Transmigrated into a tortoise, the Empress and the Goddess became my sisters.

Lin Tian sat on horseback, breathing erratically, clenching his teeth, cursing God for really messing with him.

The Asura Goddess barely managed to support herself, burying her face in pain as she stared at the gray markings on the Empress's claws, constantly wondering how much longer it would take to reach Loulan.

The Empress buried her face in the bear's fur, hissing as she breathed heavily. Her mind was in complete chaos, and she felt the gray lines still creeping up on her skin, making her extremely panicked.

The leading knight glanced at the pitiful state of the three turtles, his expression calm. He didn't ask any further questions, but simply urged the group to quicken their pace so as not to delay their journey before nightfall.

The sound of horses' hooves pounded on the dry, cracked sand, raising waves of sand. The air was so dry it was scorching. The group stretched towards the northern edge of the desert, seemingly trying to find a campsite before the sandstorm arrived.

Lin Tian pulled on the reins, carefully protecting the Empress's serious injuries while exchanging glances with the Goddess of Asura, wondering if he could find another opportunity to make her stop, since the scorching sun here was about to crack him open.

"Oh no, if we don't come up with something soon, my second sister is doomed."

With her voice extremely low, the Asura Goddess bit her lip and replied in a muffled voice, "Don't make a scene yet, we need to see how things go. Haven't you noticed they don't intend to get involved?"

"I know, but I can't sit still."

Lin Tian's back ached, his arms twitched slightly, and every step was painful. He wanted to dismount and rest but was afraid of being looked down upon, so he could only keep walking.

The cavalry moved swiftly, clearly having undergone rigorous training. Everyone kept their distance and didn't waste any words, allowing Lin Tian and his group to ride the borrowed horses in the middle.

"Brother, I feel that the gray lines are spreading faster, and it seems that even the dragon marrow is not working."

The Asura Goddess glanced at the Empress, then rummaged through the tortoise shell and pulled out the bottle containing the dragon marrow. She saw that the liquid inside was extremely turbid and constantly bubbling, as if it were about to spoil.

Lin Tian's mind was in even more turmoil. He had originally thought that obtaining the Dragon Marrow would stabilize the curse, but now it was like adding fuel to the fire.

"Don't give it to her yet, or it might make things worse."

"Then how?"

The Asura Goddess felt a chill run down her spine. She glanced at the surrounding cavalry, fearing that someone might spot the bottle of dragon marrow and try to snatch it, which would only make things more chaotic.

The Empress lay on the bear's back, trembling and gritting her teeth, but she still couldn't help but pull on Lin Tian's reins, her voice filled with exhaustion: "I find the curse is hurting even more, is there really no hope for me?"

Lin Tian's heart pounded wildly, and he managed to squeeze out, "No one is allowed to give up. Maybe we can find a better antidote."

The cavalryman led the way, holding a longbow and glancing at the horizon from time to time, as if wary of lurking dangers.

The caravan had been trekking for a while when the sky began to darken and the desert night temperature plummeted. The cold wind stung Lin Tian's tortoise shell, but thankfully the sun was no longer scorching.

As night fell, the cavalrymen stopped in front of a protruding rocky platform. The leader ordered his men to set up camp, light a fire, and prepare to rest.

Lin Tian was overjoyed and immediately dismounted, but his knees buckled and he almost fell to the ground. The Asura Goddess quickly helped him up and also helped the Empress down.

The Empress, her lips trembling, knelt on the sand, watching the gray markings spread from her claws all the way to her arms, her face filled with worry.

"I felt numb, and even my blood felt cold."

Lin Tian gritted his teeth and half-carried, half-dragged her behind a rock to block the wind, then let the little black bear lie down to warm herself, hoping to relieve some of the pain.

The Asura Goddess, clinging to her shell, had long since run out of the wound powder she brought from the Loulan Palace. After fiddling around for a long time, she still couldn't come up with an effective antiseptic, and could only blame herself.

