At this moment.
Far away, a thousand miles distant at the New Russia Border, there lies a vast desert, Gobi, oasis, ruined walls and ramparts, resembling Hell after Death himself has passed through. Here, the sun turns the very air molten.
Deep beneath the surface of the desert, hundreds of meters down, a young man with cold eyes is sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed in meditation. Waves of heat continuously flow into his body.
This youth is none other than Lin Mo, who vanished from the public eye after slaying Blood Prison. Unexpectedly, within the Blood Prison Base, Lin Mo discovered a large amount of energy crystals and some precious materials. Deciding to seize the opportunity, Lin Mo chose to retreat and cultivate, especially since the desert was rich in Fire Attribute energy, making it an ideal place for cultivating the Fire Element.
Although Lin Mo did not know to what degree his strength had increased, he would not miss the chance to enhance his cultivation.
Streams of Source Energy, like ultraviolet rays, continued to gather within his body, his flesh becoming as red-hot as iron. Every inch of his skin radiated extreme heat, which could scorch anyone who carelessly drew too close!
Among the many attributes of the Five Element Spiritual Energy, the Fire Element is the most difficult to cultivate. Even though Lin Mo sat still as if in deep meditation like an old monk, the Earth Vein Fire was burning and tempering each of his Five Internal Organs, an agony unfathomable to ordinary people.
But Lin Mo, who had traveled all over the north and south of Jiangnan two years ago, facing countless dangers, had tasted every kind of pain. Thus, he did not even furrow his brows in the face of this fiery torture.
In fact, Lin Mo had even considered the possibility that one day he might travel to the United States, given the increasingly powerful weapons developed there.
The current Lin Mo acted without restraint and had offended many. A tall tree catches the wind; without substantial strength, how could he protect himself, protect Xia Mengdie, protect his parents, protect the many others he needed to protect.
What Lin Mo sought was not just to protect, but to be absolutely invincible!
Lin Mo valued treasures or anything that could help enhance his own strength.
So, even though Lin Mo appeared invulnerable now, he would not neglect his cultivation!
Lin Mo hoped that one day he would not face any significant threats on Earth.
True strength not only comes from unchanging determination in cultivation but also from their constant sense of crisis.
People grow through adversity; without deadly danger, who would wish to push their strength to the utmost?
Two years ago, when Lin Mo faced a life-threatening crisis, it had forged his extraordinary current cultivation.
Time passed, second by second, alternating between day and night, as the setting sun slowly descended.
Danger lurked everywhere above the Huang Mo desert when suddenly the ground surged with movement from the sand. It was a Rank-1 Demon Beast, a Sand Python that lived in the desert. It was about three meters long, with a massive body as thick as a grown man's leg. Currently, this sand python was advancing relentlessly, aiming for a green lizard nestled in the pebbles.
The Sand Python hissed with its dark red tongue, signaling danger and death. But just as it was about to strike, the ground shook violently, exploding and sending the Sand Python flying through the air, landing several meters away.
A youthful figure shot out from the sandy ground, soaring dozens of meters into the sky before landing back on the earth.
Seeing this human, the Sand Python scurried away in terror.
The youth stood tall and healthy, dressed in casual white clothes. His face had distinct angles, and his black eyes sparkled like the stars in the night sky.
"Finally out," the young man said, his eyes shimmering as he spoke calmly.
This youth was none other than Lin Mo.
Lin Mo extended his palm, a ball of fire with a white glow condensed in his hand, then dispersed.
"The Fire Energy within my body has progressed further. Now, the temperature has reached a full five thousand degrees—enough to burn anything mundane to ashes."
Lin Mo's expression was indifferent, yet a calm smile appeared on his face.
With the Earth Vein Fire's tempering, Lin Mo's strength had once more become more condensed.
Strength that could grow was always pleasing.
"Just cultivating without a sense of time, I don't even know how many days I've been cultivating," Lin Mo said to himself with his hands clasped behind his back, speaking nonchalantly.
