Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 100: Decomposition and Escape?!
The Sandstorm Worm King's massive body, covered in a thick sand crystal shell but now riddled with cracks and charred burns, seemed to be detonated from within by an invisible force!

puff--!
With a muffled, almost inaudible sound, like countless grains of sand collapsing at the same time, the enormous insect body instantly disintegrated!

It didn't explode, it was... decomposition!
Like a toppled sand tower, or a sand sculpture scattered by a gale, the Sandstorm Worm King's incredibly tough flesh and shell instantly transformed into millions of tiny, uniform grains of sand, shimmering with an earthy brown luster!

These billions of grains of sand were not scattered, but as if they had a life of their own, they instantly condensed and recombined, forming "small sandstorm worms" that were only as thick as an arm and about one meter long. They were extremely similar in shape to sandstorm worms, but their bodies were made entirely of pure sand grains!
Thousands upon thousands!
Densely packed!

Like a torrent of sand gushing forth from the earth!

These tiny worms made of sand, once formed, did not hesitate at all. Like a startled swarm of ants or a loach thrown into boiling water, they fled wildly in all directions, up, down, left, right, and every possible direction at an astonishing speed!

They burrow into the soft sand like water droplets merging into the ocean, glide along the surface of the dunes as fast as the wind, and some even take off directly into the air, using the hot air currents of the desert to glide briefly!

There's only one goal: escape this place that brings death! Scatter! Get as far away as possible!

"What...what is this?!"

Lin Xia was completely dumbfounded!
The excitement on his face froze instantly, replaced by extreme shock and disbelief!
Before deciding to hunt the Sandstorm Worm King, he did his homework thoroughly, scouring through the Soul Beast Compendium and classic texts treasured by Teacher Lou Gao's Blacksmith Association, and also consulting experienced Soul Masters.

All records indicate that the Sandstorm Worm is a soul beast that relies on its massive body, sand crystal shell, quicksand traps, and mouthparts to hunt and defend itself. Although rare, there is absolutely no record of it being able to split into hundreds of smaller individuals to escape when it is on the verge of death!
"Damn it! We miscalculated! Was the intelligence wrong, or... did it mutate?"

Lin Xia's mind raced, and a huge sense of crisis and regret for missing a good opportunity welled up in her heart.

This bizarre escape method is simply unheard of!

"Yo-ji yo-ji!"

Young Gilas was also stunned, his scarlet eyes wide open as he watched the sandworms explode like fireworks and scatter in all directions, not knowing which direction to attack.

However, Lin Xia's astonishment lasted only a moment!
A strong fighting instinct and a desire to increase power instantly overwhelmed all distracting thoughts!
Having gone through countless hardships to get here, and on the verge of forming the second soul ring I've been dreaming of, how could I just watch it slip away in such an unbelievable way?

"Want to run? Dreaming!"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Xia's eyes, and a ruthless and resolute aura suddenly erupted!

He made the most correct, and also the most reckless, decision in an instant!
"Young Gilas! Follow me! First Soul Skill - Sandstorm! Maximum range! At the same time—unleash the full power of your fire elemental energy! Merge it into the sandstorm!"

Lin Xia's roar echoed across the empty sand dunes, carrying an unquestionable command!
"Yoji—!!!"

Young Gilas has an instinctive trust in and ability to carry out Lin Xia's orders!
Without the slightest hesitation, its small body suddenly burst forth with a strong earthy-yellow light! *Whoosh!*
The first spirit ring suddenly lit up beneath its feet, and a surge of rich earth elemental power erupted!
Its tiny claws, covered in lava-like shells, dug fiercely into the sand beneath its feet!
Dust storm!

Boom!

Centered on Eurygius, an unprecedented and massive sandstorm was instantly unleashed!
The yellow sand was as if it were being pulled and stirred from the ground by an invisible giant hand, instantly forming a violent sandstorm tornado with a diameter of more than 200 meters that connected heaven and earth!
This sandstorm, imbued with the terrifying suction force of Young Gilas's Soul Master-level physique and the power of the earth, frantically swept up sand and gravel within a radius of several thousand meters! The area expanded rapidly!

But this is just the beginning!
The moment the sandstorm took shape, the crimson-gold phoenix patterns on Young Gilas's chest, abdomen, and the gaps in its carapace suddenly burst forth with blinding light, like a red-hot branding iron!
A pure, intense flame energy, imbued with the essence of the sun and the divinity of nirvana, erupted from its body like a long-suppressed volcano!

Fire element released!
call--!
The crimson flames did not erupt, but flowed like blood, merging into the massive sandstorm they created!

Every grain of sand caught in the storm seemed to ignite the moment it came into contact with the divine fire power that originated from the phoenix mark and was refined by Young Gilas!
The ochre-colored sandstorm tornado was dyed golden-red in just a few seconds!
A scorching light emanates from within!

It resembled a giant, wildly dancing flaming serpent composed of molten sand crystals and divine fire!

high temperature!

Deadly high temperatures, enough to melt gold and fossilize it, spread out instantly!
The air distorted violently under the terrifying heat wave, crackling and groaning!
Where the sandstorm passed, the sand below quickly softened, shone, and even showed signs of vitrification!
"Not enough! Make it bigger!"

Lin Xia let out a low roar. He knew that the fire sandstorm created by Young Gilas was incredibly powerful, but its coverage was not enough to completely seal off the tens of thousands of small sand worms that were scattering and fleeing!
He took a sudden step forward, also channeling his soul power!

"First Soul Skill - Sandstorm!"

Unlike Young Gilas, who relies on his Soul Ring Skill to stir up dust, Lin Xia's ability to generate sand has long been honed into an almost instinctive characteristic!
With a thought, the sand grains within a hundred meters around him responded instantly, like the most loyal soldiers! A sandstorm of similar size rose from beneath his feet!

Most importantly, with a slight thought, the crimson-gold phoenix mark on the inside of his right forearm suddenly lit up!
Although not nearly as powerful as Young Gilas, he too possessed blood tempered by the essence of the sun and bore the mark bestowed by the Phoenix God!
A weak yet incredibly pure crimson-gold flame, originating from the same source, burst forth from his palm and was poured into the sandstorm he had created without hesitation!

"Fusion!"

Lin Xia endured the dizziness caused by the rapid depletion of his soul power and mental energy, concentrated all his thoughts, and guided his burning sandstorm to crash hard into the towering sandstorm of fire created by Younggilas!
boom--! ! !
The two sandstorms of fire and sand, which are of the same origin and nature (sand and fire) but are slightly different due to the different casters, did not repel or cancel each other out under Lin Xia's precise soul power guidance and the natural affinity of the Phoenix Divine Power. Instead, they merged together instantly like two rivers of fire that longed to flow together!
Like two burning stars colliding and merging!
An unprecedented and terrifyingly large fire sandstorm has been born!
Its diameter expanded to a terrifying over a thousand meters in an instant! Its height soared into the sky, as if to dye the entire sky golden red!

This is a moving, burning wall of death composed of billions of tons of high-temperature sand and gravel! An absolute zone of destruction covering an area of ​​several thousand meters in radius!

The terrifying heatwave spread in all directions like a real tsunami, causing the air to explode and the surface of the sand dunes to crystallize instantly!
Those small sandstorm worms that were frantically fleeing, trying to burrow underground or fly far away, all crashed headlong into the edge of this wall of death, no matter which direction they fled!
Chi chi chi——! ! !
The ending was a foregone conclusion!

(End of this chapter)