Mind Element — Soothe!

Zhao Manyan's face went pale in an instant, his eyes wide with terror.

Nearly thirty White Sand Demon Soldiers surrounded him, their gleaming sand-blades hanging mere inches from his body. The memory of how the others had died so horribly flashed through his mind, and his whole body began to tremble.

*Weren't we supposed to be fine? How did I stir up this many after just a few steps?*

He couldn't even find his voice — his throat felt plugged shut.

Almost on instinct, he reached for his Armor Enchanted Gear, his defensive Star Chart already beginning to trace itself at his feet—

Then, through the chaos, Xinxia's words from moments ago cut through.

He had to hand it to himself. Most people would have already reeked by now, and yet here he was, actually remembering someone else's instructions.

If he hadn't factored in how badly a spell would complicate his situation, he would have wrapped himself in layer after layer of Light's Grace and Sacred Shield without a second thought. Being sealed inside that golden ward was the only thing that ever made him feel truly safe — and right now, he had none of it.

Zhao Manyan set his jaw. Every muscle in his body locked tight.

He did not cast a spell. He simply stood there, motionless, surrounded by a forest of White Sand Demon Soldiers.

Next to those creatures — each one nearly three meters tall — Zhao Manyan looked practically like a doll: soft-skinned, fine-boned, no match whatsoever for those savage sand-blades.

He held his nerve. On the bank above, the others were anything but calm — especially Chenying, who nearly dove straight down to pull him out.

At the river's edge, Xinxia stood still as a pink-blue lotus growing in the desert. The howling wind swept her long hair into dancing streamers, each gust carrying with it the faint trace of her scent.

Her soft, gentle face wore an expression of absolute gravity — unlike anything anyone had seen from her before. Her eyes remained fixed, unblinking, on the spot where Zhao Manyan stood.

Then she closed her eyes.

Her hands folded slowly across her chest, as though transmitting something imperceptible to ordinary senses — some message carried on the frequency of her very soul.

Beside her, Mo Fan felt the faintest tremor of Magical Energy. But no matter how hard he looked, he could not see what was flowing out of Xinxia. Perhaps this was what it truly meant to wield Mind Element: a force without form, without shadow.

"Soothe."

Xinxia spoke the name of the spell. As the Star Chart completed its drawing beneath her, faint ripples — like water seen through glass, barely there — spread outward from where she stood.

Something lifted her slender, graceful figure ever so slightly off the ground. She hovered there in stillness, like a forest spirit setting foot upon the surface of a glass-calm lake.

The invisible ripples of serenity expanded outward, reaching the White Sand Demon Soldiers just as their blades were about to fall. On the other side of the water, Zhao Manyan had already gone completely limp at the knees.

The White Sand Demon Soldiers had eyes — two deep-sunken things buried in sand-hardened faces, burning with a reddish-brown ferocity. Nothing offended them more than a living creature disturbing their territory. Anything that dared set foot in the Shamang River was something to be cut down the moment it was detected.

Yet the instant that serene ripple of Mind Element washed over them, it was as if a gust of pure, sacred wind had swept clean through a cloud of blood and rage. The violence simply — vanished.

Half-raised blades froze in place. The creatures swayed their heads left and right, peering at each other in slow, almost endearing bewilderment.

After a moment of exchanged stares, the assembled White Sand Demon Soldiers seemed to have quietly forgotten why they had gotten up and drawn their weapons in the first place. One by one, they crumbled — dissolving back into fine white sand, scattered into the howling wind, drifting over Zhao Manyan and across the long surface of the Shamang River.

In the white haze of swirling sand, Zhao Manyan sat straight down onto the riverbed.

He could feel, with absolute certainty, that he had nearly embarrassed himself. Fortunately, after everything he'd endured at Jinlin Desolate City, his nerves had been tempered into something far stronger than they once were. He'd held on.

He looked up at the others on the bank and finally managed to twist his face into something resembling a grin. Then he raised a big thumbs-up — aimed squarely at Xinxia.

This was his first real taste of what Mind Element could do. Those White Sand Demon Soldiers had gone from murderous to completely docile in a single heartbeat. For Hunter-mages who worked out in the field, something like this was nothing short of a miracle — an invisible cloak that let you walk straight through a horde of Demon-Beasts.

The only shame was that this kind of Mind Element magic didn't work on everything. Something like the Sand Howl Tiger, whose very nature was pure savagery, wouldn't be touched by it in the slightest.

"Would you all please come down already? How long do you plan to stand up there staring?" Zhao Manyan called out irritably.

"I honestly thought you were finished," Mo Fan said, grinning.

With that, he lifted Xinxia and settled her onto the Swift Star Wolf's back.

She was capable of standing on her own — but staying on her feet too long wore her out. Better to ride and save her strength.

Lingling, the little layabout, took the opportunity to haul herself up as well. The Swift Star Wolf let out a low, aggrieved whine the moment it felt her weight settle in. Lingling gave it a firm knock on the head. "You have a problem with that?"

The Swift Star Wolf knew better than to pick a fight with Lingling — she was entirely too inventive when it came to tormenting Summoned Beasts. It waited obediently until both Lingling and Xinxia were properly seated, then stepped into the Shamang River. It clearly found the place unsettling; its movements were unusually light and cautious, and it made no unnecessary sounds, as though afraid to wake whatever lay beneath.

"Xinxia," Mo Fan asked, "do you have to keep the spell running the whole time? Won't that drain your Magical Energy fast?"

Xinxia shook her head. "The Demon Soldiers in the Shamang River aren't that densely packed — they only swarm when something enters their territory. The ones just now have already been soothed; they won't come at us again. I just need to cast once more when we move far enough to cross into a different group's territory."

"Ah. That's a relief." Mo Fan let out a breath.

"But," Xinxia added, "I haven't worked out how wide this river actually is. I can't be sure my Magical Energy will hold out long enough for us to cross safely."

The moment those words left her mouth, Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan — both striding confidently ahead — stopped dead in their tracks.

They had both, simultaneously, conjured the exact same image in their minds: standing in the dead center of the Shamang River the moment Xinxia's Magical Energy gave out — nowhere to run, no one to hear them scream. Walking straight through the gates of the underworld.

"This river is awfully wide. Maybe we ought to—"

"If you're scared, stay on the bank," Mo Fan said flatly.

"Please. I was just going to say — I happen to have some excellent Magical Energy recovery potions on me. Have Xinxia take them so we don't end up in trouble." With that, Zhao Manyan stopped hoarding his supplies entirely and handed them over to Xinxia without a moment's hesitation.

Every single one of their lives was riding on Xinxia right now. Zhao Manyan was treating her like a goddess.