I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

On the third day after leaving Blackstone Fortress, Lu Zhao had already ventured deep into the northwestern part of the Black Wind Gobi Desert. The deeper he went, the harsher the environment became. The gale was almost incessant, whipping up no longer fine sand, but "sandstorms" mixed with gravel and bone fragments, powerful enough to easily tear apart the protective aura of a Qi Refining stage cultivator. The ground was crisscrossed with ravines, filled with quicksand traps and bottomless fissures, and the thin spiritual energy in the air had become even more violent, even mixed with traces of irritating malevolent energy.

Fortunately, Lu Zhao's cultivation had greatly improved, his physical body was strong, and he also possessed the [Flowing Cloud Step] and powerful divine sense to navigate, so he made it through without any major dangers. However, the throbbing from the "Soul Devouring Seal" between his brows became clearer and clearer as he approached the "Dragon Bone Wasteland," and the frequency seemed to be increasing, like a heart beating faster and faster, guiding him in the right direction.

As evening fell, the sky turned a hazy yellow, the distant horizon merging with the Gobi Desert into a blurred, dark red. Lu Zhao was about to find a sheltered rock face to rest and recuperate when suddenly, a hundred miles ahead, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to violently turbulent!

"Boom—!!!"

A deep, rumbling roar, like rolling thunder, echoed from the earth, making the entire Gobi Desert tremble! Then, at the edge of the horizon, a colossal, grayish-yellow tornado-like column of wind, connecting heaven and earth, appeared out of thin air and expanded and moved at an astonishing speed! Within the column, countless fragments of rock, bones, and even some monstrous beasts that couldn't escape were vaguely visible, swept into the air and instantly pulverized! Even more terrifying, within that column, a massive, twisted shadow, exuding an aura of savagery and violence, seemed to be rolling and roaring!

"Roar—" A roar filled with pain and madness pierced through the howling wind and clearly reached Lu Zhao's ears.

"It's the 'Sandstorm Dragon'! A peak third-tier Gobi overlord! How could it suddenly go berserk?" Lu Zhao's heart skipped a beat. The "Sandstorm Dragon" isn't a true dragon, but a rare earth-attribute demonic beast living in the extreme desert and Gobi environment. Resembling a giant lizard with wings on its back, it can manipulate sandstorms. Upon reaching adulthood, its strength can reach the third tier (equivalent to the early Golden Core stage), making it the undisputed king of this Gobi.

Outside the terrifying sandstorm tornado, several streaks of light of various colors were desperately fleeing and dodging. Spells and magical artifacts flashed intermittently, striking the shadows within the sandstorm, but with little effect; instead, they further enraged the terrifying entity.

"It's a group of human cultivators... It seems they're hunting or disturbing this demonic dragon." Lu Zhao's eyes flashed like lightning. Even from a distance, he could vaguely see that among the streaks of light, there were those dressed in Yunmeng Merchant Guild attire (possibly another patrol or expedition team), as well as those from other forces. And even... the aura of two of the streaks of light gave him a familiar chill and unease—they were people from the "Soul Devouring Demon Sect"!

"As expected, they're here too." Lu Zhao's eyes turned cold.

Just then, the raging sandstorm dragon seemed to grow impatient with the entanglement, letting out a deafening roar. The massive tornado column suddenly exploded, transforming into countless smaller, but equally fierce, sandstorm blades that swept indiscriminately in all directions! The sheer size and speed of the attack gave the cultivators absolutely no time to escape!

"Not good!" "Quickly form a defensive formation!" Terrified shouts came from afar.

Faced with a full-force attack equivalent to that of a Golden Core stage demon beast, those cultivator teams were likely in grave danger. Lu Zhao had no intention of meddling, especially since some of them were from the Soul Devouring Demon Sect.

However, just as the sand blades were about to engulf the cultivators—

"Buzz!"

Lu Zhao's "Soul-Devouring Seal" between his brows suddenly trembled violently! At the same time, an even stronger, more intense, blood-red intent, filled with endless resentment, unwillingness, and a frenzied desire, rippled through space like an invisible wave from the direction of the "Dragon Bone Wasteland," slamming into his soul! This intent resonated with the "Soul-Devouring Seal" with unprecedented intensity, even… triggering a spontaneous resistance and… a subtle, hidden tremor within his "Silent Demon Dragon" Dao Foundation in his dantian!

"Ugh!" Lu Zhao groaned, his face paling slightly. This crimson intent was far too intense and malevolent, filled with chaotic and destructive desires, as if some terrifying being, sealed away for countless years, was desperately trying to break free and... issuing some kind of "summoning" or "temptation" to the outside world!

This sudden turn of events caused a momentary disruption to the power within his body, and a trace of his aura involuntarily leaked out!

"Roar?" The sandstorm dragon, which was raging, sensed the sudden appearance of a faint but extremely powerful aura that evoked a deep-seated disgust and...fear within it. It temporarily abandoned its pursuit of the cultivators, its massive head abruptly turning towards Lu Zhao's direction! Its enormous eyes, filled with ferocity and bloodshot veins, locked onto him!

"Damn it!" Lu Zhao's heart sank. He'd been discovered! And by a furious, peak-stage third-tier demonic beast!

"There's someone else over there!" "Who is it? Such a powerful aura!" The cultivators who had narrowly escaped death also noticed Lu Zhao and looked over with surprise and uncertainty.

"Roar!" The Sandstorm Dragon roared with hostility, its massive body swinging, abandoning the cultivators and kicking up billowing sand. With an astonishing speed disproportionate to its size, it charged towards Lu Zhao! Simultaneously, it opened its gigantic maw, and a dark yellow beam of light, condensed to its extreme and composed of countless sand grains, ripped through the sky like a destructive torrent, hurtling towards Lu Zhao!

