"

Once the stat hit the value of 64, pushing him right on the cusp of Body Refinement 6th Stage, he could no longer increase it.

It wasn't because he had failed to refine the new Qi. He had already done that in mere seconds. But no matter how many times he tapped the plus button—it didn't move.

Then a warning message appeared:

[Warning! You have reached the current limit for the Cultivation Stat. Please distribute stat points to other places.]

"Oh. So there's a limit…" Xu Tao sighed.

He had thought it was unlimited, but it turns out that his dream of instantly reaching the Divine Heaven Immortal Realm would have to remain just that—a dream.

"But how can I break through this limit?" he asked the Lost System aloud. "Any viable methods?"

[Stat Limit is adjusted every 50 levels. Please raise your level to increase the cap of a maxed stat.]

Thankfully, the Lost System was feeling cooperative. It answered immediately. Xu Tao nodded in understanding.

"I see. So that means… I just need to level up again."

With that, he closed the panel.

He didn't bother distributing the remaining stat points—leaving all 11 unallocated.

For now, he had three options.

The first: return to the surface, fight the parent beetles, and level up further. Risky and exhausting—he'd need to be fully prepared for that.

The second: continue moving underground toward the mountain. This avoided the chaos above, but came with its own dangers. Monsters could lurk beneath the sands, swimming through it like fish through water.

If he encountered one stronger than him—especially while low on Qi—he was as good as dead. Not to mention, navigation underground was unreliable. Getting lost was a real risk.

The third and final option: rest for the night.

It wasn't planned, but the shelter he carved out provided insulation from the cold. Buried this deep, the ground's residual warmth kept the frigid surface air at bay.

Xu Tao thought it over carefully, weighing the pros and cons of each path. In the end, he made the most logical decision.

"Let's rest here."

He was tired, injured, and not at full strength. Fighting or tunneling further in his current condition wasn't ideal. The least risky and most reasonable option was to get a good night's sleep and recover before making his move tomorrow.

"Let's have dinner first, Pepe," Xu Tao said, tapping his storage ring.

It was nearly overflowing with items now, since it originally had a small capacity, so they had already left behind a few duplicates. Just as he was taking out two loaves of bread and a couple bottles of water, something else caught his eye.

"What's this…" he muttered, pulling out a bottle he didn't recognize. "A pill?"