Versatile Mage: Get the Desert Emperor clone at the start

Chapter 158 Leng Qing Goes Missing
Xiaolin's body has been completely taken over by sandworms.

He stood up stiffly, his face, which had been contorted in pain, now only a deathly pale white. Fine grains of sand seeped from his seven orifices, forming a flowing layer of sand on his skin.

"careful!"

Suddenly, Kobayashi, who had turned into sand, sprang up and swept out with his arms as two sand blades.

These judges were all very experienced sorcerers, and they were naturally prepared when they saw him undergo an unusual transformation.

"Disperse!" Leng Qing gave the order, and everyone retreated instantly.

The lightning mage in the team reacted extremely quickly, and a giant python made of raging lightning roared out and instantly coiled around him.

In the blinding flash of electricity, Kobayashi's body convulsed violently, and the sandy shell on his body began to peel off.

Immediately following was a burst of fire magic.

The human body is still too fragile. The sand worm that possessed it sensed something was wrong and tried to slip away.

A small, golden worm emerged from behind him. It was only the size of a thumb, and its body was translucent, with grains of sand faintly visible inside.

The most terrifying thing is its mouth, which takes up most of its body and is filled with tiny, sharp teeth.

"Wind Blade - Strangulation!"

Leng Qing was prepared, and a sharp wind blade precisely slashed at the fleeing sandworm.

The insect was incredibly fast; it miraculously changed direction in mid-air, dodging a fatal blow.

"Want to run?"

A golden light descended from the sky, enveloping the sandworm. The worm let out a painful screech, its movements instantly slowing. Leng Qing seized the opportunity; a second wind blade whistled past, precisely cleaving the sandworm in two!
The slain sandworm's corpse fell to the ground and quickly turned into a small pool of golden sand.

Only then did everyone realize what was causing the trouble.

The two men, their bodies bruised and grimacing, were filled with terror at the sight of Xiaolin's fate. They didn't even know if they had been parasitized.

"If I... I'm killed right now, I don't want to suffer like Kobayashi."

Just as everyone was helping them come up with a solution.

"what!"

In the center of the line, a judge who was completely uninjured suddenly let out a scream.

His eyeballs bulged out strangely, and countless tiny bumps appeared under his skin.

"How is this possible?!" Leng Qing's face turned deathly pale. "He was clearly not injured!"

Sandworms don't actually parasitize through wounds! They can invade through any opening and become parasitic in people's silent breathing.

No one expected that he would suddenly mutate, and the two people around him, caught completely off guard, were killed by the earth spikes that emerged from his body.

This change startled everyone, and fear gripped their hearts—had they been parasitized?
The people in the Tribunal had never fought against the sandworms before, and because they were completely unaware of the abilities of this demon, they were in such a passive position.

Under normal circumstances, even a high-level mage could be ambushed by sand worms if they are not careful.

On a cliff not far from the bloody village, a dark figure stood still like a sculpture, his entire body shrouded in a specially made black robe.

The Black Vatican assassin, codenamed "Night Owl," narrowed his eyes slightly, his pupils reflecting the shimmering magical light emanating from the distant village. (This is not the executioner who appears later.)
“Interesting.” A cruel smile curled at the corner of Night Owl’s lips.

Through a specially designed farsighted magical device, he could clearly see the judges enveloped in the fear brought by the sandworms.

He saw yet another judge suddenly kneel and scream, fine sand seeping from his nostrils—clearly, he had been unknowingly invaded by sandworms during the previous battle. This slow and insidious method of killing was precisely the art that Lord Salan admired most.

"Wait a little longer," the night owl silently licked its lips, "let you play with the sandworms a little longer."

It's not too late to make my move after the sandworms have worn down their spirits a bit more.

The night sky over Shanghai was dotted with stars, but Qin Xiaonan's apartment was brightly lit.

In the living room, Mu Nujiao was leaning on Qin Xiaonan's shoulder as they watched a program on TV, occasionally letting out light laughter.

Lan Xi and Ai Tutu's singing came from the home theater, accompanied by cheerful music.

“If they keep singing like that, the neighbors will complain,” Mu Nujiao said, unable to suppress a laugh, her fingertips gently twirling the hem of Qin Xiaonan’s clothes.

Just as Qin Xiaonan was about to respond, her phone suddenly vibrated violently in her pocket.

He took out his phone, and the screen displayed the name "Lingling".

The call at this hour suggests Lingling must have something urgent.

"Hey, Lingling?"

“Qin Xiaonan!” Lingling’s voice trembled unusually on the other end of the phone. “I found out the information you mentioned. My sister encountered the Black Vatican while investigating it, and now her communications are down! Qingning and I are almost at your house; we have to leave immediately!”

Qin Xiaonan's expression instantly turned serious.

He sensed the unspoken meaning in Lingling's words—Leng Qing was likely in mortal danger.

"Lan Xi!" He jumped to his feet and shouted towards the media room, "Come with me!"

Mu Nujiao also stood up. She opened her mouth, but ultimately only whispered, "Be careful."

She didn't ask to go together; she remembered her promise to Qin Xiaonan to wait until she broke through to the advanced level.

Qin Xiaonan turned and pulled her into his arms, placing a firm kiss on her forehead: "Don't worry."

When they rushed out of the apartment building, Lingling and Qingning were already waiting downstairs.

Lingling's face was deathly pale, her fingers gripping her phone tightly, the screen still displaying the location information Leng Qing had last sent.

“Let’s go to Hangzhou first, where Tianying has made arrangements,” Lingling said hurriedly.

“No need,” Qin Xiaonan interrupted her, pulling the two of them quickly towards the edge of the security perimeter. “Come with me.”

As he finished speaking, a pair of crystal-clear magical wings suddenly unfolded behind him. The starlight on the wings shimmered with a ghostly blue light in the night, and each flap of the wings left tiny ripples in the air.

Lingling stared in astonishment at the pair of winged magical artifacts she had never seen before, but she had no time to ask any more questions at the moment.

They quickly crossed the border and arrived at a forested area.

"boom--"

The forest suddenly trembled, and a burst of colorful light erupted.

To Lingling's astonishment, the enormous Seven-Colored Peacock King revealed its form, its magnificent tail feathers shimmering with a dreamlike brilliance under the moonlight.

"This...this is..." Lingling's eyes widened.

She had witnessed the Seven-Colored Peacock King chasing the Silver Sky Lord from afar in Hangzhou, and the earth-shattering power of that scene was still unforgettable.

“It’s also my totem beast,” Qin Xiaonan explained briefly, pulling Lingling onto the Peacock King’s broad back. “Tell me the location quickly, and we’ll set off immediately.”

Lingling bit her lip, temporarily suppressing her many questions.

She quickly pulled up a map and pointed northwest: "The last signal came from the mountains fifty kilometers southwest of Yuncheng, the coordinates are..."

(End of this chapter)