The power of this attack was definitely equivalent to the full-force attack of a cultivator in the early Golden Core stage!

"Since we can't avoid it, then... let's fight!" Lu Zhao's eyes flashed with cold light, and the slight annoyance at being disturbed and targeted in his heart transformed into a fierce fighting spirit.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, his figure like a streak of gray-black lightning, charging straight up towards the destructive sandstorm pillar of light! At the same time, he joined his right index and middle fingers together, and the Dao Foundation of the "Silent Demon Dragon" within his body spun wildly. A gray-black spiritual power, condensed to its extreme and fused with the will of annihilation and devouring, gathered at his fingertips, transforming into a deep black dot that distorted the surrounding light!

"Annihilation - Devour!"

He let out a low shout and pointed a finger, not at the thick pillar of light, but at the very tip of the pillar, where the energy was most concentrated and the attack was most fierce!

"laugh--!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion. The terrifying sandstorm beam, the instant it touched the tiny gray-black dot of light at Lu Zhao's fingertip, was like encountering a black hole capable of swallowing everything; the energy at its tip was frantically sucked in and annihilated by the gray-black dot! The beam rapidly thinned and dimmed before the naked eye! Although not completely destroyed, its power was greatly reduced!

"Boom!" The remaining beam of light slammed into the gray-black spiritual energy shield (fused with the ancient rune essence of the "Dragon Scale Shield") that had instantly materialized in front of Lu Zhao, producing a deafening roar. The shield trembled violently, but it still firmly blocked the attack!

"What?!" The cultivators watching from afar exclaimed in disbelief. A cultivator who appeared to be only at the Foundation Establishment stage had actually withstood a terrifying attack from a third-tier demonic beast in such a bizarre and powerful way! Although he seemed to be struggling, it was absolutely something they had never seen before in their lives!

"Such powerful devouring and destructive force... What kind of technique is this?" A middle-aged man (mid-Foundation Establishment stage) wearing Yunmeng Merchant Guild attire and bearing a scar on his face showed shock in his eyes.

"It's him!" On the other side, two cultivators clad in black robes, exuding a chilling aura (members of the Soul Devouring Demon Sect), exchanged a glance, a hint of doubt and...excitement flashing in their eyes. "This aura...it's somewhat similar, but not entirely...however, it's definitely a high-grade demonic or evil cultivation technique!"

"Roar!" Seeing its attack fail, the Sandstorm Dragon grew even more enraged. Its massive body lunged forward, and a gigantic claw covered in rock-like scales, carrying the power to shatter mountains and split the earth, slammed down!

"Well done!" Lu Zhao's eyes blazed with fighting spirit; he wanted to test the limits of his current strength! With a leap, his body soared into the air like a dragon, neither dodging nor evading, but instead punching the descending giant claw! Grayish-black blood energy coiled around his fist like an angry dragon, and faint phantoms of dragon scales appeared beneath his skin!

"Bang!" A dull, heart-stopping thud! At the point where fist and claw collided, the air was compressed and a visible ripple burst forth! Lu Zhao's body was sent flying dozens of feet backward by the immense force, but the Sandstorm Dragon's giant claw was also jolted high into the air. Fine cracks appeared on the rocky scales at the center of its claw, and the area around the cracks turned a grayish-brown color, as if life was slipping away!

"Roar?" The Sandstorm Dragon let out a low growl filled with pain and surprise. Looking at its injured claws, and then at Lu Zhao, who had steadied himself and was unharmed, a hint of... fear appeared in its ferocious eyes for the first time.

This human not only possesses immense strength, but its grayish-black power can also directly damage its very life force!

Just as the man and the beast were locked in a tense standoff—**

"Whoosh—rumble!"

An even more violent roar, seemingly emanating from the depths of the underworld, resounded once more from the direction of "Dragon Bone Hill"! Simultaneously, a dark red pillar of light, filled with an ominous and malevolent aura, shot skyward, staining the sky crimson! An even stronger and clearer crimson summoning intent surged forth like a tidal wave, interspersed with frantic mutterings and agonizing howls!

This time, not only did the "Soul-Devouring Seal" between Lu Zhao's brows tremble violently, but the sandstorm dragon and all the cultivators in the distance also sensed this terrifying intent, and their expressions changed drastically!

"It's the 'Tomb of the Dragon General'! The tomb... is it about to open? No, this aura... is so evil!" the scarred middle-aged man exclaimed.

"The opportunity has come!" The two Soul Devouring Demon Sect cultivators' eyes gleamed, and they stopped paying attention to the battle between Lu Zhao and the demonic dragon. They turned around and flew rapidly towards the direction of the blood-red pillar of light!

"Roar..." The Sandstorm Dragon was also startled by the blood-red pillar of light and the thought. As if it remembered something terrifying, it stopped attacking Lu Zhao and let out a low growl full of vigilance and unease. Its huge body slowly retreated and then suddenly burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

In the arena, only Lu Zhao remained, along with the remaining, still-shaken and hesitant cultivators in the distance.

Lu Zhao gazed at the crimson pillar of light that stretched from the sky to the earth, feeling the increasingly scorching "Soul-Devouring Seal" between his brows and the restless Dao Foundation within his dantian, a resolute glint flashing in his eyes.

"Looks like I have no choice but to go," he muttered to himself. "But since so many 'friends' are going, then... let's go and see them together."

With a swift movement, he transformed into a streak of gray-black light, no longer concealing himself, and headed straight for "Dragon Bone Wasteland" at top speed!