He had absorbed a large number of Energy Crystals and some top-grade medicinal materials left behind at the Blood Prison Base, and now his power had once again increased.
Although Lin Mo didn't know the extent of his power, he could feel every increase clearly.
"Let it be, let it be. I should hurry back to Shanghai and avoid worrying mom, dad, and Die'er," Lin Mo said as he shook his head slightly and proceeded forward with an indifferent expression.
With every step he took, he covered a distance of hundreds of meters, as if an Immortal were treading on mortal land.
Lin Mo didn't follow the same path back. Instead, he spread his Divine Sense as he walked toward the west until he finally emerged from the desert and saw forests, streams, waterfalls, and cliffs.
The waterfall was about ten meters high, beads of water splashed like pearls, and the water surged upwards. Having not bathed for several days, Lin Mo felt somewhat uncomfortable, so he simply stripped off his clothes and jumped into the spring water for a refreshing bath.
Just as he finished bathing and was about to get out, he suddenly frowned.
"Ah, why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Suddenly, a scream rang out. A young girl appeared at the shore, around twenty years old, wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, and canvas shoes, with a very graceful figure.
Next to her was a young man, also in shorts and a T-shirt, wearing sunglasses and looking quite cool.
The two of them were obviously Huaxia people.
Lin Mo glanced at the two of them, put on his clothes, and walked toward them, asking, "What's the date today? Do you know?"
"It's the 29th," the girl replied, her pretty face flushing. "You don't know?"
"Have I been in meditation for over a week?"
Lin Mo thought to himself that his meditation had indeed lasted for just over a week, but that wasn't too long.
Typically, a period of meditation could last for several months, or even years.
Lin Mo had only meditated for a week, but his power had grown yet again. If others knew the speed at which his strength was improving, they would probably call him a freak among freaks!
"What meditation? I think you're just a pervert. You're not from Dan Sen, are you? How dare you bathe here and offend my Ling Mei's eyes," the young man next to her said through gritted teeth, glaring angrily at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo glanced at the young man, who suddenly felt a chill run through his body. Despite the desert's high temperatures, which even in the early morning were over forty degrees Celsius, he felt as if winter had come.
The girl looked at Lin Mo and, seeing his handsome face which was much more attractive than any popular idol, especially after having glimpsed the perfect proportions of Lin Mo's body, as though it were sculpted with care, felt her face heat up and found it hard to look directly at Lin Mo.
Ignoring the young man, Lin Mo asked indifferently, "I am not one of Dan Sen's people, nor do I know him. Do you know where the nearest airport is from here?"
"That, are you here to pan for gold? The nearest city from here is still dozens of kilometers away!" The girl was surprised and then laughed lightly, saying, "You're also a Huaxia person, and it's not easy to meet fellow Huaxia compatriots abroad. We're planning to go back to the country, so why don't you come with us?"
"Ling Mei, aren't you afraid he's a bad guy? It's so desolate here, and suddenly a person appears; it's too suspicious," the man said with a frown, cautiously.
"He doesn't look like a bad guy," the girl said instinctively.
The young man glared at Lin Mo fiercely before finally agreeing.
Talking along the way, Lin Mo found out the girl's name was Huang Ling and the man's was Chen Li, both Huaxia people. They had a gold panning factory here, managed by Huang Ling's uncle, and they had come to help.
This place was at the border between New Russia and Old Russia. Leaving this area would bring them to the nearest city in Old Russia, and from there, they could take a car to another city and fly out.
After about ten minutes, they indeed saw the gold panning factory nearby. Gigantic machines for sieving sand churned continuously, and several local workers had been hired to sift through the gold sand.
It turned out that Huang Ling's uncle, Ye Qiao, had serendipitously discovered gold-bearing minerals here, so he had set up a large gold panning factory with the plan to make a fortune abroad.