The four groups were sent to the four different directions, east, south, west, and north. Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena were a.s.signed to most arduous of the four military regions, and it was also the only one without any ties to the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, but it was also the one where there was the least chance of having their covers blown.
Tang Wulin was carrying an introduction letter with him that had been written by Holy Spirit Douluo Yali on behalf of Shrek Academy.
Compared to his friends, Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena had the longest journey ahead of them, and in Gu Yue"s current condition, she wasn"t going to be of much help to him at all. As such, after they arrived at their destination, Tang Wulin would have to find a place for Gu Yue to stay. After all, how was she supposed to join the military when she was acting like an infant?
Tang Wulin was feeling very conflicted. He was hoping that Gu Yue would get better soon, but he was also kind of hoping that she would constantly stay by his side like this. Regardless of what kind of secrets she was hiding, there was most likely a very good chance that she"d leave him after she recovered her memories, and that was something that he definitely didn"t want.
Even though he could get intimate with Gu Yuena as that would essentially be taking advantage of her in her amnesiac state, just being with her every single day made him extremely happy and filled him with motivation.
He would just have to take everything one step at a time from here. He had already done everything that he could to cure her, so it was up to her to get better.
Three days later, they drove around Bright City and entered the western region of the continent. The roads in the western region of the continent were all very well-developed. At the very least, that was the case within a radius of around 500 kilometers around Bright City.
After two more days, a boundless expanse of desert appeared up ahead.
This area in the western region of the Douluo Continent didn"t actually belong to the Douluo Continent. Instead, it only became connected to Douluo Continent over 10,000 years ago due to continental s.h.i.+ft.
At the time, this region belonged to the Sun Moon Empire, and the uncommon metals brought to the Douluo Continent by the Moon Night Continent was an important driving factor behind the rapid advancements of current soul technology.
After entering the desert, Tang Wulin adjusted the Tang Sect battle vehicle to desert mode. This allowed the vehicle to continue to progress onward smoothly, but its speed had decreased.
The main benefit of soul technology was that as a Soul Master, he"d never have to worry about running out of fuel; he could always recharge the vehicle using his soul power. Tang Wulin"s soul power rank was now close 60, so he"d have no issues fueling this battle vehicle for a very long time.
Thankfully, the GPS was able to guide them. Otherwise, it would be extremely easy to get lost in this boundless desert.
After entering the desert, they"d have to drive about five more days before arriving at the westernmost region of the continent. They"d set off from Heaven Dou City and crossed over more than half of the entire continent, and their entire journey spanned close to 5,000 kilometers!
After driving in the desert for a day, Tang Wulin finally stopped the car as night began to descend.
"Father, I"m so tired!" Gu Yue wheedled as she got out of the car and stretched out her body.
Tang Wulin looked up at the sky to find that this was a remarkably peaceful night in the desert. An occasional gust of wind would blow past, carrying some sand toward them, and the air was extremely dry, but the sky was very clear.
The sky hadn"t turned completely dark yet, and the remnants of the sunset in the distance seemed to have fused as one with the desert"s horizon. There would be no way for anyone who hadn"t visited the desert before to witness such a beautiful piece of scenery.
Tang Wulin smiled, and said, "Just bear with it for a few more days; it"s going to take about two and half more days of driving to pa.s.s through the desert and the entire Scorching Basin. After we emerge from the Scorching Basin and enter the Skyend Mountain Ranges, we"ll be very close to our destination."
Gu Yuena"s brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Father, I don"t like this place; there"s nothing good to eat here."
Tang Wulin couldn"t help but burst into laughter. "It"s alright, we have enough dried rations with us. There"s nothing in the desert that can be used to start a fire, so we"ll have to rely solely on those rations for a few meals. After we pa.s.s through the desert and enter the Scorching Basin, we can find a place to take a good rest."
Not only did Gu Yuena not like this place, he wasn"t fond of it, either. As the Son of Nature, he was naturally averse to deserts as there were no plants here, nor any power that he could borrow. The ideal settings of plant system Soul Masters were always forests or lakes; places that could nurture and enhance them.
If Tang Wulin were to cultivate in this desert, the effect achieved through 10 days of cultivation most likely wouldn"t even be as good as what could be achieved by cultivating in a forest for a single day.