The night wind whipped up dust, torches crackled in the camp, and the cavalrymen began to cook meat soup, while their spears stood coldly to the side.

Lin Tian wanted some water, but the group of people were protecting their water bags and wouldn't give him more. He could only find a gap to negotiate with the leader: "Could you spare some water and lend me a sheltered tent? My second sister's petrification has worsened."

The other party glanced at the Empress's condition, then tossed a sheepskin bag over to his men: "That's all, there's no more. Don't wander off, we need to travel tomorrow."

Lin Tian couldn't even say thank you. The indifference of this group made him very unhappy, but he was helpless.

Back behind the rock platform, he carefully brought the small amount of water from the sheepskin pouch to the Empress's lips, sharing a sip with the Goddess of Asura, but keeping less than half a drop for himself.

The Empress's face remained deathly pale: "Why do I feel so cold? This curse is different from insect poison; this feeling is agonizing."

The Asura Goddess also squatted down and patted her back with her claws, but the comforting was ineffective, and she could only worry helplessly.

Lin Tian stared at the night sky, his mind replaying various detoxification clues he had seen before, including the high priest's words. But the old man only mentioned dragon marrow, not the consequences.

“I suspect that dragon marrow cannot cure petrification at all, and may even worsen the condition.”

His voice trailed off, and the Asura Goddess felt a chill run down her spine, adding, "Why don't we just throw it away? This thing is evil."

"Throwing it away won't help her. We can only look for other methods now. We don't know if the High Priest of Loulan has any more bizarre methods."

Hearing their murmurs, the Empress mustered her last bit of strength and said, "Don't go looking for that weird high priest anymore. I don't want to be used as a guinea pig by him."

"That's true, but Loulan doesn't have a more suitable doctor."

The three turtles were extremely silent, while the little black bear whimpered beside them.

Suddenly a cavalryman walked over and dropped a charred flatbread: "The boss said to let you fill your stomachs here, so you can save some energy."

Lin Tian picked up the hard, flatbread, his expression complicated, unsure of what to say. At least they hadn't let him starve.

The Asura Goddess took the food, tore off two or three small pieces, and fed them to the Empress, fearing that she would not be able to withstand the blood loss. She herself only tasted half a bite before her teeth ached.

Lin Tian looked around the camp, trying to get information out of anyone who knew anything about petrification. Even a single clue could save his life.

He walked over and patted a burly man who was wiping his knife: "Brother, can I ask you something? Have you ever heard of any miraculous medicine in the desert that can cure petrification?"

The burly man glanced at Lin Tian and snorted, "I don't know anything. I only know how to chop people up. If you want to ask, ask someone else."

His attitude was very aggressive, which made Lin Tian feel very frustrated.

He had no choice but to change direction and find a soldier who looked a bit older. He discovered that the soldier was dozing off, so he stood by a pile of weapons and pondered other methods.

Half an incense stick later, the leader suddenly blew his whistle and called Lin Tian over: "You seem restless. Do you want some other information?"

Lin Tian looked up suspiciously and found a deep meaning in the other person's eyes: "Do you know anything that can undo petrification?"

The man gripped his riding whip and sneered, "I don't know anything about medicine, but I've heard from northern caravans that there's a 'desert flower' that might have a miraculous effect on the petrification disease. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."

"What? Desert flower?"

Lin Tian's nerves skipped a beat. He wasn't sure if it was true, but at least it was better than waiting to die: "Where are the flowers?"

The leader was too lazy to explain further: "Legend has it that the Storm Mountains are fraught with danger and teeming with monsters. We don't have time to take you there, especially since you're on your way to Loulan."

He said jokingly, "If you want to cause trouble, then be careful. The desert flower is a rumor that has been circulating for many years, and no one has ever actually seen one."

After saying that, he patted the horse's rump and continued his patrol of the camp, ignoring the rest.

Lin Tian stood there, his mind racing: "Where is the Storm Mountains? Does this flower really exist? Perhaps it's our last lifeline."