The Growth of a Titan
Chapter 239- The Dangerous Eternal Desert

Chapter 239: Chapter 239- The Dangerous Eternal Desert

Mar-Dule jerked his body forward and used his big belly to bump into Yoon-Jae.

Yoon-Jae took a step back and glared at him, but Mar-Dule already started ignoring him. He did so as he took out a dakkochi and began eating it.

With his mouthful, Mar-Dule then turned to Sol and asked.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Sol nodded.

"I need your help to find the Hellfire Grass in the Eternal Desert."

When Mar-Dule heard that he frowned.

"It’s in the Eternal Desert?"

"Yes, and if you’re the heir that’s going to lead the Barbarian Tribes you should be able to get it."

Mar-Dule scowled at Yoon-Jae.

"Isn’t it supposed to be a rare herb? How can I get it? What was it called, Hellfire Grass? I’ve seen many herbs that uniquely grow in the Eternal Desert, but I’ve never heard of that herb."

"It’s also called the Deep Autumn Flower."

"Deep Autumn Flower...? That name I do get a sense I’ve heard before."

Mar-Dule mumbled as his brows came together.

"That’s what you said back in Pearl City. Do you really not know?"

"Damn it, can you be quiet for a second!"

Mar-Dule yelled at Yoon-Jae before he slid a piece of meat from the dakkochi into his mouth.

However, something suddenly clicked in his head and he spat out the piece of meat and yelled.

"That’s right! How could I forget, that’s the herb my older sister got from father!"

Mar-Dule then turned to look at the sky.

It was nearly sunset when they made it back to the Academy, so after nearly two hours had passed, the sun’s light rays were barely visible over the horizon.

"This is good, if we leave now we should be able to make it to Eternal Desert’s border by nightfall tomorrow! Let’s go."

Mar-Dule then dashed off, leaving Sol and Yoon-Jae to play catch up.

....

...

..

With a swoosh, Mar-Dule controlled his thirty-meter boat-like Divine Treasure to fly further and further away from the Martial Alliance Academy.

After some time, he landed in the middle of a dense forest.

It was already nighttime, so the cacophony of noises from the small insects in the forest was loud and clear.

"We should be at a safe distance from the Academy."

Mar-Dule said as he turned to Sol and Yoon-Jae.

"Little Abdu."

Abdu sent out his Soul Energy which caused small ripples to appear in the void. Within these ripples, Dae Han appeared looking extremely haggard.

"Are you okay?"

Sol asked in surprise when he saw Dae Han’s appearance.

Dae Han nodded with a large grin on his face.

"Brother Sol, I’d like to thank you for retrieving the Yin and Yang Celestial Stones from Elder Hyun-Joo. If you need anything in the future don’t hesitate to ask, I’ll definitely come running!"

Dae Han then turned and leaped off the boat, before disappearing in the forest. He was in such a rush that he didn’t even give Sol a way to communicate with him.

"Looks like he received some benefits from that treasure for him to be so grateful."

Mar-Dule commented as he controlled the ship to rise into the air.

Before the shield came up around the boat, the wind blew Sol’s hair in front of his face which he tucked behind his ear before asking.

"Little Abdu, what exactly happened to Dae Han?"

"How should I know? I don’t know a thing about those Innate Dharma thingies or how they work. First I find out someone can only awaken one that has an affinity for one or none of the elements. And next, I find out they can apparently fuse with treasures."

"Fuse with treasures?"

Yoon-Jae said; voicing Sol and Mar-Dule’s surprise.

"Little Abdu, are you saying the Yin and Yang Celestial Stones fused with Dae Han’s Innate Dharma?"

"Is that not normal?"

Sol shook his head.

"Little Abdu, how is that normal?"

Abdu clicked his tongue, how was he supposed to know that?

"Hey, aren’t you going to tell us about that Hellfire Grass?"

Yoon-Jae turned and asked Mar-Dule.

Mar-Dule glanced at the dark horizon and after setting the boat on manual, he came over to sit down with Sol and Yoon-Jae.

"Like I said back at the Academy, I think my older sister might have received the Hellfire Grass from father."

"Why are you just remembering this now?"

"Bastard, don’t judge me. It’s because I wasn’t really too focused on it at the time. The Hellfire Grass is one of the special herbs in my family that are given to us when we come of age. But the one I received was the Metal Aether Energy equivalent since I cultivate Metal Aether Energy. My older sister received the Deep Autumn Flower because she cultivated Fire Aether Energy. But I specifically remember getting jealous because she received two of those herbs when I only received one. She would have already taken one, but she should have one left!"

Sol was happy after hearing this, it meant they didn’t have to search the entire Eternal Desert for the Deep Autumn Flower.

....

...

..

The three youths had been traveling all night. The sun rose up overhead and was now beginning to set.

They didn’t meet any Spiritual Beast on this flight path since it was cleared of them for safe travel to and from the Eternal Desert. This also meant they passed by several other flying treasures throughout their journey.

Mar-Dule who was back to controlling the boat, felt a familiar change in the temperature.

"Get ready, we’re about to cross into the Eternal Desert."

Mar-Dule sped up the boat and then ran over to Sol and Yoon-Jae who were meditating.

"Here, you two need to put these on."

Mar-Dule took out a few pieces of clothes from his storage ring and handed them to Sol and Yoon-Jae who stood up.

Sol took the clothes and unfurled them. They were ordinary plain clothes that were extremely baggy. They had very fine glass-like materials on them that made the clothes look smooth, but their texture against his palm made him realize they were really coarse.

"Are these your clothes? Why do we have to wear them?"

Yoon-Jae said pinching the clothes and holding them away from him.

Mar-Dule seeing this glared at him.

"They’re clean! And if you don’t want your delicate pale white flesh to be severely burnt then you need to wear them. They’re coated in the Eternal Desert’s sand so they can withstand the heat."

Sol glanced at Mar-Dule’s light-brown hand and asked.

"Is that why everyone from the Barbarian Race’s skin is like that?"

Mar-Dule hearing this paused changing his clothes and blinked.

"That might be the cause since we were born in the Eternal Desert, but then again I have a nephew whose father is from the Land of Shadows but he could be mistaken for someone from the Barbarian Race. So I guess it’s just how we were born."

"This is disgusting. Is the heat that bad that I need to wear this?"

Yoon-Jae suddenly said.

"Maybe if you were in the Spiritual Realm you’d be able to block the excessive Fire Aether Energy with your Ice Aether Energy, but for Mortal Realm cultivators, without protection, every drop of liquid in their bodies might dry up if they stay exposed during the day for too long. The night might not be so bad."

"So that’s why we’re entering during nighttime."

Sol said in realization as he wore Mar-Dule big pants. He had to tie the waist string really tight to keep it from falling off him.

Then picking up the upper robes, Sol realized the design of these clothes was slightly different than what he wore in Jianghu. But he figured it was a given since they came from different cultures.

After wearing the upper robes and the large cloak, Sol felt around the back for the hood and lifted it over his head; covering Abdu in the process who didn’t seem to mind.