"We"ll sleep in the car tonight. I"ll get some dried rations for you to eat." The battle vehicle had three rows of seats, and the final two rows could be folded down to form a makes.h.i.+ft double bed, so they"d have no issues sleeping in the car.
This was why Tang Wulin had been able to enter the desert with Gu Yuena after making minimal preparations.
They"d be able to travel slightly faster if they were to fly using their suits of battle armor, but without all of the devices on the battle vehicle, it would be very easy for them to lose their way. On top of that, the desert wasn"t completely devoid of danger; soul beasts were rare here, but not non-existent.
Due to the lack of valuable resources here, humans had only developed this desert to a very minor extent. As such, the few soul beasts here were able to live leisurely lives free from human influence.
The two of them had a simple meal of dried rations. Ever since he attained his bloodline vortex, Tang Wulin discovered that his appet.i.te had decreased significantly. His bloodline vortex could absorb natural energies from the outside world, so he didn"t need to eat an insane amount of food to sustain himself anymore. After the vortex was formed, his bloodline had also been cultivating of its own accord within his body in a subtle manner.
Gu Yue clearly wasn"t very interested in the dried rations, but when night completely fell, she suddenly yelled with excitement, "Father, look! There are so many stars in the sky, and they"re so beautiful!"
The desert seemed to be closer to the sky than other places somehow, and it felt as if they could reach out and grab the countless stars hanging in the sky. The bleak and desolate landscape took on a dream-like beauty under the illumination of the starlight.
The two of them sat on the summit of a sand dune, and Gu Yuena rested her head on Tang Wulin"s shoulders as her large purple eyes gradually glazed over.
Tang Wulin was also entranced by the sight of the countless stars in the sky while his lover sat by his side. The two of them snuggled up against one another in the completely silent desert.
If only we could sit like this forever.
"Are you cold, Gu Yue?" Tang Wulin spread open his arms and held her in a gentle embrace.
There was a huge disparity between the temperatures in the desert during the night and during the day.
Gu Yuena shook her head in response. "I"m not cold. This place really is beautiful! Are you cold?"
"Of course not," Tang Wulin chuckled.
Gu Yuena didn"t say anything else, as she continued to lay in his arms, and not long after that, her eyes fell shut as she fell asleep.
Her sleeping face was very beautiful and tranquil. Tang Wulin couldn"t help but gently stroke her cheek. He was already beginning to grow accustomed to Gu Yue"s new appearance, but he still wanted to know how Gu Yue had become Gu Yuena. Just what kind of connection did Gu Yue and Na"er share?
This question was constantly weighing on his heart, and if he couldn"t figure this out, then he couldn"t wholeheartedly regard the woman in his arms as his lover.
After sitting for a while longer, Tang Wulin carefully carried Gu Yuena over to the Tang Sect battle vehicle, then opened the car door before pressing a b.u.t.ton to fold down the last two rows of seats. He placed Gu Yuena into the car first before entering the vehicle himself. After closing the door, this became an isolated s.p.a.ce for just the two of them.
He could still see the countless stars in the sky through the car window, and Gu Yuena was sleeping very soundly. Tang Wulin produced a blanket from his storage ring before draping it over the two of them.
He looked at her beautiful sleeping face, and he felt as if his entire heart were melting. He drew her into an embrace again and placed his arm beneath her head as a pillow before closing his eyes with a content look on his face.
In that instant, all of his pressure and pain seemed to be a world away. His entire world consisted only of her, and both of them slept very well that night.
Only after the bright sunlight began to s.h.i.+ne into the car the next morning did they wake up and open their eyes.
Gu Yuena was like a little kitten snuggled up against Tang Wulin"s chest, and when he woke up, he discovered that his left arm was still acting as a pillow for her, but his right hand had somehow ended up on her backside.
It was round, smooth, and extremely supple.
His blood essence began to surge downward uncontrollably as a natural morning reaction, and he reflexively drew back a little. However, Gu Yuena immediately gave a displeased whimper as if she"d lost her safe haven. She then pressed herself firmly against him again, and even wound one of her long legs around him in order to lock him in place.