"Miss Snow, fancy meeting you here!"
When his voice rang out, Lunaria Snow's head snapped in his direction, her aura flaring. But when she saw who it was, her momentum waned.
"Hm? You are…"
"Ah, I guess we've only met once before. My name is Damien Void."
Lunaria shook her head. "No, I'm well aware of your identity. That lass Ruyue spoke very highly of you."
Damien's eyes widened. "You know Ruyue? Were the two of you in the same trial world?"
"Trial World? Mm, an apt name. Indeed, she was in the same space as I was. We spent the year traveling together. It's a shame we were separated afterward."
"Ah, that's just how the rest of the trials are. She hasn't arrived here yet. Have you met anyone else?"
Lunaria shook her head. "You are the first person I've seen. This desert is too expansive. Even if there are others, it wouldn't be surprising if we never meet."
Damien nodded his head. For him to meet someone he was somewhat familiar with, even if it was many hours after his first entry into the desert, it must've been the Primordial Undying Tree pulling the strings.
'That old tree really favors me…' he thought inwardly. 'I wonder what he wants from me. There's no way he's just letting me have a free lunch.'
It was a little troubling to owe so many favors to a Demigod-level existence, but he couldn't help it anymore. The old tree had already given him a life-saving grace. If he didn't pay back that gratitude, he'd be no different than scum.
He quickly turned his attention back to Lunaria. "How about we travel together? We can be considered mutual acquaintances, since you're close to Ruyue and I've become friends with Feng Qing'er. I think it's better to stick together."
Lunaria mulled over his proposal for a bit before agreeing. "Very well. I still do not know much about this place, so having a helping hand wouldn't hurt."
With that, the two of them soon began traveling together. Though, not much changed from before. They wandered the endless desert aimlessly and looked for anything special, but most of the time they ended up striking out.
Damien was feeling a little troubled. Not just by the situation, but also by Lunaria Snow herself. Compared to Feng Qing'er, it was a lot harder to get along with her.
Whenever he tried to strike up a conversation, he was always met with the flattest and most blunt responses. He felt that there was no way he could get closer to her.
Therefore, he also shut his mouth and stopped embarrassing himself. Unless it was necessary, he didn't try to talk to her.
Their situation continued for hours on end, but they still had yet to find anything special.
Damien lamented in his heart. 'This is going to be an arduous journey indeed.'
***
With the passing of time, day and night interchanged. The sun gave way to the moon, cooling the blazing heat that enveloped the desert.
With an entire day being used fruitlessly searching for something new, the Damien and Lunaria duo were tired of moving.
And so, they decided to set up camp and wait out the night, resting for a bit before continuing their journey.
Currently, the two sat around a small campfire. Well, campfire was one way to describe it. But since there was no wood in the surroundings, it was really just Damien's Void Flames burning on the sand between them, granting them a bit of light in the night.
"How is Qing'er?"
Damien was surprised to see Lunaria taking the initiative to speak. After all, she hadn't done so even once in the past day.
But he ended up smiling. The information about them in the 3000 Beast Record was apparently the complete opposite of their actual relationship. This indifferent woman was actually deeply worried about her friend.
"She was doing great the last time I saw her. It's surprising to see someone who can be so lively without end."
"Mm. That's what she's been like since young. A fiery personality even for a Fire Phoenix. She gave her mother no small amount of trouble."
Lunaria had a soft smile on her face. It was so small it was barely perceptible, but it was a smile nonetheless.
Seeing this, Damien couldn't help himself. He ended up telling her all the stories of what happened in the Trial World. Of course, mainly those that involved Feng Qing'er.
For the first time, Damien was able to show off his abilities as a storyteller. His recollections were so vivid that it almost felt like one was transported into those scenes themselves, experiencing them firsthand.
And Lunaria listened intently as he spoke. When she heard about Feng Qing'er unlocking the Reincarnation Flames, she was shocked to the point where even her ice-cold exterior cracked.
When he finally finished his stories, Lunaria sighed. "As expected, she is thriving in an environment like this. Her love of adventure has always propelled her forward, so this is just another situation like that."
Damien also nodded. That love of adventure wasn't really something he had seen, but he could definitely feel that Feng Qing'er was someone who grew stronger through hardship.
Suddenly, he became curious about what happened in the other Trial Worlds.
They had demons in theirs, and plots that seemed greater than mere trials. Was that something unique to his Trial World, or something happening everywhere?
According to Lunaria, it was the latter. They too had to deal with something similar.
Except, instead of demons, it was a Nether Spirit Tribe.
A tribe of beings that came from a Nether Realm, beings that were heavily related to yin. In a Trial World of blizzards and endless snow, they were thriving.
But Ruyue and Lunaria Snow were both extremely suitable for that environment. Even compared to the Nether Spirit Tribe, they were thriving.
And unlike Damien, who had two helpers with him, Ruyue and Lunaria were the only ones capable enough to fight the Nether Spirit Tribe within their Trial World.
'Haa…so in the end it's like that. That Demon God fellow enslaved multiple races under his command for whatever purpose he's trying to achieve. To just expand the Nox's influence? I doubt it's so simple. Escape would be an even simpler goal, but is that really it?'
He deeply pondered it, but he couldn't figure anything out. Of the available conclusions he could make, escape seemed like the most likely.
But for the sake of escaping, what was the use of those other races? And why were they set up in such a way? He still lacked too much general knowledge to even make an educated guess.
'But, at least it looks like Ruyue reaped some benefits.'
According to what Lunaria had said, Ruyue's control over yin had increased by a large margin. She was able to absorb those yin spirits and refine them to increase her own power and comprehension. In a realm like her Trial World, she truly had no opponents.
'It's a shame she couldn't get a yin elemental spirit or something like the Void Flames, though. I guess Nether Spirits harbor too much resentment to be tamed.'
As he spoke to Lunaria about the various plots and hidden dangers in the Primordial Undying Realm, his thoughts kept drifting to Ruyue.
He trusted her and he was confident in her ability to survive, but he couldn't help but be worried.
'Sigh, I just hope you're okay.'
Soon, daylight once again flooded the desert. It was time for them to start moving again.
